January 2024
☃️January 6th - By faith Noah, being warned by God . . . prepared an ark for the saving of his household. - Hebrews 11:7 - A Rescue Boat
☃️January 13th - Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the LORD on high is mighty! - Psalm 93:4
☃️January 20th - The rainbow is the sign of my covenant . . . between me and every living thing on earth. Genesis 9:17
Rainbow of Promise
☃️January 27th - Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. - Proverbs 16:18
February
🧵 Sabbath, February 3rd - Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. - Psalm 37:4 - Get Ready to Move
🪡 Sabbath, February 10th - And he (Abraham) believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. - Genesis 15:6 - What's In a Name?
🧵 Sabbath, February 17th - Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. - Psalm 37:5 - Waiting on God
🪡 Sabbath, February 24th - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. - Proverbs 3:5
- Test of Love
March
🌷 Sabbath, March 2nd - The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16 (NIV)
💐 Sabbath, March 9th - Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. - Leviticus 19:11 (NIV) The Stolen Blessing
🌷 Sabbath, March 16th - . . God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” - Hebrews 13:5 (NIV) - Heavenly Dream
💐 Sabbath, March 23rd - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. - John 3:16 (NIV) - The Favorite Son
🌷 Sabbath, March 30th - The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.
- Proverbs 15:3 (NIV) - It's the Pits
April
⛵️ Sabbath, April 6th - "Don't let evil get the upper hand, but conquer evil by doing good.” - Romans 12:21 - Potiphar and Prison
⛵️ Sabbath, April 13th - “Don’t use your freedom as an excuse to sin. . . Serve one another in love” (Paraphrase). - Galatians 5:13 - A Serving Savior
⛵️ Sabbath, April 20th - “Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth” (NIV). - Psalm 86:11 - A Passionate Prayer
⛵️ Wednesday, April 24th - “The Lord. . . said, ‘I have loved you with a love that lasts forever’” (NIrV). - Jeremiah 31:3 - A Lasting Love Story
⛵️ Sabbath, April 27th - “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” - Luke 24:5b
⛵️ Tuesday, April 30th - “After his suffering and death, he appeared to them” (NIrV). - Acts 1:3
Sabbath, January 6, 2024
A Rescue Boat
"By faith Noah, being warned by God... prepared an ark for the saving of his household" (Hebrews 11:7).
Materials needed: books showing an art, model of the ark from the Creation Museum, foam animals, glue, paper
Your lesson this week was about God rescuing Noah. I know your mom did your lesson with you, so I’m going to ask some questions:
- How many animals did Moses take on the ark? Oh good! You were listening! Moses didn’t take any animals on the ark; Noah did. Noah took two of each kind of land animal and bird. That means he took bugs too.
- Where did Noah put the whales? Noah didn’t have to take any of the whales, fish, or other sea creatures because they could swim just fine in the water during the flood.
- How did Noah get the big door closed? He didn’t have to worry about it. God closed him in.
- How many men and women were on the ark? Noah, his wife, Noah’s three sons, and their wives.
- Do you know the names of Noah’s sons? Shem, Ham, and Japheth
- How did Noah know how to build the ark? God taught him. God told him how big to make it, how to make levels in the ark, what wood to use, and how to make it waterproof.
- Noah had to gather enough food for all of the animals. How did he do that and gather all the animals too?! The animals came to him.
- Did Noah have to take every kind of dog in the world - German Shepherds and blue heelers, wolves and coyotes, dingos and poodles? No, Noah just had to take one kind of canine. All of the dogs in our world are descended from that one pair.
- How many cows did Noah take? Seven pairs. Why? Because they were clean animals and good for food.
- Why did God destroy all the human and animal life on earth? Because of the wickedness of the people. What does that make you think about your behavior? Do you think you ought to consider what you do?
- Will God destroy the earth again with water? No. What will He use next time? Fire.
- Why did God rescue Noah? The Bible says that Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Noah tried to live by God’s standards and obeyed what God told him to do. It’s something to think about. We certainly want to be among those that God rescues!
Sabbath, January 20th
Rainbow of Promises
Memory Verse: The rainbow is the sign of my covenant . . . between me and every living thing on earth. Genesis 9:17
Materials: CD, flashlight, prism
When you wrap a package, it doesn’t seem quite finished until you put a bow on the top. There’s something about a bow which seals the deal! We all like bows. They’re everywhere: neckties, hairbows, pins, and necklaces.
