Sometimes God says wait.

Transcription

1 Praise Jesus! Angels Visit Abraham Lesson 7 Bible Point Sometimes God says wait. Bible Verse And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them (Romans 8:28). Growing Closer to Jesus Children will n learn the difference between being patient and impatient, n experience how it feels to wait when they want to hurry, and n discover ways to make waiting easier. Teacher Enrichment The Bible Basis n Angels visit Abraham. Genesis 18:1-15 In Abraham s desert-dwelling culture, visitors were rare. They provided both an obligation and a welcome diversion. A warm welcome and hospitality were requirements in the culture of that day, and Abraham knew what it was like to travel in the desert. Thus, he was ready to warmly welcome the travelers. It may seem strange that the three men were standing nearby (18:2), but this was customary for strangers in that time and place. They were not free to just approach someone else s tent in the desert. Many scholars believe that these men were angels, though the text doesn t directly say so. The fact that they knew Sarah s name may support the idea that they were angels, and in Genesis 18:10, it becomes clear that one of them was at least speaking for the Lord. For many years, God had been promising a son. Now for the first time, God predicted the time of the birth to 99-year-old Abraham and 89-year-old Sarah: Within one year, the son of the promise would be born. Sarah s laughter is understandable. Who would have thought that a 90-year-old woman could have a baby? God does truly amazing things! Prayer Read 1 Samuel 1: Think of a prayer you ve been waiting a long time for the Lord to answer. What helps you hold on in faith, believing for your answer? Pray: Lord, help me wait for your perfect timing in my life. Help my students likewise to be patient and wait for you as 85

2 Lesson 7 Before the Lesson n Collect items for the activities you plan to use, referring to the Classroom Supplies and Learning Lab Supplies listed in the chart. n Make photocopies of the Growing Together handout (at the end of this lesson) to send home with your children. n Pray for your students and for God s direction in teaching the lesson. This Lesson at a Glance Welcome What Children Will Do Classroom Supplies Learning Lab Supplies Welcome! Receive a warm welcome from the teacher, and make name tags. Leaders Name Tags (p. 83), scissors, markers, tape Attention Grabber Bible Exploration & Application The Visitor s Vow Listen to the Bible story from Genesis 18:1-15, but find out they ll have to wait to hear the ending. I Can t Wait! Learn what the Bible says about waiting in Psalm 37:7a, and find out that being impatient makes it hard to enjoy today. Hurry Up and Wait Play a game in which they must be patient to win, and hear about patience from Proverbs 14:29a. Bible Bible Bible, masking tape Wait a Minute! Guess how long a minute is, practice a way to make waiting easier, and learn more about waiting from Psalm 37:34a. Ready, Aim, Win! Play a game twice to see the difference patience makes, and talk about Ecclesiastes 7:8. Bible, CD player, watch or clock with a second hand Bible, masking tape, CD player Closing Warm Fuzzies Discover ways to make waiting easier. 86

3 Welcome Angels Visit Abraham SUPPLIES: Leaders Name Tags (p. 83), scissors, markers, tape Greet each child individually with an enthusiastic smile. Thank each child for coming to class today. As children arrive, ask them about last week s Growing Together discussion. Use questions such as Who was one person you trusted last week? and How can we show we trust God? Say: Today we re going to learn that sometimes God says wait. Hand out the name tags children made last week, and help children attach the name tags to their clothing. If some of the name tags were damaged, or if children weren t in class last week, have them make new name tags using the photocopiable handout. Tell children that the attention-getting signal you ll use during this lesson will be blowing the bird whistle. Ask children to respond by raising their hands. Rehearse the signal with the children, telling them to respond quickly so you ll have plenty of time for all the fun activities planned for this lesson. Attention Grabber n The Visitor s Vow: Part 1 SUPPLIES: Bible Today s Bible story will be told in five segments that are interspersed throughout the lesson. Each segment ends with a cliffhanger so the children will have to wait to find out what happens. Heighten children s curiosity by telling the story with excitement and animation. Gather the children, hold up the Bible, and say: Our story today comes from the book of Genesis in the Bible. We re going to start with the story today because it s so exciting! I can t wait to tell you what happened! It all started long ago. It was a very hot day, and Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent near some big trees. Suddenly he looked up and saw three men coming toward him. Who could they be? What did they want? What was Abraham going to do? I ll tell you, but first let s do this fun activity. It s important to say the Bible Point just as it s written in each activity. Repeating the Bible Point over and over will help children remember it and apply it to their lives. For more fun, have children use a bedsheet and chairs to make a tent for the story. Every time you tell more of the story, gather children inside the tent. 87

