Copyright 2014 Scripture Union First published 2014 ISBN

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Copyright 2014 Scripture Union First published 2014 ISBN 978 1 84427 873 2 Scripture Union 207 209 Queensway, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK2 2EB Email: info@scriptureunion.org.uk Website: www.scriptureunion.org.uk All rights reserved.the artwork and resource sheets in this publication may be photocopied for use without reference to current copyright legislation or any copyright leasing. This arrangement does not allow the printing of any of the other published material in permanent form. Nor does it allow the printing of words or illustrations for resale or for any commercial use. Outside of the provision, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Scripture Union. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Original content from www.lightlive.org Compiled and edited by Maggie Barfield Design by kwgraphicdesign Printed in Malta by Melita Press Scripture quotations are from the Contemporary English Version ( American Bible Society, published by HarperCollinsPublishers) or from the Good News Bible. 0 Scripture Union is an international Christian charity working with churches in more than 130 countries. Thank you for purchasing this book. Any profits from this book support SU in England and Wales to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to children, young people and families and to enable them to meet God through the Bible and prayer. Find out more about our work and how you can get involved at: www.scriptureunion.org.uk (England and Wales) www.suscotland.org.uk (Scotland) www.suni.org (Northern Ireland) www.scriptureunion.org (USA) www.su.org.au (Australia) TEXT God rescues.indd 2 14/04/2014 12:19

Contents What is Mosaic? 5 How to run a Mosaic session 6 Mosaic bookshelf 7 MOSES IN EGYPT Moses and God s people discover that God loves them and will keep them safe, as he rescues his people from Egypt n Introducing Moses in Egypt 8 n Rescue and run Exodus 2:1 25 9 n Holy ground Exodus 3:1 4:20 15 n Sacrificial lamb Exodus 11:1 12:30 21 n The great escape Exodus 14:1 31 28 n Learn and remember verse poster 34 STORIES JESUS TOLD God is always seeking those who are lost and rejoicing when they are found and rescued n Introducing Stories Jesus told 35 n Picture story Luke 10:25 37 36 n Invitations refused Luke 14:15 24 42 n Lost sheep Luke 15:1 7 48 n Invitation given Luke 15:11 32 56 n Learn and remember verse poster 62 Mosaic clinic Cookery activities 63 Tips from ministry practitioners to help you make the most of your small group with a wide age range SHARING THE GOOD NEWS The news of Jesus is good news for everyone and Paul sets out to tell as many people as he can n Introducing Sharing the good news 65 n Teamwork Acts 18:1 23 66 n True friend Acts 23:12 22 74 n Truth telling Acts 25:13 26:32 82 n Total trust Acts 27:1,13 44; 28:11 15,28 31 91 n Learn and remember verse poster 95 What s next? 96 TEXT God rescues.indd 3 14/04/2014 12:19

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What is Mosaic? Scripture Union has been providing resources for people working with children in church settings for over sixty years. As times have changed, so have the resources, of course. Where once Sunday School was the highlight of the week for many children, today many other exciting activities compete with the events that churches provide. Where once school life was largely dull and mainly sedentary, today teachers have a vast range of ways of engaging children in the learning process. It is hard now for churches to compete with all the opportunities and activities that fill the twenty-first-century child s life. Yet Scripture Union still wants children to have the best resources to help them learn about God, decide to follow Jesus and grow in faith. This applies to children in churches both large and small, as well as those who have no contact with churches. We publish a range of resources to equip children s workers, whatever their situation. This includes the Light range, which has resources for different age groups from 3 to 14. You told us You only have a few children in your group and you have a wide age range. Maybe there are a 3-yearold, two 7-year-olds, a 10-year-old boy and a couple of girls who will soon be 14. Buying the whole range of Light products would be much too expensive and it would be time-consuming to go through each product looking for suitable activities for your session each week. You need a flexible printed product which enables you to choose suitable activities that will work across the age group. Settings where Mosaic works best n Many churches begin Sunday worship with all ages together. In other churches, everyone arrives together, but separate into adult and children s groups and meet together again for a final time of worship. Mosaic can be used in either of these scenarios when the number of children attending is too small to make the provision of separate age groups practical. n Mosaic could be used where the premises in which children meet are limited so that it is impossible to provide more than one group. n Mosaic would also be useful where there are few adults able to work with the children. (Of course, there should, for reasons of safety and child protection, always be at least two adults with CRB clearance with the children.) In this case, most of the activities can be done together, with separate, targeted activities for younger and older children later in the session. n Mosaic is ideal if you are starting a new children s group and want a simple programme to work with. 5 TEXT God rescues.indd 5 14/04/2014 12:19