Why does a bow attract us? Perhaps it’s because bows remind us of the rainbow - the sign God Himself set in the clouds when Noah and his family came off the Ark. Our merciful God probably knew that the first time the clouds began gathering, all of Noah’s family would be afraid that it was going to happen again. After all, you can’t spend over a year on a boat without rain having a profound affect upon your emotions. Imagine how they would be tempted to run for the Ark!
But God set the rainbow, the beautiful rainbow, in the clouds so that when they would see it, they would be assured that God would not destroy the earth with water again. And ever since, we’ve been so captured by the beauty of the rainbow.
We buy prisms so we can throw rainbows whenever we want. We buy kaleidoscopes so we can imitate the wonder of color. We encourage children to draw rainbows, and they readily oblige.
So it is no wonder that such a symbol of life and of God’s promise would be very annoying for Satan. God has given us a beautiful sign every time it rains. It is a perpetual reminder that He is in control and that, in the end, righteousness and love and justice win. It will be a perfect world.
Do you know how a rainbow works, scientifically? When the light hits the water droplets, the light is bent (or refracted). When you bend light, the various colors bend at different angles. Red bends the most; violet bends the least. They bend in this order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Without the moisture in the air, you don’t see the rainbow.
You can use other things to get the light to refract. You can sometimes see the rainbow in butterfly wings, using a prism, or on soap bubbles. The light shining off a CD can also refract to create a rainbow.
I love how God placed the rainbow in the cloud as a promise to the earth that He would never again completely destroy the earth by flood.
But I also love how God created the rainbow using two symbols that we often associate with Him: light and water. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). God is light (1 John 1:5), and in Him there is no darkness at all. Jesus is also the source of living water (John 4:10, 14; John 7:37). If you believe in Jesus, the Light of the world, you will be given the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39), that living water will flow out of you.
Then the Light of God shining on you and your life will display the promises of God for all to see. You become a witness to the greatness, the majesty, the awesomeness of our God. Your life reflects God’s love and mercy. You testify to everyone around you that God is the source of life and salvation.
God’s promises are displayed for all to see in the rainbow. But God’s promises are also displayed in your life for all to see. Think about how well you allow others to see Jesus in you the next time you see a rainbow.
January 27th
Tower of Trouble
Memory Verse: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. - Proverbs 16:18
Materials Needed: deck of cards
Have you ever built a tower of cards? How many levels could you build before it all collapsed? Have you tried building towers out of any other materials? What works well? Doesn’t work well? What can you do to make your tower more permanent?
Why do people want towers? Sometimes they’re used to see what is coming. (But your tower has to be high enough to see over the trees!!) Sometimes they’re used to spot fires before they become blazing infernos. Sometimes the height advantage allows you to get your bearings and readjust the course of your travels.
In Genesis 11, this tower was proposed as a way for the people to do two things: 1) get honor for themselves; and 2) keep from being scattered over the earth. Why was this a problem?
God had given specific instructions to Noah after the Flood. They were to spread out over the earth to repopulate it. They weren’t supposed to congregate in a big city. So deciding they didn’t want to be scattered over the face of the earth was in direct conflict with God’s directive.
That unwillingness to obey God had its roots in their first reason for building the tower. The people wanted to make a name for themselves. They wanted glory and honor. They wanted to put themselves and their wishes and desires before God’s commands. Their glory and honor was more important to them than giving glory and honor to God.
Do you see how this applies to you today? Your desire to give God glory and honor before anything and anyone is demonstrated in your willingness to obey God’s commands.
The people of Babel were so very foolish! It hadn’t been that many years since the Flood when all of humanity, except Noah and his family, were wiped from the face of the earth. You would think that people would be very willing to do whatever God said. But, no. As Albert Einstein said, “Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former.” Our sinful nature makes us stupid, infinitely stupid - so stupid that we think we can succeed in doing something God doesn’t want done. It’s like building a house of cards. There’s no way it will stand for long.
Sabbath, February 3rd
Get Ready to Move
Memory Verse: Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. - Psalm 37:4
Materials Needed: Sequence strip from YEA resources (YE2E.10), kids tent, color tools, scissors, tape, construction paper, a set of index cards with priorities for each child/family.
Imagine God talking to you one day. That would be startling in itself. But then if God told you to move, to leave your family and your home, and go some place new, that would be very startling. And if you didn’t know where you were going, you just had to trust that God would show you, you would definitely have an opportunity to show just how much you trust God.
