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» Christ in the Old Testament
1
God Loves You!
Snack
Have a party to celebrate Valentine's Day and God's love for us. (It doesn't have to be on February 14; pick any day and celebrate together.)
Write "God Loves You" on each piece of construction paper. Cut the letters apart (into 11 pieces) and hide them around the room (while the kids aren't looking). Assign each child a color and invite him or her to find a special message. When all the letters have been found, unscramble the letters to decipher the message. (Older kids can help the younger ones.)
Ask:
How do you know God loves you? (He created you special; He watches over you; He answers your prayers; He sent Jesus to die for your sins; He's making a place for you in heaven; He shows us the way to live in the Bible, etc.)
Share a snack of cupcakes and milk. Make regular cupcakes into heart-shaped ones by wadding a piece of foil into a ball and putting it on one side of the cupcake before baking. Remove the ball when cooled to reveal a heart-shaped cupcake. Frost and let kids decorate with sprinkles or small candies.
2
Boss for a Day
Kids using the D6 curriculum learned that Jesus cleansed the temple of people who were robbing the people and misusing the temple. God's house was to be a place of prayer and worship, but instead dishonest people had ruined it. Jesus showed His authority by making the people leave.
Ask:
If you were the principal (in charge) of a school and could change any of the rules, what 3 things would you do?
How would these change things for the better at your school?
Talk about how being in authority brings responsibility to do what is right. Jesus used His authority to clean God's house of wrongdoing.
3
YourTemple 2.0
Items Needed: computer
Game to load onto the computer
Load the game onto the computer and play it with your kids. Talk about what is loaded onto the computer stays there. Our minds are like a computer. It stores what we put into it.
Read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20—Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s (NKJV).
As Christ followers, we are now the temple of God.
Ask:
How can we keep the temple of God clean? Eat a bar of soap? (NO)
We must be careful what we allow into our bodies—what we listen to, watch, read, eat, or drink. (Garbage in--Garbage out) We must keep garbage out of our bodies to keep God's temple clean.
Ask the kids to come up with some guidelines. (We should allow ________; we should avoid ________________.)
4
Why? Because!
Items Needed: slips of paper or index cards
Pencils
Two small bowls to hold the slips of paper
Play Why? Because!
Give each person two slips of paper and a pencil. Ask them to write a question on one that starts with Why? (Why is milk white? Why do I have to go to bed at 8?) Then on the other slip, write a Because answer. (Because it's not green; because you turn into a monster at 9.) Keep the Why questions separate from the Because answers and put them in two separate bowls.
Mix up the questions in each bowl. Let one person choose a Why question and read it aloud. Then ask another person to randomly choose a Because answer and read it. (Hopefully, they will not pick one that actually answers the question.) Read all the questions and answers.
This was a silly game of questions and answers, but there are many questions we don't always know the answers to. There are questions we may like to ask God. God doesn't always answer our questions, but we can know that He is wise AND good. God is in charge and He will do what is best for us when we love and obey Him (Romans 8:28).
5
Handiwork
Ask each family member to draw a picture. When all are finished, praise each person's "handiwork”-–work of their hands.
How would you feel if I grabbed your picture and tried to tear it up? (I would be angry; I would tell you to leave it alone, etc.)
Just as your picture belongs to you and you have the right to say what happens to it, the world belongs to God and He has the right to rule over it. Psalm 19:1 says that the skies are God's handiwork. He made the sun, moon, and stars. He created the entire world and has the right to rule over it (Psalm 24:1). God is the ultimate authority who is wise and good. He makes good rules, but He gives us a choice to say yes or no. God wants us to say yes and do what He has asked.
In this week's lesson, Balak, the rich and powerful king of Moab tried to persuade Balaam to curse God's people, the Israelites. God told Balaam NOT to curse His people. God even used a donkey to talk to Balaam. Even though the king tried to bribe Balaam, he would not curse God's people. God is in charge and can use whatever He chooses to teach us and help us submit to His authority.
6
Better Than an Umbrella
Item Needed: umbrella
Use an umbrella to illustrate God's authority over us.
Open the umbrella and ask: Why do we use an umbrella? (To protect our clothes from getting wet, to keep us dry, etc.)
Just as an umbrella protects us from the rain, God's commands are designed to protect us from the bad consequences of wrong behavior. When we break God's commands, we step out from under His protection and expose ourselves to more trouble.
Pick one of the commandments and ask: How does keeping this commandment protect us?
For example: How does honoring your father and mother protect you? (If you do what they tell you to do, you will be safe; if you obey, you won't be punished; if you speak good about them and honor them, others will respect you; you will protected from guilt and a bad reputation, etc.)
Keep reviewing the Ten Commandments. Write each number from 1-10 on a slip of paper and put them in a bag. Take turns drawing out a number. Say the commandment that matches that number. (5—Honor your father and mother.)
