===================================================================== Title: Primary Sabbath School Program, October 17, 1998 From: NAD Children's Ministries (author: Lisa Seeders) Date: September 15, 1998 Abstract: Activities to use in place of program helps to teach the lesson, JESUS CALLS GIDEON TO HELP ISRAEL ===================================================================== Lesson Aim: Even when I disobey, God hears me when I ask for forgiveness and help. Memory Verse: "Do not be afraid...for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deut. 31:6, NIV GETTING THEIR ATTENTION - PICKED ON PERSON Materials needed: Play-doh OR styro foam (Enough to model or cut out a 6-8" figure) Toothpicks WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) Make a simple figure about 6-8" tall using the play-doh or styro foam. If the figure cannot stand alone, you will have to hold it upright. Prop the figure on a table or flat surface where the children can easily see and reach it. WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Give each child 3-4 toothpicks. Ask them if they know what a bully is. Explain that it is someone who "picks" (Hold up a toothpick) on others who are smaller and weaker. Have the children think of ways that they have been picked on or things that they have done to pick on someone. Each time they think of something they may stick a toothpick into your figure. (They don't need to jab it in far. Most of the toothpick should be left extended.) Talk about why people may become bullies and how it feels to be bullied. When all the toothpicks have been used up ask the children how the play-doh man would be feeling if he was real. (Angry, frustrated, hurt, alone, resentful, helpless etc.) In our story today some people called the Midianites are bullying the Israelites and the Israelites have some of those very same feelings. GO STRAIGHT INTO THE BIBLE STORY SOME IDEAS TO STIMULATE THINKING ON BULLYING: Tease someone until they cry Make fun of someone in front of friends Take something that belongs to someone else and ruin it on purpose Make someone say or do something they don't want to Laugh at someone's mistakes GETTING INTO SCRIPTURE - MEMORY VERSE MAZE Materials needed: Yarn WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) Beginning at one end of the room, lay the yarn in a wavy, circular, mazy pattern all the way to the other end of the room. (The children will be walking on the yarn trying to find their way from one end to the other so make circles big and frequent.) Tie three separate bows into the yarn at different intervals apart from one another. Every time the children come to a bow they repeat the memory verse. WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Look up the memory verse together in the Bible. Read it and show the children which part of the text is included in the memory verse. Explain that no matter how messed up and mixed up things may look at times, God never leaves us. He goes with us through everything if we will just let Him. Each child begins at the start of the yarn maze. They walk on the yarn following it wherever it goes. They don't need to worry about whether or not they are going in the right direction as long as they follow the yarn. Whenever they come to a bow in the yarn, they must stop and repeat the memory verse before continuing on. Children may play as often as time allows and the maze pattern can be changed for different groups. GETTING INTO SCRIPTURE - NEVER-FORSAKEN GAME Materials needed: A chair for each child WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) There are no advance preparations necessary WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: The following activity is similar to Musical Chairs, but with a different twist. Set the chairs back to back. Make sure you have one less chair than the number of children playing. Explain to the children that instead of hearing music they will hear you reading promises from the Bible. The promises tell us that God will never forsake us. They are to listen to the promise closely. When they hear you say the word forsake or forsaken, they may sit down in a chair. If they sit down before you say the word, they are automatically out. There are five texts so groups should not have more than six children in them per round. Texts can be repeated for each new group playing. Print the following texts out ahead of time so you don't have to look each one up individually during the activity. (Children who get "out" can be the readers of the texts) Deut. 31:6 II Cor. 4:9 Heb. 13:5 I Sam. 12:22 Psa. 9:10 ACTING ON SCRIPTURE - FORGIVEN NOT FORSAKEN Materials needed: Crayons Construction paper (Pastel colors) Rubber bands WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) There are no advance preparations necessary WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Show the children the following word play on a chalk board, or write-on/wipe-off board. FOR____EN not FOR____EN The top word is something we are and the bottom word is something we aren't. Ask for volunteers to guess what letters are missing. There are three in each word. (Answer: Forgiven not Forsaken) This is a good news message we need to share with others. Give each child a half piece of his choice of colored construction paper. Ask them to choose two of their favorite crayons and bind them together with a rubber band. They write the acronym above on their sheet of construction paper. They may do as many as they wish choosing different construction paper and colors of crayons. Encourage them to share them with others this week.