Classroom Edition 4s/5s Winter Lesson 1 Bible Passages: 1 Samuel 8 10; 15 (Rise and Fall of King Saul) God Is in Charge Remember Verse The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. Zephaniah 3:17a LESSON OVERVIEW 8:15-8:45 8:45-9:05 9:05-9:25 9:25-9:45 9:45 - end Be in class for CONNECT/ CHECK-INS - playtime - coloring pages GATHER: - Remember Verse - God s Big Story - Wonder Question RESPOND - 2-3 prepared application activities (WORSHIP) BLESS and Snack - playtime until end 2017 David C Cook. TruResources are developed in partnership with ROCKHARBOR Church and a national
Classroom Edition 4s/5s Winter Lesson 1 Bible Passages: 1 Samuel 8 10; 15 (Rise and Fall of King Saul) God Is in Charge Remember Verse The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. Zephaniah 3:17a LESSON OVERVIEW 8:15-8:45 8:45-9:05 9:05-9:25 9:25-9:45 10:30-11:00 11:00-11:20 11:20-11:40 11:40-12:00 Be in class for CONNECT/ CHECK-INS - playtime - coloring pages WORSHIP GATHER: - Remember Verse - God s Big Story - Wonder Question RESPOND - 2-3 prepared application activities 9:45 - end 12:00 - end BLESS and Snack - playtime until end
LEADER PREP Each week you ll find encouraging articles that help you prepare your heart to present the lesson. Inspire Shares personal stories from fellow ministry leaders about how God has worked in their lives For the past two summers, I ve ministered to the street kids of a small town in South Africa. My heart breaks each time I think of how I connected with one particular little girl. Preparing to leave her was nearly unbearable. I was overwhelmed at the thought of what might happen to this precious little child once we weren t around to protect her. I wanted to fix things for her. In the midst of the emotion of the situation, God put things in perspective. I heard His voice as He reminded me that she belonged to Him and He loved her more than I ever could. I had to accept that He could do infinitely more good for her than I would be able to. I trusted that His love reaches to every corner of the world to the ends of the earth. It touches the poor and hungry, the widowed, and the orphaned. He could see the hurt this little girl felt, and He cares. His ways are greater than my ways, and in this I needed to rest. It s often in difficult circumstances that God gently reminds us He s in charge. It s easy to shift into cruise control when life is good. In fact, it can feel pretty nice to believe we ve managed to hold things together. But in challenging seasons we find ourselves radically dependent on God. In the weakness of our humanity we re made aware of His sovereignty. We can breathe deeply, knowing we re His children and He is the One who is in charge. Erika Abdelatif ROCKHARBOR Church Equip Offers perspective and context to the lesson s Bible passage God is in charge He is sovereign. God is in control and nothing happens outside His influence; He will bring about His desired ends. Our response to God s sovereignty is to trust Him and obey. There are countless examples in Scripture of God giving people opportunities to serve Him, and they step up to the challenge and are blessed through the experience. David was one of these. When he came to the camp of Israel to face the giant, David proved himself faithful, and God received the glory. God blessed David by giving him the kingdom of Israel to rule. Saul was not such an obedient man. He too was given the opportunity to lead Israel, as their first king. Although he seemed to have a promising start, he didn t finish well. He wasn t patient to wait upon God and usurped the role of priest (1 Samuel 13:9). He neglected God s command to wipe out the Amalekites, keeping the king and the best of the livestock alive (1 Samuel 15:9). He also refused to acknowledge that God was in control in selecting the next king, repeatedly trying to kill David. Knowing who God is helps us to understand who we are. When we see God for who He is, and understand that He is in charge completely we can know our role and our place before Him. We are His servants. When God gives us opportunities to serve Him, we can learn from the responses of both David and Saul, and commit to follow the Lord faithfully. God is in charge. Support Provides reflection and assessment through encouragement, prayer, and time in God s Word Oftentimes we don t understand or see the big picture of what God is doing, but our job is still to obey. With the rise of technology, our world has adapted to a faster pace of life. Sometimes, this leads us to charge ahead with our plans without adequately seeking God s guidance. This week, consider if there s a part of your life where you ve moved too fast. Is there any place you haven t stopped to wait on God? Any areas where you haven t sought the wisdom of the Holy Spirit before charging ahead? Take a moment to reflect on ways you ve tried to grasp control. Journal about one area in your life where you ve moved too fast or gotten ahead of God. As you pray, release this area and the control of it back to God. Ask Him to bless you with His strength. Pray that He would consistently place reminders on your heart and mind to wait and rely on His leading. Children develop relationships with their leaders and one another through simple activities and conversation starters.
