Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Matthew 12:1 14 Sabbath

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1 April 29, 2018 God Is the Lord of the Sabbath DATE PONDER POINT Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. Matthew 12:1 14 Sabbath John 17:3 THE BIG GOD STORY REMEMBER VERSE Welcome and Worship (15 minutes) The large group room will be divided into three sections. Please help kids find which section they should sit in according to their grade: 1st2nd, 3rd-4th & 5th-6th. Toward the end of small group time, A/V Tech will play the 2 minute warning sound followed by a song. During or immediately following the song please regroup in the large group meeting space (not before). 5th & 6th graders can go directly to Snack Shack after small group time, rather than regrouping in the large group space. Begins class creating an inviting atmosphere for kids to feel welcome and engage kids in worship through singing and communion. The Big God Story (18 minutes) Creates space for children to hear God s word and prepare respond to the Holy Spirit in small groups Small Groups (20 minutes) Kids will build relationships with each other and their leaders, and respond to what they learned in the Big God Story as well as how to apply it to their lives Bless & Dismiss (4 minutes) Bless kids to send them out with a sense of peace so they can be a blessing to others. SCHEDULE Large Group Small 2 Min Group Warn. Regroup/ Dismiss 5th-6th 1st Service (9:00) 9:00 9:33 9:53 10:00 2nd Service (10:15) 10:15 10:48 11:08 11:15 3rd Service (11:30) 11:30 12:03 12:23 12:30 Host Administrative To Do s: Make sure no group is too large Make sure each group has enough supplies Close curtains and divider wall for small groups at 9:00 and 10:15 (and re-open after 9:00) Cue the tech when to play the 2 minute warning with song. Call names for dismissal after blessing 1

2 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 (Host): Stage Lights On VIDEO LOOPS: Welcome Loop, 5 Min Countdown, Welcome Image We are so glad you are here today. Welcome the kids in your own words then lead into Information about the Generous Project. When finished with Generous Project say the following to the kids: Let s all stand and hear God s word and sing our praise to Him OPENING WORSHIP SONG (Worship Leader): Turn out main overhead lights REMEMBER VERSE VIDEO WORSHIP VIDEO 1: Better Than the Best Thing WORSHIP VIDEO 2: Your Love Never Fails (Direct kids to get with their groups and circle up with their small group leader before sitting down) SMALL GROUP CONNECT IMAGE CONNECT QUESTIONS (Host): 4 MINUTE COUNTDOWN VIDEO What is your favorite way to relax? What do you do when you are really tired? What has been your favorite vacation so far? Where would you go for vacation if you could choose anywhere? TIMELINE VIDEO (Storyteller) The Big God Story: 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: This 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. 2

3 The Big God Story: Whistle Small top-coil notebook Pen Optional: pillow, pajamas or robe, eye mask (not provided) Storyteller Script Enter carrying pillow and yawning widely. It feels so good to rest. You know, I think God knows how good it feels to rest because He created a whole day of rest. Does anyone know what it s called? Invite responses. That s right! The Sabbath. Think back to the very beginning of The Big God Story, when God created the world. How many days did God take to create everything? Invite responses. Exactly six days. On the seventh day, what did God do? Invite responses. Yes, He rested! Stretch and yawn again. That feels great. Why don t you try it? Prompt kids to stretch and yawn. Did God rest because He was tired? Invite responses. Of course not. God never gets tired. God rested to show us what s best for us. And resting doesn t just mean taking a nap what other things can we do to rest on the Sabbath? Invite responses. Great thoughts. We can have a barbecue with friends, play frisbee in the park all kinds of things. God tells us in the Ten Commandments to remember the Sabbath and to keep it holy. What does it mean to keep the Sabbath holy? Invite responses. Good thinking. To keep the day holy means we remember that it s a day to be set aside to be different from every other day in the week. When we remember the Sabbath, we re remembering God and following His example. God is the Lord of the Sabbath. Before we discover more, let s pause and ask God to teach us today. Lead kids in a Prayer of Release to pause, be still, and ask the Holy Spirit to quiet their hearts and minds. One of God s laws to His people, the Israelites, commanded them not to do any kind of work on a Sabbath day. But religious leaders in Jesus day had their own opinions about what was work and what wasn t. These leaders thought way too hard about what work really meant. They made more and more rules about what God s people could and could not do on a Sabbath day. Pull out notebook and look around the room. Find several children breaking random rules. For each rule, blow whistle angrily, scribble on notebook as if writing a ticket, rip out paper, and throw it to the floor. Examples: You re wearing red! No wearing red on the Sabbath. And you re wearing brown shoes! No brown shoes on the Sabbath. The religious leaders man-made rules became so complicated that the people found it hard to follow them. But that wasn t what God designed. God is the Lord of the Sabbath. He looks at the heart, not just how we look on the outside. Let s take a look at a Sabbath day in Galilee many, many years ago. Invite kids to open their Bibles to Matthew 12:1 and follow along as you read. Tech: Cue Grain image. One Sabbath day Jesus walked through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry. So they began to break off some heads of grain and eat them. To eat the heads of grain, the disciples plucked a bit of grain and rubbed it in their hands before eating it. Let s do this together. Prompt kids to pretend to pluck and rub grain in hands. Blow 3

