Manna in the Desert

Exodus 16

August 30, 2015

The children will understand:

  • The story of God providing manna from heaven.
  • That the Israelites didn’t trust God and they became grumblers.
  • That we must choose to trust God and not grumble.

ASK FIRST: BIG Question???? How do I trust God and not grumble when life is hard?????

END WITH: Sticky Proverb- Jesus understands how hard things are and can help us be content…

CONTENTMENT IS CONTAGIOUS

Hangman Words- “contentment”, “grumble” “mumble”

Know Your Bible

Supplies:

real fresh white bread

sandwich bags

trash bag

Before the lesson begins, the leader will place a sandwich bag that contains half a piece of real fresh breadunder each child’s chair. When instructed, the children will pull the crust off the bread and wad the bread into a ball. Put the crust in a bag to use later for whatever (feed the birds, croutons). After the bread is in a tiny ball, the children will flatten it as much as they can. These “homemade wafers” represent the manna that God provided to the Israelites in today’s Bible account from Exodus 16.

In the Bible account today, you’re going to learn how God fed His children, the Israelites, while they were wandering in the desert. Every morning, this unique white stuff was found on the ground around the Israelites’ campsites. The Israelites saw it and said, “What is it?” The word “manna” sounds similar to the Israelites’ phrase “What is it?” So the bread that miraculously appeared on the ground each morning was called manna.

Another really cool fact about this miraculous food, manna, is that there is no substance today that completely matches the food described in the Bible. God supernaturally provided a one-of-a-kind meal to the children of God every morning! The manna was white like coriander seed and tasted like wafers made with honey. God decided when the manna would appear, when it would spoil, and how long He would preserve it. Hold your piece of manna in your hands while the Bible account starts. You’re going to use this bread to participate in the story.

Game

Supplies:

cotton balls

petroleum jelly – Vaseline

craft sticks

plates

cups

facial tissues

Use small drink cups. Put petroleum jelly on everyone’s nose. Throw the manna in the air. Kids pick up manna with their hands. Once the cotton ball is stuck to their nose, they must deposit it in their cup WITHOUT USING THEIR HANDS. You’re picking up manna! Remember to not pick up more manna than you can hold in your cup. Just like the Israelites!

Bible Account

Supplies:

manna wafers from opening activity

biblicalcostume

large baskets

artificial birds or stuffed ones

“Grumbles to Mumble” sign

Before the Bible account is told, the leader will place the artificial birds (or stuffed ones) under some of the children’s chairs. Tell the children not to touch the birds until instructed. You will also need to make a “Grumbles to Mumble” sign. The leader will divide the children into different groups. Each group will be assigned a “grumble to mumble.” For example, the leader can assign “I’m hungry!” to the second graders or to the front row. More examples of “grumbles to mumble” are listed here.

  • I’m tired.
  • I’m hungry.
  • My feet hurt.
  • I wanna go back to Egypt.
  • I blame Moses.
  • God, where are you?
  • I’d rather die.

The children must remember their grumbles, and speak them all together when the “Grumbles to Mumble” sign appears. This will sound like a roar of chaotic complaining. Moses will be in costume at the front of the lesson area talking to the children.

Moses: Hello. My name is Moses. I’ve been assigned by God to lead you,the Israelites, out of the Egyptians’ hands. I know we’ve been wandering in the desert and that you’re all really hungry.

Hold up the “Grumbles to Mumble” sign. The children will mumble their grumbles.

Moses: Please, stop your grumbling. It would not have been better to have diedin Egypt! Egypt is a land of sin! Stop saying such things against the Lord.

Hold up the “Grumbles to Mumble” sign. The children will mumble their grumbles again.

Moses: The Lord has heard your grumbles and has spoken to me. He told me that He will rain down bread from heaven for you all. You need to go out each day and gather enough for that day only! On the sixth day, you should gather enough for that day and the seventh day, since we’re supposed to rest on the seventh day. God is testing you to see if you will follow His instructions!

Hold up the “Grumbles to Mumble” sign. The children will mumble their grumbles one more time.

Moses: The Lord also says that He is going to provide you with meat to eat in the evenings. When you see the bread in the mornings and the meat in the evenings, you’ll know that it was the Lord who brought you out of Egypt!

Moses will instruct the children with the artificial birds under their chairs to toss them on the floor around Moses.

Moses: Look! The Lord has provided us with quail to eat! Even though you grumble against Him, God is faithful to meet our needs!

Moses will pick up the birds in a basket.

Moses:Rest up now, and we will see the glory of God in the morning.

