Kids of the King, Arise!

Celebrating the End of the ADVENTURE SERIES (that’s just a beginning)
An adventure seeking the heart of God

Materials :

Chalkboard/whiteboard to write on or posters made with the following steps written :

- Read God’s Word

- Reflect on God’s Word

- Memorize God’s Word

- Pray and Fast

- Confess your sins

- Serve Others

Ingredients for ‘trail mix’ plus ice cream (trail mix becomes topping for ice cream sundaes)

Suggestions : salted peanuts, raisins, sunflower seeds, granola, multigrain Cheerios, chocolate chips

Bowl

Wooden spoon

Ice cream, ice cream scoop, bowls and spoons

Focus :

Ask : Who’s hungry?

Say : For the past several weeks, we have been going on an Adventure, seeking the heart of God and trusting that we will be satisified in Him.

Ask, ‘What is the way to God’s heart?’ (through Jesus) We know that the Way to God is through Jesus. Because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we can ‘draw near’ to God, or come close to Him. What does it mean to ‘draw near’ to someone? (be close to them).

Call a student to ‘draw near’ to you. Make it a game by calling first one, then another, and another.

Say : We have looked at different ways of ‘drawing near’ to God’s heart, and this has been our adventure. It’s an adventure that will never end, but can continue for the rest of our lives. At the beginning, we looked at different ‘steps’ to take to draw near to God :

- Read God’s Word
2.Reflect on God’s Word
3.Memorize God’s Word
4.Pray and Fast
5.Confess your sins
6.Serve Others

Today, we’re going to make ‘trail mix’ to help us remember the ‘ingredients’ for our journey towards God’s heart.

Procedure :

Have ingredients ready and have volunteers take turns adding the ingredients to a large mixing bowl. As each one is added, explain the meaning and write that meaning next to the name of the ingredient on the board or use posters to show.

- ¼ cup salted peanuts – memrize God’s word. Just like they’re salty, we can be ready to be ‘salt’ in the world if we memorize God’s word and are ready to share it at the right time. Salt makes people thirsty, so we can make people thirsty for more of God.

- ¼ c. raisins – raisins are grapes that are dried in the sunshine. Maybe you think they taste better than grapes. Just like them, we become better when we spend time praying / fasting / listening to God. We spend time in His ‘sunshine’, listening to His voice. We can tell Him our needs and trust that He will answer when we call.

- ¼ c. sunflower seeds – This is the only step we haven’t talked about a lot in our Adventure Series. Still, serving others will grow naturally out of spending time reading God’s Word, listening to Him and wanting to obey. Gal 6 :9 ‘Do not become weary in doing good for at the proper time you will reap a harvest if you do not give up.’That means that every time we serve someone else, doing something kind and generous for another person, we are planting a seed that can someday grow into their OWN desire for an adventure with God. It’s also a way for us to draw closer to God when we obey what He tells us to do through His Word and in our own time of listening to Him. Let’s be watching for people we can serve as a way to ‘plant’ seeds of love in their lives!

- ¼ c. granola – the granola absorbs honey and others flavors to taste good, just like we absorb God’s Word when we spend time meditating. God changes our ‘flavor’ so we ‘taste’ more like Him. (we do the things He would do and think the thoughts He would think)

- ¼ c. multigrain Cheerios – bite a section off to look like a ‘C’. This ‘C’ reminds us of confessing our sins. We looked at this as part of ACTS prayer. To confess means to admit sin and to repent means to turn away from it. Each time we come to God with our sin, He forgives us and removes whatever keeps us from Him. Psalm 24 :4 asks, ‘Who can go up the hill of the Lord? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.’ If we want to continue our journey of seeking God, we need to have a pure heart. Confessing our sin is what keeps our heart pure for the journey.

