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Getting to Know God: Who God Is

Week 11: God Is Our Savior

This includes:

Leader Preparation

Lesson Guide

LEADER PREPARATION

BIBLE BASIS

Most kids know the definition of sin. They’re aware of what it means to turn away from God, their heavenly Father, but are they equally aware of the love and forgiveness God pours on those who repent? Sin is serious stuff and never occurs without consequence. Use this lesson to help kids see God’s forgiving character balanced with the non-negotiable standards of right and wrong set forth in the Bible.

DISCOVERY POINT

God is our Savior.

BIBLE FOCUS

Luke 15:11-24

KEY VERSE

“For there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

TEACHING PREP

The short overview below is designed to help you prepare for your lesson.

Supplies You’ll Need: Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD, LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD, CD player, TV/DVD player, Bibles, and string or yarn

Before This Lesson

• Assemble Bible Exploration Kits (one per four kids): 4 feet of string or yarn.

• Review Luke 15:11-24.

• Cue "Into the Bible" (Track 1) on Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD or (Quarter 5/Track 1) on the LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD.

• Huddle briefly with your volunteers beforehand. Answer any questions they have. Encourage them and pray.

PARENT EMAIL

We’ve provided you with a “Family Devotion” handout to send the Bible learning and faith discovery home. When kids and parents have faith discussions regularly, kids’ faith multiplies.

So we’ve given you two options:

• Print the “Family Devotion” handout and make enough copies for each child to take one home.

• Email the “Family Devotion” to families before or after the actual lesson.

Or why not do both? That way you’ll double the opportunities for parents to actually get the handout.

Getting to Know God: Who God Is

Week 11: God Is Our Savior

LESSON GUIDE

WELCOME!

Supplies: Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD, LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD, CD player, TV/DVD player

1. Play “Into the Bible” (Track 1) from the Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD or (Quarter 5/Track 1) from the LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD as kids arrive.

• “Into the Bible”

Makes me wanna jump!

Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!

Makes me wanna sing! Hallelujah!

It’s the greatest book.

Come and take a look.

Makes me wanna shout!

Shout! Shout! Shout! Shout!

So that everyone will see

I’m getting into the Bible

And the Bible...is getting into me!

We’re discovering a brand-new world

As we dig a little deeper (deeper),

Finding out about who God is.

Open it up and see it (see it)!

There’s nothin’ like

God’s Word, and I get

So excited.

It makes me wanna,

Makes me,

Makes me wanna jump!

Jump! Jump! Jump! Jump!

Makes me wanna sing! Hallelujah!

It’s the greatest book.

Come and take a look.

Makes me wanna shout!

Shout! Shout! Shout! Shout!

So that everyone will see

I’m getting into the Bible

And the Bible...is getting into me!

“Into the Bible” by Jay Stocker. © 2006 Group Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission to use lyrics granted for local church use only. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

2. Invite the kids to form Bible Crews as they arrive, and have each crew sit in a circle. Choose one child in each crew to snort like a pig or oink at the person on his or her right. Continue to pass the oink around the circle until someone laughs when snorting or receiving an oink. The goal is to get the snort around the circle without anyone laughing—which will be nearly impossible. Explain that it’s even more impossible for God not to be excited and happy when we come to him for forgiveness.

3. After several minutes of play,

ASK:

• What was it like when you had to snort? when you had to keep from laughing?

• How easy or hard was it to get the snort all the way around the circle?

SAY: Snorting is sort of gross, kind of like the wrong things we do sometimes. And, just as it was nearly impossible for you to keep from laughing, it’s impossible for God to keep from forgiving us when we turn to him and ask for his forgiveness after we’ve done a wrong thing. That’s why God is our Savior. A Savior is someone who saves us from our sins—the wrong things we do. Let’s read a story Jesus told that will help us understand how God is our Savior.

4. Play the “Python Countdown” (Quarter 5/Countdown Track 2) on the LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD, and have kids call out the numbers as they appear.

