God Is Powerful. April 30, Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

Transcription

1 April 30, 2017 God Is Powerful DATE PONDER POINT John 9:1 12 (Healing the Blind Man) THE BIG GOD STORY Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. Psalm 147:5 REMEMBER VERSE Worship & Welcome (5 minutes): Begins class creating an inviting atmosphere for kids to feel welcome and to worship in song. Celebrate (10 minutes): Establishes community and engages kids, drawing them in and preparing them to hear God s word. The Big God Story (15 minutes): Creates space for children to hear God s word. Small Groups (20 minutes): Kids respond in small groups to what they heard in the Big God Story. Remember Verse & Bless (5 minutes): Allows children to practice their memory verse and be sent out with a sense of peace so they can be a blessing to others. GOAL: Worship & welcome is all about engaging kids and helping them enter into worship, letting them know that class has begun preparing their minds for what they are going to hear. WELCOME: IMAGE: Welcome We are so glad you are here at Critter Land today. If you brought offering, you can go put it in the squirrel feeder right when you come in. OPENING WORSHIP SONG: VIDEO: (9:00 & 11:30) Hosanna Rock VIDEO: (10:15) Jesus By My Side 1

2 GOAL: Establishes community and engages kids, drawing them in and preparing them to hear God s word. Kids get to participate in various worship elements such as offering, scripture memorization and their curiosity is peaked as they discover what will be in the wardrobe of wonder. RULES MAIL TIME VIDEO: CHLOE S RULES VIDEO: Mail Time Intro IMAGE: Remember Verse Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. Psalm 147:5 Motions: Great is our Lord: Make L with right index finger and thumb. Move the L from right shoulder to left hip. and mighty in power: Bring arms up to strong man pose. his understanding: Place open palm at forehead and move outward. has no limit: Shake head. WORSHIP IN SINGING VIDEO: (9:00 & 11:30) - God of Love VIDEO: (10:15) - Jesus I Will Follow VIDEO: Wardrobe of Wonder Intro Choose 1 volunteer. Volunteer picks two hats from wardrobe one for himself, one for host. Tell other kids to put on their imaginary thinking caps. Volunteer peeks in the What s It box. Host gives 3 clues, kids get to vote on what they think it is. WARDROBE OF WONDER What sit: 9:00 Dirt 10:15 Mud play dough Then as host you say. If you think our clue is a, raise your hand. If you think our clue is a, raise your hand. If you think our clue is a, raise your hand. Let the child volunteer tell which answer is correct! ASK: (Volunteer's name), what does the dirt feel like? Where do we find dirt? Allow all children to answer. What do we do with it? Interact with responses. We grow things with it. I wonder how it will be a part of The Big God Story today. Let s find out! Do you know what time it is? It s time for 2

3 Point out that what kids are about to hear is true and is recorded in the Bible. Open your Bible to the passage and leave it open and visible throughout The Big God Story. Invite kids to open their Bibles and follow along as you storytell. Children respond to what the Holy Spirit is teaching them as they reflect on the day s portion of The Big God Story. The Prayer of Release allows children and leaders to pause, be still, and ask God to quiet their hearts and minds. Before you pray, you might ask the kids to hold out their hands, palms up, in a spirit of releasing their worries and distractions in order to better receive what the Holy Spirit might have for them today. Then encourage the kids to quiet their voices, take a seat, and pray with you. The Big God Story: Container of dirt Container of water Paper towels Video: The Big Story Intro Storyteller Script Leader Tip As you re storytelling this week, you ll be making and using mud as a visual for the children. When you reach the point where Jesus makes mud, begin to mix your own mud in the container with the dirt. Talk about how the mud feels, looks, smells, etc. In the section where the man is washing in the pool, rinse your own hands in the container of clean water. RELATE God s story is so good! Before we talk about another part of His story, let's pray and ask Him to teach us. Lead children in a Prayer of Release to pause, be still, and ask the Holy Spirit to quiet their hearts and minds. Today I want to tell you a part of The Big God Story that s about Jesus and a man who was blind. It was like his eyes were turned off and he couldn t see anything. He was blind from the day he was born until the day he met Jesus. Pause. I wonder what it would be like if we couldn t use our eyes to see. Let s use our imaginations. Close your eyes and put your hands over them. I ll do it too. What do you see? Children respond. Is there light or darkness with your eyes covered? Children answer. Now, uncover your eyes. What do you see? Children respond. Does it seem really bright and colorful now? Children answer. Imagine what it would be like to have your eyes covered every day. How you swing on a swing would be different. How you draw a picture, 3