Would it make a difference if I told you to go somewhere or if I told you to come to where I was? The word that is typically translated “go” in Genesis 12:1 is the Hebrew halakh. It can be translated “go” or “come” or “walk.” What if God was telling Abraham “come to Me”? Isn’t that what Jesus Christ said in Matthew 11:28? “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (ESV). [Invite the kids to come sit in the tent with you.]
So when Abraham was 75 years old, he left Haran with Sarah, his wife, and his nephew Lot. They carried their possessions with them and went where God told them to go (or come).
Likely, Abraham and Sarah had a nice house in Haran. But when you move, and you have to carry whatever you’re taking, you prioritize what’s most important. And you leave the rest. That’s not surprising. That’s what most people do when they move. But do you know what Abraham and Sarah did for the rest of their lives? They lived in a tent!! That means Abraham spent 100 years living in a tent. How much stuff do you accumulate when you’re living in a tent? Not nearly as much as when you live in a house!! Why did Abraham do that? Abraham’s whole life became a living object lesson that his life is temporary, so he was keeping his eyes focused on God and the things that are most important to God. That’s why he let Lot choose the best land. Abraham knew that what he had was given to him by God. If God wanted him to have more land, He would give it to him. If God wanted Abraham to be wealthy (which he was), God would cause Abraham to succeed in whatever he did - raising livestock, growing crops, fighting battles - all of it. If God wanted him to have descendants - so many that it was like the stars in the sky, God would accomplish it. Abraham just needed to make God his first priority. So he lived in a tent the rest of his life - and trusted God.
What about you? What are the priorities in your life? What things do you want people to remember about you? Serving God? Having integrity? Doing things with excellence? Serving others? Making the world beautiful? Spending time resting and relaxing? Being with family? Being with friends? Making lots of money? What is most important to you? It’s important that you not only think about it, but that you order your life to display what’s most important to you. But because God is your Creator and Redeemer, I’d definitely recommend that you put Him first always.
Sabbath, February 10th
What’s in a Name
Memory Verse: And he (Abraham) believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness. - Genesis 15:6
Materials Needed: name cards for each child, YEA book (YE2F.1)
Do you think names matter? Shakespeare pen that “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Perhaps it would smell as sweet, but what if we called them manure flowers? Would you like a bouquet of manure flowers? What if we called them diamonds? Would you like a bouquet of diamonds? We attach meaning to words and to names based on our experiences.
When I was teaching, I had a couple of rough boys. There’s no way I would ever name one of my sons “Kyle.” I had a Kyle who completely ruined the name for me. But the name Kyle means “slender” or “strait (that is, “narrow” or “constricted”). The Bible tells us to find the strait way, the narrow way, because broad is the path that leads to destruction. So perhaps I need to rethink how I feel about the name Kyle.
Names meant something. God changed Abram’s name. He changed Jacob’s name. He changed Saul’s name. Why did God change those names? Each of these men were changed by their relationship with God; it only made sense that what they were called would also change.
So what about the name Isaac? Why did Abraham and Sarah name their son Isaac? It means “laugh” or “laughter.” Why did Sarah laugh when the angel told her she would have a son that time the next year? Abraham and Sarah had wanted a son for a very long time - like 25 years a long time!! Do you think it’s possible that they didn’t think God was going to keep His promise to give them a son? Perhaps she was laughing at the idea of a 90 year-old lady having a baby and chasing him around. But when they did have a son, Abraham and Sarah named him Isaac. Why? Did they want everyone to laugh at him? I suspect they named him Isaac to remind themselves that they had started to doubt God and they shouldn’t have! They might have also wanted the reminder that Isaac, as the child of promise, was bringing them so much joy (laughter) just because he was there - and sometimes you are so happy you just laugh with delight.
So . . . do you like your name? I know that for some of you, your parents were very intentional to choose names based on their meanings.
Bereckyah = God has blessed; Zevadyah = God has given; Shelevah = peaceful, tranquility; Mitkah = sweet; Luke = light-giving; Matthew = Gift of God; Peter = stone, rock; Clara = bright, famous; Abigail = my father’s joy; Noah = rest, respite; Naomi = pleasant, gentle
These are cool names with very important meanings! But like God promised Abraham and Sarah a son, God has promised to those who overcome a new name. What do you think God will name you? What do you think your name will mean?
