Jeremiah Writes God s Words in a Book

Writes God s Words in a Book 36 May 20, 2012 ON OUR PLATE TODAY The children will learn: The Word of God was important to. The Word of God cannot be destroyed. No one can destroy God s Word when I read it, memorize it, pray it, sing it, and share it with others. ACTIVITY What makes a best-selling book? Think of your favorite book. What do you like best about it? Talk about it in your small group. Record your thoughts on a large piece of paper. large paper pencils What do you think is the best-selling book of all time? Take suggestions from the kids. The Bible is the best-selling book of all time! According to BibleStudy.org, an estimated 100 million Bibles are sold each year worldwide. The New Yorker confirms that it is the best-selling book in history and outsells all other books EVERY year. Isn t that amazing? God s words are still making a BIG impact on our world, even though they were written down hundreds of years ago. The Bible is a record-setter! Today we re going to explore the Bible and see how it is our greatest treasure. Most of us already have a Bible in our homes and yet we don t really use it to its full potential. Let s dig into our lesson! GAME You will need a bucket of sand for each group. Set these buckets on the opposite side of the room. Copy the 6 scriptures from the end of the lesson. Cut them apart and bury a set in each bucket. You may want to put a tarp or plastic tablecloth under them, so any overflow sand will be easy to clean up. Did you know that most people in the United States have at least one Bible in their home? Some even have up to four Bibles! It s important for us to remember that not everyone around the world Bibles copies of verses from end of lesson buckets sand 5-minute countdown video tarp Copyright 2010 KidzMatter Ministries Inc. All Rights Reserved. 1 www.kidzmatter.com

is fortunate enough to own such a treasure. We need to take time to dig into the truth in our Bible, just like we would dig for buried treasure. In this game, one person from each group will race across to the other side of the room and get a buried scripture card. They will bring it back to their group and find the scripture in their Bible. Then each group will stand up and do an action that represents what they learned from the Bible verse. The group will sit back down and send the next person to find another verse in the bucket of sand. Let s see if your group can read and act out all 6 scriptures in 5 minutes! Use a 5-minute countdown you have, or download this simple no-frills 5-minute countdown called Countdown 5 Minutes, submitted by kotyonoky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ow93spa52uk. The kids can look up and see how much time they have left to find all 6 scriptures and act them out. Reading the Bible changed your actions, didn t it? That s the way the Bible works, when we treat the Bible as a treasure and dig into it, it changes the way we act and behave. BIBLE ACCOUNT We re going to learn how one man wrote down what God said. His name was and he treasured what God told him. Unlike us today, people in s day didn t own Bibles of their own. As I read the story of from the Bible, I want you to repeat the phrases that will be on the PowerPoint slides. They will help us remember the important points of the story. PowerPoint story slides highlighted Bible The leader should highlight the scriptures below and read it directly from their Bible. Show the PowerPoint slides indicating what the kids will say in response. Once the leader reads each scripture section (from their Bible), show the next slide for the kids to say. Encourage the kids to read with expression and emotion. 36:1-2. The Lord gave this message to : Get a scroll, and write down all my messages. (slide #1) What? Write down everything? 36:3. Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings. (slide #2) Maybe this time they ll listen! 36:4. So sent for and as dictated all the prophecies that the Lord had given him, wrote them on a scroll. (slide #3) That s a lot of writing! 36:5-6. said to, I am a prisoner here and unable to go to the Temple. So you go and read the messages from the Lord that I have had you write on this scroll. Read them so the people who are there from all over Judah will hear them. (slide #4) must have been a good reader. That s a lot to read! 36:7. Perhaps even yet they will turn from their evil ways and ask the Lord s forgiveness before it is too late. (slide #5) Will they? Will they? Will they? 36:8. did as told him and read these messages from the Lord. (slide #6) Way to go,! 36:16-19. When the officials heard all the messages, they looked at one another in alarm. We must tell the king what we have heard. You and should both hide. (slide #7) The officials were alarmed at what the scroll said. 2 www.kidzmatter.com

