Lesson 1 Moses and the Burning Bush

September 5, 2010 September s B.i.G. Idea We believe that God chooses ordinary people to make a difference in God s world. September s Bible Verse God said, I will be with you. Exodus 3:12a, NIV September s B.i.G. Theme God Chooses Us Lesson 1 Moses and the Burning Bush Today s Bible Story Exodus 2:11-21; 3:1-15 Three B.i.G. (Believe in God) Truths God is a great big God. God loves us with a great big love. We are part of God s great big world. Objectives Children will hear the biblical story of Moses and the burning bush. Children will recognize that they, like Moses, can trust God s guidance and care. Children will discover the biblical promise that God is always with them. There is perhaps no story of God calling a person that is better known than the story of God calling Moses to lead God s people out of Egypt and free them from the oppression of Pharaoh. No matter how often the story is told, one thing always comes through: the call of God is a very powerful thing. Moses never wanted to return to Egypt. Yet, once he heard the call of God, he became determined to return to the place he had meant to leave behind forever. God s call gave Moses the vision, determination, and power to do things he never could have imagined. When Moses came to the mountain, he saw an angel of the Lord who appeared to him in a very curious way. There was a bush fully engulfed in flames and yet its leaves and wood were not burning or turning to ash. Curious, he approached the bush to discover more. When Moses first heard God calling his name, he hesitated at God s proposal. Moses asked, Who am I to go to Pharaoh and lead your people out of Egypt? But God reassured Moses that God would be with him. Then Moses asked for God s name. In those days, people believed that knowing someone s name gave you power over that person. Perhaps Moses was trying to regain a sense of control over the situation. Or perhaps he wanted to be clear about the chain of responsibility and the validity of what he was being called to do. Whatever his intention, Moses got an answer that he probably never expected. God said, I Am Who I Am, or, I Will Be Who I Will Be, meaning that God is God. To try to name, define, or understand God beyond that is futile. God is the creator, originator, and sustainer of all life. It is this God who called Moses on Mt. Sinai, and it is this God who calls us as well. A call is a powerful thing. God s call causes ordinary people to step up and teach children about the message of God. God s call challenges children to do the right thing even when it is hard. God s call challenges all of us to live our belief in God each and every day wherever we go and whatever we do. Stories of God calling people like Moses simply show us that God chooses to use ordinary people like Moses, like you, like me, like the children in your care, to do extraordinary things for God that change the world for the better. 8 Abingdon Press. www.ilivebig.com

Activity TimeSaver EcoFriendly Invite them in... (15 minutes) Build a Timeline Calendar Testament Toss Memory Scrapbook Rings... Into the Bible (30 minutes) Holy Ground Wherever You Go Act It Out... Into Life (15 minutes) Finding Your Holy Ground The Station Who Are You? Closing Into Their Hearts TimeSaver TimeSaver Activities that require little or no planning and only basic supplies. EcoFriendly EcoFriendly Activities that encourage responsible earth stewardship by providing options to use recycled or repurposed materials. DVD Summary: The Station Some of The Station kids are back this fall, but some have moved on. Plus, The Station is in a new location it s part of the neighborhood center now. Station director Ana is not sure about all these changes until she meets the new kids and hears about a new project that will let her kids help younger kids make good choices. She thinks about this week s Bible story, when God called Moses from a burning bush, and she wonders if Moses felt a little overwhelmed at first too. September 5, 2010 Ages 9 10 Abingdon Press. 9

September 5, 2010 The B.i.G. Idea We believe that God chooses ordinary people to make a difference in God s world. Choose one or more activities to introduce your children to the Bible story. Build a Timeline Invite them in... Supplies: Stickers, Attendance Chart, 8 1 2-by-14 paper, tape, rulers, markers, ribbon, mailing tube Tape twenty sheets of paper end to end to create a long banner. Mount the Attendance Chart where the children can easily reach it. Do Welcome each child. Have every child place a Sticker on the Attendance Chart. Have the children use rulers to draw a line down the middle of the banner from left to right. Across the first three pieces of paper (the left end), write, Prehistory. At the left edge of the fourth sheet, write 2100 BC. Starting at 2100 BC and moving right, have the children measure 100- year marks every ten inches for the rest of the paper. For example, 10 inches to the right of 2100 BC would be 2000 BC. When the children get to 100 BC, the next mark should be 1 BC or AD; then the numbers increase. Around 1300 BC, have the children write, God calls Moses. Roll the timeline up like a scroll and tie it with a ribbon. Store the timeline in a mailing tube to keep the scroll in good shape. Live B.i.G. A timeline helps us see how our Bible stories fit together. Calendar Supplies: Kid s Book, pens Make a list of any September birthdays in your class. Make a list of any special days in the church for September. Do Give each child the September Calendar (Kids Book). Have the children mark birthdays, special days in the church, personal prayer days, and any other days they choose. Live B.i.G. A calendar will help your class stay connected to the life of the church. 10 Abingdon Press. www.ilivebig.com