Sabbath, February 17th
Waiting on God
Memory Verse: Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. - Psalm 37:5
Materials: stack of books, paper, egg timer
How are you at waiting? Waiting for your birthday? Waiting for someone to come to your house? Waiting for someone to get out of the bathroom? Waiting . . . Even watching an egg timer and waiting for the sand to run out can feel like forever - especially if I tell you that you have to hold absolutely still while we watch!
Very few of us like waiting. We want to get whatever it is that we want - right now!!! I want it like . . . yesterday! And that totally makes sense if it’s something that isn’t going to be around long, like ice cream. I want the ice cream cone now, not in 20 minutes when it’s melted all over the floor.
So I have a visual for you: Let’s say that I have a task that needs to be accomplished, like moving an entire stack of books without touching them. I have this nice, handy dandy piece of paper under the books. Now, if I try to pull them on the piece of paper quickly, what happens? The force overcomes the friction and the paper comes out without the books moving. But if I very slowly pull, maintaining a slow and steady force, friction and gravity will keep the books on the paper - and I can accomplish my goal of moving the pile of books without touching them.
So how does that relate to our sabbath lesson? Well, you can tell me what happened when Abraham and Sarah tried to move too quickly! Ishmael was born - which caused a lot of unnecessary stress for everyone involved.
Another Bible example of the necessity of waiting and doing exactly what God has told you is King Saul (1 Samuel 13). Saul was told to wait for Samuel to come to present the offering to God. When Samuel was delayed, Saul didn’t wait . . . and it cost him the kingdom. Saul should never have thought that it would be okay to directly disobey instructions from God; he should have waited!
So what is your memory verse? Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. - Psalm 37:5 I guess you’re just going to have to get used to waiting.
Sabbath, February 24th
Test of Love
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. - Proverbs 3:5
Materials needed: Love Languages for kids test, pencils, YEA lesson YE2F.3
What kind of behavior do you like? More specifically, how do you like people to show you that they love you? In 1992 Gary Chapman published a book called The Five Love Languages. He explained that, to have the best relationship possible, you need to show that you love someone by treating them the way they want to be treated, that is, specifically, showing love to them in the way they want to be loved.
Since then, quizzes have been developed to help determine what the primary (and secondary) languages are for the user. Adult, teenager, and child versions are available.
So what is your primary love language? Do you prefer 1) acts of service; 2) words of affirmation; 3) gifts; 4) physical touch; or 5) quality time.
The idea is that if you prefer quality time and you don’t get quality time, and you get any of the other love languages, you are not going to feel as loved. Each of us has an idea of what being loved looks like, and when those actions are not present in our relationships, our relationship suffers. Even if the person spends time with you, but you fight the whole time, that doesn’t show love. Or if they bring you a gift and the gift is something you don’t like or don’t want, you may not even count it as a gift. And if you know that the other person knows what you like, and they choose not to love you in that manner, you kinda start to question if they really love you at all. Their attitude towards showing you love matters!
Do you think that God has a love language? Absolutely! God tells us multiple times that His love language is obedience. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15, ESV) This phrase is stated directly seven times (Deuteronomy 7:9, 10:12-13, 30:16; John 14:21; John 15:10; 1 John 5:1-5) and a myriad of other time indirectly, i.e. like when God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. Abraham proved his love and commitment to God by his unquestioning obedience to God’s commandment, despite the difficulty of that obedience.
Christians like to say they love God. Well, words don’t mean anything if your actions don’t prove your words. So - do you love God? AKA do you keep God’s commandments? Do you want to keep God’s commandments, or do you look for excuses not to obey Him?
If you don’t think that you love God, because your actions say you don’t, then the question is, why not?! He has given you everything: life, a family, health, the air you breathe . . . we could sit all day naming things because God created it all.
If you think you do love God because your actions say you do, then the question is “How much do you love Him?” Do you love Him enough to do exactly what He says immediately? Do you “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”? Think about it. What you do - and your attitude about doing it - matters!
Sabbath, March 9th
The Stolen Blessing
Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another. - Leviticus 19:11 (NIV)
Materials Needed: lentils, fake fur, YEA Primary Lesson (YE2F.5)
Do you know what lentils are? Do you like lentils? (Not to be confused with lintels.) How hungry would you have to be before you’d want to eat them? Have you ever been really, really hungry? Isn’t it funny that food tastes absolutely wonderful after you’ve been fasting?! Something you wouldn’t have ever considered eating now is your favorite!
