4 Abram Hosts Some Strange Visitors Genesis 15-18 Kids will understand: The account of Abram and the strange visitor. That God revealed Himself to Abraham because of His faith. That God still reveals Himself to us through our faith. Oct. 14 2012 1
ACTIVITY - skit Parker Woods is a character who will be carried through the quarter. The skits have an outdoors setting where Parker battles the elements while introducing and/or demonstrating the park element in some way. Parker should be dressed in outdoor gear to the hilt with plenty of camping supplies around him. He is well meaning and serious in wanting to show the kids the ropes about safe and enjoyable camping in the park, but he often runs into some kind of humorous difficulty. tent Parker is standing outside putting up his tent, talking to himself. Parker: Ahhh yes, another day out in God s creation! (gulps in a big breath of air) There s nothing like it! Once I get my tent set up, I ll be ready to relax! (turns around and sees the kids) Ohhhh, well, hey there. My name is Parker Woods. I m just setting up my tent! I have a lot of faith in this tent. Yeah, we ve been through some experiences together! (rubs hand along the tent affectionately as he reminisces, then snaps out of it) Sorry! I just know that I trust this tent to be there for me when I need it! If it starts raining, it keeps me dry. When the bugs come out at night, (swats in the air as a bug flies around him) I can go inside for protection. (swats bug again) Darn bugs are already out! Yes, if you re going to go camping, the first thing you ll want to invest in is a quality tent you won t be sorry there! There are all sorts of shapes and sizes big ones, small ones. Just make sure you get one that s easy to set up and take down! Yessirreee, I ve spent a lot of nights in this tent. I just put it away when I m done and I have faith that the next time I pull it out of its case, it ll be ready to protect me once again! So kids, when you re ready to camp, buy a good tent! (swats again and smacks himself in the face really hard and dazes himself) YOW! Now that really hurt ol Parker! (shakes head) I m seeing stars! (bends over in pain) You know, these stars remind me of our Bible story today about Abram and his wife Sarai. Abram was a camper with a tent, too! And guess what, he saw some stars lots of em more than he could count! He wasn t swatting at bugs like me, but God told him to get on outta his tent, so God could show Abram some stars one night! (swats in the air again at more bugs, then retreats quickly into the tent and zips the flap while continuing to talk) You know, these bugs are out awfully early today! I m gonna show some faith in my tent and get away from them! Listen kids, you can t see me now, but you can hear me, right? You have faith it s still me, right? Ol Parker Woods wouldn t steer you wrong. You can be sure of that! 2
Remember Parker s tip today is to always invest in a good, quality tent! See ya next week! Oh and don t forget to listen for the part in the lesson where Abram saw stars! object lesson You will need 2 small boxes of candy, like Thin Mints, Milk Duds, or any boxed candy that has no window in the box. Does anyone have an idea what faith means? Show the slide definition. Faith is believing or trusting in something believing that it exists even when you can t see it. 2 small boxes of candy PowerPoint slides Show verse slide. The Bible says it like this in Hebrews 11:1 (ERV) Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see. God was pleased with the people who lived a long time ago because they had faith like this. Hold up a box of candy and open one end. Show the kids the candy inside. Does it take faith to believe there is candy inside? Why not? Because there is evidence or proof to look at and see that it exists. When you look in the end of the box you see it there, so there s no faith involved. Hold up the other unopened box, being careful not to shake it so the contents can be heard. Now, how many of you are confident and trust that there is candy in this box? Why do you think that? Is that faith? Yes it is. You can t actually see what s inside, but you still believe it based on your past experience with candy boxes. Every time you ve opened a new box of candy, there was candy in it, right? We re going to learn about one of the people God was pleased with. He s actually one of the people that this verse is talking about. His name was Abram, and then God changed it to Abraham. God saw his faith and rewarded him for it! bible account Watch the video included with the lesson, Abram Hosts Some Strange Visitors. This video will introduce you to a man of faith in the Old Testament of the Bible. His faith grew through each experience he had with God. Even in the New Testament, thousands of years later, the writers refer to Abraham because of his faith. "Abram Hosts Some Strange Who Will Visitors" Be Chosen? VIDEO 3
