Moses Holds Up His Hands. Exodus 17:8-16. Oct. 21. Kids will understand:

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1 4 Moses Holds Up His Hands Exodus 17:8-16 Kids will understand: The account of Moses and Joshua battling the Amalekites. That God uses believers to encourage and strengthen one another. That God wants us to encourage others without fanfare and recognition. Oct

2 Activity - Skit Parker Woods is a character who will be carried through the quarter. The skits will have an outdoor setting where Parker battles the elements while introducing and/or demonstrating the park element in some way. Parker should be dressed in outdoor gear to the hilt with plenty of camping supplies around him. He is well meaning and serious in wanting to show the kids the ropes about safe and enjoyable camping in the park, but he often runs into some kind of humorous difficulty. canteen binoculars large rock Parker is sitting on a rock taking swigs of water from his canteen and talking to himself. Parker: (looking up into trees and talking to himself) Beautiful, just beautiful! It just doesn t get any better than this out here in God s creation! (gulps in a big breath of air) Yep, just me sitting on my favorite rock! This rock isn t gonna move it s a dry stable place to sit on and rest! This rock reminds me of God it isn t going anywhere! It was here before me, and it ll be here long after I m gone. (turns to kids) Ohhhh, I guess I was in my own little world here just me and God! I think you all know me by now; my name is Parker Woods. I m just taking a little break after getting my campsite set up! (looks off into the distance and shouts) Hey, lookin good! (gives thumbs up) Your tent will be up in no time! (turns back to kids) Those are some new campers over there. I knew they could use a little encouragement setting up their first campsite. (looks over again at campers and shouts) Yeah, get a bigger rock to drive those pegs into the ground! They have to go in deeper or the tent will collapse on you during the night! (turns back and shakes his head, smiles) Yeah, this is their first time. They were using one of their cooking pans to drive the stake in the ground! (slaps leg and laughs) That would take them pert-near all day and their pan would be all beat up, too! Yesirree, everyone needs a little encouragement. I remember the first time I went camping. My dad told me to start setting up our tent while he went off to gather some firewood. I was having a terrible time! The Agape Park Ranger happened to walk by and saw I was discouraged. He gave me a hand and got me going. He told me that I was doing a real good job. That was quite a pick-me-up! I was able to get that tent set up before my dad came back! Yep, I don t care who you are everyone needs a helping hand and some encouraging words! (looks off into the distance at the other campers) Wait, no, that s not going to work! You re putting the fire too close to the tent! (stands on the rock and looks through binoculars to look closer) No, that s still not far enough wait I ll be right there to help you! (jumps off the rock) I m sorry, I gotta go those campers need some help and I am just the guy to do it! 2

3 You know in the Bible story today, Joshua went into battle against the Amalekites. Moses told Joshua he would stand up on a hill and pray for him while he fought. Then guess what? Moses got tired and he needed some encouragement and help! I wonder who helped ol Moses? Remember Parker s tip for today everyone needs a little encouragement and help and, I mean everybody! God wants us to encourage one another! Always be on the lookout for someone who needs a kind word or a helping hand. (looks off to campers and shouts) Wait, don t do that yet hold on, Parker s a comin! Object Lesson Hold up the walking stick. How many of you have seen something like this? Demonstrate walking around with the walking stick. This is used on hiking trails in a park like Agape National Park. It gives the hiker support and stability in uneven footing. It helps a person keep their balance so they are less likely to fall. crutches walking stick Hold up the crutches. Have any of you used crutches after hurting your leg or spraining an ankle? You might have seen an athlete on the sidelines with crutches after they were injured in a game. Demonstrate the crutches. The crutches provide support. They take the weight off of the injured ankle or leg so it s less painful and can heal properly. The walking stick and crutches are a great way to provide support and strength to someone when they re walking or hiking. In our story today, we re going to learn about another way to support and strengthen someone. This kind of support isn t made out of wood or metal no, not at all. WE are the support! Yep God wants us to provide support, to hold each other up and to encourage and strengthen one another! Bible Account - Video Watch the video provided, Moses Holds Up His Arms. This is the amazing story of how God used Moses and the encouragement of Aaron and Hur to give the Israelites victory over the Amalekites. Read Exodus 17:8-16 to hear the account straight from the Scriptures. Game The kids will stand in lines at arm s length from each other. If at all possible, make the lines so the kids are back-to-back rather than facing one another. All the kids will close their eyes. NO PEEKING! Read a question from the list below. They are all True/False questions. Once the question is read, ring a bell (or sound some other signal). Kids will raise "Moses Holds Up His Arms" VIDEO counter bell 3