36:20. Then the officials left the scroll for safekeeping in the room and went to tell the king what had happened. (slide #8) Oh no! What s the king going to say? 36:21. The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. (slide #9) He sent who? 36:23. Each time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king took a knife and cut off that section of the scroll. He then threw it into the fire, section by section, until the whole scroll was burned up. (slide #10) Oh man, King. You are in so much trouble! 36:27-31. After the king had burned the scroll on which had written s words, the Lord gave another message. I will punish him and his family and his attendants for their sins. (slide #11) Told you, King! 36:32. So took another scroll and dictated again to his secretary,. He wrote everything that had been on the scroll King Jehoiakim had burned in the fire. Only this time he added much more! (slide #12) God added more the second time! GAME The kids are going to play a sequencing game to reiterate what happened in the story of writing down what God told him. The game is played relay style and each team will need duplicate supplies. There will be 4 stations with a prop at each station. The size of the room will determine how far apart the stations are. The kids will run to the first station, do what is instructed at that station, say what they are to say, leave the prop there and then run to the next station. Once a player has completed all 4 stations, they return to their team to tag the next person who will run through the stations. Station #1 pencils and pencil sharpener The player will sharpen a pencil and say, wrote down all that said. new pencils pencil sharpeners crown pieces of copy paper long pieces of paper markers Station #2 put on a crown The player will put on the crown and say, Go get the scroll! Station #3 piece of copy paper The player will tear a piece off the paper, toss it in the air and say, The king tore the scroll and threw it in the fire. Station #4 long piece of paper and a marker The player will use the marker to write MORE somewhere on the long piece of paper and say, The second time, God told to write more! It is very important that the kids say the comments at each station. Other players will be listening and reviewing in order to be ready for their turn. This is a great place to use junior high and high school students; they can position themselves to prompt players who are uncertain about what to say. 3 www.kidzmatter.com

MESSAGE (show slide #1) How do we treasure God s Word? It was very obvious that the king did not treasure the Word of God. But, and most certainly did! How do we treasure God s Word? Not by putting it away and forgetting about it. We memorize it, read it, sing it, share it, and pray it. (show slide #2) Memorize It! Have you ever memorized a Bible verse? When you memorize a verse, you can say it to yourself without looking it up in the Bible. Why do you think it s important to memorize the Bible? It s important so we can take it with us wherever we go. Even when we don t have a Bible close by, you can recall scriptures that you ve memorized. When we memorize scripture, we can have God s words to guide us all the time. When we re going through a tough situation, we need God s guidance. Knowing scripture helps us find the help we need. Divide the kids into small groups and give each group a set of memory verse cards (4 cards). The kids should read through these scriptures. Then, give them a set of situation cards (4 cards). The members of each group will work together to match the situation card with the memory verse that applies. Talk about how that verse would help you find a solution to that situation. PowerPoint slides Bibles music download bag of candy scripture cards (from back of lesson) situation cards (from back of lesson) (show slide #3) Read It! Have you ever had to do a book report or have you ever had a test on a book that you read? Would you be able to do well on the test or the report if you hadn t read the book? Would you do well if you only heard what someone else thought about the book? Did you know it s the same with God s Word? We can t really know what s in it until we start to read it ourselves. We can t always rely on what others tell us is in there. We have to read it ourselves! Turn to the person sitting next to you and say, You gotta read it for yourself! (show slide #4) Sing It! Did you know that you can sing God s Word? Lots of the songs that we sing are actually straight from the Bible! Let s listen to a popular worship song for a moment and then see if we can find where the words are coming from. Beforehand, download the music video Give Us Clean Hands submitted by SaraPomar144. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft4rt04in4w&feature=related Show the video. After the first chorus, lower the music and ask the kids to look up Psalm 24:4-6 in their Bibles. Identify the words that were sung in the song. What words did you hear in both the song and the verse? Did you know that many of the songs that we sing at church come right from the Bible? The next time you re in worship, see if you can identify what lyrics sound familiar to you from Bible verses you ve heard or read. (show slide #5) Share It! One of the ways that we treasure God s Word is to share it with others. If the Bible truly is a treasure, then we should be eager to share it with our best friends! Pull out a bag of candy and show it to the group. Let s say that we re stranded on a desert island and we re all hungry. We ve had nothing to eat for days and all the sudden I find this bag of candy. You would think it s quite a treasure, right? What would you think if I kept it all to myself? That s right! I would be really greedy, right? What should I do with it? I should share it with you! 4 www.kidzmatter.com

