Bible Point
Bible Verse
“Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8a).
Growing Closer to Jesus
Children will n discover what God is like,
n find out how to get to know God, and n understand that they’re special to God.
Teacher Enrichment
Bible Basis
n
God speaks to Moses.
God spoke to Moses and promised him that Israel would be his treasured possession, his holy people—if they would obey him. After Moses told the people what God had said, they responded gratefully: “We will do everything the Lord has commanded.” God responded by telling Moses that he would come down himself and speak with the Israelites from a cloud.
Why was God so concerned about people coming up the mountain to “see” him? Because he wanted them to realize the extent of his holiness and of their unrighteousness. Only Moses and Aaron were allowed to approach God, and then only as the people’s representatives, not on the basis of their own holiness.
The law God gave spelled out how the Israelites were to honor him through their obedience. The Ten
Commandments contained the essence of that law. The first four commandments, having to do with our relationship with God, spell out the position of priority and honor that he is to hold in our lives. The last six, dealing with our relationships with others (Exodus 20:12-17), give us lots of guidance on how to respect others.
Prayer
God wants us
to know him.
Exodus
19:3–20:21
Section
What Children Will Do
Classroom Supplies
Learning Lab Supplies
Welcome
Welcome!—Receive a warm welcome from the teacher, and make name tags.“Trumpet Name Tags” handout (p. 107), scissors, markers, tape
Attention
Grabber
How Do You Do?—themselves to each other, and Introduce play a game to find out that people’s actions and characteristics identify them.Index cards, pen
Bible
Exploration &
Application
Moses on the Mountain—
Act out the story from Exodus 19:3–20:21 of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments.
Bible, CD player, newspapers
Becoming Like God—Make rubbings of pictures, and read James 4:8a and Ephesians 5:1 to learn that when they come close to God, God comes close to them and they become more like him.
Bible, paper, tape, crayons
Magnetic Attraction—
Experiment with marbles to learn how we can draw closer to God, and then read Psalm 34:8.
Bibles, sweet treat such as mini marshmallows or gumdrops
Closing
Best Friends—Talk about their best friends, read John 15:15, and learn that God cares about them as best friends.Bible
Before the Lesson
n Collect items for the activities you plan to use, referring to the Classroom supplies and Learning Lab supplies listed in the chart.
n Make photocopies of the “Growing Together” handout (at the end of this lesson) to send home with your children. n Pray for your students and for God’s direction in teaching the lesson.
Welcome
SupplieS: “Trumpet Name Tags” handout (p. 107), scissors, markers, tape
• Greet each child individually with an enthusiastic smile. • Thank each child for coming to class today.
• As children arrive, ask them about last week’s “Growing Together” activities. Use ques-tions such as “Where did you discover that you could worship God last week?” • Say: Today we’re going to learn that God wants us to know him.
• Hand out the name tags children made during Lesson 9, and help children attach the name tags to their clothing. If some of the name tags were damaged, or if children weren’t in class that week, have children make new name tags using the photocopiable handout.
• Tell children that you’ll raise your hand to get their attention. They should respond by raising their hands and focusing their attention on you. Rehearse this signal, and encourage the children to respond quickly so you’ll have time for all the fun activities in this lesson.
Attention Grabber
n
How Do You Do?
SupplieS: index cards, pen
Before class, write easily identifiable job titles on index cards. Make enough cards for every child to have a different one. For example, you could write these job titles on six dif-ferent cards: firefighter, police officer, bus driver, doctor, teacher, and cook. (Be sure not to indicate gender on the cards; for example, use “firefighter” rather than “fireman.”)
During class, have the children stand in a circle to formally introduce themselves. Start by bowing and shaking hands with the child on your left. In your best aristocratic voice, say: How do you do? I’m [your name], and I’m so very pleased to meet you. Then have that child introduce himself or herself to the next person in the circle, using the same words. Continue until everyone has been introduced.
Say: Now that we’ve introduced ourselves, let’s play a game in which we can pretend we’re other people.