- ¼ c. chocolate chips – reading God’s Word. Do you think this is the ‘best part’ so far? Reading God’s Word is, for me, the ‘best part,’ because reading God’s letter to each day makes the rest of the steps along the journey possible – it’s what we reflect on and shows us how to pray when we sit in God’s presence like the raisins sit in the sunshine, it’s what we memorize so we can be salty to the rest of the world, it teaches us how to serve others and plant seeds of love, the Holy Spirit uses it to show us our sin so we can confess and become pure before God, and it changes our ‘flavor’ when we spend time reflecting on it and allow the Holy Spriit to use God’s Word to speak to our hearts, change us, and know His love for us. It’s actually healthy, too. J

Stir and ask : Is this a good mix? Is it healthy? Is it enough to fill you up? Do you think it could get better? (Hopefully they will answer yes to all)

Say : Just like we can grow with God by making these habits part of our everyday life, our trail mix can provide us with energy and make us grow. But what would be even better would be…

ICE CREAM SUNDAES!

Imagine all of this put together, but with ice cream underneath!

To me, that’s kind of what going to church is like. We can spend time with God on our own and it’s great, it’s healthy, but there’s something very special about getting together with other Christians, talking about our personal adventure with God, being taught about God’s Word, and singing songs that tell God how great He is! I think it’s more important than ice cream or dessert, but ice cream reminds me that coming to church shouldn’t be the only time I meet with God. If I only ate ice cream, I could never be healthy and strong! As Christians, we can’t DEPEND on church to satisfy our needs, but going to church and getting together with other Christians can be like our ‘spiritual dessert’! It’s a celebration of what God is doing in our lives!

Make ice cream sundaes to celebrate our journey together.

Closure :

After students have finished eating, challenge students to continue seeking God every day of their lives. Every time they eat trail mix, it can be a reminder of their spiritual adventure of seeking God’s heart. Review ingredients and their meaning. Close with prayer.

Optional Extension :

Have a time of ‘walking through the steps’ together. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you.

- read God’s Word

- reflect on God’s Word

- memorize a verse

- ACTS pray and listen

- serve others (by cleaning up the sundaes or even serving the community in a practical way)

Reminder :

It won’t be the same everyday. Walking with God has a rhythm to it that’s more than routine – it’s a relationship. These steps are spiritual disciplines to help us draw near to our Father. They are not an end in and of themselves. Seek God’s heart and let Him surprise you with the adventure He leads you to!

Blessing : Num 6 :24-26

‘ “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ‘

Peace : nothing missing, nothing broken. Complete joy in Him. The answer to a longing for adventure.

Stephanie McIntyre

Day 15: STEP FOUR - LISTENING TO GOD

The following is a longer session adapted from Warrior Bride Arise by Carolin Sadler. It describes one way that groups can gather together to seek the heart of God and hear His voice. This can be used as a continuation of Day 10 (skip the closure and do this instead), or a separate session.

Supplies needed:

– tent or large canopy that can represent the “tent of meeting” and hold the whole group (A parachute can work)

– worship CD’s and CD player

– Bibles for all

– journal and pen for leader

Focus:

1. Ask, Do you remember what this tent was for? (to represent the tent of meeting, where Moses went to talk to God).
2. Ask, Do you remember what the purpose of our “adventure” is? (to seek God’s heart).
3. Say, That’s right! We are on an adventure of seeking the heart of God. When you want to get to know someone’s heart, one of the best ways to do that is to sit down and talk with them. We call that a “heart to heart” conversation. Today, we are going to spend some time together, having a “heart to heart” with God. We’ll talk to Him about some of our own needs, but also ask Him what is on HIS heart. What does He want us to do? How does He want us to pray? We will use the “tent of meeting” as a symbol of entering God’s presence.
4. Ask, Do you remember who else went into the tent of meeting? (Joshua, the people of Israel)
5. Say: That’s right! Throughout Israel’s history, when they wanted to hear from God, they would go to the “tent of meeting.” King David, who is called “a man after God’s own heart,” would to the “tent of meeting” (a couple hundred years later!) to meet with God when he had questions. Here, he would ask God what to do about battles and problems. He would also go there to worship God.

God also spoke to David through prophets, and one time after receiving a message from the prophet Nathan, David went to the tent of meeting to thank Him for what God had told David through Nathan. (2 Sam. 7)

After Jesus died, rose again, and returned to heaven, he sent the Holy Spirit to be our teacher and our guide. The book of Acts talks about Paul and his companions being led by the “Spirit of Jesus” to stay away from a certain area. In Acts 8, the Spirit told (Philip) to go and talk to a man in a chariot, who ended up being an Ethiopian eunuch reading the book of Isaiah. This man accepted Christ and got baptized that day.

