Lesso 10 133 Philip Tells the Ethiopia About Jesus Acts 8:26-40 Childre uderstad that prayer is talkig to God. They trust that God is there ad ca hear them whe they pray, but they may ot uderstad that God wats to speak to them ad that they ca liste to God. Use this lesso to help them uderstad that God speaks to them i may ways ad that, if they liste, they will hear God. LESSON WHAT CHILDREN DO SUPPLIES EASY PREP 1 Gettig Started about 5 mi. 2 Key Verse Activity about 10 mi. 3 Bible Exploratio about 15 mi. Welcome ad Celebrate Welcome each other, ad praise God through music. How God Teaches Us Guide each other aroud the room. Puppy Poiters Hear about Theo s gradma. Bible Time: Philip Tells All Use figures ad props to tell what happeed with Philip ad the Ethiopia. CD player Teacher Pack: CD Bible CD player, Theo puppet, tape, picture of a dog Teacher Pack: CD Bible, CD player, maskig tape, pa of sad, pa of water, 3 toy people, rectagular block Teacher Pack: CD Tape the dog picture to Theo s paw. Use the maskig tape to make the shape of a chariot o the floor, big eough for all childre to sit iside. Bible Poit Liste to God. Key Verse But the Couselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will sed i my ame, will teach you all thigs ad will remid you of everythig I have said to you (Joh 14:26). Weavig Faith Ito Life Childre will liste to God. Bold text withi the lesso is spoke text. Preschool/Ages 3 & 4 Lesso 10 Sprig Quarter
134 LESSON WHAT CHILDREN DO SUPPLIES EASY PREP Ceter 1: Philip ad the Ethiopia Create three scees to show what happeed. My Bible Hugs, scissors, glue, blue tissue paper, oe 1x3-ich sadpaper strip ad oe 1x3-ich white paper strip per child Remove the Lesso 10 pages from each My Bible Hugs studet book, ad write childre s ames o them. Cut off the 3-pael strip o the side of each page. 4 Weavig Faith Ito Life about 20 mi. (Choose 2 ceters.) Ceter 2: Listeig Ears Sacks Make faces with big listeig ears. Ceter 3: Ears to Hear Liste to souds, ad act them out. rice cakes, 2 apple slices per child, plates, atibacterial gel (optioal) CD player Teacher Pack: CD Ceter 4: Chariots Make model chariots. 1 large foam cup per 2 childre, 4 craft sticks per child, glue sticks, scissors, markers, crayos, copies of the Chariot Wheels hadout (at the ed of this lesso) o card stock Cut foam cups i half. Make 2 small slits side by side i the top curved part of each cup ad 2 small slits side by side i the bottom flat part of each cup. Cut out 2 wheels for each child. Daily Challeges Choose a Daily Challege to apply God s Word. My Bible Hugs 5 Lastig Impressios about 10 mi. Actio Prayer Pass aroud a Bible, ad say a prayer together. Weavig Faith at Home Talk about how to share what they leared with their families. Bible Bold text withi the lesso is spoke text. Sprig Quarter Lesso 10 Preschool/Ages 3 & 4
135 Philip Tells the Ethiopia About Jesus Acts 8:26-40 BIBLe BACKGROUND FOR LEADERS Philip Obeyed God s Leadig Accordig to Acts 8:4-8, Philip was preachig Christ, healig people, ad brigig great joy to a Samarita city. But God had aother pla for Philip, which icluded guidig the first o-jewish covert to faith i Jesus, ad God s pla resulted i Christiaity beig take to Ethiopia. Philip respoded i obediece. Sice the Ethiopia euuch had goe to Jerusalem to worship, we ca assume he kew somethig of the Jewish faith. He may have bee fully committed to the faith because he had traveled quite a distace to worship, perhaps as far as 200 miles! He had likely bee ispired by his time of worship, because he was readig from Isaiah as he rode alog. We might fid it strage that Philip could hear what he was readig, but it was commo i aciet times to read aloud. I fact, the laguage was such that soudig out the words was almost ecessary. ad sicerity of the Ethiopia s belief, because he coseted to baptize this traveler. The Jesus Coectio Havig completed his