Middle School Teacher’s Guide for grades 6-8. Can also be used for grades 7 & 8 or grades 7-9.
Editor Rebecca Stone Designer Stephanie Hopkins
To equip the Church with Christ-centered resources for making and teaching disciples who obediently transform today’s generations . . . David C Cook is a nonprofit organization dedicated to international Christian education.
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Exploring God’s Word Together
Unit 13
Escaping Egypt
These lessons focus on Moses’ faith and leadership and how God used him to bring the Israelites out of Egypt’s bondage. As students see Moses’ perseverance and dependence on God, they will be encouraged to trust God’s purpose and plan for their lives.
Unit 14
God Delivers Us
The lessons in this unit show how we can stand courageously with God’s strength. As students see the courage of Caleb and Rahab, your students will find that they, too, can stand firm in their faith with God’s help.
Unit 15
Following God with Courage
This unit focuses on Old Testament examples of God’s people following Him with courage. As your teens study these people, they will be challenged to choose courage as they walk with God.
Resources for Your Middle School Class
Middle School Teacher’s Guide
In every lesson, you’ll find a teacher devotional, Bible background information, tips on understanding and teaching middle schoolers, and the tools needed to guide your students through the Bible study. Also includes a variety of activities to help your students learn and apply the Bible lesson. Need one per class.
Find ways to spark your heart and ignite your student ministry. Go to MinistrySpark.com and sign up to receive more free resources.
Middle School Creative Teaching Aids
This packet contains a variety of posters, games, 3-D models, puzzles and more to go with the teacher’s guide. Need one per class.
The Rock
This student book, with eight pages for each lesson, includes Bible studies, stories, and articles. Each lesson contains six days of devotions so your students can continue exploring God’s Word throughout the week. Need one per student.
Digital Bundle
The Middle School Teacher’s Guide, Middle School Creative Teaching Aids, and The Rock are also available in a digital format. Need one bundle per class.
Downloadable Options for Steps 1 and 4
» Relevant subjects (pop culture, trending topics, and fascinating events) that are going on in your students’ world today will help them recognize how God’s Word relates to them here and now.
» Cover topics that students hear and talk about all the time but rarely discuss in Sunday school!
RealLifeDownloaded.com
Standard Supplies
o Middle School Teacher’s Guide (1 per class)
o Middle School Creative Teaching Aids (1 per class)
o The Rock (1 per student)
o Bibles
o Construction paper
o Index cards
o Markers
o Media player
o Paper
o Pens or pencils
o Poster board
o Tape (clear, masking)
o Whiteboard, markers, and erasers
See individual lessons for additional supplies needed.
Teaching Big Faith for Everyday Life
Bible-in-Life’s four-step plan is designed to make each lesson easy to teach. Each step engages teachers and students to learn more about God and connect those findings to everyday life.
Step 1
Connecting with God’s Word helps youth relate their own experience to the Bible study. With a short activity and discussion, this step gives your students time to share about themselves and their lives while building relationships with you and one another. For an option that uses current topics and issues for this step, go to RealLifeDownloaded.com. These conversations will flow naturally into Step 2: Studying God’s Word.
Step 2
Studying God’s Word uses the Bible and The Rock to engage students in a fruitful discussion about the Bible and who God is. Your class will dive into a portion of God’s Word and then discuss and review it together. Relevant questions help students work on understanding what they’ve read and begin to connect it to their lives.
Step 3
Interacting with God’s Word allows students to practice, review, and explore the Bible lesson. Exploring the Bible study at their own level helps young people understand and incorporate God’s Word into their day-to-day lives.
Step 4
Applying God’s Word helps students apply the lesson in their everyday lives. Students choose the best way to live out their faith in their everyday experiences so they can be doers of the Word, not just hearers. If you used Real Life Downloaded in Step 1, you can use the correlating Step 4 here.
The Place of Wonder in the Faith Formation of Kids
by Leura Jones
JUST FOR YOU
What could be more wonderful than the God who created the heavens and earth also being the one who numbers the very hairs on our heads?
