Bible Passage: Exodus 12:1 15:21; 19 30; 32 34 (The Golden Calf) God Is Enough REMEMBER VERSE Let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the LORD. Jeremiah 9:24 A. CONNECT// 5 10 min. Children develop relationships with their leaders and one another through the use of simple supplies and conversation starters. After God freed His people from slavery in Egypt, He took them into the wilderness and gave them the Ten Commandments to guide them as His people. Though God gave His people everything they needed to worship Him, the Israelites often responded with fear and uncertainty. They also chose to worship false gods. This made the Lord sad, but He forgave them when they told Him they were sorry. God kept showing them that He is enough. CONNECT QUESTION: Open your time by asking these questions: Who is someone you depend on? What makes that person trustworthy? Natural or Manmade Invite your kids to discuss these questions about real vs. fake things. Engage them in conversation about why they chose their answers. As you ask these questions, discuss with them the difference between something that s natural (occurring naturally in nature) or manmade (made by humans). Which do they prefer and why? Would you rather drink soda or fresh-squeezed orange juice? Would you rather go to the beach or an amusement park? Would you rather play with toys made of wood or plastic? Would you rather play board games or go on a walk? Would you rather have a pet tiger or a pet robot? Would you rather talk face-to-face with your friends or text them? Would you rather watch a stage play or a 3-D movie? Would you rather live in a city or in the country? 1
---------- Gather is our Large Group, so you are not responsible for this section. I m leaving it so that you can see the content. --------- B. GATHER// 20 35 min. Children experience and learn more about God through prayer, storytelling from The Big God Story, an investigation into God s Word, and creative ways to memorize Scripture. Bible Passage: Exodus 12:1 15:21; 19 30; 32 34 Storytelling Technique: Images, Key Word Response Before you begin this storytelling time, invite two kids to the front. Explain that one child should hand the other child as many ping-pong balls (or other items) as she can hold in one minute. At the end of a minute, count to see how many she has. If you have time, invite up multiple sets of children to see how many ping-pong balls they can carry. Maybe they can carry more than they thought! As each child participates, ask him if he ever thinks he has enough, or if he wants more. We just played a game during which you maybe held more than you imagined you could, even when you thought you had enough! Today we re going to hear about how God is enough for His people. Whenever I point to you, you can say enough as loud as possible. Let s try it. Practice with the children. Good job! Let s invite God to help us learn more about Him today. Lead the children in a Prayer of Release. Who remembers what we talked about last week in The Big God Story? Interact with responses. God brought Joseph through many difficult situations because He had a big plan for his life. Invite kids to read Genesis 50:20 together aloud. In fact, God planned to use Joseph to save many lives. We heard how God kept His promises and provided for His people. He provided (point to children) enough to save the family line of the promised Redeemer. For about 400 years, the Israelites cried out to God for freedom from slavery. So God raised up a man named Moses to help free them. Even after they d been freed, the Israelites found themselves being chased by the Egyptian army. Tech: Cue Egyptian Army slide. God had so much more for His people, so He divided the Red Sea (Tech: Cue Red Sea slide.) so they could cross the sea and escape from the army. Then God closed the sea and washed the Egyptian army away. Again, God provided (point to children) enough to care for His people. In the wilderness, God took care of His people. He made a covenant, or everlasting promise, to be their God and make them His people. He gave them the Ten Commandments to guide their lives and help them be set apart for Him, as His own people. Tech: Cue Ten Commandments slide. Read Exodus 20:2 3 aloud. This was the very first commandment and very important. The Israelites had lived in Egypt for 400 years, and the Egyptians worshipped many false gods. Tech: Cue Egyptian Gods slide. But these false gods couldn t save them from the plagues. They couldn t divide the seas. They had no power. They were not (point to kids) enough. These false gods weren t just powerless. They couldn t be in relationship with the people who worshipped them. God wanted so much more for the Israelites. He longed to be in relationship with His people. He led His people to the Promised Land, a place where they could freely worship the one true God. He d promised to make them His special people. He did this to show the world the love relationship between God and His people. 2
