The Suffering of Job Job
The Suffering of Job Job
Story Point: Job learned that God is good, even in suffering. Big Picture Question: Who is God? God is our Creator and King. Christ Connection: Job learned that God is all-powerful, sovereign, and good. When we face suffering, we can hope in God. God sent Jesus, the only truly innocent One, to suffer and die so that everyone who trusts in Him can have forgiveness and eternal life. Key Passage: Colossians 1:16b-17
The Suffering of Job Job
Key Passage: Colossians 1:16b Babies & Toddlers Christ Connection: Jesus always obeyed God, but He suffered to rescue us. Preschool Christ Connection: The story of Job reminds us of Jesus. Jesus never sinned, but He suffered to take the punishment for our sin. Jesus comforts us when we suffer, and we can trust Him. Big Picture Question: Who is God? God is our Creator and King. Story Point for Babies & Toddlers: God made everything. Story Point for Preschoolers: Job learned that God is always good. Gospel Gems: • Sad things happened to Job, but he loved God. • God is in charge of everything He made. • God sent Jesus because He loves us.
Parents: 3 Easy Step Lesson 6: The Suffering of Job #1) Watch: The Video with Eric Applegate, teaching the main story through the Gospel Project Video: The Suffering of Job found on the Sunday Liturgy #2) (Optional) Re-Read: The BIBLE Story as a family or Life Group & Ask the BIG PICTURE QUESTION to each other. (Notice there are 2 different ages for the story) #3) Do: Optional activities broken down by age groups (Edited to be quick and easy with family and/or Life Group)
PreK-5th Grade level The Suffering of Job Job Job (JOHB) was a wealthy man who loved God and wanted to follow God’s plan. One day, Satan came to God. God told Satan about Job. “No one else on earth is like him,” God said. Job was an honest man. He feared God and turned away from evil. “Job only follows You because You protect him and bless him,” Satan said. “If You take away everything Job has, he will not follow You anymore.” So God gave Satan permission to take away everything Job had, but Satan was not allowed to hurt Job. Satan sent men to steal Job’s animals. He caused Job’s children to die. In one day, Job lost everything. Job was sad, but he still followed God. Satan came to God again. He said, “If Job gets sick, he will not praise You anymore.” So God gave Satan permission to make Job sick, but God did not let Satan kill Job. Job became ill with sores all over his skin. Job’s wife asked, “Do you still have faith in God? Curse God and die!” “That’s foolish,” Job said. “How can we accept good things from God and not trouble?” Then three of Job’s friends visited Job. Their names were Eliphaz (EL ih faz), Bildad, and Zophar (ZOH fahr). They said, “Job, you must obey God. If you do what is right and stop sinning, God will give you back everything you lost.” “I haven’t done anything wrong,” Job said. Job wished he had someone to talk to God for him. He wanted answers; he did not understand why he was suffering. Finally, a man named Elihu (ih LIGH hyoo) came to Job. “God is greater than man,” Elihu explained. “God always does what is right.” Then God spoke to Job through a whirlwind. “Were you there when I made the earth?” God asked. “Are you the one who told the sea where to stop? Did you decide when the sun would rise or when snow would fall? Did you put the stars in the sky? Can you tell the eagles when to fly in the sky?”
Job could not completely understand God’s plans, but he could trust God. God is all-powerful, sovereign, and good. Job was sorry for doubting God. God gave back to Job everything he had lost—and so much more. Christ Connection: Job learned that God is all-powerful, sovereign, and good. When we face suffering, we can hope in God. God sent Jesus, the only truly innocent One, to suffer and die so that everyone who trusts in Him can have forgiveness and eternal life.
Bible Story for Toddlers A man named Job loved God. One sad day, Job lost all of his sheep, camels, and donkeys. He lost everything— even his 10 children! Then Job got sick with sore spots all over his body. But Job still loved God. Job’s friends said, “Maybe God is mad at you. That is why bad things happened.” But that was not true. Job said, “I wish someone would talk to God for me.” God spoke to Job in a whirlwind. God said, “Were you there when I made everything? Can you understand My plan?” God showed Job that He takes care of everything He made. Job said, “Your plan is good and right. Nothing can stop Your plan!” Later, God gave Job many good gifts and more children. Job lived a long, happy life.
Gospel Gems Sad things happened to Job, but he loved God. God is in charge of everything He made. God sent Jesus because He loves us.
