Faithfulness lesson 1. Fruit of the Spirit. Gideon Defeats the Midianites. Episode 1. Judges 7:1 22

Transcription

1 Faithfulness lesson 1 Fruit of the Spirit Galatians 5:22 The fruit of the Spirit is... FAITHFULNESS Faithfulness Showing others they can put their trust in you. Episode 1 Gideon Defeats the Midianites Judges 7:1 22 MEMORY VERSE Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5 6 KEY POINT We can always trust that God is faithful to us. Lesson 1 page 5

2 Let s Create EARLY ARRIVAL (before service) Have some upbeat music playing. Welcome children warmly. Have some simple toys available to make the environment welcoming. Teachers should take this time to engage in conversation with children as they sit to play with them. Ask them about their week, school, and home. Begin to establish relationships. BEGIN CLASS (service time) Introduce yourself and your assistants. Before the discussion questions, PRAY that the Lord will bless your time together. Have a set of supplies for yourself to demonstrate as you explain. SUPPLIES per child Construction paper A bag or envelope SUPPLIES to share Embellishments Crayons PREP it : : : instructions 1 First I want you to think about someone you love very much and would like to surprise with something special. 2 Fold your piece of construction paper in half to make a card. 3 Draw 4 Place a pretty picture on the cover and write surprise on the inside. (You might need to help younger children with the writing.) the card in the envelope or bag and decorate it also lesson 1 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 6

3 CONNECTit CONNECT it : : : SAY When do people get cards? (Birthdays, Christmas, Mother s or Father s Day, Valentine s Day) Today, we are going to give a card to someone we love just because we want to surprise him or her with something nice and let him know how special he is to us. But I want you to think of something special to do along with the card as a surprise. For example, maybe you made your mom a card; give her the card and tell her you have a surprise coming. Then have your dad or older brother help you make breakfast and surprise her in bed with it and perhaps even a nice flower. By definition, a surprise wouldn t be a surprise if we knew what it was. She ll know you have a surprise, but she won t know what it is. Part of the thrill of giving someone a great surprise is seeing her reaction. Your mom will be surprised by the breakfast in bed, but since she knows and trusts you she wasn t worried that you would give her a snake. She had faith to trust you would do something nice. The same is true with God. Sometimes we just need to trust Him because He may not give us all the details about what He is going to do, but we know and trust that He is faithful to us. We just need to learn to wait. Let s watch Virtuality and see how Gideon learned to trust God during a very difficult situation. He didn t know what God was going to do, but he had faith in God s faithfulness. WATCH it : : : Go to large group to see the Virtuality DVD, Fruit of the Spirit Series DVD (VOLUME 7, EPISODE 1) lesson 1 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 7

4 Let s Talk Bible BIBLE STORY : : : Gideon Defeats the Midianites Judges 7:1 22 BE PREPARED Read the Bible story and study the background information at home. The background information is provided to add insight to your lesson, so some of it might not be appropriate for all age groups. Before you begin the lesson, in your own words, tell the appropriate background information for your class age group. BACKGROUND information : : : SAY IT in your own words During the time of Judges, Israel was still battling the inhabitants of the Promised Land, the land God had promised since the time of Abraham would be theirs. God gave them many great miraculous victories such as Jericho. But the people compromised themselves by worshiping some of the idols belonging to the people living in the land. Because of their disobedience, God allowed the Midianites to take over for seven years. (Judges 6:1) The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites fled to the mountains, where they made hiding places for themselves in caves and dens. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, oxen, and donkeys (Judges 6:2 4 NLT). The punishment was over and now it was time to defeat these Midianites. But God wanted to make sure the people knew it was Him who would give them victory. To do this, God choose Gideon, the youngest man of Israel s weakest tribe, Manasseh, to lead in the battle. Gideon was very unsure that he could do this job; he needed encouragement and assurance from God. Gideon asked God for a sign that it was God who was speaking to him and God s will for him to lead the troops, and three times God gave him the proof he asked for. (Judges 6:17-22; 36 40) God also tested Gideon s obedience. Take the second best bull from your father s herd, the one that is seven years old. Pull down your father s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole standing beside it. Then build an altar to the LORD your God here on this hill, laying the stones carefully. Sacrifice the bull as a burnt offering on the altar, using as fuel the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down Judges 6: Gideon almost lost his life over it, but he did as God had said, and the people gave him the nickname Jerubbaal which means let Baal defend himself. Now the real test of obedience would come. Gideon was about to fight the vast Midianite army of 135,000 with only 32,000 men that s more than 100,000 fewer men! Would he have the courage to trust God? Would Gideon allow God to show him lesson 1 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 8