task, Philip was agai set o his way by God. The text seems to idicate that God miraculously swept him away, o to his ext missio. The Ethiopia cotiued o his way, ad traditio tells us that he spread the message of Christ i Ethiopia, soo baptizig the quee ad others there. We ofte do t kow why God guides us to do certai thigs. But whe we kow what God wats us to do, we must respod i faith ad actio. Who kows what God will do through us if we respod faithfully to the guidace of his Holy Spirit? I what area of your life is God leadig you to liste closely to his voice? You ca write your prayer here. Philip Was Prepared for Questios At the Holy Spirit s promptig, Philip overcame ot oly ay fears or questios about o-jews becomig Christias, but also ay racial prejudice he may have had. The Ethiopia was a ative of what is ow orther Suda ad was black-skied. God is ot cocered with the color of our ski, ad either was Philip. Philip had o difficulty aswerig the Ethiopia s questios. He had probably bee aswerig the same types of questios from the Samaritas. God had prepared the right perso to preset the gospel to the Ethiopia o the road. Whe Philip told the ma about Jesus, the Ethiopia apparetly expressed belief immediately. Baptism was take very seriously i the early church. Philip must have bee fully coviced of the certaity Preschool/Ages 3 & 4 Lesso 10 Sprig Quarter
136 GETTING STARTED Welcome ad Celebrate CD player Teacher Pack CD: Welcome, Frieds! (track 16), I Need Jesus (track 12) Welcome ad Celebrate Tip Cosistetly use the same sigal to aouce a trasitio to the ext activity. You could flip the lights off ad o, use a trai whistle, have a puppet rustlig iside a bag, or sig cleaup sogs. Keep it simple, cosistet, ad fu. As the childre arrive, greet each oe with a smile. Whe it s time to begi, use your sigal to gather the childre together i a circle o the floor. Lead childre i sigig Welcome, Frieds! (track 16 o the CD) to the tue of Are You Sleepig? Ecourage childre to follow the motios i paretheses. Welcome, frieds! Welcome, frieds! (make the come over motio twice) To God s house, to God s house. (put hads together above head to make a house) We will lear from God above (poit up) How Jesus came to share his love. (hug self) Joi the fu! Joi the fu! (jump up ad dow) (Repeat.) Say: Welcome, frieds! Today we ll lear that we ca LISTEN TO GOD ad Jesus. They kow what s best for us. Let s sig a sog about Jesus. Lead childre i sigig I Need Jesus (track 12 o the CD) to the tue of The Wheels o the Bus. Ecourage childre to follow the motios i paretheses. I eed Jesus i my life, (poit to heave ad the to self) I my life, i my life. (poit to self) I eed Jesus i my life. (poit to heave ad the to self) He wats to be my fried. (put arm aroud a fried) Jesus, please erase my sis, (preted to scrub your heart) Erase my sis, erase my sis. (cotiue scrubbig motio) Jesus, please erase my sis, Ad make my heart brad-ew. (hold out hads as if presetig a gift) Heave is my gift from God, (poit up) Gift from God, gift from God. (hold out hads as if presetig a gift) Heave is my gift from God (hold out hads as if presetig a gift) Cause he loves me every day! (give yourself a big hug) Sprig Quarter Lesso 10 Preschool/Ages 3 & 4
137 Say: Today we ll hear about a fried of Jesus amed Philip. This fried kew he eeded to LISTEN TO GOD. Ad whe God told him to talk to a Ethiopia ma, he did. We ll lear from Philip that listeig to God is oe of the best thigs we ca ever do. 2 KEY VERSE ACTIVITY How God Teaches Us Have childre form a circle ad sit dow. Ope your Bible to Joh 14:26, ad show childre the words. Tell kids the Bible is God s special book. How God Teaches Us Bible Say: Our Key Verse from the Bible says, But the Couselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will sed i my ame, will teach you all thigs ad will remid you of everythig I have said to you (Joh 14:26). This meas that the