SALT LIGHT

Lesson 6

POWER PHRASEI can be obedient!

memory verseJohn 14:23b, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.”

Supporting doctrinesFor supporting doctrines, see Novo’s Statement of Faith at https://novoministries.org/

statement-of-faith.

GoalsThe child will...

• Understand how much God loves him and wants to have a relationship with him.

• Learn what the Bible says about obedience.• Choose to follow God with his life.

• Realize that he needs to be obedient to God.

RemindersThe leadership trait that we are focusing on in this lesson is obedience. Obedience

acknowledges God’s lordship over our lives. A great leader walks in obedience to God’s

Word and allows God to guide him in all he does.

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abraham is obedient bible storyRecommended Visuals• Bible Story visuals*

Recommended Supplies• Bible, Bible character costumes, microphone or hair brush, reporter’s hat, press badge

Captivate #1 — Act It Out!

• Have the children dress up or pretend to be characters in the story. Have them act it

out as you tell the story. Choose two boys to be Abraham and Isaac. You can also

choose another child to be the sheep that God provides as a sacrifice.

Captivate #2 — News Flash!

• Recruit a child or leader to be the reporter covering a news report on the Bible Story.

Give him a microphone, a play microphone, or a hair brush to use as his microphone.

You could also have him wear a hat with a “press” card tucked in it or a “press”

badge. This would work best if they were given time to develop their skit in advance.

Background

• God had promised Abraham that he would have a son. He would have more children

than he could count. Abraham had to wait a long time for this promise to come true.

During that time he doubted God’s plan and had a child with his wife’s servant.

Abraham was 100 years old when God fulfilled His promise to him and he had a son.

They named him Isaac.

Story

• Retell the story from Genesis 22:1-18.• See story script.

Conclusion• God tested Abraham to see whether Abraham loved Isaac more and would choose

him rather than being obedient to God. God then promised to bless Abraham for what

he did.

Testimony• Share about a time that you were obedient to God even when it was difficult.• Share about a time you made the wrong choice and you regret not being obedient to

God.

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challengeRecommended Visuals

• pictures of toddlers learning to obey*, Key Point visuals*, Power Phrase visual*,

Memory Verse visual*

Supplies

• Bible

Introduction

• Toddlers are so cute and sweet. They never cry or throw tantrums. They always do

everything you ask them to. They never bite. They always share. They never get into

things they aren’t suppose to. Right? WRONG!

• One of the greatest things a child has to learn is how to be obedient. Babies are born

egocentric, which means they think only of themselves and what they want. They

don’t think about what others want or how their actions affect anyone else. They have

to learn all of these things.• As you show the picture of the toddlers, ask the children if they have ever heard the

phrase “terrible twos.” Two-year-olds struggle with being obedient. They demand

their own way and can be quite unreasonable. Obedience is a big lesson that two-

year-olds are trying to learn.

Key Points

Obedience is learned!

• We are not born obedient. A baby doesn’t come home from the hospital and offer to

clean his room. He doesn’t know how to follow rules or even what is expected of him.

He has to be taught right from wrong and how to obey and why he should obey.They

will see how much they can get away with and push the boundaries.• It is only through maturity and learning that they will grow to be obedient and

thoughtful of others.• Our greatest source to know how to obey and what to obey is in the Bible. Even

Jesus learned obedience (Hebrews 5:8).

Obedience is a choice!• You have the ability to say “yes” or “no.”

• Our greatest motivation to obey is to honor God (John 15:14).• Being obedient isn’t always the easy choice, but it’s always the right choice!

• You can choose to obey or disobey, but you cannot choose the consequence.

Obedience brings rewards!• For every choice, there is a positive or negative consequence (Romans 2:6-8).

• Our greatest reward for obedience is pleasing God and receiving His blessings (Luke

11:28).

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challenge continuedConclusion

I can be obedient!

• It is because of our love for God that we should want to be obedient (John 14:23b).

The Bible is like a road map. It isn’t there just to create rules of things we should or

shouldn’t do. It is there to help us avoid the potholes and dangers in life. God wants to

bless us and use us to be a light to the world. When we walk in obedience, we have

the greatest opportunities available to us.

• Invite the unsaved child to believe on Jesus and ask God to forgive his sin (Acts 16:31).• Invite the saved child to obey God so that he is ready to be used by God.

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oil & water arriving activityVisuals• picture of a child almost touching a stove*

Supplies• 1 L or 2 L clear bottle (clean), water, vegetable or baby oil, food coloring, alkaseltzer

tablets, glow stick and glitter (optional)

Instructions and Application• As the children arrive, share with them that the Bible tells us that we shouldn’t change

to be like the world (Romans 12:2). Show them the bottle of water and add water to fill

1/4 of the bottle. Tell them that the water represents us. Pour some oil into the water

bottle until it is 3/4 full and explain that the oil is like the world around us. Next add

about 10 drops of food coloring. It will sink to the bottom and mix with the water. You

can also add a lit glow stick and glitter. Finally, you would add an alkaseltzer tablet to

the bottle. Remember to leave the lid off of the bottle.• Ask the children if the water and oil mix or do they stay separate. We can be just like

the water. We can be a part of this world without changing who we are and who God

wants us to be and to stand out from the rest of the world.• There are many things in the world that can get you in trouble and lead you away

from God. There are many things in the Bible that God teaches us that we should and

shouldn’t do. He gives us these because He loves us. It is just like a parent who gives

his children rules to follow to keep them safe or help them be better people. Ask the

children what they see in the picture of the child with the stove. Ask them if someone

has ever told them to not touch the stove. Being told not to touch the stove is an

example of being given a rule to follow that will keep you safe.• Our reason to obey God isn’t just to stay out of trouble. We obey God because we

love Him and we want to please Him and honor Him in all that we do.