Have children sit in a circle. Have a volunteer pick a card, give a clue, and act out the occupation named on the card. For example, a child who chooses “police officer” might say, “I help children when they’re lost.” Then that person might pretend to
It’s important to say the Bible Point just as it’s written in each activity. Repeating the Bible Point over and over throughout the lesson will help kids remember it and apply it to their lives.
Say: It can be a lot of fun getting to know people and making friends. There’s one friend who really wants to know each one of us better than anybody—and that’s God! God wants us to know him. Today we’re going to find out more about getting to know God. Let’s look in the Bible to find out how some other people learned about God.
Bible Exploration & Application
n
Moses on the Mountain
SupplieS: Bible, CD player, newspapers
Have the children sit in a circle. Open your Bible to Exodus 19:3–20:21, and show children the passage. Let the children use the Learning Lab items to help you tell the story.
Say: This story takes place near a mountain, so let’s build a mountain. Have the children crumple newspaper into wads and pile the paper wads in the center of the circle.
Hold a stackable clown on top of the paper mountain, and say: Moses went to the mountain to talk to God. God called to him and said, “Tell all the Israelites to remember how I took care of them and released them from being slaves in Egypt. Tell them that if they will obey me and keep our agreement, they will be my people.”
So Moses went down the mountain (move the Moses clown down), called the people together, and told them what God said. All the people agreed to follow God.
When Moses told God that the people wanted to obey him, God said, “I will come to you in a thick cloud, Moses, so the people themselves can hear me when I speak with you.”
Then God told Moses to tell all the Israelites to spend three days prepar-ing themselves. They washed their clothes and got ready to meet with God. Let’s pretend to wash our clothes and ourselves to get ready to meet with God. Act out washing with the children.
God said the people must not come too close to the mountain because it was a holy place. Let’s use the Chinese jump-rope to show the line the people couldn’t cross. Have the children help you encircle the mountain with the
Chinese jump-rope.
When the people were clean and ready to meet God, they gathered near the line. Have children line up the stackable clowns around the Chinese jump-rope. Retain the clown that represents Moses. There was thunder (have the children stomp their feet), lightning (flash the classroom lights), and a thick cloud. All the people knew that God was there. They shook all over because they knew that God is great and mighty.
God called to Moses and told him to come up the mountain. So Moses climbed the mountain to meet with God. Hold the Moses clown at the top of the mountain again. While Moses was on the mountain, God gave him rules to tell the people below. The rules explained how God wanted them to live. Here’s the first thing God said: “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from
Encouraging children to participate in the story and point out where the characters of the story are demonstrating the Bible Point will help kids discover how the story
the land of Egypt, where you were slaves. You must not have any other god but me.”
God wanted the people to know that he is the only real God. He wanted the people to know that he was the one who had rescued them from a terrible life in Egypt.
Then God explained that the people shouldn’t worship idols—they should worship only God. He asked them not to use the name of God thoughtlessly. He said one day a week would be set aside for the people to worship; they shouldn’t work on that day. Then he told Moses to tell the people to obey their parents, to not kill people, to make marriage a special promise, to not take anything that didn’t belong to them, to tell the truth all the time, and to be happy with the things they had.
Moses went back down the mountain (move the Moses clown down the mountain) and told the people all the rules God wanted them to follow. When the people saw lightning and smoke rising from the mountain, they were scared. They heard thunder, and then they shook because they were so afraid. Have children shake the clowns. They stood far away from the moun-tain. The people said, “Moses, you must speak to us yourself. We’ll listen to you. But please don’t let God speak directly, or we will die!” How would your face and body look if you were that scared? Have the children show you scared faces and fearful postures.
But Moses said, “Don’t be afraid. God wants you to respect him and obey his rules and do right. God doesn’t want you to be scared of him.”
Ask: • What do you think the people learned about God? (That God is pow-erful; that God can make thunder and lightning; that God has rules.)
• Does God want us to be scared of him? Why or why not? (Yes, because God might hurt us if we don’t obey him; no, God loves us.)
Say: God wanted the people to understand him and realize that it’s important to follow him. The Israelites learned a lot about God. They learned that there is only one God and he is very special. And they learned that God has important rules for them to follow.