God also spoke to Peter through a vision in Acts 10 to say that it was OK for Peter to visit Gentiles and tell them the good news of salvation. Throughout history, God continued to speak to people who were ready to listen and obey. He spoke “in many times and in various ways, and now he speaks to us through His Son, Jesus” (Heb. 1:1-2). God has not stopped speaking. He is just waiting for “friends” who will listen. If you want to be one of his friends who will listen, then tell God you are ready to listen to Him. As a way of showing with your body that you are ready to listen to God and obey, As you do, imagine that Jesus is waiting for you and you are entering a holy place.

There is nothing special about this tent, really, except that we will invite the Holy Spirit to come and speak to us here today.

Procedure:

1. Step inside the tent.

1. WORSHIP:

1. Spend time in worship, praising God who He is. Choose familiar hymns or choruses that focus on the character of God. Encourage people to call out short prayers of praise and thanksgiving.

2. Explain that we are inviting God to be with us. (Psalm 22:3 - “God is enthroned on our praises” or “the Lord inhabits the praises of His people.” We are setting up a place for God in our hearts when we sing praise.)

2. CONFESSION:

1. Read Psalm 24:3-4 “Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who can stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.”

1. We want to have clean, pure hearts so we can hear from God

2. Read Psalm 139:23-24. Pause and allow time for the Holy Spirit to convict of any unconfessed sin.

3. “Check carefully in relation to the sin of resentment, and make sure that you have forgiven those who have wronged you.” Allow time for reconciliation in the group, if needed. Ask someone to lea in a prayer of confession.

3. ASK: Ask for the help of the Holy Spirit.

1. Acknowledge that you can’t really pray effectively or hear what God is saying without the Holy Spirit’s help (Rom. 8:26b)

2. Invite the Holy Spirit to fill you, guide you and control you as you pray and listen (Eph 5:18b)

3. Ask someone to lead in a prayer inviting the Holy Spirit’s presence and guidance.

4. REBUKE THE ENEMY:

1. Read James 4:7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

2. Have the leader come against any thoughts or intents of the enemy during this prayer time in the name of Jesus.

5. SURRENDER:

1. Your own imagination

2. Your wishes

3. Your burdens as to what you think you should pray for

4. Read Prov. 3:5b, “Lean not on your own understanding”; Isaiah 55:8a, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts.” Pray silently.

6. PRAISE GOD:

1. Together, praise God and thank Him that He is a God who wants to speak with us.

7. WAIT SILENTLY:

1. Have your Bibles with you and respond to the direction of the Lord to passages in the Bible (Ps. 62:5; Mic 7:7). No talking.

2. Listen for His direction. God may bring to mind a Scripture, a picture, or a name of a person or a place. Allow 3-5 minutes for this.

8. GATHER TOGETHER:

1. Ask the group what the Lord brought to mind. It is important that everyone shares his or her thoughts. Don’t worry if what participants receive doesn’t make any sense – it mayb well be part of the puzzle and a necessary part of the bigger picture.

2. Record these on a large pice of paper, visible to everyone, and go over what you wrote down. Determine any common themes or sense of direction.

3. Have leader journal what the kids get in a book that can be kept for future reference.

9. CLOSING PRAYER OF THANKS;

1. Thank God for the time with Him.

2. Ask God for further confirmation.

3. Start to take action to what God brings to mind.

Closure:

1. EXIT TENT – reminding everyone that because the Holy Spirit lives in us, we can live each moment of our lives aware of His presence with us. Let’s “live listening” to what He says.

Day 14: STEP FOUR – LISTENING TO GOD

Focus:

1. Explain: As we investigate what it means to listen to God, we are going to look at the life of someone who is known as “One whom God spoke to face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” - Ex. 33:11.
2. Ask: Does anyone know who I am talking about? (Accept responses.)
3. Show scene from The Prince of Egypt DVD where God calls Moses from the burning bush.
   
   

Procedure:

1. Ask: Why did God talk to Moses? (he wanted him to do something) What was Moses’ response? (he made excuses, but eventually he obeyed).
2. Explain: If we want God to speak to us, we need to make a choice in our hearts to obey Him. This can sometimes mean that, before He says anything, we tell Him that we want to do what He says.
3. Pause for prayer: If you’re ready to say that to God, say out loud right now, “God, I want you to speak to me and I am ready to do what You say. If it’s hard, I know You’ll help me. I want to do what You ask of me.

