13C. When Should We Worship? Tips for Teachers...

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1 presented by TruthQuest Ministries presented by TruthQuest Ministries Tips for Teachers... Have Fun! Be silly! The more fun you make this lesson, the more effective it will be! Connect With the Children! Make eye contact with the kids, address them by name, and befriend them. Involve shy and bold children alike so that everyone is actively involved. The kids will respond better if they know that you care about them. Exaggerate Your Voice Inflections! Exaggerated voice inflections can make the lesson more interesting to a child. Repeat Children's Answers to Your Questions! Repeat all children's answers to ensure that everyone can hear them. Be Prepared! Review this lesson, gather any needed supplies, and practice before you teach! Use Your Bible! Although Bible passages used in this lesson are printed in the lesson itself, keep your Bible open and in front of you for reference and visual impact. Pray! Pray as you prepare for, open, and close this lesson! About the Team Competition Format... If your church is implementing the TEAM COMPETITION* format for Truthopolis (where boys compete with girls or "Alphas" compete with "Omegas"), then the following symbols in this lesson are worth points: Watch for and! When you come to a QUESTION or a BIBLE DRILL, announce it to your class, and then present the QUESTION or the BIBLE DRILL verse. The first child who thinks he/she can answer the QUESTION (or, in the case of a BIBLE DRILL, the first child who finds the BIBLE DRILL verse in their Bible) should STAND UP to be called on by the teacher. To ensure fairness, DO NOT repeat the QUESTION or the BIBLE DRILL verse once a child stands up. This child should then answer the QUESTION or read the BIBLE DRILL verse out loud. If the answer or verse is correct, the child earns one point for his/her TEAM on the SCOREBOARD SHEET**. In the event of an incorrect response to a QUESTION or BIBLE DRILL, select a member of the OPPOSING TEAM to respond. If neither team responds correctly, give the answer and move on without awarding any points. * If your church is NOT using a team competition, do all of the above EXCEPT for awarding points. Team affiliations (boy/girl and alpha/omega) are indicated on the lower right corner of each child's name tag. Name tags can be printed from any Truthopolis series disc, along with registration and scorekeeping materials. **Scoreboard Sheets with directions can be printed from any Truthopolis series disc. A Battle Won by Worship Jehoshaphat Praises God Adapted from 2 Chronicles 20 Through an object lesson using a calendar, and using Scripture, children will learn that every activity in life can become activities of worship. Memory Verse: Psalm 145:2-3 I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond discovery. Lesson Includes: Two-page lesson The "One Week Calendar" InstaPoster (you will need to assemble it) Needed for Lesson, but Not Included: A pink Hi-Liter marker and a yellow Hi-Liter marker A Bible for the Teacher and a pen or marker Scoreboard Sheet* (see note below) Photocopy the Take-Home Worksheet onto PINK paper and send a copy home with every child so that he/she may continue to learn during the week. Photocopy the Family Study Sheet onto a SEPARATE sheet of paper (not on the back of the Worksheet) and send a copy home with every child to give to his/ her parents so that they may study along with their child. *NOTE: See the "About the Team Competition Format" section on this page! Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996 owned by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Wheaton, Illinois All rights reserved. New Living,, and the New Living Translation logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers. Copyright Notice