“The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders,” declares Psalm 65:8, and we get to invite kids into that sense of awe. We can do that through the Bible lessons we teach, the prayers we pray, and the words we use as we talk to kids about their lives and the God who made them.
WONDER IN SCRIPTURE
As we share Bible stories with kids, we can ask them, “What do you think that looked like? How do you think God’s people felt? What would you have been thinking if you were there?” Piquing kids’ curiosity is a great way to spark wonder in their minds.
WONDER IN PRAYER
When we pray with kids, we can communicate wonder and amazement. Psalm 145:4 shows how to commend God’s “mighty acts” to the next generation. The words we use in prayer can do that. It can be as simple as starting with, “Great and mighty God, we are amazed by You.” We may need to keep our prayers simpler as we pray with children, but that doesn’t mean our prayers can’t be big and bold and filled with wonder.
WONDER IN OUR WORDS
As we talk with kids and they tell us about their lives and share their stories, the words we use can tap into their sense of wonder:
“Wow, just think about how much God loves you! Think about all He’s done for you!”
“Can you believe God had a purpose for your life before you were even born?”
“Isn’t it amazing the way God sees you and cares about you?”
THE WONDERS THAT THEY ARE
Every child is a wonder, and every child is naturally filled with wonder. Let’s remind ourselves to see them that way. And let’s be intentional about tapping into their ready sense of awe and wonder as we help to develop and deepen their faith in God.
lesson 1
Get Ready
STEP
1 ➲ Connecting with God’s Word
Occupations Await: Students talk about career preparation and how to do it.
◽ Occupation cards
STEP 2 ➲ Studying God’s Word
Getting the Message: Students will study Exodus 2 and 3 and Acts 7 to see how God prepares people for His work.
□ Bibles
□ The Rock
□ “Wandering in the Wilderness” poster from Middle School Creative Teaching Aids
STEP
3 ➲ Interacting with God’s Word
Accepting the Mission: Students will choose from activities that show them how God prepares people for His work.
□ Paper, markers, pencils or pens, poster board, Bibles or The Rock
STEP
4 ➲ Applying God’s Word
Serving as Prepared: Students will start looking for God’s mark on their lives, becoming aware of the plans God has for each of them.
□ Pencils or pens, paper or index cards, markers
Memory Verse
For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
—Philippians 2:13
◽ indicates items you will need to prepare before class
Bible Basis:
Exodus 2:3-10, 15; 3:1-10; Acts 7:22
Focus:
God prepares us to fulfill His purpose.
Understanding the Bible
The Hebrews originally came to Egypt, in Joseph’s day, as honored guests. But over time they were pressed into service as part of Egypt’s vast corps of slave workers.
Even though their lot was a hard one, their numbers grew steadily. So as a population-control measure, Pharaoh ordered all male newborns of the Hebrews thrown into the Nile River (Ex. 1:22).
When Moses was born, his Hebrew mother, Jochebed, hid baby Moses as long as she could. By the age of three months his crying had probably gotten loud enough to attract attention. Then, instead of dropping the child directly into the river, she set him adrift in a waterproof basket.
Nobody knows for sure who was pharaoh when Moses was a child or the identity of the princess who rescued him. There are two popular theories though. One is that Rameses II, a very cruel man, was the pharaoh.
daughter’s son, he enjoyed luxury and privilege and received one of the finest educations possible at that time. Later, however, after killing an Egyptian man, Moses fled to Midian on the Sinai Peninsula (2:11-22). He married and probably expected to spend the rest of his days there. But God had other plans.
Classroom Tips
The “Wandering in the Wilderness” poster from your Middle School Creative Teaching Aids packet is used throughout the first seven lessons. It describes the ways that God prepared Moses throughout his life to do God’s work. This should help give your students some ideas of how God might be preparing each of your students. As you know, it can be hard to see well down the road. This is a good time to encourage students that God is working in and through them even when they do not recognize it.
Teacher Devo
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (See also Eph. 4:11-13)
God prepared you in advance to teach this lesson! He is about to take your lifetime of experience and use it to bear fruit for His kingdom by influencing the children who have been entrusted to you. Throughout your entire life, He has been preparing you through study, life experiences, teachers, and other instances to bring you to this lesson today.