4. Explain, This was just one of the times that God spoke to Moses, and this one wasn’t even “face to face”! Let’s look at where Moses was the Bible says he spoke to God “face to face.”
5. Read Exodus 33:7-11.
6. Ask: Where was he? (in a tent). (If possible, have a tent set up in advance in another area. Go stand near the tent for this part of the lesson.)
7. Explain: God set up a place on earth where He would meet with His people, the Israelites. Moses went, but he was not the only one who could go. It says that “anyone inquiring of the Lord would go to the tent of meeting,” and that Moses’ assistant, Joshua, would stay in the tent even longer than Moses.
8. Ask: What do you suppose God and Moses talked about? (discuss ideas) Tell students that we can read one of the conversations between God and Moses later in this chapter, where Moses asks God to give him help as he leads the Israelites to the Promised Land. God says that he will go with him.
9. Read Ex. 33:12 – 14. Ask: Doesn’t this sound like a conversation between friends to you? It sure does to me! This encourages me, because I know that I can still have a conversation with God today. I know that I’m not Moses, but I am a child of God and Heb. 4:16 says that we can enter the throne room of God “with freedom and confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

CLOSURE:

1. What do you need God’s mercy and grace for today? Spend a few moments talking to Him about it, and then be still and listen. (As a group, wait and “listen” for 3-5 minutes.
2. What thoughts come to your mind? Write them down and check if they agree with what the Bible teaches. If they do, that just might be God speaking to you! If you don’t ‘hear’ anything, don’t worry. God speaks in many ways. Keep “listening” throughout the day. We’re going to close with a song that talks about many ways that God might speak to us today.
3. Close by playing “God Speaking” by Mandisa, from her album True Beauty. Or, close by reading a psalm aloud. Pray, thanking God for being a God who still wants to meet with us.

Activity:
Cut leaf shapes out of green colored paper. Then cut flame shapes out of red and orange paper. Glue them onto a coloring page to make the burning bush. Then draw a picture of Moses in front of the bush.

Optional: Watch the Prince of Egypt DVD and see how God spoke to Moses and How he responded to that call.

Day 13: STEP FOUR – LISTENING TO GOD

Focus:
1. Review last week’s focus of talking to God – A,C,T, S. Then ask students to imagine that they are having a conversation with a friend that goes like this. (Get a volunteer to act this conversation out or do it yourself):
1. (Two friends enter from opposite sides of the stage. One starts talking to the other, very quickly but excitedly. She is truly excited to see the other but completely absorbed in herself.)
“Hi, Stephanie, it’s so great to see you. I feel like I never see you so when I do it’s just awesome. You’re such a great person to be with, too, so I love hanging out with you. I want to tell you all about my week! I went on vacation and it was great and we had an amazing time. My family went to Disney and I saw Mickey and Minnie and Goofy and MGM studios where they make all those cool computer-animated videos and it’s the MOST AMAZING place in the world so you should really go sometime! But it wasn’t all great because sometimes by sister and I got into fights because she always wanted to stay longer than I did and I wanted to see everything, you know? Anyway it was still a great week and I’m really glad we got to go. And this has been great chatting with you I’m so glad we could talk because it’s been a while. OK – bye!”
(Talking friend exits and listening friend is left standing, confused, in center stage. She pauses for a moment and then exits.)

Procedure:
1. Ask: What do you think of this conversation? Of the relationship these friends have? How do you think the “listening” friend feels?
2. Explain: This is often how we treat God when we pray. We come to him with a “report” of our week, or a list of questions or problems, but we spend all of our time talking.
3. Ask: Do you think you would want to be friends with someone who just talks all the time? (probably not) What do friends need to spend time doing in a conversation? (listening)

Closure:
4. Explain: In the same way, we need to spend time listening when we come to God in prayer. Otherwise, we are just having a one-sided conversation and we can’t really claim to be a “friend of God” at all. Today/this week, we are going to be investigating how we can listen to God, since we can’t see him and talk to him face to face.
(Optional) Divide students into teams. Have each team brainstorm a list of ways they know God speaks, either from Bible stories, in their own life, or to people they know. Discuss together and emphasize that God does want to communicate with us, we just need to have a heart that is ready to listen.

