Provision in the Wilderness - PDF Free Download

Provision in the Wilderness This lesson will show pagethe children how God will provide even during the toughest of times. He provided bread and meat for the Israelites while wandering in the wilderness. TOPICS Blessings, Miracles, Moses, Provision AS KIDS ARRIVE (12 minutes) God Gives Us Tasty Things to Eat (Activity) page 2 BIBLE VERSE (5 minutes) "And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19 NIV As the children practice saying this verse, explain how God provides many things for us to enjoy, but even when we lack many things, He will still provide what we really need to live. Instead of worrying about food and clothing, we need to be more concerned with God s Kingdom and the riches we have in Jesus. Whatever trouble we face, we can always depend on Jesus. BIBLE STORY (15 minutes) Gather the children around you in a circle for story time. After the introduction, read the story right from the Bible. If possible, use a Children's Bible so it will be easier for the kids to understand. Introduction: Shortly after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they came to the wilderness of sin. They ran out of the food they brought with them, and they were hungry. The place they were was a desert, and there was very little food available. Plants were scarce, so were any animals. The people thought they were starving to death. Let s read our story, and find out what happened. Note: The Wilderness of Sin as in the King James Version, also translated into the Desert of Sin was an area near Sinai, where there was great lack of food and other provisions. This allowed the greatness of God to show. Read Exodus 16:1-18, 31 (Manna and Quail) Discussion Questions: 1. Did the Lord hear the people rejoice or grumble when they found no food to eat? (Grumble.) 2. Was it okay for them to grumble? Why or why not? (No, because it showed they were ungrateful and did not trust God.) 3. God knew the people needed to eat, so did He provide bread or meat? (Both.) 4. Where did the bread and meat come from? (It rained down from Heaven.) 5. What did the Israelites call the bread that rained down from heaven? (Manna see verse 31.) 6. What kind of meat did God provide? (Quail-a small spotted bird similar to a partridge - probably tasted like chicken.) 7. What does the Bible say manna tasted like? (Wafers made with honey.) 8. After gathering the manna, did some people have too little, and others have too much? (No, everyone had just enough for what they needed.) 9. Besides giving us food to eat, what are some other ways God blesses us? (Clothing, homes, parents, friends, etc.) FUN TIME (15 minutes) Pick up Manna and Quail (Game) page 3 ALTERNATE FUN TIME (10 minutes) Sharing Lunch (Object Talk) page 4

Provision in the Wilderness GOD GIVES US TASTY THINGS TO EAT Children enjoy coloring their favorite foods as they learn that all good things come from God. TOPICS: Blessings, Provision, Thankfulness MATERIALS: Crayons or colored markers Copies of Activity sheet page 5 Pre-colored Activity Sheet (optional) page 6 DURATION: Approximately 12 minutes WHAT YOU WILL DO: Have an ample supply of crayons or colored markers available, and give an activity sheet to each child. First, have the children circle their favorite food shown, and then put a square around their least favorite. Then give them time to color all of the pictures. After everyone is finished, or close to being finished coloring their activity sheet, gather the children in a circle for discussion. WHAT YOU WILL SAY: All of the foods we just colored are delicious, aren t they? I know everyone likes some foods better than others, so isn t it great to have such a variety of things to eat? Do you know who actually provides all the things we enjoy eating? (God) Ask the following questions to each child individually. 1. What is the favorite food that you circled? 2. Which one did you put a square around? 3. How would you feel if you could no longer eat (insert the child s favorite food circled) 4. Who do you want to thank for providing your favorite food to eat? God is so good to us. Not only does He provide food so we can live, He also provides many different kinds of foods to enjoy. God always knows what we need, so we need to be thankful for all of the things God provides.

Provision in the Wilderness PICK UP MANNA AND QUAIL A game to see how quickly the children can gather manna and quail, like the Israelites did when God provided for them in the wilderness. TOPICS: Provision, Miracles MATERIALS: Manna and Quail cards page 7 Quail cards Card stock DURATION: Approximately 10 to 15 minutes PREPARATION: Before class, print and cut out the manna and quail cards. You want to have at least 3 or 4 of each for the number of children you expect to have in your class. Using medium to heavy cards stock provides cards that are more durable, and that can be reused. WHAT YOU WILL DO: You will spread (toss) the cards all around the room. It's okay if some are face up and other face down. Then, when you say "GO," the children will quickly gather the manna and quail cards as follows: For younger children, toddlers, etc. you can simply have them gather all the cards they can, then put them into two piles on the table, a manna pile and a quail pile. Then play again to see if they can do it faster. For older preschoolers and up to fist grade, have them do a little counting as they gather the cards. The first time, have them gather 1 manna card for every quail card they find. If they can't find a match, they must drop the card back on the floor. For example they can have 3 of each, but if they find 4 manna cards and only 3 quail cards, they must discard 1 manna card. Then collect all the cards and spread them around the room again. The second time, have them gather 2 manna cards for every 1 quail card they find. So to keep 3 manna cards, they must have 3 quail cards, etc. Depending on the abilities of the children, and the amount of time you have, you can have them gather other combinations, such as 3 manna cards for each quail card, 4 for 1, etc. WHAT YOU WILL SAY: Start by explaining to the children how after the Israelites escaped from Egypt, they came to a desert area, also known as the wilderness of sin. The problem was the people were hungry, but they had no more food. So God provided a miracle. He rained down manna and quail for the people to eat. Manna was like honey coated wafers, and the quail probably tasted like chicken. We are going to pretend that we are picking up manna and quail. However, we must make sure that everyone has enough so we must gather them in a certain way.

SHARING LUNCH Provision in the Wilderness With Jesus, even the smallest of things can become amazingly great. TOPICS: Miracles, Provision, Sharing MATERIALS: Lunch box Paper bag Treats (individually wrapped) DURATION: Approximately 10 minutes WHAT YOU WILL DO: You will explain how Jesus is our great provider using examples of a small packed lunch. Inside the lunch box or bag, have individually wrapped treats to share with the kids after the object lesson. WHAT YOU WILL SAY: Many children, when they go to school, bring something like this. (Hold up lunch box) Do you know what this is? It is a lunch box. Not only children, many adults bring lunch with them to work. Sometimes, it is in something like this. (Hold up the lunch bag) Why do we pack a lunch? (Allow for answers) We pack a lunch because when lunchtime comes and we are hungry, we want to eat. What would happen if lunchtime came, and there was nothing to eat? A long time ago, when many, many, people were following Jesus, it became time to eat. They were all hungry. However, no one packed a lunch, except one small child. He had only enough for himself. Do you know what he did? He shared his lunch. He gave it to Jesus, and Jesus was able to feed thousands of people, with just one small lunch. That is because Jesus is our Great Provider. He can do miraculous things when people are willing to share. Whether He helps your mom or dad prepare one small lunch for you, or feeds thousands of people at one time, Jesus will always provide. Let s see what he provided for us today. (Open lunch box and share the treats.)

Print on medium to heavy card stock, then cut out each card Kids Sunday School Place, Inc. All Rig www.kidssundayschool.com