======================================================= Title: Primary Sabbath School Program, December 9, 2,000 From: NAD Children's Ministries (author: Lisa Seeders) Date Completed: November 15, 2,000 Abstract: Activities to use in place of program helps to teach the lesson, RUNAWAY SLAVE GOES HOME ======================================================= Lesson Aim: God wants me to ask forgiveness for wrongs I have done and to forgive others for wrongs they do to me. Memory Verse: "If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." Matt. 6:14, NIV GETTING THEIR ATTENTION - SLAVES AND MASTERS Materials needed: None WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) There are no advance preparations necessary. WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Ask the children, "What is a slave?" (Someone who is controlled by another person.) Divide the children into pairs. (If there are an uneven number of children, you be someone's partner.) Indicate to each pair of children, who will be the slave and who will be the master. Tell the masters to think of three things they want the slaves to do. Whatever the master says, the slave mimes or pretends to do. Each order is to be given singularly, one at a time and carried out until you say stop. Now designate the children who were masters to become slaves and the children who were slaves to become masters. The new masters think of three things they want their slaves to do. Return to seats and discuss the following: 1. When it was your turn to be the slave, do you wish you had been a better master? 2. When you think of controlling another person, do you automatically think of giving them things to do you don't want to do? Our story today is about a slave who runs away from his master. But it is about more than slaves and masters. It is about how we control each other by our attitude and by the way we treat one another. It is about letting God help us forgive others, so they no longer control us. GO STRAIGHT INTO THE BIBLE STORY. GETTING INTO SCRIPTURE - BIBLE JEOPARDY Materials needed: (20) 3 X 5 cards Marker WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) On one 3 X 5 card write the word, WHO. On a second 3 X 5 card write the word, WHAT. On a third 3 X 5 card write the word, WHERE. On a fourth 3 X 5 card write the word, WHY. On four other 3 X 5 cards print the number 5. On four more 3 X 5 cards print the number 10. On four additional 3 X 5 cards print the number 15. On the remaining four 3 X 5 cards print the number 20. Set the cards up to look like a jeopardy board on the floor. The word cards go across the top and the numbers run vertically under the word cards. There should be four number cards under each word card. (#5, 10, 15, 20). WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: After reviewing the story with the children, play this Bible review jeopardy game. A child picks a category card and a number under that category. (It can be any number they want) For example: "I pick WHO for 20". Ask them the question using the key below. If they get the right answer, they keep the card. If they answer incorrectly they return it to the game board and it's open for someone else to try. Key: WHO 5 - Who was bitten by a poisonous snake and lived to tell about it? (Paul) 10-Who was the runaway slave who stole money from his owner? (Onesimus) 15-Who was the owner of the runaway slave who Paul wrote to. His name is a book of the Bible? (Philemon) 20-Who gave Paul and Peter the power to preach about Jesus and change the world? (Holy Spirit) WHAT 5 - What helped give Paul a way to talk to the island people about Jesus? (Not dying from the snake bite and healing miracles.) 10-As Paul traveled to his trial in Rome what gave him courage? (The Christians greeting him along the way.) 15-What happened to Onesimus after he met Paul? (He became a Christian.) 20-What did Paul promise Philemon in his letter to him? (Money; he would repay what Onesimus had stolen.) WHERE 5 - Where did the snake come from that bit Paul? (Out of the firewood.) 10-Where did Paul live while he was waiting for his trial in Rome? (He lived with a guard in a house.) 15-Where did Paul send Onesimus? (Back to his owner, Philemon.) 20-Where did Caesar send him after his trial in Rome? (He let him go free.) WHY 5 - Why did the people on the island think Paul was a god? (Because he didn't die when the snake bit him.) 10-Why did Paul send Onesimus home instead of keeping him to work along with him? (Because he knew Onesimus needed to ask for forgiveness and return the money he had stolen.) 15-Why was Paul not afraid to die? (Because he wanted more than anything for the message about Jesus to be preached everywhere. He knew that troubles and death would not be able to stop it. Whether or not he was the one to carry the message was not important to him.) 20-Why is it important to Jesus that we forgive others? (Because He knows that His spirit of love and forgiveness must be in each of His children before they can be truly happy.) GETTING INTO SCRIPTURE - SHAKING OFF SNAKES Materials needed: 5 paper snakes 5 clothes pins Hot glue gun/hot glue sticks Wiggly eyes Colors Bibles WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) There are no advance preparations necessary. WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Give each child a snake to color and glue wiggly eyes on. Then glue the head of the snake to the clothes pin so that when you open the clothes pin it looks like the snake's mouth is opening. Ask for a volunteer. Have the children clip their snake onto the clothes or shoes of the volunteer. Tell the children that when people hurt us it can "bite" like a snake bite. Paul was able to shake the snake off with God's help and not suffer from it. With God's help we can forgive others when they hurt us, put the hurt behind us and not continue to suffer from it. Have the group work together in helping take the snakes off the volunteer. They can only be removed as each word of the memory verse is repeated. (If you have a small Sabbath school, have each snake represent a phrase of the verse: i.e. "If you forgive men" can be one snake.) Continue putting the snakes on other volunteers and removing them as the verse is repeated. ACTING ON SCRIPTURE -SET FREE BY FORGIVENESS Materials needed: Construction paper Scissors Pens Glue stick WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) Give each child 6-8 strips of construction paper. (The strips will be connected into chain links.) WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Give each child their 6-8 chain links. On each one they are to write the name of someone who they need to forgive. It could be someone who has physically hurt them, someone who teases them unmercifully, someone who has cheated to them, stole from them, lied to them etc. Glue the links together with the final link glued around their wrist. Have each child with their free unchained hand hold the chain of another child. Thus they will be holding someone else while they themselves are being held. Talk about how difficult it will be to move independently; their behavior is always being controlled by someone else. Only as we ask Jesus to completely fill our hearts with His love and forgiveness can we break free. You, the teacher begin to walk around and clip the links. Have the children completely clip apart all the links to get completely free. Now we're free to love each other even if we don't always like the way we are treated. Pray with the children specifically about forgiveness.