Lessons for the Leader. Nehemiah Prayed

Transcription

1 Week of June 17, 2012 Lessons for the Leader When you hear bad news, do you want to help? Many disaster relief teams go, stay, and help when disasters occur today. Imagine a great disaster happening and one person choosing to go repair the damages. What could one man do? Read Nehemiah 1:1-4. What happened? What did Nehemiah do? When you hear bad news, do you immediately pray and fast? Read Nehemiah 2:1-8. Imagine the many emotions Nehemiah battled while trying to do his work. The king recognized something was different or wrong. Do you sense when those around you are battling difficult emotions or facing tough situations? What did Nehemiah do before responding to the king? Do you pray before responding or reacting? What did the king do? Imagine your employer giving you time away from work, plus the funds to accomplish the things needed while away. For many, this would be unheard of today. With God, all things are possible. Read Nehemiah 2: Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and spoke to the people. What did the people do? How do you react when trials come your way? Read Nehemiah 3. Look at how much was repaired and rebuilt. Notice some groups helped and some did not. Think back to a situation where disaster relief teams helped. Much was accomplished because people worked together. Most of the people in Jerusalem worked together. Read Nehemiah 6: How long did it take to rebuild the city? Notice the last comment. How was this great task accomplished? Only through God can we do great things. Pray to God every day for every decision. What do these symbols mean? 1a Application Activities Format: Follow the numbers with arrows for a 30-minute, large group plus 20-minute Application Activities format. 1 Follow all the numbers for a 45- to 60-minute large group only format. Nehemiah Prayed Bible Passage: Nehemiah 1:1-4; 2:1-8, 17-18; 3; 6:15-16 Key Bible Verse: Matthew 6:6 Life Application I can pray to God. Levels of Biblical Learning (Self) I can show love for God by obeying Him. I can say no to what I know is wrong. Session at a Glance Introduction to Worship (6 to 8 minutes) Greet Children Play "Whisper a Message" Worship (30 minutes/45 minutes) Welcome Children and Pray Sing "I Can Clap" Sing "Make My Choice" Use Worship Guides Sing "What You Say" Find It Tell the Bible Story Present Offering and Pray Review the Bible Story Learn the Bible Verse Make Life Application Play a Game Transition Application Activities (20 minutes) Wrap-Up (10 minutes) OK to copy. Page 1 of 21

2 Introduction to Worship 1aGreet Children Offering container Show children where to place their offerings. 2aPlay "Whisper a Message" Teacher Tip Give each leader a list of things to whisper. Group kids in lines of up to six children each. Assign a leader to stand at the front of each line. Whisper to the first child in each line something God wants us to do, such as: "God wants us to obey" or "God wants us to pray." Direct each child to whisper the message to the next child in line. Once the message is whispered to the last child in line, that child should move to the front of the line and tell the message to the leader. Repeat process several times with new sayings. Conclude: "God wants us to talk to Him, just as we talk to one another. We will learn about a leader who prayed (or talked) to God." Worship 3aWelcome Children and Pray (2 minutes) Say: "I'm so glad to see each of you. Did you know God wants people to pray? We can pray anytime, anywhere. Let's pray now." Pray. 4aSing "I Can Clap" (DVD, 2 minutes) 5aSing "Make My Choice" (DVD, 2 minutes) 6aUse Worship Guides (7 minutes) Worship Guides, crayons Distribute Worship Guides and crayons. Comment: "We are talking and learning about prayer. We can pray to God. Let's look at places we can pray." Lead children to complete the activities. Conclude: "We can talk to God anywhere, anytime, about anything!" 7 Sing "What You Say" (DVD, 2 minutes) 8 Find It (3 minutes) Print "Nehemiah" (CD). Display and read aloud title. Lead kids to say the title several times. Say: "Our Bible story comes from the Book of Nehemiah. Open your Bible to the middle, which should be the Book of Psalms [demonstrate]. Turn back two books. This means turn the pages toward the front of your Bible until you get to the Book of Nehemiah. Find Nehemiah chapter 1." Enlist leaders to assist children. 9aTell the Bible Story (7 minutes) Scissors, brick-type building blocks (cardboard, large wooden, etc.), tape Print "Nehemiah Story" (CD). Cut apart the story pieces and tape to individual blocks. Place the blocks around the room, including extra blocks without story parts. Teacher Tips Provide at least 1 block for each child. Tape story pieces to a wall, poster board, or other sturdy surface. Open your Bible to Nehemiah. Challenge each child to find a block and bring it to the story area. Stack block 1 and read aloud the text. Continue to stack blocks 2 8, reading aloud the text. Nehemiah Prayed Based on Nehemiah 1:1-4; 2:1-8,17-18; 3; 6:15-16 [1] Nehemiah (NEE huh MIGH uh) lived in the city of Susa (SOO suh), but the city of Jerusalem was very special to him. His family was from Jerusalem. [2] Some men from Jerusalem came to visit Nehemiah. He asked the men about the city. When the visitors said the people were in trouble, Nehemiah was sad. The men said the walls of the city were torn down and the gates were burned. Nehemiah Prayed Page 2 of 21

