Session 3 God Provides Water Exodus 17:1-7 Worship Theme: God is patient. Weaving Faith Into Life: Children will praise God for being patient in all our circumstances. Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Praise God! (up to 25 minutes) Sing He Cares for You (1 Peter 5:7) (track 2) Praise Him (track 19) Doxology (track 4) There s Power in the Blood (track 13) Faith (Hebrews 11:1) (track 1) Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6) (track 5) KidsOwn Worship Kit: Songs From FaithWeaver, Lesson Videos DVD: Patience Classroom Supplies: CD player, TV, DVD player, index cards, transparent tape Preschool Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) Shake, Shake, Shake Make instant pudding as they talk about patience. * Whine, Whine, Whine Explore the Bible story by whining as the Israelites did. God Is Patient Do an action rhyme that explores the way God is patient with us. Classroom Supplies: 6-oz. box instant pudding, 3 cups milk, and jar with lid for every 6 children; whisk; paper cups; plastic spoons; napkins 32 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter
Elementary Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Learn the Point! (up to 25 minutes) * Patience Relay Play a relay game of stuffing and unstuffing pillowcases. * Faithful Memories Look at a picture, and then see how much they can remember as they hear the Bible story about God s patience. Trying Patience Try to solve a puzzle, and compare it to the ways God is patient with us. Classroom Supplies: Large pillows, small pillowcases KidsOwn Worship Kit: 1 copy of Faithful Memories picture for every 5 children Classroom Supplies: Pencils, paper, 1 copy of dot pattern (see activity) per child, chalkboard or whiteboard Session Sequence What Children Will Do Supplies Let s Pray! (up to 10 minutes) The Offering Offer their gifts to God. Patience Prayers Share about impatience and patience. Closing Prayers Pray for each other s requests. Classroom Supplies: Offering bowl * Starred activities can be used successfully with preschool and elementary children together. Customize your session to fit your needs. You can separate preschoolers and elementary children for Section 2. Or, if you keep the children all together for the entire worship session, we suggest you choose from the starred activities. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 33
Bible Background for Leaders God Provides Water Exodus 17:1-7 As we begin today s session, we find the Israelites continuing their journey toward the Promised Land. They were still getting manna every morning and quail every evening, but they could not find water at their latest campsite. Again, instead of calling in faith upon the God who had secured their freedom, turned bitter water sweet, and provided manna and quail, the people complained to Moses. Again, instead of trusting God, they lamented that they were going to die in the desert for lack of water. As you can see from Exodus 17:4, Moses was exasperated. God, however, proves his patience and love in this passage, giving the Hebrews the water they needed in spite of their complaining and their lack of faith. God had a plan. His instructions to Moses must have seemed ludicrous! Moses was to take with him the leaders of the people likely representatives from each tribe so that they could see firsthand what God was going to do. In front of these leaders, Moses was to hit with his staff a rock that God would point out to him. And enough water would come out of the rock to take care of the needs of two million people. As unlikely as God s plan seemed, Moses didn t question God. He did what God told him to do, and God did what he said he would do. Moses and God gave a convincing demonstration of what acting on faith in God can do. What a story those leaders must have had to take back and tell their people! The names Moses gave to the place where all this happened mean testing and quarreling. No doubt Moses intent was to make this place a reminder of the people s unbelief, but also an encouragement toward faith in the God who had provided for them. Devotion for Leaders A relationship with Jesus brings us forgiveness, not perfection. As our faith in Jesus grows, we become more like him! Thank you, Jesus, for being patient with us and molding us to be like you. Weaving Faith Into Your Life: Think of some people who bring you frustration. Why are they frustrating to you? Now think of some people you have recently frustrated. Why did you create frustration for them? What must happen for you to see resolution in these situations? Pray for clarity and the opportunity to recognize when you need to extend to these people the same type of grace and understanding that Jesus has given you. 34 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter
Why We Worship for Leaders We are becoming a society with little capacity for patience. We want clear cell phone reception wherever we are, instant coffee, fast-food restaurants, and hundreds of channels at the touch of a remote control button. Yet we are people who place a great demand on the patience of our Creator. Like the children of Israel, we forget the great things he has done we do not rest in our trust that he will lead and guide our lives. Still, God lovingly offers his grace, his forgiveness, his mercy, and his compassion over and over again. Paul writes in Romans 2:4 that it is God s kindness, demonstrated through his patience, that leads us to repentance. As we consider God s mercy to us, let us praise him for his patience a patience we don t deserve but is freely given anyway. Easy Prep for Leaders Let s Praise God! Use the margin illustration as a guide and set up index-card houses around the room for the children to