NAAMAN'S NEW SKIN. The Koala. "It Pays To Obey" Object Lesson - D. Naaman's riches could not rid him of his terrible disease.

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1 NAAMAN'S NEW SKIN 9 Scripture to Study: II Kings 5:1-14 Central Truth: Memory Verse: God's Animal: It pays to obey God even when it seems silly. Proverbs 3:5, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." The Koala Supplementary Lesson: Additional Supplementary Lesson: Object Lesson - Puppet Skit- "It Pays To Obey" "God's Medicine" Visual Aids: Servant Girl (234), N aaman Dipping (235), Elisha (236), Gehazi (237), Naaman Standing (238) Outline: I. There was a great man in Syria called Naaman. A. He was the general over all the armies of Syria and was very wealthy. B. He was very brave and courageous, too. C. But Naaman was a leper. 1. Leprosy is a terrible disease that rots away the skin. 2. Leprosy does to the body what sin does to your heart. D. Naaman's riches could not rid him of his terrible disease. IL N aaman heard that he could be healed. A. A little servant girl told his wife about Elisha, the prophet. B. Naaman had faith in the little girl's words, so he travelled to Israel to be healed. C. After a long journey, N aaman finally reached the home of Elisha. III. Reluctantly, Naaman accepted God's method to heal him. 99

2 A. Naaman wanted God to heal him in his own way, but we must be willing to do things God's way. B. Elisha refused to see Naaman, but sent Gehazi, his servant, to tell Naaman to dip in the Jordan River seven times. C. This idea seemed ridiculous to Naaman. IV. Naaman became angry and started to go home. A. Naaman's servants persuaded him to obey the prophet's instructions. B. Naaman dipped seven times in the Jordan River. l. The leprosy disappeared. 2. Naaman was healed because he obeyed God. C. Naaman had to lay down his pride to be healed. 100

3 GOD'S ANIMAL THE KOALA 9 When most people say the name of this funny-looking animal, they say he's a koala bear. But actually, koalas are not bears at all! Koalas belong to a family called marsupials, as do kangaroos, and opossums. Marsupial is the name that scientists give animals that carry their babies in pouches. Koalas come from the country of Australia, but you can now see them at many zoos around the world. They have fuzzy, gray fur and soft under-bellies to keep their babies warm in their pouches. Koalas like to hang upside down on tree limbs and they usually sleep during the daytime. The koala's favorite food is eucalyptus leaves but they sometimes dig up roots out of the ground. One thing that is very interesting about koalas is that they never drink. They get all their fluids from the special leaves that they eat. The mother koala carries her young cub in a pouch on her stomach. This pouch is like a pocket where the baby can stay warm. After the cub grows old enough, it rides up on its mother's back. When mother koala tells her young to stay near, they don't disobey. Young koalas stay very close to their mothers so they can be protected. We should be like the young koala cubs and always be mindful to stay close to God. We can stay close to Him by being obedient to His Word. When we sin, it takes us out of fellowship with God. Even though God loves us, He hates sin. Ifwe do something wrong, we should always do what the Word says and confess our sins so that we can get back into close fellowship with God. Just as the baby koala knows he is safe around his mother, we know that we are protected when we are close to our Father God. Don't let sin put you out on a limb. Stay obedient to God's Word and stick close to your Heavenly Father. 101

4 OBJECT IT PAYS TO OBEY 9 Scripture Reference: Materials Needed: To Prepare: Isaiah 1: 19, "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land." A five-dollar bill, a lady's wig or crazy clown wig, and a volunteer from your class Have all items handy in front of the class. Lesson: Is there anyone here today who would like to have a five-dollar bill? (Of course, all hands will go up.) Well, someone could go home with this brand new, crisp fivedollar bill, but to get it you must fully obey the instructions I give you. (At this time, select a child to come up to the front.) Here's what I want you to do. First of all, place this wig on your head. (If they don't want to follow any of the instructions you give them, simply choose another child arul let them sit down.) Then I need you to go skip around the classroom three times. But that's not all. I also want you to flap your arms like a bird while you skip, and you need to sing real loud, "The Joy Of The Lord Is My Strength." Have you got that? (You may want to go over all the instructions again.) Are you ready? All right. On your mark, get ready, get set, go! (As the child skips around the room, be sure to encourage them but make sure they follow your instructions fully.) All right, that was great. I didn't know you could sing like that. Tell us, didn't you feel just a little silly wearing that wig, skipping, and flapping your arms like a bird, while singing "The Joy Of The Lord Is My Strength"? But it was worth it because here's your reward for following my instructions - a five-dollar bill! (Give it to the child and have all the other children cheer and make a big deal about it.) Boys and girls, what would have happened if (Call child's name.) had not fully followed all of my instnictions? They would not have received the prize. In the same way, we must always follow the instructions of God's Word. We must obey the Word of God no matter if we think it's strange or different or if others tell us it's silly. Because it always pays to obey God's Word. Let's say this together. "It always pays to obey God's Word!" (Have the kids say it several times.)..-...,_ 102

