INTRODUCTION

God Provides Water

Bible Point:

God always loves us.

Key Verse:

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want” (Psalm 23:1).

Big Picture:

Children will know God loves them no matter what.

God Provides Water

Exodus 17:1-7

Preschoolers can be very impatient when waiting for their needs to be met or their desires to be fulfilled. The Israelites forgot how God had helped them so many times before. Instead of trusting God to provide, they became impatient and angry. Just as the Israelites forgot what God had done, children sometimes forget that parents or caregivers have provided for them in the past. They too can become impatient and upset. Even when it looks like God isn’t at work, we can trust that God loves us and provides for us. And even when we get upset, we know that God still loves us. Use this lesson to help children understand that God loves them no matter what. Even when we have to wait, get impatient, or feel upset, we know God sees us, knows what we need, and loves us.

BIBLE TIME!

Exodus 17:1-7 tells us that God always loves us. The Israelites were traveling through the hot, dry desert. They were thirsty, but there wasn’t any water. The people became grumpy. “Give us water!” they demanded. “Did you bring us out of Egypt to let us die of thirst?” God told Moses to strike a rock with his staff. Moses did what God told him to do, and water came out of the rock. God loved the Israelites, God’s people, even when they were grumpy. God gave them what they needed.

KEY VERSE

God gives me everything I need (adapted from Psalm 23:1).

BIBLE POINT

God always loves us.

PLAY AND PRAY

Look through old magazines with your child, and have him or her tear out pictures of people making a variety of expressions—happy, sad, angry, frightened, and so on. Show your child how to glue each picture on a piece of construction paper. Then have your child place a blank piece of construction paper over the other pages, and staple all the pages together to make a book. On the book’s cover, print, “God always loves me…” Under each picture, print, “…when I’m [name the expression].” Have your child glue a picture of himself or herself to the last page of the book. Under the picture, print, “God always loves me.” Read the book together.

ASK

• What do you like about how God loves us even though we aren’t perfect?

• What are some ways God shows great love for you?

OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

 On a sunny day, go outside with a box of chalk. Find a smooth surface such as your driveway. Take turns posing and tracing each other’s shadows to make a family portrait. Under the portrait print, “God always loves us!”

ASK

• What do you like about how God made our family?

• Why do we know God always loves us?

READY, SET, GROW!

This week your child learned that God always loves us. Your child committed to one of the following challenges to remember the ways God shows his love for him or her. Help your child weave faith into life this week and follow through on the challenge!

• Draw a heart, and write Jesus inside. Put the picture in your pocket, and take it with you to remember that God loves you all the time.

• Give a hug to a friend or family member who is sad, and tell them that God always loves them.