2 Today's Story: A Battle Won by Worship Jehoshaphat Praises God Adapted from 2 Chronicles 20 Singing filled the air as over a million men lifted their voices in worship to the Lord. Imagine thousands upon thousands of voices singing a praise song to God! The beautiful sound was probably heard for miles. What event could bring together so many people to worship the Lord in song? A church service? A concert? Was it a party? No, it was a war. As the army of Judah marched out with King Jehoshaphat into battle, they sang songs of praise to the Lord, knowing that they could win their battles only by God's mighty power. How was the army of Judah worshipping God? Answer: T They were singing praise songs to God. his amazing story of a singing army had actually begun a few days earlier. A messenger for the king came rushing in to the palace courts. "King Jehoshaphat! It's terrible!," the messenger cried, "We're all going to be destroyed! Aaaah!" King Jehoshaphat stood to his feet. "What are you telling me?", he demanded, "Explain quickly what is going on!" Breathless, the messenger explained, "A giant army is coming from across the sea to destroy us! The Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Meunites have put their armies together to destroy us! There are so many we can't even count them all. We're going to be destroyed! Aaaaaahhhh!" After hearing the report, Jehoshaphat's heart was filled with fear. "How in the world am I ever going to defeat this huge army?," thought Jehoshaphat, "My army is large, but no one can beat an army that large!" But then, Jehoshaphat remembered his secret weapon. He began to pray. "Lord, you are the only one that can save us now. Please help us!" Then Jehoshaphat gathered all his kingdom to come together for a time of prayer and fasting. People from all around Judah poured into Jerusalem and into the temple courts to worship the Lord and ask for His help. As thousands of people gathered together in the temple, King Jehoshaphat began to pray, "O Lord, you are a mighty God. You are the God of Heaven and Ruler of all the nations of this earth. No one can stand against you. A mighty army is coming to attack us, O Lord, and we don't know what to do. Please help us!" What did Jehoshaphat do when he heard the bad news? Answer: S He worshipped God and prayed for help. ilence fell upon the crowd as they waited for the Lord to respond. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, a man who worked in the temple. "This is what the Lord says, 'Don't be afraid, for this battle is not yours, but the Lord's. Tomorrow, take your army and see what I will do. You will not need to fight at all, I will do the fighting for you!'" Directions: During the story, raise your hand as you read the high-lighted Keywords below. The children should do the following actions when they see your hand raised. Explain and practice these keyword actions, and then read the Bible story. When you hear: Do This: worship Have the children say, "Worship the Lord always! When the people heard God's answer, the king and all the crowds bowed down to the ground and worshipped the Lord, singing His praises. What did the people of Judah do when they heard God's answer? Answer: T They began to worship the Lord! he next day, Jehoshaphat gathered his army. No one knew what to expect, but Jehoshaphat knew that God would somehow deliver them. In faith, Jehoshaphat encouraged his men and said, "Listen to me everyone, put your trust in the Lord and He will help us to win this battle!" And with this battle cry, the entire army of Judah marched out of Jerusalem, with people singing, "Give thanks to the Lord! His lovingkindness lasts forever!" You might not think that singing would be a good way to enter a battle, but when God is about to fight for you, nothing could be more right than to praise Him! King Jehoshaphat didn't know what was going to happen, but he was sure of one thing. He could trust God to take care of them. And so, the army began to worship and sing... As the voices of thousands began to sing and praise the Lord, God worked a miracle! God caused the three enemy armies to begin attacking one another! Soon, not one soldier in this gigantic army was left alive. When King Jehoshaphat and his army reached the wilderness, all they saw were the dead bodies of their enemies. No one, not even one had escaped from death. What did God do when the army began to worship Him? Answer: W He destroyed the other army. hen King Jehoshaphat and his men saw the dead armies, everyone began to cheer. God had delivered them! Soon, the army returned home, and all the people gathered again to worship and praise the Lord for saving them! "Give thanks to the Lord! His lovingkindness lasts forever!" You may wonder when we are to worship God. The answer is ALL THE TIME. In good or bad times, we should worship the Lord. King Jehoshaphat praised the Lord before and after the great army was defeated. Just like King Jehoshaphat, you should worship God in good times and in bad times. Worship God always!

