Hall of Faith Lesson #3: Noah

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.

Hall of Faith Lesson #2: Enoch

Enoch Faith Lesson

Lesson for Life:  We need to live each day as if Jesus may return that day.  1 John 2:6 – “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did.”

Faith Verse:   Hebrews 11:6 – “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Introduction to Enoch:

Let’s read the THREE verses in Genesis about our man of faith today: Enoch.  Genesis 5:21-24

Which one little word showed the shift that happened in Enoch’s life? 

AFTER…after he became a father he walked with God

So our balloons today represent steps in Enoch’s life. (Point towards balloons sitting on a table.)

(Hold up the balloon with the words “Before a son”.) So what do you think Enoch’s life looked like before he had his first son?  Remember he was 60 years old by this time. 

Had to go to school, learn how to farm…his life was pretty much in a repetitive rut.

 Take a few minutes and at your table discuss the Before Knowing God questions Table Discussion Sheet

(Interrupt table talk as you POP! the first balloon with a pin. The balloon has a card in it. Ask someone from the table you are by read it.) “Congratulations! You are going to have a baby!!”

WHAT!? God had a surprise for Enoch. He didn’t like the way Enoch’s life was going without God so He decided to step in. 

God blessed Enoch and his wife with a pregnancy. We know babies are a gift from God, but in those days they saw babies as a sign of what God thought of them. At this point Enoch probably started spending a little more time going back to God. He probably shared with his wife some of the stories of faith he had learned in his youth from his own parents.

Go ahead and look at Sharing What You Know about God on your discussion sheet.

(Again interrupt discussion time with a POP!, but this time have the balloon filled with confetti and pop it  over someone’s head) NOW as if a baby wasn’t going to be a big enough change in Enoch’s life, God ALSO told him what to name the baby boy, and it was quite a shock. 

(Hold up a poster with the CAPS words on it) the baby was to be named METHUSELAH which means “WHEN HE DIES, JUDGMENT”.  WOW – if that doesn’t put a damper on the baby shower!  Since Enoch had named his son this and let people know that GOD told him to name the baby this, we can guess that as Enoch started to spend more time with God, God had started visiting with Enoch about things. Enoch knew that this name was no joke. God was going to judge his people for their sins. 

Table Time - Poster Project

Enoch didn’t know exactly WHEN his son was going to die, nor did he know HOW God was going to judge the people, but he had enough faith to walk the rest of his life, 300 years in fact, living a life pleasing to God.  We are kind of in the same position today. WE know Jesus is coming again someday to judge us, but like Enoch, we don’t know when the Judgment will happen.

We are going to do a poster project to share with our church family to show each other some of the things God wants us to do in order to live a life pleasing to him.  Each of your tables has a poster board …turn it over and you will see the verse that I would like you to read as a table. After you read the verse, discuss what it means and draw an illustration of it on the poster.

VERSES TO USE: John 13:12-15, John 14:15, Romans 8:5-8, 1 Cor. 13:1-3, Matt 24:43-44, Matt 16:24, Luke 15:3-7

(After 15 minutes, ask each table to share their verse and poster with the whole group.)

Back to Enoch and Discussion - God’s Judgment

Now…let’s get back to Enoch and his doomsday son Methuselah.  Do you think God kept His promise?

Who wants to come up and do some math for me? (Turn METHUSELAH poster around for them to write on)

Let’s go back to Genesis 5. (Hand out verse slips ahead of time with the below verses so volunteers can read.)

How old was Methuselah when he had his first son Lamech?  (187) – (look at math volunteer) ok let’s write that…

Next let’s read Genesis 5:28 How old was Lamech when he had a son?  (182)…(looking at math voluneteer) add that to your problem…WAIT what was Lamech’s son’s name??!  That deserves a balloon POP! haha!

Ok – we are getting closer…let’s skip to Genesis 7:6. How old was Noah when the flood came?  (600)…(have the volunteer do the math.)

Hey did anyone catch how old Methuselah was when he died?? Let’s look at Genesis 5:27.  How old was he?  (969 years old!)

What was the judgment God sent when Methuselah died?!  (The Great Flood!!)

Table Activity – Application

Take a few minutes now to work at your tables with the Basket Activity on your discussion sheets.  (Play the song “Walk by Faith” by Jeremy Camp while they work thru this activity.)