Coloring Pages and Playtime WORSHIP//! 1st service: 5/K @ 8:45 2nd service: 4/5/K @ 11:00 Children experience and learn more about God through memorizing Scripture, storytelling from The Big God Story, prayer, and discussion. Remember Verse The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. Zephaniah 3:17a Remember Verse Definitions Mighty Warrior: A name for God that means He is powerful in battle. Remember Verse Motions The LORD your God: Make letter L with right index finger and thumb at left shoulder. Move L diagonally down to right hip. is with you: Put both hands in front of body and pull close to chest. the Mighty Warrior: Make fists and flex to show muscles. who saves: Make fists and fold arms across chest, then open arms. The Big God Story 1 Samuel 8 10; 15 God Is in Charge Storytelling Technique: Visual Props, Vocal Response Construction paper (2 sheets, 1 red and 1 green) Marker (black) Masking tape Dowel rods (2, approx. ½" x 36") PREPARE AHEAD On the sheet of red paper, draw a large sad face. On the sheet of green paper, draw a large happy face. Tape each paper to the end of a dowel rod, so they can be held up like signs. Be prepared to invite two volunteers to help you hold the signs during storytelling. Give children a minute to stretch their arms and legs, and then have them take a seat. Before we jump into today s part of The Big God Story, let s stop and ask God to help us understand what He wants to teach us. Lead children in a Prayer of Release to pause, be still, and ask the Holy Spirit to quiet their hearts and minds. I m going to need two volunteers to help me storytell. Invite up two children and have them stand on either side of you. Give one the green sign and the other the red sign, and let them know you ll tell them when to hold up the signs. Explain to the group that when the red sign is up, everyone should say, That s sad. When the green sign is up, everyone should say, Happy days. Lead children and sign holders in practicing several times. Great job. Now on to The Big God Story! God s people were known as the Israelites. God loved His people very much and always took care of them. He was in charge of them. Still, the Israelites often didn t think enough about God and wanted to be in charge of themselves. They ignored God and the things He told them. Cue child to hold up red sign; children say, That s sad. When the Israelites acted like this, they got into fights with people from other lands. The Israelites lost these fights, and only when things looked really bad for them would the people
remember God and call out for His help. One way God helped His people was by giving them a special leader called a judge. A judge was someone who loved God and followed God s directions for the way to lead His people. Cue child to hold up green sign; children say, Happy days. Things would go well for the Israelites for a while. But the Israelites would want to be in charge of themselves again and they d go back to doing whatever they wanted. Cue child to hold up red sign: That s sad. Every time the Israelites stopped following God, people from other places came and fought against them. When the Israelites lost these fights, it meant the rulers from all these other places got to tell them what to do. They even hurt God s people and treated them unkindly. Then, just like before, the people would remember God is in charge and call out for His help. Each time His people called on Him, God saved them from their enemies and gave them a new judge to help them. Cue child to hold up green sign: Happy days. One day God s people started to notice that all the other countries around them had kings as their leaders. The Israelites were jealous of these other countries. Even though God is the one true King, and the very best King that could ever be, the people decided they needed a human king. God heard His people ask for a king, but God knew that having a human king wasn t the best thing for His people at this time. God reminded His people that He is in charge, and He would take care of them. If they trusted and obeyed God, they didn t need a human king. But the people wouldn t listen. Cue child to hold up red sign: That s sad. So God gave His people what they wanted. He chose a man named Saul to be the first king of Israel. The people were so happy that they had a king, just like everyone else. At first Saul did a good job of being king. Cue child to hold up green sign: Happy days. But then, Saul started to forget that it was really God who is in charge, and it was God who chose him to be king in the first place. He tried to be king on his own, without God, and he stopped listening to what God told him. Then, wouldn t you know it, things started to go very badly for Saul and the Israelites. Cue child to hold up red sign: That s sad. Finally, things got so bad that God took the job of king away from Saul and gave it to someone else who truly loved God and obeyed and followed Him. That man s name was David, and He loved God with all his heart. Cue child to hold up green sign: Happy days. Friends, just like He loved the Israelites, God loves you and me so much. He wants us to remember that He is in charge, and He really does know what s best for us. When we trust and follow Him, we can see that He is the one true King. He is the One who deserves our worship, because He is in charge! Save the signs to use again during RESPOND. Wonder Questions Lead a discussion on today s part of The Big God Story as children take turns pulling Wonder Questions from a bag. Wonder Questions strips (see Resources) Scissors Small bag with drawstring PREPARE AHEAD Print or copy the Wonder Questions strips, cut them apart, and place them in the bag. Today in The Big God Story, the Israelite people told God they wanted a human to be their king, just like all the other nations. Even though God is the perfect King for us, God did as the people requested and chose Saul to be their first king. I wonder What are some things in our world that God is in charge of? I wonder How did God feel when the people asked Him for help? I wonder How do I forget God is in charge and try to take control myself? I wonder How is God in charge of my life? Prayers & Praises After discussing the Wonder Questions, you ll have the opportunity to pray with and for each of the children in your group. Friends, God is in charge, and He is the one true King. Let s praise God and thank Him! If you d like to kneel with me, that s one way we can show God that we worship Him as our King. Invite children to kneel with you and then
