Welcome to Stories of Rescue

Welcome to Stories of Rescue This quarter, get ready to dive in to God s plan to rescue His people! We ll start with the Christmas story and then move on to discover how God s salvation plan is seen in the books of Joshua, Judges and Ruth. As your students explore the lives of these people, they ll see how trusting God can make a difference in their own lives. If this is your first time o teach this material or if you d like a quick refresher, go to our website at gospellightsundayschool.com. But if you re ready to dive in to God s rescue plan, then follow these easy x Prepare and Pray 1-2-3 steps 1. Check out the lesson introduction. The Big Idea tells why the lesson will make a difference in kids lives and in your life, too! The Action Plan helps you focus on what kids can do in this lesson to apply the Big Idea to life! Connecting You to Jesus shows how the action in this lesson s Bible story points to Jesus. 2. Read the lesson and customize it for your kids by marking the activities you plan to do. Pray for God to help you reach your kids and show His love to them. 3. Gather the materials you need they re listed right there for you! Teach 1. Get Thinking: Welcome your kids and use this activity to help them think about today s Big Idea! 2. Get God s Word: This is the heart and soul of your time together! Use the Story Starter to draw kids in and the fun Storytelling Idea to get kids participating as you tell the story. 3. Get Talking: Help kids talk about ways they can apply the Bible to their lives. Whiteboard Time, Kid Talk Cards, cool art activities and energetic games will keep your kids interacting with each other, with you and with God! (And get families talking, too, by handing out Family Fridge Fun papers for kids to take home.) End with a prayer time together! Ready to dive in? Let s go Connect to families Check out the Winter Family Event on the CD-ROM! This is a must-have event so that you can pump up parent participation in your program and help them grow faith at home. Get your parents involved! 1 1

Contents Articles Welcome to Stories of Rescue...................................................... 1 Skills 101: How to Prepare.......................................................... 3 Lessons Lesson 1 Shepherds at a Stable Luke 2:1-20... 6 Lesson 2 Simeon, Anna and a Baby Luke 2:22-38...............................16 Lesson 3 Led by a Star Matthew 2:1-11.........................................26 Lesson 4 Escape to Egypt Matthew 2:1-23; Luke 2:39-40........................36 Lesson 5 Rahab s Roof Joshua 2................................................46 Lesson 6 Miracle at the Jordan Joshua 3:1 4:24...56 Lesson 7 The Fall of a Wall Joshua 6...66 Lesson 8 Achan s Sin Joshua 6:18-19; 7:1-26....................................76 Lesson 9 Trick or Treaty? Joshua 9:1 10:15....................................86 Lesson 10 Daring Deborah Judges 4:1-16; 5:1-9...96 Lesson 11 Go Get Em, Gideon Judges 6:1 7:25............................. 106 Lesson 12 The Strongest Man Judges 13:1 16:31... 116 Lesson 13 Ruth and Naomi Ruth 1:1 4:22................................... 126 Sunday School Curriculum Senior Managing Editor, Sheryl Haystead Senior Editor, Deborah Barber Editor, Rebecca English Video Clips, Digital Felt Productions Editorial Team, Mary Gross Davis, Kristina Fucci, Janis Halverson Contributing Editor, Lisa Pham Contributing Writer, Kurt Goble Designer, Matthew Lawler Founder, Dr. Henrietta Mears Publisher, William T. Greig Senior Consulting Publisher, Dr. Elmer L. Towns Editorial Director, Biblical and Theological Content, Dr. Gary S. Greig Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Gospel Light. It is illegal to photocopy or reproduce this material in any form. 2