4 both arms toward heaven for a true answer and drop both arms straight down when they think the answer is false. Kids will keep their arms in their selected position until the correct answer is revealed. For any false answers, ask the kids to shout out what would be the correct answer. Continue the game until the entire list has been completed. You had to hold up your arms for a correct answer just like Moses held up his arms during the battle. When Moses arms fell down to his side just like you lowered your arms for a false answer Joshua began to lose the battle. Questions and Answers Joshua fought against the Fly-a-kites. (False. It was the Amalekites.) The Amalekites attacked Israel s strong men at the front of the line. (False. They attacked the weak and weary at the back of the line.) Moses sent a man named Hur to lead the battle. (False. Moses sent Joshua to lead the battle.) Aaron, Hur and Moses went down in the valley to watch the battle. (False. They went to the top of a hill.) Moses held up a rod while Joshua fought. (True) Moses was strong and had no trouble holding up his arms. (False. Moses arms got tired and he needed help holding them up.) Aaron and Hur found a folding chair for Moses to sit on. (False. They got a rock.) Aaron and Hur held up Moses arms when he was tired. (True) When Moses arms lowered, the Amalekites began to win the battle. (True) God told Moses to tell Joshua that He forgave the Amalekites after the battle. (False. God blotted the names of the Amalekites from heaven!) Moses threw a huge party to remember the battle in honor God. (False. Moses built an altar to God.) God doesn t care if we ever encourage each other. (False. God wants us to encourage each other.) Discuss: Why do you think Moses had to lift his arms? If you were Joshua in battle, and looked up and saw Moses at the top of the hill, what would that mean to you? How would that strengthen or encourage you? Why is God pleased when we take the time to stand with someone and encourage them? 4

5 Puppets Note: these puppets will be used in several lessons throughout the quarter. Make or locate 2 small hats that look like ranger hats and 2 badges. 2 puppets 5 bandages You will need 2 puppets to be the Park Ranger and the Ranger Trainee. Prior to the skit, place bandages on the Ranger puppet s face and arms. It starts with the Ranger alone on the stage looking down. (enters) Good morning, ranger trainee! (doesn t look up, but softly answers) Morning, ranger. Hmmmm (enthusiastically) are you ready to learn something new today? (still looking down, shakes his head no) Oh what s the point? Yesterday I dropped the official ranger binoculars from the tree stand and they broke. I forgot to empty the trash and then I hit the bees nest with a branch and they flew out and stung you. Just look at you! Ummm, yeah yesterday was not a day to repeat, that s for sure. I ll never graduate from the ranger academy. Yes you will! Listen, we all have bad days. Yesterday wasn t a good day for you, but you learned a lot, didn t you? I did? Yes! You know not to disturb a bees nest, unless you have the right equipment on. You know to put the binocular strap around your neck so it won t fall. And, you know to put check marks next to the tasks for the day when you complete them. That way, you ll know what you ve done and what you haven t! (perks up) You know you re right! I DID learn all of those things! Thank you for encouraging me ranger! (slaps ranger on the arm at a spot where the bandage is located) You re a great trainer! I will graduate! (yells out and moves away) OUUUUUCCCHHHH! Here s the first lesson for today that you need to learn DON T smack a bee sting on someone s body! Oh, I am so sorry, ranger! (moves over and accidentally touches another one) Let me help and encourage you (moves away and yells in pain again) OUUUUCHHH! No, I don t need help stay away oh, that hurts. Go take care of your checklist while I put an ice cube on this! 5