4 Lesson 7 Don t forget to untie the knots in the glow-in-the-dark shoelace, which you ll be using again later in today s lesson for the Ready, Aim, Win! activity. You may wish to assign a volunteer to untie the knots for you. Bible Exploration & Application n I Can t Wait! SUPPLIES: Bible Pass around the glow-in-the-dark shoelace. Have children each tie a knot in it as they say, I can t wait for They might say Christmas, my birthday, or summer vacation. When the shoelace comes back to you, ask: Why is it hard to wait for something you want? (Because time goes so slowly; it seems like it ll never get here; because I see other people getting what they want.) What do you do when you just can t wait for something to happen? (I get excited; I get angry; I want to jump up and down.) Why do we sometimes have to wait for things? (Because some things, like birthdays, won t come any faster; sometimes my mom says I have to wait until I m bigger or older to do something so I ll be safe.) Say: Sometimes God says wait. That s hard for us to do because we want good things to happen in a hurry. Show children the knotted, tangled shoelace. Look at our tangled shoelace. When we get too impatient, we get tangled up, too. We can t enjoy what happens to us today because we re too busy waiting for tomorrow. The Bible has something to say about waiting. Listen while I read Psalm 37:7a. Read Psalm 37:7a aloud. Then ask: When does this Bible verse say we should be still? (When we are in the presence of the Lord; when God is nearby.) When do you need to be still? (In church; at bedtime; in school.) What s good about being still? (It s usually quiet; I m not upset when I m still; it s nice.) Say: When we re still, it s easier to wait for things. We don t get all tangled up like our shoelace. In our Bible story, we heard how Abraham was sitting quietly near his tent when he saw the three visitors. Now let s hear what happened. n The Visitor s Vow: Part 2 SUPPLIES: Bible Continue the Bible story. Say: Do you remember the three travelers Abraham saw coming toward him? In those days, there were long distances between towns, and there were no motels or restaurants between towns, so people in vited travelers into their homes to rest and eat. When Abraham saw those men coming, he ran out to greet them, bowed down, and said, Please stay awhile with me. I ll bring water so you can wash your tired, dusty feet. Sit here under this shady tree, and I ll bring food so you ll feel strong enough to continue your journey. The travelers looked at Abraham. What do you think they said? Listen to a few suggestions without agreeing or disagreeing. I ll tell you what they really said, right after this game. 88

5 Angels Visit Abraham n Hurry Up and Wait SUPPLIES: Bible, masking tape Form two teams. Have the teams line up on one side of the room. Use masking tape to mark a starting line and a finish line about 10 feet apart. Give each team half of the ooze. Say: We re going to have a race. Each team must work together to stretch the ooze out so it reaches from the starting line to the finish line. Work together to figure out the best way to make it stretch that far. But be careful. If your ooze breaks, you have to squish it all together and start over. Ready? Go! The ooze really will stretch that far, but it takes time, patience, and teamwork. When one team has reached the finish line, call time by blowing the bird whistle. Give a round of applause for everyone s participation. Collect the ooze, and put it back in its plastic container. Then gather the children, and say: Let s talk about what happened. Ask: What was the best way to get the ooze to stretch to the finish line? (To squish it out slowly; it worked best when we worked from the middle.) What was the hardest part about reaching the finish line? (I was in a hurry, and the ooze wouldn t do what I wanted it to; I got impatient; I got mad because it was taking too long.) Have you ever felt impatient like that in real life? Tell me about that. (Yes, at school I had to finish a test, but the questions took too long so I didn t do them all; yes, I got really hungry, but my mom wouldn t let me have a snack before dinner.) Say: There are lots of things that are hard to wait for. And there are lots of things that take longer than we want them to. But sometimes God says wait. You know, the Bible talks about why waiting can be good. I ll read Proverbs 14:29a to show you what I mean. Read Proverbs 14:29a aloud. Then ask: Why is it good to be patient, even when it s hard to wait? (If we re patient, we won t get angry or upset; we won t get in trouble for bugging our parents; we ll appreciate what we re waiting for more when it comes.) What are some ways to make waiting easier? (Think about something else; don t talk about it so much; think about the good things we have right now.) Say: Let s see what else the Bible has to say about when we wait. Our Bible verse for today is from Romans 8:28, and this is what it says: And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. So when God asks us to wait, it s because he s planning something very good that s worth waiting for. In a little while, we ll talk about some other ways to make waiting easier. But you ll have to wait for that! Right now, I m going to tell you more of the story. If your floor is carpeted, put newsprint on the floor to keep the ooze off the carpet. 89