Like Moses in today’s lesson, if you are doing what God has called you to do, He has also equipped you to do it. What special preparation has God made in your life to do what you are doing? Communicate to your students your awe and thankfulness to God for this opportunity and preparation.
When Teaching the Bible to Middle Schoolers . . .
Adolescence is a stressful period of life. Young people are in the process of integrating childhood patterns with adolescent changes to form a new concept of who they are and what their roles are to be.
The hard thing for you as a teacher to understand is that most students cannot communicate what is happening in them. Only when students look back will they see what hard work they did.
Most youth this age fail to look beyond this moment in time. Every event is seen as an
isolated moment without connection to anything else in their young lives. Tests at school, troubled relationships, extracurricular opportunities, and family experiences seem to have nothing in common and little to do with the future. Today’s lesson should help youth begin to see God’s hand working in all the events—both pleasant and difficult—of their lives. As with Moses, God works in the lives of today’s youth to shape them for His future plan for their lives.
STEP 1 ➲
Connecting with God’s Word
Lesson Focus:
God prepares us to fulfill His purpose.
Students talk about career preparation and how to do it.
Materials:
◽ Occupation cards
Before Class Option
Bring in a common household object that has many uses, such as a spray bottle. Have youth think of as many uses for this object as they can.
Before class, write several occupations (doctor, computer help-desk worker, engineer, lawyer, graphic designer, artist, plumber, concert pianist, teacher, actor or actress, missionary, pilot, etc.) on several index cards. Have students pair up, and give each pair a set of cards. One person must try to guess the occupation while the partner gives clues about the preparation needed for that job. Make sure your students do not use words in their clues that are similar to the occupation. For example, they can’t say “go to law school” if they are describing a lawyer; they could, however, say “study criminal justice.” You might want to make this a race to see which team finishes first. When most pairs are done, gather the group together to discuss these questions:
➲ What are some common ways that people prepare for their careers? (Special classes or training, practicing, internships or student teaching, watching others, life experience.)
➲ What is important to know before you begin preparation? (Interests, skills, career direction or choice, what is required—licensure, certifications, educational degrees, etc.)
➲ How is our own preparation for a career similar to or different from the way God might prepare one of us for His work? (We may or may not know exactly what God has in mind for us. We might have opportunities that lead us into work God wants us to do.)
Today’s lesson is about how God prepared Moses to fulfill His purpose. As we go through the lesson, pay attention to the things God did in Moses’ life and how Moses learned what God wanted and followed His purpose.
Free! Downloadable Options for Steps 1 and 4.
STEP 2 ➲
Studying God’s Word
Bible Basis:
Exodus 2:3-10, 15; 3:1-10; Acts 7:22
Students will study Exodus 2 and 3 and Acts 7 to see how God prepares people for His work.
Materials: □ Bibles
□ The Rock □ “Wandering in the Wilderness” poster from Middle School Creative Teaching Aids
Take turns reading Today’s Scripture aloud from Bibles or page 5 of The Rock. Display the poster map “Wandering in the Wilderness” from Creative Teaching Aids, and use it to point out the places Moses was as God prepared him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Ask the following questions to check for understanding:
Alternate Method
Assign parts to students and read Today’s Scripture dramatically.
➲ What did Moses’ mother do when she could no longer hide him? (She coated a papyrus basket with tar and pitch, placed Moses in it, and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River.)
➲ Who found him? (Pharaoh’s daughter.)
➲ Why did Moses leave Egypt? (Pharaoh was trying to kill him; see also vss. 11-14.)
➲ What job did God give to Moses? (To bring His people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.)
Direct students to page 4 of The Rock and have them answer numbers 1 and 2.
➲ 1. Create and fill in a chart about Moses’ background so that you can get to know him better. Read Exodus 2:3-10, 15; and Acts 7:22 to fill in information about these areas of Moses’ life: family background, education, languages, travel, and dangerous experiences. (See chart for suggested answers.)
