God Awakens
Bible Passage: 2 Kings 22—23
(King Josiah)
REMEMBER VERSE
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”
Luke 4:8
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Tru Mission Statement
Tru helps kids and their families connect to God, find their place in His big story, and respond to Him through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Lesson Path: Seeing the Mission Statement in a Tru Lesson
Connecting leaders to God ...
Inspire, Equip, and SupportConnects kids and their families to God …
HomeFront Weekly Anticipate… His big story …
Celebrate… And invites them to respond to Him …
Respond… Through the power of the Holy Spirit.
BlessNavigating Lesson 2.8
Below you will find additional information to enhance lesson sections as needed.
Anticipate
Sleep and DreamsTo expand upon the “waking up” theme, encourage staff and volunteers to come to church in pajamas.
Celebrate
Connect Activity: Lights OnThis activity calls for the lights to be dimmed and brightened. If this isn’t possible in your room, bring in a lamp and turn it off and on instead.
Prayer Wall Worship Response Station
For information about how to build this response station, see the “How It Works” document under the Supporting Lesson Resources section of the My Lessons page.
Respond
Small Group Enhancement“Would You Rather?” activities are available for this lesson. Premium, Unlimited, and Combo users may find them in the Resource Files.
Light Jar
The glue mixture for this activity will need to be created immediately before church starts or during the storytelling time. This way, it remains a liquid and stays thin enough to use during this activity. If you decide not to use this mixture, simply use a dot of glue on the back of each child’s tissue paper to adhere it to the bottle or jar.
Bless
Anticipate// 5–10 min.
Option 1: Sleep and Dreams
(for Younger and Older Kids)
The following activity will get the children thinking about sleeping and waking up. Later, in The Big God Story, they’ll hear about the concept of spiritual awakening.
SUPPLIES
s s
s s
s
s PREPARE AHEAD
Print the Sleep and Dreams Facts sheets.
SET UP
Tape the Sleep and Dreams Facts sheets around the room.
Place the pillows and blankets around the room. Optional: Set out the oversized pajamas.
ENGAGE
Sleep is good for us, and it helps us to grow strong and healthy. But it’s also good to be awake. What or who helps you to wake up each day? Allow answers. Great thoughts!
Let’s discover more about sleeping and dreaming.
Tech: Cue Snoring sound effect. Lead the children in exploring the facts about sleeping and dreaming. Discuss the facts that interest them most. Optional: Encourage kids to wear the oversized pajamas over their clothes during this activity.
Option 2: Wake Up and Find
(for Younger and Older Kids)
With this activity, get your kids thinking about waking up and finding something that guides them throughout their day. Later, in The Big God Story, they’ll hear about King Josiah finding God’s laws and how those laws guided him in leading the Israelites.
SUPPLIES
s
s SET UP
Optional: Spread out the pillows and blankets on the floor around the room.
ENGAGE
Sleep is good for us, and it helps us to grow strong and healthy. But it’s also good to be awake. What or who helps you to wake up each day? Invite responses. Great thoughts!
Once we’re awake, we can plan for the rest of the day. A calendar or day planner helps us to make those plans.
Tell your kids that today they’ll play a version of hide-and- seek—but instead of looking for other children, they’ll look for a calendar or day planner. First, designate an area of the room to be “in bounds.” Let kids know that the calendar won’t be hidden outside the designated boundaries. Give the calendar to one of the kids; he will be the first person to hide it. Then, invite the rest of the group to lie down on the floor and close their eyes as if they’re sleeping. (If you have pillows and blankets, the kids can lounge on them as they “sleep.”)
Finally, release the child with the calendar to hide it
somewhere in the room. Once it’s hidden, shout, “Wake up and find!” and encourage the kids to stand up and search for the calendar. The child who finds it gets to be the next person to hide it. Play several rounds as time permits.
GROUP
S E C T I O N
- On a typical morning how do you plan for your day once you’re awake?
- Do you plan things like the clothes you will wear that morning or the night before?
- Do you wake up at different times on different days?
- Do you have a different routine on school mornings vs. Sunday mornings vs. Saturday mornings?
Questions:
Celebrate// 35–55 min.
GROUP
S E C T I O N
Welcome &
Traditions//
s
s leader and one child stand in the middle of the circle and make up a secret handshake. Once they’ve decided on a handshake, invite each child to try it with the person next to him. Then invite the kids to mill around the room and try to shake as many hands as possible before storytelling begins.
Remember
Verse//
s Big God Story.
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and
serve him only.’”
Luke 4:8Connect//
Invite the children to ask one another the following question or one of your own. Encourage them to ask someone they may not know. After a minute or two, ask several children to tell the group their friends’ answers.(For Connect Question and Connect Activity slides, see Resource Files.)
Question
What would you do if you found a lost treasure?
