Oct. 30th Lessons

9:00am DiscipleLand

1st-2nd grade 
Family Life with God Lesson 9--Food
Exodus 16:1-35 (Food in the Wilderness)

Jesus is our Bread of Life

Verse : 

John 6:35
 " Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty."

Focus:

~Jesus is the Bread of Life.
~Because God loves us, He cares about our physically needs.
~For 40 years, God provided food for the Israelites in the wilderness.

Missionary Biography: William Carey--Scholar and College Professor

 ================================================

9:00am DiscipleLand

3rd-4th grade 

Follow the King Lesson 9—A Split Decision

Luke 4:14-44

Jesus welcomes all who is ready to believe the truth.

Verse : 

Luke 4:18

 " “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,”

Focus:

~People in Nazareth closed their minds and rejected Jesus and His message.
~People in Capernaum listened to Jesus with open hearts and believed in Him.
~Jesus cares about and helped the poor, sick and oppressed.
Missionary Biography: Hudson Taylor—The Riot

==================

10:45am TRU

1st-4th grade

Main Focus: God Saves

Joseph (Genesis 42-47; 50)

Anticipate: Feast or Famine

It is very hard for those of us to understand what it is like to not only go without food but for a prolonged period of time with no hope in sight.  To the people during Joseph's time, famine was very real.  It was about life or death.  It was also a very scary time when people stop being kind and even start hurting others for survival.  

God who knows all things provided a way not only to save the family line of Jacob, but also other nations through Joseph.  God saves.

Worship with songs: led by Youth Band 

Game: Heads or Tails?

Memory Verse: 

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."--Philippians 1:6

God allowed many crazy things to happen to Joseph in order to bring him to the attention of the Pharoah and eventually to save all of Egypt, his own family and other nations from famine (a prolonged time without food). 
God saves!  He saved Joseph by raising him up from a slave and prisoner to 2nd in command in all of Egypt.  God saved Joseph's relationship with his brothers by bringing them to reconciliation.  God saved Joseph's family and other nations from a severe 7 year long famine.  Today, God still saves us from our sins through His Son, Jesus Christ.   Because of our hope in Jesus, we can have hope even in tough circumstances.  God saves. 

When we heard Joseph’s story, it is clear that it was very hard for his brothers to figure out that the “Egyptian” leader was actually their brother Joseph who was sold into slavery and presumed dead many years earlier.  Sometimes we THINK we know a person but find out new things about them as we ask questions. 

Bless:

Psalm 62:1-2, 5-8

Truly my soul finds rest in God;
    my salvation comes from him.² Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
    my hope comes from him.⁶ Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
    he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God;
    he is my mighty rock, my refuge.⁸ Trust in him at all times, you people;
    pour out your hearts to him,
    for God is our refuge.

May our children know that God loves them.  He saved them.  He protects them and will always be with them in difficult times.

Oct. 23rd Lessons

9:00am DiscipleLand

1st-2nd grade 
Family Life with God Lesson 8--Homes
2 Kings 4:8-37 (Elisha's Special Room)

God Is Our Refuge

Verse : 

Joshua 24:15c
 " But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."

Focus:

~God is our refuge--a safe place for His people to dwell.
~People in Bible times lived in tents or simple houses.
~The Shunammite woman used her home to serve prophet Elisha.

Missionary Biography: William Carey--Troubles and Joy

 ================================================

9:00am DiscipleLand

3rd-4th grade 

Follow the King Lesson 8—Living Water

John 4

Jesus loves everyone, regardless of their background.

Verse : 

John 4:14

 " but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Focus:

~Jesus offered the Samaritan woman living water--new life through the Holy Spirit.
~Jesus was not prejudiced and he treated all people fairly.  
~God wants people to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth with all their heart and mind.
Missionary Biography: Hudson Taylor—The Typhoon

==================

10:45am TRU

1st-4th grade

Main Focus: God Redeems

Joseph (Genesis 37; 39-41)

Anticipate: Picture Mazes

Joseph started as the favored son of Jacob, but soon became a slave and then a prisoner through no fault of his own.  It must have seemed as if God had forgotten him during those difficult times.  In the same way, we might sometimes feel we are in a maze and don't know where we are going or how to get out of it. But if we trust God and get His help like Joseph did, we will see God's Big Picture.  God who knows all things also redeems us.

Worship with songs: led by Youth Band 

Game: Throw That Sin Away!

Memory Verse: 

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."--Philippians 1:6

Joseph was His father's favorite son.  Because of this there was a lot of jealousy and unhappiness in their family.  Joseph's life took many unexpected turns.  Through it all, God directed him where He wanted him to go and what He wanted Joseph to do.  God had never forgotten Joseph.  In fact, the Bible tells us that God remembered Joseph and that God was with Joseph through those awful situations and in the prison cell.  God blessed Joseph, gave him success and redeemed Joseph in each situation.  God still redeems us today, through His Son, Jesus Christ.  He has a picture in mind of the life He is going to give each of His people.

Respond: "Block Heads--How Would You Feel?"

God was with Joseph through all the twists and turns of his path.  At those turning points, Joseph made a decision to trust God instead of trusting his own feelings.  Feelings don't necessarily mean taking action.  But God cares about how we feel even when He is asking us to trust in His plans.

Although we know it's the right thing to do to trust God in all circumstances, we need to also be honest with God when we struggle with "doing the right thing".

God who knows all things wants us to go to Him and ask Him for strength.

We might not always be ready to be just like Joseph, but we can always tell God that "God, this makes me so angry.  I don't feel like doing the right thing.  Will You please help me respond in the way that will honor You?"

Bless

Psalm 40:1-4a

I waited patiently for the Lord;   he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.³ He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord  and put their trust in him.

