Deborah Bible Verse Listen carefully to my instructions, and you will be wise. (Proverbs 8:33, CEV) Bible Story Judges 4:4-16 FaithPoint God gives us people who will help us know how to live. What You Need to Know Session 1 September 5 The story of Deborah occurs during the period of the judges, approximately 1200 years before Jesus was born. The Israelite tribes were often in conflict with the inhabitants of Canaan during this period. They had no real organized government, but were a loose federation of tribes. These tribes were governed by judges. Deborah, was a judge and prophetess over the tribe of Benjamin. Deborah was a charismatic leader who inspired the Israelites to rally against General Sisera in the battle of today s Bible story. Even though only half the Israelites showed up, the victory was still theirs, thanks to a torrential rainstorm that day. The rainstorm was seen as a sign from God, further reassuring the people that God had indeed chosen them to be God s people and God would be their champion. But the courage that Deborah and Jael showed helped to free the Israelites from the oppression of the Canaanites. The Bible does not often portray women in roles of power, much less women as military leaders. Certainly, Deborah must have been an outstanding woman to be included in this category. God helped her rise to the challenge. Children may be like Deborah, uncertain at first of doing things beyond their capabilities. But also, like Deborah, it is good for them to know that there are people behind them, supporting them and caring about them and wanting them to succeed. Just as the Israelites were reassured that God was their champion, the children today need to understand that when they work for the right and good for all of God s people, God will be there with them. God was with the people of long ago. God is with us today. Activities marked with contain options to use recycled or repurposed materials. Fall 2010 Session 1 IAmRockSolid.com Activities marked with may require extra preparation. 5
Arrival Time Welcome SUPPLIES: Resource Pak pp. 2, 5, 31, Bible Story Pak Stickers, offering basket, CD (optional) Greet the children individually as they enter the room. Give each child a sticker for the attendance chart. Option: Play music as the children enter the room. Show the children where to place their offerings. Sunday school is a place where all children should feel welcome and loved. Fun Beginnings Choose one or more of these activities to begin. Fun Pak Fun SUPPLIES: blue construction paper, craft glue or glue sticks, scissors, and corrugated cardboard Bible Story Pak Fun SUPPLIES: Bible Story Pak p. 1, pencils, crayons or markers Create a Worship Center SUPPLIES: white cotton fabric, small worship table, leaves, watercolor felt-tip markers, newspaper, Bible, cross Spread the white fabric over the newspaper. Put a loop of tape on the back of each leaf and place the leaf on the fabric. With different colored markers, draw across the leaf extending onto the fabric by several inches as shown here. Do this multiple times. Remove the leaves. Have the children write their names inside the leaf outline. Place the cloth over the worship table. Arrange the Bible and cross on the table. Let the children add other fall decorations. Together Time Bring the children together. Identify any children who are absent. Acknowledge any birthdays that have occurred or will occur during the coming week. Inquire about happenings 6 September 5 ROCK SOLID: Middle Elementary, Leader s Guide
in the children s lives. Include any prayer requests in the opening prayer. PRAY: Dear God, we are so excited to begin a new year together. Thank you for all the boys and girls who are here. We want them to come back every week as we hear stories from the Bible that help us to know you better. Amen. Bible Story Time Introduce the Story SUPPLIES: jingle bells or other objects that make noise Have the children sit in a circle on the floor. Give each child a jingle bell to hold out of sight behind their backs. Select one child to be IT. IT comes to the center and covers his or her eyes. Choose one child to ring his or her bell in a way that is not detectable to IT. Then, with open eyes, IT says I m listening. The designated child will ring the jingle bell. If IT guesses the correct child within two tries, the two children change places. Play several times. ASK: What did you have to do to discover who was making the noise? (Listen very carefully.) SAY: Our Bible story today is about listening and doing. Let s see if you can discover who listened in the story and what they did. The Bible Story SUPPLIES: NRSV Bibles, Resource Pak p. 9 (Deborah), Bible Story Pak pp. 2 3 Help the children find the Book of Judges in their Bibles. Point out that the story today is in the part of the Old Testament, which tells the history of God s people. Hold up the Bible Story Portrait Card of Deborah. Read the information on the back of the card. SAY: It was not unusual in Bible times for a woman to be a prophet, but it was unusual for a woman to be a military leader. Assign the parts and read Deborah Leads. Judge: a Bible times person who was both a spiritual and military leader. Fall 2010 Session 1 IAmRockSolid.com 7
