Isaiah s Call Lesson At-A-Glance Scripture Reference Isaiah 6:1-8 Church Season Trinity Sunday Gather (10 minutes) Lesson Focus Never fear God is here. Bible Memory Verse Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? And I said, Here am I; send me! Isaiah 6:8 Arrival Activity Kids try to grab socks off hands when called into play. Activity Pages Pencils, socks Opening Conversation Kids review previous week, build relationships, and learn the new Bible Memory Verse (BMV). Opening Prayer Kids voluntarily respond to a call and response prayer. Spark Bibles, Spark Bible Stickers Open the Bible (15 minutes) Isaiah s Call Story Kids draw Isaiah s vision of his call to serve God. It s Your Call Kids read a story about a girl given a mission. Call Me Al Kids create new words from the Bible s longest name. Spark Bibles, Spark Bible Stickers, Leaflet Chart paper, markers Pencils Isaiah s Call 113
Activate Faith (15 minutes) Lesson At-A-Glance Fun Facts Kids learn facts about the Bible and Isaiah. Call Me! Kids create frequently called contact books. Send (5 minutes) Scissors, markers, stickers, other decorating supplies Closing Conversation Kids review the BMV and look at the Faith on the Go! options. Closing Prayer Kids pray a rapid fire call and response prayer. Family Pages Visit www.sparksundayschool.org for more Spark content! Watch a short Lesson Prep Video that will prepare you and give you confidence to explore this Bible story with the kids you are leading. You will also find four downloadable resources for this lesson: an Activity Page, a Family Page, and two additional in-class activities. 114 Isaiah s Call
Gather (10 minutes) Arrival Activity If some kids arrive earlier than others and you need a lesson-based activity, make copies of the downloadable Activity Page and set them out for kids to try. Activity Pages Give each kid socks to be place over each hand. Circle kids up, sitting on the floor. You are all going to be sitting on your hands. When I say, Calling all socks, you are going to throw up your hands and try to pull the socks off each other s hands. Your backside must be touching the floor at all times; only scooting across the floor is allowed. The game can be played again with variations such as socks on feet or one on a foot and one on a hand. If kids attire is not appropriate for sitting on the floor, this can be played with kids on knees or sitting on chairs. Give kids a reminder to keep the game low-key. Pencils Socks Opening Conversation Who was able to try a Faith on the Go! activity this past week? Tell us what you did. Allow some time for sharing. Who can tell me the Bible Memory Verse from last week? If kids remember the BMV, invite them to recite it for the group. Guide the kids to help them remember parts they don t. Have you ever been chosen for something that was an honor, but you still didn t want to do it? Accept all answers. Why might you not want to do something that s a big deal? (It might be embarrassing, difficult, unpopular, and so on.) If God chose you to do something, even if you didn t want to, could you say no? How about this week? Was there something you wanted to say no to doing? What was something you were excited to do? Give everyone a chance to talk about his or her week. Today we re going to hear about a person named Isaiah who said yes to God. Let s look at the new Bible Memory Verse. It s Isaiah 6:8. This is found on page 741 in the Spark Bible. Let s read it together a few times. Divide the group into two teams and assign each team half of the verse: Team one: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Team two: And I said, Here am I; send me! Chant the verse back and forth a few times, then switch parts. Encourage kids to put I Memorized It stickers in their Bibles. Spark Bibles Spark Bible Stickers Isaiah s Call 115
Opening Prayer For our prayer, I m going to pray a petition and I d like one of you to respond, Here I am; send me! The catch is that we re not going to plan out who says it! Just jump in as you feel called to do so. Here I am; send me! Let s pray: God, in every era, you call people to action. (Here I am; send me!) From ordinary people, you seek out prophets and messengers. (Here I am; send me!) Each of us has a mission, if we accept it. (Here I am; send me!) What will ours be? (Here I am; send me!) Amen, let it be. (Here I am; send me!) Open the Bible (15 minutes) Isaiah s Call Story Divide the group into teams of two or three. Give each team a sheet of chart paper and markers. Do you all know what a dream sequence is in a movie or television show? Invite kids to explain it. Help if needed: A dream sequence is usually a break in a story to explain something through a flashback, a dream or vision, or a daydream. How can you tell in a movie when you re watching a dream sequence? (The picture might be fuzzy or foggy.) On