game Prior to class make a copy of the sheet of stars for each team on card stock. (If you have laminating capabilities, that would be an added benefit.) Cut the stars out. Each set of stars will be buried in their team s container of sand. The best way to bury these is alternate layers of sand, stars, sand, stars, etc. Each team will also need a copy of the questions below and a helper to give the questions out to that team. Each team will blindfold one player to stand at their container of sand. At the signal, all the blindfolded players will feel around in the sand to dig out a star. Once they find a star they will take the blindfold off and read the number on the star. The helper with the question sheet will ask the matching question. If the player is unable to answer correctly, the star is buried in the container again. Each team will be asking their player a different question, according to which numbered star they pull out. Continue blindfolding players until all the teams have answered their 15 questions. copies of numbered stars from end of lesson scissors card stock large containers sand blindfolds Why do you think we used stars in this game? Why do you think we used sand? Read Genesis 22:17 (NLT), I will certainly bless you. I will multiply your descendants beyond number, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will conquer the cities of their enemies. That s a big promise for God to keep, isn t it? Abraham had faith in God that He would keep that promise. God revealed himself to Abraham because of that faith! Questions and Answers True/False. The name Abraham means father of one child. (False it means father of many) True/False. The name Sarah means queen. (False it means princess) How old was Abram when God appeared to him while he was sleeping? (86) Why did God promise to give Abram a reward? (because of his faith and obedience) Why did Abram and Sarai go to Egypt? (there was a famine) Who did Abram and Sarai bring home from Egypt? (a servant girl named Haggar) Why was Sarai angry with Hagar? (Haggar was disrespectful to Sarai.) Who appeared to Hagar at a well? (an angel) What did the angel tell Hagar she would be blessed with? (a son, a strong, wild man) True/False. God never revealed Himself to Hagar or Abraham. (False - He revealed Himself because of their faith.) True/False. The name of Hagar s son was Ishmael. It means God does not hear you. (False - it means God hears) 4
True/False. God told Abram that Ishmael was not the son He promised Abram in His covenant with Abram. (True The son would be Sarai s son, not Hagar s.) God s covenant with Abram was that God promised to give a son to Abram if Abram did what? (had faith in God and served Him) Abraham was sitting in his tent. How many men approached him? (3) Two of the men who came to Abram were angels. The other one was (the Lord) puppets You will need 2 puppets a park ranger and a ranger trainer. (You could also use 2 actors.) Make or locate 2 small hats that look like ranger hats and 2 badges. These 2 puppets will be used throughout the Agape National Park unit. Before class make some puppet binoculars by cutting the paper roll in half and then taping the two sections together. 2 puppets empty toilet paper roll tape scissors (Trainee is alone on stage.) Ranger: Ranger: Ranger: Ranger: (looking around in the tops of trees) I don t see any redcrested warblers. The park ranger told me to check on them since they have a nest with eggs in them. (walks in with binoculars and stares at the ranger trainee for a few seconds) (unaware ranger is there, continues to stare off into the distance at the trees) Nope, no red-crested warblers anywhere. I don t think the ranger (clears throat) Looking for something? (startled) Uh yeah, the red-crested warblers you told me to check on. They aren t in the trees. I looked everywhere. That s because you can t see them without these! (hands trainee the binoculars) (takes binoculars) Oh uh, yeah, I guess that would help! (puts binoculars on and looks toward trees shouts out) OH, OH, OH there s the nest! Yes, and there are three cute little baby birds eating worms from their momma! These binoculars rock! Yes, the birds were there all the time, weren t they? But, you couldn t see them without looking through the binoculars. Listen, that reminds me of something. (puts head down) I know, I forgot to empty the park trashcans again. 5