5 that He is always faithful? Let s go to the Bible and find out how deep Gideon s and his army s faith in God ran. PREP it : : : props and characters 1. Select a few children to act out portions of the story as you read it. If you don t have enough children, they can play multiple roles in the different sections of the story. These are the characters.» Gideon» Two Midianites» Gideon s Army and the Midianite Army (The rest of the class will play both these roles.) 2. If you are able, bring a few of these props from home to enhance the story.» Flashlight» Plastic jars (Tupperware is fine)» Noisemakers READ SCRIPTURE READ Bible Story : : : JUDGES 7:1 22 Before you begin the story have everyone except the two Midianites sit together on the fl oor in the front of the room. Early in the morning Jerub-Baal and all his men set up their camp at the spring of Harod. (Jerub-Baal is also called Gideon.) The Midianites were camped north of them. The Midianites were camped in the valley at the bottom of the hill called Moreh. (One soldier, say, I can t believe we re going to fight the Midianites with such few men. ) Then the Lord said to Gideon, You have too many men to defeat the Midianites. I don t want the Israelites to brag that they saved themselves. So now, announce to the people, Anyone who is afraid may leave Mount Gilead. He may go back home. (Gideon, say, Ah, guys, God says there are too many of us, with a nervous laugh.) And 22,000 men went back home. But 10,000 remained. (Half of the class sitting, say, I m outta here, and then returns to your chairs.) Then the Lord said to Gideon, There are still too many men. (Gideon, say, What! You re kidding right? ) Take the men down to the water, and I will test them for you there. If I say, lesson 1 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 9

6 This man will go with you, he will go. But if I say, That one will not go with you, he will not go. So Gideon led the men down to the water. (Gideon, say, Come get a drink of water. ) There the Lord said to him, Separate them. Those who drink water by lapping it up like a dog will be in one group. Those who bend down to drink will be in the other group. There were 300 men who used their hands to bring water to their mouths. They lapped it as a dog does. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. (Everyone except for three, pretend to bend down with your face in the water to take a drink. The last three, pretend to scoop up the water and drink from your hands without ever looking down.) Then the Lord said to Gideon, I will save you, using the 300 men who lapped the water. And I will allow you to defeat Midian. Let all the other men go to their homes. (Gideon, say, You re kidding! Ok, you three can stay; the rest can go home. We ll pretend now that the rest of the class is the Midianite army.) So Gideon sent the rest of Israel to their homes. But he kept 300 men. He took the jars and the trumpets of those who went home. Now the camp of Midian was in the valley below Gideon. (Gideon and the three leave, take the jars and noisemakers and sit in a corner to wait.) That night the Lord spoke to Gideon. He said, Get up. Go down and attack the camp of the Midianites. I will allow you to defeat them. But if you are afraid to go down, take your servant Purah with you. When you come to the camp of Midian, you will hear what they are saying. Then you will not be afraid to attack the camp. So Gideon and his servant Purah went down to the edge of the enemy camp. (Gideon, say, I have faith in You, Lord, but I am scared! Then take one of the men and sit close to the two Midianites without being seen.) The Midianites, the Amalekites and all the peoples from the east were camped in that valley. There were so many of them they seemed like locusts. They had so many camels no one could count them. There were as many as there are grains of sand on the seashore! (Gideon, say, Wow, look how many there are. I don t feel any less scared yet. ) When Gideon came to the enemy camp, he heard a man talking. That man lesson 1 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 10

