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25. God’s Rescuers

The Course

Key Verse: Acts 4:12 – Who can rescue me? Judges 2:17-19; Judges 8-11; Acts 4:12; Hebrews 5:9

The Goals

As a result of this lesson the children will: 1. Know that God raises up rescuers. 2. Feel the need to live a godly life to break the sin cycle. 3. Repent and ask God to forgive their sin.

The Equipment Room

For the following lesson you will need: 1. A coach or helper to play the part of the judge [This person will need to dress like a soldier as well

as a judge, so if there is someone in Olympians or church who is or has been in the military, or a young person in ROTC, and can wear their uniform to Olympians, that would work best.]

2. A judge’s robe and a gavel 3. A soldier’s uniform of some type 4. Visual #1-3 [As PowerPoint] 5. Large Tug of War Rope 6. Advance preparation needed for 1 Extra Action and 9 Challengers Only adaptations.

The Warm-up

Game: Rescue A Friend – Position sheets of 8 ½” x 11” [or bigger] construction paper on the floor all around the room. Position them so children have to take pretty big steps to move from one sheet to another. Have them stand in a line and hold hands. The papers are the safety area. The rest of the floor is “sin.” Have the children walk around the room, holding hands with the person in front of and behind them. Tell them they need to help keep their friends from falling into sin! After three minutes of play, stop the game and ask, “How easy or difficult was it to stay on the paper? How did your friends help you to not fall into sin? When you started to fall, did they rescue you or leave you in trouble?” Scripture Memory Review Game: Create word pieces taped on a chalkboard or tape magnets on the back of the words for a metal board. Scramble the words and allow teams to put them in order.

Opening Ceremonies

Songs: We are Saved; Make Me; We will Praise You [See Olympian CD tracks 4-6.] I’ll Love; I Will Serve Thee Bible Lesson Review: You will need three paper bags. Place various point values in one bag, questions each written on a separate piece of paper in the second bag, and a number for each child in the group [one

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of each number for each team] in the third bag. Divide the group into teams numbering each Olympian on each team consecutively. [Have the smaller children hold their number on their fingers to remember.] Alternate between teams and pick a number out of the third bag to decide which child will answer the question. Have the team member pick a question to answer from the bag. After they answer the question, they pick from the point bag to see how many points that question was worth. If they answer incorrectly, the question goes to the other team. Whoever answered correctly gets to pick the point value.

The Coach’s Corner

(3)(9) God appointed leaders called “judges” to rescue them in troubled times. (1) What comes into your mind when you think of a judge today? [Have a coach come into the room wearing a black robe and carrying a gavel. The coach should stand in front of the room while the children answer this question. Try to get six or seven answers, such as: older, sits at a high table, sends people to jail, makes people pay fines, wears a robe, everybody stands when the judge comes in the courtroom, bangs his gavel on the table and says “Order in the court!”] The judges of those days did not wear the same type of robes that the judges do today. [The “judge” should now remove robe, to reveal soldier’s uniform underneath.] Most of them were warriors or soldiers, or at least led a group of soldiers. The purpose of the judges was to deliver, defend, and lead the Israelites out of captivity. They also kept the other nations from taking over Israel. Some of the judges helped the Israelites live righteously before the Lord. But other judges were very sinful themselves. Some even led the children of Israel into worshiping other gods. [Have someone read Judges 2:17-19. The judge/soldier can exit at this time.] God’s children developed a bad habit. Bad habits cause all kinds of problems, don’t they? [Display Visual #1.] We looked at this visual last time showing the sin cycle. God’s children developed a bad habit of disobedience, and that got them into a lot of trouble. God told them not to worship, serve, or offer sacrifices to false, man-made gods. When the Israelites followed false gods and sinned, God had to discipline them by sending a king or a nation to capture them and make them slaves. When the Israelites understood they had sinned, they repented of their evil ways and cried out to God for help! When God saw that they were sorry and wanted to worship Him, He sent a rescuer to help them get out of trouble. Remember, these rescuers – leaders were called “judges;” ordinary people God used to rescue His people. In time, however, these judges stopped following God, or they died. Once the judge stopped serving God or died, God’s children forgot God and began to sin again. This failure caused God to bring another nation in to punish the people, and the cycle would continue. This they did over and over and over again!!! The book of Judges records at least twelve different judges that God sent to deliver Israel because of their sin. (4) (8) So let’s talk about some of these judges. One of the judges God used was Gideon. [Display Visual #2.] Let’s say his name together: Gideon. God called Gideon to fight the Midianites and free the nation of Israel from the Midianites’ rule. So Gideon put together an army of 32,000 men. We are going to play “Tug-of-War Gideon Style.” [Show rope and have all of the coaches hold on to one end of the rope, and all of the children on the other end of the rope. Instruct the coaches in advance that they are to let go of the rope and start pushing each other when the tug-of-war starts.] Okay who do you think is going to win? [Look over the match-up, then say the following.] “I think we have too many Olympians.” [Choose several of the children to sit down, leaving the rest holding onto the rope.] Now who do you think will win? [Choose several more children, if necessary, to sit down, leaving only three children holding onto the rope.]