Family Background Education
Levite parents; older sister; raised by Pharaoh’s daughter
Educated in all wisdom of the Egyptians
Languages Travel Dangerous Experiences
Powerful in speech and action
Fled Egypt to live in Midian
Hidden as a baby; placed in a basket among the reeds along the Nile; hunted by Pharaoh for murder; fled to Midian
➲ 2. Moses didn’t ask God to make him a leader. How did Moses feel about doing the job God had for him? Did he feel qualified?
Read Exodus 3:11; 4:10, 13. (Moses did not feel qualified. He asked God to send somebody else to do the job.)
Discuss the following questions:
➲ Why do you think Moses didn’t feel qualified for God’s plan? (Let students answer. You may hear some of your students’ areas of insecurity.)
➲ How did Moses’ time in Egypt and in Midian prepare him for God’s plan? (Pharaoh’s daughter saved his life and gave him an excellent education among royalty. He was well acquainted with Egyptian customs and religious beliefs. He was also once considered family. In Midian, his shepherding humbled him and gave him knowledge of the desert.)
➲ Why did God wait so long to deliver Israel from Egypt? (God’s timing allowed Moses to be prepared and taught him to be willing to rely on God to do the delivering.)
Now that we’ve seen how God prepared Moses to fulfill His purpose, let’s explore some ways that God prepares middle schoolers today to fulfill His purpose.
STEP 3 ➲
Interacting with God’s Word
Be sure to call the group back together in time to complete Step 4. Allow students a few minutes to share their experiences with classmates. tip
Students will choose from activities that show them how God prepares people for His work.
Have your students choose from the following activities exploring the ways God prepared Moses and is preparing youth today for His work. If your class is small, you may want to prepare just one or two activities. In “Mile Markers” students create a time line for Moses’ life and their own. In “Rebus” your students will use pictures to replace many of the words in this week’s memory verse; in “TV Commercial” students will make up two TV commercials advertising Moses’ job in one and a job God might call someone to today in the other. With all of these activities, students should begin thinking about their own lives and what God might have in mind for each of them.
Mile Markers
□ Poster board
□ Markers
□ Bible or The Rock
Using art supplies, create a time line with mile markers that describe the events in Moses’ life that prepared him for his future leadership. Opposite each mile marker, write events that might occur in youths’ lives today to prepare them for God’s service.
Rebus
□ Paper
□ Markers
□ Pencils or pens
□ Bible or The Rock
Find this week’s memory verse, Philippians 2:13, on page 8 of The Rock or in your Bible. Create a rebus of the memory verse using pictures to replace many of the words. Consider how this verse describes Moses’ experience with God. Then discuss: How do you see God working in the lives of middle schoolers today?
TV Commercial
□ Paper
□ Pencils or pens
□ Bible or The Rock
What qualifications did Moses have for the job God called him to accomplish? Act out two TV commercial want ads: one for Moses’ job and one for a job God might call today’s students to do. Consider the qualifications and preparation that would be important for these jobs, as well as the working conditions and benefits.
Students will start looking for God’s mark on their lives and become aware of the plans God has for each of them.
Applying God’s Word
Lesson Focus:
God prepares us to fulfill His purpose.
Materials:
□ Pencils or pens
□ Paper or index cards
□ Markers
Moses had a very unique upbringing, but he did not continue in the path of his early years because God had a different purpose for his life. Our footsteps don’t always lead us to an obvious career or life purpose. Walking in God's will for our lives depends on listening and following His plan.
➲ The Bible says, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Phil. 2:13). How can we know what His “good purpose” is for each of us?
Have students think about the following questions and answer them aloud.
➲ How can we be sure we are following God’s plans for our lives? (We can study His message to us in the Bible and follow what He says there. We can talk with other believers about what God's plan might be for us and certainly ask God what His plan is for us. We might have to wait to hear while we take small steps that lead us to learn His plan, but He never leaves us on our own to just figure it out.)
➲ What kind of limits should we expect for God’s plans? (None. All things are possible with God—the sky is the limit.)
➲ How can we learn God’s plans for us and be able to follow them? (By maintaining a growing relationship with God. It’s like the saying, “Does being in a garage make you a car?” No. It is our relationship with God that shapes our part in His plan—not the specific actions.)