Testament Toss Supplies: Bible, two pieces of posterboard, markers, 66 plastic lids, glue, scissors, small beanbag Do Instruct a child to write Old Testament on top of a piece of posterboard and New Testament on top of another piece of posterboard. Have the children glue thirty-nine plastic lids, with their lip sides up, onto the Old Testament posterboard. Have the children glue twenty-seven plastic lids, with their lip sides up, onto the New Testament posterboard. Using the table of contents from the Bible, have the children write the names of the books of the Bible onto the plastic lids with a permanent marker. Starting at the top of the Old Testament posterboard, instruct the children to write the names of the books of the Old Testament in order, one book per lid. Do the same for the New Testament posterboard, so that all books of the New Testament appear in order on the lids. Place the two posters side by side on the floor. Say the Bible reference for today s story (Exodus 3:1-15). Say the memory verse: God said, I will be with you (Exodus 3:12a, NIV). Have each child take a turn repeating the memory verse and then tossing the beanbag onto the lid of the book where the verse is found (Exodus). Save the posters to use each week. Live B.i.G. Games can help us learn where the books of the Bible are. Memory Scrapbook Rings Supplies: Leader page 17, Stickers, cardstock, colored pencils, paper punch, loose-leaf binder rings two inches in diameter Photocopy the scrapbook front cover (Leader pages 17) on cardstock for each child. Do Give each child a front cover and a piece of cardstock to use as the back cover. Say: Let s make memory scrapbooks to keep throughout the year. Each week, you will choose one thing you made during the day and add it to your scrapbook. Or, you can write down something you really want to remember about the day s lesson and add it to your Memory Scrapbook. Invite the children to use colored pencils to decorate their scrapbook covers. Children may also choose to use the Bible Verse and B.I.G. Team Stickers as they decorate. Help each child punch a hole in the top right corner of the cover. Give each child a loose-leaf binder ring. Show the children how to put their covers on their rings so that the Memory Scrapbooks hang down from the rings. Live B.i.G. The scrapbooks can help us remember what we are learning about how to live BIG. September 5, 2010 Ages 9 10 Abingdon Press. 11

September 5, 2010 The B.i.G. Idea We believe that God chooses ordinary people to make a difference in God s world. Choose one or more activities to immerse your children in the Bible story. Holy Ground Supplies: Bible, Kids Book, potted plastic bush or small tree, flashlights, red cellophane, small fan (optional), floor rug... Into the Bible Plant several flashlights in the base of a potted plastic plant with the lights pointed up. Tie pieces of red cellophane throughout the plastic plant. If desired, point a small fan up at the plant to rustle the cellophane like fire. Place the burning bush on the far edge of a floor rug. Want to make the experience even more powerful? Gather your class outside and build a real fire in an outdoor grill. Unless the weather is too cool, have the children take off their shoes as the Bible story is read. Do As you near the bush, stop and take off your shoes. Invite the children to join you for the Bible story. Bring the Bible story page from the Kids Book with you. Say: Before you come here, stop and take off your shoes. We are gathering on holy ground. Have the children take off their shoes and gather on the rug around the burning bush. Have one or two children read Exodus 3:1-15 for the class. Invite others to read the information about the story from Moses and the Burning Bush (Kids Book). Everytime your class comes to a question from the Kids Book page, stop and discuss that question as a class. Ask: Why did Moses take off his shoes? What made the ground holy ground? Why did I have you take off your shoes? Do you think the ground we are sitting on right now is holy ground? Why or why not? What was God calling Moses to do? How does God call us today? (through the Bible, through other people, through church) What do you think God is calling us to do? Live B.i.G. Experiencing the story this way helps us remember the details of the story and helps us think about how the story applies to our lives. 12 Abingdon Press. www.ilivebig.com