Ranger: Ranger: Ranger: Well, thanks for telling me that, but that isn t what I was going to tell you! The birds were there the whole time, but you couldn t see them until you used the binoculars, right? Yes, that s right. They were there the whole time. Well, listen faith is like these binoculars. You have to look through faith to see God. God is all around us. He s been here all the time and wants to reveal Himself to us. But, we can t see Him without faith. God reveals Himself to us through our faith! That s awesome, Ranger! I get that! Faith is our binoculars to see God! You re gonna be alright, ranger trainee! Now, go empty all the park trashcans! Message (show slide #1) Faith isn t touchy feely stuff. (show slide #2) Hebrews 11:1-2 Do you remember our verse we read earlier in Hebrews 11:1 ERV? Faith is what makes real the things we hope for. It is proof of what we cannot see. Faith makes things real to us that we can t see. It s proof of something that we can NOT experience with our five senses! (show slide #3) You have probably seen something like this before. Can you name the five senses? Sight, touch, smell, hearing and taste. PowerPoint slides preschool puzzle (4-8 pieces) Mason jar container of sand trashcan candy box from earlier object lesson Faith doesn t rely on the senses. Let s bring out our box of candy again. Hold up the open candy box. I can see the candy. (show candy to the kids) I can taste it. (eat and really enjoy it) I can hear it. (shake the box) I can feel it. (pour some in your hand and eat it again, savoring it) I can taste it OH! I m sorry. I already did that one, didn t I! (put up to your nose) And I can smell it. Oh man, that smells good! And, I can taste it. (take more out and eat it) Oh, I m so sorry. I keep forgetting I already did the sense of taste! (laugh) This is a fun, crazy example of what faith ISN T! Faith is believing even though you don t have any proof or evidence when there s nothing you can see or hold in your hand or taste or smell or hear! God told Abraham that He would give Abraham countless descendants, like the sand and stars. Abraham had faith in God! Even when Abraham didn t have a son at age 86 and then at age 99, he had confidence in God! God revealed Himself to Abraham because of that faith! (show slide #4) God is pleased with faith-filled people. God was pleased with the people who lived a long time ago, because they had faith. And, God wants us to be full of faith. He was pleased with Abraham and many others, because they trusted and had 6
confidence in God. God was able to reveal more and more of Himself to them through that faith! But, we don t get filled with faith all at once. It would be nice if we did, wouldn t it? (hold up empty Mason jar over the trashcan) It would be nice if we asked for faith and God just dumped it on us. (dump sand into jar until it overflows, then pour the sand back into the container/ trashcan) But that s not the way it comes. Faith comes over time as we read God s Word (put a little pinch of sand into jar), pray (put a little more sand in the jar), and by obedience when we put into practice what we ve read in God s Word (put more sand in the jar). Over time, we are filled up with faith! (show slide #5) God will reveal Himself. Have you ever watched one of the Extreme Makeover shows where they completely repair or redo the entire house for a family that has a desperate need? The Makeover crew parks their big bus in front of the house until it s time to REVEAL the house to the family. Then, they move the bus and VOILA the makeover is done and the awesome looking house is revealed! Well, God could reveal Himself to us like that all at once but do you know what? We couldn t handle it! We couldn t handle His glory, power and awesomeness. Moses asked to see God and God told Moses it would be too much for him to take! We can t imagine God s glory! Instead, God (hold up a piece of the puzzle) reveals Himself to us a little bit at a time through our faith piece by piece like this puzzle. (add another piece) You see, we don t see the whole picture until we add all the pieces. (complete the puzzle) There, now the picture is revealed. (hold puzzle up for all to see) Now you can see the puzzle is a. (name what puzzle is a picture of) There is so much about God His character and who He is that we could never know all there is about Him. We will never have a complete picture. In fact, God will continue to reveal Himself to us in heaven! Isn t that exciting? Well, what are you waiting for? Let s continue to seek God and discover new things about Him as we read about Him and serve Him! object lesson Place the stones in a circle to indicate where the campfire will be. If you happen to have a fire ring at your church, take the kids out to it during this lesson. The change of environment will be great for them. Place the pile of sticks next to you. Sit on the floor with your legs crossed as if sitting in front of a fire. Depending on the size of your group, the kids can join you around the fire ring. small sticks small stones Hold up one stick. This stick represents when you believed in Jesus Christ and had faith in Him to be your Savior. From this point, you start on your faith journey. Place the stick in the fire ring. Hold up another stick. God reveals himself to us through our faith. That s kind of a tough thing to get a hold of, isn t it? It has to sink 7
