February 23, 2014

OT 08 The Call of Abram

Reference: Genesis 12:1-9

Story Summary:
     "The Lord had said to Abram, 'Leave your country and your people. Leave your father’s family. Go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great. You will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you. I will put a curse on anyone who calls down a curse on you. All nations on earth will be blessed because of you.'
     So Abram left, just as the Lord had told him. Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. He took his wife Sarai and his nephew Lot. They took all of the things they had gotten in Haran. They also took the workers they had gotten there. They set out for the land of Canaan. And they arrived there." - Gen. 12:1-5
     Abram obeyed God because he had faith that God's promises were true. And God did keep all his promises to Abram. Most importantly, God kept his promise to bless all people through Abram. God sent Abram's great-great-great-great- grandson Jesus to die on the cross and rise from the dead for our sins.

Big Idea and Motions: God speaks and keeps great promises to his people.
God - point up
Speaks - make your hand talk like a puppet
Keeps - clasp your hands together
Promises - Touch your right index finger to your lips, press the palm of your right hand down onto the top of the fist of your left hand (See http://goo.gl/B9xpEJ for a demonstration).
People - hold your hands palms out and wiggle your fingers

Verse / Motions: Numbers 23:19, ESV - God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
God - point up
Man - point to yourself with two thumbs
Lie - hold your fingers in the shape of an “L” and place it over your mouth
Son of man - pretend to rock a baby
Change - pretend to use a steering wheel to turn a car around
Mind - tap your temple

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
Who was the person in today’s story? // Abram
What did God tell Abram to do? // Leave his family, go to a place God would show him.
Name one of God’s promises to Abram. //
You will be a great nation.
I will bless you.
I will make your name great.
All nations will be blessed through you / You will bless others.
I’ll give this land to your children.
Did Abram obey God and leave? // Yes
How old was Abram? // 75 years
Who went with Abram? // His wife, Sarai, and his nephew, Lot
Who is Abram’s great-great grandson, who blessed all the nations? // Jesus
Bonus question: how long ago did Abram live? // About 4000 years ago.
*Ask this question 4-5 times.

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - http://goo.gl/65nDE1
Resources - http://goo.gl/gqyRfY

February 16, 2014

OT 07 The Tower of Babel

Reference: Genesis 11

Story Summary:
   After the flood, God told Noah and his family to have children and fill the earth. Years later, a group of people in the valley of Babylonia got an idea. They wanted to build a tower.
   They wanted their tower to reach to the heavens. “We’ll make a great name for ourselves”, they thought, “and we won’t be scattered across the earth.” The people of Babel wanted to build a tower to boast about their greatness and to disobey God’s command to fill the earth. And since everyone spoke the same language in that day, the tower began to grow quickly.
   God decided to put a stop to their tower building. He mixed up their languages so that they didn’t understand each other. When that happened, they stopped work on the tower and scattered across the earth.
   The people of Babel wanted to boast about their own greatness and disobey God’s command. But the Bible tells us to boast about the Lord, not about ourselves.

Big Idea and Motions: Boast about the Lord, not about yourself.
Boast - point to yourself with two thumbs while nodding your head and giving an “I’m cool” look
Lord - point up
Not - fold your arms and shake your head
Yourself - tap your heart

Verse / Motions: Jeremiah 9:24, ESV - ...but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord.
Let him - gesture with your palms to another person
Boast - point to yourself with two thumbs while nodding your head and giving an “I’m cool” look
This - hold up one finger
Understands and knows - tap your brain
Me - point to yourself with two thumbs (explain that “me” is God, since he’s the one who is speaking)
Lord - point up

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
What did God want the people to do after the flood? // Have children and fill the earth.
What was the name of the place in today’s story? // Babel
How many languages did they speak? // One
What did the people want to build? // A tower
How high did they want to build the tower? // To the sky
Name one reason why the people built the tower. // To make a great name for themselves and brag
Name another reason why the people built the tower. // So they wouldn’t be scattered
What did God do so they would stop building the tower? // Mixed up their languages
What did the people stop doing after God mixed up their languages? // The tower
Who does God want us to boast about? // The Lord

