God has Chosen You - World Harvest Church

God has
Chosen You
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By Trenz Pruca
Year 2
Quarter
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Lesson
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Power Point: God has chosen you
Direction: No matter what you’ve gone through
Memory Verse: "I have chosen you and not rejected you."
Isaiah 41:9
Today we live in a world where people o0en value themselves based on what others think of them. People care more about what others say than what God says. Because of this, people o0en do things to try to please others.
The goal of this lesson is to teach the kids that they don’t have to worry about what other people say or think because God has chosen them. No maAer what they’ve gone through God looks at them as His child and He wants to be close to them. By the end of this lesson we want the kids to understand that they don’t have to struggle with rejecDon or look to people to determine their value or worth. Once they connect with this they will be able to live a beAer and happier life. Bible Lesson: Queen Esther (Esther 2:1-­‐7)
Royalty is o0en found among the rich and famous but in one case that wasn’t so. Despite having no parents and coming from a Jewish background, Esther was chosen to be Queen out of all the women in the land. In this part of the lesson we use Esther’s story to show the kids that no maAer what they’ve been through, God has chosen them. Object Lesson 1: God will build you up again
Life has a way of tearing us down and leaving us broken and destroyed. In this part of the lesson we use a skit to illustrate the life of Pastor Bill Wilson. Through his life we want to show the kids how God can take the broken pieces in your life and build you up again.
Object Lesson 2: God can take you past your limitaDons
There are a lot of kids who feel like the opportuniDes in their life are limited. They o0en base this thought on who they are and what they’ve been through. In this part of the lesson we will teach them that God can take them past any limitaDons that are in their life. Object Lesson 3: God can use you to save someone’s life Some of the people we see walking around look really great on the outside but their heart is slowly dying on the inside. All of these people need help and they are looking for someone to save them. In this part of the lesson the kids will learn that God can use them to save someone’s life. Teacher's Responsibility
Before teaching this lesson, it is very important that you ask yourself, “Do I really believe this?” As crazy as that may sound there are people who get up everyday and preach things to others that they don’t really believe for themselves. If you sDll struggle with rejecDon, feel torn down, or limited by things in your life, you need to ask God to start dealing with you before you preach this to the kids. As you begin to live out this lesson, the Holy Spirit will be able to speak through you and use you in a more powerful way. No ma&er what you’ve gone through...
Sub 1: God will build you up again
Sub 2: God can take you past your limitaDons
Sub 3: God can use you to save someone’s life
2
Lesson Intro
Props
PreparaDon
Change bag, basketball, three silks with the word, “CHOSEN” wriAen on them.
Write the word “CHOSEN” on the silks and place them in one part of the bag
PresentaDon: (Teacher comes out holding basketball) Now I want you to imagine that you’re at school in gym class and everyone is lined up to play basketball. Two people come out and they start to choose who they want to be on their team. The first person comes out, looks everyone over, and starts to choose, “I choose her, her, and him.” The second person comes and does the same thing, “I choose her, him, and him.” Soon everybody has been chosen except for one person -­‐ you. You stand there feeling disappointed, humiliated, hurt, and rejected. On the inside you feel completely empty (point to empty change bag).
Can you imagine if God was like that? Imagine if He lined all of us up and started choosing who He wanted and who He didn’t want. If He was like that there would be so many people on this earth who felt empty (point to empty change bag). But God is not like that. In fact, in our memory verse for today, which is from Isaiah 41:9, God says, “I have chosen you and not rejected you.” That means you are chosen by God (Pull out silk that says, “CHOSEN”). He looks at every single one of you and He says, “I choose you. I choose you to be my child. I choose you to pour my love upon. I choose you to have a hope and a future.” You are chosen by God. So the next Dme you walk into the lunchroom and start to feel that empDness (show empty change bag) because nobody waves at you from across the room or nobody invites you to sit with them, you need to stop, speak to that empDness and say, “No, I am not rejected, I am chosen by God” (pull out silk that says “CHOSEN”). Or when your friend starts talking about all the fun they had with their father over the weekend, and you start to feel that empDness (point to empty change bag) again because your father never comes to see you. You need to stop, speak to that empDness and say, “No, I am not rejected, I will not feel empty because I am chosen by God” (Pull out “CHOSEN”).
