LESSON SNAPSHOT BOTTOM LINE: Grumblers focus on their fear, Thank-ers focus on God. OBJECTIVE: Kids will be encouraged to turn to God with thanksgiving, even in their fear. KEY PASSAGE: Exodus 32:1-20. The Israelites Build a Golden Calf. MEMORY VERSE: Do everything without grumbling or arguing - Philippians 2:14 (NIV) SUMMARY: It had been a long time since Moses had gone up the mountain to talk to God, and the Israelites began to grumble. They were afraid: Had Moses abandoned them? Had God? In their fear, they took their eyes off of God and crafted their own god a golden calf. SIMPLE PRAYER: Dear God, We want to be thankful people and not grumblers. Help us to keep our eyes on you and not on our fears. In Jesus name, Amen
MEMORY VERSE Do everything without grumbling or arguing - Philippians 2:14 (NIV) Do everything without finding fault or arguing - Philippians 2:14 (NIrV) LARGE GROUP: As a group, see if the kids can recite the memory verse without seeing it on screen. Then put the verse on screen and read it once more together. SMALL GROUP: Pair the kids off and have them recite the verse to each other.
SKIT HAPPY HANK AND THE GOLDEN CALF ITEMS NEEDED: Gold ring CHARACTER BREAKDOWN: 2M, 2F CHARACTERS: Anna Japheth Other Anna Happy Hank Anna, Japheth and the Other Anna look into the distance, eagerly. JAPHETH: Any minute now. OTHER ANNA: I m so nervous. I hope we re doing the right thing. ANNA: Of course, we re doing the right thing. We ve got to do something. JAPHETH: She s right. Where s Moses when we need him. He s been up on that mountain for 40 days now doing who knows what. Leaving us down here to fend for ourselves. ANNA: Is he even coming back? I don t know, do you? We might be all alone now. OTHER ANNA: Oh, that s a scary thought. I m frightened. ANNA: We re all frightened. That s why we re making this idol. Just like the ones they used to have in Egypt.
SKIT OTHER ANNA: Where we were slaves. ANNA: Yes. And this idol will be just like what they used to worship. OTHER ANNA: The idols that our God said weren t real and that he was the only true God? JAPHETH: Who s side are you on here, Anna? OTHER ANNA: Sorry. I m so scared of being alone. Happy Hank strolls in, twirling a ring on his finger. HAPPY HANK: Hey guys! THE OTHERS: (grumbling) Hey, Happy Hank. ANNA: So what are you happy about today Hank? HAPPY HANK: Well, I m happy that God loves us and is going to take care of us. Which is a good thing to remember, because I ll tell you, I m a little scared. OTHER ANNA: You are? HAPPY HANK: Yep. OTHER ANNA: Me too. JAPHETH: We all are. HAPPY HANK: It s scary that nobody s seen Moses in such a long time. But it s okay as long as we trust God. Besides I heard that there was a plan and that I should bring Aaron all of my gold. I don t have much. Just this ring. JAPHETH: That s okay. Every little bit helps. I just had a couple of gold coins. ANNA: The Other Anna and I gave Aaron all of the gold jewelry that we have. OTHER ANNA: Hank, you d better hurry and get that to Aaron. It s almost time. HAPPY HANK: So what s Aaron doing with all this gold? JAPHETH: He s building us an idol.
SKIT HAPPY HANK: What? ANNA: A great big Golden Calf. See, he s forging it over there. HAPPY HANK: Oh my word, this isn t good. OTHER ANNA: It is. Now we don t have to be afraid anymore. HAPPY HANK: No! No! NO! This isn t right. You guys are letting your fears lead you to do terrible things. This gold cow isn t going to help us. Only our God can. Only he can help us overcome our fear and grumbling. We need to focus on him. ANNA: (to Japheth) Wow, Happy Hank s giving us a real talking to. Do you think he s right? JAPHETH: Happy Hank s giving. (chuckle) OTHER ANNA: Uh-oh. Look over there. It s Moses. ANNA: He s come back. Hooray! JAPHETH: Wait. He doesn t look very happy. He looks angry. OTHER ANNA: He s looking at the Golden Calf. ANNA: I think we made a huge mistake. JAPHETH: What do we do now? OTHER ANNA: Hank, tell us how to be happy like you. HAPPY HANK: Well, you can start by not grumbling and complaining so much. Be thankful to God for all that you have. JAPHETH: That s good stuff. HAPPY HANK: And when you do get scared: don t focus on the fear, focus on God. OTHER ANNA: Do you have more? As the four walk off: HAPPY HANK: Sure, I got a million of em.