The Israelites were so completely blessed to have the God of the universe choose them as His holy people. He began to transform them into His holy people. Invite kids to read Exodus 20:23 together aloud. He required that His people recognize no other god especially gods of silver or gods of gold they made with their own hands. This is the kind of thing the Egyptian people did, and God wanted His people to be different and set apart. He wanted them to understand that He is (point to kids) enough; they didn t need anything more. When their earthly leader, Moses, went to be with God on the mountain for 40 days, the Bible says God came upon the mountain in the form of a dense cloud and fire. The people lost their confidence. Tech: Cue Fiery Mountain slide. Moses was gone for too long and they feared God wasn t (point to kids) enough for them. The mountain was smoking. It shook as if there was a mighty earthquake. This scared the Israelite people. In their fear, they did exactly what God had commanded them not to do. They gathered up their gold jewelry, melted it down, and formed it into the image of a calf they could worship. Though this might seem to us like a really weird thing to do, remember that the Israelites were used to seeing the Egyptians worship false gods. That was familiar to them. But this grieved God s heart. In fact, God was so upset that His people had disobeyed His first law that He wanted to just start over with a new people. But Moses asked God to spare the people He d brought out of Egypt the people who were the children of Abraham, the man to whom He d made an everlasting promise. God heard Moses prayers and, in His mercy, did not destroy the Israelites. Yet, they still faced consequences for their actions. When Moses came down the mountain and saw what the Israelites were doing, he threw down the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were written. Tech: Cue Ten Commandments slide. Then he took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire. He poured the ashes in water and made the Israelites drink it! Because of Moses actions and his anger, the Israelites realized the great sin they had committed. And they repented, or turned away, from their sins. God rewrote the Ten Commandments on new tablets. Once again He promised His presence would go with them into the Promised Land. Next week we ll hear more about their journey in the wilderness and how God is in control of everything. This part of The Big God Story is a sad reminder of how easy it can be to not trust God when things get hard. God called His people to worship Him, the one true God, who is (point to kids) enough for them. Today, God still calls us to worship Him only. Though it may be difficult to worship a God whom we can t see or touch, and to choose God over everything else, we know God is (point to kids) enough. We can trust Him. This means living life with God is so much better than living life any other way! As we put our faith in God, we learn what it means to trust and obey Him even when it s hard. No matter what we face, He is with us. God will give us everything we need to live a life of faith. Through difficult times we can learn to depend on Him. Share a story about God being enough in your life. ---------- start here after Large Group ------- C. RESPOND// 30 40 min. Children process what the Holy Spirit has been teaching them and respond to God through individual and collaborative worship and various forms of play, including interactive games, activities, experiments, and more. (use any of the following 4 activities) 1) Engage: Make a Storm SUPPLIES Paper lunch bags (1 per child) (bring your own; a few available in craft closet) Have the kids help you clean up the supplies from RESPOND, then join you in a circle on the floor. When God met the people in the wilderness, His glory covered the mountain and appeared as a storm! Let s create a storm with rain and thunder today. 3
RAIN Explain that they re going to use their hands and feet to make a rainstorm. To do this, they ll follow your actions as you move across the room. Start the kids from one side of the room snapping their fingers, and then move to the other side of the room. While the kids from the first side are still snapping, get the kids on the other side of the room to rub their palms together. While the kids are rubbing their palms together, get the other kids started on stomping their feet lightly on the floor. Repeat this process moving from stomping to rubbing to snapping until the rain has stopped. THUNDER Have your kids blow into the bags, then twist them closed (keeping the air inside). Have them clap their bags as hard as they can so they pop! WANT MORE? (bring your own) Additional supplies: disposable aluminum pie pan, wool fabric (small piece), foam plate, eraser, thumbtack. To create lightning, place the foam plate upside down on the floor or table. Put the thumbtack through the center of the pie pan (from the bottom) and secure the thumbtack with the eraser. Briskly rub the rim of the pie tin with the wool fabric for at least one minute. Holding on to the eraser, quickly place the pie tin onto the foam plate. Touch the pie tin. You should feel a small shock! If you turn off the lights, you ll see a small spark! If you don t feel a shock, rub the pie tin with the wool more quickly