3rd-5th Graders: Bible story review & Bible skills (10 minutes) Open Bibles and guide your kids to find the Book of Job. Suggest they use the table of content in their Bibles if they need help finding it. Ask kids what book comes after Job. (Psalms) Read aloud Job 42:16-17. Say • We have been learning stories from the Book of Genesis. Why do you think we are skipping all the way back here to the Book of Job? [Allow kids to respond.] The Bible isn’t in exact chronological order. First, it’s organized into the Old Testament (things that happened before Jesus was born) and the New Testament (things that happened after Jesus was born). Then it’s organized further by type of book; we call these genres or divisions. The Book of Job is the first of the books of Wisdom, which include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. But the story of Job happened during the time of the patriarchs— Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Ask the following questions: What did Job learn about God and about himself? Lead kids to recall that Job learned that God is good, even in suffering. Guide them to see how Job realized he cannot completely understand God or His ways. (Option: Read Isa. 55:8-9.) How is God near to us in our suffering? Lead kids to recognize God’s presence through His Word, through the Holy Spirit, and through fellow believers who offer comfort and encouragement. (Option: Read Ps. 139:7-10.)
How have friends encouraged you in a hard time? How can you encourage others? Invite kids to share their experiences. Remind them that God is present and working for our good and joy, even in times of trouble. (Option: Read 2 Cor. 1:3-4.) Say • Because of sin, everyone suffers—those who follow God and those who don’t. God is always in control, and He loves us. He is good, even when we don’t understand His ways.
PreK-5th: Easy & Quick Activities: Option 1: Cards of encouragement Provide supplies for kids to create notes or cards of encouragement for friends, family members, or neighbors who are suffering. Consider displaying a list of verses for kids to find in the Bible and copy onto their cards: Psalm 9:9; Psalm 23:4; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 27:13-14; Psalm 34:18; Psalm 55:22. If kids do not know someone who is suffering, pray that God would put someone in their path whom they could comfort with God’s love. Say • When a person is suffering, it can be hard for that person to believe the truth about God. We saw that Job learned that God is good, even in suffering. We can encourage people who are suffering and pray that God would bring them comfort and peace. Option 2: Activity Pages found in following pages (PreK-2nd) Invite kids to complete the “Whirlwind Maze” activity page. Instruct kids to complete the maze by drawing a continuous line from the beginning to the end. Say • Job’s life took many twists and turns he did not expect. He felt that God was not treating him fairly, but he learned a lot when God spoke to him through a whirlwind! Can you imagine what that would be like? We’ll hear the full Bible story later. Activity page (3rd-5th)
Invite kids to complete “Word Match” on the activity page. Say • These three words—all-powerful, sovereign, and good—describe God. Today we are going to hear a Bible story about a man named Job (JOHB) who discovered through his suffering that God is allpowerful, sovereign, and good. Activity page (Preschool)
Invite your preschoolers to look at the images in each row and circle the image that comes next. Say • We will hear about the earth, lightning bolts, horses, eagles, and crocodiles in today’s Bible story. Do you know who made all those things? Do you know who is in charge of all those things? God! In today’s Bible story, a man named Job learned that God is much greater than people. We need to learn that too. Let’s listen to how God taught Job in our Bible story. Option 3: Foreign flavors Provide each kid with a paper towel or napkin. Give each child a scone or a bit of scone on a paper towel. Allow them to talk about how it tastes and what they do or do not like about it. Say • That was a baked treat called a scone. A scone is a little bit like what Americans call a biscuit, but the two are not exactly the same. Many of the foods they eat in England are similar to foods eaten in the United
States. Sometimes though, when missionaries go to other countries, they have to eat things that are very different from the kinds of food they might be used to. Worms, snakes, or insects may be considered delicious in some parts of the world. The idea of eating a bug may sound pretty unusual to you, but when God calls a person to be a missionary, he or she often faces struggles that are much harder than eating new kinds of food. But the suffering a missionary may face is worth it to be a part of God’s plan to tell the world about Jesus. God can use suffering to glorify Himself and benefit us. Job learned that God is good, even in suffering. Missionaries all over the world know this is true!
