Discover the Power For ages 5 to 14 years Exploring Unity Spiritual principles and how to create an empowered life. Writer/Editor: Reverend Diane Venzera 642 N. Harvey Ave. Oak Park, IL 60302 708-785-7566 dvenzera@gmail.com www.dianevenzera.com Title Page 1
5 God is Everywhere I Am Lesson Overview... Lesson Intention The intention of this lesson is to understand that God is everywhere I am. Spiritual Principles God is everywhere present. God is always within us waiting to be discovered. No matter where we look we will always find God. The quickest way to find God is to look right inside yourself. Affirmation God is always present within me Prayer Focus Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Psalm 43:3 Supplies... All Ages All Ages Older Children Discovering God Discovering God, Cont... God is Everywhere Colored poster board, Soft, meditative music Pillows Large bowl of water Eye dropper Cup Loaf of uncut Italian bread Butter Bibles Copy of Places list. The places must be on Church grounds such as: the bathroom, the prayer room, the meditation garden, the kitchen, etc and could also include photos of places some good and some bad. The idea is to search for evidence of God. 2 Discover the Power
Unite Sacred Circle Transition Use a song and/or musical instruments to transition the children from the opening activities into the circle time Affirm Invite one of the children to create an affirmation that affirms how they are feeling, for example: My name is. I am. The rest of the circle then affirms the first child by saying, (Name), you are. Continue until all have been affirmed. Center Centering Breath Choices Breathe through your heart: image your breath is going in and out through your heart. Be a Balloon: pump up like a balloon and then release Be a Drain: tighten all muscles, hold and then release Prayer Once centered, teach the children a prayer of your choice or lead a brief meditation. Connect Prayer Requests Invite the children to share a prayer request. When all have shared affirm that Spirit is always present making the way clear for answered prayers. Celebrations Invite the children to share something they would like to celebrate. Use noise makers or pompoms to cheer after each celebration. Commit Love Offering Lead the children in blessing the love offering by inviting them to hold their offering in their hand (their offering can be money or anything they would like to bless the world with, such as: love, joy, peace) and pray the blessing of your choice. Then pass the basket and invite each child to add their offering. Affirmation Share the affirmation of the day and invite the children to commit to it for the week. God is always present within me. Lesson 5 - Sacred Circle 3
Week #5 Story Younger Children Samuel Talks to God, 1 Samuel 3:1-10 or The Children s Illustrated Bible, pp. 108-109 While Samuel was sleeping he heard someone calling him. He did not know who it was at first but he soon discovered that it was God speaking to him. He promised to always listen. Story Focus We find God by looking within ourselves because God resides in our hearts. What is Samuel doing when he first hears the voice? Who does he think is speaking to him? How does he respond each time he hears the voice? What does Eli tell him to do? How do they finally realize who is really speaking? What does this story tell us about God? How do we find God? Where do we find God? 4 Discover the Power
Week #5 Story Older Children Psalm 139:7-16, Use NRSV This Psalm explores the presence of God. Story Focus There is no place that God is not. What question is the author asking? What is she discovering about God? What is your experience with the presence of God? What do you believe about where you find God? How can God be present in difficult situations? What do you know to be true about God? Lesson 5 - Story 5
Lesson #5 All Ages Discovering God The intention of this activity is to assist the children in knowing that God is always present within. Supplies Soft, meditative music Pillows Action Introduce the lesson Intention by asking the children to name a place where they can find God. Play the soft, meditative music. Invite the children to take a pillow and find a comfortable place to sit or lay. Tell them that we are going on a journey in our minds and invite them to close their eyes. Lead them in some rhythmic breathing, inviting them to take a deep breath in at the same time tense all of their muscles. As they release their breath, invite them to release their muscles. Repeat the tensing and releasing with the in and out breath. As you invite them to take the in breath but leave their muscles relaxed but on the out breath, imagine that they are melting into their pillow. Repeat. Now share the following meditation Let all of your muscles continue to fee heavy and drippy, as if you are melting into the pillow. With each breath you melt a little more, feeling completely relaxed. You are in a quiet space of nothingness, just