What do lentils have to do with our lesson today? Esau was so hungry that when he smelled the lentil stew that Jacob was cooking, he was ready to sell his birthright for a bowl of it! Do you know what a birthright was worth? The firstborn received a double portion as his inheritance. He was the patriarch after his father died. (Deut. 21:17) The firstborn had the responsibility of caring for his brothers and sisters (and his mother, if his father died first - Gen. 37:29-30). In the kingly line, all of the king’s children would receive a princely inheritance, but only the oldest would become the next king (2 Chronicles 21:1-3). This really was a big deal. But Esau didn’t think so (Gen. 25:32-34, Hebrews 12:14-17), at least, not at first. At this point in his life, he didn’t see the value of the birthright; he was willing to trade it for a bowl of lentils! It wasn’t really about how hungry he was; it was about how little he thought of the birthright.
What do you think of my fake fur? What does it have to do with our lesson today? Well, there’s a birthright - and there’s a blessing. The birthright goes to the oldest; the blessing can go to whomever the father preferred. Rebekah knew that Isaac was his father’s favorite and that he would therefore receive the greater blessing. But Jacob was Rebekah’s favorite and she wanted him to get the best blessing instead. So she decided to trick Isaac.
Esau was so angry that Jacob had tricked Isaac that Esau wanted to kill Jacob. Jacob ended up leaving home for somewhere around 20 years. There are consequences to actions.
So what do you think? Did Jacob have to trick Isaac to be blessed by God - because it was to Jacob that God reiterated the blessing He’d given to Abraham and Isaac? What about Esau? Do you feel sorry for him? Hebrews 12 says that Esau was godless. Malachi 1:1-5 says the people of Esau were wicked and that God would not bless them.
Your memory verse says, “Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another.” Why? Why are these such important commandments to live by? I can think of two reasons off the top of my head: 1) Because stealing and lying and deception are behaviors that God hates. We don’t want to find ourselves being punished by God - or worse, rejected by Him (Matthew 7:23); and 2) Because regardless of the situation in which you find yourself, God is able to bless you abundantly, giving you blessings you could never have imagined, if you love Him and demonstrate that love by obeying His commandments. In short, you will have what God wants you to have. You don’t have to lie or steal or cheat to get it. In fact, Jesus says that God knows what you need and if you seek His kingdom first, all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33).
March 16th
Heavenly Dream
Memory Verse: ". God has said, I will never leave you. I will never desert you.” — Hebrews 13:5
Materials needed: rocks, glue, felt, sharpie, YEA lesson (YE2F.6)
What can you do with rocks? They make good paperweights. Build a house. Build a fence. Build an outdoor grill. Make a rock-paved path. Make a rock garden. Landscape your house. Support a fence. Keep a car from rolling down the hill.
- What did people in the Bible do with a rock?
- Build a fortress - Psalm 18:2
- Use it as a foundation to build a house upon - Matthew 7:24
- People drank from a rock - Exodus 17:6
- Use it for shade - Isaiah 32:2
- Stumble over - 1 Peter 2:8; Isaiah 8:14
- Built a wall - Nehemiah 4:17
- Made idols - Leviticus 26:1
- Use it as a hiding place - 1 Samuel 13:6
- To build an altar - Exodus 20:25
- To kill a giant - 1 Samuel 17:49
- As a pillow - Genesis 28:18
What? Who uses a stone for a pillow? Jacob was fleeing from the anger of his brother Esau. One night he lay down and used a stone for a pillow. Jacob had a dream of a stairway reaching to heaven, with angels ascending and descending on it. God stood at the top and made Jacob several promises: God would give him the land as an inheritance; Jacob would have innumerable descendants; all nations would be blessed through Jacob and his descendants; and God would watch over Jacob, be with Jacob, never leave him, and bring Jacob back to the land. God re-affirmed his covenant (originally made with Abraham and Isaac) to Jacob - and added the promise to be with Jacob. What was Jacob’s response? He set the rock up as a pillar and anointed it. In essence, he was setting up a stone of remembrance.
Two other people set up a stone of remembrance: Joshua did when God brought the Israelites through the Jordan River on dry ground (Joshua 4:20-24) and Samuel did after God gave the Israelites victory over the Philistines (1 Samuel 7:12).
When you look at the way people used rocks, it should come as no big surprise that oftentimes when the Bible refers to a rock, it’s talking about Jesus Christ:
- He is my rock and my salvation (Psalm 62:6; Psalm 18:2; 2 Samuel 22:3);
- He is the rock that Moses struck, that provided water for the people (1 Corinthians 10:4);
- He sets me high upon a rock (my protection) (Psalm 27:5)
- He is the cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16)
It’s no wonder that we like rocks.