ADAPTATION > 3

Large Group

ADAPTATION > 9

Challengers Only

ADAPTATION > 1

Extra Action

ADAPTATION > 8

Champions Only

ADAPTATION > 4

Mostly Churched Children

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Now who do you think will win? This is exactly what Gideon was facing. He had an army of 32,000 men going up against an army that was too huge to number! It looked very bad for Gideon. But then God told him, “You’ve got too many soldiers!” So he kept letting men leave, and taking men out, until he was down to only 300 men. And with those 300 soldiers, God defeated the enemy! [Have them play out the tug-of-war as follows: when you say “go,” the children should pull on the rope, but the adults should immediately drop the rope and begin pushing and pulling on each other and falling to the ground.] Congratulations! The children won! [Have them return to their seats] Now here we had the coaches drop the rope. In Gideon’s battle, God confused the enemy so that they fought with each other. It was God who won the battle. He did this so they would realize that it was God who gave them the victory, not the strength of their army. The rescue was not based on the talent of the judge, but on the power of God and on Israel’s obedience to God. When the Midianites were beaten and Israel was free, the Israelites asked Gideon to be their king. What do you think he said? What would you say if someone asked you to be king? Gideon’s answer is found in Judges 8:23. [Read Judges 8:23.] Gideon said no, because he knew the Lord was King over Israel. Wow! That was a great answer! If only he could have stopped the “cycle” [Display and refer to Visual #1.] forever. Yet, right after this victory [Judges 8:27], Gideon made a gold ephod; which is a vest that the high priest would wear. He set this ephod up in the town square. We’re not sure why he did this, but do you know what the people did? They turned it into an idol! They forgot that it was God who gave them victory over the Midianites, and they began to worship this golden ephod. So even though Gideon said God was in charge, he did not help the people stay obedient to Him. It is confusing when people say one thing and then do another, don’t you agree? Another judge God used was Abimelech. Let’s say the name Abimelech together: Abimelech. Unfortunately, Abimelech was a very wicked judge. Remember I said that some of the judges were good and some were bad? Well, Abimelech was one of the bad guys. He defended the children of Israel against their enemies, but he also killed his own brothers just so he could become a king and judge of the people. These judges were not perfect. They each had their faults; even some of the good guys! Why would God let bad judges lead the Israelites? Because God can use anyone to accomplish His perfect plan. God sometimes uses leaders who make bad choices, but He is always in control. God uses all things for our good. Despite their faults and weaknesses, the rescuers in the book of Judges are a pattern for another rescuer who would come to lead and rule. God eventually sent a perfect Judge for us. [Hebrews 5:9] His name is Jesus! Jesus never sinned: He never talked back to his parents, and He obeyed and worshiped God His whole life! Because we have sinned, we need a judge and deliverer who is perfect, who will always be with us, and who will never fail. Just like the Israelites, when we refuse to follow God, we decide to give ourselves over to the slavery of sin. Our enemy wants us to quit worshiping God and wants us to remain defeated by the cycle of sin. This sin, if not taken care of, will send us into eternal separation from God forever. That is why we needed a perfect rescuer! We need a judge or deliverer who is perfect. If we could save ourselves, we wouldn’t need a rescuer, would we? But we can’t, because we are prisoners. We need a rescuer who has more power than our enemy, Satan. Jesus is the perfect Judge/Rescuer. [Display Visual #3.] Since Jesus is God, He has more power than Satan. Just as the Israelites had to call on God for deliverance, we have to call on God as well. We all need the kind of rescue that only Jesus can accomplish. Jesus died on the cross, was raised up the third day, and lives forever as our Rescuer and Savior.

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Running the Race

Mostly Unchurched Children Mostly Churched Children If you have never accepted Christ as your Savior, all you have to do is admit to God that you are a prisoner of sin and cannot save yourself. God already knows it, but He wants you to understand and admit it. You need to believe that Jesus came to this earth, lived a sinless life, died on the cross for your sin, and rose from the dead. Then you need to confess that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus [Read Acts 4:12]. Lastly, you need to confess your sin and ask Jesus to be your personal Savior [Romans 10:9-10]. If you will do that and really mean it, God will deliver you from the slavery of sin and will give you a new life. If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior and would like to talk to a coach, please come up and stand beside me. [Have coaches ready to counsel any who respond.] Jesus Christ wants to help you break the sin cycle in your life. He wants to be your Rescuer, Judge, and King! Maybe you are like the children of Israel. Maybe you have already asked Jesus to be your Savior, but you are not following Jesus the way that you should. Maybe you are not having your Quiet Time, being faithful in coming to Olympians and church, or are hanging around the wrong friends. Why not confess that to God right now and ask Him to forgive you? [Close in prayer.]

