February Series- I Love My LEADERS

February – “I LOVE my…
Week 3- I love my LEADERS

Group Leaders
This month, we are focusing on love and relationships this entire month. We want to stress how much our kids need and are dependent on- God, the church, and their leaders (parents, grandparents, pastors, authority figures). Just as the kids need these people, their neighbors (lost and hurting people) need them. Our love must go beyond words and must be shown by our actions.

Review from last week

We focused on the life of Samuel. Samuel grew up living in and loving the house of the Lord.

Big Idea: Love the church with all your heart, from His kingdom never part.

Memory Verse: Ps 122:1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.                

Game

This is an interactive game that is done with the students sitting in a circle. There is one leader in the circle who chooses what all the other children (followers) will do. Example: clap, snap, raise hands, sway from side to side. The followers must follow their leader’s movements. Here’s the catch, you will have one student who waits outside the room while you choose the leader. After you choose the leader, the student waiting outside the room must come in and stand in the middle of the circle. It’s this child’s job to try and figure out who the leader is in the circle. The followers in the circle can’t just stare at the leader the whole time. They are trying to keep the leader protected from being called out. Each child gets 3 guesses. 
Here is a link to very detailed instructions of the game: http://www.group-games.com/action-games/follow-the-leader.html

Lesson

Big Idea: Our walk with God is sweeter, when we learn to love our leaders.

Memory Verse: Heb 13:17- Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account.

Elijah and Elisha

The Prophet Elijah found Elisha working in the field and knew that this was a man that would follow him and work for God. He knew that Elisha was a man that would eventually take over and follow in his footsteps. Elijah threw his coat over Elisha and walked away.  Elisha knew what this meant and his heart was touched by God. He was ready to leave all to follow Elijah. He ran after him. Elisha‘s heart was in the right place to be touched by God. He had a relationship with God and a willingness to work for God. This was in a time when so many of God’s people were worshiping false idols instead of God. They were raising their children to worship false idols. The kids didn’t even know who God was. God led the prophet, Elijah, to Elisha. Elisha’s love for God caused him to be aware and sensitive to the man that walked up to him and threw his coat on him. God had chosen Elisha to follow this great Prophet.

From that day on, Elisha went everywhere that Elijah went. Even when Elijah told him to stay one day, Elisha said as the Lord liveth and you live, I will follow you. One day when Elijah knew that God was going to take him away, he asked Elisha if there was something special he could do for him. All Elisha wanted was a double portion of his spirit. Elisha loved Elijah so much that the only thing that he wanted was a double portion of his spirit. He wanted to be like him. He wanted the kind of relationship that Elijah had with God. He wanted the anointing that this great Prophet had. Elijah told him that this is a hard thing for him to do but if he kept his eyes on him when God called him away, then his request would be granted, but if Elisha did not see him when he was taken away then it would not be so. They continued to walk and talk and suddenly God sent a chariot of fire and Elijah went up in a whirlwind. Elisha kept his eyes on him until he could no longer see him and then Elijah’s mantle fell and Elisha picked it up. God placed the spirit of Elijah on Elisha and Elisha became the great Prophet. Elisha did twice as many miracles as Elijah! This was not done for fame and glory for Elisha; this was done because of his love and willingness to be used by God and for his love for his leader. God performed many great miracles through Elisha all during the rest of his lifetime and even after he died.

It’s important to love and respect your leaders if you want to be used by God. If Elisha had not been following and watching Elijah when God called Elijah home, he would not have received the double portion. This is how it is for us. We need to keep our spiritual eyes open and on our leaders.  We want to keep our eyes on our leaders and carefully follow them and learn from them. There might be times that we don’t want to follow our leaders or we might not like what they tell us to do, but if we will keep our eyes on our leaders and stay faithful, just like Elisha, we can become mighty leaders in God’s Kingdom.

Review Questions

1      Who was the Great Prophet?

2      What did Elisha want from Elijah?

3      What did he have to do to get it?

4      What are some ways we can keep our “eyes” on our leaders?

5      Who are our Leaders? Parents, pastors, SS teachers, etc.

Kids Sermon/Object Lesson

Stay Connected
(Objects needed: a long rope, good picture of rock climbers on the side of a mountain.)

Who here has ever climbed a tree? It can be lots of fun, but you have to be careful. Do you have a favorite tree to climb? I want to talk you a little bit about climbers today. Not tree climbers, rock climbers! Rock climbing is a pretty cool sport. It can be pretty dangerous too, so don't go home and try to do it. Can you imagine climbing some huge mountain? (Either show a picture of someone climbing the side of a mountain or if you have screen/projector, have the picture displayed for all to see.) I wonder what it would feel like to be 100s of feet up in the air. Would you be scared or excited? I think I would be both! 

                                             

I’m no rock climber, but I’ve learned a little something about it that I want to share with you. There's one type of climbing method where climbers will be on a team. You will have a lead climber and a follower climber. (Get out your rope and hold it up to see.) Now, it's probably not a rope like this but this will give us an example. The leader and follower are connected to each other. They are tied to each other and need each other's help. The lead climber will go up first figuring out the best route and the best way to go. Along the way, the leader will put anchors in the rock to help catch him if he falls. After he makes it to the destination, it’s the follower turn to now climb up by following the path of the leader. The follower can know he is safe because his rope is connected to the leader. The leader will catch him if he falls. 

Elisha is such a cool character in the Bible. He stuck with his leader. He stuck with Elijah. He followed Elijah everywhere he went. (Take the rope, tie it around your waist and choose a student and tie the other end around their waist. Have the student follow you as you walk around the room.) Elisha knew if he was going to ever reach the high things God had for him, he would have to stay connected to the leader. 

That's exactly what we have to do. We have to stay connected to our leaders. God put people like our parents, pastors and teachers in our lives to help us- not to hurt us. Just like a lead climber is there to figure out the best route, your leaders are trying to help you follow the route God has for your life. At times, our leaders might make us mad because they make us do things we don't like, but don't disconnect and untie from your leader. That is very dangerous for you. You won't reach all of the great things God has for your life without your leaders there to help you along the way. Stay connected to your leaders and they will help you follow God's path. They will help you reach all of the high, great things God has in store for your life. 

Great song to play for prayer time: Chris Tomlin’s I Will Follow You

After a few minutes of prayer, have all the kids come up and hold onto the rope with you. Say: God has great things in store for each of you. God wants to take you higher! But if you want to reach all of those great things, you have to hold onto the rope. You have to hold on  to and stay connected with your leaders! (Have the children hold onto the rope while praying. (Tell them to squeeze the rope tight as they tell the Lord they will hold onto their leaders.)

Week 3- I Love My Leaders (Link for PDF download)