Holy Spirit will teach you. Let s say our Key Verse together. Lead childre i sayig the adapted Key Verse with you: The Holy Spirit will teach you (Joh 14:26). Say: Let s liste to each other to help us lear what it meas to liste to the Holy Spirit. Group the childre ito pairs, ad have the pairs lie up at oe ed of the room. Have oe parter i each pair close his or her eyes. The have the sighted parter getly hold the arm of the o-seeig parter. Whe you say go, have the sighted parter slowly lead the other child aroud tables ad chairs ad across the room. Have the parters switch roles ad play the game agai. Say: Just as you trusted your fried to lead you aroud the room eve though you could t see him or her, we ca liste to God ad trust him eve though we ca t see him like we see people i the room. The Holy Spirit teaches us by leadig us as we liste to him. Let s say our Key Verse oce more. Lead childre i sayig the adapted Key Verse with you: The Holy Spirit will teach you (Joh 14:26). Lead childre i this discussio. Ask: What was it like to be led by your parter? What are some ways you kow God ca lead you? What will you do to liste to the Holy Spirit this week? Preschool/Ages 3 & 4 Lesso 10 Sprig Quarter
138 Say: The Bible tells us to LISTEN TO GOD ad trust him. Ad God gave us the Holy Spirit to lead us. Whe we believe i Jesus, we kow that God ad the Holy Spirit will ever lead us i the wrog directio. Let s do our best to liste to God this week. 3 BIBLE EXPLORATION Puppy Poiters CD player Theo puppet tape picture of a dog Teacher Pack CD: Here, Theo (track 5) Puppy Poiters Easy Prep Tape the dog picture to Theo s paw. Puppy Poiters Say: Liste, everyoe, Theo s comig! He has somethig to show us. Let s fid out what it is. Play Here, Theo (track 5 o the CD), ad brig out Theophilus the FaithRetriever. Theo: Hi, everybody! Teacher: Hello, Theo! It s ice of you to come to church with us today. Theo: I m so happy to see all of you boys ad girls! Teacher: We re happy to see you, too! It looks like you have a picture with you. Theo: This is my gradma. Teacher: That s great! What do you like most about your gradma? Theo: She is so smart ad gives the best advice. I always make sure to liste to her. Teacher: That s great, Theo! We re learig about listeig today, too. Frieds, let s tell Theo our Bible Poit for today. (Lead childre i sayig the Bible Poit for Theo: LISTEN TO GOD.) Theo: Wow! I bet you get eve better advice from God tha I do from my gradma. Teacher: Yes, we do! Ad today we re goig to read about a ma amed Philip who listeed to God. Theo: That souds great! I hope you have a good time. I m goig to go call my gradma. Teacher: Okay! Have a good day. Boys ad girls, say goodbye to Theo! Ecourage the childre to wave or say goodbye to Theo. The put Theo away i a safe place for ext week s use. Lead childre i this discussio. Ask: Theo listes to his gradma. Tell about a perso you liste to. Why is it good to liste to people who kow more tha we do? Why do you wat to liste to God? Say: Today we ll hear about a ma who listeed to God ad great thigs happeed. Whe we LISTEN TO GOD, we kow he gives us the very best advice. Whe God tells us thigs, we wat to liste to every word ad follow him. Let s hear what happeed with the ma who listeed to God. Sprig Quarter Lesso 10 Preschool/Ages 3 & 4
139 Bible Time: Philip Tells All Ope your Bible to Acts 8:26-40, ad show childre the words. Tell childre that the Bible is God s special book. Say: Durig Bible times, some people rode i chariots. Chariots were carts that were pulled by horses. Oe ma we ll read about i the Bible today rode i a chariot, so let s preted to ride i oe, too. Lead the childre to sit iside the maskig-tape chariot. Show the pa of sad. Say: We ll use this to show the desert i what we read today. Let each child ru his or her figer through the sad. Show the three toy people. Hold each oe up idividually ad itroduce