5 PUPPET SKIT GOD'S MEDICINE 9 CHARACTERS: Power Pup, Teacher (Power Pup enters class barking and excited.) Why are you so excited, Power Pup? I got sick. That's nothing to be excited about. I know - but, I got well. I used God's Word and He healed me. Now that's something to be excited about. Tell us what happened. Well, the other day my stomach began to hurt. It really started aching. I felt terrible. What did you do? I went to the animal doctor. He looked me over and said that he couldn't tell what was wrong. Did he give you any medicine? No, he didn't know what to give me. He just sent me home and told me to rest. But your stomach was still hurting, right? Oh, yes. It was hurting more than ever. What did you do then? I did what I should have done first. I got my Bible out and found a scripture about healing. Which scripture did you find? I found I Peter 2:24. It says that by His stripes, we were healed. By whose stripes? What does that mean? Jesus was beaten with a whip and made sick. Because He took stripes on His back, we can be healed. That's right. God wants us to be well. He is a healer. He never wants us to suffer. But we have to believe His Word before He can help us. That's right. God uses His Word to bring blessings to us. If we don't believe His Word, we won't get healed. 103

6 I believe His Word. I read that scripture and said it aloud over and over. I said, "By Jesus' stripes, I am healed!" What happened? Well, my stomach kept on hurting. It didn't feel any better. You didn't quit believing God's Word, did you? No, I kept on believing God's Word. I kept praising God for taking away that stomachache. But your stomach still hurt? Even when my stomach was aching, I kept on thanking God for making me well. It's like taking medicine.. What is like taking medicine? When I believed God's Word and praised Him for healing me, I was taking spiritual medicine. The Bible is medicine and God's Word makes bodies well. It made me well. I took God's Word for one hour and then my stomach stopped hurting. God made you well. He healed me with His Word. Boys and girls can be healed with His Word, too. Let's remember when we get sick to take the best medicine there is - God's medicine. 104

7 BELSHAZZAR'S FOLLY 10 Scripture to Study: Central Truth: Memory Verse: God's Animal: Pride and rebellion bring big trouble. Proverbs 16:18, "Pride goes before trouble." The Turkey Supplementary Lesson: Puppet Skit - "Haughty Is Naughty" Additional Supplementary Lesson: Story - "The Poisoned Grain" Visual Aids: Idol (216), Daniel (239), Belshazzar (240), Hand (241), Gold And Silver Cups (262) Outline: I. King Belshazzar, the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, had a great feast. A. Belshazzar was a proud, wicked man. B. He had no respect for God ev~n though his family had experienced many workings of God's power. C. Belshazzar's big party made fun of God and brought glory to idols. 1. The people at the feast drank wine out of the gold and silver cups from God's Temple. 2. The people worshipped idols at the feast. D. Belshazzar had no excuse for being so ungodly. He had, no doubt, heard many times how God had delivered his grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar. II. During the feast, God wrote Belshazzar a message on the wall. A. The king saw the hand of God writing on the wall of the palace. B. Belshazzar became so frightened that his knees began to knock together. Everyone at the party was afraid. 111

8 C. None of Belshazzar's magic men could explain th_e words. D. Finally, Belshazzar sent for Daniel. III. Daniel interpreted the writing for the king. A. The words on the wall warned Belshazzar to listen to God and put aside his wicked ways. B. Belshazzar did not repent. 1. That night he was killed. 2. His kingdom was taken captive by his enemies. IV. Belshazzar died because he served Satan. A. God had mercy on Belshazzar by giving him the message and a chance to repent. Belshazzar refused God's mercy. B. When a man turns his back on God, he gives his soul into the hands of the enemy and opens the door for destruction. 112

