LEADER S GUIDE 4th- PursueGOD.org Lesson Overview Today, we re talking about a king who really messed up. Zedekiah s story is found way back in the Old Testament in the book of 2 Kings. Back then, God put kings in charge to lead the people. And, God used prophets to tell the people, and the kings, what he wanted them to do. Well, like many kings before him, King Zedekiah didn t listen to God. He wanted to do things his own way. Zedekiah thought he was more powerful than anyone and he forgot about God. One day, another country came in and took over Jerusalem. Zedekiah was no longer king of Judah. In fact, because of Zedekiah s pride and disobedience, he went down in history as the last king of Judah ever! Let s learn from Zedekiah s story. Don t be fooled into thinking you can get along without God. Don t forget who God is and be thankful for all that he s given you. Classroom Agenda Big Idea Nothing lasts forever if you forget about God. Key Question Why do people forget about God? Memory Verse Deuteronomy 6:12..be careful not to forget the LORD, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.. 1. (5 min) PLAY: Let kids start working on Activity Page #1. 2. (5 min) WARM UP: Who are some of your favorite sports heroes? Have you ever heard them give credit to God for their success? (Tip: There are a lot of athletes in the world who get super famous and really rich. But, the fame can go to their heads if they forget that God is the one who gave them their talent.) 3. (5 min) PREVIEW: Write out the Big Idea, Memory Verse, and Key Question on a whiteboard. Have the kids copy it down on Activity Page #1 (if applicable). 4. (20 min) LARGE GROUP: Gather for songs and videos with other kids. Then return to class to finish this guide. 5. (2 min) RECAP: Read the Lesson Overview (see above). 6. (3 min) KQ: Answer the Key Question. (Answer: Because people want the attention for themselves. (In our culture, the more famous you are, the better the person you are. This just encourages people to be cocky and to brag about how great they are. But, the Bible tells us that God has given us everything we have. This includes the talent to be good at soccer or singing or whatever else that can make us famous. So, instead of elevating ourselves, we should elevate God and thank him for giving us our gifts and talents. He deserves the glory, not us.) Bonus Questions: Why do people forget about God? Who blesses us with everything we have? 4-: How do you respond to cocky people? How has God blessed you? 7. (5 min) EXPLORE: Read Deuteronomy 6:4-6. Identify all the things Moses told the people to do. Why is it important to obey God s rules instead of our own? (Answer: We should love God with all our hearts. That means we should put him first in our lives. We should pray and read our Bibles. And, we should obey God and what the Bible says. We should be fully committed to living our lives to honor him. He knows what s best for us so we should do things his way.) 8. (10 min) PLAY: Choose a group activity from Activity Page #2. 9. (5 min) CLOSE: Share prayer requests and pray as a class. Encourage kids to use the Family Guide at home with their parents - and remind them to go online to pursuegod.org/kids to find this week s lesson video. 1
ACTIVITY PAGE #2 Teacher instructions: Choose an activity for your classroom. OPTION 1:MEMORY VERSE GAME Instructions: Divide the class into teams of 4. Give each team a set of Memory verse words (page 5-6). When you say, Go, have teams race to get their words in the correct order to say the memory verse. First to do it correctly, wins. Supplies needed: Memory verse words (pg. 5-6, pre cut) OPTION 2:ERASE THE VERSE GAME Instructions: Write the memory verse on the whiteboard, big enough for kids to read and space between each word. Say the memory verse as a class. Then invite one kid up to erase a word. See if the class can say the verse with that word missing. Continue having kids come up and erasing a word, each time seeing if they can say the verse as each word disappears. Continue until all the words are gone. See if the class can say the verse from total memory. Supplies needed: None 2
FAMILY GUIDE 4th - PursueGOD.org 3
ACTIVITY PAGE #1 Instructions: Solve the puzzles. Big Idea Key Question Memory Verse Deuteronomy 6:..be not to forget the, who rescued from slavery in the land of Egypt. 4
4th- BE CAREFUL WHO NOT TO RESCUED FORGET YOU FROM THE LORD SLAVERY 5
4th- IN OF THE EGYPT LAND DEUTERONOMY 6:12 6