6 Lesson 7 n The Visitor s Vow: Part 3 SUPPLIES: Bible Say: It s time to tell you what those three visitors said to Abraham. They must ve liked the idea of resting and eating because they said, All right. Do as you have said. So Abraham hurried into his tent and told his wife, Sarah, to make some fresh bread. Then he ran outside and picked out a calf from his herd so his visitors could have meat for dinner. He even served them the meal himself. While the visitors were eating, they asked Abraham, Where is Sarah, your wife? Maybe Abraham thought, How did these strangers know my wife s name is Sarah? Why do they want to know where she is? But even though he may have thought those things, what he really said was Pause and look at a watch or clock. Wait a minute I ll tell you later what Abraham said. We have another activity to do. And it s called Wait a Minute! n Wait a Minute! SUPPLIES: Bible, CD player, watch or clock with a second hand Have the children scatter around the room and sit facing the track 6 wall. Put the tissue shaker on the floor in the middle of the room. If there s a clock in the room, make sure all the children are facing so they cannot watch it. Say: When I say go, sit perfectly still and perfectly silent with your eyes closed until you think a minute is up. A minute is 60 seconds long. As soon as you think one minute is up, hop to the center of the room and shake the tissue shaker. Ready? Go! Keep track of the time on a watch or a clock so you know whose guess is closest to one minute. Put away the tissue shaker, and then ask: Was it hard or easy to wait for a minute? Explain. (It was hard because I didn t have a watch; it was hard because I got bored; it was easy; I knew exactly when a minute was up.) What kinds of things do you have to wait for? (Christmas; birthdays; getting a new bike.) What makes it hard to wait for these things? (I can t make them happen when I want them to; the more I want something, the longer it takes to happen.) Say: Let s play the game again. This time, let s do something to make the waiting easier. Have the children sing He Remains Faithful (2 Timothy 2:13) (track 6) with the CD. Lyrics are at the back of this book. Have the children raise their hands to tell you when they think a minute is up. Keep track of the seconds on a watch or clock, and tell the children who was closest to being right. Ask: Was it easier or harder to wait while you were doing something else? Explain. (Easier, because I had something to do; harder, because I couldn t think about the time while I was singing.) 90

7 Angels Visit Abraham What kinds of things do you do at home to make it easier for you to wait? (I watch TV; I play with my dog; I go for a walk outside.) Say: Sometimes God says wait. There s a verse in the Bible that tells us what to do while we wait. Listen while I read Psalm 37:34a. Read Psalm 37:34a aloud. When we travel steadily along God s path, that means we follow God nice and slow and without stopping. If we do that, we ll end up exactly where God wants us to be! Ask: What does the Bible tell us to do while we travel steadily along God s path for us? (Trust God; be good; do what God tells us.) How can we follow God? (Be kind to each other; pray; go to church.) Say: There are many ways we can follow God, but the best way is to believe in Jesus and put our trust in him. Jesus loves us so much that he died on the cross for our sins for all the wrong things we do. That makes me sad to think that Jesus died on the cross, but the good news is that Jesus came back to life and lives in heaven. If we believe in Jesus and tell God we re sorry for our sins, we can be forever friends with Jesus and live in heaven someday, too. That s really something worth waiting for! But while we re waiting, we can do other things to make the time go by faster. Now let s hear more of our story. n The Visitor s Vow: Part 4 SUPPLIES: Bible Say: Abraham knew that serving others was a good thing to do. Serving others makes waiting easier, and it s pleasing to God. Abraham was serving the big meal to his three guests when they asked, Where is Sarah, your wife? Abraham said, She s inside the tent. One of the three visitors spoke for God and said an amazing thing. God was coming back to visit Abraham in a year, and at that time Abraham and Sarah would have a baby son. Sarah heard God s promise, and she couldn t have been more surprised. She and Abraham were older than your grandparents. She d never heard of anyone her age having a baby. It seemed impossible! Then Sarah did something that showed how surprised she was. Did she sing a song of joy? Pause. Did she run out of the tent and tell the visitors they were silly? Pause. Did she start making a baby blanket? Pause. Well, you ll find out after our next activity. 91

