OT-38

"The Golden Calf”

Exodus 32:1-33:6

Big Idea

Love God, not stuff.

Schedule

1. Small Groups: Rules activity (5 min)

2. Big Group: Lesson (20 min)

3. Verse Activity: Pennies game (5 min)

3. Small Groups: Time with God (10-15 min)

Materials Needed

-large piece of paper and pencil

-playdough

-index cards

-Time with God sheet, one printed copy for each child

Before Big Group

1. Select a child to be the recorder. Ask the group, "If you woke up and your house was on fire, what three things (not people) would you take out with you?" Have the recorder write down the children's responses on the paper. Bring this paper with you to big group time.

2. Give each child a small wad of playdough and have them roll out the wad into a long, skinny string. Have them take that string and wrap it around their finger like a ring. Instruct them to keep the "playdough ring" on while they go to small group time.

After Big Group

1. Explain the following:

    Our big idea for today is "Love God, not stuff." The Israelites chose to worship a god made of stuff, instead of the real God.

    It doesn't happen very often nowadays that someone makes an idol out of stuff to bow down and worship. But, very often, people choose to love their stuff more than they love God.

2. Hand each child an index card. Ask, "What is your favorite piece of stuff? What do you own that you like the most?" Have the children write their answer on one side of the card. Ask, "How many times did you use that piece of stuff last week?" Have the children write their answer on the other side of the card.

3. Hand the children another index card. Ask, "Who do you think should be the most important thing in everybody's life?" Explain that God should be the most important in our lives. Have them write "God" on one side of the card. Ask, "How many times last week did you spend time with God (prayer, Bible reading, church, etc)?" Have them write their answer on the other side of the card.

4. Explain the following:

    Probably for most of us, we spent just as much, if not more, time with our favorite piece of stuff than we spent with God. In order to love God more than we love our stuff, we need to make time to spend with God.

5. Hand each child a copy of the "Time With God" sheet. Have each child think of a time each day they could spend with God. After the "WHEN", have them write down the time they thought of (i.e. "before bed"). After the "WHERE", have them write down a nice quiet place in their home where they could spend time with God (i.e. "in my room"). After the "WHAT", have them write down what they will do during their time with God (i.e. "talk to God," "read my Bible").

6. Hand each child a journal page. Have them fill it out, writing down the big idea “Love God, not stuff.” and how they can use it in their life (Examples: I will spend more time reading the Bible). Place the page in their journal binder.