LET’S EXPLORE!

Supplies: assembled Bible Exploration Kits, Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD, CD player

1. Have Bible Crews stay in their circles. SAY: We can run in a race or run next door, but running away from God is never a good thing. It always brings unhappiness. Let’s open our Bibles to discover how God shows us his love even when we turn away from him and go our own way.

2. Ask one child from each crew to volunteer his or her shoes for the following activity. Tie the yarn from the Bible Exploration Kit around both shoes leaving a long strand at the end. Place the shoes in front of the owner.

3. Have the kids open their Bibles and take turns reading Luke 15:11-24. After each verse have the readers move the shoes a few inches away from the owners as they hear about the way the prodigal son left his father and went his own way. After verse 17, have the owners pull the shoes back a few inches after each verse as they read of the son’s return to his father. When kids have finished reading,

ASK:

• Tell about a time you’ve felt like the prodigal son and wanted to leave home.

• How did the father show love for his son?

• How do you parents show their love for you?

SAY: When we go our own way and refuse to follow God, it’s as if we’re running away from him. God wants us back. Like the father in Luke 15, God waits for us to return to him, because God is our Savior. That means he pulls us back and promises to forgive us if we admit our sin. We should always run away from sin, but we should never run away from God.

4. Introduce the Prodigal Relay Race by asking the kids to imagine a race in which the contestants are running away from God. The only way to win is to come back to where they started—back to God. Play “Prodigal Son, Part 1” (Track 19) from the Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD.

ASK:

• In what ways are Jim and Jill like or unlike the prodigal son?

• When do you feel like Jim or Jill?

• What do you think God does when we turn away from him and go our own way?

SAY: Jesus used the story of the prodigal son to help us understand how much God loves us. Whenever his children run away from him, he waits for us to return. Let’s tune in again to the Prodigal Relay Race to see how things are going. Play “Prodigal Son, Part 2” (Track 20) from the Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD; then pause the CD.

ASK:

• How is the father in this story like or unlike God?

• How do you think God feels when we sin?

• How do you think God feels when we come back to him?

5. Have the children all stand, facing one direction. Ask kids to begin running in place as they think of a time they felt like turning away from God and going their own way. Invite them to close their eyes and picture God’s face as they imagine themselves running far away from him. After a moment, have the kids stop running and turn to face the opposite direction. Invite them to once again run in place, but this time ask that they think about God’s love and forgiveness. Have them close their eyes and picture God’s face as they come back to God.

After a moment, SAY: Sin always leads us into trouble and away from God. God won’t ignore our sin, but he will forgive us and welcome us back if we ask him. God is our Savior, and he sent Jesus to die for our sins so we can be forgiven and be close to him forever. Because God is our Savior, he will offer us forgiveness and welcome us back when we turn to him. God loves us and wants us close. When we sin, we can turn around and run back to God.

LET’S PRAISE!

Supplies: Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD or LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD, CD player or TV/DVD player

1. SAY: Let’s welcome one another to our praise time. Give your friendliest handshake to someone on another Bible Crew, and tell a friend you’re glad he or she is here today. Give the kids a minute to greet one another.

2. SAY: You welcomed one another by shaking hands. Did you know that God welcomes us whenever we come to him in prayer? Any time we ask his forgiveness, we can know that God will receive us back. God will never refuse to shake our hand! God is our Savior, and he gets excited whenever we come to him. Let’s come to God now and sing praises to our wonderful God.

3. Set up the Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD or the LIVE Children’s Curriculum (Year 2) DVD. PLAY:

• “Nothing Is Impossible” (Luke 1:37) (CD Track 3) (DVD Quarter 5/Track 3)

Sometimes when you don’t know what to do,

It feels like you don’t even have a clue.

That is when you’ve got to turn to God,

Because you know that he can do anything!

Nothing is impossible with God!

Nothing is impossible with God! Yeah!

(Repeat from the beginning.)

