Lesson for Life: Being
a witness for God. Matthew 5:16 – “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so
that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in
heaven.”
Faith Verse: Hebrews 11:7a – “By faith Noah, when warned about things not seen, in holy fear built
an ark to save his family.”
Opening Act – Being a Witness:
Have
someone run through the room wearing a costume screaming “I want a tomato! Not
a potato! I want a tomato!” while holding a potato. (The person does not stay in the room.)
Ask someone
at each table to stand up and tell us what they just witnessed. (They stay
standing.)
What is a witness?
It means when you see
something happen, and you tell about it.
Ask the
people who are standing to write down their answers on a piece of paper for some
specific questions:
What was the person wearing? What color was his shirt? What color was his hair?
Was he carrying anything? If so, what?
What color was it?
What was he saying? What emotion was he expressing?
Have the
person come in again and go thru the questions. Who was the best witness? Was
it easy being a witness?
Our character
today, Noah, was a witness for God. Our
Faith Verse today is Hebrews 11:7a – “By faith Noah, when warned about things
not seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.”
Most of us
are familiar with Noah’s story, but let’s read a few verses about why he began
to build the ark
Have two
volunteers read Genesis 6:5-8 and 6:13-22.
Table Activity: What Are We
Witnessing?
Noah had a
decision to make: Was he going to listen to a God he couldn’t see and build the
ark? Noah based his decision on what he was witnessing in his life: the things
that gave him faith in God vs the world around him.
We have the
same decision to make today when we decide to follow God’s calling or not. On your table you have a chart to fill out.
Complete it by discussing at your table the things you witness in each category
today in our world. Note how some of the
things you list on your lists are things you hear about not see…just
as Noah did. We still believe in them
though because we have faith in the newscasters, etc.
Movie Break
Now it was
pretty easy for Noah to have faith in God’s love because the evil in the world
was pretty evident to him. However, God
asked him to build this HUGE ark – there was no way he was going to be able to
hide it from people. Let’s watch a scene
from Evan Almighty that gives a
glimpse at what this would have been like for him. (Scene 16 – People’s reaction, 3:41 mins)
Noah had
three sons too…how do you think they felt about this ark building project?
At your
tables share some of the big challenges God has asked you to do?
Table Activities
Tables
with children
We don’t
need to build an ark in our backyard to be a witness to God. What are some things you can make to let
people know you believe in God? Sometimes we may keep these things for
ourselves, but other times we give them to someone else. You can decide what
you want to make and what you want to do with it. Go back to the craft table
and gather supplies to make something for each person at your table. (keychains/clip, bookmarks, suncatchers, windchimes,
bumper stickers (with sharpies).
**Have
different levels of craft projects…those for young kids, elementary, teens, adults**
Tables without
children option
Moses’
story of building the Ark is a “Big Story” of witness. The “big stories” have
their time and place, but we need to be able to identify and use our “little
stories” in order to be witnesses for Christ too.
“Little
stories” are the moments of God that happen in the world everyday—an answered
prayer, God’s presence in a time of trouble, the joy of the sunrise, new
insights from the scriptures, a cup of cold water with someone in need, etc.
Additionally, aren’t the scriptures a lot of “little stories” that make up
God’s big story of redemption?
Because
these “little stories” happen all the time, they give youth and adults plenty
to talk about. We simply have to learn to talk about these things. Shrinking Timeline Worksheet.
Take Home:
Noah Memory
game to send home with elementary kids. Game
Bulletin Insert to use for families to do at home or for other church members to follow along with.
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