Unit 1: Lesson 13 ISRAEL IN THE DESERT (Worship)

1) Welcome Activity: building with blocks would be perfect today. If you can find some squares of fabric in blue, purple and red to add to the mix as "curtains", that would be even better, although goat hair, ram skins dyed red and the hide of sea cows may be a bit hard to come by!

2) Songs: Start the Story Hour with the learning our names song. Go around the circle or table and introduce each child.


3) Prayer... Ask God to give us hearts willing to worship him.

4) Theme: Remind the children of the theme of the unit: God works among his covenant people to prepare the world for the Savior. Hebrews 12:1&2 “Therefore, since we are surrounded
by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us… look to Jesus.” Tell them that they are going to hear a Bible Story again today that shows how God worked through Israel while they were in the desert. God gave Moses instructions for how to build a holy place - a tabernacle - where they could worship him rightly.

5) Bible Story: Today’s Story is about the Israelites building the tabernacle. Read pages 112-115 from the Read and Learn Bible (Scholastic).

6) Text: Today’s Text is: "and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." Exodus 40:34b

7) Craft:

• God provides a place for worship…talk about the tabernacle that the Lord told the people to build. What did it look like? What did the people do there? Show the children pictures of some of the items from the tabernacle. Relate that to our worship today. Where do we go? What do we do there? What things do we see in our church service? Have the children color the picture of the church. Draw a picture of “me” worshipping God.

http://www.sundayschoolresources.com/images/cpt4church.gif

• The tabernacle... Print out a picture of the tabernacle and remove all the items inside so that you only have the outside walls. Add the text to the bottom. Then, find and shrink pictures of as many of the items from inside the tabernacle as you can. Have the kids color the pictures and cut and paste them inside the walls of the tablernacle - talk about what each item is and what is taught the Israelites about God.

1. the ark of the covenant
2. the table of showbread
3. the golden lampstand
4. the altar of incense
5. the altar of burnt offering
6. the washing basin
7. the priestly garments
8. the tent of meeting
9. the holy of holies

• A fun song to sing as you are working on your craft:

This is the Way We Go to Church
(sung with the same tune as “this is the way we brush our teeth”)
This is the way we go to church, go to church, go to church
This is the way we go to church every Sunday morning.
This is the way we praise Him, praise Him, praise Him
This is the way we praise Him every Sunday morning.
This is the way we bow and pray, bow and pray, bow and pray
This is the way we bow and pray every Sunday morning.

.... you can add modify this song and use it to sing about the Israelites and the things they did in the temple, too. (For example, This is the way the priests light the candle...)

• Trust in the Shelter of your Wings... here is a nice craft idea that is a little more abstract. If you have good illustrations of the tablenacle and spend time looking at them with the children, you could do this craft as a follow up. Doing only this craft will leave the little ones walking away from the lesson thinking that the tabernacle is a kind of bird!!

http://www.newchurchvineyard.org/religion/the-tabernacle/activities/Project_Make-Two-Wings.pdf ... based on Psalm 61:4 "I will abide in your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of your wings.

• A Model of the Tabernacle... there are several different sites that include instructions for making a simple model of the tabernacle. This would be a very useful learning tool and could be used over and over again. If you are able to make these items, you could set them out for the children to explore and talk about and play with instead of doing a craft. Just have some coloring sheets available for those who like to color and to send home with anyone else. This one is simple and inexpensive: http://www.squidoo.com/tabernacle

8) Prayer... say the Lord's Prayer together with the children

9) Going Home: Sing the closing together. Then, check to see if all the children have collected their crafts and coloring sheets before they go home. Say goodbye and tell them that you enjoyed learning about God together and were happy to have them today! You were, weren’t you?
10) Optional Coloring Pages
the tabernacle: http://www.calvarywilliamsport.com/5a149.htm

the ark of the covenant: http://www.calvarywilliamsport.com/5a56.htm

the high priest: http://www.calvarywilliamsport.com/5a57.htm

the holy of holies: http://www.calvarywilliamsport.com/5a109.htm