Lesso 10 103 God Makes a Coveat With Abram Geesis 15:1-18 T hird-ad fourth-graders are great at makig plas. They ca pla a school project. They ca pla a imagiary adveture to play all afteroo i the backyard. They ca make plas with frieds for a sleepover. But they ca t always uderstad the differece betwee good plas ad plas that ll fall apart or spell disaster for them. Use this lesso to help kids discover that God s plas for us are always good. LESSON WHAT CHILDREN DO SUPPLIES EASY PREP 1 Gettig Started 2 Bible Exploratio 10 Years From Now (about 15 mi.) Play a fu game to predict where they might be i 10 years. Let s Make a Deal (about 20 mi.) Lear from Geesis 15:1-6 how God had good plas for Abram. Bold text withi the lesso is spoke text. Bibles Bibles, CD player, bag of small treats, paper, pes Teacher Pack: CD Bible Poit God has good plas for us. Key Verse For I kow the plas I have for you, declares the Lord, plas to prosper you ad ot to harm you, plas to give you hope ad a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Weavig Faith Ito Life Childre will fid ways God works i the lives of his people. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 10
104 LESSON WHAT CHILDREN DO SUPPLIES EASY PREP 3 Weavig Faith Ito Life Persoal Timelies (about 15 mi.) Make timelies that tell about their lives. Bibles, CD player, Bible Truth Sleuth, copies of the lyrics page (at the ed of this lesso), paper, tape, washable markers, rulers Teacher Pack: CD, Bible Timelie Tear out the Lesso 10 pages from each Bible Truth Sleuth studet book. Star Prayer (about 10 mi.) Thak God for the Christias he s placed i their lives. Bible Truth Sleuth, pes 4 Daily Challeges (about 5 mi.) Choose a Daily Challege to apply God s Word. Bible Truth Sleuth Lastig Impressios Weavig Faith at Home (about 2 mi.) Talk about how to share what they leared with their families. Bold text withi the lesso is spoke text. Lesso 10 Grades 3 & 4
105 God Makes a Coveat With Abram Geesis 15:1-18 BIBLe BACKGROUND FOR LEADERS God Reveals His Pla to Abram Abram had just retured from defeatig a coalitio of kigs to rescue his ephew, Lot, ad God appeared to him i a visio. Notice that i Hara God simply spoke to Abram; later i Caaa God appeared before Abram; ow God appeared i a legthy visio. With each meetig, God s pla for Abram became a bit more clear. God s first words to Abram were words of comfort. What was botherig Abram was Abram s cotiuig lack of a so to be his heir. I respose to God s words of comfort, Abram poured out his heart pleadig with God to bless him i this oe area he d ot yet received God s promised blessig. Abram Displays Faith i God Whe God assured Abram by restatig his promise that Abram would have his ow so, Abram respoded i faith. He believed God, ad God declared him righteous because of his faith! Nothig that Abram could do i obediece to God could make him righteous, but his faith i God did! To give Abram complete assurace, God made a coveat with him. I those days a coveat was a very serious thig. The cuttig i half of aimals described i Geesis 15:10 was to sigify that the same would happe to ay party breakig the coveat. Notice, however, that Abram was t asked to pass betwee the aimals, which would have sealed his commitmet to the coveat. Oly God, symbolized by the smokig firepot ad blazig torch, passed ad sealed God s commitmet to the coveat. Oly God was required to fulfill the coveat. God Promises to Bless Abram s Descedats Aother iterestig ote is that each type of aimal that was sacrificed was later used i particular cleasig ceremoies ad sacrifices. God s listig of all the thigs that were to come for Abram s descedats accomplished at least two thigs: First, it cofirmed that God s promise would come true because God could see the results more tha 400 years i the future. Secod, it assured Abram that eve though his people would edure hardship, they would evetually possess the lad as God had promised. The Jesus Coectio Make this your prayer today: God, your plas are perfect. We thak you for Jesus, who revealed your plas ad helped us see that whe we follow your directio, you re with us at every step. Whe have you recogized God s plas for you? It s a special feelig whe God guides you. Pray for God s guidace for the idividuals i your miistry. You ca write your prayer here. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 10