3 [3] Nehemiah sat down and cried. For many days he was sad and did not eat. He prayed to God. [4] Nehemiah's job was to serve the king. Nehemiah had never had a sad face when he was around the king. Nehemiah was so sad about Jerusalem that the king noticed. The king asked Nehemiah why he was so sad. [5] Nehemiah was afraid the king might be angry. But he explained how Jerusalem was in trouble because the gates were burned and the walls torn down. The king asked Nehemiah what he wanted. [6] Nehemiah prayed before answering the king. Then, Nehemiah said he wanted to return to Jerusalem to help rebuild the city. [7] The king asked questions. Then he and Nehemiah talked about what would be needed. When Nehemiah left, he had two letters from the king. One letter gave Nehemiah safe travel. The other letter gave him wood from the king's forest. God answered Nehemiah's prayers! [8] Nehemiah went to Jerusalem. He and the people worked together to rebuild the walls and gates. The people took 52 days to rebuild the wall. Everyone knew God answered Nehemiah's prayers. Invite children to stack the remaining blocks on either side of the wall you built. Thank everyone for working together to build the wall. 10aPresent Offering and Pray (2 minutes) 11aReview the Bible Story (5 minutes) Scissors, marker, small bag or container Print "Nehemiah Review" (CD). Cut apart "Nehemiah Review" and print on the backs of the papers Pray God (1 letter per paper). Print to on the back of the last paper. Invite kids to select papers from the bag for you to read aloud. Read the questions, encouraging kids to answer. Say: "Nehemiah prayed to God. Nehemiah prayed when he was sad, before making choices, when he was happy, and as he worked." Turn papers over and arrange to say Pray to God. Say: "We learned we can pray to God." 12 Learn the Bible Verse (4 minutes) Paper, marker Print Matthew 6:6 from your preferred translation. Teacher Tip Print and use "Matthew 6:6 Paraphrase" (CD). Display and read aloud the Bible verse. Lead the children to say the verse together. Repeat the verse in different voices: whispering, sad, happy, and loud. 13aMake Life Application (3 minutes) Ask: "What does it mean to pray to God?" Encourage responses. Say: "These are great answers. Praying is like talking and listening to God. We talk to God when we pray. We also need to listen for God to answer. God doesn't talk to us like I am talking to you. He gives us ideas or answers in our thoughts. Sometimes answers to our prayers come from other people." 14 Play a Game (6 minutes) Paper, marker Explain: "In this game, the object is to be the last person standing. I'll call on volunteers to fill in the blank: 'I can pray or talk to God about or for.' You will fill in the blank with things like 'my friends,' 'my day,' 'my parents,' and so on. I'll write what you say on the paper. We cannot repeat our answers. If one person says he can pray for his mom, no one else can say 'mom' or 'mother.' When someone repeats an answer already given, he must sit down. Think of someone or something you can pray to God about. Everyone stand. I'll start calling on volunteers to answer." Print the responses as stated. Instruct kids who repeat responses to sit down. Play until one person is standing. Turn paper over and play again as time permits. 15aGo to Application Activities or Wrap-Up Week of June 17, 2012 Page 3 of 21