Sabbath, March 23rd
The Favorite Son
"God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” - John 3:16 (NIV)
Materials needed: tiny bottles of bubbles/wands, YEA lesson (YE2F.7)
Do you love going to weddings and getting the little bottles of bubbles? There’s something very aesthetically pleasing about blowing bubbles, watching them wafting on the breeze, and suddenly, inexplicably popping.
What in the world would bubbles have to do with Joseph, his coat of many colors, and his brothers?!
Joseph’s brothers were not a little unhappy that Jacob favored Joseph. They were a lot unhappy. In fact, they hated Joseph. And when Joseph had dreams which indicated, and rightly so, that someday they all would bow before him, Joseph’s brothers’ hatred spilled over into murderous intent. When they saw him coming over the hill to where they were shepherding the flocks, they were ready to get rid of him once and for all. Reuben stopped them. He suggested, instead, that they throw him into a cistern - which they did, after they stripped him of the hated coat of many colors. Their hatred was so intense that it was no big deal to treat Joseph terribly - and then calmly sit down to eat as if they’d just hadn’t had murder in their hearts.
When they saw a caravan of traders headed for Egypt, they figured they could be rid of Joseph once and for all: they would sell him as a slave. Then they’d have money and no more Joseph all at the same time. Of course, that necessitated a lie to cover up what they’d done. And they let Jacob believe that lie for twenty-two years. All for what? Because they weren’t their father’s favorite. Because of a coat of many colors. Because of a couple of dreams. Joseph’s brothers wanted what Joseph had. So they coveted his stuff and his position. They lied. They had murder in their hearts. In lying to their father, they certainly weren’t honoring him. Breaking all those commandments!! And for what? In the end, God blessed Joseph and used him to save all of his family from the famine. So everything his brothers tried to do failed. They didn’t succeed at all.
But the question still remains. What in the world do bubbles have to do with Joseph and his brothers? Let’s read another passage in Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Joseph’s brothers were very concerned with stuff that moths can eat, rust can wear away, and thieves can steal. They weren’t concerned with a close relationship with their father or with God. How do I know that? There’s no way they would have lied to their dad like that if they really had a close relationship, or wanted a close relationship, with him. And they couldn’t have had murder in their hearts if they really had a close relationship with God.
In the end, here’s the lesson. God is going to give you what He wants you to have. Matt 6:33 says to seek Him first and He will give everything else you need. If you belong to God, if you want to please Him first, if you really are living your life to honor Him, then all of the fine clothes and recognition from others - that’s just transitory. It’s just so many bubbles.
Sabbath, March 30th
It’s the Pits
The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. - Proverbs 15:3 (NIV)
Materials Needed: metal detector, binoculars, magnifying glasses
What if you lost something, what might you do to find it (other than go ask Mom)? You might look under things. You might ask others to help you search. You might get out binoculars - or a magnifying glass - or perhaps a dog. (Dogs can get great at finding thing, especially if they are well-trained.) Or maybe you could use a metal detector. But what if someone is trying to hide something from you on purpose? What if they are making it really hard for you to find what you have lost? Then what?
If you remember, we talked about Joseph and his brothers last week. There’s a lot here, so let’s talk about another aspect of this story today. Do you remember that Joseph was Jacob’s favorite son? That he gave him a coat of many colors? Do you remember that Joseph had two dreams in which his brothers bowed down to him? Do you remember how his brothers reacted to all of this? They were jealous to the point of hating Joseph! Then their hatred turned murderous. They were ready to kill Joseph. Do you remember that it was Reuben who wanted to rescue Joseph from death? Do you remember what they decided to do with Joseph instead of killing him? Then what happened? What die did they decide to tell to Jacob, their father?
It looked pretty desperate for Joseph. Hated by his brothers. Sold into slavery. He was all alone - or was he? We know from the story that Joseph continued to choose to live his life in a way that honored God - and God blessed him in everything he did. (But that’s a story for another day.)
Joseph’s brothers thought what they had done was hidden, but God saw it - and God sees you when you are in trouble. He doesn’t need a magnifying glass, or binoculars, or a dog, or a metal detector to find you. God never loses track of where you are. You may think that you are all alone. You may think that evil people or discouraging events have gotten the upper hand. But God is still sovereign. He’s still in charge. And . . . if you belong to Him, you can trust Him to work everything out for your good.