Activity: Lights On
Dim the lights or turn off a set of lights and have the kids walk around the room. Then, turn the lights on so they’re as bright as possible. When the lights go on, have each child find the person closest to him and together discuss the Connect Question. After about 30 seconds, dim the lights and repeat the process.
The Big God
Story//
SUPPLIESss s s s SET UP
Place the cleaning items in the storytelling area.
Worship
Response//
SUPPLIES
s
s s
SET UP
Station leaders around the room to talk with any kids interested in learning more about finding salvation in Jesus.
Optional: Write “What needs to be done?” on the butcher paper and tape it to the wall at a height the kids can reach. Place the markers nearby.
Ponder Point: God Awakens
Worship Song: “Do Life Big
The Big God Story
Bible Passage: 2 Kings 22—23
Storytelling Technique: Verbal Response, Sound Effects, and Images ENGAGE
Before children arrive, go onstage and pretend to be asleep while sitting in a chair or lying on the floor. Tech: Dim lights. When ready to begin, cue Alarm Clock sound effect and Alarm Clock slide, and bring up lights.
Wake up suddenly and look startled. I’m awake! I’m awake! Yawn and stretch. I’m glad that alarm clock awakened me. What does awaken mean? Invite responses. Right, it means to wake someone up. How many of you are awake right now? Invite kids to raise hands. All of you! When we sleep, we don’t know what’s going on in the world outside of our minds. Sleep is good for us, but life happens when we’re awake. And sometimes, when God reveals Himself to us, it feels like waking up! Let’s ask God to awaken us today as we hear from His Word. Lead kids in Prayer of Release.
In The Big God Story, the Israelites sometimes stopped obeying God. It was sort of like they fell asleep. King David, whom we heard about a few weeks ago, loved God with his whole heart and led Israel to worship God, but the evil kings who came after David led the people to disobey God’s commands and forget about His laws. The people started worshipping false gods instead of the one true God! They weren’t in relationship with Him. So God raised up a king to help the people remember His laws. Why? Tech: Cue Alarm Clock sound effect and Alarm Clock slide. Because God awakens us to His Word so we can obey Him and be in relationship with Him. Today, whenever you hear the alarm clock sound effect, I want you to stand up and say, “God awakens!” Tech: Cue Alarm Clock sound effect and Alarm Clock slide as the kids practice.
This king, named Josiah, was only eight years old when he became king. Raise your hand if you’re eight years old. Invite kids to raise hands. Even though Josiah was a young king, God awakened the king’s heart to Him. First, God led Josiah to repair the temple. The temple was where God’s people went to worship Him, but it was worn down after many years of no one taking care of the building. As the high priest handled the repairs and cleaning, he found something that the Israelites had forgotten about:
the Book of the Covenant, which contained God’s laws. At that time, the people didn’t have copies of God’s Word like we have today. They kept God’s Word, the Book of the Covenant, in the temple, where it had been forgotten for years.
The high priest sent the Book of the Covenant over to King Josiah. When Josiah heard God’s Word, God awakened Josiah to who God is and what God desired for the Israelites. Then Josiah became very sad, because he knew that the people had disobeyed God’s laws. Invite kids to open their Bibles to 2 Kings 22:13 and follow along as you read. God awakened Josiah to the truth that the one true God wanted His people to obey Him and stop worshipping false gods. God desired for the Israelites to be in right relationship with Him! Tech: Cue Alarm Clock sound effect and Alarm Clock slide. Invite kids to stand and say, “God awakens!”
Just as God awakened Josiah, God also awakened the people of Israel. Read 2 Kings 23:3 as kids follow along. That day, King Josiah renewed the covenant that God’s people had made with God many years ago. With this covenant, the Israelites had promised to follow God and keep all of His commands. How did the people respond when Josiah renewed this covenant?
Invite responses. Yes, they promised to keep the covenant too. They promised to obey God’s commands so they could be in relationship with Him.
Once God awakened the Israelites, King Josiah led them to clean away everything having to do with worshipping false gods. Use the cleaning items as you talk about cleaning away false worship. Josiah removed statues, altars, and other things used to worship false gods. Tech: Cue Altar and Shrine slides. Why did all of these changes happen in Israel? Tech: Cue Alarm Clock
Optional to use this idea - or simply act like you’re waking up from a chair.
Tech: Cue Timeline Animation Video
& Lord’s Prayer
sound effect and Alarm Clock slide. Invite kids to stand and say, “God awakens!” God awakened the Israelites to obey His Word and live in relationship with Him.
After God awakened the Israelites to Him, the people celebrated the Passover feast. What is Passover? Invite responses.
Passover is the holiday that God set up for His people to remember and celebrate how He had freed them from the Egyptians.
Read vv. 21–23 while everyone follows along. The Passover hadn’t been celebrated for hundreds of years, but now King Josiah ordered everyone to celebrate it! The Israelites did this because … Tech: Cue Alarm Clock sound effect and Alarm Clock slide.
Invite kids to stand and say, “God awakens!”