work on during arrival time. (If necessary, use transparent tape to hold the cards together.) You ll need one card house for every four to five children. Place extra cards near each card house. front view Set up a TV and DVD player. Cue the Lesson Videos DVD to Patience. Watch it at least once before the worship session so you ll be familiar with it. top view Patience Relay Place the pillows and pillowcases in the relay area. Faithful Memories Make a photocopy of the Faithful Memories picture for every five kids. Trying Patience On a sheet of paper, draw three rows of three dots as shown in the activity. Then make a photocopy of the paper for each elementary-age child. Preschool Activities Refer to the preschool pages for preparations. Let s Praise God! Play Songs From FaithWeaver, Fall 2015 as children arrive. Greet children by name, and say to each one, God is patient with us! Invite children to add additional floors to the index-card houses. When everyone has arrived and worked on the houses for a while, begin worship. Hello, everyone! As you came in, many of you worked on building card houses. Was it easy to place the cards so they wouldn t fall? (Yes, I ve done it before; no, it took too much time and effort.) How did you feel when the cards fell down instead of staying where you put them? (Frustrated; upset; annoyed.) How many times did you start over after they fell? (A lot; about 15.) Worship Leader Tip Preschoolers will probably become more impatient than older kids during this activity because their motor skills aren t as developed. Pair preschool children with older children so they can work together on the houses. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 35
For additional worship songs each week, check out the Sing & Praise DVD included with your KidsOwn Worship kit! That feeling of frustration when you couldn t get the card houses to stand is called impatience. We are all impatient sometimes. But God is always patient. Today we re worshipping God for being patient. God is very patient with us. He patiently waits for us to do the things he has told us to do. God waits patiently even while we do the wrong things. God offers us forgiveness when we do wrong, helps us to do what s right, and loves us through it all. The words of our first song remind us how much God loves us. Sing He Cares for You (1 Peter 5:7). Lyrics are in the back of this book. We can worship God because he loves us and is patient with us. Let s praise God together with the words of our next song. Sing Praise Him. Lyrics are in the back of this book. The song we will sing next is a very old praise song that people have sung for hundreds of years. It s a song that calls everything God made to praise him. Every creature, every person and animal, is called to praise God. And all the angels, the heavenly host, are also called to praise God, who patiently and lovingly gives us all good things. Sing the Doxology. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Why do we praise God? (God deserves it; God made us; God loves us no matter what.) Today we ll be talking about something that happened to the Israelites while they were wandering in the desert. They became impatient with God because they didn t remember that God had the power to provide them with everything they needed. God could have gotten angry with them. Instead he showed patience to them God also showed that he has the power to give us anything we need. Let s sing There s Power in the Blood. Sing There s Power in the Blood. Lyrics are in the back of this book. Wow! We have a mighty God who can do so many things. For example, no matter what, God is always patient with us. Let s watch a DVD about patience. Track 2 Track 19 Track 4 Track 13 Show the DVD segment titled Patience. It s about a customer who grows impatient with a sales clerk. Then have the children answer the following questions in small groups of three or four. 36 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter
What made this DVD funny? (The sales clerk gave the customer the same thing; they didn t understand each other.) In what ways did the sales clerk try the customer s patience? (He wasn t listening; he didn t give the customer what he wanted.) What might happen if God were impatient with people? (They wouldn t know what love is; people wouldn t trust God.) Why is it a good thing for God to be patient with us? (God shows us how to be patient with others; God shows his love in his patience.) I m very thankful that God is patient with me all the time. God is patient when we grumble. God is patient when we do wrong. And God is patient when we need encouragement. God s patience helps us learn to love him and trust him more. Pray Even so, sometimes it s hard to wait for God because we want things done right away. God doesn t always do things when we expect them to be done but he always does them when he knows it s the right time. Sometimes we have to believe that God will do what he said just because he said he would. That s having faith. To have faith is to believe that God will do what he has promised. It is also doing what he said to do for no other reason than because he said to do it. Let s sing about living by faith. Sing Faith (Hebrews 11:1). Lyrics are in the back of this book. All the songs we have sung this morning celebrate our mighty and wonderful God who loves us and is patient with us. We have reason to celebrate! Let s sing this next song and celebrate as we praise the Lord. Sing Praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6). Lyrics are in the back of this book. Track 1 Track 5 God, we know that you deserve our praise. You care for us, you give us every good thing in our lives, and you are so patient with us. We sometimes forget to think about how wonderful, loving, and mighty you are, and we sometimes fail to do the things you ask of us. Thank you for patiently waiting for us, for always loving us, even when we aren t easy to love. Help us learn more about your patience so we can praise and worship you more. In Jesus name, amen. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 37