An Adventure of Seeking the Heart of God

A series focusing on seeking God by practicing spiritual disciplines

Each lesson is broken into 5-10 minute segments. This met my needs as I presented it as a short devotion five times a week. You can adapt and do as many segments as you like at one time.(Stephanie Mc Intyre)

Day 11: STEP THREE – TALKING TO GOD (SUPPLICATION)

FOCUS:

1. Write letters “A-C-T-S” on the board and review the meaning of A-C-T.
2. Explain: The word for the “S” is ‘hidden’ in the verses that I will read. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear the word I’m talking about. Raise your hand when you think you know it.
3. Read: 1 Tim. 2:1 “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.” AND Phil 4:6 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. ”
4. Ask: What was the “s-word” that both verses use? (supplication)
5. Write the word “supplication” after the S.

PROCEDURE:

1. Explain: “Supplication” is a word that we don’t use very often anymore, so I checked the dictionary to see what it means. The dictionary said it means to “plead humbly.” The picture I have in my mind is one where I go into the throne room of a king, King Jesus, and I bow down. I know that He doesn’t have to do what I ask, but I also know that He is good and loving and just and so I ask Him for what I need. I remember that Eph. 3:12 says that because of Christ I can enter God’s throne room with freedom and confidence. This is the part of prayer where we get face to face with God and ask him to meet our needs. Jesus included this in the Lord’s Prayer when he said, “Give us this day our daily bread…and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” We can ask God to help us and tell him about our needs. Have any of you prayed like this before?

2. Ask: Do any of you have things you would like to “plead humbly” to God for? (Allow students to share prayer requests).

3. Make a list of requests in a journal together. These can be returned to regularly when you meet. You can see how/when God answers prayer and then thank Him for it. It also helps to remain persistent in prayer.

CLOSURE:

1. Explain: Let’s use our imagination now to picture what is happening when we pray: We are entering the throne of a King. We bow down (have everyone kneel) and we ask King Jesus to supply what we need.
2. Have students speak their requests out loud or silently before God.
3. Remind students that the Bible never commands us to pray using this ACTS pattern. It’s just a helpful reminder for us to check to make sure that we’re not ALWAYS focusing on “gimme, gimme, gimme” or “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry” when we’re talking to God. In my life, I have a different emphasis in prayer depending on what happened that day or what mood I’m in. I just try to make sure that I include all four parts over time. It’s helped me to know how to begin to pray, and I hope it will help them, too.

Optional Extensions:

1. Have students make a list of other words they can think of that begin with “sup” - like supply, super, supper, etc. Connect the idea of “supplication” with God’s “supply” for our needs. Although He may not always answer like we expect, He promises to supply all of our needs.
2. Have students make a schedule showing their week and make a plan to set aside time for talking to God, reading the Bible, and meditating on His Word. They can make a chart for each of the days of the week and check off when they actually DO these things (take these steps) on their adventure with God. Underneath the checkmark, they can write more detail about what they did.

Tracking my Steps

An Adventure of Seeking the Heart of God

A series focusing on seeking God by practicing spiritual disciplines

Day 10: STEP THREE – TALKING TO GOD (THANKSGIVING)

FOCUS:

1. Write “ACTS” on the board.
2. Ask: Who can remember what “A” stands for. (“Adoration.”) What does adoration mean? (to love something, to honor it)
3. Ask: Who can remember what “C” stands for? (Confession) What does that mean? (to admit our sins to God, to ask forgiveness)
4. Ask: What do you think “T” might mean? (Play guessing game. Answer is “thanksgiving.”)
5. Explain: An important part of keeping any relationship healthy is remembering to appreciate what the other person has done for you. It’s important to say “thank you.” The same is true in prayer – we show our love for God sometimes by just remembering to tell God “thanks” for what He has done for us. We’ve been looking at Jesus as a model for how to pray. He gave us a model in the Lord’s Prayer (Our Father in heaven…), but there’s no place there when Jesus comes right out and says “Thank you for…” Still, we know that Jesus DID thank God for things in other prayers – like when he “gave thanks and then broke the loaves” (Matt. 14:19) before he performed a miracle that fed 5 000 men, plus women and children. We also know he gave thanks before breaking bread (a Hebrew tradition) at the Last Supper (the last meal he shared with his followers before he was crucified) (Matt. 26:27). When he prayed before raising a man named Lazarus from the dead, Jesus said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me” (John 11:41). Giving thanks was part of Jesus’ conversations with God. If we want to follow Jesus’ model of prayer, we’ll include it in our times of prayer, too.
6. Another reason for “thanksgiving” is that the Bible says to “Enter God’s gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise” (Psalm 100:4). This sets up a picture of God as a king. When you enter into his court (the throne room), you start with saying “thank you” to the king. Thanksgiving in prayer is recognizing that everything we have is a gift from our King.
7. Challenge: I’m sure we all have lots of things to thank God for. We’re going to have some fun while showing our King our thankfulness – a thankfulness competition. I will divide you into teams, and each group will make a list of as many things as they can think of to thank God for. The team with the most on their list will win the thankfulness competition.
8. Hand out paper and pencil to each team.
9. Begin thankfulness competition. (about 5 minutes)

CLOSURE:

1. Close with prayer. After you say the beginning, have students shout out their lists in thankfulness to God. “King Jesus, thank you for…”

An Adventure of Seeking the Heart of God
A series focusing on seeking God by practicing spiritual disciplines
Each lesson is broken into 5-10 minute segments. This met my needs as I presented it as a short devotion five times a week. You can adapt and do as many segments as you like at one time. (Stephanie McIntyre)

Day 9: STEP THREE – TALKING TO GOD (CONFESSION)

FOCUS:

1. Write “ACTS” on the board.
   
2. Ask: Who can remember what “A” stands for. (“Adoration.”) What does adoration mean? (to love something, to honor it)
   
3. Ask: How did Jesus honor God? (by praising him for his holiness) How did David honor God? (by praising him for creation and His word.

1. Explain that we will begin today by listening to song that adores God for His creation. As we listen, students can write/draw something to adore God for.
   
2. Play “Indescribable” by Chris Tomlin

1. Explain: So far, we have focused on adoring God, but this is only one part of a prayer life.
   
2. Ask: What do you think the “C” stands for? (confession)
   
3. Explain: Confession is admitting that we have sinned and disobeyed God. It is asking for forgiveness. Jesus included this in the Lord’s Prayer when He taught His disciples to pray, too. “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” When we recognize how great God is, we are bound to realize that we are far less than perfect. We don’t deserve His love. When we compare ourselves to Him, we realize there are some sins in our life that we need to confess. We’re going to read a section from the New Testament where Paul, the writer, lists some specific sins to get rid of. As I read, I want you to write down the names of sins you know you need to confess.
   
4. Read Colossians 3:8-10 (NLT) “Now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.”
   
5. Read Psalm 51:1-3 (NLT) “Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.”

An Adventure of Seeking the Heart of God

Day 8: STEP THREE – TALKING TO GOD (ADORATION)

Focus:

1. Explain: We are going to begin with an activity that tests our reflexes. I’m going to say a phrase like “I love…pizza!” If this is something you love, stand up. Try to be the first person to stand up for things you really love, but NOT to stand up if it’s something you don’t love.
2. Say: I love…pizza! I love…my parents! I love…chocolate! I love…McDonald’s! I love…the color red! I love…sports! I love…my sister! I love…God!

Procedure:

1. Discuss: What does “love” mean in these different situations? Does it always mean the same thing?
2. Explain: Because the word “love” is used in so many situations, it’s helpful to have other words that mean something similar so we can use that for things we really DO love. The word “adore” is like that. To “adore” something means “to think of something with the highest esteem, respect, honor, and love.” It also means “to pay divine honor to; to worship”; or “to admire very much.” When Jesus started to teach His disciples to pray, he started with giving God a high honor, and telling him that he thought of him with LOTS of respect, honor, and love. The Lord’s Prayer begins with “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name.” To “hallow” something is “to honor it as holy.” When Jesus showed His disciples a pattern for prayer, he started by honoring his Father for being holy. He started with adoration.
3. Write the letter “A” and the word “adoration” on the board. Explain that this is the first letter in the word ACTS. This week, we’ll be using this word to remind us of 4 things. Each of these things are important parts of prayer. We’ll be learning about what each letter of ACTS means and how that can help us have a balanced prayer life – that is, following Jesus’ example for prayer, talking and listening to God, and not always focusing on what we need or want.
4. Explain: Adoration is “love” for God and means to express our praise to God, or to tell Him how awesome/amazing He is. We’ve already talked about how Jesus adored God by honoring His holiness. David, the writer of Psalms, adored God for His amazing creation. (read Psalm 19:1-6). He also adored Him for giving us His Word (Psalm 19: 7-11).

