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    • Today's Theme:
    God wants us to do what's right even when it's scary.

     

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    Today's Story:

    		Jereboam makes golden cows.
    I Kings 12
    Optional Memory verse:  John 15:7
    "Remain in me and follow my teaching.  If you do this, 
    you can ask anything you want, and it will be given to you." 
     International Children's Bible, New Century Version
    • Materials Needed:
    		Promised Land mat,
    King Solomon figure (purple king),
    King Jereboam figure, (red king),
    Prophet figure,
    7 or 8 Fisher Price type people,
    2 plastic cows or 2 made from play dough as illustrated:
    Shoe box temple from last week,
    blocks,
    Cow puzzles made from Poster board (see action game below), 
    2 bowls.

     

    • Action Game:  Cow Puzzle Relay Race
    		Make 2 Drawings of the cow above on poster board.
    Cut each cow drawing into a puzzle with enough pieces for half the children
    e.g. if your total class is 12 children, make each puzzle into 6 pieces. 
    Place the puzzle pieces in separate bowls.
    Divide the class into 2 teams and have a relay race:
    		Each team member races to their bowl and takes 1 piece of the puzzle back to their team.
    The first team to collect all the puzzle pieces, put the puzzle together and guess what it is, wins.

     

    • Closing Discussion

    • Close in Prayer asking God to help us to do what's right even when it's scary.