Let s Learn the Point! Preschool Activities, pages 41-42 At this time, have the preschool leader invite the preschoolers to go to their own room for this section of activities. Tear out the Preschool Activities page, and give it to the preschool leader. Have the preschool leader bring the preschoolers back to participate in Let s Pray! with the older children. If you prefer to keep all the children together, do the starred (*) activities. They will work well with both elementary and preschool children. Elementary Activities * Patience Relay Have children form teams of five to eight kids. Have one large pillow and one small pillowcase for each team at one side of the room. Have the teams line up across the room from the pillows and pillowcases. See the illustration in the margin. We re going to have a relay. Each team should line up opposite the pillow and pillowcase. When it s your turn, run to the pillow, and put it completely in the pillowcase. When that s done, hold the pillow up by the open end of the pillowcase, and then take the pillow out of the pillowcase for the next player. When you return to the team, it will be the next person s turn to go. You want to do all this as quickly as possible. Have the children do the relay race. Then have them sit in a circle. Set the pillows and pillowcases aside. What were you thinking when it was your turn to put the pillowcase on the pillow? (I wanted to do it as fast as possible; I was nervous that I wouldn t be able to do it quickly.) How did you feel when you watched your teammates trying to put the pillowcase on the pillow? (I didn t think they were doing it very fast; I was hoping we could be the fastest.) Was it easy to wait for someone to complete the task? Why or why not? (No, because I wanted to try; no, because I wanted to go faster.) When we are able to wait for something without becoming angry or frustrated or complaining, we call that patience. It isn t easy to be patient when we want something to happen or when we want something to stop happening. We want to hurry. People struggle to be patient every day. But God is always patient with us as he waits for us to do the things he told us to do. God is patient when we forget to trust him. God is patient when we disobey him. God waits patiently to forgive us and lovingly teach us to trust and obey him. Let s learn more about God s patience. 38 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter
* Faithful Memories I m going to give each team a picture. Look at it very carefully. Try to remember as much about the picture as you can. After a few moments, you ll turn the picture over and I ll ask you some questions about what you saw. You can t look at the picture again until all the questions have been answered. Give each team a Faithful Memories picture. After about 15 seconds, have kids turn the pictures over. Did you see a frog and flies or just a frog? How many pyramids were there? What was the name of the body of water? Were there more quail, or was there more manna? Was the pillar of cloud to the right or left of the pillar of fire? Were the rocks at the bottom of the mountain stacked or scattered? Have kids turn the pictures back over, and let children check their answers. Did anyone remember the correct answer to every question? (Almost; I got them all; I was fuzzy on the details.) Sometimes it s hard to remember what we ve just seen. The Israelites had a big problem remembering what they saw. They watched as God sent 10 plagues when the Egyptians refused to let them leave. They watched God part the Red Sea so they could cross it on dry land. They ate food sent from heaven every day, and they ate the quail God provided so they would have meat. They followed a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, knowing that the pillars were sent by God so they would know exactly which way to go. After seeing all that, the people forgot the loving care God had given them. They still didn t trust God to meet their needs. They still grumbled, whined, complained, and doubted when they found themselves without water to drink. They accused Moses of leading them out of Egypt just to let them die of thirst in the desert. How do you think this made God feel? (Sad; hurt; angry.) How would you feel if you had done so much to take care of someone and that person accused you of something like that? (I d be angry; it would hurt my feelings if someone treated me that way.) God could have been angry and frustrated with the Israelites for not trusting him. Instead, God told Moses exactly what to do to take care of the situation. God told Moses to hit a rock with his walking staff. When Moses did this, water gushed out of the rock. There was plenty of water for the people. Once again, God took care of his people and provided them with just what they needed. Let s learn more about why we get impatient and why God is always patient. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 39