Well, the Bible is like that. If we really believe that it s our greatest treasure, then we should share it with others. We should tell other people how incredible Jesus is and how He can forgive their sins. We need to show His love to others and help them learn to treasure God s Word. (show slide #6) Pray It! We can turn God s words into our own prayers. I m going to pray a prayer for us that comes from Hebrews 4:12. The verse says, For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it cuts between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Here s my prayer for us today, God, I know your Word is living and active. I know that it is sharper than a sword and is a powerful weapon. Please use it to help us with the innermost thoughts and desires of our hearts. Amen. There are lots of verses that can be turned into prayers. Next time you read a verse, see if you can turn it into a prayer. (show slide #7) Review It! Who can tell me one of the ways we ve learned to treasure God s Word? (memorize it, read it, pray it, sing it, share it) We have an entire lifetime to keep going over and over and over what the Bible says. One of the incredible things about God s Word is that He keeps speaking through it. He keeps opening our hearts and minds to more of His truth. The more we review it, the more we understand, and the more closely we can live it. OBJECT LESSON Gather as many different things that have been preserved: frozen food, canned food, beef jerky, pickled egg, flower in resin, something in formaldehyde, mounted fish. Go through each one and tell briefly about the special process that is used to preserve the item. We freeze food so that it will stay good to eat for a long time. We all have foods in our freezer that if we had not frozen them we would have to throw them out. We can other foods, so that we can keep them for a year or two. Some of us love beef jerky. It s a piece of meat that has been salted and dried in a hot room or oven. If it hadn t been preserved that way, then it would ve gone bad and wouldn t be edible. Pickles are small cucumbers that have been preserved in vinegar and spices. A cucumber would never stay good for a year without being pickled! There are lots and lots of ways to preserve things. frozen food canned food beef jerky pickles and were the way that God chose to preserve His words. God wanted His words to be heard by the people of that time, but also by the next generation and the next and the next all the way to us and to the people who live after us. Even though the king chose to chop up the scroll and throw it in the fire, God made it possible for and to write it down again with additions. God will not allow His word to be destroyed! He will make sure that it is preserved. Read together Matthew 24:35, The sky and the earth won t last forever, but My words will. ACTIVITY This activity will take some preparation time, but the kids will love it. It would be a great activity to pass off to a Boy Scout or someone who loves the outdoors and is familiar with using a compass (but caution them to not get too complicated). You will need individual directions for each group of kids. With the use of a compass, the directions will lead them to a treasure outside (or somewhere in the building). The treasure will be a small package of candy the group can share or it could be their take home reminder. Directions can include things like: Go east until you find a shady place. Then, go south until you get to the place where 3 things are in a row. Proceed northwest about 15 long strides and search down low for a treasure. compasses small packages of candy written directions 5 www.kidzmatter.com

How many of you have used a compass before? In what direction does the compass always point? It always points north always! No matter which way you turn, the compass needle will adjust itself to go north and is always helping you find the right direction. We re going to take a moment to learn to use a compass that will guide us to a special treat. Give the groups their direction sheets, and preferably a leader to go with them. Each group has different directions so don t follow the crowd! Only go where the compass leads you! When you have found your treat, come back to the room and have a seat. Once they ve returned with their treasure, ask these questions. How is following a compass like following God s words in the Bible? Will the Bible ever instruct you to go the wrong direction? The compass always points north. What does the Bible always point to? Are you ever tempted to follow the crowd instead of doing what God has asked you to do? Why is that dangerous? The Bible can help us stay living in God s direction. By reading and following God s words in the Bible, we can make sure that we stay on the right path. God s Word always points us in the right direction. PRAYER Each child will need a Bible. They will look up 36; no particular verse is needed. This is the chapter where today s story comes from. This is where the verses I read in our Bible Account time came from. This is where God shows us that He will preserve His Word, that He will not let it be destroyed. Bibles As you pray together today, encourage the kids to place their hands in their open Bible at 36. Thank God that He has preserved His Word so that we have it today. Thank God that we can memorize His Word, read it, sing it, share it, pray it, and grow through it. Ask different children to voice the prayer about each of these. MUSIC Beforehand, download this fun, fun, fun YouTube video called Go Fish Bible Book Bop submitted by gfguys: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63ulquyg8fi. If you need assistance with downloading the video, we have provided an instruction file for both PC and Mac users. YouTube download In order to use the Bible with ease, we need to know the books. There are 66 books in the Bible and that s a lot to remember. But, we ve got a song that s going to make that a whole bunch easier! You ll want to keep this music video in your kids music library. The first time you show this video to the kids, let them watch the entire thing. But then, on repeat showings, encourage them to dance along and see how many books they can sing with the Go Fish guys. 6 www.kidzmatter.com