Sabbath, April 6th
Potiphar and Prison
"Don't let evil get the upper hand, but conquer evil by doing good.” - Romans 12:21
Materials needed: mini bowling ball set, balls, bouncy balls, string
God set up laws in our world to make things work smoothly. Can you think of any? Gravity. Friction. Inertia. Newton’s Third Law of Motion.
Dave experienced inertia with the van recently. Also called Newton’s First Law of Motion, inertia is the tendency of an object in motion to stay in motion (or object at rest to stay at rest) until acted upon by an outside force. You might say that the deer ran afoul of Newton’s First Law of Motion - and paid for it with its life.
Also called the conservation of momentum, Newton’s First Law of Motion is why people use wrecking balls. The weight of the ball uses gravity to smash it into the building to be demolished. The wrecking ball continues in motion until it’s acted upon by another force - the building.
Another of God’s laws, Newton’s Third Law of Motion, states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. It’s one of the laws in play when you bounce a ball. What happens if you get in the way of a bouncing ball? You definitely feel the energy - with whatever force the ball was thrown, it’s going to bounce with almost the same amount of energy - right into your chin.
We depend on the consistency of God’s laws to function in our world. For instance, friction is what keeps our cars on the pavement. Ice greatly decreases friction and we know what happens then. You walk out the front door and find yourself on the ground. Friction may have been minimized, but gravity is still hard at work.
So what does this have to do with Joseph and Potiphar? Well, it wasn’t exactly Potiphar; it was his wife. She wanted Joseph to break one of God’s laws; she wanted him to commit adultery. Joseph knew that was wrong. He knew that it was sin - the transgression of God’s law. And he wanted no part of it.
Just as there are consequences for running afoul of God’s natural laws (like inertia, friction, and gravity), there are consequences for running afoul of God’s moral laws. Joseph did the right thing; he got out of there - leaving his cloak in her hand when she tried to grab him. Although it made Potiphar’s wife mad and Joseph ended up in prison, it would have been much worse if Joseph had broken God’s law like she wanted. It’s much worse to have God angry with you.
Your memory verse says, “Don’t let evil get the upper hand, but conquer evil by doing good.” Evil is going against God’s laws; doing good is the opposite - keeping God’s laws - and that’s what we’re called to do, to obey and honor God always. You can’t run afoul of any of God’s laws without consequences.
Sabbath, April 13th
A Serving Savior
“Don’t use your freedom as an excuse to sin. . . Serve one another in love” (Paraphrase). - Galatians 5:13
Materials: Servant questions on cards
How do you feel about serving others? Is that something you naturally do? Is it something you think you should do but try to avoid? Or are you the one who is normally served?
Can you think of a time when you last served someone?
Are you the one who says, “Hey, can you get me a kleenex?” Or are you the one who goes to get the kleenex?
Do you look around for things that need to be done? Or do you focus mostly on what you want to do?
Do you like helping other people? Do you wish they’d do more for themselves? Do you prefer that people help you accomplish your goals?
When someone asks you to do something, what’s your first response? Is it “Do I have to?” Do you gladly help? Or is it somewhere in-between? Do you ever help someone grudgingly? You do it, but you don’t really want to.
During the time of Jesus, many people wore sandals. So as they walked from place to place, their feet would get dirty. It was custom for a host to have a servant wash the feet of their guests. It’s a nice way to help them feel welcomed, comfortable, and honored. So when Jesus got up after dinner and began to wash the disciples’ feet, it was shocking to the disciples! This was not something their esteemed Teacher, the Son of God, should be doing. There were lowly servants to do this sort of thing! But Jesus needed to teach His disciples (and all of us) that the greatest in the kingdom of God is the servant of all (Matthew 23:11). Paul tells us (Philippians 2:3) to consider others better than ourselves. That kind of humility doesn’t come naturally to most of us.
So how do you get to a place where you have a servant’s heart - willing to help those who need it, looking for things that need to be done, honestly serving in love? God works a change in our hearts - helping us to understand how Jesus came as a suffering servant. If He gave us this example to follow, we had better learn to submit to Him and learn to serve.
Here’s a place to start: Can you truly serve someone with gladness if you are upset at them over something? Work at fixing the relationship you have with the people around you, admit when you are wrong, apologize, and work to make it right. Give grace to those who have done something to upset you. Forgive, knowing how much you want God’s forgiveness.
And as for serving, how can you serve God if you are not willing to serve the people around you? (Principle from 1 John 4:20). It’s something to think about as we rapidly approach Passover.