9 GOD'S ANIMAL THE TURKEY 10 Have you ever heard anyone say that someone was "proud as a peacock"? Well, the peacock hasn't got a thing on his cousin, the turkey, when it comes to pride. An adult male turkey, called a tom, is about four feet long from head to tail, with beautiful feathers of metallic green, copper, and reddish-brown. However, some farmraised turkeys can be white or red in color. Tom turkeys like to strut with their heads held high and spread their tail feathers to show off. They puff their chests out and try to make themselves look bigger than they really are to impress the other turkeys. Then they make a loud cry, "Gobble, gobble, gobble!" to draw attention to themselves. The only trouble is that these proud fellows don't realize that when they draw attention to themselves, they are just asking for trouble. If the turkey is a wild turkey, the better he looks, the more hunters want to shoot him and take him home as a trophy. If the turkey is raised on a farm, the bigger he makes himself look, the more the farmer wants to make him Thanksgiving dinner! We can learn a lesson from the turkey. We shouldn't try to make ourselves look more important than others. God loves us all the same, and when we act as ifwe are better than other people, we are saying that they aren't as important to God as we are. When we become proud, we are really listening to the devil. The devil became proud and thought that he was better than God. When we think we are better than other people, we are asking for trouble. Let's always remember to give praise to God and make sure that we don't become proud like the turkey. 113

10 PUPPET SKIT HAUGHTY IS NAUGHTY 10 CHARACTERS: Power Pup, Teacher TEACHER; Hello, Power Pup. Hi, Teacher. I have something to tell you. Oh, what is it? There's an old cat named Oscar who lives by me. He's such an awful fellow. Now wait a minute. What's so awful about Oscar? Oscar is always pestering the dogs in the neighborhood. First, he steals their food. Then, when they chase him, he climbs the fence and walks away. Oh, I see. Oscar is always bragging. He tells the dogs that they'll never catch him. And I'm sure the dogs don't like to hear that. No, they don't like that at all. Oscar steals their food and then he teases them from the fence top. He says, "Ha, ha, ha, you can't catch me. I" Oscar shouldn't be so proud. Well, he's not proud anymore! No? What happened? One day he fell off the fence and ol' Bowser the bulldog got him. That should teach us a lesson. Being proud and haughty always causes us trouble. What does "haughty" mean? Well, it means that a person shows no respect for others or God. A haughty person does not obey God. Disobeying God always brings trouble. I found that out a long time ago. I am never going to be haughty. We must always remember to obey our parents and show kindness to others. I heard about a boy who would not obey his teacher. Is he haughty? 114

11 Yes, he's being haughty. Doesn't he know that he'll get into trouble? He isn't listening. And I heard that there was a little girl who takes crayons away from her friends. That's being haughty, too. She never says, ''I'm sorry," either. If you hurt someone, you should always say, 'Tm sorry." We should show kindness to others. Ifwe are kind to others, good things will come to us. That's right! Teacher, haughty sounds like naughty. Being haughty is being naughty. Well, I'm going to be kind. I'm not haughty or naughty! 115

