Loving God - Fervent Prayer - August 25, 2013

This is the curriculum given out to our preschool teachers at our church.  This is for informational purposes only for those who wish to follow a bible study with their young children.  I make NO claims on the intellectual property of this material, I did not write it. Please note, I've changed the wording of some things to direct them to parents instead of teachers.

ELIJAH PRAYED TO GOD:

After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lordcame to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.”  So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.  Now the famine was severe in Samaria, and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord.  While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.)   Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.”. So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.   As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?”  “Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”  “What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death?  As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you.  But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’  I don’t know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth.  Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water.  And now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!”  Elijah said, “As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”  So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah.  When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”  “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals.  Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”  So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel.  Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”  But the people said nothing.  Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets.  Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it.  Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord.The god who answers by fire—he is God.”  Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”  Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”  So they took the bull given them and prepared it.  Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response;no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.  At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.”  So they shouted louder and slashedthemselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.  Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.  Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down.  Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.”  With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed.  He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”  “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.  “Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time.  The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.  At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command.  Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”  Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.  When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”   Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.   And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.”  So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.  “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.  “There is nothing there,” he said.  Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”  The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”  So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”  Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.  The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

1 Kings 18

LIFE APPLICATION:

I can pray to God.

BIBLE MEMORY PHRASE FOR YOUR PRESCHOOLER:

We can ask God to help us. Psalms 30:2

BIBLE STUDY:

Elijah, a prophet who spoke God's message,  lived during the reign of King Ahab, the powerful king who ruled Isreal.  Ahab was married to Jezebel, a worshiper of Baal.  Jezebel influenced King Ahab to worship Baal also.  King Ahab became very evil.

About three and a half years before, God had commanded a drought.  The drought showed that God possessed power over Baal, who was believed to provide rain.  Read 1 Kings 18:5-6.  God sent Elijah to present himself to King Ahab.  Ahab called Elijah a troubler or destroyer of the nation, but Elijah turned those words around to accuse the King himself.  According to 1 Kings 18:18, what had the king done to cause the nations destruction?

Prophets and the Israelites were gathered, and Elijah asked the Israelites a question.  Read 1 verses 22-24 for the terms of the contest.  The prophets of Baal cut up a bull and placed it on the wood on the alter.  They prayed to Baal, and then Elijah questioned them.

Elijah's taunts may seem silly to us, but Baal worshipers believed that Baal could go on a trip, go to sleep, or even die!  In verses 30-32, Elijah rebuilt the alter to God that had been torn down.  He used 12 stones, one for each of Jacob's tribes.  With a three-year drought still happening, water was a precious commodity.

According to Exodus 29:38-39, God commanded the people to offer sacrifices twice a day.  In 1 Kings 18:36, Elijah prayed at the time for offering the evening sacrifice.  Read verses 36-37, to whom did Elijah pray?  What did he ask?

The priest of Baal could not call down fire although they "prayed" all day.  When Elijah prayed, even the dirt was burned up!  The priest of Baal could not get an answer from Baal because he had no power: he was a false god.  Elijah's prayer was answered because he prayed to the one true God, who has all power.  What is your prayer today?  How will you help your children know that God does indeed answer prayer?

A key aspect of loving God is trusting him alone through prayer. When we pray faithfully like it matters, we express our trust to God as the only all-powerful one who can answer our prayers.  Today, help your children to understand that God wants us to pray faithfully like it matters as we seek to live out our mission.

READ THIS TO YOUR PRESCHOOLER:

     It had not rained for a long, long time.  There had not been any rain to make the grass and plants grow.  The people and animals needed food to eat and water to drink.

     God told Elijah, "I will send rain. Go and tell the King."

     After Elijah told the king, Elijah and his helper went up to the top of the mountain.  Elijah talked to God.  Elijah asked God to send rain.

     Elijah told his helper to go and look toward the sea.  The helper looked but saw no clouds.

     "Go back," Elijah said.

     One, two, three, four, five, six times, Elijah told his helper to look.  On the seventh time, Elijah's helper saw a very small cloud out over the sea.  It was about the size of a mans hand.  Elijah knew God had heard his prayer.

     Soon there were more dark clouds in the sky.  The wind began to blow.  Rain began to fall.  Now the grass and plants could grow.  The animals and people would have food to eat.