1 4 Trying Patience In a moment, I ll give you each a pencil and a piece of paper with nine dots on it. Your job is to cross every dot by drawing only four straight lines. You can t cross any dot more than once, and you can t retrace any line. You can t lift the pencil from the paper until all nine dots have been crossed. If you need to try again, you may draw the dots on other sections of your paper or turn it over and use the back. I ll give you two minutes to work. 3 2 Distribute the supplies. Then give the children two minutes to solve the puzzle. Unless your group includes a very creative child or one who has already seen the puzzle, it isn t likely that they ll discover the answer. It is likely that they ll become frustrated and question the task. If someone does complete the puzzle right away, ask the child to keep the answer quiet and allow time for others to experiment. After two minutes, have the children put down their pencils. How did trying to find the answer make you feel? (Frustrated; upset that I couldn t get it.) Do you think the problem can be solved, or do you think it s a trick? (It s a trick; there must be a way; it s impossible.) 40 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter Demonstrate the solution on a chalkboard or whiteboard. What about the answer is a surprise? Why? (I didn t know you could draw lines outside the square; I hadn t thought of it that way.) The Israelites didn t expect God to be able to solve their problems because they couldn t see a way to solve them for themselves. They knew they were thirsty, they knew they needed water, and they knew they couldn t make water or find it. What they kept forgetting was that God had solved so many problems for them already that they could trust him to find an answer they wouldn t think possible. They didn t trust God to take care of them. They tried to solve problems their own ways and failed, and they often disobeyed God s directions in the process. Yet God was patient with them and lovingly showed them over and over that he has many surprising solutions to their problems. Do we limit our idea of what God can do in our lives? Explain. (Yes, we only think about what we can do; we never know how God will work.) Do we ever get impatient with God when he doesn t do things the way we think they should be done? Explain. (Yes, sometimes we think we know what s best; no, I know that God has the best plan.) What does that say about our trust in God? (Getting impatient means we don t trust God; if we trust God to do what s best, we ll be patient with him.) (continued on page 43)
Preschool Activities Worship Theme: God Provides Water Exodus 17:1-7 Using Theo Session 3 God is patient. Easy Prep for Leaders Shake, Shake, Shake Set out a large jar with a screw-on lid (quart-size Mason jars work well), three cups of milk, and a 6-ounce box of instant pudding mix for every six children. Also set out a whisk, napkins, paper cups, and spoons. Consider using Theophilus the FaithRetriever puppet today in these ways: Have Theo lead the preschoolers from the main worship area to the preschool room. Have Theo lead the actions in the God Is Patient action rhyme. See the KidsOwn Worship Kit for a puppet skit written for today s worship session. Shake, Shake, Shake Have the children sit in a circle. If you have more than six children, you may want to break the group into smaller circles. We re going to make a special treat today. We re going to put this powder and this milk into the jar. Then we will shake it until it turns into a delicious treat. Use a whisk to mix the ingredients well. Seal the jar tightly, and pass it around the circle. the children to help you mix the ingredients. Allow each child about 30 seconds or so to shake the pudding before handing it to the next child. As soon as the children begin to shake the jar and pass it around, Are you ready to open the treat now, or do you want to wait? Look inside. Show children the runny liquid. Does this look like a special treat? I guess we need to wait and shake a little longer. When we must wait for something we want, we have to be patient. Is it easy to be patient? How do you feel while you re waiting? After five minutes of shaking the jar, check the pudding. If the jar has been shaken vigorously, the pudding should be ready. If not, send it around the circle, and encourage the children to shake vigorously. When the pudding is ready, spoon it into paper cups, and let the children eat their pudding. Was it hard to wait for the pudding to get finished? Did you want to yell at it to hurry up? Did you want to do something to make it hurry up? Did you feel a little angry inside that it was taking so long? When we re upset because we re tired of waiting, we say that we re impatient. When do you get impatient? People get impatient all the time. But God is always patient. God is patient with us when we mess up, and he s patient with us when we disobey. God is always patient and loving toward us, even when we whine. Let s find out about a time the Israelites whined. ALLERGY ALERT Be aware that some children have food allergies that can be dangerous. Know your children, and consult with parents about allergies their children may have. Also be sure to read food labels carefully, as hidden ingredients can cause allergy-related problems. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 41