Just as God prepared Moses to fulfill His purpose, He also prepares us. It’s not always easy to see God’s plan, though—even Moses’ life was in danger as a baby. Pharaoh wanted to kill him later, and he spent many years as a shepherd in the desert. But God used all of that to prepare Moses for His own plan. And He does the same with you.
Seal It!
Have students use supplies to make a reminder card for those times when God’s plan seems remote. It may include this week’s memory verse, Philippians 2:13. For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Ask a few volunteers to close in prayer, committing the lives of your students to God and His plan. Encourage students to keep their reminder cards in a prominent place where they will see them often. Encourage your class to read the “Everyday Devos” on page 8 of the The Rock throughout the upcoming week.
Seeing God throughout the Week:
Talk with students about ways God might be preparing them right now to fulfill His purpose.
Leading Middle Schoolers To Christ
You should be ready to respond whenever the Holy Spirit leads a student to make a commitment to Christ. Listen to students’ questions or objections and try to answer them simply and honestly. When a student is receptive, explain from the Bible the steps to becoming a Christian:
» God wants everyone to enjoy the best life possible. He wants all of us to lead full, rich lives and experience His love (John 10:10; Jer. 31:3).
» But everybody has rebelled against God and lived sinfully. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).
» This separates us forever from God. Furthermore, we deserve to pay a penalty because we sinned (Rom. 6:23).
» Only God could solve the problem. And He did! He loved us so much He sent His Son, Jesus, to die the death that each of us deserves (John 3:16-17).
» But you are not forced to accept God’s solution. To apply Jesus’ payment for sin to your life, you must personally commit yourself in belief to Him.
» You can have forgiveness. If you declare openly that Jesus is who He claims to be and believe that God raised Him from the dead, God has promised you eternal life (Rom. 10:9; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; 1 John 5:11).
» As you study the Bible and talk with God through prayer, you will grow closer to Him and enjoy the full life He intended (John 10:10).
Coming Next Quarter
God’s Plan
Lessons from 2 Samuel, Micah, Malachi, Isaiah, Matthew, and Luke reveal the prophecies of Jesus and celebrate His birth.
VALUE: Awareness
Who Jesus Is
Using the Gospels, studies in this unit center around the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
VALUE: Compassion
What Jesus Said
From Matthew and Luke, lessons on Jesus’ parables teach students how to live God’s way.
VALUE: Love
Every page of these bestselling Action Bible products sparks excitement in kids to explore God’s Word and know Him personally.
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a God protects Moses at birth and in his early years so that he can grow up to serve God. (Exod. 2:1-10,15)
b God tells Moses exactly how He wants Moses to serve Him. Sounds like a huge job. (Exod. 3:1-10)
c Pharaoh’s ignoring Moses. Nothing’s happening. He asks, “Now what, Lord?” (Exod. 5:1-2, 22—6:6)
d Hurrah! The waiting is over. God is going into action—with an air raid. (Exod. 12:1-3, 5-7, 12-14)
e What a whiny bunch! The first of many complaints by the Israelites. (Exod. 17:1-6)
f Caleb feels outnumbered. The majority can’t be wrong—can they? (Spy report: Num. 13)
g Gripesville again. Thought God protected His children better than this. Ouch! That bites! (Num. 21:4-9)
h Wanted: Gutsy lady to help good-guy spies. Found: Rahab. (Josh. 2:2-6, 9, 11)
i Cheaters never win; winners never cheat—at Ai. (Josh. 7—8)
EGYPT
c d
a
AFuture with a Purpose
A Future with a Purpose
What is God’s will for your life? That’s a hard question for a lot of Christians. Maybe you’ve met people who seem to know exactly what God wants them to do—like who they should marry, where they should live, or what they should do in life. That would be great stuff to know, but don’t feel like you have to have these answers now. For most Christians, discovering God’s purpose for them is a gradual process. Take a look at how this process worked in the lives of these two people.
Tim Oswandel is a police officer in the Los Angeles area. Listen to what Tim has to say about how God led him to his exciting career.