PARENTS:

-read the bible story.  Comment that Elijah prayed and asked God for help.  Say: "We can pray and ask God for help too."

-point in the bible to Psalms 30:2.  Read aloud the bible memory phrase "We can ask God to help us."

Loving God - Biblical Intake - August 18, 2013

This is the curriculum given out to our classes at our church.  This is for informational purposes only for those who wish to follow a bible study with their young children.  I make NO claims on the intellectual property of this material, I did not write it. Please note, I've changed the wording of some things to direct them to parents instead of teachers.

TIMOTHY LEARNED FROM THE BIBLE:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.  All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  2 Timothy 3:14-17

LIFE APPLICATION:

We can read the bible.

BIBLE MEMORY PHRASE FOR YOUR PRESCHOOLER:

God gave us the bible.  2 Timothy 3:16

BIBLE  STUDY:

Reading the Bible and memorizing verses can help you through difficult times, comfort you, strengthen you, and give you words to express joy.  Bible intake is a key indicator of our love for God.

Timothy's father was Greek; his mother, Jewish.  He was a native of Lystra, a town in Asia Minor visited by Paul on his first missionary journey.  It is believed that Timothy was converted under Paul's ministry during his missionary visit.  When Paul was in a Roman prison awaiting death, he sent for Timothy to come be with him (2 Timothy 4:9).  Paul loved Timothy and thought of him as a son.

Read 2 Timothy 1:1-2, and ponder these questions: How did Paul describe himself?  How did he describe Timothy? What did he wish for Timothy?

Paul wrote this letter from a prison cell in Rome, where he was awaiting death.  Even in these circumstances, Paul thanked God for Timothy and prayed for him night and day.  He remembered Timothy's sincere faith in God.  He was thankful for Timothy's mother and grandmother, Eunice and Lois, who had nurtured his faith.  How well do you know your children?  Do you pray for them each day?  Paul lovingly instructed Timothy in right living, encouraged him in his ministry, and armed him against problems that could arise.  Does this remind you of your role as a parent?

In 2 Timothy 3:15, how long had Timothy known the scriptures?  What is the purpose of the scriptures?  We teach Bible foundations to children so that they can become Christians when Gods Holy Spirit convicts them.  god breathed his message into holy men so that you and I can come to know Him and know the right way to live.

None of us ever knows the whole bible, but bible intake is an important part of our mission.  gods word can help you only when you know what is in it.  Guide your children to read Gods word and memorize Bible versus and Bible truths to remember in times of need.

A key aspect of LOVING GOD is loving and enjoying his words to us found in scripture.  Let today's bible lesson be a reminder, even for us adults, of the importance, truth, and inerrancy of God's Word.

READ THIS TO YOUR CHILD:

     A little boy named Timothy lived with his father, mother and grandmother.  Timothy's mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois, loved God.  They taught Timothy about God.  Timothy's mother and grandmother taught him verses from the Bible.  Timothy listened very carefully to the Bible stories that his mother and grandmother told him.  Timothy learned to love God.

     When Timothy was older, a man named Paul came to his town.  Paul was a missionary.  He traveled from town to town, telling people that God loved them.  Paul wanted Timothy to help him.  So Timothy became Paul's helper.  Together Paul and Timothy traveled to many towns, telling people about Jesus.

     One day after Timothy had stopped traveling with Paul, he got a letter from Paul.  Paul reminded Timothy how his mother and grandmother had a taught him important verses and stories from the Bible.  Paul told Timothy to always remember what he had learned.  Paul reminded Timothy that what he learned from the bible would help him.

PARENTS:

-Read the bible verse to your child; recall a time when your child has used what he has learned from the Bible.

-Sing to the tune "If You're Happy": "God's words in the Bible help me learn, God's words in the Bible help me learn, Help me learn what to do, Help me learn what to do, God's words in the Bible help me learn."

Loving God - Intimate Worship - August 11, 2013

This is the curriculum given out to our preschool teachers at our church.  This is for informational purposes only for those who wish to follow a bible study with their young children.  I make NO claims on the intellectual property of this material, I did not write it. Please note, I've changed the wording of some things to direct them to parents instead of teachers.