HOW TO RUN A MOSAIC SESSION How to run a Mosaic session WHAT YOU GET Mosaic is a flexible resource designed to give you a structured programme. There are also extra ideas which you can add to suit the time you have available and the group you are leading. Some of the extra resources can be downloaded from the LightLive website at www.lightlive.org. But even if you cannot access the website, this book provides all you need for 12 exciting and meaningful sessions. Introduction Each series of two to five sessions begins with essential Bible background to the passages you will be using with the children. There is also an important paragraph giving insights into how the series can be tailored to the children in your group. Core programme Four activities are provided as the basic template for each session a way of exploring the Bible, a worship response, and two options which help the group apply the Bible teaching to their own lives. Extension ideas Three extension ideas are suggested to provide more targeted activities for younger children (perhaps under-8s) and more challenging things for older children to do (perhaps those aged 10 and over). Obviously, abilities differ and you will have to direct individual children to the activities best suited to them. Fresh ideas are suggested for each session for the series Learn and remember verse. Case studies Advice designed to inspire and encourage you in your work from a writer experienced in working with small churches. Tips Helpful advice for working with your mixed-age group can be found in the Mosaic clinic. LightLive Create a group on LightLive online (www.lightlive.org) and you will have access to a huge choice of resources for your group. The database is searchable by topic and Bible passage so that you will never be short of an idea for your grouptime or special event! Helpful resources Look on page 7 for targeted recommendations of other Scripture Union titles which will supplement your programmes, provide ideas to help your group grow in faith and help you increase your confidence. Every week online You can enhance your weekly sessions with downloads including: n Bible story picture : a regular activity for 2 7s (These are also available as photocopiable pages at the end of each session.) n Audio Bible story : a regular audio Bible story for 3 7s n Learn and remember : a PowerPoint of a Bible verse to learn, for 5 11s n Presentation : an activity with animation for 11 14s 6 TEXT God rescues.indd 6 14/04/2014 12:19

MOSAIC BOOKSHELF MOSAIC BOOKSHELF Ultimate Craft 12.99 Ultimate Creative Prayer 9.99 Ultimate Quizzes 9.99 Ultimate Visual Aids 9.99 Ultimate Craft is bursting with creative and imaginative ways to help you and your group explore the Bible through cutting, sticking, painting, drawing, sewing and, well, you get the idea! Ultimate Quizzes is crammed full of creative and imaginative ways to help your group explore the Bible through using quizzes. Ultimate Creative Prayer is full of creative and imaginative ways to help you and your children s group get praying. Ultimate Games 9.99 Ultimate Games will help you and your children s group explore the Bible through playing games. Active games, quiet games, team games, individual games, games for children, games for young people they re all here. Open up the Ultimate Visual Aids CD-ROM and find a whole treasure trove of ideas to help you illustrate stories for children s groups, holiday clubs, all-age services and more. With drawings and pictures for use in activity sheets, OHP slides, presentations, banners, etc covering the whole Bible. 7 TEXT God rescues.indd 7 14/04/2014 12:19

