Lesso 9 93 God Protects Moses Exodus 1:1 2:10 Third- ad fourth-graders are ow aware of thigs they did t eve kow existed a year or two ago. It ca be scary for kids to realize that thigs such as beig abadoed, people losig their homes, car accidets, ad eve war ca happe. This lesso may touch o some of those fears, so be sesitive ad watch for sigs that kids are afraid. It s very importat to stress how much God loves them ad protects them! LESSON WHAT CHILDREN DO SUPPLIES EASY PREP 1 Gettig Started 2 Bible Exploratio Circle of Protectio (about 15 mi.) Form a circle ad try to protect oe child i the ceter from aother outside the circle. God Protects Moses (about 15 mi.) Play a game about God s protectio of Moses. CD player Teacher Pack: CD cois Teacher Pack: God Protects Moses game board Bible Poit God protects us. Key Verse God is our refuge ad stregth, a everpreset help i trouble (Psalm 46:1). Weavig Faith Ito Life Childre will trust God for protectio i their lives. Bold text withi the lesso is spoke text. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 9
94 LESSON WHAT CHILDREN DO SUPPLIES EASY PREP 3 Weavig Faith Ito Life Amazig (But True!) (about 15 mi.) Write a article o the Bible ad oe o a persoal experiece, ad thik about how God protects them. God Is Our Refuge (about 15 mi.) Lear the Key Verse, ad create a house. Bibles, Bible Truth Sleuth, pes Bibles, paper, tape, pes, scissors, sticky otes Teacher Pack: God Is Our Refuge origami squares Tear out the Lesso 9 pages from each Bible Truth Sleuth studet book. 4 Lastig Impressios Daily Challeges (about 5 mi.) Choose a Daily Challege to apply God s Word. Weavig Faith at Home (about 2 mi.) Talk about how to share what they leared with their families. Bible Truth Sleuth origami houses made i the God Is Our Refuge activity Bold text withi the lesso is spoke text. Lesso 9 Grades 3 & 4
95 God Protects Moses Exodus 1:1 2:10 BIBLe BACKGROUND FOR LEADERS Pharaoh Feels Threateed by the Hebrews I the 400 years that had passed sice Joseph helped rule Egypt, the Israelites had grow so umerous that the ruler of the mighty kigdom of Egypt felt threateed by them. The fact that the ew kig did t kow about Joseph probably was t a result of igorace. The Hebrew wordig idicates that the kig did t wat to ackowledge Joseph s cotributios to Egyptia history. Forgettig about Joseph may have bee coveiet because this ew kig wated to suppress the Israelites for fear they would cospire with his eemies agaist him. From examples i history, the kig s oppressio of the Israelites should have had two effects. First, it should have slowed their growth, sice a populatio almost always grows more slowly uder oppressio. Ad secod, it should have broke the Israelites spirits ad elimiated the desire to rebel. However, Pharaoh s pla did t work. The Hebrew people cotiued to multiply as God cotiued to fulfill his pla amog them. The Midwives Remai Faithful ad Are Blessed The midwives who received Pharaoh s istructios to kill Hebrew male babies (Exodus 1:15-16) were likely supervisors of may Hebrew midwives. It s iterestig to ote that after 400 years of livig i Egypt, Hebrew midwives still feared God. God Protects Baby Moses We ted to picture Moses mother just settig him afloat o the Nile, prayig ad hopig that someoe would fid him ad save him. However, the Bible makes it clear that Moses mother itetioally chose the exact place ad time i which to surreder Moses. Pharaoh had decreed that ay Egyptia who foud a Hebrew male baby must throw the baby ito the Nile. Oly someoe of ifluece with Pharaoh could save a Hebrew baby from death, ad Moses mother apparetly kew where ad whe someoe like that bathed. So Moses discovery by Pharaoh s daughter was o accidet; it was part of his mother s pla as well as God s! God protected Moses from certai death. Ad God prepared Moses with both a God-hoorig upbrigig ad a royal educatio i Pharaoh s court. The Jesus Coectio God does t promise to protect us from all harm that comes our way. But he does say that that o matter what happes i this life, God ultimately protects us. Whe Moses life was threateed, God protected him i a most creative way. Ca you recall the superatural protectio of God i your life or the life of someoe you kow? Thak God today for his love ad protectio over you. You ca write your prayer i the spaces below. These midwives disobeyed a earthly authority to follow God s will for his people. God was kid to the midwives because they followed him ad did what was right for God s people. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 9