4 Wrap-Up (Large Group Only Format) 16 Sing "I Can Do the Right Thing" (DVD, 2 minutes) 17 Review the Bible Story (3 minutes) Print "Teaching Picture 3 Nehemiah" (CD). Display the teaching picture. Ask: "What do you see the people doing in this picture? (sweeping, carrying, building a wall) Why do you think the people were rebuilding the wall? (to protect their city; repair wall) Who is the leader of the people in the picture? (Nehemiah) How did Nehemiah know what to do?" (He prayed to God and God helped him know what to do.) 18 Hopscotch (5 minutes) Scissors, tape Print "Hopscotch" (CD) and cut apart. Tape a grid to the floor: 3 single boxes stacked on top of each other, 2 side-by-side boxes centered along the top of the last single box, then another single box, 2 more centered side-by-side boxes, and another single box on top (9 total boxes). Tape each word from "Hopscotch" in a box. Ask: "What did we learn today?" Encourage responses. State: "We learned we can pray to God. I put those words in our hopscotch grid. Let's take turns hopping and saying the words in the grid." Read aloud words, stepping in each box as you say the words. Lead kids to hop and say words. 19 Dismiss Children to Their Parents * Giant Game Floor Mat ( ) may be ordered through LifeWay Christian Resources Customer Service Center at or online at Wrap-Up (Application Activities Format) 16a Sing "I Can Do the Right Thing" (DVD, 2 minutes) 17aReview Application Activities (2 minutes) Call on several children to tell what they did in their Application Activities. ddarts and Crafts Make Tissue Paper Words dddramatic Play Make Travel Documents ddgames Play Anytime, Anywhere Game ddexploration and Discovery Build Walls, Gates, and Buildings Apply: "Our activities helped us know we can pray to God." 18aReview the Bible Story (3 minutes) Print "Teaching Picture 3 Nehemiah" (CD). Display the teaching picture. Ask: "What do you see the people doing in this picture? (sweeping, carrying, building a wall) Why do you think the people were rebuilding the wall? (to protect their city; repair wall) Who is the leader of the people in the picture? (Nehemiah) How did Nehemiah know what to do?" (He prayed to God and God helped him know what to do.) 19aHopscotch (5 minutes) Scissors, tape Print "Hopscotch" (CD) and cut apart. Tape a grid to the floor [see box in previous column]. Place each word from "Hopscotch" in a box. Ask: "What did we learn today?" Encourage responses. State: "We learned we can pray to God. I put those words in our hopscotch grid. Let's take turns hopping and saying the words." Read aloud words, stepping in each box as you say the words. Lead kids to hop and say words. 20aDismiss Children to Their Parents Week of June 17, 2012 Worship KidStyle Preschool Edition Leader Guide 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Page 4 of 21