Here is the Bulletin Insert to use for families and other church members to go through at home.

Studying the Bible Week #1: Why?

Opening  Activity:  New Testament Cup Challenge

Each team receives 28 Styrofoam cups. Each cup has a book of the New Testament written on it along with one cup having “New Testament” written on it.  The cups should NOT be in order.

Each team will send one person at a time to a table to create a pyramid out of the cups. The bottom row should start with “New Testament” on one end, “Matthew” next to it, and so forth until a pyramid is made with “Revelation” on top.

The first team to complete their pyramid wins chocolate!

Discussion: Reading the Bible

                Why do you read the Bible?

                When do you turn to the Bible the most?

                What are some of the reasons God gave us the Bible?

God gave us the Bible to:

                Teach us about Him and help us grow closer to Him

                Teach us about His Son Jesus Christ and to glorify Him

                Teach us about ourselves and the world we live in

                Teach us how to live Godly lives and how to live out His mission…Holy Spirit

Game Time: Bible Tic-Tac-Toe

                Have each table divide themselves into two teams.

Each table will receive a Tic-Tac-Toe board, game pieces (10 pieces for each team), a cup with slips of paper with Bible verses on it, and an index card with the 4 reasons from above.

The team with the oldest table member starts first. They will draw a slip from the cup and find the verse in their Bible. Next they will read the verse to the table and decide which of the 4 Reasons the verses matches. If the table agrees with them, they get to place one of their team game markers on a square on the Tic-Tac-Toe board.

Play will continue until a team earns a Tic-Tac-Toe.  There are enough slips to play the game multiple times.

Navigating the Bible Week #2

Navigating the Bible Wk 2

    Putting the Books in Order Game

                                Each table has the Old Testament books of the Bible on cards

                                One person divides the cards up evenly between everyone

                                Whoever has Genesis calls out "Genesis!" and lays their card in the middle

                                Whoever has the next book of the Bible, Exodus, does the same, and the game                                           continues until all cards are laid out in the correct order.

                                Whichever table gets their cards in order first wins!

Breaking the Code 

                 What are the different parts of a Bible reference?

a.       Book – Chapter – Verse

b.      Put together Bible Reference puzzle

c.   Get in groups of twos at table and have a race to see who can look up each of the verses from               the puzzle first
d.  Verses to use for puzzle sheets:
     1.  Numbers 6:25-26, Psalms 46:10 and Job 19:25
     2.  Job 36:11, Psalms 32:8 and Lamentations 3:22-23
     3.  Proverbs 6:16-19, Joshua 1:9 and Isaiah 40:31
     4. Deuteronomy 7:9, Proverbs 16:3 and 1 Samuel 16:7
     5. Malachi 3:10, Isaiah 53:6 and Psalms 119:11
     6.  1 Chronicles 16:27, Psalms 55:22 and Isaiah 9:6
     7.  2 Samuel 22:33, Proverbs 3:5-6 and Isaiah 41:10
     8.  Jeremiah 29:11, Psalms 27:11 and Zephaniah 3:17

New Testament Bookshelf
4 Gospels (red)

    a.       Who knows what the 4 Gospels are?

    b.      What does Gospel mean?

1 History  (green)

    a.      How many books of History were their in the OT?  12

    b.   What is the one book of History in the NT?  Acts

    c.      Written by? Luke

13 Letters from Paul (yellow)

     a.       Romans

     b.      Ians

                                                               i.      1 & 2 Corinthians

                                                             ii.      Galatians

                                                            iii.      Ephesians

                                                           iv.      Phillipians

                                                             v.      Colossians

                                                           vi.      1 & 2 Thessalonians

     c.       1 & 2 Timothy

     d.      Titus

     e.      Philemon

8 Letters from Others  (orange)

   a.       Who can name the other authors of letters in the NT? 

   b.   Hebrews (unknown author)

   c.      James

   d.       1 & 2 Peter

   e.      1, 2 & 3 John

   f.      Jude

 1 Book of Prophecy (purple)

   a.       What were the 5 books of Prophecy in the OT?  What did they prophecy? (Coming of the Messiah) 

   b.   Revelation – written by? John

   c.      What does Revelation prophecy?  (2nd Coming of the Messiah)