Wherever You Go Supplies: Leader page 16, red paper, orange paper, scissors, markers Make three photocopies of the sandals (Leader page 16) on red paper. Make three copies of the sandals (Leader page 16) on orange paper. Do Divide the class into two teams. Give one team the orange sandals, and the other team the red sandals. Have each team cut out the sandal shapes, and write each of the following words on a different sandal: Remember God s promise: God said, I will be with you. Exodus 3:12, NIV Let the teams hide their sandal shapes around the room. Have each team find the sandal shapes of the other team and put them in order as quickly as possible. Live B.i.G. Learning and memorizing the Bible verse each month helps reinforce this month s B.I.G. Idea and builds Bible memory skills. Act It Out Supplies: Bible, burning bush from Holy Ground activity, Bible-times costumes, large sticks or tubes for staffs Do Divide the class into groups of three; one member of the group will be the narrator, one will be Moses, and the third will be the voice of God. Let each group find a different spot in the room and act out the story. Have the narrator read the story from the Bible. Have Moses do the actions in the story and repeat any of Moses lines after the narrator reads them. Have the child who is playing the voice of God sit behind the burning bush and repeat God s lines. Gather the whole class back together. Ask: How did it feel to bring this scene to life? How do you think Moses felt when he realized that it was God calling to him from the burning bush? Have you ever felt that God was calling you to do something for God? What does it mean to say that we are all called by God to make a difference in God s world? If the children have trouble answering the last question, relate a personal experience from your own life. Then encourage the children to think about their own experiences. Live B.i.G. Acting out the Bible story will help your class experience the emotions Moses must have felt. September 5, 2010 Ages 9 10 Abingdon Press. 13

September 5, 2010 The B.i.G. Idea We believe that God chooses ordinary people to make a difference in God s world. Choose one or more activities to immerse your children in the Bible story. Finding Your Holy Ground Supplies: mural paper, markers, colored pencils... Into Life Do Give each child a large piece of mural paper. Invite the children to create maps showing all the places they go during the week (home, school, church, and so on). Say: Moses found holy ground on a mountain. Holy ground is a place where you can meet and speak with God most easily, a place where you feel the presence and love of God in your heart. Look at the places on your map. Ask: Are there places where you feel the love and presence of God? Circle these places in yellow. Among these places, is there a place you know you will always be able to go to talk to God? Circle this place in red. Say: Each of us needs to make time to spend with God, praying and listening to the things God has to say to our hearts. When we know the places where it is easiest for us to do this, we can take time out to stop in those places and spend time with God. Live B.i.G. God calls us to make a difference in God s world. The Station Supplies: Kids Book, DVD, DVD player, television; optional: newspapers, magazines, scissors, glue, markers Do Say: When we saw our friends at The Station at the end of August, they were packing up to leave The Station. This week, we ll see how some of our friends end up in a new place. Watch The Station (DVD) with the children. Ask: Have you ever been called to go to a new place? How did you feel about having to go? What happened when you got there? Say: Just as Moses was called to go to a new place that he was unsure about, the Station friends are in a new place. But like Moses, God is with them and is giving them new opportunities to make a difference in a new location. Live B.i.G. The experiences we see at The Station help us see how the Bible story applies to our lives. 14 Abingdon Press. www.ilivebig.com

Who Are You? Supplies: Bible, markerboard or large sheet of paper, marker On the markerboard or large sheet of paper, write the following in large letters: WHO ARE YOU? Do Instruct the children to answer the question that you wrote on the markerboard or paper. Allow them to write their answers below the question. They may answer the question however they wish. Say: When Moses asked the voice for a name, God gave him a very strange answer. Ask: Does anyone remember the answer God gave? (Children may look up the answer in a Bible: Exodus 3:14) Say: Your name is something someone gives you, but not with God. God had to name himself! It is important for us to understand that before we can choose God, we must understand that God comes first. God chooses us before we choose God. Live B.i.G. God is a great big God. God chose us before we chose God. Closing Into Their Hearts Supplies: DVD, DVD player, posterboard, marker, Memory Scrapbooks, projects made earlier, paper punch Do Draw a line down the middle of a piece of posterboard. On one side of the line, write, I Believe in God. On the other side of the line, write, God Believes in Me. If it would help, make photocopies of the sheet music for The B.I.G. Sound from Leader page 138. Watch The B.I.G. Sound (DVD) with the class. As the class watches, have the children listen for statements that show how I Believe in God and God Believes in Me. Have the children call out examples from the song that show I Believe in God. Write these on the appropriate side of the posterboard. Have the children call out examples from the song that show God Believes in Me. Write these on the appropriate side of the posterboard. Invite the children to add more statements to each side of the posterboard showing ways we believe in God and God believes in us. Invite the children to choose something they made today that helps them connect to God and the B.I.G. Idea. Have the children gather with their items. As each child places the item in her or his memory scrapbook, pray over the child. Pray: God, please bless (child s name) this week, and help (child s name) to remember that you have called her/him and will always be with her/him. Live B.i.G. We live BIG when we worship God together. September 5, 2010 Ages 9 10 Abingdon Press. 15

Sandals Wherever You Go 16 Abingdon Press. www.ilivebig.com

Memory Scrapbook Cover Name: September 5, 2010 Ages 9 10 Abingdon Press. 17