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 Broken Objects Although Solomon was a wise king, as years went by he did not choose to trust God with his whole heart and life. Lead students in a CONNECT activity where they will look at various things that are only parts of a whole. Answer template (see Resources) Random objects (5 10, examples: stove knob, adhesive bandage, picture frame) Pens or pencils Table PREPARE AHEAD Print one Answer template for every two children. Break common objects apart and have kids try to guess what they are a part of (such as a stove knob, an adhesive bandage cut in half, or the broken pieces of a picture frame). Spread all of the items out on a table for kids to see. 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. Invite kids to spend some time trying to identify objects that are now only parts of what they used to be. Invite kids to work in pairs and look at the different objects that have been broken. Ask: What do you think this was when it was whole? Have kids write their answers on the Answer templates. When all of the pairs are finished, share what the correct answers are and let each pair see how many they guessed correctly. GATHER// 30 min. Children experience and learn more about God through prayer, storytelling from The Big God Story, an investigation into God s Word, and creative ways to memorize Scripture. 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. 4

5 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 Heart and Verse template (see Resources) Scissors PREPARE AHEAD Print copies of the Heart and Verse template, making enough for each student 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: Drawing God Is Trustworthy Bibles Butcher paper (3' x 3') Markers (10, multiple colors) Tape SET UP Tape the butcher paper to the wall at a height the children can reach. When Solomon became king, he had some good advice from his father, David. Does anyone remember what that advice was? Invite responses. Yes, David told Solomon to always follow God and to obey Him because God is trustworthy. He always keeps His promises. David wanted Solomon to give God his whole heart. God gave Solomon great wisdom, and everyone knew about the king and the nation of Israel. 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. Invite a volunteer to read 1 Kings 6:12 13 while the kids follow along in their Bibles. What God 5

6 wanted most was for His people to follow Him with their whole hearts, whether they were at the temple or at home or anywhere! 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 a volunteer to come up and draw a large building in the center of the butcher paper. He can then draw a big tree to the right of it. Other people helped to decorate the temple. They covered some of the walls with gold, and they carved the walls, making flowers and trees. They added precious, golden decorations to the temple. Ask a volunteer to come up and draw some flowers near the base of the drawing of the building. She can also add in some swirls or details to the building with different colors. Finally, the temple was finished! It was time for the priests to bring the ark of the covenant inside, and God s presence to fill the building. Ask a volunteer to come up and draw a small box at the bottom left of the temple. He can add two winged angels to the top of the box to represent the ark of the covenant. 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. Invite a volunteer to read 1 Kings 8:10 11 while kids follow along. The glory of God filled the temple, and it was amazing! A cloud came down and filled the whole place. Ask a volunteer to come draw a large cloud on the top right of the paper. What do you think it would have been like to experience that for yourself? Invite the kids to respond. It was a wonderful day in Israel! The people made many offerings to God, and Solomon blessed the people and then prayed to God. Invite a volunteer to read 1 Kings 8:23 aloud. God had kept His promises to His people. He could be trusted. King Solomon prayed for a long time that day. Ask a volunteer to come draw a crown on the top left of the paper. 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 that day. Why do you think Solomon prayed so seriously that day? Invite responses. Yes, he seemed to want God to have all of his heart and the hearts of everyone in Israel! God told Solomon that He was present at the temple. But still, Solomon needed to obey God s way and follow Him with his whole heart and life. God had given Solomon the responsibility of taking care of the whole kingdom of Israel. He was supposed to lead the people in following God and all of His ways. If Israel turned from God, He would take His Spirit from the temple. Invite a volunteer to come up and draw a large heart over the temple in the center of the paper. Solomon worshipped God for a while, but eventually he quit following God with his whole heart. 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. Encourage a volunteer to read 1 Kings 11:9 10 aloud. God was angry that Solomon was worshipping other gods. Eventually, he 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. However, God is trustworthy. He is faithful to His 6

7 promises. He protected the nation of Judah because that s where David had been king and from where the promised Savior would come 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 always 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 8:10 11 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? Who is someone you know who follows God with her whole heart? RESPOND// 15 min. Children reflect on what the Holy Spirit is teaching them and respond to God through creative activities and games. Giving Him My Heart Children will use modeling clay as they consider how they can trust God with their whole hearts and lives. Modeling clay (about 4 oz. per child) Toothpicks (1 2 per child) 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. What is inside your heart? Pass out modeling clay to each child and invite her to shape a heart out of clay. Then, have children use toothpicks to write and draw pictures on their hearts that represent things in their hearts, such as family, hobbies, friends, and interests. It is from these gifts that He has already given us that we can respond to His goodness. What do you think it means to give God your whole heart? Allow responses. Great thoughts. When we choose to respond to God s goodness, we are giving Him our hearts. And we have the Holy Spirit inside us to help us trust Him with everything in our lives. 7

8 Invite kids to spend some time asking the Holy Spirit if there are things in their lives that might be preventing them from giving God their whole hearts. After a few moments, encourage the children to consider how they can give to others this week out of all that God has given them. Next, share that the kids can take their hearts and reshape them, this time writing ways they feel the Holy Spirit might be telling them to give their hearts fully to Him this week. When children finish, invite them to bring their hearts forward and place the clay shapes together to symbolically declare their willingness to give God their whole hearts. If possible, leave the clay hearts on display through next week s Remember & Celebrate lesson. Developmentally Speaking Cognitively, fifth and sixth graders are developing their abstract thinking skills more and more. This age group will likely be very good at unpacking the concept of what is in their hearts and giving their whole hearts to God. Challenge your fifth and sixth graders with this topic, and help them stretch their faith muscles. (Optional) Egg Tower God s people built Him a temple. In this activity, children attempt to create a tower with eggs and cardboard rolls. Hard-boiled eggs (8) Cardboard rolls (8, 4" 8" long) Timer While he was king, Solomon built a beautiful temple for the Lord. 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 as we race to construct a tower with these eggs and cardboard rolls. Invite kids to race to build a tower by balancing eggs on cardboard rolls. To begin, divide the class into two teams. Give each team four cardboard rolls and four eggs. Then, set a timer to 60 seconds and have each team work together to build a tower by balancing four layers of eggs and cardboard rolls, beginning with a cardboard roll on the bottom. The first team to successfully build a tower that can stand for three seconds without falling wins. 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) 8

9 HomeFront Weekly: Lesson 13 (see Resources) Recipe cards and Parent invitations (see Resources) Bible Before you bless the students 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: (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