Take Home

              Kids – NT Popsicle sticks

             PRACTICE!! Next week NT challenge 

Navigating the Bible #1

Navigating the Bible Wk 1

Opening Acts (10 mins)

1.        Lyrics game – I start a song while they see who can complete the lyric

a.       There was a farmer had a dog… (and Bingo was his name-o)

b.      Somewhere over the rainbow….(way up high)

c.       It’s fun to stay at the….(YMCA!)

d.      Do you want to build a snowman?...(Come on, let ‘s go and play)

2.       Each group can work together on Bible Quiz. Go over answers. 

Breaking Down the Bible Part 1 (20 minutes)

1.       What are some of your favorite Old Testament stories?

2.       Let’s page through together…and start putting together our table bookshelf

e  Each table will have a poster board and 39 slips of paper to represent their Books. Each group below has a different color. Adults can write the names on each slip while children will tape them onto the poster board to create a bookshelf of books.

a.       5 Books of Law (Brown): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy

                                                               i.      Contain the laws of God to his people

                                                             ii.      10 commandments

                                                            iii.      Priestly laws

                                                           iv.      Famous people? (Adam and Eve, Abraham, Moses…)

b.      12 Books of History (Dk Green): Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther

                                                               i.      Israel from settling of Promised Land

                                                             ii.      To return from slavery in Jerusalem

                                                            iii.      Who are some famous people from this era? (Sampson, Saul, David…)

c.       5 Books of Poetry (Blue): Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon

                                                               i.      Written as verses or poetry

                                                             ii.      Famous people? (Job, David, Solomon)

d.      5 Books of Major Prophets (Dk Purple): Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel

e.      12 Books of Minor Prophets (Pink): Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi

                                                               i.      Called Prophetic because filled with prophecies (What are prophecies?)

                                                             ii.      Famous people? (Daniel, Jonah, …)
**Book case posters will then be kept for next week's lesson.

Truth of the Bible : Red Sea Crossing Powerpoint (10+ minutes) 

Give cards with the following scriptures to various groups. They will read their verse as the corresponding picture comes up on the screen.
          Exodus 13:18 and Exodus 14:3
          Exodus 14:1-4
          Isaiah 19:19-22
          Exodus 14:23-28

Script for Powerpoint
1. Points on a Map

     a.       When travelling through "the wilderness of the Red Sea" Ex.13:18, escaping Pharaoh's army, God told Moses to turn south, so they headed through a wadi or canyon area that is called the Wadi Watir which led to the sea. 

     b.      The Bible in Ex. 14:3 says, "They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in."  When arriving at the beach, the children of Israel felt trapped, as they could not turn back, nor head north because at the northern end of the beach was a three story, Egyptian military fortress which is still standing today undergoing restoration.  Additionally there were mountains obstructing their escape.

     c.       To the south the mountains came down to the sea, as mentioned by Josephus, "For there was [on each side] a [ridge of] mountains that terminated at the sea, which were impassable by reason of their roughness, and obstructed their flight" Antiquities of the Jews, Bk. 2, 15-3. You can see the mountains at the beach today. The people were about to turn against Moses because he had led them to an area where they were trapped and would surely die, or so they thought.

2.   The Beach

     a.       If one looks on a map for a beach area large enough for 2 million people to encamp on the gulf there is only one candidate:  Nuweiba Egypt.  The beach at Nuweiba is extremely large and could have accommodated a large number of people at the time of Moses.  

     b.      Pi-Hahiroth means, mouth of the hole, which we would apply to the mouth of the canyon above, as mentioned in The Exodus Revealed DVD. 

     c.        Migdol is a fortress, which we would apply to the ancient fort which is located at the  narrowest point on the beach where the gulf and the mountains are in close proximity.

3.       The  column lying at the edge of the water was discovered in 1978.  It matches one on the other side of the gulf in Saudi Arabia which had the inscriptions intact. 

     a.       The Hebrew words Mizram (Egypt), death, water, pharaoh, Edom, Yahweh, and Solomon were on that column.  Apparently one can conclude King Solomon had these columns erected 400 years after the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea on dry land. 

     b.      Solomon's sea port was at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqaba at Eilat (I Kings 9:26) and he was very familiar with the Red Sea crossing site, as it was in his neighborhood.   

     c.       The Bible even mentions this column!  Isaiah 19:19, "In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border." 

