Preschool April 06, 2014 8:45am
Leader BIBLE STUDY Use Week of: April 06, 2014 1 Who is a God like You, removing iniquity and passing over rebellion for the remnant of His inheritance? (Mic. 7:18) The name Micah means Who is like Yahweh? What a remarkable question. Micah was a prophet from Moresheth, a city in the foothills of Judah. He testified to God s character. God s message to Micah came hundreds of years before Jesus was born in the days when Jotham was king of Judah, through the time of King Ahaz, and to the rule of King Hezekiah. At the beginning of Micah s ministry, the Northern Kingdom of Israel had not yet been conquered by the Assyrians. Some of Micah s messages from the Lord were directed toward Israel, and some were for Judah. God s message was about the current state of affairs in Samaria and Jerusalem. Samaria was the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and Jerusalem was the capital of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Israel and Judah were corrupt. A period of economic wealth gave way to idolatry, theft, false prophecies, and a love of evil. Micah s message was similar to that of the prophet Amos. Micah addressed the sins of the people specifically the mistreatment of the poor and warned of the Lord s coming judgment. Woe to those who dream up wickedness and prepare evil plans on their beds! (Mic. 2:1). One day, Micah said, God would send a Messiah, have compassion on Israel, and preserve a remnant by which He would keep His promise to Abraham. (See Mic. 7:20; Gen. 22:15-18.) So, who is like Yahweh? It s rhetorical, but the Book of Micah is clear: no one is like Yahweh. God shows mercy to sinners through His Son, Jesus, and His promise spoken by Micah is still true for us today: He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea (Mic. 7:19). 1 Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 17 Session 1
Preschool Bible study OVERVIEW Session Title: Micah, Prophet to Judah Bible Passage: Micah 1 7 Big Picture Question: What does God want us to do? God wants us to obey Him because we love Him. Key Passage: Zephaniah 3:17 Unit Christ Connection: God judges sin but redeems those who faithfully follow His commands. Redemption for all comes through faith in Jesus Christ. U N I T 17 1 Small Group Opening Large Group Bible Study Small Group Activities Snack and Transition Each child will take home a Journal Page and a Big Picture Card for Families 2
The BIBLE STORY Micah, Prophet to Judah Micah 1 7 Micah was a prophet. God talked to Micah with words or showed him visions. Visions are like dreams, except Micah was awake. Micah told God s people what God said. God had a message about His people who lived in two kingdoms: Israel and Judah. The people had been doing wrong things. They did not love God. They did not do what He said. Instead of worshiping God, His people worshiped things they made. They took things that didn t belong to them. They listened to people who lied about God. Listen to me! Micah said. God is going to punish you because you are doing wrong things. He told the people in Israel that God was going to punish them. Then he told the people in Judah that they were in trouble too. You should be sad, Micah said. Hard times are coming. Your children will be taken far away from their homes. Stop! the people said. Be quiet. Those things will not happen here. We don t believe you. Micah didn t stop talking. You did bad things. If you did what was right, I would tell you good news. Next, Micah went to talk to the people who led God s people. He told them the things they had done wrong. You don t do what is right, Micah said. You like to do what is wrong. You are not fair to the people you work with, and you are not sorry. God was right to punish the people because they disobeyed Him. God always does what is right. God is also good to people when they don t deserve it. God said that one day He would fix the people s city. Micah told them what God said. He said, One day there will be no more fighting. God will rescue the people who are taken far away. God will make you strong. 3 Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 17 Session 1
Then Micah said that someone was coming. A new leader for God s people! Micah said that the One who was coming would be from a little town called Bethlehem. He will be a king. God will make Him powerful. He will keep His people safe, and everyone will know that He is great. This was good news! Yes, God was still going to punish His people for disobeying Him, but they wouldn t be in trouble forever. God was going to save them! What does God want us to do? the people asked. Did God want them to give an offering? Would God be happy if they made sacrifices to Him? No, Micah said. God wants you to be kind to others. He wants you to do what is right. He wants you to love Him and obey Him. Micah told God the people were sorry for disobeying Him. God, who is like You? Micah asked. When we do something wrong, You take away our guilt. You love people and are kind to them. You always keep your promises. Christ Connection: Micah had good news for God s people. A leader was coming who would save them. He would take care of them and lead them. Jesus is the perfect ruler God promised. 4