3 Memory Verse: Psalm 145:2-3 I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond discovery. Lesson Preparation: For this lesson, you will need the following: The assembled "One Week Calendar" (4 page poster) hung on a wall in your classroom A yellow Hi-Liter marker A pink Hi-Liter marker Introduction: Today, we're talking about when we should worship God. Of course, most of us know that we should worship God while we're at church, but is that all there is to it? Listen to what our Memory Verse says: Psalm 145:2-3 (below): I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond discovery. We are going to take a look at our week and see when we can fit time in to worship God. First, let's look at our calendar and fill in our mealtimes. We have to eat, so that's very important. With the yellow hi-lighter fill in an approximate time for the kids eating breakfast, lunch and dinner today. Okay, we have three good meals scheduled in for today. That's great. So, we're all done with meals for the week, right? Are three mealtimes for the whole week enough? Answer: No! Why not? Answer: We'd starve if we only ate one day a week! With the yellow hi-lighter fill in times periods that people usually eat three meals every day. Since people do eat at various times, pick an average time frame to fill in (example: 8am breakfast, 12noon lunch, 6pm dinner). Pretend to be surprised with how many days they want eating times filled in. If it is important to eat everyday, is it important to worship God everyday? Answer: Yes! Comment: The good news is, we still have plenty of time on our calendar to worship God--except that you guys have school. We had better add school to our calendar, because you guys are way too busy at school to worship God. Fill in the school times (8-3 approximately) with the yellow hi-lighter. Well, that took up quite a bit of our time, but I think we can still squeeze God in--except that a lot of you kids have sports and other activities too, we'd better go ahead and fill those in too. Using the yellow hi-lighter, fill in every time that any child mentions some activity that they do. Your goal is to fill in as much of the daytime hours as you possibly can. Our week is very full now. Let's fill in times that we spend giving worship to God. Let's start with today, since we are all here at church. Use the pink hi-lighter to fill in the times the kids are at church on Sunday. That's not very much, just like we can't eat only once a week, we can't just worship God once a week. We need to find more time to worship God. With the pink hi-lighter fill in any times the kids go to a midweek church service, family devotions, etc. At this point the yellow will still greatly outnumber the pink. It looks like our worship times don't amount to very much compared to everything else we do. Wait! Look at all this blank time we have late at night and very early in the morning! We can worship God during the sleepy-time hours. Act like you're going to color in times in the middle of the Continued on Next Page...

4 Continued from Previous Page nights (from about 8 PM to 6 AM every day). The kids will probably protest and say that they sleep at those times. Instead, take the yellow hi-lighter and fill in all the times of sleeping on each day of the calendar. Now just about every spot on the calendar should be filled in with yellow or pink. The yellow will be the predominate color. It looks like we don't have very much time for God. It would be very hard to get rid of most of these other activities, and we can't spend all our time in church. Let's see if we can find an answer to our problem in God's Word. 1 Corinthians 10:31 (below): Whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God. According to this verse, can we worship God during meals? Answer: Yes. When we sit down to eat, we can use that time as an act of worship to God. If all we're doing is saying a quick prayer because we have to, then we're not really worshipping God. When we come to the table TRULY thankful for what has been provided for us, and when we make sure our actions and conversation are pleasing to God, then every meal can be a time to worship God! Take the pink hi-lighter and color over all the yellow meal times. That's great! We were able to turn our meal times into times to worship God. I wonder if we can do that in others areas too? Colossians 3:23 (below): Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people, Do you think that this verse could apply to school? Answer: Absolutely! Color over all the school times with the pink hi-lighter. Colossians 3:17 (below): And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father. This verse seems to say that, no matter what we're doing, we can do it all in a worshipful way to bring God glory! Ask the kids how they can turn some of the activities they do each day into acts of worship. For every activity that can be turned into worship, color the time for that activity pink, coloring over the yellow that was already on the calendar. This will show how ordinary activities can be transformed into times of worship. Continue this process until all of the waking moments on the calendar are pink. That covers everything except sleeping. Can even our sleep be a time of worship? Proverbs 3:21-24 (below): My child, don t lose sight of good planning and insight. Hang on to them, for they fill you with life and bring you honor and respect. They keep you safe on your way and keep your feet from stumbling. You can lie down without fear and enjoy pleasant dreams. It is harder to consciously make our sleep an act of worship, but when we are making all the other areas of our life a time to worship God, then even our dreams will be more focused on the things of God. One way to help this is to pray before you go to sleep. Then, our sleep will be much sweeter and can even become worshipful. Fill all the sleeping times with pink. Now the entire week should be covered with pink. It looks like we found a way to turn all of our activities into an act of worship to God. Worship doesn't have to be just a Sunday thing. Worship is showing God love, and when all areas of our life are pleasing to Him, then everything we do becomes an act of worship. We can worship God everyday in everything we do! When can we worship God? Answer: Everyday with everything we do. Conclusion: Worship isn't just an activity that we do on the weekends. Worship is a way to live on EVERY day of the week and in every activity we do. SO make sure you don't stop worshipping when church is over. Worship God in every thought, word, and action you do!