106 GETTING STARTED 10 Years From Now Supplies Bibles 10 Years From Now What You ll Do Welcome kids warmly as they arrive, ad ask them how their week wet. Whe everyoe s arrived, say: Let s play a fu game about the future! Have kids sit i oe log lie. You ll have a few thigs whispered i your ear at the begiig of our game. Try your best to remember all three thigs that are whispered to you. Choose a child at oe ed of the lie to be Player 1. Take the child aside, ad whisper the ame of a activity or a occupatio. Explai to Player 1 that he or she will the go dow the lie ad whisper a differet activity or occupatio to each perso i lie. Allow time. After Player 1 has whispered to each child i lie, have him or her sit dow i place agai. The choose the ext child i lie to be Player 2. Whisper the ame of a place to Player 2, the have him or her whisper the ame of a differet place to each child i lie. Allow time. The choose a Player 3, ad whisper someoe s ame to him or her. Have him or her go dow the lie ad whisper differet ames to each perso i lie. The child ca ame people from school, people from church, sports figures, TV or movie celebrities, or eve fictioal characters. Allow time. Say: The ame of this game is 10 Years From Now. As we go dow the lie, each of you ca tell us what you ll be doig 10 years from ow by repeatig the three thigs that were whispered to you. You ll start by sayig, Te years from ow, I ll be The you ca say what you ll be doig, where you ll be doig it, ad who you ll be with. For example, you might say, Te years from ow, I ll be a teacher i Texas with Sow White. Go dow the lie ad let each child tell what he or she will be doig i 10 years. Say: Tur to a perso sittig ext to you to aswer these questios. After each questio, I ll ivite pairs to share their aswers with the rest of the group. What do you thik about the predictios the players whispered to you as ideas for your future? Explai whether you d call them good plas. What makes God s plas differet from the game we played? Make sure kids have Bibles, ad have them tur to the Key Verse, Jeremiah 29:11. Ivite a willig child to read the passage aloud: For I kow the plas I have for you, declares the Lord, plas to prosper you ad ot to harm you, plas to give you hope ad a future. Lesso 10 Grades 3 & 4
107 Talk With Kids Lead all the kids i this discussio. What ca this verse help you uderstad about the way God makes plas for our lives? What do you like or ot like about God s plas for you so far? Say: GOD HAS GOOD PLANS FOR US because he loves us. God kows exactly what he wats us to do i 10 years ad every day of our lives. Ad it will be a whole lot more accurate tha our silly predictios! No oe else ca tell us who we ll be with or what we ll be doig with that perso. Oly God has those plas. Ad we ca trust God to guide us. Let s fid out about some other people who leared they ca trust God s good plas. 2 BIBLE EXPLORATION Let s Make a Deal What You ll Do Have kids form two groups, Group Oe ad Group Two. Say: Before we read the Bible today, let s play a game called Let s Make a Deal. Choose oe perso to be your group s represetative i this game. Let groups choose their represetatives, ad have the represetatives come forward ad stad facig each other. Desigate the two kids Cotestat 1 ad Cotestat 2 accordig to their groups. Say: I this game, our cotestats will decide whether to make a deal or ot. The rest of you will be the studio audiece. The game show host o the CD will tell you how to play. Liste carefully, ad respod to the CD as you re prompted to do so. Ready? Let s play! Let s Make a Deal Supplies Bibles CD player bag of small treats paper pes Teacher Pack CD: Let s Make a Deal, Parts 1-3 (tracks 17-19)! ALLERGY ALERT Play Let s Make a Deal, Part 1 (track 17 o the CD), pausig the CD betwee sectios whe istructed. Ask your first cotestat if he or she wats to make a deal. If the child says yes, tell the child to walk aroud the room oce quackig like a duck. The give your cotestat a hadful of treats (eough for everyoe i Group Oe). Ecourage the studio audiece to clap ad cheer for the cotestat as he or she heads back to the group. If the child chooses ot to make a deal, sed the cotestat back to his or her group with a roud of applause but o treats. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 10
108 Say: Now it s Cotestat 2 s tur! Play Let s Make a Deal, Part 2 (track 18 o the CD). Whe you pause the CD after this segmet, ask your secod cotestat if he or she wats to make a deal. If the child says yes, tell the child to walk aroud the room oce sigig Old MacDoald Had a Farm. The give your cotestat a hadful of treats (eough for everyoe i Group 2). Ecourage the studio audiece to clap ad cheer for the cotestat as he or she heads back to the group. If the child chooses ot to make a deal, sed the cotestat back to his or her group with a roud of applause but o treats. Say: What a fu game! I wated to play Let s Make a Deal because i the Bible, God sort of made a deal with Abram. God made a coveat with Abram. A coveat is a deal or a agreemet, but God s coveat with Abram was very differet from the deals we made i our game. I ll show you what I mea. Give each group a Bible. Have each group ivite a willig child to read aloud Geesis 15:1-6. Say: Abram ad God were makig a agreemet. Aswer these ext questios i your group. After each questio, I ll ivite groups to share their aswers with everyoe. Feel free to go back to the Bible to fid the aswers. What do you thik about Abram s worries about his future? What thigs do you