Crack Some Eggs SUPPLIES: Leader s Guide pp. 83 85, plastic Easter eggs, small box, construction paper, scissors, glue stick, paper shred Assemble the owl and owl s nest. Cut apart the A questions for Session 1. Put each question in an egg. Place the eggs in the nest. Save the other questions for Sessions 2 9. SAY: Let s see how well you remember our Bible story. Reach into the owl s nest and pull out an egg. Inside each egg is a question about the story. Serious Bible Fun Learn the Bible Verse SUPPLIES: Leader s Guide p. 86 (top), basket or bag Cut apart the action cards and put them in a bag or basket. ASK: What happened because General Barak listened to the message Deborah delivered did as God told him? (They won the battle.) SAY: Your job is to deliver the Bible verse and make sure you get it there correctly. Let s see how well you can follow directions. Indicate a starting point. Stand at the finish line. Have each child in turn draw out an action card. Have the child perform the action from the starting point to the finish line, say the Bible verse and return to the starting point. Build Your Skills SUPPLIES: Bible Story Pak p. 3 Have the children discover the secret word in the puzzle. Live God s Word Faith Building SUPPLIES: Bible Story Pak p. 4, pencils With a large group, add additional questions. For a smaller group, let children answer more than one. Read each of the statements on the page. Ask the children to decide which of the people pictured might say such a thing. Draw a line from the statement to the person. 8 September 5 ROCK SOLID: Middle Elementary, Leader s Guide
ASK: Are each of these statements good advice? Which one is not? How do you decide what is good advice? (Good advice would never cause harm to another person.) How do we know today what God wants us to do? (Have the children share their ideas.) Worship Come Together SUPPLIES: Resource Pak pp. 14, 19, 28, tape UR Special Card SUPPLIES: Leader s Guide p. 87, brown construction paper, crayons or markers, glue sticks, scissors, pencils Assemble the Bible Verse Mural and punch out the Bible Verse Mural Cards. Tape the mural to the wall in the worship area. Optional: Play music as a signal to come to the worship area. Give one child the card with today s Bible verse to place on the poster. Say the Bible verse aloud together. Photocopy the directions and interior of the card. ASK: Who are some of the people who have given you good advice in the past week? (Let the children share.) What kinds of things do they tell you? Why do you think they tell you these things? SAY: We are going to make a UR Special card for some person in your life that has helped you to be wise. Give each child the patterns and directions. Assemble the card as shown on the page. If you are using the recommended CD, we suggest the songs All the World and What If for this unit. SAY: Today we learned about Deborah, who helped people know what God wanted them to do. It is important to know what God wants us to do. We can discover this as we come to Sunday school and hear the Bible stories. 9 Fall 2010 Session 1 IAmRockSolid.com
Praise and Respond SUPPLIES: Optional: CD, CD player With any new song, introduce it by playing it through one time. Allow the children to move to the music as they listen. Then repeat the words with the children using a line-by line echo approach. Sing the song together. Have the children stand shoulder to shoulder in a circle. We call this a Squishy Prayer Circle. This will remind the children that we are all connected all Christians around the world. Stand quietly for a few seconds, allowing the children to quiet down and center themselves. PRAY: Thank you, God, for the many people you have given us to help us know what to do. We thank you for the Bible that is filled with your wisdom. Help us to listen for your instructions and be wise. Amen. Peek at Next Week If you don t have the recommended CD, sing other familiar SS songs. Make a Prayer Cuppet: Photocopy Leader s Guide p. 88 for each child. Introduce the Story: Write temple on a strip of paper. Tape it on a wall across the room. Crack Some Eggs: Cut apart the B questions for Session 2 on Leader s Guide p. 84. Put each question in a plastic Easter egg and place the eggs in the owl nest (See Leader p. 8). Make a Prayer Luminaria: Photocopy the directions and patterns on Leader s Guide p. 90 for each child. 10 September 5 ROCK SOLID: Middle Elementary, Leader s Guide