CLOSURE:

1. Challenge students to make a list of things they “love” about God. You can write the list on the board as a brainstorming session or have each one turn it into a short, sentence prayer of: “God, I love you because…”

Materials
Devotional book (optional)
Journals for students
Pen/paper

Catching On:
1. Say: We’re going to start with a video clip today, and I want you pay attention to who these people are and what they are doing.

2. Ask: Who are these people? (Fire fighters and a ____________ How do you like that!) What are they all doing? (training – climbing etc) Why are they doing this? (to prepare for a possilbe fire) How often do you think they does this? (probably every day, or at least a few times a week).

Digging In:
3. Say: Training for a game or a carreer takes daily practice and discipline, but the rewards are worth it. In the same way, we grow stronger if we seek God’s heart daily. Today, we’re going to do the same thing that we did yesterday but we’re going to read a different part of the Bible, God’s letter to us.
5. Prepare: Be sure every student has paper and a pen/pencil. Tell them to draw, write about, ask questions, or jot notes about what they hear today.

1. Say: Before we read the Bible, let’s prepare ourselves to listen. We need to become “quiet” so we can hear God. Take a deep breath to calm your body. Calm your mind by thinking of Jesus – try to imagine him on his throne in heaven or in your favorite story about him. Then, prepare your heart by asking God to speak to you and telling Him that you are ready to listen.
2. Give students a few moments to “quiet” themselves.
3. Read a passage of Scripture and (if you wish) a section from a devotional book.

(any passage is appropriate, but I used the following passage and devotional with my sixth grade class)
Colossians 1:3-14 (New International Version) (NIV)
Thanksgiving and Prayer
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our[a] behalf, 8and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you[b] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption,[c] the forgiveness of sins.

Devotional:
The following devotional is taken from Our Daily Bread, vol 52, numbers 9, 10 & 11. USA: RBC Ministries, 2007.

“Kingdom Living” by Joe Stowell (Jan 23)
I have a lot of friends who work in bad neighborhoods. One of these friends moved his family to the inner city. One day as he was walking down the hallway in his apartment building, he noticed two guys smoking crack cocaine. Not wanting his kids to see what they were doing, he asked the two to stop. The next thing he knew, one of their fists had found its way to his jaw. With a bleeding nose and mouth, he responded, “If Jesus shed His blood for me, I can shed my blood for you.”
Shocked by the man’s response, the two men fled. A few days later one of them returned and knocked on my friend’s door, and said, “I have not forgotten your words. If your God is that real to you, then I want to know Him.” That day, he was “delivered…from the power of darkness,” and brought into “the kingdom of the son of His love” (Col. 1:13).
Those of us who have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness can bring a little bit of heaven to earth when we are willing to demonstrate the power of God’s unique approach to life. Even in our moments of weakness and vulnerability, we are given opportunities to demonstrate the power and strength of God’s forgiveness by showing His love for our enemies.

“A world in darkness needs the light of the gospel.”

Wrapping Up:
1. Allow time for students to finish writing/drawing their thoughts.
2. Close with prayer.

Options:
● Repeat pattern for a couple of days, so students see the “habit” of reading God’s Word. Include video clips about a “touchdown” or reaching the peak of a mountain, to connect to victory/reward moments when we connect with God or hear from Him.
● Play Bible passages from a Bible movie (preferable one that quotes the Bible directly)
● Play audio from the Bible Experience CD, which is a dramatized version of the Bible read by professional actors and complete with a soundtrack in the background. You can buy portions of it for about $5 on iTunes.