Preschool Activities * Whine, Whine, Whine I need your help to tell this story. To tell this story well, we need to be good whiners. Are any of you good whiners? Let s all whine. Let s say, I m tired together, and let s use whiney voices. Help the children whine. Now let s say, I m hungry. Help the children whine. Now let s say, But I don t want to. Help the children whine. Now let s say, I need a drink of water. Help the children whine. That was great whining! Be ready to whine when I tell you to. The story we re about to hear comes from the Bible. God had just rescued his people, the Israelites, from slavery in the land of Egypt. God loved the Israelites very much, and he wanted to lead them to their new home. But the Egyptian soldiers chased the Israelites. They wanted to catch the Israelites and make them slaves again. The Israelites wanted to run away from the soldiers, but they were trapped beside a huge sea. The Israelites didn t have any boats to use to get to the other side. What do you think the Israelites did when they saw the soldiers? The Israelites could have trusted God, but instead they whined. Let s all whine together. Whine, whine, whine. Even though the Israelites didn t trust God, God was patient with them. God parted the Red Sea with a mighty miracle, and the people escaped from the soldiers. God saved the Israelites because he loved them so much. He led the people with a great cloud during the day and with a bright pillar of fire at night. God God Is Patient God was patient with the people of Israel when they didn t trust him to protect them and care for them. God was patient with them when they whined and complained. God showed them his love over and over again to help them learn that he would always care for them. Let s learn a rhyme that helps us remember how God is patient with us today. Repeat the words as I say them, and follow my motions. God is patient when I m scared and forget to trust in him. (Act frightened.) God is patient when I m angry and say mean things. (Act angry.) took good care of the people. But they didn t see how good God was to them. They whined about the things they didn t have. God led the people through the desert. The people got very hungry. They could have trusted God to take care of them, but they didn t. Instead, they decided to whine. They whined, We should have stayed in Egypt. There was plenty of food there. Let s all whine together. Whine, whine, whine. But God was patient with these whining people. He sent manna for them to eat. And when they whined even more, he sent quail so they d have meat to eat. Then the Israelites traveled in the desert some more. One day, when they made their camp, there was no water for them to drink. Do you think the people trusted God to take care of them this time? No, they didn t. They whined. Let s all whine together. Whine, whine, whine. God didn t get angry with the people who didn t trust him. He didn t give up on them and refuse to give them water. God showed Moses what to do. He told Moses to hit a rock with his special stick. When Moses hit the rock, water came pouring out. God gave the Israelites just what they needed. Why do you think God was patient with the Israelites when they whined so much? God was patient with the Israelites. He wasn t angry with them for not trusting him. God loved them and wanted to take good care of them. God is patient with us, too. Our God is a good God! God is patient when I do things that I know I shouldn t do. (Act sneaky.) God patiently waits for me (open arms) and says, Remember I love you. (Hug yourself.) God is patient as he helps me to trust him more each day. (Lift your arms and look up.) God patiently reminds me of kind words that I should say. (Point to your mouth.) God is patient as he teaches me to do the things he said to do. (Point up; then slowly wag your finger.) God is patient, and I tell him, God, I love you, too! (Point up; then hug yourself.) 42 KidsOwn Worship Fall Quarter
(continued from page 40) We can know for a fact that God knows much more about our situations than we do. We can also know for a fact that God loves us, is patient with us, and wants the best for us. God has known the solutions to all our problems since before we were born. That s why we can trust God to help us. God is always ready to give us the help we need. And even though we get frustrated and impatient, we can know that God is always patient. Let s Pray! The Offering Let s practice patience as we collect the offering. It ll be our way of showing our appreciation to God, who is always patient with us. Put the offering bowl by the front wall of the room. Have the children line up along the back wall and take tiny steps toward the offering bowl. As you make your way toward the offering bowl, thank God for being patient with you. Take the offering. If there are kids who haven t brought an offering, have them walk to the bowl and pray just as the other kids do. Patience Prayers Have the children return to their seats. Think about a time in your life when you were patient with someone. Think about what it felt like to be patient. Turn to a friend, and tell him or her about your experience. Give the children one minute to do this. Now think about a time in your life when someone was impatient with you. Think about what that felt like. Turn to the same friend, and tell him or her about your experience. Give the children one minute to do this. And now think about how good God is to be patient with us. Pray with your friend, and thank God for being a patient God. Begin your prayer by saying, God, we thank you for being patient with us because Give the children one minute to pray together. Worship Leader Tip Some kids may try your patience by taking forever to do this activity. You may want to play a worship song, such as You Have Been So Good to Me, and have children take tiny steps while the song plays. Then, when the song ends, they can walk at a normal pace to the offering bowl. Extra Impact Help kids make Patience Journals where they can write complaints, times God is patient, and ways they can be patient. Give each child a small notebook you can probably still get these at a back-to-school sale. Encourage kids to take their journals home and write or draw about times they need to practice a little patience. Closing Prayers Invite one or several children to close the worship session in prayer. If you d like, collect prayer requests on a chalkboard, and have the children pray for one another s requests. Session 3 KidsOwn Worship 43