12 STORY THE POISONED GRAIN 10 Phooey and Louie, the mouse twins, were playing hide and seek in their tiny mouse house one day when they heard a voice calling their names. "Phooey! Louie!" said the voice. "Let's play together." Phooey and Louie ran to the door to see who was calling them. It was Elmer. He lived in another house on the farm. Once every so often, Elmer came to play with Phooey and Louie. "C'mon out," said Elmer. "I've got a fun game for us to play!" Louie replied, "You always get us into trouble." Louie was right. Elmer was not a very obedient mouse and he was always getting into mischief. "We won't do anything wrong at all," pleaded Elmer. "We'll have a lot of fun, and you'll be glad you played with me." Finally the twins came out to play with Elmer. He led them out of the farmhouse and into the barnyard. The three tiny mice walked to the barn where Farmer Jones kept the feed for the cattle and horses. "You'll never guess what I found," said Elmer. "It's really neat!" "What is it?" asked Louie. "I found a hole that leads into the storage bin where old Farmer Jones keeps the oats!" said Elmer. "Oh, no," groaned Phooey. "Ifwe keep hanging around you, you'll get us into big trouble." "Why? What's wrong?" asked Elmer. "Our Mama was in the barn just the other day looking for food," Phooey answered. "She said that Farmer Jones had put some poison into some of the storage b ins... II "That's right," interrupted Louie. "We're not going to play in this barn and we're not going to crawl into the storage bins!" "Aw, do you believe everything that your mother says?" laughed Elmer. "I don't listen to my mom at all. She's just an old wind bag." "Elmer!" screamed Phooey. "Don't talk about your mother that way. She knows more than you do. That's why she warns you about playing in dangerous places." "You're just afraid, that's all," scoffed Elmer. "There is a hole in the oat bin and I'm going to crawl inside! If you guys weren't such big sissies, you'd follow me." "I'm no sissy," said Phooey. "I just know that there's poisoned grain in this barn and I'm not going to eat any ofit." 116

13 - "You're a 'fraidy-cat!" laughed Elmer. Just as Elmer said those words, Mama Mouse walked into the barn. "Phooey! Louie! Elmer!" she called. "You get out of this barn right this minute. I told you that I smelled poison in here a few days ago." "Aw, go on home," said Elmer to Mama Mouse. "I don't have to mind you. I don't want to leave this barn and you can't make me." Mama Mouse was surprised that Elmer was so rude and disrespectful. "I'm going to have a talk with your mother, Elmer." "Go right ahead," said Elmer. "She can't make me mind, either. I'm big enough to do whatever I want!" Mama Mouse left the barn and went home. She called her twins and gave them a strong warning. "Phooey, Louie, don't ever play with Elmer again. He has a poisoned attitude. He is very disobedient." "We won't play with him again, ever," said the mice. "He'll always get us into trouble." A week passed and Phooey and Louie had almost forgotten about Elmer when a faint knock came at the door. When the mouse twins opened the door, they saw Elmer lying on the step. Quickly, Phooey ran to get Mama Mouse as Louie pulled Elmer into the house. "He's very sick," said Mama, looking at Elmer as he lay in the bed. Elmer looked up at Mama Mouse. "I should have listened," he said weakly. Elmer was very sick for a whole month. When he finally got well, he had learned how to be obedient. "Obedience keeps us out of big trouble," said Phooey. "That's for certain," said Louie. Phooey and Louie were really glad that they knew how to obey. 117

14 JONAH AND THE WHALE 11 Scripture to Study: Jonah 1:1-3:10 Central Truth: Memory Verse: God's Animal: We should obey God the first time. Isaiah 1: 19, "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good of the land." The Whale Supplementary Lesson: Story - "Brindle's Icy Adventure" Additional Supplementary Lesson: Puppet Skit - "Obey The First Time" Visual Aids: Ninevites (230), Jonah (242), Nineveh (243), Whale (244) Outline: I. The Lord told Jonah to preach in Nineveh. A. Nineveh was a very wicked city where thousands of people lived. B. Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh, so he decided to run from God. 1. Jonah didn't want God to give the people of Nineveh a second chance. 2. God wanted to be merciful to Nineveh but He had to send someone there to preach to them and tell them about Him. C. Jonah caught a boat going in the opposite direction God wanted him to go. 1. We cannot run from God. 2. God's presence is everywhere. II. God sent a storm to get Jonah's attention while he was on the boat, but Jonah slept through it. A. The sailors woke Jonah up and found out that he was rnnning from doing what God had told him to do. 125

15 B. At Jonah's word, the men threw him overboard and the storm stopped. III. God had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. A. A whale swallowed Jonah. B. Jonah remained in the whale's belly for three days and three nights. C. He finally realized the awfulness of his sin and repented. 1. God heard Jonah pray out of the whale's belly. 2. God was merciful to Jonah and gave him another chance. 3. The whale spit Jonah out on dry ground. IV. Jonah finally obeyed God and went to Nineveh. A. He boldly preached God's Word. B. The whole city repented and asked for God's mercy. C. God was merciful to Jonah and to the city of Nineveh. 1. God always wants to bless us but He cannot if we won't obey H im. 2. Jonah should have obeyed God the first time. 126