6 Message Beforehand, put a paper grocery bag over your head and mark the eyes, nose and mouth on the bag. Cut out the openings. Also, place a small amount of Kool-Aid in a glass of water and mix it up just enough that it barely changes the color. (show slide #1) Encourage with your words. Moses told Joshua to go fight the actual battle, BUT he also told Joshua that he would stand on the hill with the rod of God in his hand. Hold a large stick in the air. What did that mean? The rod represents God s power and authority God s Word! Moses encouraged Joshua by telling him he was standing with him and praying (or interceding big word) for him as he fought! PowerPoint slides large stick - rod Kool-Aid packet clear cup spoon water pair of suspenders paper grocery bag One of the most encouraging things we can do for someone is to let them know we re praying for them that we re standing with them as they do whatever God called them to do or as they go through a trial or difficult situation. When we do this, we re actually sharing their load. We re taking some of their load off of them. The other way we can strengthen someone is by saying something kind to them or by sharing a Bible verse with them that s full of encouragement. Place the glass of water on the table. How many of you like Kool-Aid? This is a glass of Kool-Aid. What, you don t believe me? Look really close. Okay, you got me there is Kool-Aid in the glass but not much at all. It isn t very strong. In fact, it s really weak! Now, let s say this glass represents a friend of yours. She s really down. Things just aren t going well. She s weak and needs help. This Kool- Aid represents encouraging words. Add some more Kool-Aid and mix it up. You want to encourage her, so you say something kind. Look, she s getting stronger, right? Now, you tell her that you re going to pray for her. Add another spoonful of Kool-Aid and mix it up. Wow, she s getting even stronger. But you don t stop! You share a time when you were having a rough go of it and how God was there and helped you. Stir some more Kool-Aid into the glass. Hold up the glass. Oh my, look how strong she has become! This is how God wants us to encourage and strengthen one another with our words! Our words are a powerful thing. They can tear someone down or lift them up! (show slide #2) Encourage with your hands. Put on the suspenders. Do you know what these are? They re suspenders. Do you know what they do? Suspenders hold up someone s pants so their pants don t fall down around their ankles! They lift the pants up. They provide support! Aaron and Hur pitched in to provide support when they held up Moses arms. They did something physical. They used their hands to help Moses. They strengthened Him, so he could continue to support Joshua! They also brought a big rock over for Moses to sit on and be more comfortable and rest his feet. Isn t that cool how one person helped another who helped the other! The Bible tells us that Moses arms remained steady until sunset. 6

7 Sometimes, we can support someone in prayer. Other times we need to offer a hand and share the load! Both ways can encourage and strengthen someone who needs our help! (show slide #3) Encourage anonymously. Put the bag on your head. How many of you had heard of the man named Hur before today s Bible story? That s what I thought! Hur is only mentioned two times in the Bible. But, that doesn t mean that Hur was insignificant. He played an important role! We don t know much about Hur, but we don t need to either. Hur was pretty much anonymous in how he served Moses and God. He didn t call attention to himself, just like me with this bag over my head. If you hadn t just seen me put this bag on, you d have a hard time figuring out who it was. God wants us to encourage and strengthen others, but we don t do it for recognition, we do it to please God and to help others! Pull off the bag. Let s encourage with our words, encourage with our hands by doing something, and encourage anonymously. Object Lesson The bigger and heavier the blanket is, the better. Hold up the blanket and struggle with it a bit to hold it up in the air. You know, I want to stretch this blanket up in the air and it s too much for one person. Who wants to help me? Choose a volunteer to try to hold the blanket in the air. They ll struggle to keep it up. It looks like we need some more help. Choose another volunteer and try it again. They must hold the blanket straight up over their heads, arms outstretched. Now, keep those arms straight, okay? Continue to call up kids until they can lift the blanket in the air over their heads. Okay, that s better, isn t it? Now you all keep holding the blanket up while I finish this object lesson, okay? If they start to get tired, some more of you can come help. PowerPoint slide blanket Sometimes, we try to do something good and we discover it s just too big a job for one person. Or, maybe it starts out okay, but over time you just get tired and you need some help! Moses stood in prayer and support, holding up his rod toward heaven. He was fine at first, but the battle went on for most of the day. He got tired! I would have, too! Look over at the kids holding the blanket. How you guys doing? You okay? They re probably getting a little shaky by now. If other kids haven t come up to help, call some more up. (smile big) You know I ll try real hard to not go longer than 15 more minutes, okay? Hur and Aaron saw Moses needed some help and fast! They sat Moses down on a rock to rest and give him support and they lifted up his arms. The Bible says that, with the help of Hur and Aaron, Moses arms were steady for the rest of the battle! 7