Decide what is missing (All Ages) Gather six to ten items from around the room and place them on a table. Invite kids to observe the items. Instruct kids to turn around while you remove and hide one item. Ask kids to guess the missing item. Continue removing items and guessing until all the items are gone. Replace the items and play again as time allows. Say • In today’s Bible story, a man named Job did not just have one thing taken away, he had many things taken away! When you hear everything that was taken away from Job, I think you will agree that he had a good reason to be sad. But God used all the sad things that happened to Job to help Job understand more about what God is like.
1-4yr olds: Easy & Quick Activities: Make wind art Cover a table with newspaper or a plastic tablecloth. Fill the cups of a muffin tin halfway full with water. Mix a few drops of food color in each cup. Give each preschooler a sheet of paper. Help a preschooler use a dropper to drop colored water onto his or her paper. Show a preschooler how to blow through a straw to move the colored water around. Provide direction to preschoolers on how to blow out rather than in. Say • Wow! Your art looks like it has been in a windstorm! In today’s Bible story, God came to talk to a man named Job in a whirlwind. Listen to our Bible story to hear what God said to Job. Look at books about friendship Set out books about friendship for preschoolers to look through. Read a book to a child as she shows interest. Say • Three friends visited Job, but they were not being good friends. They said God was punishing Job for his sin, but they were wrong. Just because something bad happens to you doesn’t mean you did something wrong. Sometimes bad things happen and God is the only One who knows why. We cannot always understand what God is doing, but we can always trust God. Job learned that God is always good. Sing a Bible story song Sing to the tune of “God Is So Good”: “God *made the world, God *made the world, God *made the world, God made everything.” *Substitute does good things and sent His Son in subsequent rounds. Say: God made everything. When bad things happen, we can trust Jesus. Jesus always obeyed God, but He suffered to rescue us.
STORY POINT: JOB LEARNED THAT GOD IS GOOD, EVEN IN SUFFERING.
The Suffering of Job Job
14
Complete the maze by drawing a continuous line from the ground to sky.
Whirlwind Maze INSTRUCTIONS:
Younger Kids Activity Pages
Unit 1 • Session 6
The Suffering of Job
BIBLE STORY SUMMARY:
1:16b-17
• Job trusted God and had many blessings. • Satan said that if Job suffered, he would turn from God. • Job wanted to question why God let him suffer. • Job learned that God is good, even in suffering.
KEY PASSAGE: Colossians
BIG PICTURE QUESTION:
• Who is God? God is our Creator and King.
FAMILY DISCUSSION STARTERS:
• Why do people suffer sometimes? • In what ways is God still good, even in suffering? • When will all suffering and pain end?
FAMILY ACTIVITY:
• Contact a local nursing home to schedule a time to go as a family to visit the residents. Discuss the ways we can comfort those who may be sick, weak, or otherwise suffering. Ask your kids whom we trust as our ultimate source of comfort.
DOWNLOAD the
LIFEWAY KIDS APP
13
Circle the item that comes next to complete the pattern.
Finish the Pattern INSTRUCTIONS:
Preschool Activity Pages
Unit 1 • Session 6
The Suffering of Job
BIBLE STORY SUMMARY:
1:16b
• Sad things happened to a man named Job, and he did not understand why. • God talked to Job in a whirlwind. • Job learned that God is always good. • God gave back everything Job had lost and even more.
KEY PASSAGE: Colossians
BIG PICTURE QUESTION:
• Who is God? God is our Creator and King.
FAMILY DISCUSSION STARTERS:
• How would you feel if difficult or sad things happened to you? • Would God still be good if He had not healed Job and given him back what he lost? • How do we know God is good even when sad things happen?
FAMILY ACTIVITY:
• Identify a person or family in your church who is suffering. Pray for them. Find a tangible way to comfort them. You may send a card, perform an act of service, or give them a hug.
DOWNLOAD the
LIFEWAY KIDS APP
13
Word Match
C. pleasing, kind, and gracious
B. having complete or unlimited power
A. able to control all things and accomplish whatever one pleases
Match each word with the correct definition. Trace the path for each star to check your answers.
1. all-powerful 2. sovereign (SAHV ren) 3. good
Reply All
Job’s wife spoke to Job. (Job 2:9) Job replied. (Job 2:10)
Look up the Bible verses and fill in the speech bubbles to show how Job replied to each situation.
A servant spoke to Job. (Job 1:18-19) Job replied. (Job 1:20-21)
Š 2020 LifeWay
God spoke to Job. (Job 40:1-2) Job replied. (Job 40:3-5)
14