God rescues his people
key words
biblical reference
Exodus 13:17 and 15:1-27
memory verse
“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God” (Psalm 143:10a, NIV*).
lesson objective
To help children recognize and trust in the power of God.
prepare yourself to teach
The story in Exodus of the Hebrew people is one with impressive demonstrations of God’s power. He saved Moses when he was a baby, and called him through a burning bush to be the deliverer of his people who were in slavery.
Until then, the power of God had not been demonstrated through only one man, but now he was ready to show his greatness in the midst of the Egyptian idols.
However, the Hebrew people were fearful and did not trust their new leader. They had not witnessed the presence of God like Moses had. At first the powerful Egyptian Pharaoh and his priests felt no fear from a shepherd.
God clearly demonstrated his amazing power through Moses when God turned Aaron’s staff into a snake. When the Egyptian magicians recreated that same miracle, not only did Aaron’s staff swallow their snakes, but God also sent plague after plague upon the Egyptian empire.
Each plague represented a direct attack towards the Egyptian idols. For example, the plague of blood in the water opposed Hapi - the god of the Nile; the plague of darkness opposed Ra - the Egyptian sun god; the plague that struck the cattle opposed Apis - the bull-shaped god of the cattle of the Egyptians.
One by one, the true God revealed the falsehood of the Egyptian idols. He showed his supernatural power to free his enslaved people; just as he would use a cloud and a pillar of fire to protect them while they traveled through the desert. The overwhelming demonstration of the power of God who parted the Red Sea is one of the strongest events in the history of the Hebrew people. The references to this event are very common in Scripture. Peter, Paul and Stephen all talk about it when referring to the faith the people of Israel had in the one God who is alive and wonderful.
adaptation
Today, our children are accustomed to hearing about “superpowers” and fantastic events; but you need to make them understand that the only one who has power to do supernatural works is God, because he is the creator and sustainer of all that exists.
They must be assured that we rely on a powerful God, able to deliver them from the most difficult test. The story of the people of God can help increase their trust in the Lord who cares for and protects them.
introduce the lesson
Talk to your children about who they believe may have superpowers or can do something that nobody else can do. Allow everyone to participate and, if possible, have them describe the person they admire most.
If you can, bring to class magazine clippings or drawings of characters that children consider to be “awesome”. Show the pictures to the group and ask them to tell you what is real and what is just fantasy.
When you are finished, if you see that many of the children are confused as to why these characters are fake, explain that many of them are a product of the imagination of someone else and they do not really exist, and even if they did, they could not compete with our God. Try to do it tactfully and let them see that it is important to only trust our God for miracles. Say, “Today we will talk about something very special. We will study the miracles God did to free his people from slavery.”
teach the lesson
Study Exodus 13:17 and 15:1-27 before the session and be ready to tell the story in your own words.
Try to use as many teaching resources as you can. If you have a few pictures available, use them, or you might want to draw your own pictures if you have time. Keep your Bible with you as you tell the story, and stress the importance of studying the Word of God.
Tell your children to imagine they are in Bible times, living among the chosen people of God, and describe the difficulties they would encounter as slaves in Egypt. Tell about the extraordinary way in which God demonstrated his power before Pharaoh and his subjects, through the plagues and how he commanded that they be punished for their hardness of heart. Illustrate the plagues using pictures or drawings, and encourage children to imagine what would happen if they were attacked by similar plagues.
Emphasize the care that God had for his people to free them from the plagues. Ask them, “How do you think the Hebrew people felt when they were finally free?”
God kept his promise to free his captive people and used Moses for this purpose.
Connect this lesson with the previous lesson and remind them of the fact that God had prepared Moses to guide the Israelites out of Egypt and never left him alone. God demonstrated his power and went with the people throughout their journey in the desert.
connect the lesson
Crossing the Red Sea
Be sure Student Activity Sheets #108-A and #108-B are printed back to back and aligned properly. Help children to cut out the figures. Then, follow the instructions to explain what they need to do to complete their worksheets.
Tell them that this is their reminder of the Bible story and to take it home and tell their parents and friends about what they learned.
practice the memory verse
Write the verse on the board or on a poster board, leaving blank spaces for words, so that children can fill in the gaps and then read the memory verse.
Ask for volunteers to write the missing words and read the entire verse. Then invite the class to put it all together and remind them to go over it at home during the week.
wrap-up
Pray
Welcome prayer requests and invite a volunteer to say a final prayer.
Encourage
Encourage children to finish all their work before going home. Remind them to tell their friends and family today’s Bible story. They can also help their families establish Christian homes.
Invite
Before dismissing the group, be sure to invite them back for the next session. Express your joy of having them in the group and make them feel appreciated, loved, and that you are interested in each of them and their families.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™