“Nothing Is Impossible” (Luke 1:37) by Jay Stocker. © 2005, 2008, 2011 Group Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission to use lyrics granted for local church use only. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

• “You Know Everything About Me” (Psalm 139:1-3) (CD Track 4) (DVD Quarter 5/Track 4)

O Lord, you have examined my heart;

You know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up;

You know everything about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

O Lord, you know my thoughts and my ways;

You know everything about me.

You chart the path that I take;

You know everything about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything;

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

O Lord, you have examined my heart;

You know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up;

You know everything about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

You know everything,

Every little thing about me, about me.

“You Know Everything About Me” (Psalm 139:1-3) by Ben Glover and Jay Stocker. © 2004 Group Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved. Permission to use lyrics granted for local church use only. No unauthorized duplication permitted.

• “How Great Thou Art” (CD Track 6) (DVD Quarter 5/Track 6)

O Lord, my God,

When I in awesome wonder

Consider all the works your hands have made,

I see the stars,

I hear the rolling thunder,

Your power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to thee.

How great thou art,

How great thou art!

Then sings my soul,

My Savior God, to thee.

How great thou art,

How great thou art!

(Repeat from the beginning.)

“How Great Thou Art” by Carl G. Boberg.

LET’S PRAY!

Supplies: Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD, CD player

1. Ahead of time, designate three separate areas in your room as “pigpen,” “home sweet home,” and a “banquet table.” Gather all the kids together and SAY: When we realize that God is our Savior, we begin to understand that God is a very special friend. Like the prodigal son, we sometimes turn away from God. However, when we choose to follow God’s way and return to him, we find that God welcomes and forgives us—just as the father did his son. That is an awesome thing to remember about our God. Let’s visit some familiar places from our Bible story as we quietly reflect on the things we learned about who God is.

2. Explain the three prayer areas, and invite the kids to rotate around each one. SAY: At the “pigpen” area, take a few moments to ask God to help you turn away from any sin in your heart that makes you feel like running away from him. Tell him that you’re sorry, and ask his forgiveness. At “home sweet home,” pray for the members of your family to know and follow God. At the “banquet table,” celebrate God’s forgiveness and love by thanking God for being your Savior.

3. Play the instrumental version of “How Great Thou Art” (Track 14) from the Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD as the kids move from station to station. Signal the end of this prayer activity by fading the music out and inviting everyone to say “amen.”

HIGH FIVES

Supplies: none

Have kids scatter around the room facing different directions. SAY: God is our Savior. If we’ve turned away from God, we can turn around and find him. Explain that about-face means turn and face the opposite direction. Have kids do an about-face and oink or snort as they high five.

FOR-EXTRA-TIME ACTIVITIES

Lost and Found

Supplies: none

Have kids each find one random item in your meeting area and return to their Bible Crews. Ask kids to make up a story about how the item was lost and then found. After kids have shared their stories, have them talk about how they lose things sometimes and how God never loses things.

Good Choice, Bad Choice

Supplies: “Good Choice, Bad Choice” handout

Remind the kids that the prodigal son made some bad choices that led him away from God. Read the statements on the “Good Choice, Bad Choice” handout one at a time in any order. Have the kids move forward the allotted steps if a Good Choice statement applies to them. Have them step backward the allotted steps when a Bad Choice statement applies to them. Explain that good choices move us closer to God, but bad choices take us away. It is always a good choice to follow God.

Create a Bible Dictionary

Supplies: paper, markers, dictionary, CD player, Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD

Ask kids to create one or more pages, each with a new word, for a Bible dictionary. Have kids suggest words from today’s lesson—prodigal and savior are two suggestions. Have them write each word on a sheet of paper in fun letters, add a definition, list Scripture references, and make illustrations. Play “The Books of the Bible Song” (Track 8), from the Getting to Know God: Who God Is (Year 2/Quarter 5) CD while kids work. Add each page to a three-ring binder, and watch the dictionary grow!

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