Grades 1-5 - August 7, 2016

Summer Lesson 13 date: 8/7/2016

REMEMBER & CELEBRATE

Remembering and Celebrating God’s Gift of Freedom: Festival of Jubilee

Schedule ANTICIPATE 5–10 minutes

REMEMBER & CELEBRATE 25–40 minutes

RESPOND 25–35 minutes

BLESS 5 minutes

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Summer Lesson 13

Leader Prep Each week you’ll find Inspire, Equip, and Support articles that will help you take time for yourself before you begin your prep.

• The Inspire article contains personal stories of how God has worked in our lives as fellow ministry leaders, along with insights into that week’s Ponder Point.

• The Equip article gives perspective and context as it introduces the lesson’s Bible passage.

• The Support article provides a time of reflection and assessment through encouragement, prayer, and time in God’s Word as you prepare your heart to present the lesson to the kids in your ministry.

Inspire Until several years ago, I was satisfied in my relationship with Jesus. And then I wasn’t.

As I began to pursue a deeper connection with Him, I became more aware of my sin and the things that entangled me. One day, God gave me the picture of a little bird. I realized I was the bird, living in a cage. My fears, anxieties, and insecurities formed the bars of the cage that held me.

Inside the cage, my life was small and manageable—but not free. Within the safety of the bars, I encountered God in real and tangible ways. He was present with me, and He loved me in spite of my sin and brokenness. However, God invited me into a new way of living with Him— a life of freedom. Slowly I began to realize that the door to my cage wasn’t closed. The door had always been open.

God is faithful and won’t allow me to retreat to my life of self-confinement. He stands with me and invites me into the life He’s created for me. He lovingly reminds me I’m no longer captive to fear or anxiety. I’ve been set free from the constraints of sin. I stand securely in the freedom that is mine.

Kit Rae ROCKHARBOR Church

Equip Every sixth and thirteenth lesson, we pause to remember and celebrate, just as God instructed His people to do.

Festival of Jubilee: A Festival Celebrating God’s Gift of Freedom The Year of Jubilee occurred on the fiftieth year following every seven cycles of seven sabbatical years. This festival celebrated God’s gift of freedom. It was a consecrated year set aside to proclaim liberty and restoration for all of the inhabitants of the land. Debts were forgiven, and those who had sold themselves to settle a debt were set free. Through this festival, God reminded His people that He would always provide for them and that He “held the

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Summer Lesson 13 deeds” to everything they held as possessions. Because of this, God commanded His people to provide for the redemption of land and housing lost due to poverty or other similar circumstances.

Old Testament Significance Several times a year, the Israelites gathered for a festival. In Leviticus 23, the Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘These are my appointed festivals … which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.’” The seven annual festivals are Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of First Fruits, the Feast of Harvest, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths). In addition, the Israelites celebrated the Festival of Jubilee on the fiftieth year, the year following seven cycles of seven sabbatical years. They also gathered weekly to celebrate the Sabbath. During these celebrations, the Israelites took time to remember what God had done for His people and to celebrate His goodness. The entire faith community gathered without the burden of work to simply worship and celebrate. They ate, danced, sang, played instruments, prayed, and offered sacrifices to God. New Testament Significance The Feast of Passover was fulfilled by the death of the Messiah, the Feast of Unleavened Bread was fulfilled by His sinless sacrifice, and the Feast of First Fruits was fulfilled by His resurrection.

The Feast of Harvest began with a great harvest of three thousand souls by the coming of the promised Holy Spirit, who continues to harvest souls today. The Feast of Trumpets will announce Christ’s return, the Day of Atonement will usher in His judgment of the nations, the Feast of Tabernacles will begin the journey to our new home in a new heaven and earth, and the Festival of Jubilee symbolizes our eternity in heaven with our Lord and Savior—living in perfection, free from the debt of sin.

Support We all have birdcages—figuratively speaking, of course. At one time or another, we lived there most of the time. Then, one day, jubilee! We were set free.

Scripture tells us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1). To “throw off” is a conscious and deliberate act. The door has been opened. But the choice to leave the cage behind and live in freedom is ours.

Stop for just a moment and allow yourself to be still before the Lord. Ask Him if anything is keeping you from living a life of freedom. If so, what’s holding you back?