THE PEOPLE WORSHIPED GOD:

Then Solomon began to build the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David. It was on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the place provided by David.  He began building on the second day of the second month in the fourth year of his reign.  The foundation Solomon laid for building the temple of God was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide (using the cubit of the old standard).  The portico at the front of the temple was twenty cubits long across the width of the building and twenty cubits high.  He overlaid the inside with pure gold.  He paneled the main hall with juniper and covered it with fine gold and decorated it with palm tree and chain designs.  He adorned the temple with precious stones. And the gold he used was gold of Parvaim.  He overlaid the ceiling beams, doorframes, walls and doors of the temple with gold, and he carved cherubimon the walls.  He built the Most Holy Place, its length corresponding to the width of the temple—twenty cubits long and twenty cubits wide. He overlaid the inside with six hundred talents of fine gold.  The gold nails weighed fifty shekels.  He also overlaid the upper parts with gold.  For the Most Holy Place he made a pair of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold. The total wingspan of the cherubim was twenty cubits. One wing of the first cherub was five cubits long and touched the temple wall, while its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the other cherub.  Similarly one wing of the second cherub was five cubits long and touched the other temple wall, and its other wing, also five cubits long, touched the wing of the first cherub.  The wings of these cherubim extended twenty cubits. They stood on their feet, facing the main hall.  He made the curtain of blue, purple and crimson yarn and fine linen, with cherubim worked into it.  For the front of the temple he made two pillars, which together were thirty-five cubits long, each with a capitalfive cubits high.  He made interwoven chains and put them on top of the pillars. He also made a hundred pomegranates and attached them to the chains.  He erected the pillars in the front of the temple, one to the south and one to the north. The one to the south he named Jakin and the one to the north Boaz.

2 Chronicles 3:1-17

When all the work Solomon had done for the temple of theLord was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the silver and gold and all the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of God’s temple.  Then Solomon summoned to Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David.  And all the Israelites came together to the king at the time of the festival in the seventh month.  When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, and they brought up the ark and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The Levitical priests carried them up; and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.  The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim.  The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and covered the ark and its carrying poles.  These poles were so long that their ends, extending from the ark, could be seen from in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.  There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.  The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions.  All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets.  The trumpeters and musicians joined in unison to give praise and thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang:

"He is good;
    his love endures forever."

Then the temple of the Lord was filled with the cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.

2 Chronicles 5:1-14

LIFE APPLICATION:

I can worship God.

BIBLE MEMORY PHRASE FOR YOUR PRESCHOOLER:

The people praised and thanked God.  2 Chronicles 5:13

BIBLE  STUDY:

A friend and I stopped to see the recently finished sanctuary of a local church.  When we walked into the worship center, it took our breath away.  Everything in that place reflected the glory and majesty of God.  The room made us want to praise God, and we did right then and there!

Buildings dedicated to the worship of God can reflect his glory in their design and construction.  The temple Solomon constructed truly glorified God.  Read 2 Chronicles 3-5.  What awe-inspiring and glory reflecting things would you see in Solomon's temple?  If you were building a place of worship How would you reflect God's glory and encourage worship?

The temple was extraordinary, but was the temple or its worshipers more important to the heart of God?  Was the temple and its beauty more important or the God it glorified?  What about you?  Do you believe God cares more about you than where you worship?  How can you truly worship God?

We can build places for worshiping God; they can be beautiful reflections of him.  But we need to keep things in the proper perspective.  The bible teaches that God is more interested in people than he is with the buildings they erect to him.  Read 2 Chronicles 5:11-14.  When did God manifest his presence in the temple?  What caused God to respond?  The praise of the people, not the beauty of the temple,brought God's presence into their midst!

The people in Solomon's day exhibited their praise and thanks to God in song.  Giving songs of praise and prayers of thanks to God are the focus of your teaching this week.  Kids and preschoolers can begin to understand that people at church worship God when they sing songs to him and talk to him.  Boys and girls can learn that they can worship God too.

Part of our mission (at our church) includes intimate worship with God.  It's just one measure of how we are loving God as we seek to fulfill the mission of Jesus.  Pray now for your children and family.  Pray that each family member will walk away from this week with a deeper understanding of what it truly means to worship God intimately.  Pray for specific opportunities to introduce your children to the concept of worship.  Remember, it's starts in you!