SERIES 1 SERIES INTRODUCTION MOSES IN EGYPT Moses and God s people discover that God loves them and will keep them safe, as God rescues his people from Egypt. BIBLE BACKGROUND FOR YOU At the start of this series the people of Israel are powerless slaves in Egypt. But they are God s people and he has a plan for them. Enter an unlikely hero Moses. By rights he should not have lived, but God looks after the baby boy and ensures that he is brought up in a royal palace. Moses is somewhat reluctant to take on the job that God has for him; he is not a good speaker, he is somewhat timid, and yet God reveals himself to Moses and gives him what he needs to do it. We omit most of the plagues with their stories of God s power and Pharaoh s hardness. For your small group with a wide age range This series features themes of rescue and protection, focusing on God s power and our response of praise. Remember, though, that the stories contain violence and death which may shock those hearing them for the first time unless these aspects are handled carefully. What appeals to some older children could upset others! If necessary take the smallest children aside for the Bible story and use a suitable version (for example from Scripture Union s The Big Bible Storybook). Our series picks up at the last plague and the Passover, which ensures that the Israelites are saved and then released from slavery and enabled to escape from Egypt. This is all God s doing, but the Israelites obedience is key. God s activity and their obedience is underlined by the edge of the sea when all they have to do all they can do is wait for God to act. God s power is experienced in every age. God is still at work today and uses some unlikely people to carry out his purposes in the world just as he did then. In what ways do we show that we are ready to be used by him? Resources for ministry Scripture Union It s Your Move! is made up of helpful information and advice for children moving school. It features real-life stories of children who are about to make the move and those who have made it in the recent past. There is also advice from teachers and schools workers. Bible content comes from retold Bible studies and there is place to reflect on Psalm 139. There are puzzles, quizzes and places to personalise the book through doodles, signatures, photo pages etc. Available as single copies or packs of 10. Visit www.scriptureunion.org. uk/shop for more details. Highlights from LightLive Go to the Search LightLive tab at www.lightlive.org and enter this session s Bible reference to find: n Audio Bible story : a regular mp3 download for 3 7s n Learn and remember : a PowerPoint of a Bible verse to learn, for 5 11s (see also page 34) n Presentation : an activity with animation for 11 14s 8 TEXT God rescues.indd 8 14/04/2014 12:19

SERIES 1 MOSES IN EGYPT SESSION 1 Rescue and run Bible: Exodus 2:1 25 Aim: To discover that God uses unlikely people in his rescue plan CORE PROGRAMME For 3 14s Bible story with jigsaw 15 20 minutes Why: to discover that God uses unlikely people in his rescue plan With: puzzle from page 10, SU Bible Timeline or The Big Bible Storybook Timeline 1 Prepare Before the session, enlarge a copy of page 10, mount it onto card and cut out all the puzzle pieces. (Alternatively, if you have a large group, make enough sets of puzzle pieces for each pair of children.) 2 Set the scene Use the Bible Timeline to look for dates and set the story in context. About 400 years previously, in the time of a man called Joseph, God s people went to Egypt to escape a famine. Now things have changed and they have become slaves in Egypt, no longer free people but having to work for the Egyptians. 3 Tell the story Explain that the children are to help you tell the next part of the story by reading the Bible verses and putting puzzle pieces in place. Randomly give out the puzzle pieces to your group, making sure each child has at least one piece. Say that they need to listen carefully to see where each puzzle piece fits. Story (part 1): One day in Egypt, a Hebrew boy was born (first piece). His mother hid him in her house, but at three months old, he became too big to hide any longer (Exodus 2:3; next two pieces). But she didn t leave him there alone (Exodus 2:4; next piece). Quite soon, the king s daughter came to bathe in the river (next piece).she spotted the basket hidden in the reeds. One of her servants lifted it out of the water, and there was the baby (Exodus 2:6; next piece)! Then the baby s sister had a very clever idea (Exodus 2:7 9; next piece). When the boy was old enough, his mother took him to the palace where the princess looked after him as if he were her own son (next piece). She even gave him the name, Moses. Moses was brought up in the palace as an Egyptian, but he always knew he was a Hebrew (Exodus 2:11,12; next piece). Story (part 2): Moses thought that no one had seen him kill the Egyptian. But he was wrong! (Exodus 2:13,14; next piece). Moses was very frightened, especially when he discovered that the king had found out. There was nothing he could do but run away fast (next piece). So Moses ended up living in the desert away from his home and his people. But one day, as he was sitting by a well, some girls came to draw water for their flocks of sheep. Some shepherds drove them away, but Moses went to their rescue and watered their animals for them (last piece). After this he was welcomed into their home. 4 Respond Using the puzzle as a reminder, encourage the children to think what Moses was like in different parts of the story. Ask the children: Is this the sort of person you d choose to start a rescue mission? Why? Why not? Explain that God uses all sorts of unlikely people to work for him. They certainly aren t perfect! Look at the Timeline and challenge the children to describe what some of the people on it were like. Thank God that he uses all sorts of people to do his work. Thank God that it means he can use us too. 9 TEXT God rescues.indd 9 14/04/2014 12:19