8 God has given us all something to do! Sometimes we need help and encouragement along the way. It was hard to do the task I asked (name the first kid) to do. Actually, it was impossible to stretch out the blanket and keep it lifted in the air! The more people who helped the easier it became. And, as they got tired, the others came to help them. That s what God wants us to do! He wants us to look for ways to strengthen, encourage and help each other! Activity Read a scenario below. The kids will raise both arms to offer a way that the person could be encouraged. Call on several kids to try and get a variety of creative possibilities. The kids will share a way they can encourage with kind words, a Bible verse, or a testimony of when God helped them out of a similar situation. And, if appropriate to the situation, share how they offered an actual hand to help? 1. A person was just picked on by bullies and made fun of in front of several people. 2. A friend is very ill and will be in bed for days. 3. A friend was not selected to be on a team they wanted to be a member of. 4. Your sister was punished for something she didn t do and she s upset. 5. Your dad has to work this weekend and he ll miss the family picnic. 6. Your mom is overwhelmed with housework and her job. She s tired. 7. A friend s pet died. 8. Someone at school is not well liked and is lonely. 9. Your friend s dad lost his job and now the friend can t go to a summer soccer camp she was looking forward to. 10. Your dad needs to clean the garage and doesn t know where to start because the job is so huge. 11. A friend doesn t feel like God loves him. Discuss: Have you ever been in a similar situation to one of the scenarios? Did someone offer you encouragement? Have you ever actually encouraged someone in a similar situation? Why do you think God wants us to encourage one another instead of God just doing it supernaturally all the time? How do you think Moses felt when Aaron and Hur came to his aid? 8

9 Prayer Look up and read 1 Thessalonians 5:14, Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. Bibles Have you ever struggled with doing something? Maybe it was a new task, a sport, or maybe a subject in school. Have you ever had someone show patience and help you to learn and get better at something? By someone showing patience it can encourage you to slow down and work at it without being nervous, fearful and embarrassed. This verse tells us to encourage those who are timid. Timid means to be fearful of something or lack confidence. It also tells us to take care of those who are weak. We ve all needed strength from time to time to keep trying and moving forward when we re discouraged or hurt. Divide the kids into groups of 10. Assign a different area of the room to each group. Divide each group of 10 into two groups of 5 kids. One group of 5 kids will be the discouraged. The second group of 5 kids will be the encouragers. The discouraged 5 of each group will line up side-by-side. They should close their eyes and hold their arms up (like Moses did). The first encourager will quickly walk behind the first discouraged person and lightly touch the raised arms of the first person and say out loud an encouraging word to them. Then, they will move to the second kid, third, etc. until they have said a word to each discouraged kid. The second encourager starts as soon as the first encourager moves to the second kid. Each encourager follows quickly to lightly touch the outstretched arms of the kid in front of them and say an encouraging word. This needs to move quickly and should be a steady stream. Encourage kids to say something different to each discouraged kid and to be in an attitude of prayer as they move along. Once all the encouragers in the second group have said a word to each of the discouraged kids, the two groups will switch roles and repeat the process. Once everyone has had an encouraging experience, the kids will turn around and face each other. How did it feel to be encouraged by so many people? Pray over the group, encouraging them to always be ready to give patience, care and encouragement to others as they go through their day. Blessing May you always be ready to encourage those whom God places in your path. 9