the edge of the sheet in front of you, grab a marker and fuzzy out the edges like it is a scene from a dream sequence. Let s open our Bibles to Isaiah 6:1-8. This is found on page 741 in the Spark Bible. Isaiah is in the Old Testament. Invite kids to skim through Isaiah 6:1-8 and then position themselves in front of the paper. I m going to read this story of Isaiah s vision and, as fast as you can, I d like you to sketch out the things that you see! (Tip: a seraph is an angel.) If you need to communicate with your drawing partner, do it with your hands or whisper quietly. Repeat lines of the text as necessary. Read the text, inviting kids to sketch it out. Then compare drawings. Encourage kids to put one or more stickers in their Bibles. Read and discuss the I Wonder statements on the front of the leaflet. Ask a volunteer to read Look It Up! on the second page of the leaflet. Revelation 12:1-9 is on pages 1391-1392 in the Spark Bible. Spark Bibles Spark Bible Stickers Markers Chart paper 116 Isaiah s Call
It s Your Call Do you remember pretending to be on a rescue or spy mission when you were a little kid? Let kids remember out loud. What if you had really been given such a mission? We re going to read a story about a girl who has the opportunity to make a difference, if she steps up to the challenge. Read It s Your Call on the front of the leaflet. Discuss the story and these questions: Do you think a kid like Sophie on a mission can make a difference? Why or why not? What would you do next if you were Sophie? Do you think God uses kids for big stuff? Why or why not? Call Me Al Do you like your name? Would you like it more if God gave it to you directly? Isaiah s son had a very unusual name. Let s see what it was: turn to the activity But You Can Call Me Al on the second page of the leaflet. Read the directions with kids. Pencils Let s see who can come up with the most words and the best nickname for Mahershalalhashbaz! Activate Faith (15 minutes) Fun Facts Check out the Fun Facts on the third page of the leaflet. Invite volunteers to read the Fun Facts, then ask the kids to put the leaflets down. Everyone pick a ringtone. Quickly go around the room with different ringtone sounds. I m going to be calling on you to score a point for your team: boys versus girls. I ll ask a question. If you think you know the answer, sound your ringtone! What is a seraph? (an angel) How do you spell seraph? (S E R A P H) In the Bible, how did people normally react when angels showed up? (They were frightened!) Isaiah s Call 117
How many years did Isaiah spend prophesying naked? (three) What is one common domesticated animal never mentioned in the Bible? (cat) Which are better: cats or dogs? (Trick question! Everyone is right.) God gave Isaiah s kid a really long, strange name. What is the last letter in the name? (z in Mahershalalhashbaz) What book of the Bible never actually mentions God? (Esther) Call Me! Phones and other gadgets are great, but sometimes they power down, fizzle, or sizzle after they land in a bathtub. What happens if all your phone numbers are on one electronic device s address book and you can t retrieve them? Do what generations of callers have done before you: write them down! Ask kids to find Call Me! on the third page of the leaflet. Follow the template in the leaflet. Invite kids to cut out on the solid lines, fold, and decorate the book. The dot on the folding instructions represents the first page of the book. The first page is titled, Frequently Called #s in the leaflet. Phone numbers may be added at home. Scissors Markers Stickers Other decorating supplies 118 Isaiah s Call
Send (5 minutes) Closing Conversation Isaiah was a regular person who was given a big job by God. And he was really surprised to get it! That s one of the cool things about God: anyone can be chosen and equipped to do big things. Who knows what amazing thing God might have in store for you! Who remembers the Bible Memory Verse? Give kids a chance to recite the BMV. Read the Faith on the Go! options found on the back of the leaflet. Encourage kids to pick one or two to do during the week. Closing Prayer Split the class into two groups. We re going to pray. We re going to pray fast! I ll say a quick petition and this half (pick one, point to them) will say, Here I am. The other half (point to them) will quickly say, Send me! Let s practice. Point to each group as they say, Here I am...send me! Let s pray: God, you need some people! (Here I am... Send me!) There s always someone needing help. (Here I am... Send me!) Someone s hungry? Someone s sad? (Here I am... Send me!) You need our voices. (Here I am... Send me!) Love our good choices. (Here I am... Send me!) You don t wait for perfect. (Here I am... Send me!) Amen. Be sure to send a leaflet and a Family Page home with each kid. Family Pages Isaiah s Call 119