feeling peaceful and melted. You slowly realize that you are now a drop of water. Allow that image to be in your mind. It is just there being you. I wonder how you feel as this tiny drop of water. I wonder who you are and where you exist. Maybe you have heard of the great ocean. I wonder if you are a part of that. Yes, you are a part of the ocean. You are floating along with all of the other drops of water, just mingling together being the ocean. You realize that every part of the ocean is in you. No matter where you look, you see the magnificence of the vast ocean that you are a part of. You exist as part of this ocean and it can never be removed from you. It is in your cells and your heart and your mind. You float here in the ocean for a little while and then you gradually bring your awareness back to this moment in time. You begin to feel your toes and your fingers. You wiggle your arm or your leg and gradually you open your eyes and see all of the other drops in the ocean around you, knowing you are all one. 6 Discover the Power
Lesson #5 All Ages Discovering God, Cont... The intention of this activity is to assist the children in knowing that God is always present within. Supplies Large bowl of water Eye dropper Cup Loaf of uncut Italian bread Butter What was this experience like for you? What did it feel like to know that you are part of something so large? Activity Gather the children around the bowl of water. Ask them what they see. Ask them if the drops of water can be separated from the bowl of water. If they can, does this mean they are totally separate? Using the eye dropper, pull one drop of water out of the bowl and place it in the cup. Ask the children if the drop is the same or different from the water in the bowl. Help them to understand that even though the drop looks like it is separate, all the elements that make up the bowl of water are present in the single drop of water. Share with them that this is just like God. Every though we look like we are all separate, God is the same in each of us. It is in every cell in our body and can never be separated from us. Show them the loaf of bread. Ask them what ingredients are in the bread. Break the loaf open and pull out a small section of the fluffy center ask what ingredients are in this small piece. Ask if it is possible to separate out the ingredients. How are we and God like the bread and its ingredients? What does this tell you about God? How can you use this God presence within you to guide you? Lesson 5 - Creative Experience 7
Lesson #5 Younger Children God is Everywhere The intention of this activity is for the children to express how they see/feel God within themselves. Supplies Bibles Copy of Places list. The places must be on Church grounds such as: the bathroom, the prayer room, the meditation garden, the kitchen, etc and could also include photos of places some good and some bad. The idea is to search for evidence of God. Prepare Ahead This activity works better as a field trip but see what you can do with it. More supervision & direction will be needed for the younger children. Prepare ahead: A list of places in the church where the children will go to search. Action Form at least two groups (An adult needs to accompany each group) and give everyone photocopies of the places list. Explain that the kids have 15 to 20 minutes to go to as many places as they can before meeting back in the classroom. (Another option would be to look at pictures of various places and talk about what is the evidence that God is there or these two ideas can be combined.) Explain that in each place, kids are to search for evidence of God s presence. The entire group must participate and be prepared to share their evidence of God s presence. When the journey is complete, bring all of the children back together. What was this activity like for you? What did you discover on your journey? Where can you find God? 8 Discover the Power
Closing Celebration Quick Tips... Each Youth Ministry program is unique as to how the morning is closed. Some programs end with the students joining the adults in the Sanctuary and some close on their own, No matter how your program is designed, offering a closing to the students helps them find completion with the lessons, helps them create a bridge to next week and gives them an opportunity to share what they have experienced. Reconnecting Activity Create a ritual that invites the students back into the circle. You might use a song, ring a bell, or create a clap. Closing Song Using a song of your choice, invite the students to sing together. The purpose is to assist them in bringing their attention back to the circle. Random Acts of Kindness Share all the kindness expressed today. Sacred Sharing Invite the students to share what the day s experience meant to them. Sacred Breath Close with a centering breath or a brief meditation. Closing Commitment: Invite the class to close with the class motto or a Yea, God! Lesson 5 - Closing 9