THE STORY OF THE FIERY FURNACE 1
MINISTRY EXPERIENCE TOOL GOD IS NEAR. IT FEELS GOOD. WEEK 2: The Story of The Fiery Furnace Copyright 2015. Harvest Bible Chapel. OVERVIEW Memory Verse: Psalm 119:151 (ESV) But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true. Nail: It feels good. Week 1: The Story of Samuel Scripture Story: 1 Samuel 3:1-21 Week 2: The Story of the Fiery Furnace Scripture Story: Daniel 3:1-30 Week 3: The Story of Jesus Feeds More than 5000 Scripture Story: Matthew 14:14-21, Mark 6:30-44 Week 4: The Story of Jesus Walking on Water Scripture Story: Matthew 14:22-32, Mark 6:45-52 What does near mean to me? The phrase God is near means that God is close to you and it feels good. It feels good because God loves you perfectly. No matter how well you do or don t do, God loves you the same and is near to you. Sometimes people get near to you and it feels uncomfortable, like when you are crammed in an elevator or when you have to sit by a stranger at the movies. But it never feels uncomfortable with God. God is especially near to you when you are going through something that is difficult. Some people get this wrong. Some people think that God should never allow us to be in a difficult situation. Let s all hit the wrong button! Buzz! Wrong! God sometimes puts us in difficult situations because He wants to change us. Sometimes He puts us in difficult situations so that He can increase our faith and prove we belong to Him. Is that you today? Maybe things are hard at home and that s your fiery furnace. Maybe things are hard at school and that s your fiery furnace. God is near! Can you feel it? The next question is, Are you near to God? There are many ways we can be near to God. This month we will focus on four. Near Tools: I can be near to God when: 1. I share what I learned about God and His Word with the person who brought me to church. 2. I do my devos three times a week. 3. I bring my Bible to church. 4. I memorize His Word. Near Motions: 1. Share with the person that brought you: Hands cupped by your mouth as if speaking through. 2. Do the devotional three times a week: Right hand writing on the left hand. 3. Bring your Bible to church: Hold up their Bible. 4. Memorize the monthly verse: Point to their head. 2
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PRESCHOOL: STORY ROOM DIRECTIVES Entry Experience 1. Children are welcomed into Story Time! 2. Volunteer Script: Welcome to the Story Room! Please take a seat on the rug and find a quiet place to sit. 3. Children always sit with backs to the entry. Greeting (Quiet, engaging voice) Once the children are seated, the following will be repeated every week. Storyteller says: Welcome to the Story Room. I am the Storyteller and this is a special place. This is a special place because this is where we hear true stories from the Word of God (hold up your Bible). I want you to know who God is. Sooooo.the true story you will hear today will tell you and me about who God is. We want to keep this place special so we have some special rules. Rules help us to have fun and keep things the way they should be. 1. The first special rule is that we always sit on our Story Room rugs and hold on. (Show children how to do that.) We keep everything that belongs to us our hands, our arms, our legs and feet close on the Story Room rugs. 2. The second special rule is that when I m talking, you are listening. When you are listening you aren t talking and your eyes are looking at my eyes. 3. The third special rule is to participate. When we do something in this room, we all do it together. Let s review the three special rules for our special Story Room. Now we are going to have some fun learning about who God is. First, we will stretch and then we will play a game. Stretch Time Help children quietly release some energy and relax with some warm up stretches. Upfront Game Name: Raise Your Hands to Jesus (Variation of the Hokey Pokey song) Supplies: None Instructions: Lead the children in a song to the tune of the Hokey Pokey and do the actions to get the children moving. Follow words below: You put your right hand in, you put your right hand out. You put your right hand in and you shake it all about. Raise your hands for Jesus and you turn yourself around. That s what it s all about. You put your left hand in, you put your left hand out. You put your left hand in and you shake it all about. Raise your hands for Jesus and you turn yourself around. That s what it s all about! (Continue song with left leg, right leg, head, whole body ) STORY ROOM Song Let s sing our Story Room Song together: We are all in the Story Room, the Story Room, the Story Room. We are all in the Story Room, me and NAME. (Look for the child so they can say I m here! The last time all children say their name at once.) Sung to Here we go round the mulberry bush. Memory Verse Psalm 119:151 (ESV) But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true. Memory verse motions can be found in the preschool devo take-home. Transition to Animation Now children, we are going to watch a video that tells us today s story with pictures. Animation 2-2 ½ minute art-based video, with Scripture monologue 4
