Wildside 07.21.19

Wildside 07.21.19

The Bronze Snake

Bible Passage: ;

Main Point: God told His people to look at the bronze snake to be healed.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: Whom can we trust? We can trust God to take care of us.

Small Group opening

(10–15 minutes)

Large Group Bible study

(25–30 minutes)

Small Group activities

(25–30 minutes)

Leader BIBLE STUDY

The Israelites had been wandering in the wilderness when they started to complain to Moses and to God. God had done some pretty amazing things for the Israelites—He rescued them from the hand of Pharaoh, He parted the Red Sea so they could safely cross, and He provided manna for them to eat. But to the Israelites, it wasn’t enough.

God punished them because He knew their dissatisfaction was a sign of a bigger issue: a heart problem, a sin problem. They stopped believing that God is good. In their hearts, the Israelites believed the same lie that rattled Eve in the garden. Maybe God isn’t interested in giving us what is best. Maybe He is holding out on us.

God sent poisonous snakes that bit the people and killed many of them. The Israelites repented. They wanted Moses to ask God to take away the snakes.

God provided a solution. He told Moses, “Make a snake image out of bronze and mount it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.”

In , Jesus said, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” What was Jesus talking about? says, “He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” So Jesus invites us, “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and there is no other” ().

As you teach kids, emphasize the problem that all of us face: we aren’t just sick; because of our sin, we deserve death. Then rejoice with them over the cure: Jesus, the sinless Savior, became sin for us and was lifted up on the cross in our place. We must do nothing but look to Him to be saved.

The BIBLE Story

The Bronze Snake

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The Israelites refused to go into the promised land, so God punished them and made them wander in the wilderness. The Israelites grumbled and complained. When the Israelites set up camp, they complained that they did not have water to drink. God told Moses and Aaron to stand in front of all the people and speak to a rock. God said water would come out of the rock.

Moses called the people together, but instead of talking to the rock, Moses hit the rock two times with his staff. The water came out, but God was angry that Moses and Aaron disobeyed Him. God said Moses and Aaron would not lead the Israelites into the promised land.

The Israelites continued through the wilderness. Moses sent messengers to ask the king of Edom if the Israelites could travel through his land. But the people of Edom replied, “No! If you come to our land, we will fight you!”

So the Israelites had to travel around Edom. The journey was long, and they grumbled and complained. “Why have you led us from Egypt to die in the wilderness?” they asked. “We have no bread or water! The food we have is no good!”

God sent poisonous snakes that bit the Israelites, and many of the people died. They realized they had sinned by complaining to God, so they told Moses, “We know we have sinned. Please ask God to take the snakes away.”

Moses interceded for the people. He spoke to God for them. Then God told Moses, “Make a snake image and put it on a pole. When anyone who is bitten looks at it, he will recover.”

Moses made a bronze snake and mounted it on a pole. Whenever someone was bitten, that person looked at the bronze snake, and he recovered.

Christ Connection: The Israelites faced a huge problem because of their sin. God sent snakes to punish Israel, but anyone who was bitten could look at the snake on the pole and live. Because of our sin, we face a huge problem: we are separated from God. We deserve to die, but anyone who looks to Jesus on the cross and trusts in Him will live forever with God.

Small Group Opening

Session Title: The Bronze Snake

Bible Passage: ;

Main Point: God told His people to look at the bronze snake to be healed.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: Whom can we trust? We can trust God to take care of us.

Welcome time

Greet each kid as he or she arrives. Use this time to connect to your group and make sure each student is checked in.

As kids arrive, allow them to share something that happened this past week that made them happy and something that made them complain. Invite kids to share what they grumble or complain about most. Why?

Say • Today’s Bible story is about what happened to the Israelites when they grumbled and complained against God. The Israelites were in the wilderness and God had provided so much for them, but they still complained.

Transition to large group

Table Wars

Large Group LEADER

Hey everyone…todays story has to do with another animal. Any gueses on what animal it is? There are more than 3,000 species of this animal in the world. The smallest one is less than 4 inches long, and the biggest one can be more than 30 feet long! Incredible! Any ideas? (snake)

Now, before I tell you more, let’s take a step back.

Do you remember what happened when Moses sent spies into the promised land? Who was living there? (other people who were tall and strong) Were the Israelites excited to go into the promised land? No! In fact, they were afraid. The Israelites did not trust God to give them the promised land. So God punished them and made them wander around in the wilderness for 40 years.

Today’s Bible story took place while the Israelites were still in the wilderness. Apparently they hadn’t learned their lesson because they still complained about God. They still didn’t trust Him!

Big picture question

Leader • Whom can we trust? We can trust God to take care of us. That’s right. Now I’ll ask the question, and you give the answer. Whom can we trust? [Pause for kids to respond.]

Tell the Bible story

Open your Bible to ; . Let’s watch the Bible story video “The Bronze Snake.”

Leader • The Israelites wandered in the wilderness as punishment for not trusting God. They grumbled that they did not have water to drink. They complained that the food they had was no good. They accused Moses of leading them out of Egypt to die in the wilderness.