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GROW gospel presentationVisuals• Foundational Gospel Truths “What to Do Now?” visual*

Supplies • writing tools, paper

Instructions and Application

• Explain that we learned in our story today that Abraham obeyed God even when it

was hard. Abraham showed God that he loved Him so much and trusted Him

completely to be obedient even when he didn’t understand what God was asking. He

was willing to follow the path God set before him without knowing the destination.

• God gives us the Bible, which is like our road map. It teaches us that God wants us to

love Him and to grow to be more like Him. We can GROW to be like Jesus in several

ways: go to church and Bible Club (Hebrews 10:25), read your Bible and pray (1 Peter

2:2, Matthew 21:22), obey God (James 1:22), and witness to others (Mark 16:15).

DiscussionOlder Team: Have the children share ways that they grow to be more like Jesus. Ask them how those things help them to grow.

Younger Team: Have the children do the song “Read Your Bible Pray Every Day.” Discuss how reading our Bible and going to church help us to grow to be like Jesus.

Quiet Team: Have them draw pictures of ways that they can grow to be like Jesus.

Active Team: Have them act out different things that they can do to grow to be more like Jesus.

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god says memory verseVisuals• Memory Verse visual*, picture of children playing “Simon says”*

Supplies• paper, writing tools, Bible

A.G.A.I.N. Acrostic

A — ATTENTION GRABBER

Ask the children if they have ever played the game “Simon Says.” It is a fun game where

you do only the motion if the leader says “Simon Says” first. Explain that it is just like that

for us. We should do only the things that God tells us to do. We can know what God

wants us to do through His Word, the Bible.

G — GOD’S WORD

John 14:23b, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.”

A — AWARENESS

I — IN THEIR LIVES

Unsaved Child (Questions to ask an unsaved child)

Saved Child (Questions to ask a saved child)

N — NUMBER OF TIMES

Memorization Activity

Play Bubble Pop. Select a child to blow bubbles. As the bubbles float to the ground, have

the team try to say the verse together (not racing) before the last bubble pops. They

should keep saying the verse until the last bubble pops. Start out saying the verse slowly;

then speed up each time you say it. This makes the game more exciting and challenging.

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god says memory verse continuedDiscussion• Older Team: Have the children make a map of things from the Bible that God says we

should do and we should not do, such as loving God and others (Matthew 22:38-39)

and the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17). From those things create roads to

places those choices can lead you. For example, if you steal that road could lead you

to jail. • Younger Team: Play “God says” and remind the children the importance of reading

their Bible and learning to do what God wants us to do.• Quiet Team: Have the children write or draw pictures of different things God tells us to

do in the Bible.

• Active Team: Play “God says” and between each round, remind the children of

different things that God says in the Bible that we should do.

flashback review questionsSupplies

• sheet of review questions with storyboard boxes to write or draw the story (one per

child)*

Large Group Review Questions• What was God’s promise to Abraham? (He would give him a son.)

• How old was Abraham when his son was born? (100 years old)

• What was his son’s name? (Isaac)• Why did God test Abraham? (To see if God was really first in Abraham’s life.)

• What was the test? (Abraham was to sacrifice his son Isaac.)• How many days did they travel? (Three)

• What did God do when Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac? (God stopped him.)

• What did God provide as an offering? (A ram.)

Discussion Questions

• What are things that we put before God? Those are idols in our lives.• How can we guarantee that we keep God as the most important thing in our lives?

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sheep craftVisuals• craft sample*

Supplies• glue sticks, coloring tools, cotton balls, scissors, clothes pins (2 per child), sheep craft

template*

Instructions and Application• Remind the children that in our story today, we learned that God provided an offering

in place of Isaac. Ask the children what that offering was. Give each child a sheep

printed on cardstock. For the younger children, you may want to cut it out in advance.

Have the children color the face of the sheep. Next they will put glue on the body of

the sheep and stick cotton balls on. They can attach the cotton balls on both sides of

the paper. Finally they will clip on the clothes pins to create legs for the sheep. They

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WHAT’S THE POINT application activitiesSupplies• paper, writing tools, “I can be obedient!” cards*

Activity #1

• Hand out the “I can be obedient!” cards to each child. Have the children share

specific areas in their lives where they struggle with being obedient. Then have them

think about ways that they can overcome that struggle. Finally, have them write these

things down on their cards.

• An example might be, WHAT’S WRONG? I struggle with disobeying my mom when

she asks me to do my chores or I just do them half way. WHAT’S THE ANSWER? I

need to do my best when my mom asks me to do something and make sure I get it

done. • The important part of this activity is encouraging the children as they identify their

problem and discover solutions on their own.

Activity #2• Have the children take turns acting out different scenarios they encounter where they

struggle with being obedient and how they correct it. If you have a group that is more

quiet, you could choose to have them draw a picture instead.

NOW WHAT? ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIESSupplies

• Abraham Secret Word Message*• The Big Take Away Key Chain*

• Abraham Coloring Page*

Instructions and Application• These activities are to be used with your team as time fillers while reinforcing the

lesson concepts. They can take these home each week or do them while they are

listening to you teach during Small Group. These activities require little to no

explanation and can be great for moments when you are transitioning or don’t have

time to start another activity.

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SALT LIGHT

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