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9 Hey Kids! Visit Truthopolis online at TruthQuest Ministries Do AT LEAST THREE of the things on this sheet and CHECK THEM OFF in the checkboxes ( ) by the numbers. Ask your Mom or Dad to remind you and help you to do this stuff, and then have them Sign their name at the bottom to show that you did it (and write YOUR NAME there too!) Bring this SIGNED Worksheet with you the next time you come to Truthopolis and turn it in for credit! GIVE your Mom or Dad the FAMILY STUDY Sheet we sent home with you today. That way, they can learn the same stuff YOU learned! MEMORIZE this verse Psalm 145:2-3 I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond discovery. ANSWER these questions According to our Memory Verse, when should we worship God? What would happen if we only ate once a week? Can we be spiritually healthy if we only worship once a week? Is worship something we do, or is it a way to live our whole lives? APPLICATION Challenge: On the back of this sheet, write down how you can turn the following activities into acts of worship: Mealtime Sports Doing Homework Chores at home School Talking with friends READ your BIBLE and PRAY EVERY DAY! Check off each day here: Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Please sign your name below to verify that your child made an effort to learn and grow Spiritually. This sheet is to be returned to Truthopolis for credit the next time your child attends. This Week, My Child Did AT LEAST THREE of the Things Listed on This Sheet. Parent Signature: My Child's Name:

10 Learn More About our Ministries, Products and Resources at "When Should We Worship?" More Than Just Sunday... Church is over. We've sung the songs, listened to the sermon, and maybe even dropped a few bucks in the offering plate. We've fulfilled our duty to God for another week. We've recharged our spiritual batteries and now we can get back to "real life." We'll see God next week, right? How many people feel that way? Be honest. How often do YOU feel that way? It's okay to admit it, but next we have to ask, "is that really worship?" You know the answer. Worshipping God is a lot like eating. If you don't do it every day, you can't survive spiritually. So when and where do we worship? This study explores the answer to those questions. We encourage you to study this concept and the related Scripture passages this week with your family, and we pray that you will acquire a new attitude about when and where we can worship our Lord! In the Morning... Okay, maybe you're not a morning person. Those of us who wrote this study aren't either! However, if you're willing to make the daily sacrifice of getting up 30 minutes earlier, there really is no better time to be with God in worship. The kids are still asleep. The house is quiet. It's just you, your coffee, and God. Making God your first daily priority is like giving Him your firstfruits. Starting your day in God's Word renews your mind. Beginning your day in prayer connects you to your Maker. Offering praises and thanksgiving to God in the morning, even in song, sets the tone for the rest of your day. And, while the Bible may not command us to start our mornings with God, it certainly makes some strong suggestions about it! After, all, Jesus Himself started mornings with His Father. Shouldn't we? 1 Chronicles 23:30 Psalm 59:16-17 Psalm 90:14 Isaiah 26:9 Psalm 5:3 Psalm 88:13 Psalm 92:1-3 Mark 1:35 At Night... If starting the day with God is a good practice, then so too is closing your day with God. What a good time to gather the family and thank God for His goodness throughout the day! Spending family time in God's Word and in prayer, and even singing songs of praise as a family not only gives God glory, but it draws your family closer together. Your children will always remember those moments, and it will impact them more than you know. After the kids have gone to bed, you can spend some additional time with your spouse praising God and asking for His guidance in raising your family. Even in those times when you wake up in the middle of the night, you can use those restless moments to tiptoe into your kids room and thank God for the blessing of your children, uttering short and simple prayers over them. All of these things are acts of worship to our Father. Psalm 16:7 Psalm 92:1-2 Luke 6:12 Acts 16:25 Psalm 42:8 All Day, Every Day As you may have already guessed, there is no set time when we have to worship God. There is no reason why you can't worship God on the way to and from work. You can turn off the radio and pray (with your eyes open, of course). You can thank God, sing to Him, and allow His peace to fall on you. You can decompress from a hectic day and make rush hour fly by when you spend it with God. Even during the work or school day, there are times when you can spend a moment or two with God. You can silently utter simple, brief prayers any time of day. It all comes down to your attitude. We need to have an attitude of worship all day long. When our attitude is worshipful, then every little thing we do can suddenly be an act of worship. This kind of attitude also becomes a safeguard to keep us from falling into sin. Worship isn't an activity we do in life; worship is the context in which we do every activity of life! 1 Chronicles 16:23 Psalm 65:8 Psalm 104:33 Acts 1:14 Psalm 35:28 Psalm 71:8 Psalm 119:164 1 Thess. 