Guide kids to discuss the following questions:

Were the Israelites wrong to complain? Why or why not?

What did God do to save the people from the deadly snakes?

What has God done to provide salvation from our sins so we can have eternal life?

Leader • The Israelites were not happy with what God provided for them. They sinned by complaining to God and not trusting Him to take care of them. Whom can we trust? We can trust God to take care of us. God punished the Israelites by sending poisonous snakes, but did God stop loving them? No. God punished them for their sins, but He also showed them mercy and provided the way for the people to be healed. God told His people to look at the bronze snake to be healed.

The Israelites faced a huge problem because of their sin. God sent snakes to punish Israel, but anyone who was bitten could look at the snake on the pole and live.

Because of our sin, we face a huge problem: we are separated from God. We deserve to die, but anyone who looks to Jesus on the cross and trusts in Him will live forever with God.

Key passage

Show the key passage. Lead the boys and girls to read together .

Leader • God spoke these words to Joshua after Moses died. God called Joshua to lead His people into the promised land. This was a big job! Do you think Joshua was nervous about leading so many people? But God told him not to be afraid. Why? Because God was with him!

Invite kids to act out motions for key words or phrases of to help them memorize the verse. Boys and girls may make up their own actions, or use these actions:

commanded—Point forward.

strong—Flex arms.

courageous—Put hands on hips and hold up head.

do not be afraid or discouraged—Shake head.

Lord your God—Point upward.

wherever you go—Spread arms wide.

Discussion starter video

Leader • If you were bitten by a snake today, what would you do? Who would you go to for help? Think about that as you watch this video.

Show the “Unit 7, Session 2” discussion starter video.

Leader • If a snake bit you today, you would probably go to the hospital to get help. Do you think the Israelites with snakebites wondered what good it would do to look at the bronze snake?

I wonder if any of them tried to heal themselves. Moses probably told them, “Stop trying to heal yourself! You can’t do it! Just look at the bronze snake!” All they had to do to live was look up at the bronze snake to be healed.

We can’t save ourselves from sin, so what can we do? We can look to Jesus, who died on the cross for our sin. Some people try to save themselves by doing good things or by avoiding bad things. Does that work? No! We can tell our friends to look to Jesus and live!

Pray

Invite kids to pray before dismissing to small groups.

Leader • Lord God, You are so faithful even when we are not. You are right to punish our sin, but thank You for providing the way for us to be saved! Thank You for Jesus. We look to Him alone for our salvation. We love You. Amen.

Dismiss to small groups

Small Group LEADER

Session Title: The Bronze Snake

Bible Passage: ;

Main Point: God told His people to look at the bronze snake to be healed.

Key Passage:

Big Picture Question: Whom can we trust? We can trust God to take care of us.

Key passage activity

Pair kids up and have them practice saying the key verse, by saying every other word. Give them a couple minutes to practice and then time them to see who can say the verse the fastest.

Say • Who said these words? (The Lord said them to Joshua.) God enables His people to be strong and courageous. He is with us, and we can trust Him. Whom can we trust? We can trust God to take care of us.

Bible story review

Form two teams. Give each team eight sheets of paper and a marker. Instruct teams to nominate a “writer” to record the team’s answers. Explain that you will ask a question about today’s Bible story. Teams should agree on an answer, and the writer should write the answer on the paper. When both teams finish, lead them to hold up their answers. If a team answers incorrectly, guide volunteers from each team to look up the Scripture reference to find the correct answer.

What did the Israelites complain about in the wilderness? (They had no water, )

What did God tell Moses to do to the rock? (speak to it, )

What did Moses do to the rock? (He hit it with his staff, )

How did God punish Moses? (God did not allow Moses to enter the promised land, )

Which king refused to allow the Israelites to travel through his land? (the king of Edom, )

Why did God send poisonous snakes to the Israelites? (They sinned by complaining against Him, )

What did God tell Moses to put on a pole? (a bronze snake, )

How were the Israelites saved? (Anyone bitten by a snake would look at the bronze serpent and live, )

Remind kids that the Israelites who were bitten by the snakes could look at the bronze snake and live.

Say • The bronze snake reminds us of Jesus. Like the poisonous snakebites caused the people to die, we will all die because of sin.

We can’t heal ourselves of sin, but Jesus was lifted up on the cross like the snake on the pole. When we look to Him and trust Him as Lord and Savior, He saves us from our sin and gives us eternal life.

prayer

Distribute prayer cards and pencils. Prompt kids to think about a time they felt dissatisfied or disappointed. Kids may draw a picture or write a few sentences describing the situation. Then guide them to consider how they could be thankful for that same situation.

Say • The Israelites’ time in the wilderness was difficult, but God helped them in so many ways. He took care of their needs. Even when we are having a tough day, we have so many things to thank God for. Let’s pray.

Lead kids in prayer. Thank God for the greatest gift, His Son, who came to earth to rescue people from sin. We can look to Jesus and find eternal life. Confess that our hearts often grumble like the Israelites and ask God to give kids a heart of gratitude for His provisions.