Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6

Sunday, December 17, 2017 Lesson #4-15 Seeking God s Presence Isaiah 55:1-11 PK-2 nd Key Verse: The Point: Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Isaiah 55:6 The Lord offers a gracious, loving relationship for those who seek it. Making Connections: God s Presence Brings Life Bible Nuts & Bolts: Repentance Spiritual Practice: Fellowship 1

Activities Supplies Hide and find objects. Fill cups to overflowing. Everyone has enough. Small toys Cups Towels Sand table or rice in dish pans Cups Spoons Play food The Lord offers us a special gift. Bible Box Gift wrap Tape Scissors Repentance is a change of direction. None Respond to the lesson with creative music and movement. Bible Music player 2

Invite others to experience the love of Jesus. Blank note cards Pencils Crayons Stickers Sing a piggyback song to the tune of Are You Sleeping? None Race to fill bowls to overflowing. Shae a drink based on the text. Celebrate the third week of Advent. Small bowls Cotton balls Straws Tables Access to sink or drinking fountain Optional: cups Advent wreath Optional: matches or lighter Students continue their own Bible storybook. Bible Book page (found at end of lesson) Cardstock or plain paper Pens Markers or crayons Optional: three-ring binders, hole punch None 3

Background for Teachers Story Connections In last week s lesson we heard Ezekiel s vision that God s presence brings life, even to old dry bones. This week we hear from another Old Testament prophet, Isaiah, continuing to speak the word of promise that God is always with the people through God s covenant. Story Summary: Seeking God s Presence Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord calls upon Israel to listen to the promise of an everlasting covenant and to seek the Lord. There is nothing that we can do to earn God s love and favor; God has promised to stay by God s people. In response to God s love we help others instead of hurting them, honor God rather than turning away. Our God is a loving God. This passage comes across more as an invitation rather than a command. The instructions that are found here are encouraging and hopeful, not negative. Those instructions are not those of a demanding God watching from on high, but rather of a loving parent guiding their toddler away from danger. The concept of covenant, or promise, was absolutely central to Israel s self-understanding, encompassing God s special relationship with the people Israel. While there are many different covenants in the Hebrew Bible, Isaiah 55:3-4 refers to God s covenant with David (2 Samuel 7:8-17). The Point The Lord offers a gracious, loving relationship for those who seek it. Isaiah seeks to reassure the people that a relationship with God can be restored because God can do so much more than humans can comprehend (see Isaiah 55:8) and that God s word is utterly dependable (Isaiah 55:10-11). The renewed covenant with God is experienced and grasped when the people seek and call upon the Lord while God is near (Isaiah 55:6). Regardless of how far we stray, God will remain in relationship with us and keeps the promise to remain near. Bible Nuts and Bolts: Repentance Repentance means to return or retrace one s steps. In other words, it is the idea of turning back, retracing one s steps in order to return to the right way. We often find ourselves wandering down a path that is not the way in which God intends for us to go. Repentance is realizing this mistake and returning to God s way. Spiritual Practice: Fellowship This journey of faith and repentance is bigger than our ability to do it alone. Our fellow travelers in the church can travel alongside us, helping us to stay on the course and clarifying God s direction. Inviting others to join in this journey is part of our mission as Christians. 4

Lesson #4-15 (PK-2nd) December 17, 2017 Lesson Plan Story Centers are mini-activities designed specifically for preschool and kindergarten students. Depending on the size of your class, you can set these up as centers for in-class rotations or do them as a whole class one after another. In most preschool and kindergarten classes, these centers along with a snack, the Learning the Story activity, and the Living the Story activity will fill the education time, but feel free to choose any activity you think would be fun and appropriate for your class. Hide and Seek Provide small toys to hide under blankets, cups, or other objects. Abundance Provide a sand table or rice in pans, as well as cups and spoons. Fill the cups until they are overflowing with abundance. Play Meals The Lord provides abundantly serve play food to each other until everyone has their fill. 5

The Lord offers us a special gift. You will need: Bible Box Gift wrap Tape Scissors Before class: 1. Wrap the Bible up in a gift box. During class: 1. What holiday is coming up soon? [Christmas.] Right, Christmas! What is your favorite part of Christmas? Let students answer until someone says presents. 2. One of the things that we look forward to at Christmas is getting presents. What are you hoping you will get for a present this year? Allow answers. It would be pretty silly if we had all of these gifts and we just let them sit under the tree and look pretty without opening them. 3. Invite a student to open the wrapped gift box. Have them show it to the class. 4. Just like people who love us give us special gifts at Christmas, God gives us special gifts, too. One of the gifts that God gives us is the gift of abundant life. An abundant life is a full and rich life. This amazing life is always there for us, waiting to be opened and shared with others. We can learn even more about God s love for us and about God s gift of abundant life when we read the Bible. 6