8 Lesson 7 First- and second-graders may feel that they re always being told to wait Wait until you re older, Wait until you re a little bit bigger. In our instant-gratification society, waiting can seem impossible to children. Watch for teachable moments in which you can assure kids that God has a timetable and may ask us to wait sometimes. If we ll only trust in God s plan, we ll be richly blessed. Bible Insight Sarah s inability to have a child was not only a deep personal tragedy but also had great theological significance. God had promised Abraham that he would have many descendants who would be a blessing among the nations, but Sarah s barrenness kept these promises from being fulfilled. Without children for Abraham and Sarah, God s plan would be thwarted. However, God kept his promise to Abraham by allowing Sarah to conceive a son at the age of 90, and Abraham became the father of Israel. n Ready, Aim, Win! SUPPLIES: Bible, masking tape, CD player track 7 Make a circle on the floor with the glow-in-the-dark shoelace. The shoelace will lie flat if you stretch it first. Then tape it to the floor so it keeps its shape. Cue the CD to track 7, Waiting Game. Have children form two groups. Give one group the linking hearts and stars; give the other group the wooden beads. Have each group choose one person to be the Thrower. Have both Throwers stand 10 steps away from the circle. Have everyone else stand behind the Throwers to cheer them on. Say: Throwers, when I start the CD, you ll have 30 seconds to toss your links and beads into the circle. For each link or bead that stays in the circle, your group will get one point. If a link or a bead rolls out of the circle, your teammates can hop over to it, collect it, and return it to you so you can try again. Get ready to hurry as fast as you can. Ready? Go! While the CD is playing, say things such as Hurry! and Go faster! Encourage others to join in with the cheering because it s important that the children feel rushed during this activity. The CD will signal the end of the game with a buzzer sound. When the game is over, count and record the number of links and beads inside the circle. Congratulate everyone for his or her participation. Gather all the linking hearts and stars and wooden beads, and return them to the teams. Say: Now we re going to play the game again. This time I want you to take the time to aim carefully. Divide the linking hearts and stars and wooden beads among your teammates. Have everyone in your group take a turn tossing the links and beads into the circle. There s no need to hurry. The game won t end until everyone has had a turn. Play the game again. When all the children have taken a turn, get the children s attention by blowing the bird whistle and waiting for their response. Count and record the number of links and beads inside the circle. Declare the winning team. Compare the scores of both games. Collect the linking hearts and stars, the wooden beads, and the glow-in-the-dark shoelace for use in other lessons. Gather the children, and have them sit on the floor. If either team scores the same amount on both versions of the game or if the score for the first game is higher than the second game, tell the children something unusual has happened. Tell them scores for the slow game are usually higher than those for the fast game. Ask children why they think their results were different. Ask: How was the first game different from the second game? (I was rushed in the first game; I had to rush at first; I took my time in the second game.) A score is the number of points a team gets in a game. Why was the score of the second game higher than the score of the first game? (We had more time to aim; we could be more careful; I wasn t as nervous.) How was playing the fast game like hurrying through things in real life? (I messed up more; I hurried, but it didn t help me.) How was playing the slower game like taking your time? (It was hard to take my time, but our score was better; it was hard to be patient.) Why is it important to take your time? (So I do a good job; so I don t mess up as much; so I get a better score.) 92

9 Angels Visit Abraham Say: Tell a partner about something you need to take your time with or something you need to be patient about. Give children a few seconds to talk, and then ask volunteers to share their answers with the class. They might say things such as I need to take my time when I wash the dishes or I need to be patient when I m helping my little brother. Sometimes God says wait. Often that means we should take our time and be patient so we do a good job and finish well. In Ecclesiastes 7:8, the Bible talks about being patient. Listen while I read it to you. Read Ecclesiastes 7:8 aloud. Then ask: Why do you think the Bible says it s better to finish than to start? (Because it s easy to start, but it s harder to finish; because you have to be patient to finish something.) What does it mean to have patience? (To wait; to take your time doing something; to work slowly at something.) Why is it smart to be patient when we have to wait? (We can do a better job and finish; it makes the time go faster; we have time to think.) Say: Being fast is not always best. Sometimes going slowly is better. And according to this Bible verse, finishing is better than starting. That reminds me: It s time to finish the story. n The Visitor s Vow: Part 5 SUPPLIES: Bible Say: Now here s something you don t have to wait for anymore the end of the Bible story! When Sarah overheard God s promise that she would have a baby boy by the same time next year, she was so surprised that her eyes got big and round and her smile grew wide. Then Sarah laughed and said to herself, My husband and I are too old to have a baby. God knew what Sarah had said, and God asked Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh? Why did she say, I am too old to have a baby? Is anything too hard for God? Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, I didn t laugh. But the Lord said, You did laugh. Later on in the book of Genesis, we find out that everything happened just as God said it would. Sarah and Abraham had a son and named him Isaac, which means laughter. They waited a long time for their baby, just as you had to wait to find out the end of the story. Sometimes God says wait. But it s always worth waiting. Let s practice one more way to wait. HANDS-ON BIBLE Set up a table in the center of the room with the following ingredients: round pita bread slices, cheese, lettuce, lunchmeat (if desired), and plastic knives. Gather the children on either side of the table, and say: Today we are learning that sometimes God says wait. Our Bible story today has been about three very special visitors who came to see Abraham while he was waiting for God s promise to come true. Abraham worked hard to make his visitors welcome. Let s read 93