16 GOD'S ANIMAL THE WHALE 11 The largest animal that has ever lived on the earth or in its waters still exists. No, it's not a dinosaur. It's God's animal the whale. Whales are very large. The blue whale can be as long as a hundred feet from nose to tail and weigh as much as fifty elephants! One thing most people don't know about whales is that they are not really fish. Whales are mammals. A fish breathes air through its gills and will die if it is kept out of water. But a whale has to come to the top of the ocean to breathe air. If you could hold a whale underwater for awhile and not let him come up for air, he would drown! Whales have a blowhole on top of their heads. When they come up for air, they blow out just like we blow out of our noses or mouths before we take another breath. Even though the whale is a gigantic creature, he still knows that he isn't as big as God. He knows that it is best to obey Him. Jonah was disobedient and wasn't going to do what God said, but Mr. Whale was right where God told him to be to swallow up Jonah and take him to Nineveh. Ifit had been left up to Jonah, the people of Nineveh would never have heard about the Lord's love for them. If that whale had been disobedient to God, Jonah never would have gotten to where he was supposed to go. But thanks to one obedient whale, a whole city was saved from destruction. Don't be like Jonah. Be like God's animal the whale and obey the first time. 127

17 STORY BRINDLE~ICYADVENTURE 11 Brindle Bear's nose began to twitch. He smelled spring in the air. He opened his eyes and looked out the door of the cave where the bear family lived. The sun was shining, and the sky was a bright, bright blue. He stretched and looked around the cave. His mother and brother were still sound asleep. "Well, I'm not going to waste such a lovely day sleeping inside this dark old cave," he muttered to himself. "I'm going out!" No sooner had Brindle reached the door than he saw his best friend, Skippy, the rabbit. "You're awake!" shouted Skippy. "Hooray, hooray. Let's go play!" Even though the sun shone warmly, there was still snow on the ground in many places. "I know what we can do," said Skippy. "Let's slide down the hill over by the pond. It's a great place to play. The snow is already packed down there, so you can go very fast. You'll love it. C'mon!" Brindle ran after his little friend, but he wasn't so sure it was a good idea. "The pond is right at the bottom of that hill. Ifwe slide down it, we'll end up in the water and get all wet," he said as they rounded the comer of the path that led to the pond. "Silly, bear," Skippy laughed. "You've been asleep all winter. Don't you know that the pond freezes over? It becomes a solid sheet of ice. All of the rabbits ice skate on it." By this time they had reached the edge of the pond. Skippy scampered out onto the ice. "See? It's perfectly safe!" Brindle carefully stepped on the edge of the slippery ice. It seemed solid enough. Just then three squirrels came sliding down the hill, onto the ice, and zipped past Brindle. "Wow, that looks like fun! Let's go, Skippy!" And with that, they ran to the top of the hill. Then Brindle heard his mother's voice. "Brindle! Brindle Bear! Where are you?" "Over here, Mama!" Brindle shouted. As Mama reached the top of the hill, she greeted Skippy. "Hello, Skippy. Did you have a nice winter?" "Yes, ma'am. I did," Skippy replied. "Mama, Mama," Brindle interrupted. "Skippy was showing me what the other animals do for fun in the winter while we're sleeping. We're going to slide down the hill by the pond. It's really fun. I saw some squirrels do it." "Brindle, honey, I don't think that's such a good idea," said Mama. "Oh, Mam.a, the pond is frozen over. I won't get wet. Besides all the other animals are doing it," Brindle pleaded. 128