7 was telling his friend about a dream. He was saying, Listen, I dreamed that a loaf of barley bread rolled into the camp of Midian. It hit the tent so hard that the tent turned over and fell flat! (One Midianite say, I dreamt I lost my bread. ) The man s friend said, Your dream is about the sword of Gideon son of Joash, a man of Israel. God will let Gideon defeat Midian and the whole army! (Other Midianite reply, We re all gonna die! ) When Gideon heard about the dream and what it meant, he worshiped God. (Gideon, say, Thank You, Lord, thank You. I feel better now. ) Then Gideon went back to the camp of Israel. He called out to them, Get up! The Lord has defeated the army of Midian for you! (Gideon, say, We got this; let s go. ) Then Gideon divided the 300 men into three groups. He gave each man a trumpet and an empty jar. A burning torch was inside each jar. Gideon told the men, Watch me and do what I do. When I get to the edge of the camp, do what I do. Surround the enemy camp. I and everyone with me will blow our trumpets. When we blow our trumpets, you blow your trumpets, too. Then shout, For the Lord and for Gideon! (Gideon and the three leave, stand in a diff erent corner of the room and wait.) So Gideon and the 100 men with him came to the edge of the enemy camp. They came just after the enemy had changed guards. It was during the middle watch of the night. Then Gideon and his men blew their trumpets and smashed their jars. All three groups of Gideon s men blew their trumpets and smashed their jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands. Then they shouted, A sword for the Lord and for Gideon! (Gideon and the three others, turn on the fl ashlight, throw down the plastic jars, blow the noisemakers and shout, For the Lord and Gideon! ) Each of Gideon s men stayed in his place around the camp. But inside the camp, the men of Midian began shouting and running away. (The whole class, go crazy, run around and fall to the ground.) When Gideon s 300 men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused all the men of Midian to fight each other with their swords! The enemy army ran away to the city of Beth Shittah. It is toward Zererah. They ran as far as the border of the city of Abel Meholah. It is near the city of Tabbath. (When the rest of the class is on the ground, Gideon, say, God did it; He really did it! ) lesson 1 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 11

8 CONNECTIT KEYPOINT MEMORYVERSE CONNECT it : : : SAY God already knew how He was going to defeat Israel s enemy, so no wonder He didn t need that many men. All He needed was enough men to surround the camp and make noise. It was a great surprise for the few that had faith enough to trust God and they got to enjoy this miraculous victory. God wants us to trust Him by faith because He is always faithful to us. We can always trust that God is faithful to us. We can t always understand what God is going to do because He doesn t think the way we think. That s okay, we don t need to understand or know anything except that He is faithful and in control. He doesn t need to tell us anything except, Trust Me. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5 6 PRAYER LET S PRAY : : : SAY Heavenly Father, Thank you, Lord, for Your faithfulness. Forgive us for all the times our faith in You was weak. Help us learn to trust You more. Increase our faith, so we may always follow you without fear. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen. lesson 1 Kindergarten 1 st grade page 12

9 Let s Review This Month s Verse FAITHFULNESS THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS... FAITHFULNESS Showing others they can put their trust in you. TODAY S LESSON Bible Story Gideon Defeats the Midianites Location Judges 7:1 22 Memory Verse Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5 6 Key Point We can always trust that God is faithful to us. TIME FILLERS Ask if anyone would like to play the teacher and review today s lesson with the class. Play games to help children memorize today s Bible memory verse. TAKE HOME SHEETS VIRTUE Quest is the take-home sheet designed for children to do with their parents. The sheet contains information about today s lesson. The goal is to partner with parents to continue and to reiterate the lesson. Be sure to hand all parents a sheet as they pick up their children. lesson 1 page 13