2.12. God Is Trustworthy. February 17, Bible Passage: 1 Kings Schedule. (Solomon, Part 2) CONNECT GATHER RESPOND BLESS

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1 February 17, 2019 Bible Passage: 1 Kings 7 11 (Solomon, Part 2) God Is Trustworthy REMEMBER VERSE How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. Psalm 31:19 Schedule CONNECT GATHER RESPOND BLESS 1

2 Leader Prep Each week you ll find a list of resources along with encouraging articles that help you prepare your heart to present the lesson. Further Resources A Small Group Enhancement is available for this lesson. Download the following resources to help you plan and lead TruStory lessons: Customizable copy of Lesson Scope and Sequence TruStory How It Works document HomeFront Weekly: Lesson 12 is provided for this lesson. The weekly for the next lesson to be sent home for preteaching by parents is found in BLESS. If you have questions about Tru curriculum or are looking for great training, blogs, and other support resources, visit truministry.com. Inspire Shares personal stories from fellow ministry leaders about how God has worked in their lives What does it mean to give God my whole heart? One night, as I prayed about this question, I thought about Saint Patrick s Lorica (Breastplate Prayer): Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. These words affect me deeply because they re so incredibly true. Christ is everywhere; He knows everything. The psalmist wrote, You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar (Psalm 139:1 2). The sweetness of God s presence makes it a joy to give Him my whole heart. He is trustworthy. Giving God my whole heart means acknowledging Him as part of everything I do and trusting Him with my life. He s with me when I drive to work, do the dishes, play basketball, brush my teeth, eat dinner, or talk with friends or strangers. Giving God my whole heart means asking Him to search me, God, and know my heart See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23 24). Giving God my whole heart means trusting Him to be so deeply involved in my life, my actions, my conversations, my thoughts, my hobbies, my desires, and my interactions that nothing can pull my heart away from Him. Tori Funkhouser TruStory Team Equip 2

3 Offers perspective and context to the lesson's Bible passage Solomon was the son of David the man after God s own heart. Solomon was in the lineage of the Messiah, and he received the kingship because of God s unmerited choice. During Solomon s reign, God blessed him with wisdom and wealth and blessed the nation with peace. Solomon s wisdom overwhelmed the queen of Sheba, and she praised God for it (1 Kings 10:1 9). Solomon s falling away from God was very great, very tragic, and very public. God had warned him to remain strong in his faith, to follow God s laws, and to not marry women from other nations. Solomon vowed he would follow God s laws and keep His commandments and admonished his people to follow them as well. So how did Solomon s heart grow wayward? Had Solomon ever given God his whole heart in the first place? Or had he lazily fallen away from God in his old age? The Bible provides evidence for both perspectives. In 1 Kings 8, we see Solomon on his knees with his hands outstretched to the sky, passionately pleading for God s favor, protection, and blessing. However, in 1 Kings 6, we read that Solomon built a magnificent temple for God and then built an even more magnificent palace for himself in 1 Kings 7. Additionally, chapters 9 and 11 show how Solomon defied God s admonition and married the daughter of the Egyptian pharaoh as well as the daughters of many other foreign dignitaries, kings, and nobles. These wives turned Solomon s heart toward their foreign gods, just as God had told Solomon they would. God had given Solomon a great responsibility and had entrusted him with His people, yet Solomon ultimately gave little regard to this privilege. We need to take Solomon s life as a fair warning to not take God s blessings lightly, to not think lightly of our sins, and to not let our hearts wander away from Him. Support Provides reflection and assessment through encouragement, prayer, and time in God's Word This week, meditate on David s prayer from Psalm 139:23 24: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. God wants our whole hearts, and we can trust Him with everything in our lives. Ask God to reveal to you what may be standing in the way of your giving Him your whole heart or where your worship may have become routine. Ask for God s guidance and assistance in creating a new heart in you for the things and people He s entrusted to you. Then pray God would show the children how He s worthy of their whole hearts. Pray that they would respond to Him with wholehearted worship. CONNECT// 10 min. Children develop relationships with their leaders and one another through simple activities and conversation starters. 3