Draw a birdcage and a bird or two. On each bar of the birdcage, write words or phrases that represent the things that make up your cage. Which bird represents you in your journey?

Write your name on that bird. Consider using colored pencils to make designs that uniquely represent you today.

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Summer Lesson 13

SMALL GROUP SECTION

ANTICIPATE// 5–10 min.

Small Group Leaders

Children engage in fun, creative activities designed to pique their curiosity about the day’s biblical feast or festival.

Festival Instruments In Leviticus 25:10, God said to His people, “Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you.” This festival emphasizes God as the true owner of every field and the true master of every person. Debts were forgiven, land returned, and fields allowed to rest. God’s people took time to remember to whom they belonged and to whom they owed thanks for everything they’d received. To help us celebrate today, we’re going to make some musical instruments!

Option 1: Shofars SUPPLIES • Shofar instructions (see Resources) • Shofar photo example (see Resources) • Party horns/noisemakers (1 per child) • Craft rolls (1 per child) • Masking or painter’s tape • Scissors (1 pair for every 2–3 kids) • Tempera paint • Paintbrushes (1 for every 2–3 kids) Option 2: Cymbals SUPPLIES • Cymbals instructions (see Resources) • Cymbals photo example (see Resources) • Disposable plates (2 per child) • Ribbon or chenille wires (2’ per child, cut into 1’ pieces) • Glue (sticks, dots, or craft) • Metal washers (1–2 dozen per child) • Optional: hot glue gun (for leader use only), gold paint Option 3: Harps SUPPLIES • Harp instructions (see Resources) • Harp photo example (see Resources) • Cardboard (1 piece per child, each approx. 12” x 8”; thin, such as the side of a cereal box) • Fishing line (2’ per child)

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Summer Lesson 13 • Tape • Scissors (1 pair for every 2–3 kids) • Optional: misc. craft supplies PREPARE AHEAD Print the instructions and photo examples for the instruments your children will make.

RELATE To get the children celebrating as if they’re at the Festival of Jubilee, help them make instruments that Jewish people often played at feasts and festivals.

Because the blast of a shofar (an instrument made from ram’s horn) announced the Festival of Jubilee, help kids make their own shofars. In addition to, or instead, allow them to make cymbals or harps—classic instruments also used by Hebrew or Jewish people, both in Scripture and today.

LARGE GROUP SECTION

REMEMBER & CELEBRATE// 25–40 min.

Host/Worship Leader/Storyteller

Children pause and look back at what they’ve discovered about God during the past several weeks in The Big God Story.

For more information on Traditions or any aspect of the lesson please see the How It Works document for Large Group/Small Group in the Resources.

Welcome and Traditions SUPPLIES • Mementos for your church Traditions (rocks, marbles, gumballs, etc.)

RELATE Offered twice per quarter, REMEMBER & CELEBRATE lessons invite children and their parents to pause and look back at all they’ve discovered about God and the ways they’ve experienced Him in the past weeks. Each lesson focuses on a biblical festival and explores the origin of the festival and what it shows us about God. Take this time to remember the awesomeness of our God and celebrate who He is!

After everyone gathers as a large group, open with Traditions. During Traditions, you’re helping the children work toward a common goal and giving them mementos to celebrate accomplishments such as memorizing the Remember Verse, inviting friends to church, or bringing their Bibles.

Mementos can be any object, but some examples include rocks, marbles, gum balls, and connecting blocks. Once the children receive their mementos, have them put the objects into a

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Summer Lesson 13 clear container or add them to a structure they’re building. If you have multiple services, use separate containers or building stations for each service. Once the kids fill their container or finish their structure, hold a celebration!

Connect Encourage the members of your community to get to know one another through engaging questions, energizing games, and creative activities.

Question What’s the most exciting celebration you’ve ever experienced?

Activity: Set Free Jubilee SUPPLIES • Connect Activity image (see Resources) • Connect Question image (see Resources) RELATE Encourage your children to play this fun game that gets them thinking about what it means to be set free.

Form kids into groups of 10. Within each group, choose one child to be “It” and another to be the “Runner.”