them as the agel, the Ethiopia, ad Philip. Let the childre pass the toy figures aroud. Show the rectagular block. Say: We ll preted this is the chariot. Let the childre pass aroud the chariot. Choose childre to take turs movig the figures as you direct them. Switch the childre frequetly so they have to liste carefully throughout the passage. Say: I eed your help to tell what happeed, ad just as we re learig to LISTEN TO GOD, you ll have to liste carefully to me so you kow what to do whe I choose you to help me. Say: Oe day a agel of God (have the child holdig the agel hold it up) said to a ma amed Philip (have the child holdig the agel move it to the Philip toy), Go o the road to Gaza. (Have the child holdig Philip preted to make him walk.) Bible Time: Philip Tells All Bible CD player maskig tape pa of sad pa of water 3 toy people rectagular block Teacher Pack CD: We Ca Liste to God (track 21) Bible Time: Philip Tells All Easy Prep Use the maskig tape to make the shape of a chariot o the floor, big eough for all childre to sit iside. Say: So Philip headed dow the desert road. (Let a differet child move Philip to the pa of sad.) Alog the way he met a Ethiopia ma. (Have a child hold up the Ethiopia. ) The Ethiopia was ridig i a chariot. (Have the childre move the Ethiopia ad the chariot to the pa of sad.) The Ethiopia was a very importat ma. He took care of all of the quee s moey. The Ethiopia was o his way home from worshippig God ad was readig God s Word. (Have a child drive the chariot slowly through the sad.) Say: The agel told Philip (have a child move the agel to the pa of sad where Philip is) to go over to the chariot. (Have a child move Philip ear the chariot.) Whe Philip got ear the chariot, he could hear the ma readig God s words. Philip asked the Ethiopia if he uderstood what he was readig. The Ethiopia said he did t. So Philip told the Ethiopia all about Jesus. Have the kids tur ad tell a eighbor somethig they kow about Jesus. Say: As they traveled dow the road, they came to some water. (Have a few childre move the Ethiopia, Philip, ad the chariot to the pa of water.) The Ethiopia asked Philip if he could be baptized. The Ethiopia loved Jesus with all his heart ad wated to obey him. So Philip baptized the Ethiopia that very day. (Let several kids take a tur dippig the Ethiopia i the water.) Preschool/Ages 3 & 4 Lesso 10 Sprig Quarter
140 Say: Whe Philip ad the Ethiopia came out of the water, Philip wet where God told him to go, ad the Ethiopia wet o his way rejoicig. He was so happy! Philip listeed to God by obeyig the agel. The Ethiopia listeed to God by readig God s Word ad beig baptized. We ca LISTEN TO GOD just as Philip ad the Ethiopia did. Let s tell God ow that we ll liste to him. Lead the childre i sigig We Ca Liste to God (track 21 o the CD) to the tue of If You re Happy ad You Kow It. As they sig, have them hold hads ad walk alog the edge of the maskig tape chariot. We ca liste to God every day. We ca liste to God every day. We ca liste to God ad obey his holy Word. We ca liste to God every day. (Repeat.) Lead childre i this discussio. Ask: What was it like to liste carefully i this activity? How is that like or ulike how you liste to God? Ceter 1: Philip ad the Ethiopia My Bible Hugs scissors glue blue tissue paper oe 1x3-ich sadpaper strip ad oe 1x3-ich white paper strip per child Ceter 1: Philip ad the Ethiopia Easy Prep Remove the Lesso 10 pages from each My Bible Hugs studet book, ad write childre s ames o them. Cut off the 3-pael strip o the side of each page. Say: Whe we love God with all our heart, we wat to liste to his words, just as the Ethiopia listeed to Philip ad to God. We kow that whe we LISTEN TO GOD, he does really great thigs. Let s liste carefully to God this week. 4 WEAVING FAITH INTO LIFE Choose at least two of the learig ceters to help reiforce today s Bible lesso. Gather the eeded materials, ad