4 Blacked-Out Images Although Solomon was a wise king, as years went by he did not choose to trust God with his whole heart and life. Lead children in a CONNECT activity where they will look at various things that are only parts of a whole. Connect images (see Resources) Answer template (see Resources) Marker (black, thick-tip) Tape Pens or pencils SET UP Print two sets of the images. For one set of images, use the marker to black out three-quarters of each image. Tape the blacked-out images to the walls. Print one copy of the Answer template for every two children. CONNECT QUESTION: Welcome and greet children. Open your time by asking this question: What are three things that make you, you? When God chose to bless Solomon as the king of Israel, He made one thing very clear to Solomon He wanted Solomon s whole heart and life! He didn t want half of it or three-quarters of it; He wanted everything. Our whole heart represents everything about us and who we are. If we showed people only a portion of our hearts, they wouldn t be able to see the real, full picture of who we are. Today, encourage kids to look at the partial images on the walls. Have them walk around the classroom in pairs and work together to guess what the images were before they were partially blacked out. Have them write their answers on their Answer templates. Then, when kids have finished guessing, show them the real pictures and see which pairs were able to guess the correct images. GATHER// 30 min. Children experience and learn more about God through memorizing Scripture, storytelling from The Big God Story, prayer, and discussion. Remember Verse Each week children will spend time memorizing a portion of Scripture together. The Remember Verse focuses on a character trait of God that s highlighted in today s portion of The Big God Story. How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you. Psalm 31:19 Game: Hidden Hearts 4

5 Heart and Verse template (see Resources) Scissors PREPARE AHEAD Print copies of the Heart and Verse template, making enough for each child to have one heart. Cut out each heart, and then cut each heart in half, with a unique cut, creating a puzzle. Hide half of the puzzle pieces in the classroom and save the other halves for the children. Review the Remember Verse with the kids a couple of times. Then, pass out the heart halves you saved and tell the kids that the matches have been hidden around the classroom. Allow the kids to use their heart pieces to find the other halves of their puzzles. Once all of the hearts are found, invite the children to repeat the verse together again. Storytelling Bible Passage: 1 Kings 7 11 Storytelling Technique: Building the Temple God Is Trustworthy Bibles Chairs (4) Stones (at least 10, small or medium) Blankets (2 4, colorful) Artificial flowers (5 6) Wooden box or chest (small) Have the kids split up into three groups. Let the first group know that they will be the builders who will set up the chairs and the stones. The second group will be the decorators who will use the blankets and the flowers. The third group will be the priests who carry in the box. When Solomon became king, he had some good advice from his father, David. What did David tell Solomon? Invite responses. Yes, David told Solomon to always follow God and to obey Him because God is trustworthy. God always keeps His promises. David wanted Solomon to give God his whole heart everything about his life. God gave Solomon great wisdom, and everyone knew about the king and the nation of Israel. Before we hear more, let's pray together. Lead children in a Prayer of Release to pause, be still, and ask the Holy Spirit to quiet their hearts and minds. Israel had finally experienced rest and peace, and it was time for the temple to be built to honor God. Everyone was excited because the temple was a place where the Israelites could go to worship God. But God also reminded Solomon that the temple would just be an empty building if God did not fill it with His Spirit. Read 1 Kings 6: What God wanted most was for His people to follow Him with their whole hearts, whether they were at the temple or at home or anywhere else. 5

6 Invite the children in charge of the stones and chairs to come to the front of the room. Encourage them to arrange the chairs in a square and to use the stones to make a path leading to the square. Then have them sit back down. So many people were needed to help build the temple! God had given the many Israelites different gifts. Some were good at building, some were strong, some were creative, and some were really good artists. The Israelites used their talents to help build the temple. They were responsible for the gifts God had given them, and they used them to glorify Him! Thirty thousand men cut down trees for the building, and other men sculpted stones and helped design the rooms of the temple. They lined the temple walls with beautiful wood. Invite the children in charge of the blankets and flowers to drape the blankets over the chairs and then use the flowers to decorate the structure. Then have them sit back down. Other people helped to decorate the temple. They covered some of the walls with gold, and they carved flowers and trees into the walls. Finally, the temple was finished! It was time for the priests to bring the ark of the covenant inside and for God s presence to fill the building. Invite the children in charge of the box to carry it together and bring it inside the structure. Then have them sit back down. The priests put the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies the most special room in the temple. All of the Israelites gathered outside, and they worshipped God along with Solomon. Ask the kids to turn to 1 Kings 8:10 11 and follow along while you read. The glory of God filled the temple! What do you think it would have been like to experience that for yourself? Invite the kids to respond. The Israelites made offerings to God, and Solomon blessed the people and then prayed to God. Ask the kids to follow along as you read 1 Kings 8:23. Solomon prayed for a long time. He prayed that God would forgive His people when they repented, and he prayed that people who didn t know God would come to the temple and begin to worship Him. Solomon prayed that God would use the temple to draw people closer to Him. Solomon prayed with his whole heart he seemed to want God to have all of his heart and the hearts of everyone in Israel! Solomon worshipped God for a while, but eventually he quit following God with his whole heart and life. He began to worship other gods too he even built altars and made sacrifices to other gods. What do you think God did when this happened? Invite the kids to respond. Read 1 Kings 11:9 10 while the kids follow along. God was angry that Solomon was worshipping other gods. Eventually, God took the kingdom away from Solomon s son, and God s presence left the temple. The nation of Israel was torn into two countries because the people began fighting. But God is trustworthy. He is faithful to His promises. He protected the nation of Judah because that s where David had been king and where the promised Savior would come from someday. Solomon had an amazing opportunity to follow God with his whole heart, but he let other things get in the way. He did not stay focused on worshipping God alone, and he forgot to lead the Israelites in worshipping God alone. Sometimes this happens to us too. We forget to follow God with all that we are. Sometimes it is easy to go to church or to sing worship songs without even thinking about what it means. We can truly love God with our whole hearts because He is trustworthy. Share a time when you knew God is trustworthy. Discussion Questions What did God want Solomon to do? Why? 1 Kings 6:12 13 How did the Israelites know that God s presence had come to the temple? 1 Kings 8:

7 What were some of the things Solomon prayed to God? 1 Kings 8:22 53 Why did Solomon quit following God with his whole heart? 1 Kings 11:1 6 Why does God want us to follow Him with our whole heart? When is it hard for you to follow God with your whole heart? RESPOND// 15 min. Children reflect on what the Holy Spirit is teaching them and respond to God through creative activities and games. Heart Mosaic Children will consider how they can trust God with their whole heart and life as they create mosaic. Construction paper (11" x 14") Markers (fine-tip) Tissue paper (1 2 sheets of each color: red, pink, and white) Glue sticks (3 4) PREPARE AHEAD On a large sheet of construction paper, draw a heart shape about eight inches tall and eleven inches wide. Tear the tissue paper into two-inch pieces. Our God is trustworthy. He created us, knows everything about us, and loves us. Out of His love and goodness He has chosen to give us life and breath and gifts. It is from those gifts He has already given to us that we can respond to His goodness. What do you think it means to give God your whole heart? Pause for responses. Great thoughts. When we choose to respond to God s goodness, we are giving Him our hearts. It may not be easy to give God your whole heart, but God has given us the Holy Spirit to help guide us in trusting Him. Invite children to ponder how they can trust God with everything in their lives. Then, encourage the children to consider how they can give to others this week out of all that God has given them. Next, pass out a marker and a piece of tissue paper to each child and invite her to write down some ways she thinks God might be asking her to give Him her whole heart. The children can take what they wrote on the pieces of paper and bring them forward to the construction paper and glue them inside the heart. After everyone is finished, the pieces of tissue paper inside the heart will look like a mosaic. You can display this piece next week during the Remember & Celebrate lesson. (Optional) Building a Tower God s people built Him a temple. Today your children will build towers of snack cakes on their foreheads! 7

8 Snack cakes (5 per team) Solomon built a beautiful temple for the Lord while he was king. Building the temple was the dream of his father, David, but Solomon was the king who was able to fulfill the dream. Then, Solomon went on to build himself a house that was even more extravagant than the temple! We re going to practice building by stacking these snack cakes on each other s foreheads. Encourage the children to build their own structures on top of their foreheads. To begin, have the kids get into teams of two or three. Have each team choose one person to be the contestant. When a leader gives a signal, the members of each team should work together to stack the snack cakes on their teammate s forehead. The contestant will have to lean his head back and try to balance the snack cakes. If a snack cake falls, the teammates must pick it up and try to replace it on their teammate s head. The first team to stack the five snack cakes on their teammate s head and have the tower of cakes balance for three seconds wins. Developmentally Speaking Third and fourth graders are more coordinated than they were in lower elementary. With a better sense of balance and coordination, kids will have fun and be challenged with this activity as they try to balance snack cakes on their foreheads. BLESS// 5 min. Children receive a blessing from their leaders and sometimes one another. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide. Remember Verse cards (see Resources) HomeFront Weekly: Lesson 13 (see Resources) Recipe cards and Parent invitations (see Resources) Bible Before you bless the children in your group, pray about the blessing that God would have you give to them. Gather the children together and invite them to stand in a circle as you read the blessing from Psalm 119:2 3: Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart they do no wrong but follow his ways. Invite the group to receive a blessing from you by holding out their hands in front of themselves, palms up. May you seek God with your whole heart and life. May you follow Him and trust Him each day. When you re finished, individually bless each child with the following: 8

9 (Child s name), may you love God with your whole heart all the days of your life. Send home Remember Verse cards, the HomeFront Weekly, and the Recipe cards and Parent invitations with your kids. 9