SKIT JAPHETH: (To Anna) You know even though our desert trip has been a little rocky, I think things will really turn around for us in the Promised Land. No more grumbling for us. I hear the land is flowing with milk and honey. ANNA: Milk? I can t have milk, I m lactose intolerant. JAPHETH: Grumble. ANNA: Oops, sorry. They exit.
OBJECT LESSON OR KIDS SERMON ITEMS NEEDED: Picnic basket A bowl of cranberry sauce I love Thanksgiving because it s a time to remember all that God has given us and to thank him for it. It s also a time when a lot of people get together with family or friends sometimes family and friends they haven t seen in a long time. And what do most of us do when we get together on Thanksgiving? We eat! My friend packed us this basket with a Thanksgiving feast for us to enjoy. Open up the basket and remove the bowl of cranberry sauce. Here s a bowl of cranberry sauce. I remember my friend telling me how much he loves cranberry sauce. And let s see what else we have. Look into the basket with disappointment. Upend the basket to show that there is nothing else inside. There s nothing else inside. I guess my friend was so focused on the cranberry sauce that he forgot all the other things that make a great Thanksgiving feast. Turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing and yummy rolls and corn and green beans. That s the problem when we focus too much on one thing. Everything else just disappears. Like when we focus on our fears. Everybody has things that they are afraid of; but sometimes we get so focused on the things that scare us, we get overwhelmed and we can t see anything else. If we re only thinking on our fears, like my friend was only thinking about the cranberry sauce, then you miss out on a whole feast of good things. God loves us and wants to help us with all of our problems and fears. If we focus on him and all the good things in life, then it s our fears that start to fade away. And this Thanksgiving, that s something to be truly thankful for.
LARGE GROUP GAME DESERT WANDERERS ITEMS NEEDED: Blindfolds Obstacles (cardboard boxes, music stands, blue tarp) INSTRUCTIONS: Chose four kids to pair up into two teams. On each team there will be a wandering Israelite and a leader. Going one team at a time, have the wanderer put on the blindfold. Place obstacles throughout the stage: A cardboard box as a rock, music stands as cacti, a blue tarp or old blue jeans as a watering hole. (These are just recommendations; you can use whatever obstacles might be easily obtainable.) Designate a space on the stage as the Promised Land. Your leader must talk the wanderer through the terrain trying to avoid obstacles until they reach the Promised Land. Time each round. The team with the fastest time wins! VARIATION: For a non-competitive version, do not time each team s attempt.
LARGE GROUP LESSON BOTTOM LINE: Grumblers focus on their fear. Thank-ers focus on God. OBJECTIVE: Kids will be encouraged to turn to God with thanksgiving, even in their fear. KEY PASSAGE: Exodus 32:1-20. The Israelites Build a Golden Calf. INTRO For a few weeks now, we ve been talking about two kinds of people: Grumblers and Thank-ers. Grumblers are complainers and arguers. Thank-ers are full of gratitude and thankfulness. As I m sure you can guess, our goal is to be thank-ers and not grumblers. We definitely don t want to be like the Israelites during the years that they wandered in the desert. Talk about Grumblers. God had delivered his people from slavery in Egypt and was leading them to the great new homeland that he had promised them. But they complained every step of the journey. They grumbled when they reached the Red Sea. God parted the waters and they were able to walk across dry land. They grumbled when the food supply ran low. God provided quail and manna for them to eat. They grumbled when they didn t have enough water. God miraculously gave them water from a rock. Why did the Israelites complain so much? It s true that they were in need food and water are things we need to live. But if they had focused on the fact that God was with them every step of the way, they would have trusted him and been thankful people. But instead, they focused on their fears. In today s Bible story, we ll see just how far their fear eventually carried them. The Israelites had set up camp below Mount Sinai. Moses, their leader, had gone with his servant Joshua up into the mountain to talk to and hear from God.
LARGE GROUP LESSON The Bible tells us that he was up there for forty days. That was a long time for the people to be without their leader. They started to worry. Where is Moses? Maybe Moses has abandoned us. Maybe God has abandoned us. Here s what happened when they gave into their fear. READ Exodus 32:1-20 MAIN POINT The people kind of panicked, didn t they? They built the golden calf idol to try to overcome their fear. Now to us today, that might seem like kind of a strange thing to do; but the Israelites had lived in Egypt for a long time. The Egyptian people hadn t followed and worshiped the one true God. They made statues and paintings of birds and other animals, and the sun and other objects in the sky; and they worshiped those. God often spoke to the Israelites through Moses. With Moses gone so long, the people thought maybe God was gone too. That would be a pretty scary thing to think. But if they had stopped focusing on their fear and had instead sought after God, they would have seen that he had never left them. DRIVE IT HOME: Now I m guessing that when you re afraid, you don t go out and make a gold statue in the shape of a cow. But I bet you do something. Maybe you watch a lot of TV or play video games so that you don t have to think about how scared you are. Maybe you hide out in your room. Some people eat a lot of junk food to try and make them feel better when they re afraid. It doesn t really matter what your particular thing is, this truth is still the same: God wants us to turn to him. Most of the things that we turn to when we re afraid aren t healthy for us; and all of them are just ways to avoid real life. Only God can truly help us through those scary, fearful times in life. We need to turn to him. When we do, sometimes he takes the problem away. Sometimes the problem is still there, but God takes our fear away. And sometimes, God simply walks us through the problem, fear and all. But whatever we face, it s easier to face when we focus on God and ask him to help us. That s the only surefire way to guarantee that you go through life being a Thank-er and not a Grumbler.
