Classroom Edition 4 year olds, 5 year olds and kindergarten Winter Lesson 10 Bible Passage: 2 Samuel 7; Psalm 30 (David Plans for the Temple) God Is So Good Remember Verse For the LORD is good and his love endures forever. Psalm 100:5a LESSON OVERVIEW 8:15-8:45 10:30-11:00 Be in class for CONNECT/ CHECK-INS - playtime - coloring pages 8:45-9:05 11:00-11:20 WORSHIP 9:05-9:25 11:20-11:40 GATHER: - Remember Verse - God s Big Story - Wonder Question 9:25-9:45 11:40-12:00 RESPOND - 2-3 prepared application activities 9:45 - end 12:00 - end BLESS and Snack - playtime until end
LEADER PREP Each week you ll find encouraging articles that help you prepare your heart to present the lesson. Inspire Shares personal stories from fellow ministry leaders about how God has worked in their lives Aaaggghhh! I slammed the phone down on the table in anger. I had just received some frustrating and emotionally difficult news. Unfortunately, my response to the person had been rude and demanding. As I turned, I saw my two-yearold daughter standing at the top of the stairs. She had heard my entire conversation. Overwhelmed and upset, I sat down on my kitchen floor and burst into tears. My daughter walked into the kitchen and wrapped her little arms around me. I love you, Mama, she said to me. My little girl embraced me in my ugliness, convinced that if she told me she loved me enough, I would be okay. I realized God does this same thing with me. The goodness, care, and grace I felt from the Lord put my actions into perspective. I needed to apologize for my angry words. First, I apologized to my daughter. Then, I took a deep breath, picked up the phone, and swallowed my pride. God extends His goodness to me each time I veer off track. I expect to be shamed. Instead, He continually reminds me of His goodness. His correction comes from love, putting us back on track. It s His love and goodness that transform me the most. It s His tender care that places me back on the right path. God is so good! Laura Weber ROCKHARBOR Church Equip Offers perspective and context to the lesson s Bible passage In God s goodness, His favor and direction rested on Israel. From the beginning of David s rule over Israel, he and his armies engaged in several battles against their enemies. Over and over again, the Israelite armies were victorious. After several wars and battles of conquest, God gave King David and his people a season of rest. During this time, David was determined to build a holy temple for God, a place for His Spirit to dwell among His people. The ark of the covenant had been in a tent that God commanded Moses to build for Him (Exodus 25:8 9). God never commanded David to build the temple, but David wanted to build it as an offering of worship and gratitude in response to all God had done. But God had plans for David s son, Solomon, to build the temple later. Instead of having David build a place of worship for the Lord, God promised a gift to David. In His goodness, the Lord promised to build David a house not a physical house, but a dynasty through David s lineage that would last forever. God s plan was greater than David could have ever imagined. Through David s lineage came the Messiah, Jesus, who is God s promised Savior for His people and the world. Jesus is the answer and the healing God provides for His people. Jesus is the atonement for the sin of the world. His sacrifice allows us to live in a restored relationship with God. It is through Him that all who believe will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Support Provides reflection and assessment through encouragement, prayer, and time in God s Word Sing the praises of the LORD, you his faithful people; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning (Psalm 30:4 5). King David was in awe of God s goodness. He saw countless acts of faithfulness and forgiveness from the Lord. The forgiveness God offered always brought healing and restoration. God is faithful. God is loving. Though we sin and often lose our way, He is forgiving and corrects our path. David marveled over the goodness of God. Consider writing a psalm of praise to God. Perhaps you ve experienced His deliverance, mercy, or healing. Maybe you re in need of such things from the Lord. Wherever you find yourself today, express your heart through your written word to the One who made you.
!!! Children develop relationships with their leaders and one another through simple activities and conversation starters. Coloring Pages and Playtime WORSHIP// 1st service: 5/K @ 8:45 2nd service: 4/5/K @ 11:00 Children experience and learn more about God through memorizing Scripture, storytelling from The Big God Story, prayer, and discussion. Remember Verse For the LORD is good and his love endures forever. Psalm 100:5a Remember Verse Definitions Endures: to last or stay the same Remember Verse Motions For the LORD: Make L with right hand. Cross right hand over front of body from left shoulder to right hip. is good: Place fingertips of open palm on chin. Move hand forward as if blowing a kiss. and his love: Cross arms over chest. endures forever: Point index finger, move finger in large circular motion. The Big God Story 2 Samuel 7; Psalm 30 God Is So Good Storytelling Technique: Story Tree SUPPLIES Leaf template (see Resources) Butcher paper (4', brown) Paper (3 sheets, green) Scissors Markers Masking tape PREPARE AHEAD Cut out a large trunk of a tree from the brown butcher paper, about one foot wide by four feet tall. Tape it to the wall, low enough that children can easily see it. Cut out several brown branches and tape them as if they re coming out of the trunk section, near the top. Print nine individual leaves using the Leaf template and cut them out. Invite children to take giant steps to their Story Spots. Hi, everyone! I m so glad to be back with you again to learn more about The Big God Story. Before we get started, we need to do something together. Who knows what we do first? Encourage responses. Yes, we invite God to teach us. Lead children in a Prayer of Release to pause, be