PRESCHOOL: STORY ROOM DIRECTIVES (2) Story Hits Supplies: Flannel graph Scripture: The Story of the Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3:1-30) There were three Israelites named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who all served in the king of Babylon s palace. They loved the One True God, but the king, King Nebuchadnezzar, did not love God. King Nebuchadnezzar had a huge golden statue made and ordered everyone in Babylon to bow down and worship the statue. Whoever did not fall down and worship the statue would be thrown into a fiery pit. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down and worship the king s statue. The king was furious and asked the men, Why won t you worship my statue? They answered, We only worship God. The king ordered the fire be made even hotter and that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be thrown in. The fire was so hot that as the guards marched the three men to the furnace, the guards were overcome with the heat and died. The three men were thrown into the fiery furnace. Later, when the king looked into the pit he saw four men instead of three and all four were alive, walking around in the fire and not burned! God was the fourth man walking in the fire. God was near to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; even in the fiery furnace He was with them and He saved them. Closing Application The phrase God is near means that God is close to you and it feels good. It feels good because God loves you perfectly. No matter how well you do or don t do, God loves you the same and is near to you. Sometimes people get near to you and it feels uncomfortable, like when you are crammed in an elevator or when you have to sit by a stranger at the movies. But it never feels uncomfortable with God. God is especially near to you when you are going through something that is difficult. Some people get this wrong. Some people think that God should never allow us to be in a difficult situation. Let s all hit the wrong button! Buzz! Wrong! God sometimes puts us in difficult situations because He wants to change us. Sometimes He puts us in difficult situations so that He can increase our faith and prove we belong to Him. Is that you today? Maybe things are hard at home and that s your fiery furnace. Maybe there is something that you are scared of, and during those moments of being afraid you need to remember that God is near! After the Closing Element, Storyteller transitions to intro Loud and Clear: Okay! Now, let s all stand up. (This can be a cue for Loud and Clear to start heading to the front of the room). Be sure to stay on your Story Room rugs! Let s get ready to worship with Loud and Clear! Worship Loud and Clear team enters as reference is read on final screen. After last song, Loud and Clear team asks children to show them one hand, place that hand above their eyes and search for the Storyteller! Do the best you can to communicate the instructions and calm down children after worship. Dismissal (Story Teller will pause and look around and say in a very quiet voice) Thank you for being with me today in the Story Room. This is a special place indeed! Now I want you to all stand up, grab your Story Room rug; look downward at your picture and turn around to find the volunteer with the sign that looks the same as your picture! When you find your sign, line up behind your volunteer in a straight line. Then, you are going to leave your Story Room rugs in the bin outside of the Story Room and see if you can find your classrooms. (Use the searching hand-to-forehead motion and tip-toe to encourage a quiet trip back to class.) Thank you for being such good listeners today. Now let s see if we can find our way back to class AND remember YOU ARE LOVED! 5
Preschool Application Station Today s Schedule Purposeful Play (20 minutes pre service/15 minutes service) Story Room (15 minutes) Snack, Prayer (10 minutes) Story Hits (10 minutes) Memory Verse Review (3 minutes) Let s Pretend (3 minutes) Small Group (5 minutes) Special Prayer Time (1 minute) Word Enrichment (5 minutes) Activity (5 minutes) Closing Application (3 minutes) Purposeful Play (15 minutes) Checkout Purposeful Play Allow children to play with themed bins. Children may choose different bins but themed items must stay with original bin. Affirm biblical virtues like patience, believing the best, sharing, waiting their turn and good stewardship while children are playing. Story Room Supplies: Comfort sign with matching lanyards Using the transitional activity, move children to story room using the comfort sign with assigned picture. Today s transitional activity for God is near: Ask each child to put their right hand over their heart to remind them God is near. He cares about their needs and is always close to them. Use the same transition to return to classroom. Snack, Prayer Ask the Lord to bless the snack and pray for the worship service. Story Hits Supplies: Flannel graph Scripture: The Story of the Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3:1-30) There were three Israelites named Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who all served in the king of Babylon s palace. They loved the One True God, but the king, King Nebuchadnezzar, did not love God. King Nebuchadnezzar had a huge golden statue made and ordered everyone in Babylon to bow down and worship the statue. Whoever did not fall down and worship the statue would be thrown into a fiery pit. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down and worship the king s statue. The king was furious and asked the men, Why won t you worship my statue? They answered, We only worship God. The king ordered the fire be made even hotter and that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be thrown in. The fire was so hot that as the guards marched the three men to the furnace, the guards were overcome with the heat and died. The three men were thrown into the fiery furnace. Later, when the king looked into the pit he saw four men instead of three and all four were alive, walking around in the fire and not burned! God was the fourth man walking in the fire. God was near to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; even in the fiery furnace He was with them and He saved them. Memory Verse Review Supplies: Preschool devo take-home Psalm 119:151 (ESV) But you are near, O LORD, and all your commandments are true. Instructions: 1. Ask, Do you know this is a verse found in a very special book called the Bible? 2. It is found in the book of Psalms. Say Psalms. It is found in chapter 119 and verse 151. Can you say that with me? Psalm 119:151. 3. Now we will practice saying the memory verse with motions five times. Memory verse motions can be found in the preschool devo take-home. Let s Pretend Let s pretend you are one of the three friends who only worshipped God and I am King Nebuchadnezzar. I will say, Bow down! What will you do? Did the three friends bow down to the statue? No! 6
Preschool Application Station (2) Small Group 100% RESPONSE TOOL: Today s 100% Response Tool is called Is it True? I am going to say a statement about today s Bible story. If it is true, clap your hands. If it is not true, then sit still and do not clap your hands. 1. 100% RESPONSE TOOL: Today s story is found in the Bible. (True/clap) 2. 100% RESPONSE TOOL: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego loved the One True God. (True/clap) 3. 100% RESPONSE TOOL: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego served in the king s palace. (True/clap) 4. 100% RESPONSE TOOL: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego would not bow to the king s statue. (True/clap) 5. 100% RESPONSE TOOL: God sometimes allows difficulties to build our faith and to show us He is near to us. (True/clap) 6. 100% RESPONSE TOOL: The three men were thrown into the fiery furnace. (True/clap) 7. 100% RESPONSE TOOL: The king looked in the fiery furnace and saw three men plus a fourth man who was God. (True/clap) 8. 100% RESPONSE TOOL: God was near to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace. (True/clap) Special Prayer Time Let s spend time in prayer. So we can focus on the Lord, let s fold our hands and close our eyes. Thank You Father for being near to us. You are near when we are happy. You are near when we are scared. You are near when we are worried and excited. You are always near. Help us to remember that every day in all we do. In Jesus name, Amen. Word Enrichment God is Near! (Variation of Hot Potato Game) Supplies: Music playing device and an object to pass (stuffed animal or toy) Instructions: The volunteer tells the children to sit on the floor in a circle. Explain that you will be passing the special object around the circle as the music plays. When the music stops, the person holding the special object should say, God is near! Wrap Up: Just like the person who was holding the special object near to them when the music stopped, we know that God is near to us. He is near to us all the time, wherever we are. He wants to spend time with us and promises to always be there. God is near. Activity Worship Marching Band Supplies: An assortment of musical instruments and worship music Instructions: 1. Allow each child to choose a musical instrument. 2. Line the kids up and form a marching band parade to worship God. When the music starts, lead children through the classroom playing their instruments in worship to the one true God! Wrap Up: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would not bow down and worship anyone except God. We want to worship God too, because He is near and He is worthy of all our worship! Closing Application The phrase God is near means that God is close to you and it feels good. It feels good because God loves you perfectly. No matter how well you do or don t do, God loves you the same and is near to you. Sometimes people get near to you and it feels uncomfortable, like when you are crammed in an elevator or when you have to sit by a stranger at the movies. But it never feels uncomfortable with God. God is especially near to you when you are going through something that is difficult. Some people get this wrong. Some people think that God should never allow us to be in a difficult situation. Let s all hit the wrong button! Buzz! Wrong! God sometimes puts us in difficult situations because He wants to change us. Sometimes He puts us in difficult situations so that He can increase our faith and prove we belong to Him. Is that you today? Maybe things are hard at home and that s your fiery furnace. Maybe there is something that you are scared of, and during those moments of being afraid you need to remember that God is near! Purposeful Play Allow children to play within themed bins. Checkout Supplies: Coloring pages pertaining to today s story, crayons 7