Moses will instruct the children to toss their “manna” at his feet.

Moses:What is it, you ask? It’s manna from heaven! These thin flakes appeared on the desert floor after the morning dew was gone. Gather enough for only today!

Moses will pass out a few baskets to some of the children, and instruct them

to pickup the bread. He approaches one of the children holding a basket.

Moses:I see you didn’t follow the Lord’s instructions, and you picked up too much bread. He has covered your extra bread with maggots, because you didn’t follow His instructions. God also saw that some of you tried to gather this bread from heaven on the Sabbath, God’s day of rest. You noticed, however, that there was no manna on the ground that day. The Lord is our Provider, and He will continue to provide manna to us as long as we journey in the desert.

Give 3-4 Mand M’s when a right answer is given.

  • Who led the Israelites out of Egypt and into the desert?

(Moses)

  • What were the Israelites constantly doing in the desert?

(grumbling)

  • Why were they grumbling?

(They were hungry and tired of being in the desert.)

  • What foods did the Lord supply the Israelites?

(manna and quail)

  • What time of day did the manna come?

(in the morning)

  • What specific rules did God give to the Israelites about gathering manna?

(They were supposed to gather enough manna for only that day, except on the sixth day when they should gather enough for two days.)

  • The Israelites did not obey God’s rules regarding the gathering of the manna. What happened to the extra manna that was gathered?

(It was covered with maggots.)

Message – Part 1

Supplies:

PowerPoint slide

(show slide #2)Trust in God.

You don’t know what’s going to happen in your life tomorrow. You don’t know what will happen in your life next week … or next year. In the Bible account, the Israelites were hungry and didn’t know where their food was going to come from. They had just left Egypt and didn’t know where they were going to settle down. The Israelites had a lot of unknowns in their lives. They had lots of questions and they didn’t see the answers. When you have a lot of unknowns in your life, you can trust God! Seek Him and trust Him to meet your needs!

LIFE GROUPS

Activity

Supplies:

In brown paper bag, pull out one situation at a time. Read….Then, the leader will further explain the situation in more detail and stress that the key to facing that particular situation is to respond with “I will trust God!” For example, if a child guesses that someone is really sick, the leader will discuss how we don’t always know what will happen next when someone we love is told they have cancer, but we will respond with, “We will trust God.” We will refuse to grumble, and we will trust!

  • Someone you love finds out he is really sick. (Response: I WILL TRUST GOD!)
  • Your family is moving to a new town. (Response: I WILL TRUST GOD!)
  • Your parents want to get a divorce. (Response: I WILL TRUST GOD!)
  • A friend does not include you in their playtime anymore and stops talking to you completely. (Response: I WILL TRUST GOD!)
  • You’re on a family trip and you get on the wrong highway. (Response: I WILL TRUST GOD!)
  • Your favorite cousin is shipping out to fight in a war. (Response: I WILL TRUST GOD!)

In any of the tough situations you just acted out, it would be easy to become a grumbler. The Israelites didn’t trust God, and they became grumblers. We don’t want to become grumblers, because our behavior is contagious. If we’re positive and trust God in difficult situations, the people around us are more likely to be positive and trust God. But, if we grumble during times of trouble the people around us will likely grumble, also.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Puppets

Supplies:

2 puppets

1 actor

#1: (filled with excitement)Oh man! That movie was great!

#2: (negatively)Ya think so?

#1: Oh yes! I loved everything about it! Especially the part where the lion spoke to the kids.

#2: I thought that looked a bit fake. His mouth didn’t always line up with the words. And his fur got in the way.

#1: (hesitant to agree)Well, maybe a little. But the idea of a lion leading the good guys … that wassuper!

#2: Just think if it had been a human knight. Now that would have been super! That I could believe! Not some fake lion leading all those people.

#1: Yeah, I guess. A human leader may have been more believable. But hey, we had great seats!

#2: Speak for yourself! I won’t be able to sleep a wink tonight. My neck is already killing me, because we were too close to the front.

#1:(awkwardly moving his neck around) I guess my neck hurts a little bit too, now that you mention it. We would have been way better off sitting in the middle of the theater, wouldn’t we? But you gotta love the popcorn! That’s always a highlight at the movies!

#2: The workers put way too much salt on mine! My throat is so dry right now I can barely talk.

#1: (clearing his throat several times) Now that you bring that up, my throat feels a little scratchy from all that salt. But I still loved the ending! The good guys always win!

#2: Yeah, but that’s so boring and predictable. I knew how the movie would end from the very beginning.