96 GETTING STARTED Circle of Protectio CD player Teacher Pack CD: Circle of Protectio (track 15) Circle of Protectio What You ll Do Welcome kids warmly as they arrive, ad ask them how their week wet. Whe everyoe has arrived, have the kids stad i a circle. Say: Now I eed oe perso to stad iside the circle ad oe perso to stad outside the circle. Choose two willig kids. Those of you formig the circle, lock your arms together at the elbows. Whe I say go, the perso o the outside will try to get ito the circle to tag the perso who is iside the circle. You may try to crawl uder arms, step over arms, or just squeeze your way through, but you ca t push or shove or kock ayoe over. If the perso i the ceter of the circle gets tagged, that perso must go to the outside of the circle ad try to get i. The perso who broke through the circle chooses the ext perso to be i the ceter. Ready? Go! Play Circle of Protectio (track 15 o the CD) while kids play. Play several rouds. Talk With Kids Lead kids i this discussio. Ask: What made it hard to get to the perso i the middle? What are some thigs you re protective of? Whe do you feel most protected i your life? Say: I this game, you had to protect someoe from beig tagged by someoe else. I today s lesso, we ll hear of some people who eeded God s protectio. Ad we ll lear that GOD PROTECTS US. Lesso 9 Grades 3 & 4
97 2 BIBLE EXPLORATION God Protects Moses What You ll Do Say: Today we ll lear how God protected Moses whe he was a baby, ad the we ll play a game that will help you uderstad how the Israelites may have felt whe Pharaoh kept makig their lives harder. God Protects Moses cois Teacher Pack God Protects Moses game board Have kids form groups of four. Place the God Protects Moses game board o a table or o the floor, ad give each group a coi to serve as a game piece. Say: As we go through the Bible, discuss with your group whether or ot you thik the situatio was positive or egative for the Israelites. The you ll move your game piece ahead oe space if you thik it was positive for the Israelites or back oe space if you thik it was egative for the Israelites. Whe groups are ready, read aloud each of the followig statemets ad give groups time to decide whether or ot the statemet was positive or egative for the Israelites ad why. The have oe member of each group move oe space toward the plus ed of the board for positive statemets ad toward the mius ed for the egative statemets. Have group members take turs movig the game piece so that everyoe has a tur. Say: Are you ready? Here are the situatios: The Israelites were growig i umber (that meas there were a lot of them!). (Exodus 1:7) The ew kig (Pharoah) did t wat that may Israelites aroud, so he made them slaves. (Exodus 1:8-11) The Israelites still grew i umber. (Exodus 1:12) The kig made the Israelites work eve harder ad made it as difficult as possible for them to do their jobs. (Exodus 1:12-14) The kig told the midwives that they had to kill ay baby boy who was bor. (Exodus 1:15-16) The midwives feared God ad let the baby boys live. (Exodus 1:17) The kig became very agry with the midwives. (Exodus 1:18) The midwives told the kig that the Israelite wome were very strog ad had their babies before they arrived to help them. (Exodus 1:19) God was kid to the midwives ad gave them families of their very ow. (Exodus 1:20-21) The kig was very mad ad ordered that all baby boys be throw ito the Nile River. (Exodus 1:22) Moses was bor. (Exodus 2:1-2) Moses mother had to hide him for three moths. (Exodus 2:1-2) Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 9
98 The Moses mother could t hide him aymore; she had to put him i a basket ad hide him i the reeds alog the bak of the Nile River. (Exodus 2:3) Moses sister Miriam followed the basket to see what would happe to Moses. (Exodus 2:4) Pharaoh s daughter foud Moses ad kew he was a Israelite baby boy, but she felt sorry for him. (Exodus 2:5-6) Pharaoh s daughter wated to keep Moses, so she hired Moses ow mother to care for Moses for her. (Exodus 2:7-9) Whe Moses was older, he was take to Pharaoh s daughter to be her so. (Exodus 2:10) Let kids fiish movig their game pieces back ad forth o the game board. Talk With Kids The lead kids i this discussio. Ask: What were you thikig as you had to move your piece backward whe you were tryig to move forward? What happes whe God s protectio does t look the way we expect? Tell about a time i your life whe you felt you eeded God s protectio. Say: This is great proof that GOD PROTECTS US! God protected Moses because he loved Moses. Eve though Pharaoh, the kig, tried ad tried to get rid of the Israelites, he could t succeed because God protected them. First God protected them by sedig midwives who refused to kill the baby boys as the kig had ordered. The God protected Moses by havig Pharaoh s daughter fid him ad take care of him. God is a great protector! 3 WEAVING FAITH INTO LIFE Amazig (But True!) Bibles Bible Truth Sleuth pes Amazig (But True!) Easy Prep Tear out the Lesso 9 pages from each Bible Truth Sleuth studet book. Amazig (But True!) What You ll Do Say: Now let s take a look at how God protected Moses ad compare that with how he protects us. Distribute pes ad this week s Bible Truth Sleuth pages, ad have kids tur to the Amazig (But True!) sectio. Say: Write a ewspaper article about baby Moses beig pulled from a crocodileifested river. Feel free to use your Bibles to look up facts. Whe you ve fiished the article about Moses, write aother article below it that tells about how God has protected you or someoe you kow. For example, maybe you kow someoe who was i a car that was almost hit by aother car, but at the last miute the other car swerved ad missed the perso. Lesso 9 Grades 3 & 4
