Faith To Give Away

This is a touching story of faith and devotion from an unexpected source. Foreign soldiers kidnap a Hebrew girl in a raid, then carry her off to work in the home of the army's commander. You'd think the child would be sullen and rebellious-ready to escape or sabotage her captors at the first opportunity. But, amazingly, this nameless girl cares for her master and urges him to go to Elisha for a cure for leprosy. Talk about loving your enemies!

We often think of sharing our faith as orally explaining God's plan of redemption. But let's not put such a crucial element of our faith life in such a small box. The girl in the story witnessed by caring about her master's illness and expressing her faith that God's prophet could heal him. This is the key: We share our faith in any number of ways because we truly care about people and want to point them to the living God.

It doesn't require a seminary degree to share with others the good news that Jesus offers us forgiveness and the opportunity to become children of God. The news we have to share is good news! Let's not keep it to ourselves!

Did you ever try to shut down a group of kids who were really excited about something? It's close to impossible! That's what makes kids so great. They're sincere and transparent and full of energy. So when they get excited about their walk with God, watch out! Great things will happen.

How do you get them excited? Let them see how God works in people's lives. Keep them in touch with the prayer fife of your church. Involve them in faith-building activities in which they can make a difference, such as a workday at the home of an elderly friend or a visit to an interfaith community-service center. Let kids come face to face with people whose lives are being changed by God's power.

Use this lesson to help kids see that they can make a difference in people's lives by sharing their faith both orally and in creative, practical ways.

Choose one person to be "It" and another person to be the "healer." Give the healer a bottle of bubbles and a bubble wand.

Say: We're going to start today with a new game called Sob Tag. If It tags you, you have to kneel down and start crying and sobbing. The only way you can stop sobbing is if the healer blows bubbles over your head. One more thing-no one can run in this game. Everyone moves around the room by taking giant steps, the biggest steps you can possibly take. Let's all practice sobbing before we get started.

Demonstrate crying and sobbing for the kids. Then say: Great! You guys sound really sad. Lees play. Remember-no running. Ready to begin? Go!

Every minute or so shake a noisemaker and allow different students to take the roles of It and the healer. Before kids begin to tire, stop the game with the noisemaker, then have kids take three deep breaths and sit down. Set the bubbles out of sight. Ask:

Say: In our Bible story we'll find out about a prophet who had special healing power from God. He didn't need bubbles! But the real hero in the story is a bit of a surprise. listen carefully and, at the end of the story, tell me who you think the hero is. Here's a hint: * It's important to tell others about God's love.

TEACHER TIP

If some characters have trouble with their parts, consider reading through the story a second time.

Read this Bible 'story straight from an easy-to-understand version of the Bible. Photocopy the "Bible-Story Name Tags" handout and cut apart the name tags for the characters in the story. Assign the roles by pinning a name tag on the student who will read that character's part. Then be prepared to cue the readers when their parts come up in the text.

Have the characters sit in a semicircle in front of the class with the rest of the students facing them.

Say to the kids who don't have a part: You have two things to do. This story is about a man named Naaman who was a great general, so each time you hear his name, say, "Yes, sir!"

Then say: Good job. Now you have one more thing to do. This story has two kings in it. Each time you hear the word "king," say, "May you live forever!" That's what people said in Old Testament times to show respect. Let's try that. King! (May you live forever.) Great! Now let's get on with the story. Don't forget to listen for who the real hero is. Narrator, you're on!

Finish the story with a big round of applause. Then ask: OK-who would you say is the hero of this story? Accept all answers and have kids tell why they chose a particular character.

Why do you think I chose her? (Because she told her master about Elisha; because she cared for people even though she was a slave.)

I don't know about you, but if I got kidnapped from my home and was forced to work in another family, I think I might be a little unfriendly to the people I had to work for. Ask: Why do you think this little servant girl wanted to help her master? (She was a kind, loving person; maybe her master's family was nice to her; she believed in God and wanted others to believe in God, too.)

Then say: Isn't it interesting that we don't even know the little girl's name? But what we do know about her is pretty important. She cared enough about her master to tell him what God's prophet could do. And * it's important to tell others about God's love.

TEACHER TIP

If you have a child who isn't allowed to chew gum, give him or her a balloon to blow up instead. Rather than popping the balloon in the following activities, have the child let the balloon deflate.

Put enough bubble gum in a box for each child to have two or three pieces. Gift-wrap the box and place it where children will see it and wonder about it.

Pick up the box and say: Hmm. I think I've kept you in suspense long enough. It's about time to give this away. I wonder who'll catch it. Turn your back to the children and toss the box over your shoulder.

If more than one child grabs for the box, say: Don't worry-I think there'll be plenty for everyone.

Invite the child who caught the box to open it. Let everyone peek inside. Then have the child who opened the box help you toss pieces of bubble gum to everyone. Put a piece of bubble gum in your mouth and say: I wonder if anyone can blow a bubble faster than I can!

Have kids gather in a circle as they all blow bubbles. Then say: Let's all blow one more bubble together. Then when I pop my bubble, you pop yours, too.

What does this verse mean to you? (People need a chance to hear about God before they can believe; people can't believe in God if they've never heard of him.)

Say: Having Jesus in our lives makes us so happy that we want to share it with everyone. We just bubble over! Quickly find a partner and blow bubbles together. Then pop your bubbles and tell each other the name of one person you want to share God's love with this week. Ready? Set? Blow!

Before class, photocopy the 'Treasure Slips" handout, cut the slips apart, and wrap them in aluminum foil in the shape of chocolate kisses. Tie a small bow around the neck of each one, then hide the "treasures" around the room. Shake the noisemaker to bring everyone together. Ask:

What good thing happened to Naaman after he heard about the true God? (He was healed.)

Say: Do you know that something even better than that happens to everyone who hears about Jesus and believes in him? A whole bunch of really good things happen. I've hidden some of those things around the room. There are seven hidden treasures for you to find. Nobody can claim more than one. When you find a treasure, bring it to me. When you've found all seven treasures, we'll open them together.

Let the children open and read the treasures. If a nonreader finds a treasure, let him or her choose an older child to read it to the class.

After all seven treasure slips have been read aloud, say: It's important to tell others about God's love-starting with your very own family. So let's make treasures you can share with your family this week-one treasure slip per day.

Distribute scissors, pieces of aluminum foil, and photocopies of the 'Treasure Slips" handout. Have kids cut apart the treasure slips. As they're cutting, place another piece of bubble gum beside each person.

Say: Put the bubble gum in the center of your foil. Then twist the foil around the treasure slips in the shape of a big chocolate kiss. You can put your treasure on your table at home. Each night, have someone in your family pull out a treasure slip. Then look up the Bible verse and read it together. On the last night, pull out the bubble gum and tell how you bubbled over telling others about God's love during the week.

If you have time, have volunteers look up and read the verses referred to on the treasure slips.

Have kids stand in a circle holding their treasures. Pray: Dear Lord, thank you for all these treasures you give us when we believe in you. We know * it's important to tell others about God's love. Help us bubble over and share your wonderful treasures with others this week. In Jesus' name, amen.

Faith To Give Away

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Faith to Give Away