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Deborah: When God is King

Unit 11 / Lesson 1

Deborah: When God is King

Slides for the Lesson

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Teacher's Prep

  • Games

    • The Shoe Game

      • No preparation needed!

    • Traffic Yam

      • Get a bag of large marshmallows -- enough for each child to have two (one to put on the floor and one to eat as a prize).

      • This game is based off of a Minute To Win It game called Traffic Yam. It is a relay race between two teams who are moving a yam across the floor of the room using only their noses. In this case we will do the relay with marshmallows.

      • Alternatively, you can have them move a gummy bear across a table.

      • For reference, watch this video:

    • Zone Soccer

      • Materials:

        • A very soft ball that people could kick, but would not hurt to be hit by. 

        • A cotton-centered ball would work. Some dollar stores may sell styrofoam balls, and those should work too. In the absence of a ball, you could use a few pieces of paper scrunched up and wrapped up in a few layers of tape to keep it together.

        • Note: It is sometimes difficult to remove the tape depending on the flooring. Alternatively, you could make dashed lines of tape, or stick lines of yarn to the ground for easier cleanup.

        • Masking/Paint Tape to mark the ground

        • Note: It is sometimes difficult to remove the tape depending on the flooring. Alternatively, you could make dashed lines of tape, or stick lines of yarn to the ground for easier cleanup.

      • This game is inspired by foosball. Where each team has lines that control a part of the field.

      • In this game, each team controls parts of the room. See the graphic below:

      • Prepare a slide of the graphic above so the children can see it before you play.

      • It may be best to have the ground marked before the start of the lesson.

  • Main Activity: Origami Waterbomb

    • Cut a piece of paper into a large square

    • Watch this YouTube tutorial

    • Make the crafbeforehand and bring it to class as a sample

    • Prepare several squares of paper per child. Squares may be made of fancy paper with patterns, or something simple like regular blank paper. Variety of colors and patterns is ideal.


Intro

SLIDE 1

  • Gathering

    • How was your week?

    SLIDE 2

  • Intro Game: The Shoe Game

    • Instructions

      • We'll start this lesson with a game! It's called the Shoe Game! We will have two teams, and each team will line up on an opposite wall.

      • Teacher: form two teams, and line them up on opposite walls.

      • Everyone on your team will take off only ONE shoe and we'll make a pile of shoes in the middle of the room. 

      • Teacher: let them take off a shoe, and make a pile in the middle of the room. Then have them line up on their opposite walls again.

      • You'll all have one shoe on your foot, and one in the pile. Now, take a look at the shoes that your teammates are wearing. Try to remember what their shoes look like, because maybe you can help them out by helping them find their shoes.

      • When I say “go,” the two teams will race to see who can put on all their shoes first and touch their wall again. Your team wins if everyone puts on their shoes and they're touching the wall.

      • Ready? Go.

      • Teacher: you may want to play multiple rounds of this game if time and interest allow.

    • Debrief

      • In this game we played, there is one shoe that's just right for you. Nobody else gets to wear that shoe, and when you put it on, it fits you in just the right way. It might be hard to get your shoe at first because there are so many people in the way, but if you don't give up, you'll get your shoe.

  • Relevance

    SLIDE 3

    • This game is a bit like real life, because God has a very special plan that's just for you. But it can be hard to follow His plan sometimes.

  • Big Question

    SLIDE 4

    • Our big question today is: How can we do things that are really hard? 

  • Series: The Monarchy

    • Today we are starting a new group of lessons about the kings of Israel. The kings of Israel lived a long time ago, and even though they lived in a very different place, they still have a lot to teach us. When we spend time thinking about these kings, we learn about ourselves and God, and we also learn more about how the whole Bible is put together.

    SLIDE 5

    • Let's watch a video that shows us how the kings fit in the whole story of the Bible.

    • Teacher: play this YouTube:

    • Our lesson today is about the very first king of Israel. The first king of Israel was actually God Himself. But God's people didn't always listen to God or do what He said, and they got into a lot of trouble because they broke their friendship with God. But when they got into trouble, they turned back to God, and God sent them a very special and powerful leader. One of those leaders was named Deborah.