99 Allow about eight miutes for writig. Whe everyoe has fiished, have willig kids share their articles with the group. Talk With Kids Lead kids i this discussio. Ask: What do these stories of protectio tell us about God? How ca we show God that we trust him to protect us? Say: Just as a baby beig pulled from a crocodile-ifested river is pretty amazig, so is God s protectio of us. God loved Moses deeply, ad he loves you just as deeply. We ca be ecouraged to kow that God, as big ad as awesome as he is, still takes time to watch over us ad to protect each oe of us. Let s look at our Key Verse to see how GOD PROTECTS US. God Is Our Refuge What You ll Do Make sure kids have Bibles, ad have them tur to the Key Verse, Psalm 46:1. Have a willig child read the verse aloud: God is our refuge ad stregth, a ever-preset help i trouble. Give each child a pe ad a sticky ote. Say: Thik of a situatio that you feel is really difficult. Maybe it seems as if God ca t help you. The write oe or two words o your sticky ote that describe the situatio. God Is Our Refuge Bibles paper tape pes scissors sticky otes Teacher Pack God Is Our Refuge origami squares Distribute a origami square to each child, ad give kids the followig istructios: Say: Liste to me carefully as I give you istructios o how to do this. 1. The first thig you eed to do with the piece of paper I ve give you is to lay it i frot of you so that the Key Verse faces you ad is o the bottom of the sheet. 2. Next pick up the paper ad fold it i half so that the words still face you ad are o the bottom of the sheet. 3. Now ufold the paper, ad lay it dow so that the words face the table ad are at the top of the sheet. The fold the top quarter of the sheet dow so that it matches the middle lie from your previous fold. The take the bottom half ad fold it up to meet the other part. 4. Flip it over so the words are facig dow, ad fold it i half. The ufold it, ad fold the two eds ito the middle, usig the creases as a guidelie. 5. Make sure most of the words are at the top of the page ad facig dow. 6. Pull the corer of the top-right flap out to the right, makig a triagle that sticks out from the square. Do the same for the left side. 7. Usig a small piece of tape, tape oly the bottom half of the square where the eds of the paper come together. 8. Flip it over, ad you have a house. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 9
100 9. Earlier you wrote a situatio that you feel is really difficult. Put the piece of paper iside your house. There is a place right udereath the Key Verse where you ca put it. After kids have fiished makig their crafts, have them place them o the table i frot of them. Talk With Kids Lead kids i this discussio. Ask: What does this verse tell you about God s plas for you, both ow ad i the future? What does this verse tell us about difficult situatios? What ca help you seek God i your life eve whe thigs appear to be bad for you? Say: May people see their houses as places of refuge where they feel safe ad protected. GOD PROTECTS US eve i very difficult situatios just as he protected Moses i the Nile River. Take home these houses you ve made to help you remember our Key Verse: God is our refuge ad stregth, a ever-preset help i trouble (Psalm 46:1). Lesso 9 Grades 3 & 4
101 4 LASTING IMPRESSIONS Daily Challeges What You ll Do Say: Let s thik this week about how we ca trust that GOD PROTECTS US. Daily Challeges Bible Truth Sleuth 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: Draw a picture of a time you eeded God s protectio. The write God is my refuge o your picture. Write i a joural or diary about ways you ve see God protect you i the past. Whe you re scared or worried about somethig, read what you wrote to help you remember that he protects you. Tell a youger fried or siblig about how God protects you. Make sure you choose a Daily Challege as well, ad tell the 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 Lead kids i this discussio. Ask: What s a practical way you re goig to do your Daily Challege? Iclude a time, a place, ad other ideas. Say: GOD PROTECTS US. We might ot be able to see it right away, but he s always with us just like he was with Moses. Let s reflect o God s protectio as we follow through o our Daily Challeges this week. Weavig Faith at Home Ecourage kids to talk with their parets about the Daily Challeges they chose ad what they leared about God s protectio. 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. Weavig Faith at Home origami houses made i the God Is Our Refuge activity Take a couple of miutes to pray with your kids. Have kids hold o to their God Is Our Refuge houses ad pray for God s protectio. Grades 3 & 4 Lesso 9