Q. At what point in your life did you decide police work was in your future?
A. During middle school I thought about being an FBI agent. After college I became more interested in becoming a police officer. I became a jail guard for the City of Glendale (north of Los Angeles) before I was hired as a police recruit. Finally I returned to Glendale, this time as an officer.
Q. How does your faith in God give you peace on a day-to-day basis?
A. Being a police officer is exciting because you never know what is going to happen. I can see how that would make some people uneasy. God knows what is going to unfold even before I respond to a call. Jesus is the best partner any police officer would want! Also, I thank the Lord for giving me a great sense of humor because police officers see a lot of funny things!
Q. You once thought about going to seminary instead of the police academy. How did you seek God’s will
in the midst of this hard decision?
A. After finishing college, I worked in the business world. After a few years I felt the Lord calling me to something else. I talked to a lot of people about what I should do. And I prayed about the things we talked about. It seemed my best choices were to either attend seminary and become a chaplain in the military (like my dad) or become a police officer. While I was struggling with this choice, I heard the testimony of a Los Angeles police officer. I realized that being a Christian and a police officer was the perfect match for me. I have had many opportunities to talk about spiritual things with officers that I never would have had otherwise. I thank God for my career because I get excited to go to work every day. The job also led me to the woman who became my wife, Michele. She’s a 911 dispatcher!
Q. What advice would you give to a Christian middle schooler who is considering becoming a police officer?
A. I get excited when I hear young people say they want to become police officers. The fact that a young person is already a Christian is the best place to start. I would advise these middle schoolers to pray about the direction God has for them. Also, seek out and speak to police officers about their jobs. (That’s good advice for any sort of career decision—talk to people who are already doing what you think you want to do!) Most importantly, commit your life to Christ and follow His guidance.
Matthew 5:9 is a verse that encourages me in my line of work, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
Listen to what Kevin Witte has to say about how God directed him in his career in the Air Force.
Q. How did you know that God was calling you to predict weather patterns for the U.S. military? Were there any life experiences prior to this occupation that helped you make this choice?
A. I first became interested in studying the weather when I was 10 years old. I remember walking home when the loud county tornado siren sounded. I ran home and stayed in the basement with my family for a few hours. Tornadoes hit my hometown that afternoon and destroyed several businesses, a few houses, and a school gym. This tragic event is what first got me interested in weather. I remember a few years later, members of our class visited a television studio in Chicago and were led on a tour by meteorologist Harry Volkman. (A meteorologist is a person who studies the weather and tries to predict what it will do.) I really liked what I saw and wanted to be involved with forecasting the weather from then on. There were some bumps in my path, however. After taking the SAT test in high school, I reviewed the results with a counselor. I was told that I had little aptitude for science and would be best suited as a physical therapist. It wasn’t until 10 years later that I found the counselor had misread the data. She had reversed the scores on the aptitude parts of my test. In reality,
my aptitude was high in geology and engineering (pretty close to meteorology). Years later I joined the Air Force and pursued my interests in meteorology.
Q. What unusual places have you been able to go to as a result of being in the Air Force?
A. The most unusual place I’ve ever been to is Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I spent four months in Riyadh as a weather commander after Desert Storm. On weekends I went on field trips where I saw huge sand dunes and pictures drawn by people who lived in Jesus’ time. I also went to Korea where I learned about Korean culture and the history of the Korean War.
Q. What advice would you give to a Christian young person who wanted to pursue a career in either the military or as a meteorologist?
A. I guess the advice I would give to any young person would be to set your goals, and don’t listen to people who say you can’t do this or that. Try to find someone who will support you and ask you good questions. If you want it bad enough, it can happen, especially if it is what God has in mind for you. Figuring out God’s will is hard. I spent a lot of time worrying about what I was supposed to do with my life. Finally, with God’s help, things worked themselves out.
Q. So how do you know when you’re fulfilling God’s purpose for you?
A. When you’re doing something you really enjoy, and that work is meeting people’s needs, then that’s probably the direction that God wants you to go. Love God and follow your heart!
Moses In Training
Exodus 2:3-10, 15; 3:1-10; Acts 7:22
God had big plans for Moses. That’s why He had Moses spend his first 40 years in the soft life of a palace getting educated. Then God had Moses spend the next 40 years in the rough life of the desert.