CD-ROM On the CD-ROM, you will find instru tions for the Winter Family Event, teacher-training articles, Song Motion Charts and Lesson Extras such as game cards, patterns and more! Refer to What to Print on the CD-ROM. Basic Supplies to Keep on Hand Markers, pencils, paper (copy paper, construction paper, butcher paper, card stock, etc.), scissors, glue sticks, tape (clear and masking). Materials Needed for Each Lesson Bibles, whiteboard and markers, Bible Teaching Poster Pack, Kid Talk Cards Grades 3 & 4, Family Fridge Fun papers, Get Going! Worship CD and player, several copies of What the Bible Is All About Bible Handbook for Kids; optional Creative Clips DVD and player. Skills 101 Welcome to Skills 101! This is the place where we ll work together to build skills designed to enhance your teaching experience and to help you find new ays to improve your kids learning! This quarter s skill builder focuses on... How to Prepare When we finish a class session, e might say to ourselves, Whew! Glad I don t have to do anything about this again until next week! It s a far more common feeling than most of us care to admit! But that attitude can keep us from doing what we need to do most: nurture relationships with children and involve them in life-changing Bible learning. To do this, a teacher s work needs to be ongoing. Any person can run into a classroom, throw a few materials together, keep children from hurting themselves for an hour or so and send them on their way. But is this effective teaching? This sort of teaching says to children, This is something anyone can do. You kids won t know the difference. You aren t worth preparing for. Because children so easily absorb an adult s unspoken attitudes, they will soon conclude that indeed this is just another situation where the teachers are nice but the children are not very important. 3 3

Skills 101 Prepare yourself. One terrific eacher says, Begin preparing for the next class session as soon as this session is over. Look at the next session while the manual is still open! When you know what is coming next, you have time to think things through, collect materials you otherwise wouldn t have thought of and be relaxed instead of harried. Prepare the Bible content. Don t assume that you know the story. During the week, block out an hour of time during which you will read the Scripture and the teacher s devotional and pray for the children in your class. Familiarize yourself with the age-appropriate version of the story from the lesson. Your goal is to be able to tell the Bible story without being tied to the teacher s guide. Maintaining good eye contact is essential to keeping children involved. Prepare the environment. Look at your classroom both when children are in it and when it is empty. Ask yourself, What kinds of clutter collects in this room? Where are the bottlenecks where children can t move freely? What items distract children? Take time to eliminate clutter, rearrange the space and make the room a place that is welcoming and inviting. If you share a room, meet with those who share the space to work out ways to keep the room functional and beneficial or all concerned. Prepare the materials. Ask yourself, What are some things that might happen if the children have to wait while I collect supplies for this activity? What could result if I don t have materials ready for group time? It can be very difficult o refocus children s attention when they have waited for an adult to prepare materials. Being prepared is the best way to prevent wandering attention! During the week, collect materials and prepare them for the activities you have chosen. Stack materials in the order of use. If your church has a supply room, plan to arrive early enough to gather needed materials before going to your classroom. When you arrive in the classroom, it s easy to place the stacked, prepared materials in the area of your classroom where they will be used. Prepare to arrive early. If you ve taken the steps above, you have only some simple setting up to do when you arrive in the classroom. You ve eliminated that panicky feeling of needing to do a lot of preparation in a hurry. It s important to remember that no matter what your class s stated starting time, class begins when the first child e ters the room. Arriving early to set up materials is well worth your commitment. 4

Skills 101 Tip We have very little time to impact children with the good news of God s love. Being prepared makes us ready to do this with a loving, relaxed attitude that refle ts His love and care to the children we teach! One veteran teacher points out that the first 15 minu es or so after you enter the classroom has the most potential for doing the very thing we are called to do as teachers: nurture relationships and involve children in life-changing Bible learning. The priority must be the children, not our preparations. Have at least one or two activity centers prepared by the time the first child a rives. This gives even early arrivals a choice of activities. If you still have some setting up to do, make helping you one of the choices you give as a child enters the room. (Yes, this means you must be ready for church half an hour earlier. Commit to it as part of your ministry!) Prepare ways to interact. We quite often can picture what we will be doing during a given part of the class session. But a good question to ask is, What will the children be doing during this time? Be familiar with the discussion questions provided in the curriculum. Have a couple of backup ideas in mind (a simple game or an open-ended art activity) in case something you have planned doesn t work well. When children are involved in an activity, it is never time to sneak away to do something else. This is another prime opportunity to build relationships and involve children in understanding God s Word. 5