⁴ Blessed is the one   who trusts in the Lord,

 May our children  know that the God of Israel redeemed them.  May they trust in God their Redeemer and live a faithful life that is consistent at church and everywhere else.

Oct. 16th Lessons

9:00am DiscipleLand

1st-2nd grade 
Family Life with God Lesson 7--Clothes
1 Samuel 2:18-21 (Samuel's Clothes)

God Is Generous

Verse : 

Luke 12:28a
 " If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!"

Focus:

~God provides our clothing.  He is generous.
~Samuel's mother, Hannah, made a new coat for him each year.
~Believers can honor God in the way they dress and live.

Missionary Biography: William Carey--It Takes A Team

 ================================================

9:00am DiscipleLand

3rd-4th grade 

Follow the King Lesson 7—Born of the Spirit

John 3

Jesus gives new life to those who believe in Him.

Verse : 

John 3:16

 " For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Focus:

~Those who believe in Jesus are given new life and born again.
~Those who are born again receive eternal life.
~Jesus came to forgive sins and give eternal life to those who would believe.
Missionary Biography: Hudson Taylor—The China Inland Mission 

==================

10:45am TRU

1st-4th grade

Main Focus: God Is Faithful

Jacob (Genesis 27:41-28:17, 32-33)

Anticipate: Draw Impossible

Sometimes we want things to happen a certain way but we find that that path is impossible in real life. When we are stubborn and insist on doing things our way, we create situations for ourselves that may not be intended, just like Jacob and Rebecca’s plotting forced Jacob to have to leave his mother and go to work for his uncle for 20 years.

Worship with songs: led by Youth Band 

Game: Name Toss

Memory Verse: 

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."--Philippians 1:6

Esau became furious and wanted to hurt Jacob because Jacob stole his birthright and his blessing.  Again, Rebekah forgot to trust that God is faithful and took matters into her own hands.  She instructed Jacob to run away to uncle Laban's until things got better.  Things did not get better back home.  And Rebekah and Jacob's decision caused them to never see each other again.  Jacob ended up working for Laban for 20 years before God told him to go back home.  Jacob was still afraid.  He thought because of his cheating and sin, God would not keep His promises to bless him and take care of him.  But that's not who God is.  God is always faithful.  God kept His promises to Jacob, brought him safely home and bless him with all he needed.  Though we make mistakes like Jacob did, God is faithful and He finishes what He starts.

Respond: "Moving Home" Relay Game

After all of Jacob’s years away doing his own thing he decides to go home and bring all his family, servants and animals. He tried to make many decisions on his own but every time his own plans had unintended consequences. Regardless, God took care of him and his family. God is faithful if we put our whole trust in Him. As humans we try various ways to get things done, like Jacob. When we don’t choose to ask God for help or go to other people before God we make achieving those goals harder.

Bless

Psalm 100:4-5

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;

   his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

 May the children see God's faithfulness in their lives.  May they praise Him for His goodness and love.

Memory Verse Oct. 16 - Oct. 30

Oct. 09 Lessons

9:00am DiscipleLand

1st-2nd grade 
Family Life with God Lesson 6--Growing Up

1 Samuel 3 (Samuel Hears God's Call)

Jesus Is the Savior

Verse Review: 

Genesis 2:18; Proverbs 1:8; Proverbs 23:25; Psalm 133:1 ;Proverbs 3:13

Focus:

~Our Savior, Jesus, died to forgive our sins.
~Samuel listened carefully and answered promptly when God spoke to him.
~God speaks to children through His Word in the Bible as they grow up.

Missionary Biography: William Carey--Finding A Safe Place

 ================================================

9:00am DiscipleLand

3rd-4th grade 

Follow the King Lesson 6—Follow Me

John 1:35-2:25

Jesus invites all to follow Him.

Verse Review: 

John 1:14; Luke 1:37; Luke 2:52; John 1:29 ;Luke 4:8

Focus:

~Jesus called a small group of 12 followers to be His disciples.
~Jesus turned water into wine at a wedding celebration.
~Jesus drove out the people who misused God's Temple.

Missionary Biography: Hudson Taylor—God's Provision

==================

10:45am TRU

1st-4th grade

Main Focus: Remember and Celebrate God as Deliverer
Passover

God commands His people to keep festivals and feasts so that they'd remember what God has done for them and not forget His goodness. There are 7 major festivals and one of which is Passover.  During Moses' time, the people of Israel were slaves in the land of Egypt.  They cried out to God to deliver them.  And God did.  God sent Moses as their leader to talk to Pharaoh to let His people go.  But as Pharaoh hardened his heart and refuse to let God's people go, God sent plagues in the land of Egypt.  Right before the very last plague, God commanded His people to eat the Passover meal in haste and put the blood of the lamb over the doorposts so that the Hebrew household could be spared from the terrible plague. God answered His people and delivered them from slavery.  Today, God is still our Deliverer.  He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross, so that we can be delivered from the bondage of sin and death.  Jesus is our true Passover Lamb.

Worship with Singing: led by Youth Band

Memory Verse: 

" But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name."--John 20:31

Every quarter, our TRU children participate in the review game of ZONK! to help them remember what they've discovered during the past several weeks in the Big God Story.

Review Previous Lessons:

• God Is Eternal (Creation/Fall of Man)--Genesis 1-3
• God Is a Covenant Keeper, part 1 (Noah)--Genesis 6-9
• God Is a Covenant Keeper, part 2 (Abram)--Genesis 12; 15-16
• God Is Provider (Abraham and Isaac)--Genesis 18; 21-22
• God Is Lord (Jacob and Esau)--Genesis 25:19-34; 27