What did you learn?

what

did

you

learn?

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Yea, thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

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I lift up my eyes to the hills; my help comes from the LORD.

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Do not be envious of evildoers, for they will fade like the grass.

• •

Take delight in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.

The LORD is my light and my salvation--whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of

my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?

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Be still, and know that I am God;

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For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up.

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I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my

loving eye upon you.

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He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

Psalms Introduction

Materials

Preparation

5. Give your second-best reader the stapled script — he will be your Modern Student.

6. Tell both students that you will ask them to move to opposite walls of the classroom and ask them to read their parts before you start the lesson.

Lesson Have everyone, including the Prophet of Old, seated at the learning table. Read with animation.

It started around 3,400 years ago - around 1400 BC. There were a few ink pens back then.

There was some paper, but not a lot. People only wrote down what was really, really important.

Slavery in Egypt had the Hebrew people crying out to God. How long lord! Can’t you hear our misery? What is going on?

Thanks to God and Moses, who listened, the Red Sea parted, and the Hebrews escaped their slavery that lasted over 300 years.

On the other side, and in freedom for the first time in hundreds of years, the Hebrews made up a song about God’s amazing miracle. They danced to it.

Over the next 1,000 years, the Hebrews had lots more adventures. They wrote lots more things to say to the Lord and about the Lord. They wrote them down so others could have their words also.

If they sang the things they had written down, it was a song.

If they spoke the things they had written down, it was called a poem.

The prophets of old sang, read, and prayed those words. Have the prophet of old go to one corner of the room with a script.

And guess what? Recently, a Psalm was re-tweeted for the 7,000th time.

Have the modern-day student go to the opposite corner of the room with a script.

Psalms are Timeless Reading

Teacher:

Prophet of Old: Lord, you are my Light and my Savior, so why should I be afraid of anyone?

The Lord is where my life is safe, so I will be afraid of no one!

Teacher:

Modern-Day Student: Lord, you are my Light and my Savior! so why should I be afraid of anyone?

The Lord is where my life is safe, so I will be afraid of no one!

Teacher: Three thousand years ago, David could often see an entire army advancing - trying to find his hiding places. All those swords and spears and all that muscle and might. It was all after him.

Prophet of old: Evil people might attack me.

They might try to destroy my body.

Yes, my enemies might attack me and try to destroy me, but they will stumble and fall!

Teacher: From his seat on the bus, the bullied student could see the strength of these kids.

He could see the mean taunting in their eyes. But silently and coolly, he kept his eyes on that smartphone: Modern-Day Student: Evil people might attack me.

They might try to destroy my body.

Yes, my enemies might attack me and try to destroy me, but they will stumble and fall!

Teacher: People have put their faith in God in times of trouble since the beginning - and they are still doing it this very week. The Psalms have been resonating all along, from one corner of the globe to another.

Prophet of Old: Even if an army surrounds me, I will not be afraid!

Even if people attack me in war, I will trust in the Lord!

Teacher: And from one corner of time to another.

Modern Day Student: Even if an army surrounds me, I will not be afraid!

Even if people attack me in war, I will trust in the Lord!

Teacher: For 3,000 years, the same words have made their way to heaven. Things change, but the need for God is the same for us, yesterday, today, and forever. We need him as much now as when the psalms were written.

Teacher, Prophet, Modern-Day Student: You are the only one who can help me.

My God, don’t leave me all alone!

You are my Savior.

Even if my mother and father leave me, the Lord will take me in! --Psalm 27 Thank your two readers, who may sit down.

Did you know that the Book of Psalms is the most popular book in the Bible? The Number One most shared verse online is from a psalm: Psalm 118:24 – This is the Day that the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

The psalms teach us how to pray. Most of them are either prayers or thoughts about God, and based on what these important writers said, we can learn how to say something to God as well.

The psalms teach us how to have hope. Have you ever had a problem, and you felt like you were the only person in the world who had it? You can see that some of the psalmists had problems that were off the charts. Kings were about to lose kingdoms. Leaders who were guiltless were having lies and rumors spread about them. People were plotting their assassinations.

Yet, many of their psalms show a hope and a turn from sadness, just reflecting on what God is able to do. If they can believe, so can we.

There is a lot to learn about the psalms, which we will be studying all month. Right now, let’s play a game called TRUTH ABOUT THE PSALMS to learn a little more about them.

Truth About the Psalms

Materials

Preparation

Instructions

Game Questions

5. True or False: The psalms were written to be sung.

(In Hebrew, they have great rhyme and rhythm!)

6. True or False: The Psalms were miraculously composed over a 20-year period.

(1,000 year period: 1400 BC – 400 BC) 7. True or False: The most shared Bible verse on social media is a psalm.

(Last year, it was Proverbs 3:5-6).

8. True or False: The most re-tweeted Bible verse is Psalm 23 (The Lord is my shepherd...).

9. True or False: The Psalms are located at the very center of the Bible.

10. True or False: Psalm 118:8 is at the very center of the Bible.

Fun facts about Psalm 118: Have a couple of your best math students derive the facts at the end: • There are 594 chapters in the Bible before Psalms 118 • There are 594 chapters in the Bible after Psalms 118 (Add the numbers 594 x2 you get 1188. That also happens to be the center verse in the Bible 118:8!)

The next time someone says they would like to be in the center of God’s will, send them to the center of his word: Psalm 118:8 - “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”

Conclusion The Psalms have served more purposes and served people of more faiths than any other Bible book. It is old. Yet, it is still the one of the most shared books on social media. We’ll have lots of fun this month learning some of the psalms.

“Be Still” Prayer Jars for Psalm 46:10

Materials

Preparation

Introduction

Psalm 46:10 says this: BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. How many of you have ever had to wait for an answer to your prayer? Take some answers and examples.

Here’s an even harder question: How many of you have gotten impatient while waiting and sort of felt, in your heart, the Lord telling you: BE STILL? BE PATIENT? BELIEVE IN ME? See if you get any examples.

Today we are going to make a prayer jar. In it we will put all the things we have prayed for, and for which we haven’t yet received answers. We will also put in there things we want to pray for.

When we are finished, let’s take the jar home and shake it every day to let God know we trust him, we are waiting patiently, and we know that he is God! Instructions 1. Cut out the Prayer Jar Tags and Prayer Jar Slips.

2. On the slips of paper, write down prayers for which you are awaiting an answer. If you don’t have 12, then think of things you would like God to do in your life. They don’t necessarily have to be material blessings that you are waiting for. You can put things like “more patience in dealing with my sister” or “overcoming my fear of dogs,” etc. Help younger children by writing things down for them.

3. Fold the pieces of paper in half and put them in your jar.

4. Place the lid on the jar.

5. Center the piece of fabric over the top and screw on the ring of the jar. Have your teacher use fabric scissors to cut off the corners and make more of a round skirt.

6. Tie the ribbon or string around the jar.

7. Thread the Prayer Jar Tag onto the string and finish with a bow.

8. Shake the jar and tell God, “I will be still and wait for Your will!”

NAME: CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION DATE: Outstanding performance, hard work, and dedication PARENTS: _______________________ _______________________

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