10 Craft For this craft, you can use medium-size gravel or decorative landscaping rocks. The kids are going to make their own altar. They will place some of the rocks in their Styrofoam bowl. It will probably take about two handfuls for each child. You will need someone mixing the Plaster of Paris on the spot. Pour about three-fourths of a cup of plaster over the rocks. The kids will then gently tap the bowl against the table to get the plaster to move down around the rocks. Plaster sets up quickly, so don t hesitate as you pour into each child s bowl. After the victory over the Amalekites, Moses built an altar out of stones to God to thank and honor Him. Moses named the altar Jehovah Nissi The Lord is my Banner. This meant that God was a tower of strength and the means of victory that God is the one who fights for His people! Altars were significant in the Old Testament. Each time God s people saw the altar, even years later, it reminded them of what God had done for them! It encouraged and strengthened them to have hope and continue on their journey! gravel, landscaping rocks Styrofoam bowls Plaster of Paris water bucket index cards pencils Remembering what God has done for us and others can encourage and strengthen us in times of testing or when we re weak. When we share with someone else what God has done, our words can encourage that person, too! Think of a time when God helped you. Was there a time when you were weak or struggling? Did God answer your prayer for someone else? Kids will then name their altar to honor God, like Moses named his altar. They will write the name on an index card to place next to their altar. Give the kids an opportunity to share with the class the name of their altar and why they chose that. Scripture Memorization Isaiah 40:31, Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Form groups of 5 or 6 kids. One kid from each group will be Moses and hold a paper towel roll. The other kids in the group will stand shoulder-to-shoulder. Moses will stand behind the line of kids. He will tap one child with his rod the paper towel roll. That kid will shout the first word in the verse. Moses will quickly tap another kid and they will say the second word and so on until the entire verse is shouted out. Moses can jump randomly between kids and does not have to go down the line in order. Emphasize to Moses that he needs to tap his rod quickly so the players can make sense of the verse. Once they get to the last word, Moses will raise his rod straight up and the entire group will shout the whole verse together. Play another round with a different Moses. 10 PowerPoint slide paper towel rolls

11 The memory verse fits Moses and Joshua so well. Joshua trusted in God, in Moses prayers, and in victory in a very tough battle. Moses started to grow weary and faint as he held up the rod toward God. The sight of Moses standing in prayer and holding the rod of power toward God was an encouragement to Joshua. God provided the help and encouragement through Aaron and Hur to strengthen Moses, so he could continue to lift the rod. When we trust God, He will strengthen us to do His work. Oftentimes, God uses other believers around us to provide prayer, an encouraging word or a helping hand. That could be YOU! Music Every Good and Perfect Thing and Not To Us are the two DVD downloading songs that are included with this unit. These songs were recorded by Yancy, a contemporary preteen worship leader. For more information about other music by Yancy, go to yancynotnancy.com. DVD downloads Snack Hold up a pretzel rod. What do you think this has to do with today s lesson? This pretzel rod represents Moses rod that he held up to encourage and support Joshua. We re going to make our own special rods today that will be a yummy snack. Melt the milk chocolate chips over a double-boiler. The kids will hold the very end of their pretzel rod and dip it into the melted chocolate. When they bring it out, they need to hold it there for a few seconds to let the excess drip off. Now, they can hold it over their plate while shaking some sprinkles onto it. It only takes a few minutes for these to set up in the freezer, so put them out on a cookie sheet covered with a piece of waxed paper and pop them in the cold. Make sure you label who each pretzel belongs to. large pretzel rods milk chocolate chips, melted double-boiler sprinkles cookie sheet waxed paper water paper cups paper plates napkins Can you think of other times in the Bible when God used Moses rod for something? What do you think the rod represents? (God s power and the power of His Word!) What do you think Joshua felt when he saw the rod lifted up? 11