Encourage the rest of the kids in the group to join hands and form a circle. When the circle is complete, they can drop their hands. On the count of three, the Runner should start to run around the circle, trying to stay away from It. As the Runner goes around the circle, he should weave in and out of the kids. Each time the Runner passes between two children, those two children should link arms with each other. Once two children have locked arms, no one can go through, under, or over the locked pair.

As soon as the last two arms have been locked, everyone must freeze. If the Runner, It, or both are standing inside the circle, all of the kids forming the circle should shout, “Jubilee, jubilee, God has set you free!” and unlock all of their arms. Then the person (or people) in the middle can join the circle and a new game can begin. Note: If the Runner gets tagged, she will become It and another child will be chosen as the Runner. If this happens, don’t reset the game, but continue playing with the kids keeping their arms linked or standing as they were.

Remember and Play At the Jewish feasts and festivals, the people would eat special foods, see special people, and engage in special dances and ceremonies. It’s easy to imagine that the Jewish children might have been so excited about the upcoming festivals that they couldn’t sleep for days in anticipation.

The feasts and festivals were both fun and meaningful. God’s people reveled in how good it was to be together as they remembered what God had done in their lives. During this time, we will seek to remember in a spirit of fun and celebration—making the experience exciting and interesting as well as meaningful, community building, and spiritually forming.

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Summer Lesson 13 Engage the children by playing the game of ZONK! to help them remember what they’ve discovered during the past several weeks. For instructions on how to build the ZONK! Wheel, play ZONK! and a list of ZONK! supplies, see Resources.

ZONK! Questions and Answers (for images, see Resources) 1) Priscilla and Aquila were: a. Tentmakers b. Friends of the apostle Paul c. People whom God called to join and follow Him d. All of the above ANSWER: D. God called Priscilla and Aquila to trust and follow Him as Master of everything in their lives.

2) Priscilla and Aquila chose to trust Jesus as Master because they believed that: a. It was the safe thing to do b. God is in control and is always with us c. Risking their lives was fun d. God would never take them out of their comfort zone ANSWER: B. God may call us into challenging situations, but He always goes with us. We can trust that He is Master over everything.

3) God’s Spirit gives us gifts to: a. Build up the church, the body of Christ b. Help other believers c. Unite the church d. All of the above ANSWER: D. God gives each of us special gifts so we can encourage one another and come together to build God’s church.

4) True or False: Everyone has special gifts God can use for the good of His church.

ANSWER: True. We each have God-given gifts, and no single gift is better than another. When we use our gifts to help one another, we can be a more unified church. We are the body of Christ.

5) True or False: As followers of Jesus, we will blend in with the rest of the world.

ANSWER: False. As those who follow Jesus, we will stand out because God calls us to be holy as He is holy.

6) As followers of Jesus, our true home is in: a. Heaven with God b. Church c. Our house d. The forest ANSWER: A. Life on earth feels difficult because we, as believers, were created to live in our true home in heaven with God.

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Summer Lesson 13 7) True or False: Everyone in the world has sinned and needs God. ANSWER: True 8) Fill in the Blank: At the beginning of The Big God Story, God promised to send a _____ who would one day restore everything to perfection.

ANSWER: Redeemer (or Savior). Today we know this Redeemer is Jesus!

9) At the end of time, God will: a. Destroy sin, evil, and death b. Bring those who believe to heaven to live with Him c. Create a new heaven and a new earth d. All of the above ANSWER: D. As those who trust and obey Jesus, we can have hope that someday God will destroy evil and bring those who trust in Him to live with Him forever.

10) True or False: God wants everyone to play a special part in The Big God Story.

ANSWER: True

RESPOND// 25–35 min.

Host/Storyteller

Children gather as a faith community and celebrate who God is and what He has done. They participate in storytelling and connect through fun and engaging worship.

The Festival of Jubilee only happened once every 50 years. During this festival, people had their debts forgiven. Also, people whose land had been taken away from them received their land back. This festival was a time of great rejoicing for the poor, enslaved, and oppressed because during this festival they became free!

The Festival of Jubilee offers a beautiful symbol of what Jesus did for us on the cross. He freed us from our enslavement to sin. He freed us when we couldn’t free ourselves. Let’s celebrate God’s gift of freedom for those who believe!