LARGE GROUP LESSON CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER Dear God, We want to be thankful people and not grumblers. Help us to keep our eyes on you and not on our fears. In Jesus name, Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND) ICEBREAKER What is something many kids are afraid of? MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY Philippians 2:14 Pair the kids off and have them recite the verse to each other. SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY On a piece of card stock, have each child write a fear they have. Tack or tape the cards (blank side of card facing out) into the shape of a cross, to remind kids of the need to bring our fears to God. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Read Exodus 32:1-20. What were the Israelites grumbling about this week? Where was Moses at the beginning of this story? What did the Israelites make? What did Moses do when he saw what the people had made? How can we show that we trust God? SIMPLE PRAYER Dear God, We thank you for who you are and all you do for us. Help us to turn to you whenever we are afraid. In Jesus name, Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3-5TH) ICEBREAKER What is something many kids are afraid of? MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY Philippians 2:14 Pair the kids off and have them recite the verse to each other. SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY On a piece of card stock, have each child write a fear they have. Tack or tape the cards (blank side of card facing out) into the shape of a cross, to remind kids of the need to bring our fears to God. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Read Exodus 32:1-20. What were the Israelites grumbling about this week? How do you think we act like the Israelites? Do we complain as much as they do? Why did the Israelites make the Golden Calf? What are some things that people do today when they are afraid? How does God want us to react when we re afraid? SIMPLE PRAYER Dear God, We thank you for who you are and all you do for us. Help us to turn to you whenever we are afraid. In Jesus name, Amen
POWERPOINT REVIEW GAME Multiple Choice Moses had gone up to Mount Sinai to talk with. A. Aaron B. The Israelites C. God* Who did the Israelites complain to when they thought Moses had abandoned them? A. God B. Aaron* C. Joshua Aaron crafted a Golden for the people to worship. A. Calf* B. Staff C. Statue of Moses When Moses returned to camp and saw what the people had done, he was. A. happy B. confused C. angry* Grumblers focus on their. Thank-ers focus on God. A. Homework B. Family C. Fears*
5 Simple Ways You Can Make This Lesson Stick With Your Kids THIS WEEK S LESSON: COOKED IN THE CAR: Ask your child what they learned about this week on the drive home: Today we talked about Grumblers versus Thank-ers. When Moses had gone up onto Mount Sinai to talk to God, the Israelites grumbled. They were afraid that they had been abandoned. Their fear lead them to craft an idol in the shape of a golden calf to worship. Grumblers focus on their fear, while Thank-ers focus on the God who can get them through anything. HANGING OUT: Make this week s lesson real: Talk to your kids about fear. Encourage them to share some of their fears and be honest with them about your own. Seek God together through prayer, asking him to be the focus of your lives rather than your fears. AT DINNER: Here are some great discussion starters: - Why did the Israelites build the Golden Calf? - What would have been a better way for them to deal with their fear? - How can we be thankful even during fearful times? AT BEDTIME: Quiz your child on this week s memory verse: Do everything without grumbling or arguing - Philippians 2:14 (NIV) PARENT TIME: What you need to know: Look for the golden calves in your life. What vices and devices do you use to avoid or delay your fears? Ask God s help in laying down idolatrous behaviors and objects. Focus on him and the comfort that only he can provide.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing - Philippians 2:14 (NIV) Do everything without grumbling or arguing - Philippians 2:14 (NIV) Do everything without grumbling or arguing - Philippians 2:14 (NIV) Do everything without grumbling or arguing - Philippians 2:14 (NIV) CUT ON DASHED LINE
MATCHING GAME Draw lines to match the person from today s scripture with what they did in this passage. Moses Aaron Joshua The Israelites God Worried that Moses would not return. Moses s servant Made the Golden Calf for the people. Told Moses to leave the mountain to see what the people had done. Ground the golden idol into powder and made the people drink it.