LESSON 22 SKIT. BIG GROUP TIME minutes

Transcription

1 LESSON 22 SKIT Principle: Following by faith, and symbols to remember. Bible Character(s): Joshua Scripture Reference: Joshua 1, 3-4 PERSONAL PREPARATION: Before this weekend, please read Joshua 1-4. After Moses died, God chose Joshua to cross the Jordan River to lead the people into the Promised Land. Notice the faith it took for Joshua, the priests, and the people to set out into the Jordan River. God commanded them to do it, and they responded in faith. God was faithful in bringing them to the land He had promised to their ancestors. Have you had times in your life when the waters were high and God asked you to step in? Did you trust God and respond in faith and obedience, or were you fearful of what He wanted you to do and chose not to obey? Were you strong and courageous, just like Joshua was? Reflect on times of faith in action in your life. How have these times shown you and reminded you of God s faithfulness? Spend some time in prayer thanking God for challenging you, and for being faithful. BIG GROUP TIME minutes 1) Run-through/Prayer Run-through order of service (assigned parts, transitions, slides for music and skit, video if applicable, etc), assign door greeters, pray, mic check 2) Welcome Cabins Band member says, Welcome to Camp Grace! before intro song 3) Intro Song 4) Camp Competition How Many Candies? This competition involves everyone. Give each cabin a pen and a slip of paper to guess how many candies are in the jar. (The number is written on the bottom of the jar.) The cabin with the closest guess wins the camp banner for the week. Revised 1/16 1

2 5) Worship Set Worship Connector Who can remember something God did for the Israelites that involved water? (Allow responses.) God parted the Red Sea to provide a way for the Israelites to escape the Egyptians. God was faithful to the Israelites, and He wanted them to trust in Him. Trusting in God involves obeying Him. And the same is true for us. God is faithful to us, and He wants us to trust and obey Him with every move we make. 6) Skit Getting Across the Finish Line ProPresenter: Camp Grace Race slide Characters: Storyteller Staff Member #1 Staff Member #2 Staff Member #3: Runner (Can take out Staff Member #2 if needed.) Props: Water bottle Hand towel Race number for runner Script: (Band exits stage as Storyteller enters.) Storyteller: Good morning! It's a busy day here at Camp Grace. You may have seen all the... (Staff Members #1 and #2 run from back door through the room.) Storyteller: Hey, slow down. Where are you going in such a hurry? Staff Members #1 and #2: The race is about to start. We're going to be late. We're just taking a short cut. (Run through side door.) Storyteller: I hope you make it in time. Have fun! As I was saying, there's a race here at Camp Grace. People are coming from all over to participate. (Runner enters through side door running and carrying a towel and water bottle while wearing a race number on his/her shirt. Runner stops to run in place next to the Storyteller.) Maybe we can go to the finish line later and watch the end of the race. (Looks at the runner.) Excuse me, I need to find out what's happening here. (To runner.) Hi! What are you doing? Runner: Oh, hi! I'm sorry. I don't have a lot of time to talk now. I'm in a race. Revised 1/16 2

3 Storyteller: Well, I certainly don't want to bother you. I wish you well in your race. (Begins to walk away from the runner, but pauses, does a double take and walks back to the runner.) Wait a minute! You're in a race?! Runner: (Drinks from water bottle.) That's right. I am doing the big Camp Grace Race. Storyteller: The race just started. If you hurry, you can get to the starting line and get in the race. (Point to the door that the staff members ran through to get to the race in time.) Runner: I am in the race. Storyteller: No, you're not. Runner: Yes, I am. Storyteller: The Camp Grace race is that way. (Point toward the door.) The people in the race are actually running on the course of the race. I'm not sure you're aware of this or not, but you're just running in place. You re not actually going anywhere. Runner: Oh, yes, I know. (Wipe forehead with hand towel.) Storyteller: I'm confused. If you want to be in the race, you need to be actually running to the finish line. How do you plan to be in the race when you re just running in one place? Runner: Well, see, the course for this race is very difficult. There are lots of twists and turns. I have to admit, I'm afraid of falling. If I run in place right here, I can be in the race and not lose my balance and fall. Storyteller: I understand that you're afraid of falling and getting hurt, but if you try to race by staying right here, you'll never actually go anywhere. You'll never cross the finish line. Runner: I don't want to fall if I run on the actual course, but I want to be in the race. What should I do? Storyteller: Well, stop running in place and come listen to something from the Bible. I think it might help you. (Both walk to the edge of the stage and sit.) In Camp Grace, we've been talking about the Israelites. They traveled through the desert to get to the Promised Land. The Promised Land was a land that God promised would be their own. Runner: I know this story. Moses was their leader, but when he died, Joshua became their leader. Storyteller: Right. The priests were carrying the Ark of the Covenant. Do you know what the Ark of the Covenant was? Runner: It was a symbol that helped the Israelites remember that God was with them. I think the Ark was a golden box that had some special things in it. It had the Ten Revised 1/16 3