Play “Obey My Commandments” (John 14:15) from the CD (track 5). Encourage children to sing along and clap with the song. Song lyrics are at the back of this teacher guide.
Say: God gave us commandments so we could learn about him. God
wants us to know him. Let’s find out more about getting to know God.
Return the stackable clowns and Chinese jump-rope to the Learning Lab.
The children will learn more about the Ten Commandments in a lesson next quarter. This lesson’s focus is to teach children that God wants them to know him.
Bible Insight
The covenant God made with Moses outlined God’s moral, civil, and ceremonial laws. These laws established the form for Jewish worship in the Old Testament and directed the life of God’s chosen people for the remainder of the Old Testament period. Today Christians no longer follow the ceremonial and civil laws outlined in Exodus, but the Ten Commandments are timeless truths.
• What do you know about God? (God is kind; God is loving; God is powerful; God is good; God can do miracles.)
• How do you know what God is like? (From what I learn in church; from what my mom says; from what the Bible says.)
Say: Listen to what the Bible says about God. Read James 4:8a and
Ephesians 5:1 from an easy-to-understand version of the Bible such as the Hands-On
Bible in the child-friendly New Living Translation. We’re going to come close to
God and see how we can imitate God.
Give each child another sheet of paper and a crayon. Say: This sheet of paper stands for you, so write your name at the top of it. Now put your sheet of paper on top of the paper that tells about God. Then rub the side of your crayon across the page. Demonstrate this for the children.
Give children a few minutes to rub their crayons across the page. Let them use different-colored crayons if they want to.
When their pictures are finished, say: Now the papers that represent you show a picture of what God is like. That can happen in real life, too. You can show what God is like. The closer you get to God and the more you learn about God, the easier it becomes to imitate God. God wants us to know
him, and it makes God very happy when we become like him.
Children may take the pictures home with them. Return the craft sticks to the Learning Lab.
Hands-On BiBle
Have children open their Hands-On Bibles to exodus 19 and find the “Whadya Say?” activity located nearby. Say: Moses went up on
a mountaintop so he could hear God clearly. The Bible says Moses heard God speak directly to him out loud. God speaks to us, too, but usually in different ways, and especially through the Bible. let’s read together.
Read through the activity together with the class. Encourage volunteer readers to participate, too. Pause after each section, and look up the Bible verse or verses listed there. Then have the children spread out across the room so no one is touching anyone else. Have children take a moment to pray silently about a specific need, problem, or desire they have. Then ask:
• Why is it important that we listen to God? (Because he tells us the right things
to do; because he’s important; because he’s always with us.)
• What is one way we can listen to God? (We can pray; we can listen to what
God says in the Bible.)
Say: God wants us to know him, so it’s important that we learn how to listen
to him. The more we know about God, the more we imitate God, so other people can get to know him, too.
Close in prayer, thanking God for listening to our prayers. Ask God to help us to listen to him more, day by day.
If students answer an open-ended question with responses such as “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure,” encourage them to dig deeper by saying, “Pretend you do know,” or “Take a guess anyway.” Stimulate further discussion with such questions as “What else could that mean?” or “What other ideas come to your mind?”
n
Magnetic Attraction
SupplieS: Bible, sweet treat such as mini marshmallows or gumdrops
Divide the class into three groups. Give each group two
magnetic marbles. Have children explore what is unique
about these marbles (that they are magnetic; that they stick together). Have children experiment how far apart they can put the marbles and still have the marbles pull together. Invite the students to roll one marble past the other and see how close the marbles have to get to pull together.
Say: When we praise God, we are growing closer to him. We pull closer to God, and he pulls closer to us.
Now have the whole class come together and pool their marbles. Designate one mar-ble to represent God. The other marmar-bles represent children in the class. Roll all of the “child marbles” toward the “God marble” until all are connected. Ask:
• What did the child marbles do when they got close to the God marble? (They stuck together; they pulled closer together.)