1. Create and fill in a chart about Moses’ background so that you can get to know him better. Read Exodus 2:1-10, 15 and Acts 7:22 to fill in information about these areas of Moses’ life: family background, education, languages, travel, and dangerous experiences.
2. Moses didn’t ask God to make him a leader. How did Moses feel about doing the job God had for him? Did he feel qualified? Read Exodus 3:11 and 4:10, 13.
3. God was preparing Moses all along for leadership. Knowing what you know about Moses as a leader and a prophet, what benefits do you think Moses had in later life from his earlier experiences as a native Hebrew? An adopted Egyptian? In Midian?
4. Draw a picture of Moses’ recruiting scene in Exodus 3:110. Show God’s power and what Moses may have felt at that point.
Selected Scripture from Exodus 2:3-10, 15
3But when she could hide him no longer, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with tar and pitch. Then she placed the child in it and put it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile. 4His sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
5Then Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the Nile to bathe, and her attendants were walking along the riverbank. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her female slave to get it. 6She opened it and saw the baby. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This is one of the Hebrew babies,” she said.
Today ’s Scripture
7Then his sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?”
8“Yes, go,” she answered. And the girl went and got the baby’s mother.
9Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this baby and nurse him for me, and I will pay you.” So the woman took the baby and nursed him. 10When the child grew older, she took him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, “I drew him out of the water.”. . .
15When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian, where he sat down by a well.
Selected Scripture from Exodus 3:1-10
1Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.
4When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
7The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. . . . 10So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”
GetJaoB!
Yes, you are old enough now to go find a job. Whether you’re doing chores around the house, mowing lawns, walking dogs, or franchising your babysitting skills, it’s time to learn the basics to building a good, solid work ethic.
1. Find something you like to do, and do it. When you are doing something you enjoy, it doesn’t feel like work. Think about things you are good at and try to find a way to turn those things into a job. Do you like dogs? Start a dog walking service. Do you like to organize? Ask your parents if you can organize the garage or all the closets.
2. Always show up on time and be ready to work. When you tell someone you will babysit at 8:00, be there by 7:55 so you can be ready to watch the kids by 8:00. If you agreed to mow a lawn on Saturday morning, then show up early and work efficiently so your work is completed in the morning, just as you promised.
3. Work while you are on the clock…no cell phones, inviting friends over, or taking long breaks. Someone is paying you to work a certain amount of time, and you need to work those specified hours. When employers see how well you work, they will be happy to give you breaks.
4.
Learn as much as you can while doing your job. Ask your boss questions about how you can do your job better. If you are going to walk dogs, find out about the dogs. Ask the owners if the dogs have special needs or if they act a certain way when, for example, they see a cat. Also do research on your own. The owners will be impressed that you know so much about their pets.
5. It’s ok to start at the bottom. You learn more with each step up the ladder. You will gather knowledge each level and when you are at the top you will be able to help out in any job at any time…and you’ll also remember how the people just starting out feel. Start with mowing your parent’s lawn and maybe a neighbor’s lawn or two. Then once you perfect the art of mowing, you can move on to making fliers to hand out in the rest of the neighborhood and surrounding areas.
“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” Philippians 2:13
ACT
of the Will
When we let God act through us, we are simply doing His will.
MONDAY Read Philippians 2:13. Make a list of ways you can be of service to God this week. Pray about the list, then make plans to act. Remember, you and God are a team.
TUESDAY Think about times you are tempted to react to problems rather than act “according to his good purpose.” How can God help you during these times?
WEDNESDAY Been working on the list you made on Monday? If you’ve completed everything on your list, good for you! Thank God for His help. If you haven’t started, you can start today.
THURSDAY Think about some of the ways God could be preparing you to serve Him in the future. What are some things you like to do now? What talents do you have? How do you think they could be used for God’s glory?
FRIDAY Read Romans 8:28 and Micah 6:8. What do you think God’s purpose is for your life? How can the Holy Spirit help you to act in order to fulfill this purpose?
SATURDAY End the week thanking God for His actions on your behalf.