Repentance is a change of direction. You will need: Nothing During class: 1. Today we are going to learn about repentance. Repentance is a big word that means to stop going in one direction and start going in a different direction. We are going to do an activity to help demonstrate repentance. 2. Have the class begin moving in one direction. Listen closely. When I say Repent and turn around I want you to turn and go the other direction. Practice this activity a few times. 3. Now let s add some actions to it. Start walking to your left, and let s pretend that this direction is being mean to our friends. Should we keep going this direction? [No!] Ok, so let s repent and turn around! Good job. Continue with other examples, such as not listening to our parents, telling a lie, or not sharing our toys. 4. Repentance is stopping the behavior we are doing and turning around and doing something different. Sometimes we might say something mean, but then we realize that we should not do that. Sometimes we might fight with our moms and dads or brothers or sisters, but we know that we should turn around and act differently. Sometimes we do not want to share with our friends, but we realize that it makes our friend sad so we turn around and do something different. 5. God made a covenant with God s people. A covenant is a promise that, no matter how many times we start going in the wrong direction, God will always be there to help us turn around. 7

Respond to the lesson with creative music and movement. You will need: Bible Music player Before class: 1. Choose music to play in the background of this activity. During class: 1. Our story today comes from a book in the Old Testament and was written by a man named Isaiah. It is a story with lots of beautiful word-pictures that describe Jesus. Read the story from Isaiah 55:1-11 once. 2. I am going to read the story again, but this time I am going to play some music while I read it. I want you to listen to the music and the words of the story again, and move with your body as you listen. You can dance or tap your toes or sway or move your arms whatever you are comfortable doing. Be sensitive to learners who are differently abled. 3. There are lots of ways to hear and respond to the Christmas story. Let s say a prayer thanking God for beautiful stories: Dear God, thank you for giving the prophet Isaiah the words to tell this beautiful story about the birth of Jesus. Thank you for giving us bodies that can praise you through movement. Amen. 8

Invite others to experience the love of Jesus. You will need: Blank note cards Pencils Crayons Stickers Before class: 1. You may wish to pre-print some cards with the Christmas worship information for your congregation, and simply allow non-readers to decorate them. During class: 1. We have so much to be thankful for! God has given us abundant life, and forgives us when we turn down a wrong path. We need to tell other people about this! Who would you like to tell? Allow student answers. 2. Let s invite these special people to come to church and learn about Jesus. Distribute the card making materials. Create invitations for people to come to worship and experience the abundant life of Jesus, perhaps with Christmas worship information. 9

Sung to the tune of Are You Sleeping. God Gives Freely If you re thirsty, if you re thirsty, Come and drink! Come and drink! God gives all things freely God gives all things freely, Come and drink! Come and drink! If you re hungry, if you re hungry, Come and eat! Come and eat! God gives all things freely God gives all things freely, Come and eat! Come and eat! If you seek God, if you seek God, God is found! God is found! God gives all things freely God gives all things freely, God is found! God is found! 10

Race to fill bowls to overflowing. You will need: Small bowls Cotton balls Straws Tables Before class: 1. On one side of the room, set up one station per team with cotton balls and straws on tables. Place the cereal bowls across from these stations. During class: 1. We are given abundant life, overflowing with goodness. We are going to play a game to help us remember what abundance looks like. 2. Divide students into teams. Students participate in a relay race to move cotton balls from one bowl to another by holding them on a straw by inhaling, running across the room, and putting the cotton ball in the bowl. Fill the bowls to overflowing. 3. Eventually we run out of cotton balls but God s abundant gifts keep coming and coming and coming! God s abundance never runs out. Thanks be to God. 11

Share a drink based on the text. You will need: Access to running water Optional: small cups Before class: 1. Plan to bring students to a sink or drinking fountain for the introduction to this snack time. During class: 1. We have talked a lot today about God s overflowing abundance. When we turn on this water, it seems to keep going and going forever. Do you think this water would run out if we did not shut it off? 2. It is hard to imagine that God can keep giving and giving to us, but that is just what God does. 3. Let s make a list of some of the things that God has provided for us. After someone says something that God provides, we will all respond with Thank you, God! 4. Before returning to your classroom, allow time for all students to have a drink of water. 12

