Unit 5 / Lesson 1
Knowing God
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Teacher's Prep
Games
Blanket Name Game
Watch this video to get familiar with the game
Materials:
one big blanket or cloth sheet that people cannot see through.
Blind Man's Bluff with a Pool Noodle
Materials needed
Pool noodle
Blindfold
Stacking Cheerios/Froot Loops
Materials needed
A box of Cheerios or Froot Loops
One table per four children (so that two pairs can work at a time)
Two bowls per table for the Froot Loops
Ice Cream Floats (Main Activity)
Materials needed
Cups (tiny disposable cups would work best, as they allow for multiple servings and different flavors)
An ice cream scoop, or a very sturdy metal spoon
Vanilla ice cream, or another flavor
Two or three kinds of caffeine-free soft drinks, such as: A&W Root Beer; 7Up; Sprite; Crush Orange; Canada Dry ginger ale
Note: Pepsi, Coca-Cola, and many other soft drinks have caffeine in them.
You may want to have two different kinds of soft drinks and two different kinds of ice cream so that the children can make tiny portions and mix and match different combinations.
Worship
Teacher: If your children’s program normally includes a time of singing, you may want to sing these songs before the lesson:
I Am | HLA Wilderness Music Video | Group Publishing
Good in Every Way | Roar VBS | Group Publishing
Intro
SLIDE 1
Gathering
How was your week?
SLIDE 2
Intro Game: The Blanket Name Game
Instructions
We will start our lesson with a game, called the Blanket Name Game!
Before we play, we'll need to tell everyone our names.
Teacher: play this video
Teacher: have the children introduce themselves, then split them up into two teams. Have two volunteers hold up a sheet that people can't see through. Play some practice rounds, and then start elimination rounds, where the person who is slower is eliminated, and the team that wins is the last one standing.
SLIDE 3
Debrief
We played this game because it's important to know each other's names. It's one of the first steps to becoming friends with someone. We start by getting to know each other’s names, but it’s even better to know someone more deeply as a friend.
That's what it's like with us and God. It's one thing to know the name of God or Jesus, but we can’t just stop there. We need to know Him better all the time, and be His friend.
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Big Question
Our big question today is: What do we need to know about God?
SLIDE 5
Big Idea
Our big idea is that we need to know that God is real, and He rewards those who truly want to find Him.
We'll see this in our Bible passage.
Let's read from the book of Hebrews.
SLIDE 6
Bible Reference
Hebrews 11:1-6 (ICB)
1 Faith means being sure of the things we hope for. And faith means knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. 2 People who lived in the past became famous because of faith. 3 It is by faith we understand that the whole world was made by God’s command. This means that what we see was made by something that cannot be seen.
(skip to verse 6)
SLIDE 7
6 Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.
Point 1
SLIDE 8
Our first point is, we need to believe that God is real.
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Game: Blind Man's Bluff with a Pool Noodle
Instructions
We'll start this point with a game of Blind Man's Bluff!
It's a bit like “tag,” but the person who is "it" is blindfolded, but they get a pool noodle to tag everyone with.
If you're "it" we'll blindfold you, and you can try to tag someone with the pool noodle. Once you tag someone, they will be it and will be blindfolded, and they will try to tag someone else.
Teacher: play for a while until several children have had a chance to be “it.”
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Debrief
Let’s all have a seat.
We played this game because it helps us to understand our point. When we are the blind man in the game, we can't see the people we are trying to tag, but there are other ways we know where people are. That's what it's like with God too. We can't see God, but we can know Him without seeing Him. Knowing without seeing is called faith.
Let's read from the Bible again.
SLIDE 11
Bible Reference
Hebrews 11:1-3 (ICB)
Faith means being sure of the things we hope for, and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. People who lived in the past became famous because of faith. It is by faith we understand that the whole world was made by God’s command. This means that what we see was made by something that cannot be seen.
