Aim: The ‘Moses and the Amalekites’ Childrens Lesson on Exodus 17:8-16 is part of a wider teaching series called ‘Squad Goals’ about friendship. It is an encouragement to think about why God gives us friends.
Main Idea: GOD IS THE GIVER OF FRIENDS
Suggested Schedule: (90 mins)
- Welcome (5 mins)
- Game (5mins)
- Review Big Verse (5 mins)
- Set the Scene: Bible story/skit and review questions (10-15 mins)
- Object Lesson 1 talk (5mins)
- Game (5 mins)
- Object Lesson 2 talk (5 mins)
- Game (5 mins)
- Object Lesson 3 game and talk (10 mins)
- Game (5 mins)
- Sense How You Feel activity (10 – 25 mins)
- Seek God Prayer (5 mins)
Supplies:
- Pool noodles and cushions
- Balloons, string, scissors
- socks
- Bible
- Mats or soft surface on the floor
- Blindfold, bowl, spoon, cereal, milk
- Chairs, tables, cones, hula hoops, nets… obstacle course equipment
- Blindfold, bowl, spoon, cereal, milk
- Paper, markers, scissors
- All printables, split (cotter) pins
- Playdough or clay
- Lego or construction toys
- Dolls/action figures or toy people
SONG and BIBLE STORY VIDEO IDEAS available via our dedicated Pinterest Board
GAME IDEAS:
GLADIATOR – 5 mins
Description: one-on-one game
Supplies: Pool noodles and cushions
Details: (regular/widescreen) Children stand on a cushion facing each other. Children must try and knock their opponent off their cushion by hitting them with the pool noodle. The first child to step off their cushion is eliminated.
BALLOON POP! – 5 MINS
Description: Team Game
Supplies: Balloons, string, scissors.
Details: (regular/widescreen) Tie a balloon around each child’s ankle. Make sure it isn’t too tight, but is fairly loose; but not too loose that it falls off.
Children compete to stamp on everyone else’s balloons whilst protecting their own. Once their balloon has popped they are eliminated from the game. The last child with their balloon in tact is the winner.
SOCK WARS – 10 MINS
Description: one-on-one game
Supplies: socks
Details: (regular/widescreen) Pair children up and have them face one another on their hands and knees. They must have their shoes off and one of their socks hanging half off their foot. The aim of the game is to try and grab their opponent’s sock whilst protecting their own from falling off.
Once a child’s sock is pulled off by their opponent they are eliminated and their opponent is the winner.
BIG VERSE: The battle is not your battle it is God’s battle. 2 Chronicles 20:15b.
SET THE SCENE: 10-15 MINS
Description: Story time
Supplies: Bible or try one of the Bible videos listed on our Pinterest Board
Details: Read Exodus 17:8-16 or act out the scene then ask a few of the review questions below:
REVIEW QUESTIONS:
- Who was fighting the battle?
- Who was with Moses?
- What did Moses have in his hands?
- What did Moses need to do with his arms?
- Where was Moses standing?
- What did God say about the Amalekites?
SPOT THE SIMPLE MEANING:
1) GOD GIVES US FRIENDS – 5 MINS
Description: Object Lesson 1
Supplies: Mats or soft surface on the floor.
Details: Get a set of three friends to come up and tell you why they are friends, what makes them good friends and how they came to be friends. These children can stand at the front while you talk. You can use the same three children for Object lesson 2.
Say: Joshua was the one to fight the Amalekites… yet it was Moses that went up the hill during the battle. When Moses’ arms were raised and the staff of God was raised, the Israelites were winning. Yet when his arms got tired and his hands lowered, the Amalekites were winning. Yet Moses didn’t go up the hill alone. He had two friends: Aaron, his brother and Hur.
Moses was a great man of God, but he knew he couldn’t do everything alone. God knew he couldn’t do everything alone. That’s why God had sent Aaron with him to speak to Pharoah, years before when they fought to leave Egypt.
God gave Moses friends and He gives us friends too. Do you have one or two good friends that can support you? [Get the three friends to come up at this point and share about their friendship.]
Moses didn’t have a crowd next to him, it wasn’t a popularity contest. He wasn’t trying to be the coolest. Moses had two close friends that could hold his hands up when he got tired. That was all he needed.
2) FRIENDS SUPPORT US IN TOUGH TIMES – 5 MINS
Description: Object Lesson 2
Supplies: No supplies needed
Details: Human Pyramid. Have two children come and place their hands and feet on the floor next to one another, facing forward. Choose a smaller child to come and do the same, on the backs of the two already in place. They must place their hands on the top of the other children’s backs and their knees on the other children’s lower backs/bottoms. If the child is feeling brave they could even stand on the children’s backs. Make sure the children on the lower level have positioned their backs to be straight and strong.
Say: Both Joshua and Moses were going through a difficult battle. Joshua needed to keep fighting, Moses needed to keep his hands up high. Neither of these great men could do their job alone. Joshua needed others fighting beside him. Moses needed Aaron and Hur to help him keep his arms raised.
We all need people to help us in tough times. God gives us people that will help us, sometimes we just need to ask for help.
In the human pyramid you were each supporting one another, you were able to reach a higher height and do great things together. Friends help us and support us in tough times and also help us to do things we might never do alone.