4.       Chariot Wheels

     a.       The Bible says the Egyptians pursued the Israelites into the opened sea.  But it was a trap set by God. 

     b.       It says when they were fully into the crossing, "He threw the army into confusion caused the wheels of their chariots to fall off". 

     c.       He then caused the sea to return to its place and the entire Egyptian army was swept into the sea.  Based on this account, we should find chariot parts at the bottom of the sea at the supposed crossing point, right?

                          i.      Above, left, photo taken of a gilded chariot wheel that remains on the sea floor.  It was found by Ron Wyatt using a molecular frequency generator from his boat above, after he set the equipment to search for gold.  

                            ii.       The Bible said all the chariots of Egypt and 600 "choice chariots", or gold veneered models, were in the army pursuing God's people.  It is speculated there were 20,000 chariots destroyed that day. 

                            iii.      Above, right, is a drawing of a four spoke chariot found in an Egyptian tomb

                             iv.      from the same time period.  According to ArkDiscovery.com, four, six and eight spoke wheels are found here in the gulf, and were only used at the same time during the 18th dynasty or 1446 BC when the exodus took place.

Take Home:

1.        Families with Kids – Small Gift Bag with 39 popsicle sticks each with a book from the Old Testament and in colors corresponding to the bookcase project above.

2.       Adults – Bookmarks

3.       Be ready for an OT challenge next week!!

Faith Book Week #1 - Becoming Real With Christ

Witnesses for Christ

One of the ways we can share our faith with others is by sharing our stories. People love to hear stories. Stories can do so many things! They make things come alive! What a better way to share our love of an unseen God with our friends and family then with stories of how we have seen and experienced God's love in our lives.
Throughout the summer we will be working on creating our Family Faith Scrapbooks so that we can share them with others both young and old as a witness to what God has done in our lives. This isn't a new concept. In Acts 1:8 Jesus told his disciples, "You will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere."
So first let's talk together just what a witness is. What does a witness do? A witness tells the audience what they have seen and what they have heard. They stick to the facts and just tell the story as it unfolded. Notice, witnesses don't argue with the jury and they certainly don't lie or embellish the facts. If they did not only would it discredit them as a witness, but it also tarnishes the story they are trying to share, making it harder for the jury to believe the next witness they hear from.
Our job as witnesses for Christ is the most important job we do! Our jury members are our friends and family - the World! The result of our testimony could open the door to Salvation or it could tarnish our jurors perception of this God they are learning about.
We don't have to be nervous though, we simply need to stick to the facts. Psalm 66:16 reminds us, "Come and listen...and I will tell you what God has done for me." That's all we need to do. Go to God, listen to God's voice and then tell others what He has done for us. Just the facts.
Our page today will help us start our journey of being a witness for God. Our word picture today will focus on Jesus, the Son of God and how I think of and spend time with Him. He is the key person in our story after all, so we need to start by thinking about our friendship with Him.

Page 1: Becoming Real With Christ

Open Video:

Discussion Questions:  

1.    The Skin Horse tells the horse that once you become REAL you cannot be ugly, except to those who don’t understand. What part of faith in God is hard for outsiders to understand?

2.  Who is your “skin horse”? Someone who makes you feel better about yourself and reminds you what the Truth is?

3.  What does it mean for someone to become REAL to you?

4.  Rabbit asks if it hurts to become real and the Skin Horse replied, “Sometimes, but when you are real, you don’t mind it as much.” How does this relate to your faith walk and the times of trails you have encountered?

5.  How is God’s love REAL to you?

Page 1: 

Give each participant a "Son" Flower sheet to complete. Fill in the flower petals with words describing what Christ is to you: Savior, Friend, Comforter, etc. Put your name on the flower pot.  

Memorial Day Family Lesson and Activities

Memorial Day is a wonderful time to teach children about thanking God for the ones who have served us and protected our freedom. Here is a lesson and short video to share as a family as you take time to thank God as a family.

