When you think about what you want your children to learn at church, what’s the first thing that pops into your mind? We’ve all been there. With so much truth in the Bible where do we start? Why not start where the Bible starts. No, not necessarily creation, but GOD.
Who is God? What is God like? What does God do?
AGE GROUP: elementary (ages 6-11)
TIME REQUIRED: 45 minutes
This is lesson 15 of 42 in our study on the Attributes of God called “Can you tell me what God is like?” Visit the series index to view all the lessons and get more ideas for using this curriculum in your children’s ministry.
LESSON 15: GOD IS OUR HOPE
- Key Verse: “guide me in your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” Psalm 25:5
- Teaching Passage: God Calls Moses – Exodus 2-4
- Supporting Texts: Psalm 25:5, Psalm 62:5, Psalm 65:5, Psalm 146:5, Jeremiah 14:22, Romans 5:2 & 5
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
Bibles, previous attribute of God posters, a large piece of paper with the words GOD IS OUR HOPE written on it, key verse (Psalm 25:5) printed on a piece of paper, blank paper and markers or colored pencils for each child in the group
LESSON OUTLINE:
REVIEW PREVIOUS LESSONS:
Ask one of the kids in the group to remind you what you’re learning this year. Remind them that each week we’ll be looking into the Bible to answer the question… “Can you tell me what God is like?” and will be learning one of the many truths about God that we see in His Word.
Ask if anyone can remember the truths we’ve learned so far. Have the kids stand up and say the attributes of God and do the motions.
- God is Almighty= He has absolute power or is all powerful
- God is the Alpha and Omega= He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last
- God is Awesome = He inspires awe and amazement
- God is Compassionate = He shows a deep concern for His people & a desire to meet their needs
- God is the Deliverer = He is the rescuer or savior
- God is Exalted = He is noble, elevated and lifted up
- God is Faithful = He is reliable, trustworthy, true to His Word & keeps His promises
- God Forgives = He grants pardon and cancels the debt of sin
- God is Glorious = He is full of glory (praise, honor & distinction)
- God is Good = morally excellent, virtuous or righteous
- God is Gracious = merciful, benevolent, kind & compassionate
- God Guides His People= He leads, accompanies, assists and gives direction/ guidance
- God Heals His People = to make healthy, whole and free from ailments
- God is Holy = sinless, perfect and set apart
TEACH- GOD IS OUR HOPE:
Start out by reading this week’s memory verse (Psalm 25:5) from the poster. Ask someone to define the word HOPE. Talk briefly about what they hope in or hope for…. (what do you hope you’ll get for Christmas?, etc.) Ask the group to tell you what they are saying when they say they hope something will happen. Explain that when we say something like, “I hope I have pizza for lunch,” we’re saying that we wish it would happen. But, when we say that we hope in God we are saying something different….we are saying that we trust Him and know that He will do what He says He will do.
Tell the kids that you want to tell them a story from the Bible that helps to explain that God is our hope.
Choose 3 kids to play parts in the story as you tell it in your own words. You need Moses, the bush and the staff.
Tell the story of Exodus 2-4 in your own words, reading Exodus 3:1-15 straight from the Bible. Make sure you hit the following points:
- Moses had grown up in the Pharaoh’s house, but as an adult he chose to be known as an Israelite because He had hope in the Lord.
- Moses left Egypt and moved to Midian. He got married and was helping his father in law out with the sheep.
- One day while he was out with the sheep he saw a bush on fire that wasn’t burning up.
- Moses got closer to the bush and God spoke to him out of the bush
- God introduced Himself as “I Am” which is a perfect name for God since He has always been and always will be and is the answer to all people.
- God told Moses that He wanted Moses to go back to Egypt and lead His people out to the Promised Land.
- God told Moses that His people had hope in Him and that they knew that He was coming to rescue them.
- Moses obeyed God and returned to Egypt to rescue God’s people
Since this is a very familiar story, talk through it with the kids in the group. Ask what they would have been thinking if they were Moses. Ask why Moses was able to put his hope in God.
DEFINE AND REMEMBER:
To help the kids remember this truth about God, take a few minutes to define the attribute.
HOPE = THE ONE IN WHOM OUR EXPECTATIONS ARE CENTERED
EXPLAIN: Talk about how we saw God’s people hope in Him in this story. They hoped in God by remembering a promise that He made to Abraham 400 years earlier that He would rescue His people and they cried out to God for rescue. But, Moses needed something to prove who God was to hope in Him or to trust in His plan. God showed Moses that He is his hope by speaking to him and showing Moses His power.
Since motions & actions help kids remember, choose an action for OUR HOPE. A good motion might be to fold hands like praying
MEMORY VERSE:
SAY: “Our verse today is Psalm 25:5. This verse reminds us that God is our hope….the One on whom are expectations are set. The great thing about God being our hope is that we also know He is faithful and that He will keep all His promises, so we can hope in Him, knowing that He will do what He says He will do..“
Read the memory verse (Psalm 25:5) and work together to make up motions to help you learn the verse. Say the verse with the motions a few times.
CROSS CONNECTION:
Ask the kids to remind you who had hope in God in today’s story and what their hope was. Remind them that the people of Israel had hope that God would rescue them from slavery in Egypt and that’s just what He did. But, even more than rescuing His people from slavery in Egypt, God has rescued His people from slavery to sin and death and He did it not by sending Moses to lead His people, but by sending His Son to take the punishment for His people and die on the cross in our place. The Bible tells us (Rom 3:23 & 6:23) that we are all sinners who deserve death. Without God we are hopeless and are heading to death and eternal destruction. But, Jesus is our hope and we can put our hope in Him alone to save us from our sin (Romans 5:8 & John 14:6).
REVIEW:
Give each child a blank piece of paper provide markers or colored pencils. Encourage them to write the word our hope somewhere on the paper and then write or draw something to help them remember this attribute of God. They could write the definition for hope or the memory verse or they could illustrate the story of God speaking to Moses out of the bush. After a few minutes, bring the group back together and give kids time to share what they have drawn or written.
PRAYER:
Pray that the kids in the group would come to know God more and more each week through this study and that they would remember that all of us are sinners who need to be saved and that they would turn to this good God for salvation. Pray that the children in your group would place their hope in God as the only one who can bring salvation to His people.