in a bit. Faith is a process that happens over time little by little. Each experience of seeing God alive and working in your life and the situations you re in helps your faith to grow. Each faith experience adds a stick to the fire! This stick represents something that you learned about God. Maybe it was something you started understanding about His character who He is what He does. Or, maybe it s a promise in His Word that you realize is especially for you at this moment in your life. You take hold of that and believe it! Grab the stick and clinch it. In other words, you now trust or have confidence in it you have faith in it! Place the stick in the stone ring. Now your faith is getting bigger, isn t it? It s growing! Hold up another stick. Let s say this stick represents a time when you prayed for help with something and you knew that God was right there helping you. Grab the stick with the other hand and clinch the stick hard. Place the stick on top of others in the fire ring. Your faith grew some more, didn t it? The more sticks you add, the more intense and bright the fire gets? Add more sticks to the fire. It s the same with adding faith upon faith in our walk with God. God reveals more and more about Himself to you through your faith. You keep believing and He keeps adding to the fire. Place all the sticks in the fire. You grow stronger and stronger and so does your faith. God shows you more and more about who He is. Just like with Abraham, God will be pleased with you when you walk in faith! game In this game each kid will be on their own. Give each child an index card and a pencil. Display slide #1 for a few seconds. You can determine the amount of time based on your class makeup (older, younger kids). The kids will count the number of white stars they see. Kids will count the stars in the sky and write them down. Display the next slide which shows the stars numbered. Ask kids to raise their hands if they counted the correct number of stars. PowerPoint slides index card pencils timer Repeat this pattern with each of the slides. As you go through the slides, different colors of stars will appear. Increase the amount of time you display the slides as more stars are added. Option Repeat some slides. This time for slides 5, 7, and 9 only have them count one specific color. It will be more of a challenge to separate as they count! Imagine you are Abram and God told you to go outside and look in the sky and count the stars. That s the way you ll know how many descendants you will have if you just have faith in God and His promise to you. What would it be like to have God wake you up and lead you outside to look into the sky and then make a promise to you? Would something like that build your faith in God? Why? What do you think Abraham thought when he looked into the sky after that? What would it remind Abraham of? 8
prayer Beforehand, download the video Story of Open the Eyes of My Heart Paul Baloche, submitted by leadworshipdotcom. http://youtu.be/ga9tg2ck6za 2 YouTube videos You ll also want to download Hillsong Kids Open the Eyes of My Heart, submitted by dominisia24. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imn8vdlcwje Show the first video; then, stop to discuss these questions. God wants to reveal Himself to every one of us! How does He do that? He does it through our faith. What do you think it means to open the eyes of my heart? It s talking about seeing God through the faith in our hearts. The writer of the song shared how that was his prayer and meditation before God as he worshiped. He wanted God to reveal himself. He wanted to see God in His majesty and power. Play the second video and encourage the kids to worship. The kids should sing along and pray these words to God. God is waiting to reveal more and more of Himself to us. Close with a time in prayer. Ask the kids to have a sweet time of prayer with God. Let God know that you want to see Him in a greater way that you want to learn more about Him and increase your faith through His Word. blessing May God reveal Himself to you through your faith. 9