SERIES 1 MOSES IN EGYPT PHOTOCOPIABLE PAGE Puzzle for Bible story with jigsaw 10 TEXT God rescues.indd 10 14/04/2014 12:19

SESSION 1 RESCUE AND RUN CORE PROGRAMME CONTINUED Parachute praise a h minutes Why: to make simple rescue equipment With: tissue paper, a person template (optional, available at page 12), cotton thread 1 Talk together about how parachutes are used by pilots to allow them to escape in an emergency. 2 Give each child an A5 sheet of card and encourage them to draw a picture of themselves about 10 cm high and cut it out (or use the template from page 12). Invite them to write God can use me on the other side. 3 Help them to tape a 30 cm piece of cotton to each corner of a tissue paper square about 15 cm x 15 cm. Then attach the four ends together to the card person. 4 Invite the children to toss their parachutes up and watch them float down. 5 Repeat all together, praying, Thank you, God, that you can use me. Weaving a h minutes Why: to think about whom God can use in his plan With: coloured A4 card 1 Before the session, prepare sheets of A4 coloured card by cutting rows of slits in them about 2 cm apart, starting and finishing about 2 cm from the edges. Cut 2 cm wide strips of card in different colours (see diagram below). 2 Invite each child to choose a coloured sheet and strips of different colours. Show them how to weave the strips in and out of the slits. Help them to secure the ends with sticky tape. 3 Encourage the children to write God can use me on their weaving and to display it at home as a reminder. Action praise t a minutes Why: to celebrate that God can use us in his plans With: percussion instruments (optional) 1 Remind the children that God was preparing Moses for a great work ahead, even when he was a baby. Say that Moses sister was ready to do something for God too, which shows that we don t have to be a grown-up to work for God. 2 Remind the children that, although we may not know what he has in store for us, we do know that God can use us, whatever we re like. Teach them the phrase God can use me. Praise him! 3 Challenge the children to think of different ways of performing the phrase, such as: a rap, with percussion, dancing or clapping. Use everybody s ideas to create a joint performance. 4 Encourage the children to remember the phrase during the week ahead. Weave the strips like this. 11 TEXT God rescues.indd 11 14/04/2014 12:19

SERIES 1 MOSES IN EGYPT PHOTOCOPIABLE PAGE Child outlines for use with Parachute praise and What can God use? 12 TEXT God rescues.indd 12 14/04/2014 12:19