offer words of praise to God. Examples of praises: God, thank You for being in charge of my life, or God, You are my King! Encourage children to respond with their own words. Then, transition into a time of prayer for personal requests. Return to a sitting position if you were kneeling. I love praising God with you all. We re blessed to be able to continue praising God together and to be able to pray for each other s needs. Those are some of my favorite parts about being in God s family. Now, let s share how we can pray for each other today. Ask children to share updates on the things they previously asked the group to pray with them about. Celebrate the praises, recommit to praying for things not yet answered, and ask for any new requests. Pray for the praises and requests mentioned, and let children know you ll continue to pray for them in the coming week. Children reflect on what the Holy Spirit is teaching them and respond through creative activities and games. Let It Go Children will create a mural out of drawings on green circles to demonstrate that they want to let go and give God the green light to be in charge of their lives. Circle template (see Resources) Paper (1 sheet per child, green) Safety scissors (1 pair per child) Markers or crayons Poster board (1 sheet) Tape PREPARE AHEAD Print one copy of the Circle template for each child on green paper. Write God is in charge across the top of the poster board. SET UP Place the poster board, along with the markers or crayons and scissors, on the table. Invite children to skip to your activity area and take a seat. Each child will need a copy of the circle printed on green paper, scissors, and markers or crayons. Friends, God is our perfect King, and He is in charge of everything in the whole world. God knows what s best for you, and you can trust Him with everything, big or small. Think for a moment about what God has shown you today. What would you like to tell God? Is there something in your life that you want Him to be in charge of? Give children some time to quietly think. As they consider, invite them to respond to God by using the supplies to draw a picture on the green circle and then cut it out. Today we ve used green as a way to remind us that we can let go and let God be in charge of things. You can draw on and decorate your green circle however you like. Use it as a way to tell God what you re thinking today, and what you want to say to Him. After children have had some time to draw on and cut out their circles, invite them to share about what they re thinking if they feel comfortable doing so. Ask them about things big or small that they want to trust God with, and how it feels to know that God is in charge. Would you like to say, God, You are in charge and I need You? Invite children to tape their circles to the poster board to create a collage. Save the poster for your next Remember & Celebrate weekend. (Optional) Go, Stop, Go The Israelites went through a lot of stops and goes as they forgot God is in charge or when they came back to Him. Illustrate this point with an active rendition of Red Light, Green Light. Red and green signs (from GATHER) Masking tape Upbeat worship music (suggestion: I Trust You, TruWorship Your Love) SET UP
Arrange your room so there s an area with plenty of open floor space to move around. On one side of your space, place a line of masking tape on the floor. This will serve as a starting point for children. Cue the music to play in the background. Gather children in the middle of your game space. God s people didn t always remember that He is in charge. There was a lot of stopping and going, and remembering and forgetting. But God never stopped caring for His people. He always loved them, and He is always in charge. That s why it s important to obey Him. Let s have some fun playing a game with our red and green signs. Explain that kids should spread out along the line of masking tape. You ll stand on the other side of your space. Call out a movement, such as a bunny hop. When you hold the green sign in the air, children should begin to bunny hop toward you. However, as soon as you switch and hold up the red sign, children must stop. Anyone who keeps moving once the red sign is up will return to the starting line and begin again. Once everyone reaches you, send them all back to the starting line and play again with a new movement. Developmentally Speaking Do you have a child who is expressing anger or frustration and not wanting to participate? Try getting down on his level, as opposed to standing over him. Then, listen and repeat what you hear him saying. Offering empathy and a listening ear can quickly de-escalate emotions. Children receive a blessing from their leaders and sometimes one another. A blessing may be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide. Set aside the supplies from RESPOND and gather the children together in a circle. Friends, the Bible tells us that in heaven there are words of praise that are being said to God over and over. The praises sound something like this: You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things (Revelation 4:11a). Invite children to repeat these words with you, one phrase at a time. You are worthy, (kids repeat) our Lord and God, (repeat) to receive glory (repeat) and honor and power, (repeat) for You created all things. (repeat) Repeat as many times as you feel led, and then offer a final blessing over the group. Children, may you always know that you re sons and daughters of the most perfect King. May you remember that God is in charge, and He knows what s best for you. Send home the At Home Weekly with your kids.