You never have to feel the empDness of rejecDon again because God looks at every single one of you and says, “I choose you”. 1. God will build you up again
2. God can take you past your limitaDons
3. God can use you to save someone’s life
Bible Lesson
Queen Esther
Props
Throne, peasant dress, wedding gown, king costume and crown, queen crown, God costume
Actors
Mordecai:
Esther:
King:
2 soldiers:
God:
Royal processional music
Music
PreparaDon
The kings chair should be covered with a sheet and put in the middle of the stage a0er Esther is taken away
PresentaDon: I have heard that one of the hardest things for people to deal with in life is to not have a mom or dad. There was a girl like this in the Bible and her name was Esther. Esther went through so much in her life. When she was liAle (Esther enters wearing peasant dress and sits on the stage looking sad) her parents both died and Esther became an orphan. It must have been so hard for her to grow up without a mother and a father. I can imagine that Esther must have felt so rejected and lonely (point to Esther), wishing she had her parents to take care of her. But Esther did have a loving uncle named Mordecai who raised her as best as he could. (Mordecai enters)
Mordecai: Esther, I must tell you something. The king has ordered a special decree. All the young,
unmarried women will be taken away from their homes and brought to his castle to live.
Esther: All of them? How many are there?
Mordecai: Hundreds, even thousands.
Esther: What will they do with them?
Mordecai: Only one will be chosen as Queen.
Esther: One?
Just as Mordecai had said, Esther was taken away one night.
(Enter two soldiers with Eki torches and take Esther)
The soldiers came and took Esther away from Mordecai; away from the only family she had. Esther had no say in the maAer.
Bible Lesson - Page 1
Bible Lesson
Queen Esther
Mordecai: Esther! Esther!
Esther: No! Mordecai! No! I don’t want to go!
But it wasn’t just Esther that they took. The soldiers brought hundreds of women from all over the land and brought them to the King’s castle. All these women must have been so afraid, because only one would be chosen as Queen. (Set up throne on the stage, King enters and sits in it)
One by one, these women came and stood before the King. But when Esther stood before the King, he loved her more than all the other women. Esther found favor and kindness with the King. Out of all the women, the king chose Esther to be his Queen. (Play royal music. Esther enters in wedding gown. King stands to meet her. Esther bows down. King puts a crown on her head and they stand together. Fade royal music.)
Even though Esther grew up as an orphan with no mother and no father, she was chosen by the King. Just like Esther was chosen by this King, God has chosen you. (Enter God)
God looks at the boy who feels rejected and hurt because some kid calls him fat, or because he can’t read, and says this:
God: I have chosen you.
And God looks at the girl crying in her room feeling so lonely and hurt because her parents aren’t there to take care of her, and says this:
God: I have chosen you. You are mine. I know a lot of you have gone through so much in your life. Some of you don’t have real parents, some of you have been abused and you don’t feel loved. You need to know that it doesn’t maQer what you have gone through, because God has chosen you. Bible Lesson - Page 2
Object Lesson 1
God will build you up again
Props
Two pieces of wood, paper bag with notebook and pencil, bed, blanket
Actors
Pastor Bill as a boy:
Mom:
Man:
2 bullies: PresentaDon: There was once a liAle boy who went through so much pain and heartache. He was always bullied because of the way he looked -­‐ his teeth poked out, his jaw was disfigured, and his pants had holes in because his family was so poor. Nobody chose him to be their friend. (Bill enters holding paper bag, bullies enter from other side)
Bully 1: Look, it's horse boy! (Pushes him) What you get from the store huh?
Bully 2: (Snatches his bag & empEes it out) What? This is your book bag?! You’re so poor you can't even afford a book bag?! That's patheDc.
Bully 1: Poor and ugly. No wonder nobody wants to be your friend, they get sick from just looking at you!
Bully 2: Here, this should help (puts the bag over his head and pushes him to the ground. Bullies walk away, laughing). (Bill exits)
(Set up bed on stage as teacher talks) Teacher: It felt like his whole life was falling apart (hold up wood and drop it) and at home, it was no easier. He never felt loved by his parents. He barely knew his father who became sick and died when he was sDll young. His mother was an alcoholic. SomeDmes she didn't come home at night. When she did, she brought home different men all the Dme. He would fall asleep to the sounds of these men screaming and fighDng with his mother. (Bill enters and lies on the bed. Mom and man walk in from the other side) Mom: (Begging) I just need $50 I’ll get it back by next week!
Man: (Yelling) Oh yeh? What about the $50 I gave you last week? Where did that money go?
Mom: Please…I’ll get that back too…things are just difficult right now…
Man: Difficult? Difficult?! You’re the only one being difficult. You’re hopeless. (Pushes mom to the ground) I’m done with you. Nobody will ever want you. You’re patheDc, you’re ugly, and you’re a pain in the neck. oBJECT LESSON 1 - Page 1
Object Lesson 1
God will build you up again
(Man exits. Mom and Bill exit)
Teacher: As if this wasn't enough for one liAle boy to go through, one day, his mother walked him to a street corner, sat him down, and walked away. (Bill walks on with his mother)
Mom: I can't do this anymore, you wait here. (Bill sits on the steps with his head in his hands, mom exits)
Teacher: That day, his whole world fell apart. For three days he sat there hungry and alone. She never came back. This liAle boy had gone through so much. He was not chosen to be anybody's friend. He was not chosen by his father. He was not even chosen by his own mother. But that wasn't the end of his story.