4 whistle and pretend to angrily write a ticket. Rip out ticket and throw on ground. The disciples were breaking a rule! Read v. 2 2 The Pharisees saw this. They said to Jesus, Look! It is against the Law to do this on the Sabbath day. But your disciples are doing it anyway! You see, the religious leaders thought that picking the grain was like harvesting it, which was considered work. This broke a Sabbath law. The religious leaders were angry with Jesus for allowing His disciples to break this law. Jesus reminded them of a story from the life of King David. At this time in David s life, he was running away to hide from King Saul. Read vv. 3 4 as kids follow along. 3 Jesus answered, Haven t you read about what David did? He and his men were hungry. 4 So he entered the house of God. He and his men ate the holy bread. Only priests were allowed to eat it. Blow whistle, write ticket, rip out, and throw down. It was against the law to take the bread in the temple. But the priests in the temple knew David s need for the food was more important than their version of the law. Jesus reminded the religious leaders that what matters most to God is His people. God is the Lord of the Sabbath. He is in charge, and He cared more about what was in their hearts than how many man-made rules they followed. After that, Jesus went into the synagogue to worship. Tech: Cue Synagogue image. Inside there was a man with a shriveled hand. Religious leaders in the synagogue were watching Jesus very closely. They knew Jesus healed people. Would He choose to keep the man-made law or choose to love? Invite responses. read vv. 10b 12. Tech: Cue Sheep image. So they asked him, Does the Law allow us to heal on the Sabbath day? 11 He said to them, What if one of your sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath day? Won t you take hold of it and lift it out? 12 A person is worth more than sheep! So the Law allows us to do good on the Sabbath day. What do you think? Would you have left the sheep in the pit? Invite responses. Through the example of the sheep, Jesus taught that because the religious leaders were so strict about following their Sabbath rules and looking good on the outside, they had a hard time showing compassion for someone who needed healing. They totally missed the point that God is Lord of the Sabbath and that He looks at the heart, which is the point of the rules in the first place. The Bible says it hurt Jesus heart that the religious leaders were so uncompassionate to those in need. Read v Then Jesus said to the man, Stretch out your hand. So he stretched it out. It had been made as good as new. It was just as good as the other hand. To Jesus, the man with the shriveled hand was more important than following a man-made law. Blow whistle and write ticket. Rip out and throw down. Pause and look down at tickets. Kneel down by tickets and pick one up. God cares about us and our hearts. Rip up a ticket. He is in charge of all things, and He doesn t care that we aren t perfect. Rip up another ticket. Following Him and worshipping Him means we trust Him to care for us. It means we take a Sabbath that shows that we trust God and worship Him as Lord. Share a personal story of trusting God as Lord of the Sabbath. 4

5 Tell the kids we are going to close the Big God Story by worshipping him. Ask the kids to wait until they are asked to come forward to take communion. WORSHIP VIDEO 3: Good, Good Father After a time of worshipping have kids come and take communion if they have been baptized, and bring their offering. Fade out song slowly at Worship Leader s prompting. (As the song comes to a close Worship Leader tells groups to head to their small group space. Say something like, Let s continue responding to what God is teaching us as we dismiss to our small groups. Please follow your small group leader at this time. ) IMAGE: It s time for small groups Turn main overhead lights on Dismiss for small groups refer to map for small group locations At the end of small groups... Tech cue: 2 minute warning with exit song, using ceiling speakers, at the host s prompting Turn speakers back to wall speakers for blessing, closing song and dismissal. 5