18 "Yeah," said Skippy. "I asked my mom, and she said it was okay." Mama Bear was not convinced. "Brindle, you are much heavier than a squirrel or a rabbit. Remember, you are a bear cub! The ice may be strong enough to hold up one of your smaller friends, but I'm afraid it may break if you get on it. I do not want you to go on the ice. Do you understand me?" "Yes, Mama." Brindle turned to go. He and Skippy watched sadly as Mama Bear walked down the hill and out of sight. "Well," said Skippy, "you can still slide down the hill. Your mom didn't say you couldn't slide, she just said to stay off the ice. You'll just have to be sure to stop before you get to the bottom." Brindle's eyes lit up. "What a great idea. I'll just slide a little of the way down the hill. I won't have to go onto the ice." Just then a group of squirrels reached the top of the hill. They laughed and joked, and raced each other to see who could get to the bottom first. While waiting for the squirrels, Skippy showed Brindle how to lean back so he would go really fast. Then it was Brindle's turn. Skippy gave him a big push. "Whee!" Brindle yelled as he went faster and faster. Before he knew it, he was at the bottom of the hill. The pond was getting closer and closer, but Brindle couldn't stop himself. Suddenly he was on the ice. This is fun! he thought. Mama was wrong about the ice not being strong enough to hold me. He finally came to a stop way out in the middle of the pond. He hurried to his feet, eager to slide down the hill again. Just then he heard the terrible sound of the cracking ice. He looked around him. Cracks were spreading from him in all directions. He started running for the nearest bank. Crack, crack, crack! He could hear the ice giving way. Suddenly, the piece h e was standing on broke off, and Brindle plunged into the icy pond below. "Mama!" he cried, just before his head went under the cold, icy water. Mama Bear had been hiding behind a rock, waiting to see if Brindle would obey her. She ran to the edge of the pond, crashed through the ice, and swam over to her cub. He climbed onto her back and she swam to shore. Soon they were safely on the bank. Mama Bear shook the cold water off her coat, and began to gently lick her son dry. At first Brindle was too scared to say anything, but after a few minutes he said, "Mama, I'm sorry I disobeyed you. You were right about the ice." Mother Bear smiled, "I forgive you, honey." "And, Mama," the little bear continued, ''I'm so glad you were there to help me when I needed you. I love you." Mother Bear pulled her little son close and gave him a big bear hug. "I love you, too, Brindle." 129

19 PUPPET SKIT OBEY THE FIRST TIME. 11 CHARACTERS: Power Pup, Teacher Hello, Teacher. Hello, Power Pup. Did you ever hear the story about Jonah and the whale? I sure have. It's a whale of a story. Yeah, there's something fishy about the whole story. Well, it's a good story. God wanted Jonah to preach His Word to some very bad people. That's right. The people of Nineveh were very wicked. God told Jonah to warn them about their sin. He almost didn't do it. When Gold told him to go to Nineveh, Jonah went the other way. He wasn't going to obey God. He got on a boat and a bad storm came up. And Jonah finally told the sailors to throw him into the sea. When he was cast into the sea, a great fish swallowed him. Oh, boy! That was awful. I would hate to be swallowed by a whale. It would have been a lot easier for Jonah to obey. That's right. He should have obeyed the Lord. Why didn't he? Why didn't he just go to Nineveh in the first place and do what God told him to do? He didn't want the people to know about the Lord. Perhaps he was afraid that the people of Nineveh would hurt him. But God won't tell us to do things that will hurt us. You're right. God knew that the people of Nineveh would listen to Jonah. Boy, Jonah could have saved a lot of trouble ifhe would have obeyed God the first time. Do you obey your mother the first time she tells you to do something? 130

20 Oh, yes! If I don't obey my mother the first time she tells me to do something, I get a spanking. Obeying the first time is the way to stay out of trouble. The whale spit Jonah out on the beach. God saved his life. Do you know where Jonah went when he came out of the whale? He went to Nineveh! That's right. When he went to Nineveh, he warned the people that their sin was going to get them into big trouble. What happened next? The whole city asked God to forgive them. All the people prayed. That's right. If Jonah had listened to God the first time, he would have had no trouble. I'm going to obey the first time. I'm going to practice. What are you practicing? I'm going to obey my mother the first time she tells me to do something so that when I get big, I can obey God the first time. That's a great idea, Power Pup. If children don't obey their parents, when they grow up, they won't obey God. 131