CRAFT Beforehand, put some tea bags in hot water to soak. Give each child a piece of white copy paper. They will tear about an inch off of each long side to make it a little jagged. The kids will look up Hebrews 4:12. Keeping the paper going lengthwise in front of them, the kids will copy this scripture onto their paper. Now, gently wad up the paper, then flatten it out. Wad it up again, and flatten it. The kids will use a squeezed-out tea bag to rub all over their paper. The tea will slightly stain the paper to make it look old. It will also leave the paper fragile, so warn the kids to handle with care. Lay a pencil at each end of the paper and apply a piece of tape to attach the paper to the pencil. Once the paper has dried a bit, the kids can roll both pencils toward the middle until they come together to look like a scroll. new pencils white copy paper clear tape hot water tea bags ballpoint pens table covering Bibles This scroll looks much like the scroll on which wrote the words that dictated to him. BLESSING May you always treasure God s Word. TAKE HOME REMINDER Give the kids a Bible bookmark. Encourage them use their bookmark to keep track of where they are reading in their Bibles. Reading the Bible is one way to tell God that we treasure His Word that we realize it is important in our lives and that it is His message to us. bookmarks EXTRA ACTIVITIES SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION Philippians 3:8-9a (NLT) Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. copies of and cards and were dedicated to making sure the words of God were made known. We can be dedicated to God s Word, also. One way we do that is by hiding it in our hearts by memorizing it. No matter what happens, we have God s Word inside us. The government could cut it up and throw it into the fire, but if we have it hidden in our hearts, then they can t take that away from us. Run copies of the and cards onto thick paper so you can t see the print through the paper. Each child will need one of each card and. In each round, the kids will place their 2 cards, face-down, in front of them. Give them 10 seconds to move their 2 cards around, so they aren t sure which one 7 www.kidzmatter.com

is which. They will place one hand on one of the cards. Then, the leader will call out or. The kids will look at the card that is under their hand. If it matches what the leader called out, all those kids will say the memory verse together. Continue shuffling and calling out or to choose new groups to recite the scripture. MUSIC We learned today that one way we can treasure God s Word is to sing it. God loves to hear us singing His words back to Him as praise and prayer! Enjoy the two music downloads by Yancy: Make It Loud and I Love You. Yancy is a talented musician who makes music for preteens. You can find more of her music at yancynotnancy.com. SNACK Beforehand, cut the rounded edges off of large flour tortillas the thinnest ones you can find to make them rectangular in shape. (Don t throw the pieces away that you cut off. Toss them in some hot oil or bake them to make chips.) The kids will use a craft stick to spread a thin layer of margarine over one side of the tortilla. Then, they can sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. (You can have them apply the sugar and cinnamon separately, or combine the sugar and cinnamon beforehand in a shaker and apply it that way.) Once the condiments are on the tortilla, show the kids how to roll the tortilla tightly from one end toward the middle. Now, roll the other end toward the middle. You have just made a tortilla scroll, just like the one that wrote the words on that God gave. flour tortilla margarine sugar cinnamon knife craft sticks paper plates or placemats 8 www.kidzmatter.com

BURIED TREASURE CARDS 1 Corinthians 9:24 Mark 10:50 Genesis 21:6 1 Chronicles 16:9 Psalm 100:1 John 11:35 1 Corinthians 9:24 Mark 10:50 Genesis 21:6 1 Chronicles 16:9 Psalm 100:1 John 11:35

SITUATION AND VERSE CARDS Situation: If you tell the truth, you know you ll get in trouble with your mom. If you lie, you might not get caught. Situation: You don t understand why bad things are happening in your life. You think that God must not care about you. Situation: You need to be strong and brave to do something big. Situation: Your friends are treating someone else poorly and they want you to join them. Verse: Proverbs 12:22 The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful. Verse: 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.. Verse: Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Verse: Matthew 7:12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

JEREMIAH CARDS

BARUCH CARDS