BIG IDEA: GOD SPEAKS TO HIS CHILDREN
AIM: The ‘When God Speaks’ Childrens Lesson (1 Kings 17-18) is all about helping children to learn to listen to the voice of God and identify what He is saying to them.
GAME IDEAS:
1) Best Tarzan Yell: Go around the room and see who can make the best Tarzan yell. The winner could get a prize or candy.
2) Blind Feeding: Have two set of partners compete. One of the players from each team is blindfolded and sits behind a chair. The partner slips their hands under the arms of their partner and must feed their partner a bowl of cereal. The team to eat the most/the fastest is the winning team.
BIG VERSE: Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3
SET the Scene:
Remind the children of what happened in 1 Kings 17 and then read 1 Kings 18 together.
SPOT the Simple Meaning:
Game: Get everyone to close their eyes. When the leader taps the child on their back the child must say ‘(name of church) Kids Rock.’ When they open their eyes they must guess who said it. Repeat a few times. Explain that it was really easy because they know each other and recognize each others voices.
The word of the Lord came to Elijah. This isn’t the first time that God’s word has come to him, but what does that mean? How does God’s word come to us? We can find a number of ways that God speaks to people in scripture. Yet the most important thing to know is if it is God that is speaking to us. We can know if it is Him by knowing who He is, what He is like and by reading the Bible. By knowing who God is and the kind of things He has already spoken we will know if something sounds like Him or not.
Would your gran send you this message?
Whaaaat’s up?! Hey man how you doing?!
Would your brother/sister speak to you like this?
I love you soooo much! You are the bestest brother/sister in the whole wide world!
(give your own examples) Maybe they would, maybe they wouldn’t. The point is that we know the types of things they would say because we know them. We recognize their voice and we know their character. Do you know God and the types of things He would say? (get feedback) If you think something is God you can do the Bible and believer test. Go to the Bible and see if it is the type of thing God would say – does it match up with who He says He is and what He has done? You could even speak to other people that believe in Jesus – like your parents if they do – and ask them what they think too!
SEARCH the Scriptures:
Have names of biblical people and the different ways in which God can speak printed on a sheet. Ask the children to try and match up how they think God spoke to each person. Discuss. Explain that God speaks in many different ways which is why it is so important to know His story and recognize His voice and character.
Reading the Bible / Other Believers / Peace / Visions / Circumstances / Jesus / Dreams / Nature / Still small voice / His actual voice / songs / Daniel / Joseph / Moses / Paul / The woman at the well / Elijah (1 Kings 19 : still small voice) / David / Samuel /
SENSE What You Feel:
Ask children to recall a time when God spoke to them – either through the Bible – maybe through hearing His word, or from something the sunday school leader said.
How did it feel when you knew God had spoken to you?
If any of the children do not feel God has ever spoken to them you might want to ask ‘what do you think it would feel like if God spoke to you?’
An alternative question you could ask the children is; How do you think Elijah felt when God spoke to him?
Explain the different explore zones. Have quiet music in the background to help children reflect and explore as they answer the question by doing any of these things…
- Paper and pens to write or draw how you felt.
- Paper/paint and paintbrushes to paint how you felt.
- Playdough – mould how you felt.
- Make a felt bookmark to remind you how you felt (using different colors etc)
- Bibles/paper and pens to think about how you felt.
Come back together and talk about how the children felt. Did it feel good? Scary? Talk about the benefits of hearing from God.
SEEK God:
To seek God sometimes it is good to reflect on what He has already said. Have kids write on post it notes the things that God has said about them/to them already. How many things can they remember? If they need help remind them about everything that God has already said in His word. Then ask children to pray a prayer of thanks for the words God has already spoken.
Remind the children that we only hear from God if we are willing to listen. Ask them if they would like to hear from God more – or be less distracted by other things so that they can hear His voice better (remind them that the more they listen to God’s voice the easier His voice will be to recognise). Pray with those that would.
Click here for the ‘When God Speaks’ lesson Powerpoint image