6 GOAL: Kids build relationships with each other and their leader as they respond to what they heard in the Big God Story. SABBATH SURVEY SUPPLIES Bibles Personal survey (one per child) Pencils Colored pencils RELATE The religious leaders added many rules to the keeping of the Sabbath. Even if they did this because they thought the rules would be helpful, it still wasn t what God intended. God wants us to have hearts that desire Him, not just outward actions that simply obey the rules. God is the Lord of the Sabbath, and He sees everything, including why we do what we do. Today we are going to take some time to really think about how we spend our time on Sunday, and what if anything we should do to make it better. Pass out the Personal Sabbath Survey. Go over the first question together, ask if there is anything the kids don t understand. Talk about what a blessing is and what the Bible says about blessing, keeping the Sabbath Holy. Kids can write or draw in the box provided. Let the children continue to work on their survey,. If you have a young group, do the survey together, discuss the questions together, maybe by getting in a circle, and throwing a balloon, ball, or soft toy. have each person who catches name a blessing, or an activity that would not helpful for Sunday, or an activity that would be helpful for Sunday. Do the survey together, to get the kids talking and thinking about what does it mean to keep the Sabbath Holy. If time allows do the following discussion questions with your kids. Why did God give His people a Sabbath day? Genesis 2:2 3 How did the religious leaders change the Sabbath day? Matthew 12:1 2 What do you think it means that Jesus looks at our hearts? Luke 6:43-45 Why do you think it s more important to God that we have hearts that follow after Him? 1 Samuel 16:7 BLESSING Close your small group time reading a final scripture and blessing your kids using the Blessing Card from your supply bin in your cart. 6

7 GOAL: Bless kids to send them out with a sense of peace so they can be a blessing to others. CLOSING REMARKS/ANNOUNCEMENTS (Host): Wall Speakers On TRANSITION ACTIVITIES (HOST): Play Regrouping Video Announce the expectations verbally as kids regroup in the large group room Have a seat on the floor Stay seated until your name is called or you see your parents Meet up with your parents and exit the middle door. Play Fun Video: Amazing Videos Transition Activity: Minute to Win It games Host will call up volunteers to lead these. (Supplies provided based on the specific challenges) Minute to Win It Countdown Timer DISMISSAL (STORYTELLER): Call names of kids as parent come to pick up and welcome kids who are being dropped off. Encourage parents to enter the room and encourage kids and parents to exit out the middle door (103) 7

8 Recently I experienced a hurried season of life. It felt like everyone needed my time and attention. Right. Now. The people and things on the to-do list were all worthy causes, so I pressed on. New programs were being developed and launched in my ministry. Coffee meetings with volunteers kept me running. Deadlines hovered over me continually. In my children s lives, various events, meetings, and confirmation groups crowded the evenings, and each night they needed help with homework. I stayed glued to my phone and my schedule, constantly making sure I hadn t missed any appointment or responsibility. I survived each day but felt completely worn out. As I drove to another event, the lyrics of a worship song on the radio pierced my heart. Oh, Lord, I cried out, I ve blocked out all my hours for these activities, but where have I created space for You? Where have I left time to rest in your arms and know You? Quickly my mind was flooded with Scripture verses reminding me that God longs for me to rest with Him. I began to shift my agendas so I could spend the Sabbath with my Lord and find His heart my peace, my rest. Nancy Thompson Pine Lake Covenant Church There s a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to the Sabbath and what it means and especially what it means for us today. In Matthew 12, Jesus declares Himself to be the Lord of the Sabbath, and in this chapter He clears away much of the confusion brought on by the Pharisees. The question is this: Does the Sabbath still apply to us today? When believers see the Sabbath mentioned in the Ten Commandments, they often confuse this with the Mosaic law. They think that since the Mosaic law no longer serves as the terms of obedience for God s people for receiving God s blessing because today we re under the new covenant then perhaps the Sabbath no longer applies to us. But in Mark 2, Jesus states that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Jesus doesn t say the Sabbath was made for the Jews. He says it was made for man. Jesus is pointing back to creation and not Mount Sinai when referring to the priority of the Sabbath. He is saying that this is a foundational principle for mankind, a principle God designed into creation itself. God has set up a pattern of working and resting because that s how He designed us to operate. We function most effectively when we observe this pattern. Our bodies, minds, and souls need rest. We re also demonstrating faith when we obey this command. When we work more than we should, it s often because we re not trusting God to supply all we need if we take time off. Faith and trust are what God values above all else. Honoring Sabbath rest replenishes the strength we need and also builds in us a more robust faith and trust in our God, the Lord of the Sabbath. It s easy to fall into the trap of appearing successful on the outside, following our own rules to please God, instead of seeking after what God really cares about: a heart focused on Him. Take some time this week as you prepare to teach this lesson to tend to your own heart. Psalm 139:23 24 says, Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 8

9 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Take a day or a portion of a day to rest, read this Scripture, and bring your heart before the Lord. As you read, know that God loves you more than you can comprehend and that you can trust Him with your heart. Talk to Him about what makes you anxious. Receive God s love and confess the ways you seek to receive counterfeit love when you are stressed or hurried. Ask Him to give you the complete peace that only comes from the Holy Spirit. 9