    • Let's watch her story.

  • Bible Reference

    SLIDE 6

  • Big Idea

    • This story we watched actually teaches us something really important about our own lives. 

    SLIDE 7

    • To review, our big question today is: How can we do things that are really hard?

    • Our big idea today is:

      • Sometimes God tells us to do things that are really hard, but He helps us when we obey Him.


    Point 1

  • Our first point is, sometimes God tells us to do things that are really hard

    SLIDE 8

  • Game: Traffic Yam

    • Instructions

      • We'll start this point with a game! It’s called Traffic Yam, because sometimes it’s played with yams. Today we will use marshmallows. It's a relay race, so we will have two teams. Everyone on your team will take a turn moving a marshmallow across the floor of the room with just their nose! When it's your turn, you'll start by touching the wall.Then you'll roll the marshmallow to the other side of the room, touch the far wall with your nose still on the marshmallow, then roll the marshmallow back with your nose and touch the wall where you came from. Then the next person on your team will go. If you finish, you get a fresh marshmallow to eat for all of your effort.

      • Teacher: demonstrate how to play, at least at key parts of the relay, e.g. how to begin, how to roll, how to touch the far wall while your nose is on the marshmallow, and how to end one's turn at the near wall.

    • Debrief

      • We played this game because it's kind of hard! It makes you go on your hands and knees, and the marshmallow doesn't always go where you want it to go. But actually, the game needs to be hard like that! If it were too easy, it would be boring! Because it’s hard, you get to show everyone how determined and creative you are.

    SLIDE 9

    • Just because something is hard doesn't mean it's bad.

    • In our Bible story, God wanted His people to do something hard. Let's read from the Bible.

  • Bible Reference

    SLIDE 10

    • Judges 4:3-7 (CEV)

      • 3 Jabin’s army had 900 iron chariots, and for 20 years he made life miserable for the Israelites, until finally they begged the Lord for help. 4 Deborah the wife of Lappidoth was a prophet and a leader of Israel during those days. 5 She would sit under Deborah's Palm Tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, where Israelites would come and ask her to settle their legal cases. 6 One day, Barak the son of Abinoam was in Kedesh in Naphtali, and Deborah sent word for him to come and talk with her. When he arrived, she said: I have a message for you from the Lord God of Israel! You are to get together an army of 10,000 men from the Naphtali and Zebulun tribes and lead them to Mount Tabor. 7 The Lord will trick Sisera into coming out to fight you at the Kishon River. Sisera will be leading King Jabin's army as usual, and they will have their chariots, but the Lord has promised to help you defeat them.

  • Explanation

    • Let me explain. 

    SLIDE 11

    • This is Deborah.

    SLIDE 12

    • Deborah was a prophet which meant she could hear messages from God.

    SLIDE 13

    • She told a man named Barak that it was time to gather an army to fight their enemies who were very powerful. They had 900 iron chariots in their army! Chariots were like cars. Can you imagine trying to fight someone who is driving a car? That would feel impossible, and it would be scary if those cars were driving right at you. Barak was scared because he knew his people didn't have chariots like that. In fact, his people hardly had any weapons at all. They went anyway because God told them to, and He had promised to help them defeat their enemies.

  • Application

    • That's how it works for us too. Sometimes God tells us to do things that are really hard. For example, sometimes He wants us to take care of other people, or to speak up for what is right.

    SLIDE 14

    • He always wants us to do our best for Him, and that can be really tiring. However, He promises us that He will be with us if we do things His way.

  • Discussion Question

    SLIDE 15

    • Let's pause for a discussion question:

      • What is something that God wants us to do?


    Point 2

  • Our second point is, God helps us when we obey Him.

    SLIDE 16

  • Game: Zone Soccer

    • Instructions

      • Teacher: show this graphic on a slide

      • Let's start this point with a game called Zone Soccer. It's a game where your team has to work together.

      • If you've ever played foosball, it will feel a bit like that, except in this game you're like the little guys on the table!