    Telling the Story:
    		Last week we learned that God gave the biggest part of the Promised Land to a new king because King Solomon did not obey God.
    		Lay out the Promised Land mat.
    Let's put the temple and King Solomon down here and the new king up here. 
    		Lead the kids in placing the temple near the Dead Sea with King Solomon.
    Place King "Jerry," Jereboam above the Dead Sea.
    The new king's name in this part of the Promised Land was King Jereboam but we're going to call him King Jerry.
    		Point out King Jerry
    King Solomon had made gods of wood and stone right in the Promised Land.
    		Place 2 or 3 towers of blocks on the mat to represent the idols.
    God told King Solomon to stop making pretend gods but King Solomon would not listen.
    So God gave the biggest part of the Promised Land to King Jerry.
    Let's build a pretend wall between King Jerry's part of the Promised Land and the part that belongs to King Solomon's family.
    		Direct the kids to build a wall with blocks between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
    Today we're learning that God wants us to do what's right even when it's scary.
    In today's story King Jerry gets scared.
    God told King Jerry that his family would always rule over this part of the Promised Land if he did what was right and obeyed God's commands.
    What was the most important command that God wanted King Jerry to obey?
    		To never make pretend gods.
    Do you think King Jerry will obey God's most important law to never make pretend gods?
    Let's listen to today's story and find out if he does.
    After King Solomon died his son became king.  We're going to call him King Ray.
    		Turn Solomon figure around several times to indicate him as the new king (or flip his cloak over his head if you made him a flip figure).
    So now we have King Ray down here and King Jerry up here.
    		Point out each king.
    One of the laws that God gave his people was that everyone had to go to the temple on special holidays.
    A few people lived in this part of the Promised Land where King Ray ruled.
    		Add a few Fisher Price or similar type figures to represent God's people near the temple.
    It was easy for these people to go to the temple for the special holidays because they lived near the temple.
    		Point out the people in the South.
    But most of God's people lived in the part of the Promised Land that King Jerry ruled. 
    		Add some people to the part of the mat where King Jerry is. 
    These people had to travel back to this part of the Promised Land to worship God at the temple during the special holidays. 
    		Point out the people in King Jerry's part of the Promised Land.
    When King Jerry saw the people leaving this part of the Promised Land to go to the temple, he started to get worried.  
    "Oh no!" he said to himself. "If they go back to the temple,  they might decide that they like King Ray better.
    Then they might kill me and make King Ray their king instead of me." 
    King Jerry was scared to let the people follow God's law to go to the temple to worship God.
    What do you think King Jerry should do?
    What do you think is the right thing to do?
    Do you think King Jerry will do what's right and let the people worship at the temple even though he's scared?
    Lets find out.
    King Jerry was very worried.  He did not like his people traveling to the temple to worship God at all.
    		Pace King Jerry figure back and forth.
    So he talked to his helpers to get their ideas.
    Then he made up his mind what to do.
    He got some gold.
    And he made the gold into 2 golden calves.
    Then he put the golden calves in his part of the Promised Land.
    		Make 2 pedestals out of blocks,
    place them in the "Northern Kingdom",
    Place a cow on each.
    Then King Jerry gathered all the people together and listen to what he told them,
    		Gather King Jerry and the Fisher Price type people around one of the golden cows
    "It is too hard for you to go all the way to the temple to worship God.  Here are your gods right here."
    		Point to the cows.
    So the people stopped going to the temple.
    The people stopped worshipping God.
    They worshipped these silly cows instead.
    Could these cows hear their prayers?
    		No, they are just statues. They can't see and hear.
    King Jerry was too scared to do what was right.
    God sent a prophet to warn King Jerry to destroy those silly cows.
    		Walk prophet figure to King Jerry.
    But King Jerry did not listen.
    After King Jerry died, there were lots and lots of kings in this part of the Promised Land.
    		Spin the King Jerry figure around (Or if you made him a flip figure, flip his cloak over his head).
    God always sent  prophets to remind each king of his most important law.
    I want you to be the prophets' voices.
    		Divide the group in half and lead half in saying,
    		"Never make your own gods"
    Lead the other half in saying,
    		"If you do I will make you leave this good land".
    Each time there is a new king I want you to tell him God's message.
    		Spin the king around, walk the prophet to him, then direct the kids to give him the prophet's message.
    Repeat 4 or 5 times.
    Do you think any of these kings followed God's most important law?
    		Point to the king in the Northern (top) part of the mat.
    I'm sorry to tell you that not even 1 king from this part of the Promised Land followed God's most important law to never make pretend gods.
    And one day some soldiers from a far away land came to this part of the Promised Land and took the people away to a far away land.
    		Swipe everything off the Northern half of the mat with your arm. 
    God did make the people leave the Promised Land.
    All because King Jerry and was too scared to do what was right.  
    God wants us to do what's right even when it's scary.
    What did King Jerry do that was wrong?
    		Made golden cows for people to worship.
    Why did King Jerry make golden cows?
    		To keep his people from going to the temple.
    Why didn't King Jerry want his people to go to the temple?
    		He was afraid they would want King Ray to be their king again.
    Then they might kill him.
    God wants us to do what's right even when it's scary.
    Discuss times when it's hard to do what's right.
    		For example: wanting to exclude a playmate out of fear that another friend will stop playing with you and become better friends with the other child.

     Optional Snack: animal crackers

    Supplemental Bible Readings:
    (Suggested daily readings)

    • Materials Needed for Next Week:
    		Promised Land Mat,
    Bulletin board paper or paper bags cut apart and taped together,
    Old seed and garden catalogues,
    Children's scissors, crayons, glue sticks,
    Southern King figure (purple king), 
    Prophet figure,
    Priest figure,
    Pharaoh figure from Moses lessons,
    Daniel figure,
    3 Fisher Price or similar type boy figures to be Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,
    5 or 6 Fisher Price or similar type people to be God's people,
    Shoe Box Temple,
    Blocks,
    Optional Snack: Assorted dried fruits, nuts, and a bowl.
    • Figures Needed for Upcoming Lessons:
    		Next week  you will need a Daniel figure:
    		If you are making homemade action figures from the pattern at this site:
    		Make him as a Babylonian official, or
    Make him as a flip figure who flips from a young man to an old man, or
    from a slave (or an Israeli prince) to a Babylonian official.
    In mid December you will need the figures from a childproof Nativity set.
    In January you will need a Christ figure.

     

    © 1999 Linda Lawler.  
    Permission granted to copy for personal use only.  Not for resale.

    Home Sower 23      Lesson 13    Home Sower 13         Lesson 14   

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