• What do you think God wants us to do? (Stick together; come closer to him.) Say: God wants us to know him! The more we know God, the closer we get to him. Listen to what our Bible Verse for today says about getting to know God. This comes from Psalm 34:8a: “Taste and see that the Lord is good.”
Ask: • What do you think God is like? (God is probably nice; God is good.) • How can we get to know God by finding out what he is like? (We can talk to people about God; we can come to church.)
Return the magnetic marbles to the Learning Lab. Then hand out a sweet treat, such as a mini marshmallow or a gumdrop, to each child. As each child receives his or her treat, have the child suggest one word that describes what he or she thinks God might be like. Answers might include “big,” “strong,” “loving,” “good,” or “sweet.”
Say: Just as the marbles drew closer together when we moved them together, we draw closer to God when we find out what he is like. Our little snack can remind us that God is good! And that means we will want to come back and learn more and more about God.
Closing
Best Friends
see
page 5.
Warning
This product contains magnets. Swallowed magnets can attract each other through opposing intestine walls, causing serious infection and death. Seek immediate medical attention if magnets are swallowed or inhaled.
you might say that what you like most about your best friend is that he or she is very kind. When you’ve completed the sentence, have the child on your left complete the sentence. Go around the circle, and let every child share.
Say: God wants us to know him as well as we know our best friends. In fact, the Bible calls us God’s friends. Listen to what Jesus says. Read John 15:15 from the Hands-On Bible or another easy-to-understand version.
Ask: • How does it make you feel to know that Jesus considers you a friend? (Good; special; like Jesus cares about me.)
• What do good friends do to show that they’re friends? (They play together; they laugh; they do nice things for each other; they talk on the phone.)
• What can we do to show that we’re friends with Jesus? (We can do things that make Jesus happy; we can love Jesus; we can go to church; we can pray to God.)
Say: Those are great ideas. When we believe in Jesus, he becomes our best friend here on earth and our forever friend in heaven. Let’s pray to God, our heavenly Father, and thank him for wanting to be friends with us.
Pray: Dear God, thank you for sending us Jesus to be our forever friend. Help us get to know you better. You are so good! Thank you for giving us the Bible to teach us about you and your Son, Jesus. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Growing closer to Jesus extends
beyond the classroom.
Photocopy the “Growing Together” handout (at the end of this lesson) for this week, and send it home with your children. Encourage children and parents to use the handout to plan meaningful activities on this week’s topic. Follow up the “Growing Together” activities next week by asking children what their families did together.
Help first- and second-graders understand that they can get to know God without seeing him because they have faith that he is real. Remind them to praise and thank God as often as they ask for things in prayer.
God wants us t
o know him.
Key Verse
“Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8a).
B
ook
L
earning
Write a book about God. Have your child complete these five sentences and draw pictures to
correspond with them: “God tastes like…”; “God looks like…”; “God sounds like…”; “God feels like…”; “God smells like…” Have your child design a construction paper cover for the book. Punch holes in the pages, and tie them together with ribbon. Send the book to a family member.
F
inding
g
od
Play this game at night on a nearby football or soccer field. Read James 4:8a. Stand on one side of the field, and have your child stand with a friend
g
od
i
s
L
ike
…
Read Hosea 6:3 together. Talk about how God can be like the arrival of the dawn and like the coming of rains in early spring. Then make this necklace as a reminder. Combine 4 cups flour, 1 cup salt, and 1½ cups water. Roll out the dough, and cut 2-inch star-shaped cookies to represent the sun (arrival of the dawn). Cut 2-inch raindrops with a knife. Poke holes in the tops of the “cookies” with a straw. Place them on a cookie sheet, and bake them at 350 degrees for about an hour. Turn the cookies over while they’re baking so they bake flat. When they’re cool, decorate the stars and raindrops with markers. Then string them on a shoestring to make a necklace.
Today your child learned that God wants us to know him.
Children learned to be friends with God and to “taste and
see” that God is good. Use these activities to teach your
child that God never changes, that God’s love is unfailing,
and that God is good to get to know.
Bible Story
God speaks to Moses. Exodus 19:3–20:21