A0er three days a ChrisDan man stopped, picked him up, and sent him to a ChrisDan camp where he heard for the first Dme that God had chosen him. He gave his life to God and from that day on, God started to build him up again. He was given a place to live at the church and the people there believed in him more than he could understand. They sent him to Bible school and gave him a job driving a bus to pick up kids for Bible school. He was then given a job in Iowa where he became so famous for his Sunday School that people from all over the country were choosing him to come and teach them. God was building him up again and 30 years ago, he moved again to start Sunday School in Bushwick. That liAle boy I'm telling you about was Pastor Bill Wilson. When his whole life fell apart, God built him up again because God chose Him.
Pastor Bill went through so much as a boy, and many of you have gone through some of the same things. You're silng here and you feel just like he felt as he sat on that corner as a boy (put arm around boy) -­‐ heartbroken, lonely, hopeless; like your whole world is falling apart. God wants you to know that He has chosen you. No maQer what you've gone through, God will build you up again, just like he did with Pastor Bill. oBJECT LESSON 1 - Page 2
Object Lesson 2
God can take you past your limitations
Props
Actors
PreparaDon
Box or crate to make a hurdle
One male or female Set up the hurdle on the stage
PresentaDon: There are some people who have gone through some very terrible things in their life (actor enters stage – looking sad). They've been abused in different ways. They’ve been verbally abused by being put down all the Dme, cursed out, and told that they are stupid and worthless. Or abused because they’ve been neglected and haven’t been properly cared for and loved by their parents. Even abused sexually by someone close to them. Because of that, they don’t feel valued. They don’t feel loved, and they don’t trust people anymore. Those things that they have gone through never leave their mind and they are constantly hurDng them (actor reaches hurdle amd can’t get past). They try to get past the hurt and the trauma of it, they try to believe that their life can be worth something and that they are good for something, but they just can't (actor falls to their knees right behind hurdle – holding on to it but not going past). They are limited by all those things that they’ve gone through and they just can't get past their limitaDons. Maybe some of you have gone through some horrible things just like that -­‐ events that have le0 you broken and scarred on the inside. As hard as you try in your own strength, you just can’t get past them. You just can’t forgive or let go of the pain. You can’t forget about it or find healing for your hurt. You are stuck right there, limited from going any farther with your life. You can't take yourself past your limitaDons, you need God for that. God can take you past your limitaDons. He can take you past the hurt and brokenness and take you to a place of healing, of peace and joy. God can take you past your limitaDons when you ask Him to help you forgive those people that have hurt you and when you ask Him to heal your broken heart (actor behind hurdle stands to pray – then moves past the hurdle). God loves you. He cares about you and He won’t ever reject you. No maQer what you’ve gone through, God has chosen you and He can take you past your limitaDons.
Object Lesson 3
God can use you to save someone’s life
Props
Pictures of house on fire, person trapped in a fire, firefighter rescuing someone, someone looking depressed with head down
Music
Fire truck siren
PresentaDon: (Start fire engine sound effect) One of the scariest things that a person can go through is being trapped in a fire (show picture of house on fire). When you are caught in a fire there is smoke and flames everywhere. You search for a way out but you start to panic as you struggle to breathe (show picture of person trapped). It doesn’t take long for you to realize that without someone like a firefighter to save you, you will probably die (show picture of fire fighter rescuing a person. Fade sirens).
