Moses Disobeys God

I'll start with the end of the class first: During closing time when all the classes are sitting together in the library, the children are to report something that they remember from class -- maybe a verse, maybe an application of the lesson, maybe the story outline. Well, some nights when called upon, the 5-year-olds just smile cheerfully at one another and say nothing. But Wednesday night, the children recounted the entire story we had heard, of Moses disobeying God by hitting the rock to get the promised water instead of speaking to it as God had instructed. God punished him by taking away his privilege of entering the Promised Land. I made sure to emphasize for the children the mercy of God in supplying the water anyway, even though Moses had disobeyed. I also asked, "Was God mean to punish Moses?" Some said, "Yes." So I took some time to explain that God is not mean; God is loving and just, and for God to punish sin is right -- and God's consequences will always end up being the very best thing for God's people, even when we don't understand just exactly how that is. The children did seem to be quite satisfied with that explanation.
The class had started with our Bible verse. I used a rock that had a large hole in it and instructed the children to speak to the rock. They all said different silly things, when it was their turn, like, "Hello, Rock." "How are ya?", etc. When they obeyed and spoke to the rock, I sent one word from our Bible verse out to them through the hole in the rock. They matched the words up with shapes on a page and were able to put them in the proper order. Each time we added a word, we sang the verse: "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. Exodus 20:16" (To the tune of "Pop Goes The Weasel.") They really seemed to get this verse quickly! It is so fun when they sing together. I explained that testimony is something that you say, then asked them what false meant. Patrick answered that one very succinctly and perfectly. So then I asked what false testimony meant. It took a while, but they finally got "saying something that isn't true" in a sort of group effort. Then I asked who their neighbors were and some said, "Next door?" And I said, "Yes, it is the person next door, but it can mean even more than that." SarahClaire very confidently raised her hand and said, "A neighbor is everyone that we know and meet." Hooray!! It is great to be back!