Luke 2:1-20 Shepherds at a Stable Dear Teacher, The word glory has always seemed too abstract for me to use in connection with my everyday actions. But as I read Luke 2:14, the phrase glory to God leaped out at me. As I thought about all the Christmas preparations waiting to be done, I wondered how I could give glory to God in the midst of this season. Thankfully, the angels and the shepherds gave me some clues. The angels sang! While my voice isn t angelic, singing songs of praise and Christmas carols is something I can accomplish, even while I m wrapping presents or doing errands. And how did the shepherds give glory to God? They told everyone they saw the reason for the season: the birth of the Savior. I m asking God to give me an opportunity every day to include Jesus in my conversations with others. Got glory this Christmas? I hope so! Sheryl Haystead Senior Managing Editor Big Idea I can celebrate and share the joy of Jesus birth. Action Plan Discover why Jesus birth gives me joy, and tell ways to celebrate with others. Bible Verse Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. Luke 2:14 Sheryl became ill shortly after writing this lesson and went to be with Jesus on January 6, 2012. She missed out on the Christmas preparations she had been looking forward to. But she gave glory to God in every area of her life. Go to teachkidsjesus.com to see more about Sheryl s life. 6

ceto menon whomhi Winter Lesson 1 Connecting You to Jesus Jesus birth in Bethlehem was just one of several ways that the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah were fulfilled (see icah 5:2). God used the decree of a pagan king to bring His prophecies to pass. Even today, God uses the people and events in our world and in our lives to bring us to faith in the Messiah who was born so long ago. Lesson Materials The basics (see contents) Strand of Christmas lights Get Thinking a variety of Christmas items, towel Story Starter gift bag, Christmas candy Story props (see p. 9) Materials for Art or Game activity (see pp. 14-15) Lesson Extras! 1. Help your kids learn the order of the books in the Bible by playing Ball Toss (on CD-ROM). Use only the firs six books of the New Testament for this lesson. Christmas Confusion Luke 2:14 This Christmas present was accidentally dropped, and the words of the Bible verse ran together! Draw lines to separate the words and then write the verse correctly. 2. Students discover today s Bible verse by completing Christmas Confusion puzzle (on CD-ROM). Glo ryto Godin thehig hest, andone arth pea 3. DVD Option: Show Lesson 1: Who Would You Tell? on Creative Clips DVD. It s fun to share great news. And Jesus birth is the greatest news ever! sfav orrests. 7

Get Thinking (10-15 minutes) Welcome students and help them begin to think about today s Big Idea. Christmas Memories Arrange fi e to eight Christmas items on a table. Invite students to look at the items. Then cover the items with a towel and give each student a pencil and a piece of paper. Students try to list the items that are covered. After a short time, uncover the items for students to check their answers. Add some items and take others away for students to play the game again. Connect: Which of these items reminds you of something you really like to do at Christmas? Which of these items reminds you of Jesus birth? At Christmas, we celebrate the time that Jesus was born a long time ago, but today we re also going to talk about why Jesus birth gives us joy! Big Idea I can celebrate and share the joy of Jesus birth. you need A variety of Christmas items (bow, nonbreakable ornament, candle, card, Nativity scene figu ine, star cookie cutter, Christmas light, small stocking, etc.), towel, paper, pencils. 8

Get God s Word Shepherds at a Stable Winter Lesson 1 (15-25 minutes) Help students fin Luke 2 in their Bibles. Tell the following story summary in your own words, guiding students to fin answers in their Bibles. Story Starter Show gift bag. What do you think would be the most surprising gift that could be in this bag? What gift wouldn t you want to receive? What gift would you MOST want to receive? Give several kids a chance to answer. I don t have the gift you d most like to receive, but I do have a small gift for each of you. Give a piece of Christmas candy to each student. Surprises are fun! We ll hear about some surprises in today s story. you need Bible for yourself and each student, Lesson 1 Poster, Story Sketches (from CD- ROM), gift bag, Christmas candy, whiteboard or large sheets of paper and tape, paper and pencils, strand of Christmas lights. Storytelling idea On whiteboard or sheets of paper posted on wall, draw simple sketches from Story Sketches page as instructed throughout the story. Students copy small versions on their own papers as you draw. The Emperor s Order More than 2,000 years ago, Israel was ruled by a Roman emperor named Caesar Augustus. Caesar gave an order that everyone in Israel had to return to the towns their families had come from so that they could register for a census, or an accurate count, of all the Israelites. Caesar wanted a census so he could tax the people! Read Luke 2:4-5 to find out who had o travel and to where! God had chosen a woman named Mary to be the mother of His Son, Jesus. Mary lived in Nazareth, at the northern TIP Invite a volunteer to read aloud information about Bethlehem in Discoveries from the Past on page 221 in What the Bible Is All About for Kids. 9