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - http://goo.gl/AiItE7
Resources - http://goo.gl/vhvHbf

February 9, 2014

OT 06 Noah's Ark Part 2

Reference: Genesis 8-9

Story Summary:
   The flood’s waters covered the entire earth. God sent a strong wind and the waters began to recede. In an effort to find dry land, Noah sent of a raven, but it flew to and fro because it couldn’t find dry land.
   Eventually, the waters went down and the ark rested on a mountain top. Noah sent out a dove out three times, a week apart. The first time, the dove found nowhere to land. The second time, it returned with an olive branch. The third time, it did not come back.
   When Noah left the ark, God spoke with him. He gave Noah this promise: I will never destroy all life with a flood again. As a sign of his promise, God put a rainbow in the sky.

Big Idea and Motions: God will always keep his promises.
God - point up
Always - trace repeated circles in the air with your finger
Keep - press your palms together
Promises - tap your lips with your fingers

Verse / Motions: Psalm 105:8, ESV - He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations...
He - point up
Remembers - tap your temple
Covenant - pretend to write on your palm with a pencil
Forever - draw a ∞ in the air with your finger
Word - open your palms like a book
Commanded - wag your finger, with your other hand on your hip
Thousand - gesture your arms in a wide circle

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
What made the waters of the flood go down? // God sent a great wind
Why did Noah send a raven out? // To look for dry land
What did the raven do and why? // Kept flying around because there was no dry land.
After the waters went down, where did the ark land? // On top of a mountain
What was the second animal Noah sent out? // A dove
What did the dove do the first time? What did that mean? // Flew around, no dry land
What did it do the second time? What did that mean? // Brought a branch back, some dry land
What did it do the third time? // Didn’t come back
What promise did God make to Noah? // He’d never destroy all things with a flood again
What sign did God give Noah about this promise? // The rainbow

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - http://goo.gl/HF2wxN
Resources - http://goo.gl/7hEUox

February 2, 2014

OT 05 Noah's Ark Part 1

Reference: Genesis 6-7

Story Summary:
   The people on the earth were very sinful. All of their thoughts were about evil all the time. Because of this, the Lord God was sad that he made man. He said that he was going to destroy all that lived on the earth with a flood.
   But Noah was a righteous man, not because he was perfect, but because he had faith in God. God told Noah to build an ark so that he could survive the flood. God promised to keep Noah and his family safe in the ark through the entire flood. Noah had faith and did what God told him to do.
   God also told Noah to take two of each animal on the ark with him. God made the animals come to Noah and he put them on the ark. Then, God shut Noah and the animals in.
   God sent rain upon the earth for 40 days and nights. Water came up from the ground and covered the entire earth for 150 days. Only Noah, his family, and the animals were left alive after the flood.

Big Idea and Motions: God hates sin, but he saves sinners.
God - point up
Hates - fold your arms and frown
Sin - two thumbs down
Saves - do the baseball “safe” sign
Sinners - point to yourself with both thumbs

Verse / Motions: Acts 16:31, ESV - And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
They said - make your hands talk like a puppet
Believe - pretend to hold a rope in front of you with two hands (the ASL sign for “trust/believe”)
Jesus - form a cross with your forearms
You - point to another person
Saved - do the baseball “safe” sign
Household - form a “roof” over your head with your arms

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
Why was God sad that he made people? // They were so sinful and evil
What did God decide to do because they were sinful? // Destroy all things on earth
Who did God say was the only righteous man? Why was he righteous? // Noah, because he had faith
How was God going to destroy the earth? // With a great flood
What did God tell Noah to do? // Build an ark (a great big boat)
What did God tell Noah to take on the ark with him? // Two of each animal
What other people were on the ark with Noah? // His wife, his three sons and their wives
How long did it rain? // 40 days and nights
God hates sin, but he also loves rescuing… who? // Sinners
Who did God send to rescue us from sin? // His only Son, Jesus

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - http://goo.gl/SHu9Da
Resources - http://goo.gl/OcbAid