Enough Week 2- God Provides
Notes
Transcript
WHAT? What are we talking about today?
ACTIVITY | Candy Land Grab
Welcome back to week two of Enough, where we notice how God provides what we need. In our families, God wants us to have the emotional, material, spiritual, and mental resources we need to feel loved, cared for, and safe. In my family, kids LOVE candy.
My 4 year old seems to think that Candy Land is a real place — she can’t get enough of it. Let's test that theory with this game.
INSTRUCTIONS: For this activity, you will need to bring an assortment of inflatable sweets like donuts, ice cream cones, candy canes, lollipops, or cupcakes, and many complete decks of cards. Split students into groups with one volunteer and one deck of cards. Have each group sit in a circle with an inflatable candy in the middle, and the volunteer gets the cards. The object of this game is to get four of a kind. To play, the volunteer shuffles the cards, deals four cards to each player, and keeps the remaining cards in a draw pile to their right, and everyone looks at their cards. To start, the volunteer takes the top card from the draw pile and decides whether to keep or pass the card, intending to hold four of a kind. Discard one card to the left, where the next person picks it up. Play continues with everyone picking up one card from the person on their right, then discarding one of five cards to their left where the next player picks it up. The person who gets four of a kind first rushes to the center and grabs the inflatable sweet. There will be one winner per circle, so decide whether to pit winners against each other in another round or keep with the same circles. Consider rewarding winners after each round.
That was awesome until you're the one who didn't have enough! In this game, you have to wait on something you need and be worried there may not be enough in the middle by the time you have it.
**title slide**
POLL | Put A Finger Down
We've all had such unique experiences. Some make us feel special, and some that make us feel left out. I want to hear about all the amazing things you have experienced and maybe a few that you haven't.
INSTRUCTIONS: Poll your students' responses to the following questions by having them hold out ten fingers in front of them. As you go through each scenario and it applies to them, or they can relate to it, have them put down a finger.
You've met someone famous before.
Never watched "Stranger Things."
Pulled an all-nighter.
Have your own room.
Would like your own room.
Received a bad grade on a test.
Had a crush on a friend, but they didn't feel the same way.
You want to go to college but are concerned about how to pay for it.
You went somewhere you know you should not have been.
Canceled plans because you didn't feel like going.
You needed more money for something than what you had.
Lacked confidence.
Needed more patience.
Many of our experiences expose our needs and our desire to have them met. We hope the people close to us will see what we need and help, but that doesn't always happen. Without support, we are left wondering if there is enough for us, and if there is, where will it come from?
Our needs may not always feel recognized or cared for in our families and friend groups. Usually, this is not intentional, just a reality about people's capacity and resources, but it's still painful.
I hope you realize you are not alone.
SO WHAT? Why does it matter to God and to us?
SCRIPTURE | Psalm 4
We want to believe that God provides for our needs, but sometimes our experiences make us doubt what we know to be true. Many people have been dealing with this for a while. Today we'll hear from David, a shepherd boy turned king of Israel. In the book of Psalms, a book filled with poems and songs, David asks God to intervene when he doesn't have enough. As we read this, consider how David talks to God.
INSTRUCTIONS: Read Psalm 4
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David.
Answer me when I call to you,
my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
have mercy on me and hear my prayer.
How long will you people turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?
Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
Tremble and do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.
Offer the sacrifices of the righteous
and trust in the Lord.
Many, Lord, are asking, “Who will bring us prosperity?”
Let the light of your face shine on us.
Fill my heart with joy
when their grain and new wine abound.
In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety.
David seems distressed, riddled with extreme anxiety, sorrow, and maybe even pain. Despite this anxiety, he trusts God is listening and will address what deeply troubles him. David's relationship with God was built on trust, and he shows vulnerability when he's honest with God about his fears and needs. David has seen God provide for him in creative ways many times before, and he wants that again. It may not have been exactly what he wanted, but God's care always came through. David modeled what it looks like to put any situation in God's hands and rest in the outcome. When David needed God to provide for him, God did. The challenging situation may still persist, but God gave David what he needed to endure while in the middle of it.
POLL | Put A Finger Down (Part 2)
INSTRUCTIONS: Poll your students' responses to the following questions by having them hold out five fingers in front of them. As you go through each scenario and it applies to them, or they relate to it, have them put down a finger.
Note: These are more personal questions, so tell students they could do this in their mind or hide their fingers. Put a finger down if you have . . .
Laid awake at night worrying about family.
Felt like life wasn't going the way you'd like it to go.
You have a friend you are not close with anymore.
You wonder if a friendship that changed will go back to how it was.
Had a time when your relationship with God wasn't as strong as you wanted.
You thought a choice you made would derail your future.
Felt let down by a parent, church leader, teacher, or caregiver.
If you put a finger down on any of these, they are all things David experienced. It is possible one of those moments was what inspired him to write Psalm 4. Perhaps you resonate with the parts of the psalm where David was angry and accused God of forgetting about him because it doesn't seem like God is enough or will provide for you. This psalm helps us see that God comforts and provides for us where we are. God understands and knows how hard life can be. Sometimes God rescues us from that moment, and sometimes, God simply wants to connect with us where we are. In those moments, we have Scriptures like this to read like a prayer that will lead to the peace we desire.