4 play games, and read stories with your mom and dad would be different too. Since the blind man couldn't see, he wasn't able to have a job like other people. So he probably had to sit by the road and ask people to give him money so he could buy the things he needed. It was a hard life. But the day he met Jesus was a great day. When Jesus and His disciples saw the man, Jesus went to him (begin mixing the mud), spit into the dirt, and made mud. He made what? Pause for responses. He made mud! Just like you did earlier. Well, He didn t stop there! Jesus took the mud and put it all over the man s eyes! Go, Jesus told him, wash in the Pool of Siloam. So, the man followed Jesus directions. He went to the pool and washed his eyes just as Jesus said. Wash hands in clean water. What do you think happened? Children respond. The man wasn t blind anymore! He could see! He could see everything. Do you think he could see the sky? Children answer. Could he see the clouds? Children respond. What about the flowers and trees? Children answer. Yes, he could now see everything and everyone! God s power healed the man s eyes. Jesus used regular mud to heal the man s blindness. But was it the mud that healed the blindness? No! Who took away the blindness? That's right! God is powerful, and His power took away the man's blindness. The man would get to see what his mom and dad looked like for the very first time! When the man returned home, all his neighbors asked each other who he was. They didn t recognize him, and some people didn t even believe he was the same person. But it was the very same man they once knew as the blind beggar. Was that a great day? Children respond. Yes, the day this man met Jesus was a very great day! Jesus knew that when people saw and heard how the man had been healed, they would be able to see that God is powerful. Because the blind man was healed, he was able to tell everyone he met about how God's power had healed him. Why do you think Jesus wanted people to see how powerful God is? Interact with children's responses. Good thinking! God is powerful, and He wants to show His power in our lives too. 4

5 GOAL: Kids respond in small groups to what they heard in the Big God Story. Blind Man Puppet SUPPLIES: Blind man happy and sad face (one each per child) Craft stick (one per child) Stapler Crayons 2 bandages per kid for sad man. 1. Pass out the Sad man and Happy man templates to the kids. 2. Place crayons in the middle of the table so all kids can reach. Explain to the children that the Sad man is the Blind man before Jesus healed him and Happy man is the same man after Jesus healed him. 3. Have them color both pictures. 4. When finished let the kids put band aids on the sad man eyes to show he is still blind. 5. Pass out craft sticks writing their names on the craft stick with sharpie marker. 6. Use the stapler or tape to tape the craft stick to the back of the Happy man, and then place the Sad man on the other side of the craft stick to make a puppet. One side is before Jesus healed, and the other side is after Jesus healed the blind man. Have kids practice the story: Hold up blind man side. (This man is very sad because he has been blind since birth. But he hears about Jesus and he calls out and asks Jesus to heal him. Jesus puts mud on his eyes..)then flip the puppet over) Now he can see! Jesus healed the blind man!!!!! I wonder...what did the blind man think when Jesus put mud on his eyes? I wonder...what did the mud feel like? I wonder.what was the blind man most surprised by when he finally could see? I wonder.how the blind man felt when he saw his first sunrise or sunset? I wonder...what things made the man happy now that he could finally see them? 5

6 GOAL: Kids respond in small groups to what they heard in the Big God Story. Mud Playdough SUPPLIES: Mud playdough (one baggie per child) Name labels that say John 9: 1-12 (Use your clip board to write the names of your students) Googly Eyes (one pair per child) Pass out the baggies of playdough to the children. Tell them that they each have 2 googly eyes with their playdough. Have them play with their playdough making faces and pretending to put mud on the eye s of the blind man, and cleaning the eyes. Talk about the Big God Story while kids enjoy playing with their dough. While kids play with their dough, write their names on the labels provided and then pass out to the children to put on their baggies. Ask wonder questions while kids play with their dough! Allow kids to take home their playdough and googly eyes. I wonder How did the man feel when he saw his friends and family for the first time? I wonder What did the man think about when he saw Jesus? I wonder How does God want to show His power in my life? 6