READ THIS TO YOUR PRESCHOOLER:

     God had a special job for King Solomon.  God wanted King Solomon to build a special church.  The church would be a beautiful place where people could come to sing and say thank you to God.

     King Solomon used many workers to help build the church.  The building was very large.  It had a porch across the front.  On each side of the front door was a big, tall column.

     The inside of the church was covered with gold.  Workers used many sparkling stones to decorate the church.  King Solomon told the church to make a curtain from red, blue, and purple cloth.  The curtain was hung in a special place inside the church.

     When the church was finished, King Solomon and the people celebrated.  Some of the people played music on trumpets and cymbals.  Other people sang thank-you songs to God.  They sang, "God is good, God will always love us."  They thanked God for their new church.

Parents:

-Think with your child of a song about God, such as the course "God is so good."  Clap or keep time with toy rhythm instruments as you sing it.  (Young children can keep time while you sing to them.) 

Vision Frame Overview - August 4, 2013

This is the curriculum given out to our preschool teachers at our church.  This is for informational purposes only for those who wish to follow a bible study with their young children.  I make NO claims on the intellectual property of this material, I did not write it. Please note, I've changed the wording of some things to direct them to parents instead of teachers.

JESUS WENT TO CHURCH:

And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him. Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover.  When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom.  After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.  Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends.  When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him.  After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.  When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”  “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”. But they did not understand what he was saying to them.  Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.  And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.  Luke 2:40-52

LIFE APPLICATION:

I can grow as Jesus did.

BIBLE MEMORY PHRASE FOR YOUR PRESCHOOLER:

Love The Lord your God. Deuteronomy 6:5

BIBLE  STUDY:

Each year, Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Passover festival.  Unaware that their son was still in Jerusalem, Jesus' parents left the city when the feast was over.  Mary and Joseph traveled for a whole day before they realized that Jesus was not with them.

When people attended the feast in Jerusalem, they traveled in caravans.  Often the women and the children traveled in a group at the front of the caravan.  The men traveled at the back, and the two groups would meet at the end of the day.  At 12 years old, on the border between childhood and manhood, Jesus could have been in either group.

Unable to find Jesus, Mary and Joseph turned around.  The long trip back was likely difficult.  On the third day, Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple courts.  Jesus was with religious leaders eagerly listening and asking questions.  According to Luke 2:47, everyone who heard Jesus was amazed at his understanding and the answers he gave.  Mary and Joseph were astonished when they saw Jesus.

When Mary and Joseph asked him why he has treated them in such a way, Jesus seemed genuinely puzzled.  Jesus' response was "Didn't you know that I had to be in My Fathers house?"  This is the first record of Jesus referring to himself as God's Son.

Mary and Joseph didn't seem to understand that their little boy had become a young man, eager to follow God's plan for his life.  Luke 2:52 tells us that Jesus grew mentally, physically, socially and in favor with God.  He was living out his mission, even at age 12.

Our mission (at our church) is to Love God, Love People, Share Jesus, and Make Disciples.  We will spend the next 17 weeks unpacking how we can know we are personally living out this mission by studying the "16 measures" of our vision frame.  Today we are challenging kids to grow as Jesus did.  We will help them understand spiritual growth as we introduce our 16 measures.  The mission starts in you!

How do you interact with your kids?  Do you encourage their learning?  Do you talk about Bible truths as they play?  Are you helping them hear and know the truths of the bible?

This is a look at the upcoming bible studies:

LOVE GOD-

     August 11 - Intimate Worship

     August 18 - Bible Intake

     August 25 - Fervent Prayer

     September 1 - Instant Obediance

LOVE PEOPLE-

     September 8 - Family Relationships

     September 15 - Group Involvement

     September 22 - Compassionate Care

     September 29 - Selfless Service

SHARE JESUS-

     October 6 - Gospel Readiness

     October 13 - Developing Relationships

     October 20 - Local Opportunities

     October 27 - Global Responsibility

MAKE DISCIPLES-

     November 3 - Biblical Giving

     November 10 - Personal Accountability

     November 17 - Equipping Environments

     November 24 - Relational Multiplication