10 Lesson 7 about that in Genesis 18 of our Hands-On Bibles and then work together to prepare a snack for the next time we have special visitors. Help the children locate the Did Someone Say Hospital? activity in Genesis 18 of their Hands-On Bibles, and look up Genesis 18:1-15 together. Review the story of Abraham and his three angelic visitors. Then help the children prepare their snacks according to the directions given. You may need to help some children cut their pita bread in half. Have the children eat their snacks as you ask them the following questions: What did Abraham do for his visitors to make them feel welcome? (He told them to sit down and rest while he got some food for them; he served them cheese and milk and some roasted meat.) How does helping others help time pass quickly when we are waiting for something important to happen? (When you are helping somebody, you don t notice what time it is; you are thinking about somebody else, not yourself, so it doesn t seem as hard to wait.) Say: Sometimes God says wait, but it s easier to wait when we can keep busy helping others. The next time you have guests in your home, you can serve them something special like we made today, and you will be surprised how fast time seems to go! Closing n Warm Fuzzies SUPPLIES: none Ask: What did you learn today? (Sometimes God says wait; to take my time; to be patient.) Pass the fake fur pieces around, and have the children rub the fur on their arms or cheeks and tell how it makes them feel. Say: Sometimes God says wait. Say that with me: Sometimes God says wait. Since God s plans are best for us, we know we can learn to be patient and wait for what God has for us. Do you know what a warm fuzzy is? That s something that makes us feel all comfy inside, like when we are cold but then we wrap a warm fuzzy blanket around ourselves, and it makes us feel better. When we get anxious or have trouble waiting for something, we can give ourselves warm fuzzies like helping others or drawing happy faces, and that will make it easier to be patient. Ask: What s something important in your life that you are waiting for? (For my baby sister to be able to walk; for my cousin to come visit me at Christmastime.) What kinds of warm fuzzies make waiting easier? (Hugs; snacks; doing things for others; talking to God.) Spend the last few minutes of class thinking of warm fuzzies that will help children wait patiently. Have children pass around one of the fur pieces and complete this sentence: The next time I have to wait, I ll Close with prayer, thanking God for knowing when we should wait and asking that he help make waiting easier. 94

11 Angels Visit Abraham Then have children give each other warm fuzzies by rubbing one of the fur pieces on the back of a neighbor s hand and saying, God will help you wait patiently. Then collect the fake fur pieces. Growing closer to Jesus extends beyond the classroom. Photocopy the Growing Together handout (at the end of this lesson) for this week, and send it home with your children. Encourage children and parents to use the handout to plan meaningful activities on this week s topic. Follow up the Growing Together activities next week by asking children what their families did together. 95

12 Leaders of the Faith 7: Sometimes God says wait. Bible Story Angels visit Abraham. Genesis 18:1-15 Key Key Verse Verse No And eye we has know seen, that no ear God has causes heard, everything and no to mind work has together imagined for the what good God of those has prepared who love for God those and are called who according love him to his purpose (1 for Corinthians them (Romans 2:9b). 8:28). This week your child learned that sometimes God wants us to wait for things. The children discovered ways to make it easier to be patient while waiting for God s good gifts. Parent Talk Children often feel stretched to the limit when it comes to waiting for something exciting. You may feel your child is always impatient. Help your child learn patience by giving definite answers about how long he or she will have to wait. If there are five days before an exciting event in your home, put a sign on the refrigerator with five marks on it. Together, cross off one mark every night before bed. Time for Treats Play Wait a Minute. Ask each family member to sit perfectly still for what he or she thinks is one minute. Time and record each person s turn. Award hugs and a treat to the family member who comes the closest to waiting one minute. Talk about how difficult it is to wait especially when we don t know how long the wait will be. Kid Crafts Bake a favorite cookie recipe together. While the cookies are in the oven, talk about other good things we have to wait for. Take out one cookie before it s fully baked. Talk about what happens when we rush into things that we should wait for. When the cookies finish baking, offer a prayer asking God for patience to wait when he asks us to. Then enjoy what you made together. Precious Moments Tell your child a story about what it was like to wait for him or her to be born. Tell what you did to prepare for the birth. Be sure to explain how excited you were and what you did to make waiting easier. 96 Permission to photocopy this handout from Group s Hands-On Bible Curriculum Grades 1 & 2 granted for local church use. Copyright Group Publishing, Inc., 1515 Cascade Ave., Loveland, CO group.com