Sabbath School October 29

Nature Corner: Albatross Families

Wandering Albatross Photo, #1399972 by Kym Parry, Courtesy of FreeImages.com

​The albatross is a special kind of bird that lives near the ocean.  Mommy and daddy albatross work very hard together to make sure baby chick stays warm and has food.  In fact, mommy and daddy albatross take turns sitting on the egg and covering the chick, while the other one goes in search of food.  They will even travel very very far to find food to bring back to the family.  

The Bible says in 1 Kings 8:61, "Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep Him Commandments."  God wants us to be loyal to Him, like mommy and daddy albatross are loyal to taking care of their family.  Our Bible story is about a woman named Ruth who sacrificed a better lifestyle, so she could take care of her mother-in-law.

Memory Mastery: God's Special Book
We are starting a new memory mastery project today called God's Special Book.  We will learn about God's special book the Bible - who wrote it, what it's about, and how it is organized.  You can listen right here to learn more about it.  Children who can answer key questions about God's special book will receive some real sheep's wool to add to their Bible artifact collection.

Mission Mail: Most Important Day
Dear Patterson Kids,
My name is Hadassah, and I am 12 years old.  On January 8 of this year, I was baptized.  It was the most important day in my life.
Do you know what baptism is?  It's when you tell everyone that you want to dedicate your whole life to Jesus.  You go under the water to remember that He died for your sins, and you come out of the water to live a new life with the power of the Holy Spirit.  I studied the Bible first to make sure I understood baptism well, first.  But even though I was young, I knew I could still make that decision to follow Jesus.  And I did.  
I hope you experience that most important day for yourself some day.
Sincerely,
Hadassah

Bible Story: Faithful Ruth
References: Book of Ruth

During the time of the Judges, Elimelech's family of the tribe of Judah decided to live in Moab for a time because there was food in Moab and not enough in Judah.  Elimelech left his hometown of Bethlehem along with his wife Naomi and two sons Mahlon and Chilion.  

Courtesy of Sweet Publishing and FreeBibleImages.org

​While in Moab, Elimelech died.  Mahlon and Chilion married moabite women, Orpah and Ruth.  Then Mahlon and Chilion died, too.  All the women in the family - Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth - were very sad.  Naomi decided she would return to the Bethlehem.  She told Orpah and Ruth to stay in Moab and start their lives over.  Orpah decided to stay in Moab, but Ruth refused.  Ruth decided to go to Israel with Naomi.  

Courtesy of Sweet Publishing and FreeBibleImages.org

​Back in Bethlehem, Naomi and Ruth were very poor.  Naomi was too old to work, so Ruth went to look for food.  God had a rule in the Bible that people who owned fields were not to harvest the corners or go back and look for crops they missed.  Instead, they were to allow the poor and strangers to gather whatever was leftover.  Ruth decided to glean wheat from the fields of a rich man named Boaz who was a distant relative of Naomi's dead husband.  Everyone around admired how hard Ruth worked to take care of her mother-in-law.  Even Boaz noticed and made sure Ruth found plenty of food to take back home.

Courtesy of Sweet Publishing and FreeBibleImages.org

​One day, Naomi told Ruth that Boaz would make a good husband for her.  Naomi sent Ruth to visit Boaz to talk about marriage.  Boaz was so excited, he met with the men in the town to buy back Naomi's land and earn the right to marry Ruth.    Soon, Boaz and Ruth were married, and God gave them a baby named Obed.  Obed was Jesse's father.  Jesse was King David's father.  God told David that Jesus would be born from his family!  Ruth was such a good family helper.  Do you like to help your family?  

Courtesy of Sweet Publishing and FreeBibleImages.org

​Our prayer verse is Ruth 1:16.  It says, "Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God."  Ruth gave up her people and their religion to belong to Naomi's family and follow the true God of heaven.  Let's pray.

Dear Father God, Help my whole family serve You as God.  Please help me be a good helper in my family, like Ruth.  In Jesus' Name, Amen

Table Time: Ruth Coloring Page