This video has a neat idea about skipping rocks as we thank God for precious memories of a loved service member. Memorial Day Activity

A story in the bible the children can relate to Memorial Day is found in Joshua 4 as God instructed Joshua and His people to construct a stone memorial in honor of God, the ultimate provider of freedom, led the Israelites to safety. This lesson will walk you through that chapter while also providing activities to do as a family to thank Jesus for sacrificing His life on the cross for our freedom.

Memorial Day Lesson & Craft “Memorial Stones” by Amy Brown (taken from Ministry-to-Children.com)

Bible Passage: Joshua 4:1-20
Bible Story Title: Memorial Stones
Target Age Group: K – 5th grade
Target Time Frame:30 minutes (lesson + craft) It may take longer for the paint to dry on the stones.
Materials Needed: One clean stone per student, one small paintbrush per student, one color acrylic paint

Intro:
1. “Our country is celebrating a special holiday tomorrow! Does anyone know what it is called?” (Memorial Day)
2. “Why do we celebrate Memorial Day?” (Because we are remembering and honoring the people who serve in
our military. They work to keep us safe and give us our freedom.)
3. Write the word Memorial on the front board. “See how the word memorial is like the word memory. On Memorial Day, we remember and thank the people in our military.”

Bible:
1. In the Old Testament of our Bibles God’s people also had a time of memorial to remember what God had done for them.
2. “Open your Bibles to Joshua 4. Before we read let’s talk about what happened before Joshua 4. Remember God’s people had been in slavery in Egypt and God used Moses to lead his people out of slavery and across the Red Sea. Then, God led them to wander through the wilderness for forty years, but every day He was faithful to give them the quail and manna they needed. Then God finally led the Israelites to the land He had promised them when He led them out of Egypt. That brings us to today’s story.”
3. “Let’s read Joshua 4:1-20” Tip: For younger children you may prefer to read this from a storybook Bible or children’s Bible.
4. “This is the story of how God led His people across the Jordan River on dry ground and into the Promised Land. God wanted a man from each of the twelve tribes to pick up a stone as they crossed the Jordan.”

Discuss Story:
1. “Why were these twelve stones important?” Ask for input from the children.
2. “The Israelites were to keep the twelve stones as a way to remember how God led them safely across the Jordan River. When they looked at the stones they could remember God’s faithfulness in Egypt, through the wilderness, and now in the Promised Land.”
3. “These were memorial stones!”
4. “God wanted them to have something to look at so they would not forget how He had taken care of them.”

Connecting to Jesus:
1. What are some good things God has done for you that you want to remember?”
2. “The most important thing God has done for us is given his son Jesus. Jesus came to earth to live a perfect life and die on the cross to take the punishment for our sins. This is the best thing God could have done for you and for me, so that we are no longer separated from Him by our sin. We need to always remember how God gave us Jesus.”
3. “Today you are going to paint your own memorial stone as a reminder to you of how God gave us Jesus. When you look at your stone you can remember how Jesus died on the cross for your sins and you can thank God sending His Son Jesus to die in your place.”

Memorial Day Craft – Memorial Stones
Craft Objective: To be used with lesson on Joshua 4 as a way for the children to remember God’s sacrifice of His Son Jesus.
Materials Needed:
One clean, dry stone for each child
One paintbrush for each child
One paper plate or pie tin for each child to use as a paint palette
One color acrylic paint. The amount of paint needed depends upon the number of children.
Masking tape
Sharpie marker
Procedure:
1. Pass out one stone, one paintbrush, and one empty paint palette to each child.
2. Show a stone which is already completed.
3. The children will choose which side of their stone will be the top.
4. Squeeze a small amount of paint onto each child’s palette.
5. The children will paint a cross on the top of their stone.
6. The adult helpers will write each child’s name on a piece of masking tape and stick it to the bottom of the stone.
7. Set the stones aside and allow to dry.

Tips:
For youngest children, you could forego the paintbrushes and have the children use their finger to make the cross.
The stones must be scrubbed clean and be completely dry for the paint to stick to the surface. I recommend you wash the stones a few days in advance and set them outside to dry.
If due to time or budget constraints you do not want to paint the stones, the lesson can be just as effective if the children simply bring home a plain stone. The teacher can bring in a collection of stones to choose from or if available you could take the class for a walk to choose a small stone from the grounds of your church campus.