SESSION 1 RESCUE AND RUN EXTENSION IDEAS Activities for younger children What can God use? a 15 minutes Why: to think how God can use us With: a large sheet of paper or person template from page 10 (optional; also used for Parachute praise ) 1 Draw an outline of a person on a large sheet of paper. Alternatively, enlarge the template from page 12 or draw round a child. 2 Challenge the children to remember how God used different parts of the body in the story: Moses voice (baby cried), his mother s arms (to care), the sister s mind (quick thinking) and the princess ears and eyes (to find the baby). 3 Ask the children to think of how God could use them, for example, hands to help or voice to tell others. Write their ideas round the person outline. Encourage the children to draw arrows from the ideas to the right part of the body, and colour each part in. 4 Use their ideas in a prayer, asking God to use them. Bible story picture t a minutes Why: to feel secure because God is able to save and protect With: a copy of the picture from page 14 (printed on A4 paper) for each child or enlarged copies for group use, art and craft materials 1 You can use the picture as an introduction to the Bible story or to help you review the story together. 2 Identify the four people in the picture. One is Miriam: she is a young girl so which person is she? One is Moses: he is a baby so where is he? One is a princess so she will be wearing beautiful clothes and looking important which person is she? What or who is she holding? One is a mum: she is Miriam and Moses mum. Where is she? 3 Before the children complete their own pictures, help them to think about how they are going to colour or decorate the scene. Can they make the princess clothes look rich and expensive? What would Moses family look like? They were not rich or important, like the princess. 4 Explain that this picture comes from today s Bible story, when the baby Moses is safe. The people may not all be rich or important but there is one way in which they are all the same. Everyone is smiling! Look at each character in turn, again, and chat about why they seem happy. For older children Letter writing a 15 minutes Why: to think about how God has helped us in the past and to ask for help in the future 1 Ask everyone to write a letter to God. Set this up enthusiastically so that it doesn t feel like homework! Suggest they start with Dear God, and then thank God for everything they ve done and learned today. If anyone really doesn t like writing, encourage them to draw those things instead. 2 Ask the young people to think about a time in the past when they asked God for help and he responded. Give an example from your own experience. They should write (or draw) their situation in their own words, being completely honest. 3 Ask them now to think of a situation they re facing at the moment which they d like God s help with, and to write or draw about that. This could be anything. Again, you might like to give an example of your own. 4 The young people should also think and write or draw about one global issue they feel concerned about something they would like to cry out to God about. 5 Lastly, the final paragraph should say thank you to God that he will respond. 6 Put the letters in envelopes and keep them safe for, say, several weeks, when you ll hand the letters back and see how God has responded. Alternatively, this could be done by creating an online group (bearing in mind age restrictions and your church s child protection policy and ensuring no one in your group is left out). You could post the prayers as messages that will be archived online. Then, in a few weeks time, review the posts and see how God has responded to the prayers. THE LEARN AND REMEMBER VERSE This is the day of the Lord s victory; let us be happy, let us celebrate! Psalm 118:24 Challenge the children to think of times when God helped his people to be victorious (you could use a Bible Timeline to help). Encourage them to think of small victories (like helping old people, like Sarah and Abraham, to have children) as well as big victories (like Joshua and the battle of Jericho). What about the Bible story you have been looking at today? How has God been victorious in helping Moses and his family? Is there anything that does not seem very victorious in this part of the story of Moses? (Explain that there will be more about Moses in other sessions and that this is not the end of his story.) Find a poster for this Learn and remember verse on page 34. You could also use the song The day, on the Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD, available from Scripture Union. 13 TEXT God rescues.indd 13 14/04/2014 12:19

SERIES 1 MOSES IN EGYPT PHOTOCOPIABLE PAGE Use with Bible story picture Baby Moses in a basket Exodus 2:1 25 14 TEXT God rescues.indd 14 14/04/2014 12:19