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Explanation
Our Bible passage tells us that faith means knowing that something is real even if we don’t see it. Did you know, all of us use faith all the time! There are lots of things we need to know without seeing.
For example, germs are too small for us to see with our eyes, but we know that they are real, because they make us sick.
Some things are too far away, like Africa or Antarctica, and we have never seen them with our eyes. They are real though, and the way we know is by faith.
There are things in the past too, in history that are no longer around. For example, there was a time when people fought wars with swords and shields. But, we can't see those wars anymore. We only know these things because someone we trust told us.
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That’s how we can know God as well. If someone we trust tells us about God, we can believe them, and we know about God by faith. Another way we know God is because it makes a lot of sense that God is real.
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Application
Now here's where it gets tricky. Not everyone believes that God is real. There are teachers and scientists who think God is just an idea that people made up. There are other teachers and other scientists who believe that God is real and that the Bible is telling the truth about God. Just because someone is a teacher, or a scientist, or a parent, or a really smart person, doesn't mean they're right about God.
We need to find out the truth for ourselves, and we need to figure out what makes the most sense.
The Bible promises that if we really want the truth no matter what, and we're willing to work really hard for it, we will find the truth about God.
SLIDE 15
This is one of the reasons why we try hard at school. We are practicing how to think about all kinds of things. We are learning lots of facts about the world. When you learn a lot of facts, and you know how to think very well, you will be able to listen to all kinds of people. Some of them will believe that God is real, and some won't. However, you'll be able to tell what makes sense, and you can know for yourself that God is real.
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Discussion Questions
What's your favorite subject at school?
Can you see a way that your favorite subject can help you know more about God?
Point 2
SLIDE 17
Our second point is, we need to believe that God rewards those who truly want to find Him.
SLIDE 18
Game: Stacking Cheerios/Froot Loops
Instructions
Teacher: set up one table per group of four. On each table, put two bowls partially full of cereal
Let's start our point with a game. It's the Stacking Froot Loops game!
Everyone needs to find a partner. Once you have a partner, you can head to a table, and I'll tell you when to start.
Teacher: let them find partners and find a table.
For this game you and your partner will have two minutes to make the highest cereal tower you can!
Teacher: when everyone is at their tables, give them two or three minutes to stack cereal and make towers. Praise them for their efforts.
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Debrief
We played this game because it's about doing our best and not giving up. At first we don't know how high we can build, so we just do our best and not give up. This gives us the best chance to have the highest tower.
It's like that when we are trying to know God. When we first start learning about God, we don't know how far we will get. If we just try our best and keep on going, we’ll learn a lot.
SLIDE 20
Bible Reference
Let's read our last verse again.
Hebrews 11:6 (ICB)
6 Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.
SLIDE 21
Explanation
This verse tells us that God rewards those who truly want to find Him, so it’s worth the work to get to know Him!
Every good thing comes from Him. God made everything good, out of the goodness of His heart. When we spend time with Him, He rewards us by giving us wisdom for how to live, and He helps us to have better friendships. He also gives us peace, comfort, power, and He gives us a life that lasts forever.
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Application
So, let's try to find Him.
Find Him in the Bible, when you pray, and in every good thing, because every good thing is from Him.
When we thank Him, trust Him and follow His instructions, it will be really good for us.
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Discussion Question
Do you have any ideas for how to know God better?
Conclusion
SLIDE 24
Let's end this lesson by going over the big ideas again.
Our big question today was, what do we need to know about God?
Our big idea is that we need to know that God is real, and He rewards those who truly want to find Him.
Main Activity: Ice Cream Floats
SLIDE 25
We'll end this lesson by making ice cream floats!
Ice cream floats remind us that we can put two things together to make something new, and it's sometimes better.
That's what it's like with ideas too, so we keep learning and putting ideas together. If we put the right ideas together, we can get to know God.
Teacher: make and enjoy ice cream sundaes.