Sabbath School May 20

5/20/2017

Nature Window: Meerkats

Meerkats are small animals that live in Southern Africa. They live in groups of 5 to 30 underground. They love to eat scorpions. But they also like to eat insects. One special thing about meerkats is that when the group is above ground looking for food, at least 1 meerkat is standing tall looking around to make sure everything is safe. You see, there are a lot of animals that like to eat the meerkat. So, when a predator comes lurking the watching meerkat sends the warning, so all the rest can hurry and get to safety.

Meerkat photo #1368968 by Andy Rogers, courtesy of FreeImages.com

That watch guard meerkat reminds me of a Bible verse found in Ezekiel 3:17, when God was telling Ezekiel that he would be a prophet and his job was to warn the people of their sins. God said, "I have made you a watchman for Israel. Any time you hear a word from my mouth, warn them for me" (ICB). Just like the watch guard meerkat has a job to warn the other meerkats of danger, so God sends his prophets to warn us if we are in sin. During the time of King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon, God made Daniel a prophet. Our Bible story today is about a time when God sent prophet Daniel to King Nebuchadnezzar to warn him of his sins.

Watch this interesting video of meerkats in action.

Memory Mastery: The Godhead

This quarter we are learning more about the Godhead. During our time, we will unpack a little of the mystery of God to help the children understand some important principles. At the end of our questions and answers, you will find a poem about the Godhead that I want the children to memorize.

Who is God?

God is our maker. [Can you pound your fist like you are building something?] He put our bodies together before we were born.
God is our provider. [Can you hold your hands out to give?] He gives us everything we need to live (air to breathe, food to eat, water to drink, clothes to keep us warm, roof to keep us dry, and family to love).
God is our Savior from sin. [Can you cross your arms like you are in jail, then open them to be free?] He died for our sins and gives us power to obey, so we can live forever with Him.

Did God really make everything? What was there before Him?
Reference: Acts 17:24-28

God is the Creator of heaven and earth and every living being.
He has always been there. He was there before anything existed. He was there before your mommy and daddy, before your grandma and grandpa, before Abraham and Noah, before Adam and Eve, before the animals, before the earth was created, before the angels lived, before the whole universe was here – God has always been there, and He will always be here.
And God wants each of us to get to know Him and be His friend, so He inspired prophets to write the Bible – His words to us.

Do you like to be alone all by yourself? Neither does God.
In fact, did you know God has his own family?
References: 1 John 5:7; Mark 1:9-11

We call His family the Godhead.
There are 3 persons in His family – The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Can we see God?
References: 1 John 4:12; John 6:46; Hebrews 4:14; John 15:26; John 14:7-9

No, we can’t see God, but we know He is there. There are a lot of things we cannot see, but we know they are there. Can you think of any examples? (air, microscopic organisms, certain wavelengths of light, magnetic force, etc.)
But, people long ago did see Jesus when he walked and lived on earth. Now, Jesus is in heaven serving as our great High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary. Even though He is way up there, we can still see Jesus here. When we prayerfully read the Bible, the Holy Spirit will show Him to us. And Jesus will show us the Father.

Here is a poem I wrote to help us remember each person of the Godhead. Let's say it and do our hand motions.
(This poem is the actual memory mastery project we will memorize as a class.)

Who is God? [arms and shoulders raised up like I don't know.]
Heavenly Father, to whom I pray. [point up, then hands folded in prayer]
Jesus Christ who died for me. [open arms wide like cross, then point to self]
Holy Spirit who lives in my heart. [swirl on finger around, then point to heart]
All 3 are one God of love. [show 3 fingers, show 1, point up, then hug self]

- by Inga Goodwin

Mission Trip: A Secondary School for Libreville, Gabon

This quarter we are dedicating all our coins to the 13th Sabbath mission project - building a Seventh-day Adventist secondary school in Libreville, Gabon. Gabon is located on the coat in the West-Central Africa Division.

Gabon earns money in the world mainly by selling oil that the people find underneath the ocean water. This oil is refined to gasoline, the stuff your parents put in the car when they stop at the gas station. We need gas to run our cars.
Remember how Gabon is covered in forests? Another important resource that Gabon harvests and sells is wood.
The people of Gabon also dig in the ground for minerals. One mineral that is most found in Gabon is Manganese. Manganese is used to make glass and to make cans more stiff and strong.
Even though Gabon has various resources to bring in money for the country, most of the people there are still poor. Unfortunately, as with other countries the rich people in Gabon continue to get richer, and the poor people are not helped.
In our Bible story, God punished King Nebuchadnezzar because he did not help the poor people and because he did not want to acknowledge God as the King of the Universe. Let's remember to pray for world leaders that they will have a heart to help the poor.

Bible Story: God Humbles a Proud King

Reference: Daniel 4

Can you act our your Bible story with the following motions?

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had another terrible dream. Can you put your hands to your cheek and pretend to sleep?
He saw a big tree that all the animals like to live in and eat from. Can you wave your hands above your head like tree branches?
An angel said to cut the tree down but leave the stump. Can you slice horizontally with your hands?
Prophet Daniel told the king that God was giving him a message. Can you shake your finger at someone?
God said, King Nebuchadnezzar was like the big tree. Can you wave your hands above your head like tree branches?
God helped King Nebuchadnezzar have a great, big kingdom called Babylon. Can you open your arms wide?
But, King Nebuchadnezzar didn't want to help the poor, and he didn't want to say that God gave him his kingdom. Can you make a sad face, shake your head no, and stroke your cheeks?
Now King Nebuchadnezzar would live like an animal and eat grass. Can you get down on your knees and pretend to pick grass to eat?
After 7 years of living like an animal, King Nebuchadnezzar decided to say that God was the true King over everyone. King Nebuchadnezzar wanted to help the poor, now. Can you raise your hands in praise to God?
God gave King Nebuchadnezzar his kingdom again. He gave him more money than he had before. Can you place a crown on your head?

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