put the supplies i a out-of-sight area util you re ready for them. Allow the childre to choose which ceter they d like to explore first. The circulate amog the childre as they create ad explore. Ecourage them to make coectios betwee their activities ad the Bible by askig them the questios icluded with each ceter s descriptio. CENTER 1: Philip ad the Ethiopia Give each child a Lesso 10 page from My Bible Hugs. Say: Today we re learig to LISTEN TO GOD. Let s make some picture scees to remid us of how Philip ad the Ethiopia listeed to God. Sprig Quarter Lesso 10 Preschool/Ages 3 & 4
141 Give each child a strip of sadpaper to glue oto the road i the left pael. Read aloud the text, ad let kids tell about times they listeed to God. Show the childre how to roll a strip of white paper so it looks like a scroll ad glue the scroll oto the middle pael so it looks like it s i the Ethiopia s hads. Read aloud the text, ad let kids tell about times they leared more about God. Have kids tear the blue tissue paper ad glue it oto the right pael so it looks like water. Read aloud the text, ad let kids tell why they believe i Jesus. Show the childre how to fold the page accordio-style so the pael o the right is behid the middle pael ad the middle pael is behid the pael o the left. Say: Just like Philip listeed to God ad told the Ethiopia all about Jesus, we ca tell others about Jesus. Oe thig God wats all of us to do is to tell others about him. This week, let s LISTEN TO GOD ad obey him by tellig someoe about Jesus. We ca eve use the scees we just made to tell people about how Philip listeed to God. CENTER 2: Listeig Ears Sacks Have childre clea their hads ad the sit dow for the sack. Say: Just like God wated Philip ad the Ethiopia to liste to him, God wats us to liste to him. Give each child a rice cake. Say: Preted this is your face. What part of the body do you eed to liste to God? Allow time, ad the give kids the apple slices to place beside the rice cakes as ears. Say: We ca liste with our ears, but we ca also liste to God i other ways. We ca liste to God with our hearts. Have kids move their apple slices to create heart shapes o top of the rice cakes. Ceter 2: Listeig Ears Sacks rice cakes 2 apple slices per child plates atibacterial gel (optioal)! ALLERGY ALERT Say: We ca hear from God whe we read the Bible, too. Have kids place the apple slices o top of each other, ad flip oe over, as if opeig a book. Lead childre i this discussio as they ejoy their sacks. Ask: What do you like about listeig to God? Why do you kow that God will always tell you the best thig to do? Say: Whe the agel told Philip to go to Gaza, Philip did t kow why, but he listeed to God. God speaks to us a lot of ways, too, ad whe we LISTEN TO Preschool/Ages 3 & 4 Lesso 10 Sprig Quarter
142 GOD, we wo t always kow at first why he tells us somethig. But we ca trust that God will always tell us the best thig to do. Ceter 3: Ears to Hear CD player Teacher Pack CD: Actio Souds (track 22) CENTER 3: Ears to Hear Say: Today we leared about two me who listeed to God. Let s play a listeig game. We re goig to liste to a soud o the CD, tell what it is, ad act it out. It will help us realize that we ca LISTEN TO GOD. Play Actio Souds (track 22 o the CD), ad let the childre act out the souds they hear. The CD provides a 10-secod pause betwee each soud. Lead childre i this discussio. Ceter 4: Chariots Ask: What was it like to liste to ad follow the souds o the CD? Why does listeig to the CD help you be a good listeer? What ca you do to be a good listeer whe it comes to God? 1 large foam cup per 2 childre 4 craft sticks per child glue sticks scissors markers crayos copies of the Chariot Wheels hadout (at the ed of this lesso) o card stock Ceter 4: Chariots Easy Prep Cut foam cups i half. Make 2 small slits side by side i the top curved part of each cup ad 2 small slits side by side i the