end of Israel, and she was close to giving birth to God s Son. Prophets had said long ago that the Messiah would be born much farther south, in the town of Bethlehem, near Jerusalem. How would THAT ever happen? Well, Caesar might have thought that the plan for a census was his own bright idea, but God used it to move Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem just in time for Jesus to be born! Draw Story Sketch 1. Now the prophecy was fulfille. God s great plan to save the world was set in motion! Read Luke 2:6-7 to find out xactly where in Bethlehem this birth took place. A manger is a place where people put hay and feed for their animals. Draw Story Sketch 2. So Jesus was born in some kind of stable, or place for keeping animals! God didn t want His Son born in a fancy palace. He wanted Jesus to be born in a place where ordinary people would feel comfortable visiting Him. No Sleep Tonight! Have you ever sat around a campfi e or climbed into your sleeping bag and gotten cozy and comfortable just before drifting off o sleep? Imagine that feeling. Not long after Jesus was born, some shepherds were probably feeling just like that. They were out on a hillside watching over their sheep. Draw Story Sketch 3. Now read Luke 2:8-9. WOW! Those shepherds went from warm and sleepy to TER- RIFIED in just a few seconds! The light was blinding! The quiet dark had become as bright as NOON! WHAT was going on? The shepherds weren t drowsy now they were WIDE awake! One Amazing Baby Draw Story Sketch 4. Read Luke 2:10-12 to find out wh t this angel said to the terrified shephe ds! The angel didn t let the shepherds stay terrifie for long. He had an important message to deliver to these shepherds, because God had chosen THESE MEN to be the firs ones to see the newborn Jesus! Once the angel told them how to fin the baby, the shepherds were stopped in their tracks once again 10

Winter Lesson 1 Big Idea I can celebrate and share the joy of Jesus birth. by the JOYFUL SOUND of thousands and thousands of ANGEL voices! Angels fille the sky as far as they could see, declaring, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests! Draw Story Sketch 5. No one on earth had ever SEEN anything this beautiful before. No one had ever HEARD anything as wonderful! Imagine how the shepherds must have felt from sleepy to scared to stunned by the beauty of this concert of praise to God that they d been invited to attend! But then the angels left. The sky got dark again. The shepherds looked at each other and said, LET S GO! Let s get to Bethlehem and see this thing that the Lord has told us about! Draw Story Sketch 6. They hurried, and indeed, they found a baby in a manger AMAZING! This child was the One God had sent! This was the baby that the angel had said was the SAVIOR, the CHRIST and the LORD! Got to Tell Somebody! TIP Show Lesson 1 Poster and ask volunteers to tell as many words as they can that describe the response of the shepherds to the angels. Look up Luke 2:17-18 to see how the shepherds shared and celebrated the joy of Jesus birth! The promise God had made to send the Messiah, Jesus, to save the world was coming true RIGHT BEFORE THE SHEPHERD S EYES! Once the shepherds had seen Jesus, they were so full of JOY that they went and told everyone they could fin about the ASTONISHING things they had seen and heard. They praised and thanked God for keeping His promise about Jesus the Savior. 11

Wrap-Up You might have heard this story of Jesus birth many times. Or you might be hearing it for the first tim. Either way, it s a story that keeps being told, because Jesus life has made such a BIG difference in the world. We celebrate Jesus birth because of His life and His death and because God raised Him from the dead to make us part of God s family. This is why the angels said joyful words to God when Jesus was born. Read Luke 2:14 aloud. The word glory in this verse means to give praise or honor to God. Show strand of Christmas lights. At Christmastime, using lights to decorate our trees and our houses is one way of showing our praise to God. The songs we sing and the things we talk about show the joy we feel all because of Jesus. We celebrate with people all over the world that Jesus, God s Son, was born! Action Plan Discover why Jesus birth gives me joy, and tell ways to celebrate with others. Connecting Kids to Jesus Jesus birth in Bethlehem showed that He was the special One that prophets in the Old Testament had said would be born. The king who had ordered Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem did not believe in God. But God used this king to make the prophecy come true. This helps everyone know that Jesus is God s Son. Even today, God uses people and events to help us trust Jesus. 12

