These Guys Aren t on Fire - PDF Free Download

These Guys Aren t on Fire Bible Story: These Guys Aren t on Fire (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) Daniel 3 Bottom Line: Trust that God is always with you. Memory Verse: Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6, NIV Life App: Confidence Living like you believe what God says is true Basic Truth: I can trust God no matter what. Social: Providing Time for Fun Interaction (Small Groups, 15 minutes) Welcome kids and spend time engaging in conversation and catching up. Get ready to experience today s story. Before kids arrive, take a few moments to pray for them. Ask for God s mercy over the kids who are in difficult situations or are struggling with specific circumstances. Ask God to help kids grapple with their fears and insecurities. Pray that kids would be able to feel God s presence and that He would help them trust that He is always with them. 1. Freeze Dance What You Need: Upbeat music Ask kids to come up with fun ways to dance. Give the dance moves a fun name. Explain that you will play music and call out one of the silly dance steps they came up with. Tell them to keep dancing until they hear the music stop. Then they must freeze and be perfectly silent until the music begins again. After each pause, call out a different dance step before starting the music. If desired, play an elimination game. Ask those who move or make a sound during the freeze to sit down. I love how you dance! You re great Freeze Dancers and have some very cool moves. You were good listeners too! You listened for the music just the way I asked you to do. [Transition] Today in Large Group we re going to hear about some men who were told to do something when they heard the king play music. Let s find out what they did. Lead your group to the Large Group area. 2

Groups: Creating a Safe Place to Connect (Small Groups, 25 minutes) Create a safe place to connect and learn how the Bible story applies to real life experiences, through interactive activities and discussion questions. * 1. Fiery Glow Stick Review [Talk about God Bible Story Review Application Activity] What You Need: Bible, glow stick(s), music Ask kids to sit down in a circle. Explain that when they hear the music play, they must quickly pass the Fiery Glow Stick as if it was very hot. Tell them that when the music stops, whoever has the Fiery Glow Stick will answer a fun question about today s Bible Story. If they don t know the answer to the review question, they can hand the glow stick to someone else to answer. If possible, turn off the lights so that the glow stick is brighter. Review Questions: o What did King Nebuchadnezzar build? (A golden statue) o Why did King Nebuchadnezzar build a golden statue? (He wanted people to bow down and worship the golden statue.) o How tall was the statue the king built? (90 feet) o What was the signal the king gave for people to bow down and worship his golden statue? (he played music; as soon as people heard the musical instruments playing, they were to bow down) o What would happen if someone didn t obey the king s command? (they would be killed; thrown into a fiery pit) o Why did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego not bow down the king s statue? (they knew that they should only worship the one true God, not a big statue) o What happened when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went into the fiery furnace? (the men did not die or even smell like smoke; there was a fourth person in the furnace with them) o What was the new law the king made after he saw how the one true God protected Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? (no one was allowed to speak against the one true God) Tell the group that they don t need to be afraid of being in a fiery furnace, but there are other times when they might feel afraid, sad, or alone. Ask them to share times when kids need to remember that God is with them. [Make It Personal] Share about a time when you needed to remember that God was with you. How did He God help you? 3

The next time you re afraid, think about the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. When you feel alone or you re in the dark, close your eyes and [Bottom Line] trust that God is always with you. Remind yourself that God loves you and never leaves you. He was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the middle of a hot, scary, fiery furnace! And He will be with you, too, no matter what. 2. Draw by Faith [Live for God Application Activity] Made to Create: an activity that explores spiritual ideas through the process of drawing, building, and designing What You Need: Draw by Faith cards from Activity Page, markers, large index cards Pair the kids up with a partner. Give one partner a large index card and a marker and ask them to sit down on the floor. Explain that you will show the other partner a Draw by Faith card that contains a picture. Without speaking, the children who viewed the picture will sit behind their partners. Then, using their finger as a pen, they must draw on the backs of their partners what they saw on the Draw by Faith card. Tell the partners with the markers and index cards to draw what they think is being traced on their backs. Give partners one minute to complete the challenge. Kids should not speak except to ask their partner to redraw the image on their back. When the time is up, let kids show one another their pictures and then compare them with the one from the Draw by Faith card. Talk about what s happening in the picture. Ask kids to share why they would need to trust that God is with them if they were in that situation. Let partners switch roles and play again with a new Draw by Faith card until all the cards have been used and each picture discussed. Here are suggested discussion points to focus on with each picture: o Lightning Bolt fear of storms o Sad Face when we are sad o Band-Aid if we get hurt or sick o Roller Coaster trying something new o Stick Figure standing up and doing what s right even when others don t o House being home alone; fear of the dark Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced something very big, very hard, and very scary! You won t ever face a fiery furnace, but you will face situations that may feel just as scary and impossible. Everyone feels afraid sometimes. When you start to feel worried, sad, or afraid, that s a signal to stop and talk to God. [Bottom Line] Trust that God is always with you. He s even closer than your friend who was drawing on your back. You couldn t see him/her, but you knew he/she was there. You can t see God, but you can know that He s with you. He s bigger than any problem or fear and even closer than the person sitting next to you. Call on Him anytime, anywhere, and He will hear you. 4

Pray and Dismiss [Pray to God Prayer Activity] Made to Connect: an activity that invites kids to share with others and build on their understanding What You Need: Glow stick Sit in a circle and hand the glow stick to one of the kids. Place your hand on the shoulder of the child holding the glow stick and say, [Bottom Line] Trust that God is with you. Then pray a simple prayer like the one below. When finished, ask the child holding the glow stick to hand it to someone else. Repeat the Bottom Line and prayer for that child. Continue until everyone has been prayed for. Dear God, help [child s name] to be confident that You are with him this week when he (fill in with something that pertains to the child you re praying for). In Jesus name, amen. As adults arrive to pick up, hand out extra glow sticks and invite the kids to tell what happened to three men in the Bible who didn t bow down to the gold statue. 5