SCRIPTURE | 1 John 3:1
John is another person that asked God to provide and felt disappointed. He was one of the first followers of Jesus. When Jesus was put to death, he was the only one of the twelve disciples by Jesus' side. We can imagine how much John pleaded to God for a way out for his friend, leader, and mentor. All of that only to have his prayers seemingly ignored when Jesus died on the cross. We see that God provided in ways he didn't expect. God raised Jesus from the dead, a surprising way to answer John's heartfelt prayers. Resurrection was probably not what John prayed for, but it accomplished more for humanity than John could have imagined. Watching God provide like this led to a few of John's great teachings.
INSTRUCTIONS: Read 1 John 3:1
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
John calls us children of God. Families don't always feel loving or perfect because they are full of humans who love imperfectly, but God calls us children and shows us ideal love in every season. At one point, John thought all was lost. We often don't know how God will show up or when our practical needs will be met, but we have seen in Psalm 4 and in John's life that God is with us in our pain. Perfect love knows what we need and provides for us. When we don't feel like we have enough love, care, or safety when we don't feel like we have enough, we can rest in knowing we are God's children, and because of that, we have everything we need.
OBJECT LESSON | When Our Game of Life Isn't Going As Planned
INSTRUCTIONS: For this object lesson, you will need The Game of Life. Before your program, set up the game and box so it is visible on the table.
As you are teaching, say . . . In The Game of Life board game, players and their families encounter unexpected events that can toss their plans out the window. Suddenly they feel out of the game. In real life, it's never a good feeling when the plan we desire does not happen. Maybe friendships you've invested in are not life-giving, your family struggles with finances, or you are dealing with health problems. Perhaps you feel emotionally depleted. None of it is pleasant, and unlike The Game of Life, spinning doubles doesn't send you to the Millionaire Estates. No matter how unique or imperfect our family is, we have a God who calls us children and shows us perfect love in every season. We can trust that
When there isn't enough, God provides.
When there isn't enough, God provides.
NOW WHAT? What does God want us to do about it?
VIDEO | A Clip of "Be Still" By Gloria Umanah
Trusting that God will provide when there isn't enough will take courage. What you are facing may require an amount of courage that very few people will understand. God promises to come to you every moment and sustain you with love. Through that love, God gives you the courage to trust.
INSTRUCTIONS: As a teaching tool, play a short clip from a video like this one (0:00–2:59) of a spoken word poem about having the courage to trust.
The poet helps us see a few things:
WHEN WE FEEL INSECURE, ASK FOR PEACE:
There are many times when we feel like our worlds are unstable and our futures unsure. As we read in Psalm 4, God doesn't promise that those moments will go away. Instead, God promises to be with us and sustain us with peace that only comes from God's presence.
WHEN RESOURCES ARE SCARCE, ASK GOD FOR HOPE:
In David's poem, we see that he trusts God to provide a time when resources are no longer scarce. There is hope that God is at work to provide the sustenance we need. It isn't there yet, but David trusts that God will be faithful. You can too!
WHEN FACED WITH DOUBT, ASK FOR COURAGE:
1 John assures us that God loves us no matter what. Even if we doubt, God sees us and will show up for us. We can take heart that our questions don't hinder God's love for us because God's love is not conditional or based on how we feel about God at that moment. We can be frustrated with our situation, trust God to come through, and doubt God's timing simultaneously with courage because God's love is bigger than our understanding.
MUSIC | "Safe Place" (Enter the Worship Circle with Karla Adolphe)
INSTRUCTIONS: During the following response, play the song "Safe Place" by Enter the Worship Circle with Karla Adolphe.
RESPONSE | My Needs In God's Family
In Psalm 4, David asks God to fill his heart. When we feel like our needs are not being met or don't feel like there is enough, we see that we can ask God to provide for us.
INSTRUCTIONS: For this response, you need heart-shaped sticky notes like these, pens, paint, and poster boards with big hearts painted on them. To respond, give each student three sticky notes and a pen. On three different notes, have them write "peace," "hope," and "courage." For each topic, they will write a specific circumstance they or their family is in, asking God to provide peace, hope, or courage. Place their hearts on the poster board you strategically placed on the series backdrop.
When we pray as David did, we imagine our prayers being kept inside God's heart. When we see our prayers being held in God's heart, we can begin to trust that God's love is at work in our lives.
PRAYER | God Provides Us With Each Other
INSTRUCTIONS: For this prayer time, students will look over the prayers written on the sticky notes earlier, find one that sticks out to them, take it, and put it in a place they will frequently see this week. Remind them to pray for that need. Be sure that volunteers and staff take any remaining hearts before the end of the exercise.
All these prayers are important. As part of God's family, we can support others by caring for each other's needs.
God wants to make a place for us to feel secure. This means
When there isn't enough, God provides.
When there isn't enough, God provides.