Becky English Editor. Big Idea. Action Plan. Bible Verse. Materials. Connecting You to Jesus. Dear Teacher,

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1 Moses Strikes Out Fall Lesson 11 Numbers 20:1-13 Dear Teacher, It s interesting in today s Bible story that Moses was punished so seriously for striking the rock. Moses had an amazingly close relationship with the Lord. And his frustration with those complaining, accusing Israelites almost seems justified, doesn t it? Why was God so unhappy about Moses mess-up? God s words to Moses in Numbers 20:12 help us a little: You did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites. Sounds like Moses anger and disobedience were the result of something else: He didn t TRUST God. Maybe Moses thought that speaking to the rock wouldn t do the trick. Maybe he thought that hitting it, like he d done 40 years before, would work better. Regardless, he disobeyed because he didn t believe God! Moses teaches a lesson: Obeying God starts with knowing His Word and believing what He says! Becky English Editor Action Plan Talk about times I want to have my own way and how I can obey God instead. Bible Verse It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. Deuteronomy 13:4 Connecting You to Jesus God provided water for the Israelites, despite the fact that Moses had disobeyed God by striking the rock, instead of speaking to it. God was merciful toward His undeserving, rebellious people. Just like the Israelites did back then, we rebel against God, and we sin by disobeying God s instructions. But God s mercy is made available to us, too all because God sent Jesus, His Son, to die on the cross to take the punishment for our rebellion. Materials The Cookies Bible basics (see contents) Verse paper in different colors 107

2 Opening Music As children come into the large-group area, show Lesson 11: Train Race on Media DVD. Then play Deep as the Ocean (on Media DVD or track 1 on Worship CD). Lead children in singing and doing motions (see Song Motion Chart on p. 139). Singing about God s love reminds me that He knows what s best for us! Icebreaker Today we re going to have to listen carefully so that we can follow instructions! Listen to the number of times I clap! Then form groups of that number. Students move around playing area randomly. Call out, Get ready to listen! so that students know to pay attention; then immediately clap your hands a certain number of times. Students form groups of whatever number of times you clap your hands. Repeat play, clapping a different number of times each round. Continue play as time permits. Great job! You all listened carefully and then followed the instructions! Today we ll hear about a man who listened to instructions from God. We ll find out whether or not he followed the instructions! Bible Verse (10 minutes) Ahead of time, print the words of Deuteronomy 13:4 on different colors of paper, several words on each sheet. Our Bible verse today talks about following God and obeying His instructions. Open your Bible to Deuteronomy 13:4 and read it aloud. This verse says that GOD is the One we should respect and obey. Place papers on the floor in a circle. Students form a circle around papers. Play music and invite students to walk around circle. When you stop the music, students who are closest to sheets of paper pick up sheet in front of them, go to the front of the room and put papers in verse order. Group reads verse aloud together. Play again as time allows. Sometimes we want to follow our own ideas and feelings instead of obeying God, but that can get us into trouble! God deserves our trust and obedience. TIP Greet kids as they arrive, and ask, When is it hard to let someone else have his or her own way? Playlist Deep as the Ocean My God Will Meet All Your Needs God s Top 10 I Will Trust in You Tip If you have a very large group, invite 10 to 15 students to play the game at a time. Repeat the game several times, inviting a different group to play each time. 108

3 Optional Game or Story Starter Invite eight to ten volunteers to the front for a hula-hoop challenge. Students stand in a circle holding hands or wrists. Place a hula hoop between one pair of students on their arms. Students move the hula hoop around the circle by stepping through and sliding the hoop along as it gets to them. Let s cheer for our volunteers! Repeat the activity as time permits, adding another hula hoop or trading volunteers. Sometimes it s hard to follow instructions, but our volunteers did a great job! Today we re going to hear about some instructions that God gave Moses. The instructions should have been pretty easy to follow, but Moses feelings got in the way! Let s find out what happened. Music (15 minutes) In our story today, we ll hear about some people who were afraid that God would not take care of them. But they were wrong! God loves His people and has promised to meet all our needs! Lead children in singing and doing motions for My God Will Meet All Your Needs (on Media DVD or track 5 on Worship CD; see Song Motion Chart on p. 143). God has a way for us to live, so He gives us commands to help us know what is right and true. Obeying Him will make us happy! Lead students in singing and doing motions for God s Top 10 (on Media DVD or track 3 on Worship CD; see Song Motion Chart on p. 141). When we re tempted to complain or disobey, we can remember that God has told us to trust Him! We can trust God that everything will be all right. Lead students in singing and doing motions for I Will Trust in You (on Media DVD or track 4 on Worship CD; see Song Motion Chart on p. 142). Story Starter Point to different corners in the room as you name different choices. Students quickly move to show their choices. Your ball is stuck in a tree. Should you throw a shoe at it or call the fire department? Your little sister gets gum in her hair. Should you smear peanut butter in her hair or cut the gum out? You forgot to bring your lunch to school. Should you pretend to pass out from hunger or throw a fit? These are silly choices, of course! But sometimes the choices we make can be very important and have serious results. In our story today, God told Moses to do something, and Moses had a choice to make: Would he obey God, or would he come up with a plan of his own? 109