Sabbath, April 20th
A Passionate Prayer
“Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth” (NIV). - Psalm 86:11
Materials Needed: concentration cards - examples Jesus gave us, YE2D.5 (YEA lesson from CEM)
Today’s memory verse reminds us of a very important truth: we have to be taught God’s ways before we’re going to incorporate them into our daily lives. So . . . how do we learn God’s ways? Bible study, church attendance, listening to Godly conversations/discussions, fellowship with believers. All of these things are good, but if you just read your Bible, come to church, listen to the conversations (etc.), it will not turn you magically into a Christian. Someone (Billy Sunday) once said, “Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you an automobile.” You have to put into practice the things that you have learned that please God, that is, obedience to His laws and following His example. (1 Peter 2:21)
O.K. So what kind of example did Jesus leave for us? If you remember from last week’s lesson, Jesus served his disciples and told them that the greatest in the kingdom is the servant of all (Matthew 23:11) So we need to be a servant - to help those who truly need help. What else?
Jesus said He is the light of the world (John 8:12 ) and He told His followers that they were to be light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16). We are to demonstrate our faith to the people around us. O.K. What else?
Jesus was baptized (Luke 3:21-22), giving us an example to follow (Acts 2:38) - an outward sign of the inward conviction that we belong to God, we have accepted His sacrifice for our sins and have confessed that He is both Lord and Savior in our lives.
Jesus preached that the Kingdom of God was coming (Matthew 4:23), and He gave His disciples the assignment to do likewise (Matthew 28:16-20).
Jesus never sinned (2 Corinthians 5:21); we are commanded to follow His example, knowing that when we fail, we have an advocate, so we repent and try again (1 John 2:1).
Jesus showed us how to love others - He healed lepers instead of avoiding them (Luke 17:11-19); He had compassion when He saw people’s suffering (Matthew 9:35–38); He welcomed those considered least - the children (Matthew 19:13-15). We need to likewise be loving and compassionate.
And when Jesus was faced with a painful death, what did He do? He prayed. He asked His Father if there was any other way. Then He accepted God’s will (Luke 22:42). We are going to face difficult things in this life (John 16:33). Jesus gave us an example of how to face them. First, we take it to God in prayer. We ask for God to show a way out - if it’s God’s will. Then we accept what God sets in front of us.
Sometimes, God provides a solution. Sometimes, we have to go through the difficult thing. But in the end, we know that God has us in His hand. Things that are very difficult are under His control - and He can use them for good, even when we can’t see the good. Our job is to obey His commandments and trust Him always.
There’s a great hymn: Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Wednesday, April 24th - First Day of Unleavened Bread
A Lasting Love Story (Holy Day Lesson)
“The Lord. . . said, ‘I have loved you with a love that lasts forever’” (NIrV). - Jeremiah 31:3
Materials: weights, YEA lesson YE2D.6
How does God love us? Where do you see His love? He created a lovely world that was very good! Delightful animals. Beautiful flowers. A veritable paradise garden.
God created set laws so that life would work predictably - gravity and inertia and friction.
God created food for us to eat and water to drink - so incredibly yummy and varied a diet!
God created colors and textures and smells and sounds and tastes. What an interesting world we live in - and it’s for our benefit!!
And that’s just creation! How else does God show His love for us? He helps us when we’re in trouble. He provides for our needs. He guides us and leads us. He gives us hope and a future. He invites us into fellowship with Him. And He rescues us.
Rescues us? Why do we need to be rescued? Well, you remember that paradise that God created? Adam and Eve chose to disobey God’s direct commandment. What is that called? Yes, it’s called sin. When sin entered the world, so did death and pain and famine and drought and trouble of all kinds. The world that God had pronounced “very good” was now no longer that way. We inherited that sin nature from our ancestor Adam. And every time we sin, it’s another weight added to our very being.
It’s why Jesus would say to the crowds “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).
Jesus paid our sin debt and took our burden. That’s why we’re celebrating these holy days this week - in remembrance of what Jesus did for us! It is incredible just how much He did for us. And what does He ask us to do this week - one simple thing: eat unleavened bread every day. (Of course, that doesn’t mean any of the rest of God’s law is suspended! We are still going to honor our parents and tell the truth and respect the property of others!)
As you make it a point to eat unleavened bread this week - to obey God’s command to do so - remember the weight that Jesus took from you when He paid your sin debt. That’s the love of God.