Children’s Worship 09.20.20 – Gold Avenue Church

Dear Parents,

Thanks for joining us again as we do Children’s Worship from home!

Note: Please let us know about how your family is enjoying Children’s Worship! Take some pictures of your family participating in Children’s Worship or share a story. You can post to the Gold Avenue Church Facebook page or send by email at goldavechurch@gmail.com

God Saves: Baby Moses Is Protected

OVERVIEW:

Activity One: Read the intro. Watch the video.

Activity Two: Discuss the story using provided questions as prompts.

Worship: Singing

Activity Three: Respond to the story by doing the activity.

Activity Four: Bless your children

EQUIP:

(It’s not an activity, but just a little background on the story for you, the parent, to read.)

To be sure, our God saved Abraham and blessed him with many descendants. God kept His covenant with Abraham. The book of Exodus opens by listing the sons of Jacob (Israel) who brought their families to Egypt to escape the famine in Canaan. It’s possible that in Egypt they were doubling their population about every 25 years. This is the same rate of growth we are currently experiencing worldwide.

This population explosion amongst the Israelites concerned the pharaoh. His fear led him to devise a plan to enslave the people and destroy newborn Hebrew boys. Two Hebrew midwives outsmarted the pharaoh. They told him the Hebrew women were just too strong and were able to deliver the babies before they could arrive. When Pharaoh realized he’d been deceived and his attempts had failed, he ordered his people to act as spies and cast any male babies into the Nile River. (Some commentators have suggested this order applied specifically to male babies of the Israelites.)

In the midst of it all, a son was born into the tribe of Levi. Trusting in God, the child’s parents defied Pharaoh’s edict and hid their son for three months. Ironically, it was Pharaoh’s daughter who rescued the baby and named him Moses. God then used Moses’ sister to help the princess arrange for a nurse, the child’s own mother, to care for him. The child was able to grow up in the home of his parents during his early years, receiving the strong inculcating of Hebrew traditions. Moses’ foundation of faith was received at his parents’ knees. Jewish mothers would, from the time a baby was first cradled in their arms, begin to whisper in their ears, “Jehovah is God.”

God is a God of salvation. He delivered Moses and set a course for him to deliver a nation. It is through this nation (specifically, the tribe of Judah) that salvation came to the world through Jesus Christ. Our God saves!

Activity 1: STORY

Lead children in a Prayer of Release to pause, be still, and ask the Holy Spirit to quiet their hearts and minds.

Hi, friends! God is kind, gracious, and merciful. He is our Savior! Do you know what that word means—savior? It means that God saves us. When sin first came into the world, God promised to send a Savior. God keeps all His promises.

That reminds me of our Remember Verse from God’s Word. Let’s read it together. Our verse says, “The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does” (Psalm 145:13b). That means He is always good and will do what He says in His Word He will do. That’s comforting, isn’t it?

Now you can watch the video that tells the story of what happened to Moses when he was a baby, and how God saved him!

Activity 2: DISCUSSION

Today in The Big God Story we saw how God saved Moses from the pharaoh’s plans. Moses’ mother placed him in a basket on the river, not knowing exactly where he would go, but trusting God to save him. God saved Moses and kept His promise to save His people. He will save us too!

I wonder … How did Moses’ mother feel when she put baby Moses in the basket?
I wonder … How did Moses’ mother feel when she was later called upon to care for her baby?
I wonder … When are some times that I’m scared and need God’s help?

Song:

Activity 3: RESPONSE ACTIVITY

Woven Prayers

Moses’ mother wove a basket of reeds to save her son from Pharaoh. Today, children will weave construction paper strips into poster board as they respond to the ways God has saved them.

SUPPLIES

Poster board
Pencil
Ruler
Construction paper (1 sheet for every 10 children)
Scissors
Markers
Optional: glue sticks, worship music (suggestion: “I May Be Small,” TruWorship Sincerely Yours)

PREPARE AHEAD

Cut the construction paper lengthwise into strips one inch wide and eight inches long. Use a pencil and ruler to mark parallel straight lines every three inches across the poster board. Then, saving a two-inch-wide border around the poster board, cut on the lines. Children will weave strips of construction paper through the slits in the poster board.

RELATE

Invite children to dance away any extra energy before sitting down. When Moses was in danger, God helped his mother weave a special basket out of grasses and put him in it to keep him safe. Our God is able to rescue and save us. When was a time that you needed God to help you because you were scared? Invite responses.

Give each child a strip of colored construction paper. Invite children to take a moment to sit silently and pray. They might want to ask God for help this week or thank Him for His power in their life. Let children know they can draw an expression of thanks on their strip of paper or simply write their name. You may want to play some soft worship music in the background during this time.

After children have an opportunity to pray, invite them to take turns weaving their construction paper strips into the poster board slits. You may want to use glue sticks to secure the paper strips to the poster board. When we look at this poster board, we can remember that God is so good! Even when we’re afraid, unsure, or scared, we can remember that our God saves.

(Optional) Nile River

God saved Moses when Moses’ basket boat was on the Nile River. In this fun game, children will work together to emulate the movements of the Nile River using a parachute or large bedsheet.

SUPPLIES

Parachute or bedsheet (large)

RELATE

When Moses’ mother placed him among the reeds or tall grasses in the river, she didn’t know what might happen to him. At any time, he could’ve been swept away by fast-moving water or caught in the tall grasses along the edge. In the end, Moses stopped in the reeds.

Let’s play a game where we use a parachute to show how the Nile River flows. Pull out the parachute and have children gather around the edge; spread out as much as possible. Now, imagine that this parachute is like the basket where Moses was placed. I’ll call out different ways the water is moving such as, “The water is peacefully moving slowly” or “Beware of fast waters.” When I want you to freeze I’ll say, “The basket is caught in the reeds!” Continue playing until your group makes a variety of motions with the parachute.

Activity 4: CLOSING BLESSING

Children, in today’s part of The Big God Story, we saw how our God saves in situations that seem scary or impossible. God’s Word promises us that God has the power to save. Share the following verse from Psalm 68:20a: “Our God is a God who saves.”

Let’s pray those words as a blessing over each other this week. Invite kids to stand in a line and take turns passing the blessing down the line. Ask each child to place a hand on the next one’s shoulder as she speaks the words, “May you know our God is a God who saves” over him.

When everyone has had an opportunity to participate, pray a communal blessing over the group. Encourage children to stand with their hands out, palms up, as a posture of being ready to receive.

May you know God cares for every part of your life. He will save you.