Animated - Week 4
If you’ve ever gotten a little emotional during your favorite Disney or Pixar movie, you know animation is a powerful tool to not only tell big stories, but to make us feel big feelings, too! In this four-week series, our families will look at some stories of the Old Testament prophets as we explore some of those feelings. These stories will remind our kids that God cares about our big feelings. With God, we can all feel secure, comforted, valued, and loved, even when our emotions tell us otherwise.
BIG IDEA: God gives me comfort when I feel sad.
READ: Elijah Flees to Horeb: 1 Kings 19:1-13; Jeremiah 8:18-9:1
MEMORY VERSE
Elementary: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him." Romans 15:13a (NIV)
Toddler Twist: "God gives us joy and peace." Romans 15:13a
WATCH:
Preschool- teaching video
Elementary- teaching video
SONG: Thank God and 10,000 Armies
DISCIPLE:
Start talking to your kids in a whisper. They will most likely have to lean in to hear you. When
they start to lean in, ask them why they did that.
Explain, when we’re sad, it’s easy for us to believe God is far away. But today’s Bible story and memory verse tell us to believe something different — that God is just as close to us in our sadness as ever.
In fact, it’s in our sadness that God longs for us to lean in closely so we can hear — even if God speaks in a whisper. When you feel sad, what kind of things do you think God wants to say to you?
I don’t know about you, but knowing God gives me comfort when I feel sad helps me feel better. Some of the most comforting words of my life haven’t come in a shout, they’ve come in a soft and quiet voice. Isn’t it cool that our God speaks to us like that in our sadness?
Pray: God, thank you for your comfort. Thank you for being there both on the best days and the worst days. In my deepest valleys, I will trust in you. Quiet my heart when it aches so I can hear your comforting voice. Amen.
DISCUSS:
Why was Elijah running for his life?
Why was Elijah so sad?
How did God appear to Elijah on the mountain?
Read Jeremiah 8:18–9:1. What made Jeremiah so sad?
What will you do the next time you feel sad?
How does it make you feel to have a God who comforts you?
How can you imitate God when someone you know is sad?