Get Talking Whiteboard Time (20-30 minutes) Winter Lesson 1 On whiteboard, draw the number 2, an arrow pointing up, a circle and two stick figu es. What words do these drawings remind you of? Ask questions to guide kids to guess to, a high place, Earth and people. Our Bible verse, Luke 2:14, talks about something important we can give to God, the King over all the world. That important thing is glory, or praise. The verse also talks about what God gives to us. Let s read the verse to find out wh t God gives us. Distribute Lesson 1 Kid Talk Cards and look at Side 1. Read Luke 2:14 together. We can say the words of this verse to praise and honor God for the wonderful things He has done. One thing He has done is offer peace to the people He loves. Students draw lines to show answers to the questions on the page. What did the shepherds discover about Jesus in today s story? About God? What choice did the shepherds have to make? (Whether or not to go to Bethlehem as the angel had told them to do.) Winter Lesson 1 Side 1 Luke 2:1-20 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. Draw lines to show which picture is the answer to each question. 1. Who told the good news? 2. Who heard the good news? 3. What was the good news? 4. Who was the good news for? Why do you think the shepherds believed that Jesus was the Savior? Students look at Side 2 of Kid Talk Cards. Students collect every other letter in the ornament to fin out why Jesus birth gives us joy. What Christmas decorations does your family have that remind you that Jesus birth gives us joy? (Manger scene. Christmas cards that picture the shepherds or angels. Star. Lights.) Point to photo of strand of Christmas lights. All the lights and decorations we see at Christmas remind us of how glad we are that Jesus was born for us! What are some other ways that we can celebrate the joy of Jesus birth? What can kids your age do to give glory to God and celebrate Jesus during Christmas? (Sing Christmas carols about Jesus. Thank God every morning for sending Jesus.) Name Luke 2:14 13

Prayer Invite volunteers to tell prayer requests as you write them on the whiteboard. Also encourage students to tell ways they will be getting ready for Christmas in the next few weeks. Then pray with students about the needs and concerns they mention. End the prayer time by asking God to help students show joy because of Jesus birth as they prepare for Christmas. Art Give each student a Christmas Activities page. Students cut pages apart to make eight cards. Then each student chooses two envelopes, seals them and cuts them in half to make pockets. Students decorate the envelopes with decorating materials. Students write a large-sized number on each envelope to represent four dates in December (four days prior to Christmas, four Sundays, etc.). To assemble booklet, students align envelopes with openings at the top and staple envelopes together (see photo). Each student chooses you need One Christmas Activities page (from CD-ROM) printed on card stock for each student, scissors, two envelopes for each student, decorating materials (ribbon, stickers, small wrapping-paper squares, sequins, etc.), glue sticks, markers, stapler. four cards from his or her Christmas Activities page and inserts each card into an envelope. Students take their booklets home and take cards out of the envelopes on the appropriate dates. (Optional: Hole punch one end of each card, so students can hang cards on tree as ornaments. Kids and parents can complete activities on cards at home together.) Connect: It s a lot of fun to celebrate Christmas! As you do the activities on the cards in your booklet, remember the reasons we re glad that Jesus was born! TIP Provide envelopes in a variety of colors and sizes. If you have only one envelope per student, students decorate the cards from the Christmas Activity page and place them in that envelope to take home. 14

Winter Lesson 1 Game Group students into two teams of no more than six students each. Teams line up on one side of an open playing area. Give each team six cups. Demonstrate to students how to stack cups to build a Christmas tree (see photo). At your signal, the firs student on each team runs with a cup to the opposite side of the playing area, sets down the cup, returns to his or her team and tags the next student in line. Play continues until one stack is complete. A volunteer from the winning team says the words of the Bible verse or tells a way to celebrate the joy of Jesus birth. As time permits, play variations of game with students skipping, jumping, walking backwards, etc. Connect: Decorating a Christmas tree is one of my favorite things to do to celebrate Christmas. It was fun making our own Christmas trees! Look for ways you can celebrate Jesus birth this week. Get Going Direct students to look at Side 2 of their Kid Talk Cards again. I know you are going to enjoy celebrating Christmas! Besides all the fun, we get to remember how Jesus made it possible for us to experience God s love and to be part of His family. Play All for Jesus (track 1 on Worship CD), inviting students to listen or sing along. This week, remember to give glory and honor to Jesus for all He has done for us. Distribute Lesson 1 Family Fridge Fun papers as students leave. you need Bibles, 12 paper cups in Christmas colors. 15