Just as God awakened His people in the days of King Josiah, God awakens us today! When we hear God’s Word, the Holy Spirit speaks to us through it. In this way, God “wakes us up” to His laws so we can obey Him and be in right relationship with Him. God loves us, pursues us, and awakens us to Him. Share about a time when God’s Spirit awakened you through His Word.
Worship Response
ENGAGE
God awakened King Josiah and the Israelites through His Word. God also awakens our hearts today. He loves us and wants a relationship with us, so He awakens us to Himself!
When we choose to trust in Jesus, we’re saved from our sins, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us, and we enter into a relationship with God. The Holy Spirit inside us helps us to obey God’s commands. Has God awakened you to something in His Word today? Has He awakened you to obey Him in a specific way? God desires for us to obey Him because we love Him and want to please Him.
Maybe you’re not in relationship with God. Simply obeying God’s laws isn’t enough to bring us into relationship with Him;
only trusting in Jesus and what He did on the cross can do that. Then, when we’re in that relationship, God awakens us to obey His laws. He doesn’t leave us to obey Him on our own! Is God awakening you to trust in Jesus for the first time?
Tech: Cue music. Encourage the children to spend some time thinking and praying about these questions. Then invite them to visit the Prayer Wall and write their prayers and thoughts. (Optional: Invite them to write their prayers and thoughts on the butcher paper.) Let the kids know that if any of them want to know more about starting a relationship with God by trusting in Jesus, they can talk with any of the leaders stationed around the room.
JESUS
OU R FUTU
RE WITH J ESUS
YOU & M E
AB RAHAM AD AM & EVE
MOS
ES JOSHUA
SAM
UEL KING D
AVI
D ELIJAH
KIN
G J OS IAH
JEREM
IAH
SHAD
RACH/MESHACH/ABEDNEGO DANIEL ESTHER NEHEMIAH ZECHARIAH SIMEON/ANNA
MAR
Y
ZA CCHAE
US
LYD IA COR
NELIUS PH
ILIP PETE
R JAM
ES JOH
N
PA UL APOSTLES
400 YEARS OF WAITING
Song: “I Am Listening To You”
Respond// 15–20 min.
Reflect: God Awakens
God awakened Josiah’s heart to Him when Josiah heard God’s laws. Josiah responded to God by leading the Israelites in turning back to God, destroying everything related to false worship, and reestablishing the Passover feast. Amazing things can happen when God awakens us to His Word. Encourage the kids to open their Bibles and read the suggested passages.
Questions for Younger Kids
s 2 Kings 22:1
s worship? 2 Kings 23:1–15
s respond? 2 Kings 23:3
s Passover? 2 Kings 23:21–23
s
Questions for Older Kids
s 2 Kings 22:8
s 2 Kings 22:11
s s
worship? 2 Kings 23:1–15
s respond? 2 Kings 23:3
s Passover? 2 Kings 23:21–23
s did you respond to Him?
Create: Light Jar
SUPPLIES
s s
s s
s s
s s
s
s SET UP
Cut the tissue paper into three- or four-inch squares. Clean the plastic bottle or glass jar and remove any labels. For the bottle, cut off the top. For the glass jar, remove the lid. Optional: Spread out the disposable tablecloth on the table where the kids will be working, and keep the hand wipes nearby.
ENGAGE
When God awakened Josiah’s heart through His Word, the king may have felt as though a light had just turned on.
King Josiah saw what God desired for His people and led them to live as God’s people again. Let’s create a light jar as we remember the ways our lives look different when God awakens us.
Invite each child to take a square of tissue paper and a marker and draw a symbol that represents a time God awakened her to obey Him and live in relationship with Him. The symbol can also represent something God is doing in her life right now. For example, if she thinks God is asking her to tell others in her school about Jesus, she might draw a picture of the school.
Next, place each child’s tissue paper square against the jar and paint the glue mixture over the tissue paper to make it adhere. Or, you could simply put liquid glue on the back of each square and stick it to the jar. (The kids can help you with this.) Finally, turn on the tea light candle and put it inside the jar. (Optional: Dim the lights.) As you all enjoy the colorful light, encourage the kids to share what they drew and why.
Display the light jar during the next REMEMBER &
CELEBRATE weekend.
GROUP
S E C T I O N
Invite the children to lie on the ground and close their eyes as if they’re sleeping. Let them know that as you read the following verse, they should listen for the words “wake up,” and when they hear these words, they should open their eyes and sit up.
Open a Bible and read Ephesians 5:13–16.
But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Now encourage the kids to stand as you bless them.
May Christ’s light shine on you so that you can clearly see how God desires for you to live. May you obey Him and follow Him as you walk in that light.
Bless// 5 min. GROUPS E C T I O N
Be sure to send home the HomeFront Weekly for next week’s lesson! This preteaching tool for parents encourages families to spend time in God’s Word together before children arrive at church.