21 HEZEKIAH'S PRAYER 12 Scripture to Study: Central Truth: Memory Verse: God's Animal: II Kings 18: 1-19:37 When we sin, we should ask for forgiveness. I John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive our sins." The Polar Bear Supplementary Lesson: Additional Supplementary Lesson: Object Lesson - Puppet Skit - "God's Forgiveness" "God Will Forgive You" Visual Aids: Outline: Angel (215), King Hezekiah (245), Isaiah (246), Enemy Army (233) I. When Hezekiah became king of Judah, he rid the land of idol worship and wickedness. A. The Assyrians, a wicked nation, had forced the Israelites to pay money to them. B. At first, King Hezekiah refused to pay this money because the Assyrians worshipped idols and used the money to destroy the kingdom of God. C. When the Assyrians heard of Hezekiah's refusal, they sent a huge army and conquered most of Judah. D. Hezekiah began to operate in fear, and agreed to pay Assyria the money they demanded. 1. Hezekiah sinned and took the gold and silver out of God's Temple to pay the Assyrians. 2. Hezekiah should have resisted fear and not given in to the enemy. II. Soon, the Assyrians became dissatisfied with the money Hezekiah was paying them. A. The devil can never be satisfied. If you give him ground, he will never stop trying to steal from you. 137

22 B. Three of Assyria's highest officers came to Judah and demanded more money. 1. They insulted God and told the people of Judah that the idols of Assyria were mightier than God. 2. The Assyrians decided to make war on God. III. God never leaves His people. A. King Hezekiah humbled himself and went to the Temple to talk to God. 1. It would have been better if he had prayed earlier. 2. Don't wait until things become hard before you pray to God. B. The Lord told His prophet, Isaiah, to tell Hezekiah that the Assyrians were defeated because they were fighting against God. C. That same night, God sent one angel to fight for Judah. 1. The armies of Assyria were defeated at the hand of God's angel! 2. God had won the battle for Judah before it was ever fought. D. It never pays to fight against God or His people. E. God delivers those who call on His Name. 138

23 GOD'S ANIMAL THE POLAR BEAR 12 Polar bears live in the arctic regions of the world, where the ground is covered with ice and snow. They never gbt cold, b~cause their thick coats keep them warm during even the worst of blizzards. The polar bear is one of the largest of all bears and can easily kill a seal or a wolf. This great white bear doesn't have to worry about very many enemies. Because of his size, he is relatively safe from attack. His powerful jaws and strong legs allow him to do just about anything he wants to do in the icy regions where he lives. If he is threatened, he can just stand up tall on his hind legs and scare away almost anything or anyone that comes his way. If you have ever seen a polar bear at a zoo, you know that he is easily spotted among the other bears because of one tlring - his shaggy white hair. God made the polar bear white for a reason. In the icy lands where he lives, Mr. Polar Bear can hide himself in the snow and sneak up on his food. If a polar bear's hair were dirty and brown, he would stick out like a sore thumb on the white snow and ice. God wants our hearts to be pure and clean. Sin makes our hearts dark and dirty. When Mr. Polar Bear's coat gets brown, he can swim in the ocean and wash the dirt away. When we do something that makes our hearts dirty, we can confess our sins, and God will forgive us and make us white as snow. Because Jesus paid the price for our sins, all we have to do is obey God's Word and tell Him when we have done something wrong. Because of the blood of Jesus, He will forgive us and make us to stand clean and white before God. Let's learn a lesson from the polar bear and ask for forgiveness when we do wrong. Then we will keep our hearts clean and pure. 139

24 OBJECT GOD'S FORGIVENESS 12 Scripture: Materials: To prepare: I John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive. " our sms. 1 piece of red construction paper, 1 clear piece of mylar (transparency film), a black dry erase marker, and a red cloth (You may use a black non-permanent marker and a damp red cloth, if you prefer.) Cut the red construction paper and the mylar film together in the shape of a heart. Staple the mylar heart on top of the construction paper heart. Have the heart, marker, and cloth ready for an appropriate time in the lesson. Lesson: Once there was a boy named Billy who was a Christian. Billy always tried to obey his mom and dad and do what God's Word said he should do - until one Saturday afternoon. On that day, all the boys in Billy's neighborhood were going to go to the fishing hole to catch some fish. They had invited Billy to go, but when Billy asked his mother for permission, she said that he could go as soon as he finished cleaning up his room. Billy hated to clean his room more than anything in the whole world - especially when it looked like it did that Saturday afternoon. Billy's room was a mess, and he knew that the neighborhood boys would be leaving for the fishing hole in half an hour. By the time Billy cleaned up his room, the boys would be gone. Then Billy had an idea. He took all of his toys, all of his dirty clothes, and everything that was lying out in his room and hid it under his bed. (Make a big black mark on the mylar over the constructwn paper heart, representing Billy's sin. Explain to the children fhat sin makes ugly scars on our hearts if we allow it to stay.) He carefully pulled the bedspread over the bed so it touched the floor, and ran downstairs to tell his mother that his room was clean. "Mom, my room is clean," Billy lied. (Make another black mark on the mylar covering the red heart.) Billy's mother headed up the stairs to see how well Billy had done his job. 140

