===================================================================== Title: Primary Sabbath School Program, June 20, 1998 From: NAD Children's Ministries (author: Lisa Seeders) Date: April 30, 1998 Abstract: Activities to use in place of program helps to teach the lesson, A PATH THROUGH THE SEA ===================================================================== Lesson Aim: Sometimes God wants me to do things that I don't understand, but I choose to follow Him anyway. Memory Verse: "He guided them safely, so they were unafraid." Psa. 78:53, NIV GETTING THEIR ATTENTION - KNAPSACK PACK Materials needed: Large knapsack or shopping bag Colored pencils or crayons Sheet of white paper for each child WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) There are no advance preparations necessary. WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Give each child a sheet of white paper and some colored pencils or crayons. Tell the children they are leaving home. They will not be returning. They can take with them anything that will fit into the knapsack or shopping bag. They are to draw pictures of the objects they will take. After about five minutes discuss the items they have included on their papers. Follow up the activity with the following discussion questions: 1. How do you feel about trying to decide what is important to take and what is not? 2. Would you take anything different if you knew exactly where you were going? 3. Did you want to change your mind after you heard what others were taking? In our story today the Israelites are finally leaving their home in Egypt. It's a day they've been anxiously waiting for. They pack what they think they'll want on their journey. It doesn't take them long to discover what they really need! GO STRAIGHT INTO THE BIBLE STORY. (During the presentation of the Bible story point out that the Children of Israel really need God more than anything) GETTING INTO SCRIPTURE - FIVE SENSES STORY Materials needed: Piece of wood with a swatch of red paint on it Branch with leaves from any tree Bitter smelling herbs Pita bread (Or any other bread without yeast) Pair of leather shoes or sandals Walking stick Cloud shape made from fiber fill or cotton Matches Picture of chariots Cassette tape with recording of ocean sounds Blindfolds (optional) WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) Put all the above articles into a large box where they can't be seen ahead of time by the children. WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Explain to the children that they are going to use all of their senses to experience the Bible story. At the beginning of the story everyone is to close their eyes. Provide blindfolds if necessary. Go through the story as told in the quarterly. Whenever one of the following 12 items is introduced during the story, pause (without mentioning the item), tell the children what sense they will need to use, pull the item from the box and let the children smell, touch, listen, taste or see what it is according to the suggested plan below. After they each have had a turn using their senses, guesses are made as to what it is. 1. Lamb - (hearing) No object necessary. Just make a baa-baa sound. 2. Blood - (sight) Allow children to open eyes and see board with red paint on it. 3. Hyssop leaves - (touch) Children don't look; just feel the leaves from the box. 4. Pita bread - (taste) Children don't look, but may taste a small piece from the box. 5. Herbs - (smell) Children don't look; just smell jar of bitter herbs. 6. Shoes - (smell) Children don't look; just smell leather from shoes. 7. Walking stick - (touch) Children don't look; just touch stick 8. Cloud - (touch) Children don't look; just touch cloud 9. Pillar of fire - (smell) - Children don't look; just smell fumes from lighted matches 10. Chariots - (sight) - Children may look at picture of chariots. 11. Red Sea - (hearing) - Children don't look; just listen to sounds of ocean or waves. The Israelites found out that more than anything, they needed God to be their guide on this journey. GETTING INTO SCRIPTURE - MEMORY VERSE FOOTPRINTS Materials needed: White or pastel colored construction paper (4 sheets per child) Pens Bibles Six-sided cardboard cube (homemade die) WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare ahead) Make a large six-sided cardboard cube, numbering three of the sides,"1" and the other three, "2". WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Give each student 4 sheets of white or pastel construction paper, a pen and a Bible. Have each child stack the sheets of construction paper on top one another to make a pile. Instruct them to take their left shoe off , lay their foot on the left-side of the pile of papers and trace around it. Repeat this procedure for the right foot. Make sure the papers stay neatly stacked on top of one another. Cut the right feet and left feet apart by cutting all four papers in half. The children then cut all the left feet out at once using the top one as the guide Then they cut out their stack of right feet. The children should essentially only be cutting feet twice but will end up with eight feet altogether when finished. Have them look up the memory verse in their Bibles and print one word on each foot. Alternate between left feet and right feet when printing. Younger children will need to have the printing done for them.. When children all have a set of eight footprints, have them line up on one side of the room facing you. They take turns laying their footprints in order advancing toward you. After each child has completed their memory verse path have them collect their footprints and return to the opposite side of the room from you. They then take turns rolling the die and laying down the footprint memory verse word that matches the number on the die. (For example - If they roll a six, they lay down the footprint with the word, "they" on it. If they roll a one, they lay down the "He". The last two footprints with the words "were" and "unafraid" are laid down at the end without having to roll the die. If they roll a number and they have already laid down that word, their turn passes on to the next child. More than anything, we need God to guide us on the right paths. Then no matter what happens, we can feel safe with Him. ACTING ON SCRIPTURE - GOD GUIDES GAME Materials needed: Footprints from previous memory verse activity Pens A spinner or a regular die WHAT THE TEACHER DOES: (To prepare in advance) There are no advance preparations necessary. WHAT THE STUDENTS DO: Explain to the children that we are on a journey to a Promised Land (Heaven) just as the Israelites in the lesson were. The Israelites already discovered in our lesson this week how much they needed God to go with them and guide them in their journey. We too need God to guide us as we journey closer toward our Heavenly home. Collect all the footprints from the children. Using the blank side print the following statements on eight of them, one statement to a footprint. Place all the footprints, blank side up, in a winding path all throughout the room randomly inserting one of the footprints with a statement on it. Designate one end of the path as the beginning and the other as the end. Line all the children up at the beginning. The children take turns spinning a spinner or rolling a die and advancing the number of footprints indicated. Whenever they come to a footprint with words on it, they follow the directions. The game is not over until all children reach the end of the path. Encourage the children to think about and implement the ideas they learn in the game into their everyday lives this week. 1. You remember to read your Bible this week. Advance 3 footprints. 2. You remember to pray whenever you go anywhere in the car. Advance 4 footprints. 3. You ask God to help you stop fighting with a sister, brother or friend. Advance 2 footprints. 4. You ask God to help you with your homework this week. Advance 1 footprint. 5. You ask God to help you tell the truth all week. Advance 4 footprints. 6. You ask God to help you feel sorry for something wrong you did. Advance 2 footprints. 7. You ask God to help you feel brave during a scary time this week. Advance 1 footprint. 8. You ask God to show you one person you can witness about Him to this week. Go all the way to the end.