worry about for your future? What kid of deal would you make if it meat you did t have to worry about those thigs? Explai whether you thik God was makig a good deal for Abram. Say: Let s liste to what this coversatio betwee God ad Abram might have souded like if they had bee playig Let s Make a Deal. Play Let s Make a Deal, Part 3 (track 19 o the CD), stoppig the CD whe istructed. Say: God meat that Abram s offsprig would be all of the people who would come to believe i God after Abram. That meas you ad me! We re part of God s pla! What do you thik about beig part of the offsprig God promised to Abram? Say: Let s fid out about the rest of God s deal with Abram. Oe willig perso i each group ca read aloud Geesis 15:9-11, ad the also verses 17 ad 18. Allow time. Give each group paper ad pes. Say: Let s write the ext Let s Make a Deal segmet betwee God ad Abram. Group Oe, you ll write about what God asked Abram to do ad how Abram followed through o his part of the deal. Group Two, you ll write about what God did to show the deal was made. You ll have three Lesso 10 Grades 3 & 4
109 miutes to write, ad you ca look at your Bibles for help with the details. Ready? Go! Allow time. Say: Now, pair up with someoe i the other group. Allow time (kids ca form trios if Groups Oe ad Two are ueve). Act out the last part of Let s Make a Deal with the people from Group Oe actig out Abram s part ad the people from Group Two actig out God s part. Ready? Go! Allow two miutes. Talk With Kids After kids fiish actig out the last Let s Make a Deal segmet, lead them i this discussio. How effective do you thik the way God ad Abram sealed their deal was? Explai. Tell about a deal you ve made with aother perso ad what you did to show you d keep your part of the deal. Abram lived a log time ago. If God could see that we d be a part of Abram s offsprig, what does that tell us about God s promises ad plas? What about God s promise to Abram helps you believe that God will keep his promises to you? Say: Abram kew he could trust God s plas to keep his promises. Earlier i his life, God told Abram to pack up ad leave his home. What did Abram do? He trusted God. Later, Abram let his ephew, Lot, have the best lad, ad God promised Abram lots of lad ad offsprig. Abram kew that God had a pla for his life. Ad we kow that GOD HAS GOOD PLANS FOR US, too. We may ot kow what those plas are, but God does kow what s best for us. Let s explore what that meas for us. 3 WEAVING FAITH INTO LIFE Persoal Timelies What You ll Do Say: We ca experiece joy whe we kow that GOD HAS GOOD PLANS FOR US. His plas ca give us a reaso ad a purpose to live. Let s sig a sog about that. Pass out copies of the lyrics, ad play Got a Reaso for Livi Agai (track 20 o the CD). Sig alog with the kids. Persoal Timelies Supplies Bibles CD player Bible Truth Sleuth copies of the lyrics page (at the ed of this lesso) paper tape washable markers rulers Teacher Pack CD: Got a Reaso for Livi Agai (track 20) Bible Timelie Persoal Timelies Easy Prep Tear out the Lesso 10 pages from each Bible Truth Sleuth studet book. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 10
110 Got a reaso for livi agai, Got a reaso for laughi agai, Got a reaso for lovi agai. I got the love of God i my heart! No reaso to cry aymore, No reaso to sigh aymore, No reaso to die aymore. I got the love of God i my heart! Moday, I was all aloe. Tuesday, I had my sis to atoe. Wedesday, I cried ad I cried. Thursday, Lord, I thought I would die. Friday, I started to pray. Saturday, I read my Bible today. Suday, Lord, the heaves did part. I got the love of God i my heart! (Repeat from the begiig.) Got a reaso for livi agai, Got a reaso for laughi agai, Got a reaso for lovi agai. I got the love of God i my heart! No reaso to cry aymore, No reaso to sigh aymore, No reaso to die aymore. I got the love of God i my heart! I got the love of God i my heart! I got the love of God i my heart! Say: Whe we ve got the love of God i our heart, it s easy to trust that God has great plas for our lives. Because God loves us, we ca kow that he ll make plas to take care of us. Let s make persoal timelies that ll help us see these plas. A timelie is a log chart that shows whe certai importat evets occurred. Look at the Bible Timelie to see what I mea. Allow kids to examie the Bible Timelie. Lesso 10 Grades 3 & 4