5 Application Activities Select from the following choices. Each choice is designed for 20 minutes of small group time. Construction paper, different colors of tissue paper, glue sticks, marker, scissors Print 1 copy per child of "Pray" (CD). Teacher Tips Cut tissue paper into small pieces. Assist children with spelling as needed. Worship Through Arts and Crafts Make Tissue Paper Words Say: "Nehemiah prayed for Jerusalem. He prayed before talking to the king. We can pray to God also. How do you spell the word pray?" Invite responses. Display pray paper. Continue: "P, r, a, y spells pray. I'll give each of you one of these papers. Cut pieces of tissue paper and glue them to the letters. Cover the letters with the tissue paper pieces." Distribute paper, scissors, glue sticks, tissue paper, and markers. Assist children with cutting and gluing. Talk about the Bible story as children work. Suggest kids draw pictures of things for which they can pray. State the Bible verse (Matthew 6:6). Explain: "When we pray, we talk to God. Nehemiah prayed about everything. We can pray anywhere, anytime, about anything." Lead children to clean area, then pray. Blue construction paper (1 per child), white paper (1 per child), stapler and staples, markers, stickers or rubber stamps and ink pad, scales, measuring tape, maps of Bible times land showing Jerusalem Print 1 copy per child of "Travel Document" (CD). Print "Map" (CD). Set up a few stations, placing different stickers or stamps at each one. Teacher Tip Be sensitive to children who may not want to be weighed or measured. Worship Through Dramatic Play Make Travel Documents Inform: "Nehemiah traveled to Jerusalem to repair the city. [Display map.] He needed travel documents, or papers to go to another land. The king gave him the travel documents. When we travel to different countries today, we must get passports or visas. A person fills out a paper with his name, address, and other information, pays money, and requests a visa. Let's make travel documents so we can pretend to travel to Jerusalem and other lands." Distribute supplies and place the map where kids can see it. Instruct: "Fold your blue papers in half [pause]. Fold your white papers in half [pause]. Put the paper with the boxes as your top white paper. Put the white papers inside the blue paper. We'll take turns stapling the folded edges. While we wait, draw a picture of yourself on the first white page." Assist kids with folding and stapling. Weigh and measure the children, then help them fill in the boxes. Talk about the Bible story as kids work. Invite kids to draw any of the following on the other pages: map of Jerusalem, the people working, and so on. Say: "Let's pretend to travel to different places. Walk to each station and receive your stamp for going to a new land." Allow time for kids to get their travel documents stamped. State the Bible verse (Matthew 6:6). Conclude: "Nehemiah prayed to God about everything. We can pray to God. Use your travel documents to tell someone the story of Nehemiah." Pray. Week of June 17, 2012 Page 5 of 21

6 Giant Game Floor Mat*, scissors, construction paper (blue, red, green), marker, scrap paper Print "Game Cards" (CD), making enough copies for each child to have 1 of each color. Cut apart. Print "Number Cube" (CD), cut out, and assemble. Print "Prayer Strips" (CD) and cut apart. Print 1 strip per child. Print Start and Finish on separate papers (any color). Place Start paper in a pocket in the far left column. Put Finish paper in a pocket in the far right column. Fill in the remaining pockets with the 3 colors of paper. Place mat on the floor. Teacher Tip Provide tape loops for kids to stick their strips to their clothes. Variety of materials to build a wall (cardboard tubes, craft sticks, wooden blocks, paper, tape, etc.) Place materials in 3 areas of the room. Worship Through Games Play Anytime, Anywhere Game Distribute a prayer strip to each child. Instruct: "Hold on to your prayer strips. We'll use them in our game. When can we pray?" Encourage responses. Continue: "We can pray at all hours of the day. We'll take turns rolling the number cube and moving that many pockets on the mat. The goal is to collect a game card I'll give you from each color and cross the Finish pocket [point]. Collect all color game cards from me before you cross the Finish pocket." Guide children as they play. Give kids color game cards as they stand on the different color pockets. Challenge each child to match the time on the game card to the appropriate picture on his prayer strip. Comment: "We can pray anytime, anywhere, and about anything." Play again, encouraging children to move around only on the outer pockets of the gameboard. Call out a color for all kids to stand on. State the Bible verse (Matthew 6:6). Comment: "Nehemiah prayed about everything. When are the people on your prayer strips praying?" Review possible times on strips (morning, afternoon, evening, bedtime). Say: "We can pray throughout the day. God always wants us to pray or talk to Him anytime, anywhere, and about anything." Pray. Worship Through Exploration and Discovery Build Walls, Gates, and Buildings Ask: "What did Nehemiah rebuild?" Lead children to review the Bible story. Assign each child a number: 1, 2, or 3. Instruct all number groups to stand together. Say: "Each group will work together to build walls, gates, and buildings." Send each group to a different building area. Take a close look at each group's work and allow children to talk about their construction projects. Commend the groups for their work. Point out the tallest wall, the most creative building, and so on. Lead kids to stack building materials together. Ask: "Was the task of building easy or hard? Why?" Encourage responses. State the Bible verse (Matthew 6:6). Comment: "Nehemiah knew God wanted him to rebuild the city walls. Nehemiah did what God told him to do. He made the right decisions. Sometimes doing what God wants will not be easy, but we must do it anyway. We can pray to God." Pray. Worship KidStyle Preschool Edition Leader Guide 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. OK to copy. Page 6 of 21

