Lesson: Moses Delivers God’s Message

Saturday, 1 October 2011 — 14 kids were present

Note:

• We can’t be in the fellowship hall today — some people will be setting up for Mrs. K’s birthday open house. We can still prepare snacks in the kitchen but bring them into the catechism room.
• We’re going to divide into older/younger (during the lesson part only)
• There is a new plastic set of drawers (thanks Lorene!) in the supply room — we can organize our stuff into that

Volunteers: Paul, Alyssa, Ally, Laura

Driving: 10am and 12pm: Cheryl/Adam

Scriptures: Exodus 4:19 — 6:9

Memory Verses:

1. Review 1 Peter 5:7 (“Turn all your worries over to God, because he cares about you”) and 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (“Faithful is he that calleth you, who will also do it.”)
2. Proverbs 3:5-6 (“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding. In all your ways remember him, and he will make your paths straight.”)

Songs: this week, add verse 2 to Hymn 44:

hymn 44 stanza 2 -- original image at flickr.com/photos/iboy/4336121276/

Extra Supplies:

• map page for each child to write labels on and color (in bin, from last week)
• two coloring pages (Paul will bring)
• Flashcards book (in bin)
• Hymn 44:2 song print — there are new mini-albums for the 4×6 prints
• 6 cardboard footprints for gospel activity (Chris preparing)
• 10 cardboard footprints for tic-tac-toe game
• play-doh for making bricks

Outline

• (10:00am) collect guardian names/telephone and food allergies for any new children
• Hand out maps, colorings, and hymn prints
• together: Matthew 6 “Lord’s prayer“
• Sing Hymn 44 stanzas 1 and 2
  
• Alyssa and Ally to little lambs with younger kids; Paul and Laura with older kids in catechism room:
  
• memory verse activity (see p. 21) — note: our text (see above) different from CEF
  
• gospel activity — “steps out of slavery”
• Bible Lesson
• (~11:00 am) snack and break
  
• (~11:20 am) “tic-tac-toe” review game p. 25 (Ally, Laura)
• label and color maps
• craft/activities (play-doh bricks), and finish coloring
• stickers/bookmarks
• Sing Hymn 1 — apostles’ creed
• Pray: (Alyssa)
• (11:50 am) tidy

Lesson Notes

Review:

• Moses had run away from Egypt to Midian (because Pharaoh wanted to kill him).
• Moses started a family in Midian.
• God heard the cry of the people of Israel because of their slavery.
• the angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in a flame of fire in a bush.
• God told Moses his plan, promised his presence, and gave Moses the ability to do three miracles. (staff/rod turning into a snake; hand turning leprous under coat; water from Nile to blood.)
• God appointed Aaron to speak for Moses, and told Moses to take the wooden staff with him.

God said to Moses: “Go back to Egypt. All of the men who wanted to kill you are dead.” (NIRV)

Moses went to his father-in-law (Jethro) and said: “Let me go back to my own people in Egypt. I want to see if any of them are still alive.” Jethro said, “Go. I hope everything goes well with you.”

Wife and sons on donkey; took the wooden staff; started the journey back to Egypt.

(Show on map — Moses in Midian, Aaron in Egypt, and the desert between.)

The Lord said to Moses: “When you return to Egypt, do all of the miracles I have given you the power to do. Do them in the sight of Pharaoh. But I will make his heart stubborn. He will not let the people go. Then say to Pharaoh, ‘The Lord says, “Israel is like an oldest son to me. I told you, ‘Let my son go. Then he will be able to worship me.’ But you refused to let him go. So I will kill your oldest son.” ‘ “

God told Aaron (in Egypt) to go into the desert wilderness to see Moses. It had probably been 40 years since they had seen each other.

Aaron and Moses met at “the mountain of God.”

Aaron greeted Moses with a kiss.

Moses told Aaron everything that God had told him to say, and about the miraculous signs.

Moses and Aaron returned to Egypt.

Moses and Aaron gathered the elders of Israel, and told them everything the Lord had said to Moses, and showed the miracles.

The elders believed, and bowed down and worshiped God.

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh: “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘Let my people go [so that they can] hold a feast in my honor in the desert.’ “

Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord? Why should I obey him? Why should I let Israel go? I don’t even know the Lord. And I won’t let Israel go.”

Moses and Aaron said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a journey that lasts about three days. We want to go into the desert to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God. If we don’t, he might strike us with plagues. Or he might let us be killed with swords.”

Pharaoh said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their work? Get back to work! … There are large numbers of your people in the land. But you are stopping them from working.”

Pharaoh gave orders to the slave drivers: “Don’t give the people any more straw to make bricks. Let them go and get their own straw. But require them to make the same number of bricks as before. Don’t lower the number they have to make. They don’t want to work. That’s why they are crying out, ‘Let us go. We want to offer sacrifices to our God.’ Make them work harder. Then they will be too busy to pay attention to lies.”

The slave drivers told the people of Israel that they’d have to get their own straw, and that they’d still be required to make the same number of bricks.

The people of Israel scattered all over Egypt to gather any pieces of straw that were left in the fields.

The slave drivers kept making the people work hard: “Finish the work you are required to do each day. Make the same number of bricks you made when you had straw.”

But the people of Israel were too busy now, and weren’t able to make the same number of bricks as before.

So the slave drivers whipped the appointed Israelite leaders: “Why didn’t you make the same number of bricks yesterday or today, just as before?”

Those Israelite leaders appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated us like this? You didn’t give us any straw. But you told us, ‘Make bricks!’ We are being whipped. But it’s the fault of your own people.”

Pharaoh said, “You just don’t want to work! That’s why you keep saying, ‘Let us go. We want to offer sacrifices to the Lord.’ Now get to work. We won’t give you any straw. But you still have to make the same number of bricks.”

The Israelites who were in charge of the people realized they were in trouble. They also realized that Pharaoh was doing this in response to what Moses and Aaron had said.

When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them.

They said to Moses and Aaron: “May God curse you for what you have done — you have given Pharaoh an excuse to kill us!”

Moses returned to the Lord: “Lord, why have you brought trouble on these people? Is this why you sent me? I went to Pharaoh to speak to him in your name. Ever since then, he has brought nothing but trouble on these people. And you haven’t saved your people at all.”

The Lord said to Moses: “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. Because of my powerful hand, he will let the people of Israel go. Because of my mighty hand, he will drive them out of his country… I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as the Mighty God. But I did not show them the full meaning of my name, The Lord… I also made my covenant with them. I promised to give them the land of Canaan [...] where they lived as outsiders. Also, I have heard the groans of the Israelites [who are slaves in Egypt]. But I have remembered my covenant… So tell the people of Israel, ‘I am the Lord. I will throw off the heavy load the Egyptians have put on your shoulders. I will set you free from being slaves to them. I will reach out my arm and save you with mighty acts when I judge Egypt…. I will take you to be my own people. I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God when I throw off the load the Egyptians have put on your shoulders… I will bring you to the land I promised with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. [...] The land will belong to you. I am the Lord.’ “

Moses told the Israelite people, but they didn’t listen to him — they had lost all hope.

But could their lack of faith undo the faithfulness of God?

(Talk to the kids about trusting God when 1. we don’t understand a difficult situation, and/or 2. our prayers don’t seem to be effective.)