7 Review the Remember Verse: Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. Psalm 147:5 REMEMBER VERSE MOTIONS Great is our Lord: Make L with right index finger and thumb. Move the L from right shoulder to left hip. and mighty in power: Bring arms up to strong man pose. his understanding: Place open palm at forehead and move outward. has no limit: Shake head. Blessing: Send your little ones out with a blessing by praying Scripture over them. The time of blessing is an opportunity for children to practice another physical posture of worship. Have children place their hands out in front of themselves, palms up as if cupping them together to hold water. This is a posture that demonstrates our willingness to receive what God has for us. Read the Remember Verse over the children (you may choose to read through the Scripture more than once as God s Spirit leads you): Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit. Psalm 147:5. Then bless each child with the following words: (Child s name), may you see God s great power every day of your life. Have leaders come up to the front of the room and bless the group in unison. May you follow Jesus each day. May you always remember that God made you, and He loves you. May the people who don t yet know Jesus see His love and power in your life. VIDEO: In This Life 7

8 When I was a kid, I was known to be highly social and talkative. Passionately blurting out my thoughts and opinions without pause proved on more than one occasion to be detrimental to me and to others. I often felt as if my heart was misunderstood. How I was designed and my own humanity were at war, and this was a battle God had to win! God did win this battle in my life. Every now and again a passionate blurt comes flying out, but I seek to choose my words and timing carefully. God has changed me and refined who I am. He has given me His Son as my model, and I truly experience freedom as a result. It is because of His transforming presence that people are able to see Christ in me. Our lives were designed for a unique purpose to display for the entire world the work of God in who we are. When God s power is at work in our lives, we re no longer identified by the things that bind us or break us. No, Christ identifies us as His and restores us. This serves as a model of Christ s power to those who have yet to find redemption through Christ. To God be the glory, forever and ever. Cristi Thomas Tru Team As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? Neither this man nor his parents sinned, said Jesus, but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him (John 9:1 3). The narrative continues with Jesus healing the man and giving him sight. His life was completely transformed. In Jewish culture of the time, most trades would be very difficult to perform without sight. The testimony of the blind man s neighbors indicates that this man couldn t practice a trade. Instead, he sat and begged. This healing wasn t just the gift of sight; it was also the gift of dignity and purpose. The man was now free to learn a skill, a trade that could take him off the street freed from a life of begging and dependence upon the compassion of those who passed by. With his sight, he had a new position within his community. This man was now known by something other than his blindness. Scripture tells us the people in the man s community questioned him about what had happened. The religious leaders didn t intimidate the blind man. When questioned, he answered boldly and with confidence in the truth. When he was thrown out of the synagogue, he was met by Jesus and proclaimed his faith in Him as Lord. The man who was once a blind beggar was now a man with physical and spiritual sight. He was completely transformed as a result of knowing Jesus and experiencing the power of God in his life. His new life was now on display for the world to see and know the power of God. 8

9 Read John 9:1 12. How ridiculous would it have been for this man, who was given sight, to return the very next day to the place where he would sit and beg? If he were to wake up the next morning, put on his beggar s clothes, and place a blindfold around his eyes, wouldn t you think he was crazy? At the very least, you d have to think he was completely unaware of his transformation. Pause for just a moment and think. Is there any area in your life where you re still wearing beggar s clothes? Are you living with the feeling of being trapped by circumstance or how you once lived? If we looked to the Lord Jesus as our model for all our life, how different would life be? How would our lives impact the lives of others? Would we be known by the things that enslaved us, or by the One who had freed us? This week, as you re preparing for this lesson, may God reveal to you just how special you are. Ask Him to release you from the things that bind you and keep you from living in the freedom He has given you. May the power of our Lord be on display within your heart and in your life. 9