#1: (mumbling) I guess it was a bit too predictable…

Actor: (approaches the puppets all excited) Hey guys! I was wondering if you wanted to go to the movies with me. I heard it was fabulous!

#2: (with a bad attitude)No thanks. We just saw it and I thought it was pretty lame.

Actor: Are you kidding me? Every person that I’ve talked to absolutely loved the movie! (addressing #1 puppet)What about you? Do you want to come with me? I know that you were so excited about it when we saw the previews on TV.

#1: (sad) Yeah… but he’s right. I guess I really didn’t enjoy it that much. Don’t waste your money on that movie.

Actor: Really? Okay. If it’s that lame, I guess I won’t go see it. Ya know, I bet that movie really is terrible.

  • Grumbling is contagious! Which puppet was a grumbler?
  • How did the first puppet feel about the movie originally? (loved everything about it)
  • After listening to the grumbler, how did the first puppet feel about the movie? (He ended up thinking it was bad.)
  • How did the attitudes of the two puppets affect the attitude of the actor?
  • Do you think the grumbles from the Israelites were anything like these puppets? How?

Object Lesson

Supplies:

lotion

blackglitter

goldglitter

2 paper plates

wet wipes

Before you begin, sprinkle a thin coat of glitter on a paper plate. Prepare another plate with a different color of glitter on it.

The way we respond to what happens in our lives is contagious to the people around us. What does contagious mean? It means that it’s catching. If you have a positive reaction and can think of the good instead of the bad, even when you’re going through something challenging, that attitude will be contagious. But grumbling during times of trouble is also contagious! This lotion represents the challenges that come up in our lives, whether that’s at school, at home, or with your friends. The leader will rub some lotion on their hands.

Next, the leader will pat their handsin the red glitter. This glitter represents my attitude and reaction to my difficult situation. If I am focused on God and His goodness during my difficult situation, that attitude will spread to others around me. God is good! All His works are done in kindness. He will work this situation out for good in my life. God will be with me through everything. I am not alone.While speaking these positive statements, the leader will approach several kids and shake some of the glitter from their hands, gently touch their cheeks, or pat them on the back.Look how some of my glitter was left behind on each one I touched or got close to. The glitter represents my attitude, and you got some of my attitude on you. This shows how my positive attitude is contagious, because I trusted in God.

Wipe your hands with a wet wipe, dry them thoroughly, and reapply the lotion. Dip your hands in the black glitter. Now, this glitter represents my grumbling. This situation stinks. Nothing ever goes my way. I’d rather be dead. We should’ve stayed in Egypt. This manna is really getting old. God, don’t you love me anymore? While making these negative statements, the leader will touch several children again. Once again, the glitter was left behind. You see, your bad attitude is contagious, also. When you grumble, it’s like spreading glitter all over people, and they’ve got it on them, too. You grumble and then they join in.

Do you see how a grumbling attitude can easily spread? This must’ve happened to the Israelites when they were wandering in the desert. They stopped focusing on God and what He was miraculously providing. They should’ve been thanking Him every morning when they pulled back the flap on their tent and saw the ground covered one more day with something for them to eat! The Israelites didn’t trust in the Lord, and they started to grumble. We grumble when things aren’t the way we thought they would be if we followed God.Sometimes we think that everything will be perfect and there won’t be any challenges if we believe in God. The Bible tells us that we’ll have troubles, too, but we have God to help us overcome them. That’s a HUGE difference! We have no reason to grumble when God is on our side!

Activity

Supplies:

YouTube video

Beforehand, download the YouTube video called “Laughing Tram Man has a Contagious Laugh”, submitted by Funny Videos.

Without any introduction, play the video and observe the children’s reactions.

  • What did you notice by watching the faces of the people?
  • Did any of you start laughing along with the people on the video? Why?
  • Describe how your attitude can be contagious.

In this video everyone was focused on what was good/positive.

The Bible tells us that God is good. He is good all the time. During difficult times, if we keep our focus on God, we will see good.We will see God working in our lives. But, when our focus stays on our problems, we forget how good God is, and we focus on how huge the problem looks to us. The Israelites were so focused on their complaining that they didn’t recognize the miracle of the manna supernaturally appearing on the ground every single morning!

Prayer

Supplies:

Bibles

PowerPoint slide

white board

dry erase markers

bread

In the Bible account, God sent manna to meet the needs of the children of God. This miraculous bread was sent to the Israelites in the Old Testament. The New Testament talks about manna that was sent down from heaven for you and me.

Read John 6:31-35a,“Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Jesus then said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ They said to him, ‘Sir give us this bread always.’ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life.’”