Small Group Opening Session Title: Micah, Prophet to Judah Bible Passage: Micah 1 7 Big Picture Question: What does God want us to do? God wants us to obey Him because we love Him. Key Passage: Zephaniah 3:17 Unit Christ Connection: God judges sin but redeems those who faithfully follow His commands. Redemption for all comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Prepare: Play What a Mighty God We Serve in the background. offering basket Find Good News Clues activity page, 1 per kid crayons Welcome and Session Starter Place an offering basket near the door. Activity Page: Find Good News Clues Help kids find in the scene some of these things: a star, Bethlehem in the distance, sheep, the baby in the manger, two shepherd s staffs. Say Micah told God s people that they were in trouble they were not kind to others, and they worshipped idols instead of God. God would punish them. But then God promised good news. A ruler would come from Bethlehem who would take care of His people. In this picture of Micah talking to the people, find things from the Christmas story. (town of Bethlehem, star, Baby Jesus in the manger, two sheep, two shepherd staffs) 5 Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 17 Session 1
LOW PREP large plastic tub blue towel or blue paper wads of paper Throw sins into the sea Set out a plastic tub lined with blue paper or a blue towel (to be the sea). Allow kids to throw wads of paper into the sea. Say What does God want us to do? God wants us to obey Him because we love Him. Disobeying God is sin. Sin is not OK with God, but God loves us! Only God can take away our sin. Micah said to God: Who is a God like You? You will throw all our sins into the deep sea. [See Micah 7:18-20.] Transition to Bible study To gain attention, clap a simple rhythm for children to copy. Say Micah wrote these words in the Bible: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of God, that He may teach us about His ways. [See Micah 4:2.] Let s be kind to one another as we pretend to go to the mountain of the Lord. Start in a location of the room that is far from the lesson area and walk together. 6
Large Group Bible Study Session Title: Micah, Prophet to Judah Bible Passage: Micah 1 7 Big Picture Question: What does God want us to do? God wants us to obey Him because we love Him. Key Passage: Zephaniah 3:17 Unit Christ Connection: God judges sin but redeems those who faithfully follow His commands. Redemption for all comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Large Group Bible Study Bible What a Mighty God We Serve song Micah, Prophet to Judah picture Introduce the Bible story Sing What a Mighty God We Serve. Lead boys and girls to make muscles on the word mighty. Say How will God teach us about His ways? How can we learn what mighty things He has done? (He told us His ways in the Bible.) God used a man named Micah to tell His people about His ways. Micah wrote a book in the Bible. [Show the Book of Micah in your Bible.] Long before Jesus was born, Micah wrote that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Bible books that were written before Jesus was born are in the Old Testament. Is Micah in the Old or New Testament? (Old Testament) Tell the Bible story Listen to the Bible story to learn what God wants us to do. Tell the Bible story with your Bible open. If you need to have the Bible story in front of you as you tell it, photocopy or print the story and lay it in your open Bible. 7 Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 17 Session 1
Timeline Map Bible Story Picture Poster Big Picture Question Poster Tip: Do activities one of these ways: as a group, all at the same time in small groups that rotate through each activity set up as centers, allowing preschoolers to browse and choose Talk about the Bible story Point to Micah on the timeline. Mention that Micah told warnings from God to the people in Israel and Judah. Say I will ask some questions. The answers will be yes or no. Raise your hands and shout yes for yes answers. Shake your head no if you say no. Did the people love God? (no) Did the leaders of the people like to obey God? (no) Was God right to punish them? (yes) Is God also good to people even when they don t deserve it? (yes) Was all the news Micah told bad news? (no) God said a new leader who would come from Bethlehem. Would He be powerful and good? (yes) Does God always keep His promises? (yes) What does God want us to do? God wants us to obey Him because we love Him. Micah had good news for God s people. A leader was coming who would save them. He would take care of them and lead them. Jesus is the perfect ruler God promised. Transition to small groups Explain the choices and procedure for small groups. Say Micah wrote that we should let God teach us about His ways so we may walk in His paths. Let s go learn more about God together. Walk together to the small group activities, threading a path around the tables and chairs. 8