bottom flat part of each cup. Cut out 2 wheels for each child. Say: Philip kew the agel came from God. Ad whe we practice listeig, it helps us LISTEN TO GOD ad do what he says. Let s do our best to liste to God ad obey him this week every time we have a chace. CENTER 4: Chariots Say: Philip listeed to the agel ad wet to Gaza. As he walked through the desert, he met a Ethiopia ma i a chariot. Let s make chariot crafts to remid us to LISTEN TO GOD like Philip ad the Ethiopia did. Give each child half of a foam cup. Let kids decorate their cups with crayos. Show childre how to glue the wheels to the sides of their cups. The give each child four craft sticks, ad ecourage kids to use the markers to draw faces ad clothes o two of the sticks so they look like Philip ad the Ethiopia. Show kids how to carefully slide the craft sticks ito the holes o top. The show childre how to slide the remaiig two craft sticks ito the ed holes to make the bars that the horses would be hooked to. Ecourage childre to use the craft to act out what happeed whe Philip listeed to ad obeyed God. Sprig Quarter Lesso 10 Preschool/Ages 3 & 4
143 Lead childre i this discussio. Ask: Thik about how Philip ad the Ethiopia listeed to ad obeyed God. What did they do that seems the hardest to you? Tell about a time it was hard to do the right thig. Why do you wat to liste to ad obey God, eve whe it s ot easy? Say: God asked Philip ad the Ethiopia to do some pretty big thigs, but they still listeed to him. We ca LISTEN TO GOD ad obey him, too, eve whe it s ot the easiest choice to make. 5 LASTING IMPRESSIONS Daily Challeges After the childre have cleaed up their ceters, brig everyoe back to a circle area o the floor. Review the lesso activities ad the Bible Poit, ad the ecourage the childre to share what they remember about what they leared from the Bible today. Daily Challeges My Bible Hugs Also use this time to challege kids i their faith. Ecourage them to choose a Daily Challege for applyig today s lesso to their lives this week. Use this challege for ecouragig your childre s growig relatioships with Jesus. Say: Today we leared that we ca LISTEN TO GOD. I would like each of you to choose a way to liste to God this week. Preschool/Ages 3 & 4 Lesso 10 Sprig Quarter
144 Give kids these two challeges to choose from: Liste to a sog about God, ad tell your parets why you wat to liste to ad obey God. Practice listeig ad obeyig God by doig what your parets ask. Say: If you wat to liste to a sog, circle the choice with oe dot. If you wat to obey your parets, circle the choice with two dots. Check that each child circled a choice o his or her My Bible Hugs page. Make sure you tell kids the challege you choose. Your commitmet will ispire childre ad will give them a opportuity to see God at work i your life as well as i theirs! Actio Prayer Bible Actio Prayer Form a circle, ad have the childre sit dow. As you pray, pass a Bible aroud the circle. Repeat the prayer util each child has had a chace to hold God s Word, the Bible. Remid childre that God speaks through the Bible. Suggest that they ask their parets to read to them durig the week. Pray: Thak you, God, for your Word Ad the may thigs you say. Help us trust you ad your Word Ad liste to you each day. I Jesus ame, ame. Weavig Faith at Home Have childre take home their My Bible Hugs pages whether they worked o them or ot. Have the childre tell their parets the challege they committed to i the Daily Challeges activity. Ecourage the parets to help their kids fulfill this commitmet durig the week. By workig together ad focusig o the same goals, you ad parets ca help childre weave faith ito their lives! Talk to your Director about emailig the FREE FamilyCoect to all your church s families. Available at group.com/digital. Sprig Quarter Lesso 10 Preschool/Ages 3 & 4
145 Chariot Wheels! OK TO COPY Preschool/Ages 3 & 4 Lesso 10 Sprig Quarter