Do you have good friends in your life? [Get feedback] Do you have people that you can ask for help and support when you need it? [Get feedback] If not, we can pray for more friends and support. We can also offer to be one another’s friends and help each other. Sometimes to have good friends, you first need to start being a good friend and offer to help someone else.
If we took away some of the children at the bottom or middle of the human pyramid, the everyone would come tumbling down. If we took away those at the top, the pyramid wouldn’t reach as high. We all need one another.
Who helps you in tough times? Who do you want to help?
3) I CAN LET OTHERS SUPPORT ME – 5 MINS
Description: Object Lesson 3
Supplies: Blindfold, bowl, spoon, cereal, milk
Details: Blindfold a child and tie their hands behind their waist. Now invite them to eat a bowl of cereal. When the child realises that they can’t do this themselves, invite the child to think about what might help them. When they realise a friend could help, invite them to ask a friend. The friend can feed the child.
Say: It can be easy to think we have to do everything on our own. Maybe someone has told us that to be strong we need to do things on our own. Sometimes that might be true. Yet God puts godly people around us to help us. We need to choose sensibly and responsibly who those people are.
If I want to grow in God, I might not ask my friend who hates the Bible to tell me what Bible verses to read, or how to live for God. If my brother is terrible at math I might not ask him to help me with my math problems. Yet if I know my parent loves Jesus I might ask them for advice on how to follow Him. If I know my uncle is great at math, I would do better to ask my uncle for help with my homework! If I want to learn to skate and my friend is an amazing skater, but my sister is terrible, who am I going to ask to teach me? My friend! That’s right!
We have to let others support us in the right ways.
SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES:
FRIENDS IN THE BIBLE – 10 MINS
Description: Obstacle course game
Supplies: Chairs, tables, cones, hula hoops, nets… anything you can find to make your obstacle course more fun!
Details: Set up an obstacle course for children to run through. Throughout the obstacle course have a few of the names of the friends in the Bible, one child from each team can grab one of the cards for their team.
Abraham and Lot (Genesis 14:14-16)
David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1-3)
David and Abiathar (I Samuel 22:22-33)
David and Hiram (I Kings 5:1-7)
David and Ittai (2 Samuel 10:2)
David and Nahash (2 Samuel 10:2)
Ruth and Naomi (Ruth 1:16-17)
Elisha and Elijah (2 Kings 2:2)
Job and his friends (Job 2:11-13)
Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego] (Daniel 2:49)
Jesus, Mary, Martha and Lazarus (John 11:21-23)
Jesus and the disciples
Paul, Priscilla and Aquila (Romans 16:3-4)
Paul, Timothy and Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:19-26)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
- What kind of friend do you want to be?
- Which friend in the Bible do you admire? Why?
- Why do you think it’s important to be a good friend?
- How do friends help each other?
- How have your friends helped you?
- How have you helped your friends?
- Let’s pray for our friends! [Take turns to pray for your friends]
SENSE HOW YOU FEEL – 10 MINS EACH OR IN TANDEM/ROTATION
Encourage the children to think about the questions above as they do one of the activities:
Description: Craft.
Supplies: Moses Hands lifting craft printable, markers, split (cotter) pins
Details: Color the printable. Children cut out the Moses and his arms, then put split pins through the shoulders to join with the body. Now Moses’ arms can be lowered and raised.
Description: Moulding activity.
Supplies: Playdough or clay.
Details: Mould Moses on the rock, with Aaron and Hur helping him raise his hands.
Description: Building activity.
Supplies: Lego or construction toys.
Details: Build the scene of Moses lifting his hands whilst the Israelites fight in battle against the Amalekites.
Description: Sensory activity.
Supplies: Dolls/action figures or toy people
Details: Encourage children to re-enact a friendship between the toys.
For older kids: listen to some songs about friends.
Description: Coloring sheet
Supplies: coloring sheet (included in download), markers.
Details: Color the coloring sheet
SEEK GOD: 5 MINS
Description: Prayer activity
Supplies: Paper and markers, scissors
Details: You could encourage children to make friendship paper doll chains by folding their paper and cutting a child shape with the arms connecting at the fold. Don’t cut between the folded arms. (See Pinterest for a video on how to make them).
Say: Today we’ve thought about how others can support us and how we can support and help them. God is the One who can help us and support us through anything. We get the help and support of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! 3 in 1!
The Holy Spirit gives us boldness and comfort, peace and joy when we need it most. He is with us always. If you don’t have the Holy Spirit because you have never chosen to follow Jesus, then now is the time to ask Him to be Your friend and to be part of your life!
God is the greatest friend you will ever have and the best person to give you support. If you would like to pray and invite Him to be your friend today, pray with me:
Prayer for inviting God to be your friend: Father God, thank You that You love us so much! Thank You that You sent Your Son Jesus to earth so that we would know Your love and support. Please come and be my friend. Please forgive me when I do wrong things or hurt my friends. Holy Spirit, please help me to live like Jesus and to be the best friend that I can be. I invite You into my life today. Amen.
Prayer for Friends: Thank You God for my friends. Please help those that need it today; please help my friends that are sick, my friends that are lonely, my friends that feel lost. Please help me to tell them about You and how You have helped me. Amen.
Prayer for more help and support: Thank You God that You give me people around me to help me and support me. Please help me to ask for help when I need it. Please help me to be a good friend to others and support them when they need it. Amen.