4 Commandments and a jar of manna. Storyteller: You're right again. It was a symbol to remind the people that God was with them. It reminded them of all He had done for them. So, anyway, the priests were carrying the Ark of the Covenant and leading all the people to the Promised Land. God told them that when they got to the Jordan River, the priests were to put their feet in and God would cut off the flow of water so they could cross over. This was such an exciting time. They were finally going to cross over into the Promised Land after 40 years of wandering in the desert. Can you imagine how exciting that was? Runner: It's like they had been in the longest race of all and were about to cross the finish line. Storyteller: Exactly! Well, when they got to the edge of the Jordan River, they found that the river was at flood stage. That means that the river was at its absolute highest point. It would have been incredibly deep and the current would have been very strong. If it were you getting ready to cross the flooded Jordan, how do you think you would feel? Runner: I'd be scared. I'd worry about being swept away. Storyteller: If it was me, I might be afraid, too. But remember, God split the Red Sea years earlier when the Israelites were escaping from the Egyptians. The Bible doesn't tell us that priests even hesitated at the river's edge. Maybe they remembered how God had opened up the Red Sea for their people to walk through. It seems that they just stepped right in, as God said. As soon as they did, the water's flow stopped. The Bible tells us that the water "piled up in a heap a great distance away." That's so cool. Even cooler was that the ground they walked on was completely dry. Runner: That's awesome. Their feet didn't even sink down into mud. They just walked across. Storyteller: As soon as the Israelites got across, the water went right back to flood level. God told the Israelites to take twelve stones from the Jordan River. There was a stone for each tribe. They place the stones on the ground. This group of twelve stones would be a reminder to them of what God had done for them. The Israelites were able to walk across the Jordan River and right into the Promised Land because they had faith in God. He saved them from a life of slavery in Egypt. He split apart the Red Sea. He provided food for them in the desert. They knew He would be faithful in helping them cross the Jordan River. Runner: I know why you wanted me to hear this story from the Bible. I'm afraid to run on the real course in this race because I might fall. If the Israelites had been afraid to cross the Jordan River, they would not have gotten to the Promised Land. They would not have crossed their finish line. Storyteller: What helped them to cross without fear? Runner: They remembered all God had done for them. They even carried the Ark of the Covenant as a way to remember what God had done for them. Revised 1/16 4

5 Storyteller: The Israelites knew how important it was to remember what God did for them. They even made a covenant of stones from the Jordan River to remember how He got them across the river. I have an idea for you. Maybe you wouldn't be afraid to run on the real course in the race or do anything else if you had faith in God. If you could just remember all that He has done for you, the really scary things wouldn't be so scary anymore. With faith in God, you could actually cross the finish line in your race. Runner: God has done a lot for me. I do need to have faith in Him. Maybe I'll write a list of all He has done for me and keep it with me as a reminder to have faith in Him. Thanks for helping me. I won't be able to be in the race this time, but I think I'll go to the finish line to watch. I'm going to make that list and you'll see me cross the finish line next year. Storyteller: That sounds great. I'll see you there in a little while. (Runner exits.) Maybe you could make a list of all God has done for you. There's a list already available to you, though. Do you know where it is? Right. It's in the Bible, God's Word. When we remember all God has done, it helps us to have faith in Him. Let's pray. Father, thank You for Your Word. We read all You have done for us and know that nothing is impossible for You. Help us to believe that. Help us to have faith. Amen. Gracechurchkids.org 2801 Pelham Rd. Greenville SC Ph: Fx: Revised 1/16 5