Remembering My Experience with God SUPPLIES • Bibles • Worship Response and Create/Engage pieces from previous weeks

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Summer Lesson 13 PREPARE AHEAD From the Worship Response and Create/Engage pieces, choose three or so you might want to discuss, and have them available. Talk and pray about this with your team, and choose the pieces that most impacted your group. Place the Worship Response and Create/Engage pieces around the room in lesson order.

RELATE Invite children to look back at how they’ve experienced God during the past several lessons.

Optional: Discuss the Worship Response and Create/Engage pieces and encourage kids to share memories of those response experiences or activities.

WORSHIP RESPONSE • Lesson 7: The Holy Spirit inspired Priscilla and Aquila to trust Jesus as their Master—no matter the cost. They chose to join with God in His plans for their lives, and He led them to where He desired for them to serve. Where might God be calling you to follow Him or join with Him in what He’s doing?

• Lesson 8: God’s Spirit gives each member of His church spiritual gifts. What is one of your spiritual gifts? How have you used this gift to serve our faith community?

• Lesson 9: Believers in the early church had to live in foreign lands where they felt like strangers. Even today, as believers, we may feel like strangers living in this world. As Christians, why are we different from other people in the world? How can we encourage each other when we feel lonely?

• Lesson 10: The word gospel means “good news.” It’s amazing news that God sent His Son Jesus to pay the price for our sins—a price we could never pay—and that all we have to do is admit we’re sinners and choose to believe in Him. It’s the best news anyone could ever hear! Can you do anything to be saved? How does it make you feel to know God chose to die so we could have a relationship with Him? • Lesson 11: When God gave the apostle John a vision of heaven, God showed John a picture of the hope to come. It’s comforting to know that those of us who believe in Jesus will someday be in heaven, where there will be no suffering, fear, sickness, or death. How does it make you feel to know that someday we who trust in Jesus will be with Him in heaven?

• Lesson 12: We’re all a part of The Big God Story! As believers, we get to play a special role in His story. What do you think that means? What role do you think God might call you to play?

CREATE/ENGAGE • Lesson 7 Master Plans: During this lesson we talked about how God leads us to where we need to be.

How have you seen God prompting you to do something or to go somewhere recently?

• Lesson 8 Our Gifts Serve the Body: It’s good for believers to use their gifts to be unified and work together. How are believers in the church like a body? When have you seen believers working together?

• Lesson 9 Shining Stars: The apostle Peter referred to believers as strangers or travelers journeying toward God. Like sailors look to the stars for light, we look to God for light. In what ways do we see God’s light shining in the world? How can God use us as His lights in a dark world?

• Lesson 10 Path to Life: The gospel is the good news of how to have a relationship with God. Why do you think it’s important to tell others about Jesus? How can God use us to share the good news with others?

• Lesson 11 Heaven: We were made to live with God. God is preparing a place for us to live with Him forever in heaven, where we’ll see Him face-to-face! It will be a wonderful, perfect place with no sadness, pain, or death. What are you looking forward to about heaven?

• Lesson 12 The Big God Story Hunt: Jesus is the One The Big God Story is all about! Jesus came to live among us and make the way to be in relationship with God forever. How does it make you feel to know

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Summer Lesson 13 you have the chance to be in relationship with the one true God?

Storytelling SUPPLIES • Optional: Campfire videos (see Resources) • Bibles PREPARE AHEAD Pick one or two of the storytelling options listed below. Gather stories from your faith community, or invite kids and families to start thinking of stories they may want to share.

RELATE Storytelling allows members of the community to tell stories about what God has been doing in their hearts—at church and at home. You and your kids and parents can share stories in various forms—videos, emails, written or spoken stories, etc. As you tell stories, encourage children to be respectful of their friends and leaders by listening quietly while others speak. Also, whether you choose to experience storytelling with high energy or in a more restful way, remember to continue in a spirit of celebration for what God has done in the lives of your kids, leaders, church, and families.

Optional: Set up your storytelling time like an experience of telling stories around a campfire. Have kids sit in a giant circle. Be creative with ways to create the sense of being around a campfire by playing the Campfire video or playing sound effects (crackling fire, crickets, etc.), setting out wood, and more.