4 Moses Strikes Out (15 minutes) Numbers 20:1-13 STORYTELLING IDEA Divide class into their small groups and ask the small-group leaders to sit with their students. As teacher tells the story, groups use Bibles to help complete the story. Students will either choose the correct answer, choose true or false, or fill in a blank. You Complete the Story Today I m going to tell you a story about a time that Moses disobeyed God. But as I tell the story, I m going to leave out information. It is up to you to help complete the story! That s why we re divided into groups today! When we come to a part of the story that I need you to help finish, then your group will work together to look up the answer in the Bible. Today s story is found in Numbers 20:1-13. Students open Bibles to the book of Numbers. Listen carefully, because you never know when I m going to need your help to finish a part of the story! Water from a Rock Today s story took place when Moses and the Israelites were arriving at the Desert of (A) Zin, (B) Sin or (C) Tin? Invite students to read Numbers 20:1 and then answer. The answer is A they arrived in the desert of Zin! When the people got there, they didn t have any water. This was a serious problem! So they went to Moses and started doing what? Ask students to look at verse 20:3 to find the answer and call it out. Yes, the people argued with Moses. They were upset and wished they had died instead of having to go through all these hard times. The Israelites hated being in the desert. They told Moses that it was a terrible place! They did not have the grains Tip Invite a volunteer to read aloud the definition of pomegranate on page 319 in What the Bible Is All About for Kids. and figs and pomegranates they loved to eat, they did not have water, and they were NOT happy! In verse 6, it says that Moses and Aaron left the Israelites and went to the Tent Gospel Light. Permission to photocopy granted to original purchaser only. Elementary Large Group Leader Guide

5 Gospel Light. It is illegal to photocopy or reproduce this material in any form. of Meeting. True or false? Students look up and call out answer. Yes, Moses and Aaron went to the Tent of Meeting, another name for the Tabernacle, which is where they always met with God. They knew they needed God s help for this problem! When Moses and Aaron got there, they fell facedown on the ground before God. Fall Lesson 11 Then God spoke to Moses and Aaron. God told Moses to (A) pack his bags and leave the desert, (B) get his staff, gather the people together and speak to a rock or (C) tell the people to stop complaining. Invite students to read verse 8 and call out the correct answer. That s right: God told Moses to get his staff, gather the people together and then go speak to a rock while everybody watched. That s Not the Way to Obey So Moses grabbed his staff, gathered the people and went over to the rock God had told him about. It looked like he was going to do just what God had told him to do! But Moses was UPSET with the Israelites. They had complained over and over and OVER again on their long trip through the desert, and Moses was tired of it! He looked at all of the people and he yelled at them, Listen, you rebels! Do WE have to bring water out of this ROCK for you? Then he raised his arm and did what? Ask students to look up Numbers 20:11 and tell the answer. That s right: Moses raised his arm and then HIT the rock twice! But what had God told Moses to do? Students answer. That s right! God had told Moses to speak to the rock, not hit it. After Moses hit the rock, water poured out. God was kind, and He gave the people and their animals water to drink. But was God happy or unhappy with Moses? Ask students to look up Numbers 20:12 and tell the answer. Yes, God was unhappy with Moses, because Moses hadn t obeyed God. God hadn t told Moses to HIT the rock; God had told Moses to SPEAK to the rock. Did Moses obey God? Students answer. No, he didn t! So because Moses didn t obey, God told him that he wouldn t be the one to bring the Israelites to the land He d promised them. This was sad news for Moses! Hitting that rock might not have seemed like a big deal to Moses at the time, but it ended up being a VERY BIG DEAL! Moses had led the Israelites for over 40 years; but in the end, because he chose to disobey God, he didn t get to finish leading the Israelites to the Promised Land Gospel Light. Permission to photocopy granted to original purchaser only. Elementary Large Group Leader Guide 111

6 Wrap-Up Moses loved God and usually obeyed Him, but when the Israelites complained against him AGAIN, Moses got frustrated. He was so tired of the Israelites always complaining that he got mad and did things his own way, but that did not honor God. We re like that sometimes! When people make us upset or we don t like what we re asked to do, we sometimes get mad and do things our own way. Then it can be hard to act in ways that honor God. Show cookies. Have you ever wanted something that you couldn t have? Maybe you wanted a cookie, but your mom said no! Honoring God means choosing to obey His commands, even if we feel frustrated about things we don t like. Read Deuteronomy 13:4 aloud. All the great things God has done for us help us want to love and honor and obey Him with all our hearts. Connecting Kids to Jesus God provided water for the Israelites, even though Moses had disobeyed God by striking the rock instead of speaking to it. God showed mercy to His rebellious people. Today, when we disobey God s instructions, we sin just like the Israelites did. But God shows mercy to us, too! God sent Jesus, His Son, to die on the cross to take the punishment for our sins. Prayer God s commands are important for us to know and to obey! He wants us to honor Him in every way. Ask students to pray silently with you as you pray. Dear God, we want to follow You and obey You. Help us to say no to our own way and yes to what You want us to do. In Jesus name, amen. Dismiss to Small Groups We ve been talking about how important it is to follow God and obey His commands. As you go to your small groups, think about how we sometimes want our own way more than we want to honor God. We ll talk more about that in our small groups. 112