and for a longer period of time. 2) Engage: Molding Responses SUPPLIES Suggestion: Soft music Play dough or modeling clay (1 lump per child) (let Justin know by Friday noon if needed) Pencils (sharp) or toothpicks (1 per child) (bring your toothpicks) Wet wipes (chlorox wipes available in supplies closet across kitchenette) God is enough! He freed His people from slavery, called them His treasured possession, and gave them commandments for how to live the best kind of life. And God is enough for you. Whatever you re needing right now God can fill that place in your life. If life is difficult or uncomfortable for you, like it was for the Israelites, God wants to care for you and help you depend on Him. Nothing and no one else can satisfy you. Invite the children to take some time to respond to God. Ask them to ponder: What is hard or difficult or uncomfortable in your life right now? What do you want to say to God today? Play music softly as the kids talk with God and ponder these questions. Afterward, show the kids the clay and invite them to form the clay into tablets on which they can etch their responses with pencils or toothpicks. Explain to them that the Ten Commandments were written on stone tablets. These were to help the Israelites live the best kind of life a life set apart for God. When they lived this life, dependent on Him, they could show the rest of the world what a love relationship between God and people looked like. Allow the kids to etch their responses to God on their tablet of clay. They can write or draw images or words that describe what they want to say to God about what they ve heard today, how they want to depend on Him, or prayers that God would help them live their lives set apart for Him. 3) Remember Verse Each week children will spend time memorizing a portion of Scripture together. The Remember Verse focuses on a character trait of God that s highlighted in today s portion of The Big God Story. 4
Let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the LORD. Jeremiah 9:24 Game: Verse in an Envelope SUPPLIES Bible Remember Verse Game cards (see Resources) Envelopes (2) Scissors Optional: Remember Verse cards and printable image (see Resources) PREPARE AHEAD Print two copies of the Remember Verse Game cards, cut apart each phrase, and put a set of game cards in each envelope. Optional: Print the Remember Verse cards and printable image; display the image and cut apart the cards to send home with the children. Read through the verse several times with the children. Form the kids into two teams and give each group an envelope. On your signal, have the teams open their envelopes and race to see which team can work together to put the words of the verse in order the fastest. 4) Investigate Discussion Questions Why were the Israelites in the wilderness at Mount Sinai? Exodus 19:1 What is the first commandment? Exodus 20:2 3 Why do you think the first commandment is so important to God? What did God do for His people, even when they broke His first commandment? What is your favorite way to worship God? How has God shown you through your life, or the life of someone you know, that He is enough? God Is Enough Invite the children to read 2 Corinthians 9:8 out loud. How does it make you feel to know that God is able to bless us abundantly? How has God provided for your needs? Invite the children to read 2 Peter 1:3 out loud. What does this verse tell you about how God is enough for us? What are some things God has given us to help us live godly lives? 5
God Has So Much More for Us Though the one true God chose the Israelites to be His holy people, that same God of the universe has also offered us the opportunity to be in relationship with Him. He has offered us so much more than what the rest of the world offers. Invite the children to read John 10:10 out loud. In what ways does Jesus give us the best kind of life? How has God blessed you with a life that is better than anything the world can offer? Invite the children to read Philippians 4:11 13 out loud. What does it mean to be content? How can God use difficult situations to show us that He is enough? Developmentally Speaking Third and fourth graders are beginning to listen to and understand other people s thoughts and opinions. As you facilitate your discussion group, encourage the children to learn from one another and listen for the Holy Spirit speaking through the group. D. BLESS// 5 min. Children receive a blessing from their leaders and sometimes one another. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide. Before you bless the children in your group, pray about the blessing God would have you give to them. Gather the children in a circle. Invite them to kneel and place their hands over their hearts as you read the blessing from Psalm 23:5b 6: You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. May God pour His blessings into your life. May you know that He is enough for you today, tomorrow, and always. HomeFront Weekly: Be sure to send home the HomeFront Weekly for next week s lesson! This preteaching tool for parents encourages families to spend time in God s Word together before children arrive at church. 6