Celebrate the third week of Advent. You will need: Advent wreath Optional: matches or lighter Before class 1. Find the Advent wreath used previously in your class. During class: 1. How many of you remember what this is? [An Advent wreath.] Have any of you been celebrating Advent by using one at home? Remember, it might not look exactly like this one. 2. We are now on our third week in the season of the church year called Advent. Advent is a time of waiting. Do you know what we are waiting for? [Christmas, Jesus birth.] To help us count the days while we wait, we are using an Advent wreath. The wreath has four colored candles to help us count down the weeks before Christmas, and this special white candle in the middle. Do you remember what the white candle in the middle symbolizes, or reminds us of? [Jesus.] 3. This is our third week in Advent. It is a week when we remember the joy that Jesus birth brings to the world. Let s light our third candle and say a prayer together. Lord, we wait for you. (echo) While we wait, we celebrate joy. (echo) Thank you for bringing joy to the world (echo) Through your son, Jesus. (echo) Amen. (echo) 13

Optional ongoing activity. You will need: Bible Book page (found at end of lesson) Cardstock or plain paper Pens Markers or crayons Optional: three-ring binders, hole punch Before class: 1. Make copies of this week s Bible Book page on cardstock or copy paper for each student. During class: 1. Pass out Bible Book pages. 2. Read the bottom of the Bible Book page aloud, reminding students of what they learned in the lesson. 3. Have them put their names on their pages, and draw a picture of something they particularly liked or remember from story in the middle of the page. 4. Optional: Collect and three-hole punch the pages, and put them in individual binders for each student to be kept at church until the end of the year. If you wish, you can investigate other options for binding the Bible books through a local print shop at the end of the year instead of using a three-ring binder. 14

Use simple actions to remember the theme verse: Seek the Lord while he may be found, (hands over eyes, as if searching) call upon him while he is near. (hands around mouth, as if calling) 15

Bible Book Lesson #4-15 (PK-2nd) December 17, 2017 Seeking God s Presence Isaiah 55:1-11 The Point: The Lord offers a gracious, loving relationship for those who seek it. 17

The Story @ Home PK-2 nd Living the Word: Teaching Kids God s Story Narrative Lectionary, Year 4 (2017-2018) Lesson #4-14 Isaiah 55:1-11 Last Week The story of Ezekiel s vision of God s power restoring dry bones to life represents the exiles in Babylon, and the restoration demonstrates the healing power of God s promises. This Week Through the prophet Isaiah, we hear about the promise of the Lord to be with us in relationship. Story Summary Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord calls upon Israel to hear the promise of an everlasting covenant. There is nothing that we can do to earn God s love and favor; God has promised to stay by God s people. In response, we help others instead of hurting them, honor God rather than turning away. Our God is a loving God. This passage is more an invitation than a command. The words here are encouraging and hopeful, not negative. The instructions are not those of a damning God watching from on high, but rather of a loving parent guiding a toddler away from danger. Practice: Fellowship This journey of faith and repentance is bigger than our ability to do it alone. Our fellow travelers in the church can travel alongside us, helping us to stay on the course and clarifying God s direction. Inviting others to join in this journey is part of our mission as Christians. Invite someone to attend worship with your family. The Point The Lord offers a gracious, loving relationship for those who seek it. Bible Nuts & Bolts Repentance Repentance means to return or retrace one s steps. In other words, it is the idea of turning back, retracing one s steps in order to return to the right way. We often find ourselves wandering down a path that is not the way God wants us to go. Repentance is realizing this mistake and returning to God s way. Next Week Next week concludes the study of God s presence among people with the story of God dwelling with the people from the beginning of time.

@ HOME Lesson #4-14 Isaiah 55:1-11 Family Discussions Use the questions below or other questions you think of to discuss today s Scripture reading (listed above) with your family. In what way does this text speak to our theme that God s Presence Brings Life? What does this Scripture have to do with our lives today? What part of this Scripture is the most interesting to you? Why? Family Devotions As you hear and study these stories each week, consider what God has to say to you and your family. What is God s message to us? How should we respond? Sunday Read Isaiah 55:1-11 Isaiah tells about seeking God s presence. Play a game of hide and seek. Where do you try to hide from God? Monday Read Proverbs 8:1; 22-26 Wisdom in creation, part 1. Talk about the things you like the most in creation. Tuesday Read Proverbs 8:27-31 Wisdom in creation, part 2. Use clay to create something new. What would you name your creation? Wednesday Read Psalm 8:1-9 A Psalm of creation. Look online at pictures of the universe. You are more important and wonderful than all of this! How does that make you feel? Thursday Read Isaiah 11:1-9 A prophecy of the Messiah. Get out some stuffed animals and use them to act out this story. Friday Read Luke 1:26-38 The Annunciation. Pretend an angel just brought you a message. What would the message be? How would you react? Saturday Read Luke 1:46-55 The Magnificat. Write a poem or song praising the greatness of God.