(Show picture of depressed person) All around you there are people who feel trapped just like this (point to the picture) with no hope of escaping. Their life seems like one big fire and they are slowly dying on the inside. These people need someone to come and save them from this life of hopelessness. Even though you might think that there is nothing you can do to help, God can use you to save someone’s life. Perhaps you have a friend at school who feels lonely because their parents are gelng a divorce. If you’ve been through a divorce then you can talk to your friend and tell them how God helped you to get through it. Or maybe there is someone in your family who keeps having thoughts of suicide. God can use you to pray and encourage them by telling them how much He loves them. By doing simple things like this God can use you to save someone‘s life. No maAer what you’ve gone through God can use you. He does this by using the bad things that He helped you through to show others how He can change their life. (Point to picture) So the next Dme you see people around you struggling, remember God can use you to save someone’s life. God has chosen you no maQer what you’ve gone through. Life Lesson
Eddie the heart shocker
Music
Emergency alarm, heart monitor (beep)
Frame 1: Every day in the emergency room of Brooklyn Hospital, Dr. Meyers would call all the medical instruments into his office and tell them, “I have chosen you because you are very important to me. Every one of you has the ability to help save people’s lives.” Frame 2: Sally Stethoscope was always talking about how well she did and how the doctor chose her all the Dme. One day she looked up to Eddie the heart shocker and said, “Hey Eddie, when was the last Dme you helped save somebody’s life?” Frame 3: Eddie got so mad that he jumped off his shelf to leave. “Don’t talk to me about saving people’s lives! You have no idea what I have gone through.” Eddie was upset because two years ago when the doctor chose him to save someone’s life, his baAery stopped working and the paDent died. This filled Eddie with a lot of pain and discouragement. Eddie didn’t think that the doctor would ever choose him again. Preaching Point: God has chosen you; no maQer what you’ve gone through
Just like Eddie, there are a lot of you silng here today who think that God would never choose you because of some of the things that you have gone through. God is not like that. No maQer what you’ve gone through, God has chosen you. It doesn’t maQer if you aren’t the smartest or best-­‐looking person at your school -­‐ God has chosen you. It doesn’t maQer if you have a relaDve on drugs or a parent in jail -­‐ God has chosen you. God doesn’t look at you the way the world does. He doesn’t care who you are, where you live, or what you look like. No maQer what you’ve gone, through God has chosen you, just like the doctor chose Eddie.
Frame 4: A0er Eddie le0, the doctor came in to check and make sure all of the instruments were ready and in place. When he looked on the top shelf he realized that Eddie was gone. “Where’s Eddie?” he asked the other instruments. But no one knew. Frame 5: The doctor spent a few minutes looking all around the emergency room unDl he finally found Eddie hiding underneath one of the tables. “Eddie, what are you doing under there?” he asked. “I was hiding because I don’t want to hurt anybody like I did the last Dme you chose me.” Frame 6: The doctor picked Eddie up and put him back on the shelf. “Eddie don’t you ever do that again!” he said sternly, “You need to be here and you need to be ready for an emergency at all Dmes. No maQer what you‘ve gone through in the past, I‘ve sDll chosen you to save lives. Preaching Point: God can use you to save someon’s life
Just like the doctor can use Eddie to save someone’s life, God can use you to save someone’s life. There are people around you who look fine on the outside but inside they feel like they are dying. They are not dying physically, but the problems and issues that they face everyday make them feel hopeless. Life Lesson - Page 1
Life Lesson
Eddie the heart shocker
God can use you to help your mother around the house when she feels stressed. God can use you to pray for a friend who is ashamed because their family is living in a shelter. When you allow God to use you he is able to show His love to the people around you. It’s His love that can save them from everything that they are going through. God can use you to save someone’s life. Allow God to use you just like Eddie allowed the doctor to use Him. Frame 7: A few hours later all of the instruments were silng on their shelves talking when they heard an alarm going off (play emergency siren). Everyone wondered what was going on. Suddenly the doctor rushed in with a six-­‐year-­‐old girl on a stretcher. He ordered everyone to take their places. Frame 8: The doctor ran to Eddie’s shelf. “Eddie, I need you to get her heart beaDng again!“ The doctor grabbed Eddie off the shelf and took him over to where the liAle girl was laying. Frame 9: Eddie was feeling very nervous while the doctor was hooking him up to the liAle girl. Once everything was connected the doctor yelled out, “One, two, three, clear!” With that, Eddie shocked the girl’s heart, but nothing happened. The girl sDll had no heartbeat and she wasn’t breathing. The doctor tried it again. “One, two, three, clear!” Eddie shocked the girl’s heart a second Dme but sDll nothing happened. Frame 10: Eddie started to get nervous. ‘I can’t do this again. I don’t want this liUle girl to die,’ he thought to himself. The doctor yelled one more Dme, “Clear!” Eddie shocked the girl’s heart a third Dme and waited to see what would happen. Beep! Beep! Beep! (play heart monitor sounds) The liAle lines on the monitor started moving and the girl’s heart started beaDng again! It worked! Eddie saved the liAle girls life. Point of decision
Just like the doctor chose Eddie, God has chosen you. No maQer what you’ve gone through God has chosen you. How many of you are Dred of feeling rejected and you want God to build you up and use you to save someone’s life? (Allow kids to raise their hands) If that is you then I want you to bow your head, close your eyes, and pray this prayer with me. Closing Prayer
Dear God, thank you for choosing me. I’ve never felt loved or accepted as much as I do by you. I know that you’ve chosen me and now I want to choose you. I’m ready for you to build me up, to take me past my limitaDons and to use me to save someone’s life. Thank you God. I love you. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. Life Lesson - Page 2