111 Say: Our timelies will show thigs that have happeed i our lives, importat thigs we ve see God do i our lives, ad good plas we hope God might have for us i the future. We ll also add somethig we ca do this week to thik about God s plas i our lives. Distribute today s Bible Truth Sleuth pages, ad have the other supplies available. Say: Work i groups of three or four to make your timelies. You ca tape together pieces of paper for your timelie. You ll have paper ad some colored markers, Bibles, ad rulers for each group to share. Fid the My Timelie sectio o your Bible Truth Sleuth page, ad follow the directios to make your timelies. Allow time. Talk With Kids Lead kids i this discussio. Which thigs o your timelie are thigs you plaed to have happe? Which thigs were surprises to you? Talk about that. What do you thik are the differeces betwee God s plas ad our ow plas for our lives? What ca you do to thak God for the best evets i your life? Say: Take your timelie home, ad hag it i your room to remid you that God loves us ad that GOD HAS GOOD PLANS FOR US, just as he had woderful plas for Abram. Remember how God said that Abram s offsprig would be as may as the stars? Let s close with a star prayer! Star Prayer What You ll Do Have kids fid the Star Prayer sectio o today s Bible Truth Sleuth page, ad make sure everyoe has a pe. Star Prayer Supplies Bible Truth Sleuth pes Say: Iside the star shape, write a prayer to God, thakig him for the good plas he has for your life. Give kids a few momets to write; the have kids stad i a circle. Say: Because we believe i God, we each represet oe of the stars God told Abram about. That did t happe by accidet. It was part of God s good pla for us. Thik of someoe who s helped you believe i God. God put that perso i your life o purpose. As we go aroud the circle to the right, put your right arm ito the ceter of the circle ad say the ame of someoe who s helped you believe i God. After we ve goe aroud the circle, our arms will form a star! Say a ame, ad put your right arm ito the circle. After each child has said a ame ad placed his or her arm i the circle, close with a short prayer, thakig God for lovig us eough to make good plas for our lives. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 10
112 Talk With Kids Lead kids i this discussio. What are some of the thigs you wrote about i your star prayer? What are some ways you ca see that God has used other people to do good thigs i your life? I what ways ca you be a part of God s good pla for someoe else? Say: Just as God made good plas for Abram, GOD HAS GOOD PLANS FOR US ad does so may woderful thigs to make those plas come true. God puts people i our lives to help us believe i him, ad we ca do that for others, too. God s plas are amazig ad the best for our lives. Let s look at ways we ca seek God s plas for us this week. 4 LASTING IMPRESSIONS Daily Challeges Supplies Bible Truth Sleuth Daily Challeges What You ll Do Say: Let s thik about how GOD HAS GOOD PLANS FOR US this week as we follow through o our Daily Challeges. Have kids fid this week s Daily Challeges o their Bible Truth Sleuth pages ad choose oe to do this week. They ca choose oe or more of these three optios: Talk to God about the thigs you hope to do i the future. Ask him to help you trust his plas. Talk to your leader at church about how he or she has experieced God s good plas. Create a I Trust God certificate to promise i writig that you ll follow God s plas i your life. Make sure you choose a Daily Challege as well, ad tell kids what you chose. Kids will be more iclied to follow through o their commitmets whe they see you doig the same. Talk With Kids What s a practical way you re goig to do your Daily Challege? Share a time, a place, or other ideas. Allow time. Lesso 10 Grades 3 & 4
113 Say: Remember whe you feel worried this week, or ay time that GOD HAS GOOD PLANS FOR US. As you follow through o your Daily Challeges, thik about what God plaed for Abram ad kow God cares for you that way, too. Talk to God about your worries, ad remember: You ca trust that God has a pla for every day of your life. Weavig Faith at Home Ecourage kids to talk with their parets about the Daily Challeges they chose ad what they leared about God s good plas for us. Kids ca also do the activities i the HomeCoect sectio of their Bible Truth Sleuth pages with their families. Talk to your Director about emailig the FREE FamilyCoect to all your church s families. Available at group.com/digital. Take a couple of miutes to pray with your kids, thakig God for makig good plas for each perso s life. You may wat to metio each studet by ame. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 10
114 Lyrics Got a Reaso for Livi Agai Got a reaso for livi agai, Got a reaso for laughi agai, Got a reaso for lovi agai. I got the love of God i my heart! No reaso to cry aymore, No reaso to sigh aymore, No reaso to die aymore. I got the love of God i my heart! Moday, I was all aloe. Tuesday, I had my sis to atoe. Wedesday, I cried ad I cried. Thursday, Lord, I thought I would die. Friday, I started to pray. Saturday, I read my Bible today. Suday, Lord, the heaves did part. I got the love of God i my heart! (Repeat from the begiig.) Got a reaso for livi agai, Got a reaso for laughi agai, Got a reaso for lovi agai. I got the love of God i my heart! No reaso to cry aymore, No reaso to sigh aymore, No reaso to die aymore. I got the love of God i my heart! I got the love of God i my heart! I got the love of God i my heart!! OK TO COPY Lesso 10 Grades 3 & 4