Storytelling Ideas • Set up open mics around the room and allow kids to tell their stories.

• How God answered their prayers • How God used the Remember Verse in their lives • What God did in their hearts during the last few weeks (such as what they learned about God and how that changed them) • How they saw God with their families or outside of church • Gather stories from the community.

• Ask parents for stories about their experiences with God at home with their children • Ask parents to email pictures of spiritual experiences with their children (such as a baptism) • Take pictures of family church experiences • Show a video or picture collage gathered during the last few weeks • Interview someone about what he experienced, discovered, or learned about God. • Someone who has recently come home from a mission trip • A parent who had a God experience with his child, or a child who experienced God with her family • Someone who recently accepted Christ

Celebrate by Breaking Bread SUPPLIES

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Summer Lesson 13 • Food, drinks, plates, napkins, utensils, cups RELATE Celebrate with the kids by “breaking bread” together. Explain that eating together is one of the ways people celebrate today and one of the ways the Israelites celebrated together during their festivals. You can break bread many ways. Here are some options: • Have parents bring food and come to eat with the kids—on both REMEMBER & CELEBRATE weekends or on the last weekend of the quarter.

• Have a feast after church—a potluck or smorgasbord. Parents, leaders, and kids can make food, bring it to church, and then eat together after the service.

• If your kids fill a clear container or build a structure as part of a Traditions, give out simple foods (e.g., pretzels or animal crackers) on most REMEMBER & CELEBRATE weekends. Save the more extensive party for when they complete their goal.

Celebrate with Music SUPPLIES • Worship music (suggestions: “Celebrate” or “Remain,” TruWorship Sincerely Yours) RELATE Play upbeat songs and encourage the kids to sing along and dance.

Celebration Station SUPPLIES • Prayer cards (see Resources) • Tangle of Sin photo example (see Resources) • Scissors • Yarn (black, 1 skein) • Cardboard (approx. 2’ x 5’ piece) • Pencils or pens PREPARE AHEAD Print the Prayer cards (one per child) and cut them apart. To create a Tangle of Sin board, refer to the photo example. Cut notches about five inches apart around the perimeter of the cardboard piece. Using the notches to hold the yarn in place, wrap the cardboard front to back with black yarn to create a tight web.

SET UP Place the prepared Tangle of Sin cardboard near the front of the room. Place Prayer Cards and pencils or pens nearby.

RELATE During the Festival of Jubilee, God’s people celebrated God’s amazing gift of freedom.

Debts were forgiven and slaves were set free. Today we know we are forgiven and set free because Jesus’ death on the cross completely paid the price for all our sins. God’s

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Summer Lesson 13 gift of freedom releases us from the tangles of sin. We have been made perfect by the blood of Jesus, and we can look forward to a life of complete freedom in heaven.

What tangles of sin do you struggle with in your life? Maybe it’s anger, selfishness, jealousy, or something else. Ask God to show you these tangles of sin, and ask Him to help you. Then come to the front and pull out a card from the tangles of yarn on the Tangle of Sin board. Take the card and a pencil or pen back to your seat. Draw a picture or write a prayer of thanksgiving for the forgiveness and freedom that Jesus brings.

SMALL GROUP SECTION

BLESS// 5 min.

Small Group Leaders

Children are blessed through a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words of encouragement and guidance.

SUPPLIES • HomeFront Weekly (see Resources) • Bible RELATE As you bless your children, tell them they have the opportunity to also be a blessing to others. Encourage them to freely share the joy and love they have received from God. Encourage the kids to hold their hands in front of them, palms up. Then open a Bible and read Psalm 94:14– 15: The LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance. Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Have the children join hands as you finish today’s blessing with the following: May you rest in and trust the Lord this week. He loves us, gives us rest, forgives us, calms us, and sets us free. May He help you walk in His freedom!

HomeFront Weekly is provided as a parent resource with each week’s lesson (see Resources) and can be emailed out or printed and distributed. This preteaching tool encourages families to spend time in God’s Word together before children arrive at church. The best part is that parents are the first to introduce their kids to the Bible content they’ll hear at church. In this way, the church is supporting families as they spiritually nurture their children.

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