Preschool Teacher Guide Unit 13, Session 4: Elisha and Naaman LifeWay Christian Resources

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1 Preschool Teacher Guide Session Title: Elisha and Naaman Bible Passage: 2 Kings 5 Big Picture Question: Who heals us from our sin? Jesus heals us from our sin. Key Passage: 2 Kings 17:13-14 Unit Christ Connection: The prophets called God s people to repentance as Christ calls people to repentance. Sin continued to divide and ultimately destroy the Northern Kingdom, but Christ s perfect kingdom is forever. TEACHER BIBLE STUDY Prep Time Everyone seems to get sick at some point in his or her lifetime most often many, many times! Illness is probably no stranger to the kids you teach. In today s Bible story, Naaman a commander for the Syrian army was really sick. He had leprosy, a skin disease that was likely disfiguring and isolating. Without a cure, Naaman would face great suffering. But help came from an unlikely source: a young slave girl. The people of Israel and Syria were often at odds with one another. The Syrians sometimes attacked the cities in Israel and plundered them. They took what they wanted, including people to work as slaves. The young slave girl who served Naaman s wife had been taken from her home in Israel. As an Israelite, the girl knew about the one true God. She was familiar with God s prophets, including Elisha, who had performed miracles to help and heal people. The girl told her mistress that Elisha the prophet could heal Naaman. So the king of Syria sent a letter to the king of Israel, asking him to cure Naaman of his leprosy. But the king of Israel had no power to heal Naaman. The power to heal comes only from God. Elisha called for Naaman. But what happened next was not at all what Naaman expected. Naaman expected Elisha to call upon the name of God, wave his hand over Naaman, and miraculously heal him. Instead, Elisha instructed Naaman to go wash in the river. Naaman was angry! If Naaman wanted to wash in the river, he could have done that back home! But Naaman s servants urged him to wash. He did, and he was made clean. Not all sick people will be healed on this side of heaven, but our physical maladies are symptoms of an even greater illness sin. Jesus death and resurrection provided healing forgiveness and eternal life for those who trust in Him. Welcome/Transition Time (15 minutes) Lesson Snack/Video Activities LifeWay Christian Resources

2 WELCOME/TRANSITION TIME (15 minutes) Greet boys and girls as they arrive. Direct them to work on the color/activity page. After that, they may choose to play with a favorite toy or do another activity that you have provided. Color Page/Activity Sheet: What Is Different - provided Crayons or colored pencils color/activity sheet, 1 per child Naaman washed seven times in the Jordan River to be healed of a skin disease. Can you tell which picture shows him after seven times? How many other things can you find that are different in the two pictures? Say Who heals us from our sin? Jesus heals us from our sin. Do a Naaman finger play: provided Teach the following finger play to the preschoolers. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, (Hold up fingers as you count.) Wash, wash 7 times, (Move one hand as if you re washing the back of the other.) Elisha told Naaman. 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, (Use fingers to count backward.) Naaman obeyed. His disease was gone. (Open hands and show disease-free fronts and backs of hands.) Transition to Lesson Use your usual transition cue to signal that it is time for Bible study. Ring the bell, show the countdown video, flip the lights, or clap a simple rhythm for children to copy to gain attention. LESSON Worship Music Classroom DVD contains worship songs for each unit that the children will enjoy learning. Unit 13 DVD Story Time Say We have heard two Bible stories about a prophet named Elijah. Elijah had to tell powerful and bad King Ahab that he needed to be sorry for his sin and obey God. Elijah did it. God showed Ahab and the prophets of Baal that God is the one true God. Then King Ahab s wife said she wanted to kill Elijah. Do you remember her name? (Jezebel) Elijah ran and hid. How did God help Elijah? (gave him food; kept LifeWay Christian Resources