SERIES 1 MOSES IN EGYPT SESSION 2 Holy ground Bible: Exodus 3:1 4:20 Aim: To discover that God enables people to take part in his rescue plan CORE PROGRAMME For 3 14s Picture Bible story h 20 minutes Why: to discover that God enables people to take part in his rescue plan With: pictures from page 17, or props as listed below, your choice of worship song, SU Bible Timeline or The Big Bible Storybook Timeline 1 Prepare Cut out copies of the pictures from page 17 one set per team of up to four children. Alternatively, collect a pair of sandals, some tissue paper flames, a walking stick, a toy snake, a ridged rubber glove (to look like a diseased hand), a speech bubble, a photo of a man or a male toy figure and a plastic bottle of water. 2 Bible Timeline Look at the Timeline and challenge the children to find ways in which God communicated with his people. (For example: Jesus talking to his disciples; the Holy Spirit coming; John s vision.) Explain that today they will hear how God had an unusual way of attracting the attention of Moses. 3 Challenge Split your group into small teams with a set of pictures per team. If you have a small group, sit in a circle around one set of pictures or the props. Explain that the things in the picture (or the props) will be appearing in today s story. Challenge the children to listen carefully and, as soon as they hear something mentioned, hold up the appropriate picture or prop. Encourage them to put the pictures or props in order so that they can retell the story afterwards. (A point could be scored by whoever finds the picture or prop first.) 4 Story Tell the following version of the story, reading the listed verses from a modern Bible translation and pausing to allow the children time to find the appropriate pictures or props. Story: One day, when Moses was out with the sheep, he saw a bush that was burning! There was nothing strange about that in such a hot country. But the strange thing was that, even though the bush was burning, the branches and leaves weren t shrivelling up in the flames. (Pause.) Moses went over to see why the bush wasn t burning. When God saw that Moses was taking a closer look at the burning bush, he called out to Moses from within the burning bush, Moses! Moses! And Moses said, Here I am! (Read Exodus 3:5 10. Pause.) God had given Moses a huge job to do. How do you think Moses would have been feeling? Probably pretty shocked and scared. So scared, in fact, that he didn t want to do the job God had given him. But this is what God said to Moses: I will be with you. And you will know that I am the one who sent you. Moses still wasn t happy. (Read Exodus 3:13 20.) Moses was still scared. He was unsure of himself and didn t know why he should be the one to do this job. What if no one believes that you really appeared to me? he said to God. So God gave him miraculous signs. (Read Exodus 4:2 9 slowly, pausing for the children to find the pictures or props.) Moses was still unsure. He told God that he wasn t a good speaker. God insisted that Moses was the man for the job, so he gave Moses a helper Aaron, his brother. (Pause.) Moses asked his father-in-law, Jethro, if he could go back to Egypt. Jethro agreed, so Moses set off to Egypt with his family and with the walking stick that had the power of God. 15 TEXT God rescues.indd 15 14/04/2014 12:19

SERIES 1 MOSES IN EGYPT CORE PROGRAMME CONTINUED 5 Respond Invite the children to use the pictures to remember how God equipped Moses for his difficult task. Explain that when God asks people to do things, he always helps them. Sing an appropriate song together such as Be bold, be strong, finishing with a short silence to allow the children to talk to God about what they have heard. Meditation t minutes Why: to think about what God might call us to do With: labels to place around the room, eg: Home, School, Church, A club, The park, At the doctor s, At a friend s house, The shops, The beach, A camp or holiday 1 Place labels of places where the children spend time around the room. 2 Invite the children to sit quietly beside one of the labels and join in this prayer, in their heads: Thank you, God, that you know my name and that you are with me while I am here. (Pause.) At this place you call me to do things. Perhaps you call me to help someone. (Pause.) Perhaps you call me to talk about you. (Pause.) Perhaps you call me to make friends with someone. (Pause.) Thank you, God, for calling me. 3 If you have time, invite the children to move to a different area as you repeat the prayer. Burning bush a h minutes Why: to thank God for equipping us to help him With: a large sheet of black paper, thick orange, red and yellow paint (or flame-coloured paper), paint trays 1 Challenge the children to remember how Moses discovered God was calling him. 2 Draw a semicircle at the bottom of the black paper to represent a bush shape. Invite the children to make handprints above the bush, either by dipping a hand into a tray of paint or by painting their hand. Alternatively, they could draw round their hands on flame-coloured paper, cut them out and stick them on. 3 Provide supervised clean-up facilities. 4 Think together of an appropriate prayer, such as, Thank you, God, that you want to use us or Help us to listen when you call. Write this on white paper and stick it above your picture. God helps prayers a h minutes Why: to thank God for enabling people With: a soft football; SU Bible Timeline or The Big Bible Storybook Timeline (optional) 1 Set up a target (for example, a space between two objects or a point to aim at on the wall). 2 Teach the children the chant, God says: I will be with you; I will help you. 3 Challenge them to think of times when God has helped people do difficult things. They could use a Bible Timeline or share from their own experience. Add something from your experience too. 4 Challenge the children to take it in turns to kick or throw the ball at the target, calling out a way in which God has helped someone. 5 The other children can be cheerleaders and, each time, shout the chant. 6 Alternatively, flick scrunched-up paper across a table towards a goal. 16 TEXT God rescues.indd 16 14/04/2014 12:19

PHOTOCOPIABLE PAGE SESSION 2 HOLY GROUND Pictures for use with Picture Bible story 17 TEXT God rescues.indd 17 14/04/2014 12:19