Vol. 1 Iss. 1

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INDEX: New Testament Lesson - Jesus Calls Peter, John, James, and Andrew To Follow Him (Matthew 4:13-22, Mark 1:16-20, Luke 4:31, 5:1-11) Old Testament Lesson - Moses and Aaron Speak Before Pharaoh (Exodus 5) Character Lesson Memory Text Nature Lesson - Straw Health Lesson - Body Parts: Blood Coloring Page Matching Questions & Answers 1-Who did Cain marry? 2-Why did Jesus wait so long to come the first time? Learning Activities PICTURE: A single pillar, automatically tiled in the index box, represents "the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." (1 Timothy 3:15)..

NEW TESTAMENT LESSON

Jesus Calls Peter, John, James, and Andrew To Follow Him (Matthew 4:13-22, Mark 1:16-20, Luke 4:31, 5:1-11)

Jesus then left Nazareth and dwelt in Capernaum, which fulfilled a prophecy spoken many hundreds of years earlier by the prophet Isaiah. "The people, along the sea coast, were in darkness or not able to know about the truth saw great light or they were now able to understand." Jesus spoke the truth with understanding. From that time Jesus began to preach saying, "Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is at hand or near." And Jesus taught the people on the Sabbath days.

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea because they were fishers.

As the people gathered to hear Jesus teach the Word of God, He stood by the lake of Gennesaret. He saw two ships by the lake, but the fishermen were not in them. They were washing their nets. He entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and asked him to push off a little from the land. And He sat down to teach the people from the ship.

Now when He was done speaking, He said to Simon, "Push out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." Simon answering said to Him, "Master, we have worked all night and caught nothing. Nevertheless at your word I will put the net in the water. When they had done this, a great multitude of fish was in the net and their net began to break. They yelled to their partners, which were in the other ship that they should come and help them. They came, and filled both ships to the point that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' feet and said, "Depart from me because I am a sinful man, O Lord." He was astonished and all that were with him regarding the catch of fish, which they had taken. And James was also along with John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Fear not, from here on you will catch men." And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

PARENTS: Young children love repetition and so they will love to hear this story over and over again. We did our best to include something for all ages so where necessary, please assist your child or adjust it to make it more their level.

OLD TESTAMENT LESSON

Moses and Aaron Speak Before Pharaoh (Exodus 5)

And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, "Thus saith the LORD God of Israel! Let my people go so that they may conduct a feast unto me in the wilderness."

And Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD neither will I let Israel go."

And they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God otherwise He will allow pestilence or a sword to take our lives."

And the king of Egypt said to them, "Where do you, Moses and Aaron, have the authority to let the people walk away from their works? Get back to your burdens. Behold, the people of the land now are many, and you make them rest from their burdens?"

Then Pharaoh commanded, on the same day, the taskmasters of the people and their officers, "You shall not give the people straw to make bricks, as you have in the past. Let them go and gather straw for themselves, but the number of bricks must remain the same. This punishment is because they are idle and that is the reason they cry, saying, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' Let them work more.

Now the taskmasters of the people went out and their officers, and they spoke to the people, saying, "Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. Go get your own straw wherever you can find it. But not any of your work shall be diminished."

So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. The taskmasters hasted them saying, "Complete your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw."

And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, "Why haven't you completed your task in making bricks both yesterday and today, as you have before?"

Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh saying, "Why treat your servants this way? There is no straw given to us, yet they say to us, 'Make brick. And, behold your servants are beaten but the fault is in your own people."

But he said, "You are idle, You are idle! This is why you say, 'Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD.' Go now and work because there shall no straw be given you, yet you shall deliver the same number of bricks."

And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in an evil situation.

Then they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came from Pharaoh. They said to them, "The LORD look upon you, and judge, because you have made our scent to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us."

And Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Lord, why have You allowed this evil upon this people? Why is it that You have sent me? Since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered your people at all.

CHARACTER LESSON

When Jesus was teaching the people to repent and stating that the kingdom of heaven is at hand or near, some people responded positively to this message. To repent includes not doing the wrong thing again by the help of Jesus. If we purposely do it again, then we really have not repented.

People gathered to hear Jesus teach the Word of God. This teaches us the importance of the Word of God. We should want to hear more of the Word of God than being anywhere else.

When Jesus entered into Simon's ship, Simon was kind enough to sail out from the shore a few yards. This was after the work that Simon did all night long. He did not feel like staying up any longer than he had to. He was interested in going to bed for a little while. This teaches us that we are to be kind to everyone even if we do not feel like and even if we did not get enough sleep.

When Jesus asked Simon to go out further and drop the net, Simon thought he would prove the teacher wrong about catching fish. "No one fishes during the day when the waters are so clear," he may have thought. But despite his disagreement, He did as Jesus asked him, and to his surprise, much fish was caught. This teaches us to trust our parents even if we cannot see how things are going to work out.

The astonishment of Simon and his reaction of telling Jesus to leave him alone shows that his motive was wrong in obeying Jesus, however, Jesus forgave Simon and asked Simon to follow Him. This teaches us that things are only acceptable when done with a right motive. Also, if we have the wrong motive, Jesus can help us have the right one.

James and John, the sons of Zebedee forsook all and followed Jesus. We are to always be ready to leave all and follow Jesus as well. That includes friends that may not really be our friends, things we like to do that Jesus would not be happy if we continued to do, and so on.

Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, "Thus saith the LORD God of Israel! Let my people go so that they may conduct a feast unto me in the wilderness." They obeyed God and did exactly as He told them to do. We should do exactly as our parents, in the Lord, tell us to do as well.

Pharaoh said, "I know not the LORD." To not take time to know the Lord will not help someone enter into heaven. Take time to learn more about the Lord.

When Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters to not get straw for the Hebrews to make bricks that was not very kind. Pharaoh was not thoughtful. He was allowing his anger to make the decisions. This teaches us to never make a decision, or do anything while we are upset. We must first ask Jesus to take the feelings of being upset away even if we did nothing wrong to cause those feelings. Then we should apologize for having those feelings even if they were the one that did something wrong.

The taskmasters beat the Hebrew people and demanded that they meet the goal for making bricks. This was very unreasonable. When we are in charge and always, we need to be reasonable.

The people then blamed Moses for having to keep up with the demand of bricks. They knew that God sent Moses, but they wanted to blame someone. We should be careful and not wrongly blame people, especially if it is our fault.

NEW TESTAMENT MEMORY TEXT: Matthew 4:19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

OLD TESTAMENT MEMORY TEXT: Exodus 5:1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

NATURE LESSON

STRAW

One primary purpose of straw, is for animals to lay upon for a bedding. Genesis 24:32 "And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels".

Another purpose is in the mixture of mud and other ingredients to make bricks. Exodus 5:7 "Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves."

Some animals eat straw and will eat straw when the new earth is created. Isaiah 11:7 "And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox." Isaiah 65:25 "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust [shall be] the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD."

Beyond the Bible verses, some people have made houses out of straw, covered crops to protect the young plants, laid it over bare ground until the grass grows, made it into clothing such as hats, and many other uses.

Now hay is humble stuff, just grass that has been cut and dried as fodder for cattle, horses, and sheep. But hay is not straw and should not be confused with straw. A farmer gets straw from the hollow stems of wheat or oat plants after the kernels have been threshed from the top of the stem; because straw is made of dry stalks, it has little nutritive value. Hay is green. Straw is bright, golden yellow. Hay is fed to the animals; straw is spread in animal pens to absorb manure and urine so as to keep beds dry in the cowbarns or sheds. Cows and horses eat hay but sleep on straw. A milkcow might sample a little clean, fresh straw put down for her bedding but certainly will not eat it after it has been trod under hoof.

HEALTH LESSON

BODY PARTS: Blood

Leviticus 17:11 says, "For the life of the flesh [is] in the blood." Deuteronomy 12:23 says, "Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood [is] the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh."

The Bible tells us that animals and even our bodies live because of the blood flowing through us. Nutrition and oxygen are carried through the blood to every part of the body. At the same time, diseases are also carried through the body by way of the blood. That also means that blood transferred from one person to another, if not carefully screened, can transfer diseases. Even screened blood is not guaranteed to be pure.

Eating the blood of animals can actually introduce their diseases into our bodies. Even the United States government has been encouraging less eating of meat and more of things without meat such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and the like. These items are converted by the body into good blood.

A simple test with parent supervision is to tie a string or rubber band around the end of a finger. If done tightly, it will prevent the life or the blood from reaching its destination, the fingertip. After a moment, it will turn blue and if left on long enough, it would eventually kill the tip of the finger. This proves that the body cannot live without the blood. But more importantly is to help the blood stay pure.

Some tips on keeping the blood pure include, drink lots of water to flush the impurities out of the system, exercise to cause the oxygen levels to increase, eat the healthier foods such as mentioned earlier, and eat less sugar to lessen the negative affects upon the blood cells.

Exodus 5:1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

MATCHING

For each item in the first column, write in the letter for the description from the second column.

___ 1. Aaron ___ 2. Andrew ___ 3. Isaiah ___ 4. James ___ 5. Moses ___ 6. Pharaoh ___ 7. Simon

A. Which prophet predicted that great light would be seen? B. Who commanded that no straw would be provided? C. Who did the people blame for the lack of straw being provided? D. Who was John's brother? E. Who was Peter's brother? F. Who went with Moses to speak the words of God? G. Whose ship did Jesus step into to speak to the large crowd?

[Answers to August 2003 matching: 1=C, 2=E, 3=G, 4=D, 5=F, 6=B, 7=A]

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question #1 - Who did Cain marry?

Answer #1 - Adam and Eve were the first two people on earth according to Genesis chapter 1. Cain went to the city of Nod according to chapter 4 and found a wife. The time from the birth of Cain until Cain found a wife was many years, allowing enough time for Adam and Eve to have had many more children. Now since all the children, including us, are descendants of Adam and Eve, that means Cain married his sister. Only later would God make in not right to marry your own sister for health reasons. But health was not a concern in the time of Cain.

Question #2 - Why did Jesus wait so long to come the first time?

Answer #2 - With each generation people have become more and more evil. To prove the love of the Father, Jesus came when the people of earth were at the lowest point. Allowing evil to become as evil as possible so as to even kill the Son of God reveals how wrong Satan's side is. This is why it is important to think before doing something wrong. By doing the wrong, it sends a message to want Satan to rule the world instead of God. And if you wonder what life would be like if God left Satan be in charge, just look what Satan is doing when he has a little power on earth - death, destruction, hurt, and much more. God provides love, kindness, joy, peace, and much more including eternal life. Let us choose wisely.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES:

1. Visit a farm that has straw and see how the straw is being used. It should be mostly for the beds of animals.

2. Visit an aquarium or stream with lots of fish. Then imagine so much more that fishermen's nets were beginning to break.

3. Have your parents take you for a rowboat ride. Remember, Simon, who was called Peter had a rowboat for fishing.

4. Visit a place where they make bricks. Realize they are made differently today but you still can remember, that the Hebrews made bricks with mud, water, and straw.

5. See if your parents will allow you to use mud, water, and grass to make a small brick.

6. Memorize the verses on page 3.

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Vol. 1 Iss. 1

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