Jesus paid a great price for our sin by dying on the cross for us. Maybe you have already asked Jesus to be your Savior, but you are not following Jesus the way that you should. Maybe you are not having your Quiet Time, being faithful in coming to Olympians and church, or are hanging around the wrong friends. Why not confess that to God right now and ask Him to forgive you? Maybe you are here and know all about Jesus but have never asked Him to be your Savior. I want to encourage you to talk to myself or another coach if you would like to accept Jesus as your Savior. [Close in prayer.]

Personal Training Time

1. According to the lesson, what was the purpose of the judges for Israel? 2. Is there an area in which you have been defeated this last week? 3. What can you to do have victory in that area this week?

The Big O’vent

Escaping Convicts [See Big O’vent Mega CD, page 158.] Just like you had to be free from “jail” Jesus can set us free from our sin. He is the only one who can forgive our sins.

Closing Ceremonies

As we close our study of the Book of Judges, we learned the importance of obeying God, making the right choices, and also trusting in Jesus to forgive our sins. You may see the sin cycle in your own family, but you can stop it by trusting and relying on God.

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Lesson Adaptation Explanations

1 Extra Action: [Two people role-playing the following skit in place of having a leader dress up in a robe. Puppets may also be used.]

Jim: [Dressed in a black robe and a gavel in his hand] Here come de judge! Here

come de judge! Jane: What are you doing? You look silly in that robe, chanting, “Here come de judge!” Jim: I was getting ready for [name of coach] to teach the lesson. Last week he [she]

said we were going to study Judges. I’m really gonna impress him [her]! Jane: With a black robe? Jim: No, I will impress him with my knowledge of judges. I went to the courthouse and

watched a judge in action. He was always pounding his hammer on this tall desk! [Demonstrates with his gavel.]

Jane: Jimmy, that is a gavel, not a hammer. And his desk is called a “bench.” You use

hammers on nails and gavels on benches. Jim: Well, anyway, he was hitting the gavel on the bench and telling people to go to

jail, or giving them fines. Some people cried when he spoke and hit his gavel on the bench.

Jane: Well, Jimmy, you may have wasted your time! Jim: Why do you say that? Jane: Because I read the book of Judges this last week. These judges are nothing like

we see on TV or in the courtroom! Jim: Well, what are they like? Jane: Tell you what, you go take off that silly looking robe before we get to our

Olympian meeting and let Coach show us! Jim: Do I have to take off the robe? I think it makes me look smarter. Jane: Thinner? Yes. Smarter? No! The robe goes, or I’m running in ahead of you. I will

not be seen with you in that thing! Jim: [As the puppets exit] Here come de judge! Here come de judge! Jane: [exasperated] Jimmyyyyyy! Stop that!

[Continue The Coaches Corner at next paragraph] 3 Large Group: [Invite some rescuers such as firemen, EMT, doctors, etc. and interview them about the

dangers of rescue, cost of rescue equipment, how they are trained, etc. You may also want to invite a missionary to explain how he or she is a “spiritual rescuer.”]

Thank you for coming and sharing with us. We are going to look at some rescuers in the Old

Testament called judges. Most of them were warriors or soldiers, or at least led a group of soldiers. The purpose of the judges was to deliver – to lead the Israelites out of captivity; and to defend –

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they also kept the other nations from taking over Israel. Some of the judges helped the Israelites live righteously before the Lord. But other judges were very sinful themselves. Some even led the children of Israel into worshiping other gods. [Continue The Coaches Corner where you read Judges 2:17-19.]

4 Mostly Churched Children: Reproduce Visual #4 and give each Personal Training Coach a copy. Have them lead their group in this project. Have each group look up the verses and determine the name of the judge.

8 Champions Only: Divide the Champions into groups of two to four children. Reproduce Visual #4 and give each group a copy. Assign them to find the name of the judges that go with the passages. Display Visual #5 and uncover the answers.

9 Challengers Only: Before children arrive, set up the following stations in your room, and have children complete each task as they play the game.

Station 1: Unwrapped bandage for each child. Have the leader at this station say, “Jesus healed the

sick. We can help others who are sick.” Have them stick a bandage on each other. Station 2: Place a container and a pile of small toys, building blocks, or other toy building material on

the floor. Have the leader at this station say, “Jesus was helpful to others. We can also be helpful.” Have each child pick up an item to put in the bucket.

Station 3: Have the leader at this station say, “We can be kind and loving to each other, just as Jesus

was.” Have the children think of ways they can be kind to others or have them complete a Christian Service Project [See Olympian Christian Service Manual for ideas]. Write them down on a sheet of paper.

Station 4: Fill small paper cups with animal crackers or fruit snacks, enough for each child. Have the

children sit around the table. Have the leader at this station say, “Jesus provided food for many people. We can feed others.” Give the child nearest you a cup of snacks and tell them to pass it on until it gets to the last person. Keep doing this – handing the first child the cup and having them pass it on – until every child has one, then thank Jesus for the snack and let them eat.

After all the children have completed all of the stations, say the following: “These are all things that

God wants us to do. When we follow Him, we will do these things and other good things, too. But if we are not following God, we will do things God does not like. Then God will work in our lives to help us obey Him again.”

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