      • In the game of foosball, all the little guys can move left and right, but not forward and backwards. In this game, you can only move left and right. You’ll have to stay between the lines and not cross over them, so you’ll want to work together with everyone else on your team. 

      • You might be in the goalie zone, protecting your goal. You might be in the forward zone and trying to score goals. You might be in the middle zone and trying to do a bit of everything. The important thing to remember is to work together as a team.

      • You can switch zones between points, but your feet can't cross the line when the ball is moving around. Any questions?

    SLIDE 17

    • Teacher: play until one side has five points, or as time and interest allow.

    • Debrief

      • We played this game because it's about doing your part. You can't do everything, but you can do your part, and you have to rely on your team to do their part as well.

      • Being on God's team is a bit like that. God has given us work to do, but He also wants us to rely on Him. That's what our heroes found out in our Bible story.

  • Bible Reference

    SLIDE 18

    • Let's read what happened during the battle.

    • Judges 4:14-16 (CEV)

      • 14 Deborah shouted, “Barak, it's time to attack Sisera! Because today the Lord is going to help you defeat him. In fact, the Lord has already gone on ahead to fight for you.” Barak led his 10,000 troops down from Mount Tabor. 15 And during the battle, the Lord confused Sisera, his chariot drivers, and his whole army. Everyone was so afraid of Barak and his army, that even Sisera jumped down from his chariot and tried to escape. 16 Barak's forces went after Sisera's chariots and army as far as Harosheth-Ha-Goiim. Sisera's entire army was wiped out. 

  • Explanation

    • In this story God's people didn't have fancy weapons like their enemies did, but God helped them. God went ahead to fight for them, and...

    SLIDE 19

    • He confused the enemies and made them very afraid.

    • When we read on in the next chapter we find out that...

    SLIDE 20

    •  God made the ground shake and made the rain pour from the sky. That would have made the battlefield muddy and all the chariots would have gotten stuck so they couldn't fight anymore. I’m sure God’s people didn’t like fighting in the rain either, and they were probably very uncomfortable and scared. But they were able to fight and win, and the Bible says the land had peace for the next forty years.

  • Application

    • That's how it works for us too. Although God tells us to do some difficult things, He has also made us some amazing promises, to be with us and to give us everything we need.

    SLIDE 21

    • He also listens to our prayers. It doesn't mean we get everything we want, and He doesn’t just make everything easy for us. He always gives us enough though, and He always gives us what is really the best.

    • When we obey God, we can all see God's power just like the Israelites did.

  • Discussion Question

    SLIDE 22

    • Let's stop for a discussion question.

    • When can we expect God's help?

      • Suggested answer: when God has made us a promise, we can trust that He will keep it. He hasn't promised to make things easy for us, and He hasn't promised that we will always win at everything, but He has promised to be with us and to take care of us, and to make everything turn out well for us in the end.


    Conclusion

    SLIDE 23

  • Let’s wrap up our lesson by going over the big ideas again.

  • Our big question today was: How can we do things that are really hard?

  • Our big idea that we saw in our passage was: sometimes God tells us to do things that are really hard, but He helps us when we obey Him.


    SLIDE 24

    Main Activity: Origami

  • Now it's time for our main activity! We will be making water bombs out of paper! Water bombs are little paper balloons that can hold air, and some people even put water in them!

  • Teacher: show them your sample craft

  • Let’s see how these water bombs are made.

  • Teacher: Play this YouTube video:

  • A craft like this helps us remember our lesson because our lesson is about following instructions. We want to be like Barak, who followed God's instructions and won the battle.

  • If we want to make water bombs that work, we need to follow the instructions. If we do, we will get something better than anything we could have dreamed up on our own.

  • Now we’ll set up some tables, and we’ll try to make those water bombs for ourselves.

    • Instructions for Teacher: 

      • Set up tables for folding paper

      • Distribute paper

      • Play the YouTube video again, pausing at each step to give everyone a chance to catch up, troubleshooting when they are struggling with their craft.

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