still, and ask the Holy Spirit to quiet their hearts and minds. Write God on the tree trunk in large letters. Friends, God is so good. This tree is a Story Tree. That means we re going to add special leaves to the tree during The Big God Story today. Will you be my helpers? Interact with responses. God is at the center of the tree because He is at the center of The Big God Story. We ve learned many stories together. Place your hand on your elbow if you remember when God s people were living as slaves in Egypt. Interact with responses. God knew His people were sad, and He rescued His people. Write God s people on four of the leaves and invite volunteers to come and tape them to the tree. God promised to bring His people to a land called the Promised Land. God is so good that He delivered His people to the Promised Land. But God s people started breaking the rules and doing what they wanted, instead of following God s rules. They stopped listening to God. Things didn t go well, and armies from all over came to battle God s people. The Israelites were captured, and they were very sad. They cried out to God. God heard their cries because He is so good. He helped His people. God showed His people a lot of love and a good path to follow. He gave them a king named David. Write David on a leaf, and then invite a volunteer to come and tape the leaf to a branch of the tree. David loved and worshipped God, and he was a good king. He led the army of Israel in many battles and followed the Lord God his entire life. God was with David, and the Israelites made good choices with him as their king. After many battles, God gave David rest from his enemies. David was very thankful to God for being so good to him and the Israelites. David wanted to do something special for God to thank Him. David wanted to build a temple where the people could keep the ark of the covenant. God had His own plans, though, and instead said David s son could build the temple for Him. God is so loving and so good that He told David that rather than have David give Him the gift of a beautiful temple, God wanted to give David a gift. Who can guess what gift God gave to David? Interact with responses. God s gift to David was that someone from David s family would always be king. Write David s family on three leaves and invite kids up to tape them to the tree. Friends, always is a really long time. God didn t mean just a few of David s family members would be king; He meant that David s kingdom would last forever. What a wonderful gift! God s promises always come true. Everything God said would happen, did happen. David s family had many kings in it, including the King over all kings Jesus! Write Jesus on a leaf and invite a child to tape it to the tree. Jesus is a part of David s family. Isn t that wonderful? Jesus is the King of Kings, and His kingdom will never end. When we make bad choices, or choose to go the wrong way in our lives, we have a loving Savior, Jesus, who leads us and takes care of us. What a wonderful gift! God is so good! Leave your Story Tree to be used during RESPOND. Wonder Questions Lead a discussion on today s part of The Big God Story as children take turns pulling Wonder Questions from a bag. SUPPLIES Wonder Questions strips (see Resources) Scissors Small bag with drawstring PREPARE AHEAD Print or copy the Wonder Questions strips, cut them apart, and place them in the bag. In today s part of The Big God Story, King David was so thankful to God that he wanted to build a temple as a special place to worship Him. Instead, God told David that someone from his family would always be king. Jesus, the promised Savior, would come from David s family. I wonder How did David feel about God s promise? I wonder How has God been good to me? I wonder How can I tell others about God s goodness? Prayers & Praises
! After discussing the Wonder Questions, encourage everyone to stand and stretch for a moment. Then, ask them to have a seat in a circle before moving into a time of Prayers & Praises. God is so good. It s wonderful hearing about His goodness in The Big God Story. Let s pray and thank God for His goodness. When we pray to God, we re giving Him praise. You can tell Him whatever you want to say. I ll start. God, King of Kings, You are so good to all of Your children. Thank You for loving us so much. Allow children time to participate. Encourage them to speak their own words or repeat the words you offered. Close as the Holy Spirit directs you. Then transition into a time of prayer for individual requests and praises. Now let s share how we can pray for each other. Ask children to share updates on the things they previously asked the class to pray with them about. Celebrate the praises, recommit to praying for things not yet answered, and ask for any new requests. Pray for the praises and requests mentioned, and let children know you ll continue to pray for them in the coming week. Children reflect on what the Holy Spirit is teaching them and respond through creative activities and games. Be-leaf-ing in God s Goodness Because God sent Jesus through David s line, we all can have a relationship with God. Continue using the Story Tree from The Big God Story as you lead children into response to God s goodness. SUPPLIES Leaf template (see Resources) Story Tree (from GATHER) Paper (1 sheet for every 4 children, green) Scissors Markers Tape (clear) PREPARE AHEAD Print one copy of the Leaf template per child. Cut out the leaves. Invite the kids to walk like a duck over to the table. Refer to the tree and the leaves hanging on it. What s your favorite thing about today s part of The Big God Story? Invite responses. Those are good thoughts. Today, we get to remember that because of God s goodness, we can be a part of The Big God Story. Because God sent Jesus through David s family, we get to be with Him forever. What would you like to say to God? Allow for a moment for children to respond quietly. We have plenty of leaves here to add to our tree. You can write your name on a leaf. Then, as you add it to the tree, you can thank God for His goodness and for inviting us to be a part of His story. Encourage kids to write their name (or at least the first letter of their name) on a leaf and tape it to the tree branches. As they tape their leaf to a branch, you can place your flat hand over their leaf, and say, God is good to (child s name) and pray a quiet prayer with the child to thank God for being good in our lives. (Optional) Wake Up, Friends! Because God is so good, He is with us all the time even when we re sleeping! Invite kids to shake out their limbs before walking over to an open playing space. Friends, God is so good, and He is with us all the time. He is with us when we re awake and when we re asleep. Explain that kids will find a spot to lie down and pretend to be asleep. You ll sing the following song to the tune of Are You Sleeping? When the song gets to the part where it names an animal, children will get up and act like the animal indicated in the song. For example: My friends are sleeping, my friends are sleeping. When they wake, when they wake
! they will wake like chickens, they will wake like chickens. When they re awake, now they re awake. After they wake, playing the part you called, they ll then need to find a new spot to sleep. The game can start again, with you inserting a different animal each time. Repeat as time allows. Children receive a blessing from their leaders and sometimes one another. A blessing may be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide. At the end of your time together, invite kids to do a call and response with you. Leader: God is Children: so good! After repeating a few times, invite children to sit and hear the following blessing from Romans 8:28a: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him. Children, may you praise our good God who saves you, who heals you, and who helps you. Send home the At Home Weekly with your kids.