3 him safe; gave him a job to do) God gave Elijah a job. God sent Elijah to find Elisha. Elisha would be the next prophet after Elijah. Their names sound alike. Who was first? Elijah or Elisha? (Elijah) Today we will hear a Bible story about Elisha. THE BIBLE STORY Elisha and Naaman 2 Kings 5 Naaman (NAY muhn) was an important man. Naaman was the leader of the army from Syria, and he did a good job leading the army. The king of Syria liked Naaman. Sometimes Naaman and the army attacked the cities of Israel. God s people lived in Israel. Naaman and the army took things that did not belong to them. They even took people to work for them as slaves. Naaman was a strong leader, but he was sick. He had a problem with his skin. A young girl from Israel had been taken by Naaman s army, and she worked as a slave for Naaman s wife. When the girl heard that Naaman was sick, she wanted to help him. She wanted Naaman to feel better. I know someone who could help Naaman, the girl said. There is a man in Israel who can make him better. Naaman wanted to get better! He went to see the king of Israel. But the king of Israel could not help Naaman. I am not God, the king said. I cannot make sick people well. Only God can do that. Elisha was a prophet. God had chosen Elisha to tell people things that God said. Elisha heard about Naaman, and he invited Naaman to his house. Naaman went to Elisha s house and stood by the door. He was ready to be healed! Naaman thought Elisha would come and wave his hand over Naaman s skin to heal him. But that s not what happened. Elisha sent someone to tell Naaman what to do. Go wash seven times in the Jordan River. Wash in the river? Naaman said, I could have washed in the rivers near my home. Did I travel all this way for nothing? Naaman felt angry. He started to leave, but his servants asked him to do what Elisha said. So Naaman went to the river. He dipped himself into the river seven times. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Then Naaman s skin was all better! He wasn t sick anymore! Naaman went back to Elisha. He said, I know your God is the one true God. He wanted to thank Elisha by giving him gifts, but Elisha did not want the gifts. So Naaman started to go back home. Elisha s servant Gehazi (gih HAY zigh) stopped Naaman. Wait! he said. Gehazi told Naaman a lie. Gehazi said he needed the gifts Naaman had. He said he wanted to give the gifts to some people who were visiting Elisha. Naaman gave Gehazi some silver and some clothing. But Gehazi did not give the gifts to anyone else. He was greedy, and he kept them for himself. What Gehazi did was wrong. When Elisha saw Gehazi, Elisha said, Where have you been, Gehazi? Gehazi told another lie. He said, I didn t go anywhere. Elisha knew what Gehazi had done. He knew he had taken gifts from Naaman. Gehazi was punished for doing the wrong thing. Gehazi got sick, and like Naaman he had a problem with his skin too LifeWay Christian Resources

4 Christ Connection: Naaman was sick. He had a problem with his skin. When Naaman washed in the river, his skin got better. No one can obey God all the time. We are all sick with a sin problem. When we trust in Jesus, He heals us. God forgives us and makes us better. * Use only the words in bold to review the Bible story or tell it to younger preschoolers. Review/Key Passage Key Passage Poster Big Picture Question Poster Say Whom did Elisha help? (Naaman) What was wrong with Naaman? (He had a terrible skin disease.) Who told Naaman to do what Elisha said? (his servants) What was Naaman supposed to do to be healed? (dip seven times in the Jordan River) Was Naaman healed? (yes) We sin. Who heals us from our sin? Jesus heals us from our sin. Read the key passage. Ask what God wanted His people to do. (turn from their evil ways, keep His commands) What did the people NOT do? (They didn t listen.) Play the first part of God s Perfect Words. SNACK/VIDEO Snack Signal for cleanup time using the countdown video or whatever method you prefer. Take a bathroom break and wash hands before the snack. Ask for volunteers to help set up and serve the snack. Remind kids to wait until everyone has been served before eating. Thank God for your snack. Watch Video Show the video Elisha and Naaman (from Classroom DVD) ACTIVITIES Get Rid of Sin - provided Print the word sin on small pieces of paper and pile them at one end of the room. Kids may take turns: run to the scrap pile, grab a scrap, run back, wad it up, and throw it in the trash can. As each kid reaches the trash can, ask the big picture question. Kids should answer in a complete sentence. Say It would be nice if we could just pick up our sin after each day and throw it in the garbage. But we can t clean up our own sin. That s why God sent Jesus. Who heals us from our sin? Jesus heals us from our sin LifeWay Christian Resources

5 Make a Naaman Puppet provided Have children glue a craft stick in between the two sides of the Naaman puppet. Use the puppet to retell the Bible story. One side is a sick Naaman and the other side is a healed Naaman. Say: Who healed Naaman s skin? (God) Who heals us from our sin? Jesus heals us from our sin. Pick up Preschool children need to be picked up by a parent/grandparent and the adult must show the parent receipt with matching I.D. number. If the tag is missing, the adult can go to the Welcome Center and have a receipt reprinted. Welcome the second session teachers and tell them what they need to know about the children who are present LifeWay Christian Resources