OT 36 The Ark and the Tabernacle

Reference: Exodus 25:10-22, 26:1-37, 28:1-2, 41

Story Summary: 
     When God gave Moses the law on Mount Sinai, he also gave him instructions of things to build. First was a special tent called the Tabernacle, or Tent of Meeting. God promised to meet with the people there. The tabernacle was divided into two rooms. In the first room, the Holy Place, there was a special table for bread, a golden lampstand with seven candles, and an altar for burning nice-smelling incense.
     The second room, the Most Holy Place, held the Ark of the Covenant. It was a special chest covered in gold. On top, it held statues of two angels, with wings facing each other. Inside the ark, they placed the stone tablets of God’s law. It was above the wings of the angels on the ark that God promised to meet with the people.
     God chose priests to work in the tabernacle. Priests lit the candles, placed the bread, and burned the incense in the Holy Place. And, once a year, the high priest would enter the Most Holy Place with the blood of a goat as an offering for the sin of the people. Because Jesus died for all of our sins on the cross, we no longer need the tabernacle to meet with God.

Big Idea and Motions: Because Jesus died, we don’t need the tabernacle to meet with God.
Jesus died - form a cross with your arms
We don’t need - wag your index finger “no”
Tabernacle - form a “roof” with your arms over your forehead
Meet - bring your hands together and interlock your fingers
God - point up

Verse / Motions: 1 Peter 3:18, ESV - For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God.
Christ - form a cross with your forearms
Suffered - punch your palm
Once - hold up one finger
Righteous for the unrighteous - two thumbs up, then two thumbs down
Bring us - pretend to give something to someone else
God - point up

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
What are the two names of the special place God told Moses to make? // Tabernacle, Tent of Meeting
What were the names of the two rooms in the tabernacle? // Holy Place, Most Holy Place
What were some of the things in the Holy Place? // Table of Showbread, Golden Lampstand, Altar of Incense
What special box was in the Most Holy Place? // The ark of the covenant
What did the ark look like? // Covered in gold, two angels on top
What was placed inside the ark? // Two stone tablets of the law, ten commandments
Where did God say he’d meet with them? // Between the angels’ wings above the ark
Who were the special people God picked to work in the tabernacle? // Priests
Who did God pick to be priest? // Aaron, Moses’ brother
How often did the priest go into the Most Holy Place? // One time a year
What did the priest have to bring into the Most Holy Place for the sin of the people? // Blood of a goat
Why don’t we need a tabernacle to meet with God? // God’s Son, Jesus, died for all our sins

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - http://goo.gl/A27tAl
Resources - http://goo.gl/qPxisU

NT 04 Shepherds Visit Jesus

Reference: Luke 2:8-20

Story Summary: 
     The night that Jesus was born, shepherds were in a field, watching their sheep at night. An angel appeared to them and God's glory shone around. The shepherds were terrified.
     The angel came with a message: a savior had been born in the town of Bethlehem. This savior was the Christ, God's special savior. The angel told them how to find this child: he would be wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger, an animal's eating dish. Then a whole big group of angels appeared and began to praise God before returning to heaven.
     The shepherds left to find out if the angel's news was true. They came to where Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were. And they found a child lying in a manger just like they were told.
     The shepherds were so excited that they went around telling everyone what they had seen and heard. All the people who heard the news were amazed. And Jesus' mother Mary kept all these things like a secret treasure in her heart.

Big Idea and Motions: The good news of Christmas is Jesus is Savior.
Good - two thumbs up
News - cup your hands around your mouth
Christmas - form the letter “c” with your arms
Savior - do the baseball “safe” sign
Born - pretend to cradle a baby

Verse / Motions: Luke 2:11, ESV - For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
You - point to another person
Born - pretend to cradle a baby
City of David - touch your fingertips together to form a “rooftop,” separate them, then form a rooftop again*
Savior - make the baseball “safe” sign
Christ - form a cross with your forearms (for Jesus)
Lord - point up
* This is the ASL sign for “city”.

Questions to Ask Throughout the Week
Who were out in the fields, watching their sheep at night? // Shepherds
Who appeared to the shepherd? // An angel
What good news did the Angel tell the shepherds? // A savior is born
What is the “city of David”? // Bethlehem
What did the Angel tell the shepherds to look for in Bethlehem? // A baby, in cloths, lying in a manger
Who appeared with the first angel? // A large group of angels
Who did the shepherds find in Bethlehem? // Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, in a manger
Who did the shepherds go tell about Jesus? // Everyone
How did the people react to the shepherds’ news? // They were amazed
What did Mary think of all this? // She remembered these things like a treasure in her heart

Google Docs Links:
Lesson - http://goo.gl/mqxIYF
Resources - http://goo.gl/pyDB6G