Small Group Activities Session Title: Micah, Prophet to Judah Bible Passage: Micah 1 7 Big Picture Question: What does God want us to do? God wants us to obey Him because we love Him. Key Passage: Zephaniah 3:17 Unit Christ Connection: God judges sin but redeems those who faithfully follow His commands. Redemption for all comes through faith in Jesus Christ. Small Group Activities These activities will emphasize verses from Micah and the key passage from Zephaniah 3:17. LOW PREP index cards, numbered 1-6 and lunch sack Practice obeying Say What does God want us to do? God wants us to obey Him because we love Him. Boys and girls may take turns being the leader choosing and leading an action of some kind. Let the leader pull a number from a sack to determine the number of repetitions. Replace numbers in the sack. Prophecy Scroll brown marker craft sticks and tape yarn Make a scroll Make an Old Testament scroll. Use the pre-printed scroll page with the prophecy from Micah 5:2 that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem. Passages in Luke showing that the prophecy was fulfilled are on the same page. To create the old scroll look, kids may crumple the page. Invite kids to draw around the print with brown markers. Tape a craft stick to each edge. Roll up the paper as a scroll and tie it with yarn. 9 Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 17 Session 1
Explain that a scroll is usually unrolled from side to side so that one page shows at a time for writing or reading. The rest of the pages remain rolled up to the left and right sides of the page being read. Yahweh Your God song Key Passage Poster Say the key passage Say What does God want us to do? God wants us to obey Him because we love Him. We love God more and more as we know more about Him. Our key passage tells us some things about God. Show the key passage and listen to Yahweh Your God. Talk about each part of the verse. Practice saying each part of the verse in different ways: in different parts of the room, in loud and soft voices, with physical movements to fit the meaning. God is among us! He is with us where we are. God is a mighty warrior. He can save us. He takes pleasure in us; He enjoys us. We can rest in His love. He sings happy songs because of us. Micah 6:8 Pictures tape Tell how to please God Say What does God want us to do? God wants us to obey Him because we love Him. Attach the three Micah 6:8 Pictures to the wall. Talk about the pictures: hands act justly (do right); hearts love faithfulness (be kind); feet walk humbly with your God (remember whom you walk with). 10
Invite children to go from picture to picture in order, patting or tapping the page and filling in the blanks as you say the verse. Practice the phrases beginning with to. Say [Using your own translation] Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to (act justly), to (love faithfulness), and to (walk humbly with your God). Journal Page crayons What a Might God We Serve song Snack and Transition Take a restroom break. Wash hands well with soap and water. Ask for volunteers to help set out the snack if that works in your routine. Kids may wish to take turns thanking God for the snack, or a leader may pray. Serve the snack provided by your church. Always consider allergies. Transition - Journal Page As kids finish eating and dispose of leftovers and trash, guide them to draw on their journal page while you play "What a Mighty God We Serve." Kids may draw something the music makes them think of. Send home the scrolls and townscapes. 11 Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 17 Session 1
Journal Page April 06, 2014 Key Passage: Zephaniah 3:17 Session1: Micah, Prophet to Judah Micah 1 7 Session 2: Josiah s Reforms 2 Chronicles 34 35 Session 3: Zephaniah, Prophet to Judah Zephaniah 1 3 Session 4: Habakkuk, Prophet to Judah Habakkuk 1 3 Session 5: Nahum, Prophet to Nineveh Nahum 1 3 OK TO PRINT
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. Zephaniah 3:17 UNIT 17 Key Passage Poster (ESV) OK TO PRINT
What does God want us to do? God wants us to obey Him because we love Him. UNIT 17 Session 1 Big Picture Question OK TO PRINT
Find Good News Clues Instructions: Micah told God s people that they were in trouble they were not kind to others, and they worshiped idols instead of God. God would punish them. But then God promised good news. A ruler would come from Bethlehem who would take care of His people. In this picture of Micah talking to the people, find things from the Christmas story. (town of Bethlehem, star, Baby Jesus in the manger, 2 sheep, 2 shepherd staffs) UNIT 17 Session 1 Preschool Activity Pages
Micah, Prophet to Judah Micah 1 7
UNIT 17 Session 1 Micah, Prophet to Judah OK TO PRINT
Micah 6:8 Pictures Instructions: Enlarge and print each of these three pictures. Tape them to the wall, spread apart so kids must walk from one to the next, touching each one in order: (1) hand; (2) heart; (3) foot. UNIT 17 Session 1 Micah 6:8 Pictures OK TO PRINT
UNIT 17 Session 1 Micah Prophesied About Bethlehem OK TO PRINT
Prophecy Scroll Instructions: Copy a page for each kid. Show them how to create an old look for the scroll by crumpling the page. Paint around the text with steeped tea or very thin brown tempera paint. If it dries quickly, roll up the edges and tie as a scroll. Prophecy: But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me Prophecy fulfilled: And Joseph also went up to Judea, to Bethlehem with Mary There she gave birth to her firstborn son. (Luke 2:4-7) one who is to be ruler in Israel. (Micah 5:2) And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. (Luke 1:33) UNIT 17 Session 1 Prophecy Scroll (ESV) OK TO PRINT