25 "Billy! Shame on you," Mom said when she lifted up the bedspread. "Because you lied to me, you're grounded for a week. Now clean up your room." Mom shut the door behind her and went back down the stairs, leaving Billy to clean up his mess. "You're grounded for a week," Billy said mocking his mother. (Make another black mark on the heart.) Billy began to throw his clothes and toys as he stomped around the room. Billy reached down and picked up his piggy bank which was lying on the floor and he hurled it at the wall, smashing it into a thousand pieces., (Make another black mark.) Billy's sister, Joanie, came into the room to see what all the commotion was about. "Get out of my room, nosey!" Billy yelle~. (Make another black mark.) Joanie ran out and slammed the door. When the room was all quiet, something began to gnaw at Billy's heart. Ifwe confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive our sins. Billy felt his own heart convicting him of his sin. He knew that he needed to confess his sins and ask God to forgive him. Billy closed his eyes and began to pray. "Dear Heavenly Father, I'm sorry that I hid my things under my bed and disobeyed my mother. I'm sorry that I lied and made fun of her, and I'm sorry that I got mad and yelled at my sister. Please forgive me and make my heart clean again. In Jesus' Name, Amen." AB Billy prayed that prayer, a wonderful thing happened inside his heart. All the black marks that sin had made there were wiped away. (Take the cloth and wipe the marks off the mylar-covered heart. Explain that no matter how badly we may have sinned, God is always ready to forgive us and cleanse us when we go to Him.) Then Billy began to clean up his room. He put all the toys in his toybox, and put all his dirty clothes in the laundry basket. He made his bed, and he swept up the broken piggy bank and threw it away. When Billy was finished, he went to his mother and his sister and apologized for what he had done. And from that time on, Billy did his best to keep his heart clean from sin. 141

26 PUPPET SKIT GOD WILL FORGIVE YOU 12 CHARACTERS: Power Pup, Teacher Power Pup enters crying. What's the matter, Power Pup? Why are you crying? I've done something terrible. I shouldn't have done it. Well, what did you do? I'll never be the same again. Power Pup, will you tell me what it is that's bothering you? I disobeyed my mother and then I told her a lie. She told me not to get out of the yard while she went to the store. Did you get out of the yard? Yes, I went across the street to my friend's house while mother was gone. When she got back, she asked me if I stayed in the yard. What did you tell her? I told her a lie. I told her that I stayed in the yard the whole time. You feel very bad about it, don't you? Yes. I feel terrible on the inside. I guess that I'm just a rotten puppy. Wait a minute! Don't say that. A really rotten puppy wouldn't even feel bad about doing wrong. Well, I did wrong and I feel bad about it. But that's a good sign. A good puppy feels guilty when he does wrong. Bad puppies do wrong and they don't even care that what they did was evil. I don't want to feel bad, though. What can I do to be happy again? You need to ask God to forgive you. He will make you clean in your heart again. God would forgive me even when I told a lie? Sure If e would. Jesus died on the cross so that we could be forgiven of our sins. God wants to forgive you, but you've got to ask Him. What about my mom? You need to tell her what you did. 142

27 But I might get a spanking. You might, but you won't be happy until you make things right. You're right. Even if I do get a spanking, I'm going to my mother and tell her what I did. And I'm going to pray and ask forgiveness. Jesus will be pleased with that. Why don't you pray right now? Dear Heavenly Father, please forgive me for telling my mother a lie and for disobeying her. I'm going to tell her the truth even if I get a spanking. I thank You for making my heart clean again. I believe I am forgiven. In Jesus' Name, Amen. That's great, Power Pup. Now you'd better go tell your mom what happened. All right. Thanks for telling me what God's Word says. If you do something wrong, ask God to forgive you. Don't let bad things stay in your heart. 143