craft The craft we re suggesting is a Sand Art Bracelet, which you ll need to purchase from orientaltrading.com, IN-48/1711, $5.25/24 pieces. Craft sand can be purchased at craft stores. But, you could do something similar by putting colored sand in a small baby food jar. God told Abraham that his descendants would be like the sand in the seashore! Abraham had to have faith in God, especially since he didn t even have one child at the time God made him the promise! He was already a very old man and God was promising that he would be the father of many people! That took a huge amount of faith to believe! small funnels sand art bracelet kits colored sand plastic spoons table covering Kids will each make their own sand bracelet using the different colors of sand. Before passing out the sand art bracelet kits, put a covering over the tables for easy clean-up. Cap one end of the bracelet tubing. The kids will insert a very small funnel into the other end of the tubing. Use a plastic spoon to dip out a small amount of colored sand from the container and pour it into the funnel. This is an excellent opportunity for the kids to work in pairs one holding the tubing and funnel while the other pours sand. Once the tubing is full, cap the ends together. Colored salt works just as well and is cheaper, but takes more preparation time. If you d like to prepare colored salt, pour a container of salt into a heavy zip-lock bag. Drop 8-10 drops of food coloring into it and stir/mash. (If you want a darker color, add more food coloring.) There may be some clumps, but keep mashing and the color will work through the salt. You can purchase boxes of neon food coloring that make wonderful bright colors. Pour the colored salt onto a cookie sheet to air dry. How difficult do you think it would be to try and count each particle of sand in your bracelet? What do you think of Abraham to be 86 years old when God first promised him a son and to hear that his descendants would be like the stars in the sky and sand at the seashore? take home reminder Kids can take their sand bracelet home with them. God revealed Himself to Abraham and kept His promise to him. Abraham DID have a son and his descendants are too many to count! When we have faith in God, He will keep His promises and reveal Himself to us, too! sand craft Scripture MemorizatioN Isaiah 40:31 Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. 10 PowerPoint slide
Our memory verse applies to Abraham in many ways. He was an old man who, I m sure, was weary from much traveling in rough conditions, camping out in a tent and walking long distances. Abraham trusted, or in other words, he had faith in the Lord and, because of that, he found new strength. Abraham needed strength to raise his new baby boy the son God would give them! He was able to walk and not be faint as God led him to new lands. Yes, Abraham had faith in God. He trusted God to bring His promise to pass, even though Abraham was almost 100 years old! Since the kids are just beginning to learn the memory verse, this is a great time for them to create motions to accompany the verse. BUT, it will be a much better learning experience if they can create the motions themselves. A motion that speaks to the leader (or this writer) and is an association for us may not necessarily be an understood association for the child. Show the scripture PowerPoint slide. The kids will work in groups of 3 or 4 to come up with motions to go along with the scripture. After all the groups have worked out their motions and have reviewed the verse multiple times using the motions they created, turn off the projected slide. Instruct everyone to stand with their groups and say the verse together. At the same time, all the groups will do the motions they have created. Snack Give kids each 4-6 sections of crackers and at least 5 fruit snacks on their plates. Kids will build a tent with their crackers by squirting 2 strips of cheese on their plates, parallel to one another. Then, they ll push one of the short ends of the cracker into each strip of cheese. This will keep the crackers from sliding when the top edges lean against one another for the tent. Then, they can place Abraham and Sarah (fruit snacks) in the tent with the 3 strangers coming to meet them. Show the kids a completed snack before they start. rectangular crackers squirt cheese fruit snacks of characters paper plates Carry on conversations while the kids are eating. How would you describe Abraham as he served the visitors? How do you think Sara felt when she found out the visitors knew she laughed in the tent? Have you ever doubted or not had faith in God to do something that is written in the Bible? How do you think Abraham felt when he realized that he had served two angels and the Lord? music Every Good and Perfect Thing and Not To Us are the two DVD downloading songs that are included with this unit. These songs were recorded by Yancy, a contemporary preteen worship leader. For more information about other music by Yancy, go to yancynotnancy.com. DVD downloads 11
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