7 Douglas Klauba 2009 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Printed in the USA. Nehemiah Prayed Nehemiah 1:1-4; 2:1-8,17-18; 3; 6:15-16 Page 7 of 21

8 Nehemiah Nehemiah 4 Page 8 of 21

9 one 2two 3 three 1. Cut along the dotted lines. 2. Fold on the solid lines. 3. Fill with scrap paper. 4. Tape closed. 4four 5five 6six Number Cube Page 9 of 21

10 Name Hometown Eye Color Hair Color Weight Height Country Travel Document (June 17) Page 10 of 21

11 Prayer Strips (June 17) Page 11 of 21

12 PRAY Pray (June 17) Page 12 of 21

13 Nehemiah (NEE huh MIGH uh) lived in the city of Susa (SOO suh), but the city of Jerusalem was very special to him. His family was from Jerusalem. 1 Some men from Jerusalem came to visit Nehemiah. He asked the men about the city. When the visitors said the people were in trouble, Nehemiah was sad. The men said the walls of the city were torn down and the gates were burned. 2 Nehemiah Story (June 17) 1 Page 13 of 21

14 Nehemiah sat down and cried. For many days he was sad and did not eat. He prayed to God. 3 Nehemiah's job was to serve the king. Nehemiah had never had a sad face when he was around the king. Nehemiah was so sad about Jerusalem that the king noticed. The king asked Nehemiah why he was so sad. 4 Nehemiah Story (June 17) 2 Page 14 of 21

15 Nehemiah was afraid the king might be angry. But he explained how Jerusalem was in trouble because the gates were burned and the walls torn down. The king asked Nehemiah what he wanted. 5 Nehemiah prayed before answering the king. Then, Nehemiah said he wanted to return to Jerusalem to help rebuild the city. 6 Nehemiah Story (June 17) 3 Page 15 of 21

16 The king asked questions. Then he and Nehemiah talked about what would be needed. When Nehemiah left, he had two letters from the king. One letter gave Nehemiah safe travel. The other letter gave him wood from the king's forest. God answered Nehemiah's prayers! 7 Nehemiah went to Jerusalem. He and the people worked together to rebuild the walls and gates. The people took 52 days to rebuild the wall. Everyone knew God answered Nehemiah's prayers. 8 Nehemiah Story (June 17) 4 Page 16 of 21

17 What is the name of the man in our Bible story? (Nehemiah) What had happened to Jerusalem? (walls torn down, gates burned) What did Nehemiah do after hearing about Jerusalem? (cried, prayed) Who gave Nehemiah permission to go to Jerusalem? (king) What did the king give Nehemiah to take with him? (letters: safe travel and wood from forest) What did Nehemiah do when he went to Jerusalem? (helped people rebuild city) How many days did it take the people to rebuild the city? (52) What did Nehemiah do before doing anything? (prayed) Nehemiah Review (June 17) Page 17 of 21

18 Pray to God. Matthew 6:6 Matthew 6:6 Paraphrase (June 17) Page 18 of 21

19 PERSIAN GULF Susa Syrian Desert Babylon Jerusalem RED SEA DEAD SEA Damascus EGYP T Cyprus Antioch MEDITERRANEAN SEA le R iver Tarsus Ni Map (June 17) 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. Printed in USA. OK to copy. Page 19 of 21

20 I can pray to God. Yes, I can pray. Hopscotch (June 17) Page 20 of 21

21 Morning Morning Morning Noon Noon Noon Evening Evening Evening Game Cards (June 17) Page 21 of 21