Only Faith Pleases God

We spent Opening Time playing a Memory Matching Game, using the words from our Bible verse, illustrated with tiny stickers, on index cards. Joey was the first to arrive, so he and I played alone for quite a while and I got to really see how sharp his memory is. As the other children arrived, we matched up all the words and put them in order, then sang Proverbs 3:5 to the tune of "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush."

In our classroom, we got our wiggles out by reviewing our verses with some physical motions. We sang Genesis 1:1 ("In the beginning...")to the tune of "Ring Around the Rosie", and we all fell down. We did it again and we all fell... up. The children really enjoy this. At the end of this verse, as we fall, we say, "IT WAS GOOD!" Then we sang Matthew 6:24 ("No one can serve two masters") to the tune of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and squatted up and down every time we said the word "two", which is a lot in this version!

After this we were all ready to sit quietly for the story. I showed the children a cardboard box that had pieces of tape and a string holding it closed. We talked about how none of them could tell what was inside the box because they couldn't see inside of it. But God can! God knows what is on the outside and on the inside. God knows what is inside us, too. He knows what we think and the things we feel. This led into our story about two brothers, Cain and Abel, and what was inside of each of them.

This was a hard story to tell such little children because it includes God's rejection of the faithless brother and describes a truly evil deed: murder. I emphasized that God rejected the gift that Cain brought to Him because there was no real thanks in Cain's heart. Cain did not love God and believe His promises. Only God knew that for sure about Cain because only God could see inside His heart. And only God knew for sure that Abel really loved God and was thankful and trusting in His promises. God accepted Abel's gift because of Abel's faith. It was Abel's faith that pleased God.

All the little faces looked very sad as I told how out of jealousy and anger Cain then did a terrible thing: he killed his brother, which made God and Adam and Eve very sad. Sin must be punished, so God sent Cain far, far away.

How hopeless it must have seemed for Adam and Eve. Their sin had brought death into the world. And now they had NO sons -- Abel was dead and Cain was far away. Would God still keep His promise to send a Man who would crush the head of Satan?

God is merciful and loving and He sent Adam and Eve another son, Seth, who like Abel loved God and had faith in His promises. And many, many, many years later, after many, many, many children and grandchildren and great-great grandchildren were born to Adam and Eve, a very Special Man was born to their family. A very Special Man, who like Abel, was hated and killed by jealous bad men. Only this very Special Man, was God's Son, His Only Son, Jesus, and He came to live a perfect life and to die to pay the penalty for all the sins of His people. And He will come again in glory to make all things perfect. God is faithful to do what He says He will.

After our story, we took turns taking pieces of tape off the box and untying the string to see what was inside. It was a beanie baby Lamb and some heart stickers -- props for our next game. We passed the Lamb around and sang Proverbs 3:5 again. Whoever was holding the Lamb when we finished got a heart sticker. Everyone got two stickers -- as we switched back and forth from fast to slow singing!

Next, we sat at our little table. I gave everyone a small wooden stick and asked them if they thought they could write with that stick. Some said yes, some said no. Of course, the sticks wouldn't write. I said, "If I told you that you could write with it, would you believe me?" Most of them said, yes. I said that when you believe what someone says that means you have faith in them. You trust them. Even when what they say might seem unlikely. Then I gave them all "Scratch Art" paper, that showed different colors when they rubbed their sticks on it.

I asked them another question about a little weighted plastic bird that I had in my bag. "Do you think he can balance on a finger?" Some said yes, some said no. I said, "If I told you he could, would you believe me?" Most of them said yes. I repeated the lesson about faith being believing what someone says. Then I showed them how the bird (being properly weighted) could balance with his beak on just one finger, or even on the tip of the wooden sticks! We went around the table and each child had a turn while they colored and I repeated the lesson several times that we can ALWAYS have faith in God because He is the only One who always tells the Truth, Who can do anything, and Who knows everything. He always does what He says.

We lined back up (with Hunter happily being the little blue caboose) and returned to the library to color until parents arrived.