5:16-17 Psalm 61:8 Psalm 96:2 Daniel 6:10 Hebrews 13:15 Where Can We Worship? God is everywhere, so it makes sense that we can worship Him anywhere we happen to be. Worship doesn't have to take place only at church. It can take place anywhere. Paul and Silas even sang praises to God in a prison cell. Whether at home, work, or school, there is no wrong place to give God worship. The important thing is that, wherever we are, we proclaim the glory of the Lord. Psalm 108:3 Psalm 139:7-9 Isaiah 42:10 Matthew 18:20 And Yes, Sundays... Although we shouldn't confine our worship only to Sundays, neither should we ignore Sunday. Just because every day is a day to worship God doesn't mean that we can forget about meeting together in group worship. Don't fall into the trap of minimizing the importance of corporate worship at church. Worshipping God in a church setting is also very important for us. The purpose of church is not only for instruction, but also for strengthening and encouraging each other, holding each other accountable, sharpening one another, and being refreshed by the fellowship of believers. What's more, corporate worship also honors God in that we have set aside a special time to gather with other believers in worship. Psalm 107:31-32 Psalm 134:2 Hebrews 2:12 Hebrews 10:24-25 Psalm 111:1 Psalm 149:1 Examples Of Group Worship Nowhere in the Bible is group worship condemned. In fact it is actually commanded. The Israelites were told to gather regularly to worship God. King David often went to the tabernacle to worship. It was even customary for Jesus to go to the synagogue on the Sabbath. He set the example, and His disciples followed it after He rose from the dead. The new church gathered at the temple daily in public worship. Everywhere Paul went, he established churches and encouraged the believers to meet together. There can be no question that group worship is expected whenever possible. Psalm 122:3-4 Luke 4:16 Acts 2:44-46 Acts 3:1 A Proper Time And Place Clearly, there is an appropriate time for individual worship, for family worship, and for corporate group worship. All of these worship activities should be present in our lives, or we will become like malnourished people who only eat once a week. Truly, worship is not something we should fit into our lives; it is something we should fit our lives into. Don't starve yourself! Don't withhold the praises that God deserves! Don't hold God at arm's length! Run to Him like a child runs to his Daddy, and never let go! Worship God with that kind of devotion, and watch your life be changed!

11 Today's Game: "Volley-Verse" A volleyball game involving Scripture memorization Memory Verse: Psalm 145:2-3 I will bless you every day, and I will praise you forever. Great is the LORD! He is most worthy of praise! His greatness is beyond discovery. What you Need: THREE inflated balloons or beach balls One 8-foot length of yarn or rope An open game area measuring at least 12 feet by 16 feet Preparation and Setup: 1. Divide your game area in half by laying a length of yarn or rope on the floor to mark the center line. 2. Have each of your teams take one end of the game area. 3. Game area should look like this: yarn center line Before the Game: Practice today's Memory Verse out loud with all of the children. Have them recite it with you about three times until they become familiar with it. Object of the Game: 1. To prevent any balloons (or balls) from hitting the floor on your side of the game area. 2. To recite today's Memory Verse whenever a point is scored. Game Play and Rules: 1.. Instruct the children that they must try to keep all of the balloons or balls in the air and not let a balloon or ball hit the floor on their side of the game area. 2. Advise the children that the best strategy is to hit the balloons/balls to the opposing team's side of the court, so that if a balloon/ball hits the floor, it will be on the other team's side. 3. If any balloon/ball hits the floor, on one team's side of the court, the OPPOSING TEAM wins one point, IF they can recite today's Memory Verse If the Scoring Team Recites the Verse Correctly... Award that team one point on the Scoreboard Sheet, and resume game play. If the Scoring Team Cannot Recite the Verse... No points will be awarded. Review the verse, and then resume game play. Starting the Game: 1. To start the game, be sure that your teams are in the right ends of the court. 2. Be sure to review the Memory Verse several times with all of the children. 3. To start the game, toss THREE balloons (or balls) into the court near the center and let the children start hitting it (make sure that each child who hits the balloon says the appropriate part of the verse!) Ending the Game: The game continues for as long as your game time allows, cycling through the words of the Memory Verse as many times as your game time permits. As game play continues, children will get better at remembering the words of the verse.