===================================================================== Title: Primary Sabbath School Program, May 22, 1999 From: NAD Children's Ministries (author: Lisa Seeders) Date: May 1, 1999 Abstract: Activities to use in place of program helps to teach the lesson, THE SECRET HANDWRITING ===================================================================== Lesson Aim: If I choose every day to be Jesus' friend, I will not be afraid when He judges me. Memory Verse: "God is love...We will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him." I John 4:16, 17, NIV GETTING THEIR ATTENTION - BODY REACTIONS Materials needed: A small box or basket Slips of paper Pencils WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare in advance) On slips of paper write the following scenarios, one to a slip. Roll them up and drop them in the box or basket: When it's time for a shot When you're on your way to the principal's office to be punished When you're on an amusement park ride When you get separated from your family in an unknown place When you have to tell your brother or sister you lost their best CD When your mother tells you your in BIG trouble when your father gets home When you see someone bleeding badly When you see something super scary on TV WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Ask the children to think of a time when they were really scared. What kinds of feelings did they have or how did their body react to that fear? (Body shook, palms got sweaty, sick feeling in pit of stomach, heart felt like it was hammering, mouth went dry) Show the children the following motions to accompany these feelings and practice doing them together one right after the other in order. (Shake body, dangle hands and flick at wrists like you're shaking water from them, rub stomach, use right fist to pound on heart, pretend to drink a cup of water). Have everyone stand up. Ask for volunteers to come to the front, one at a time, and very quickly suggest a situation that might make our bodies react in fear. After their suggestion, everyone does the five body reactions in order. The next volunteer comes to the front with his suggestion and the same procedure is followed. If the children are slow or need help thinking of scary situations they may draw one from the basket. There is no judgement passed on the situations as to whether they're scary or not. Remind the children that different things scare different people. Before beginning the activity, give the children 5 minutes on the clock. The object is to see how many situations can be reacted to within that time period. In our Bible story today a King had something happen to him that caused his body to react in a similar way as we have done today. GO STRAIGHT INTO THE BIBLE STORY GETTING INTO SCRIPTURE - BIBLE STORY ALPHABET Materials needed: A sheet of poster board OR a write/on wipe/off board OR a blackboard Appropriate writing utensils for whichever medium you choose to use WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) Down the left-hand side of the board print the alphabet letters from A - Z. WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Before telling the story ask the children to be listening for objects or ideas in the story that begin with the letters of the alphabet. After reviewing the story, ask for volunteers to name the objects or ideas they heard mentioned in the story. Have them come to the front and decide which letter to print the object or idea beside. Challenge the children to try to complete the whole alphabet before time is up. Following are some suggestions: A - Afraid B - Belshazzar C - Cups D - Daniel E - Enemy soldiers F - Frightened G - Gifts H - Hand I - Ignored J - Judah K - King L - Learned lesson M - Mene N - Nebuchadnezzar O - Obey P - Parsin Q - Quaked R - Respect S - Silver T - Tekel U - Understand V - ? W - wise men X - ? Y - ? Z - ? GETTING INTO SCRIPTURE - MEMORY VERSE REVIEW Materials needed: Macaroni alphabet letters Bibles WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) Find all the macaroni alphabet letters needed to complete the whole memory verse. Put each word or couple of words (depending on the size of your Sabbath school) into a separate Ziplock bag. WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Give each child a bag or several bags. Have them look up their memory verse in the Bible. Read it together, pointing out to the children the words of the verse that are not included. The children are to figure out what words from the verse they can make with their macaroni letters. After all the individual words are made, have the group decide together what order to put the words in to complete the memory verse. Explain that though the writing in the story was in code and the memory verse was scrambled, the meaning is very clear. If we are like Jesus, we do not have to be afraid when He looks at our life and actions and judges them. We will not end up like Belshazzar who never chose to honor and trust God. ACTING ON SCRIPTURE - JUDGEMENT BRAID Materials needed: Heavy Yarn (three different colors) Masking tape WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) For each child in the class cut a 6-8" piece of each color of yarn. Tie the three pieces altogether at one end. Tape that end to the edge of the table or flat work surface. WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Explain to the children that each string represents a part of the judgement that God sent to Belshazzar. One color (pick one) represents MENE. Belshazzar thought he was in control of his kingdom and what happened to it, but God showed him that he was not. God wants us to realize even as boys and girls that He is in control of our lives and plans. The second color (pick one) represents TEKEL. Belshazzar's behavior was judged to be wicked and something that could no longer be tolerated. God wants us to live lives that are pure and right with His help. The last color (pick one) represents PARSIN. Because Belshazzar did not honor and trust God with his life, because his behavior was so wicked, everything was taken from him including his life. When you braid these three lessons together we have something called "the judgement". It is a time in everyone's life when God decides whether or not we are prepared to be a citizen in His kingdom. Show the children how to braid the yarn together. Tie a knot on the opposite end when finished. When you see the first color, stop and think: "Am I ready to let God be in control of my life?" When you see the second color, stop and think: "Is my behavior pleasing and appropriate in God's eyes?" When you see the third color, stop and think: "If my life were to be over today, would I be ready for Heaven?"