Primary Bible Lesson – What Does God Say?”– 25-26 July 2020 ______

BOTTOM LINE: “God Speaks to Give Me Direction & Correction!”

MAIN SCRIPTURE: Daniel Chapter 5

POWER VERSE: “If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.” - Proverbs 15:32

MESSAGE OBJECTIVE: In this lesson, the children are going to learn that the Bible tells us some of the things God says when He speaks to His people. They’re going to learn all about the writing on the wall and how God sometimes speaks words of direction and correction. He not only tells us what to do, but He corrects us when we get off the path He has planned for our lives.

MESSAGE INTRO: Hey Kids welcome to Kids Connect! Today we are going to learn about something incredible that happened in Daniel chapter 5. There was a wicked King Nebuchadnezzar who took Daniel and his friends captive in Babylon. He’s also the one who was turned into a cow when he refused to give God the glory, but that’s a whole other story. After a few years, King Nebuchadnezzar died. A man named Belshazzar became king. Belshazzar was even worse and more evil than the other king.

BIBLE MESSAGE: King Belshazzar decided to throw a big party. This was not a two- hour party with cake and punch. This was a feast - a celebration. Back in those days, this kind of banquet might last for several weeks. During this party, Belshazzar decided to use gold dishes and cups from the Temple of God to drink wine and get drunk. God was not happy. Suddenly something crazy happened.

Suddenly the fingers of a giant hand appeared and wrote on the wall. Whose hand do you think it was? (allow response) That’s right! It was God’s hand. The king and everyone in the room watched the hand as it wrote. The king was very scared. I would be scared, too. When the hand finished writing, no one was able to read it. It was a different language; one they hadn’t seen.

Belshazzar knew it wasn’t good news, but he still wanted to find a way to figure it out. So, Belshazzar called in all the wise men and the astrologers and all the people who were able to tell the future and said, “Whoever can tell me what this writing means will be rewarded.” The wise men studied the writing, but none of them could read or understand the writing.

Suddenly, the Queen Mother remembered something. She said, “What about Daniel? He is wise and follows God. He will know what this means.” So, Daniel was brought before the king. Daniel said, “Keep your gifts, but I will tell you what God is saying to you.” Daniel told the king that God was judging him for being prideful and not giving God the glory He deserved. God was correcting Belshazzar in a very strong way.

The Bible doesn’t indicate that God ever speaks about unimportant things. I mean, God never said, “Hey Moses – read any good books lately?” God never asked, “Paul, which do you like better – rowboats or sailboats?” God doesn’t talk about football, or food, or the latest video games. God doesn’t talk about the weather. He may answer your questions regarding these things but He never starts a conversation with you that way. One thing we can see from scripture is that when God speaks, it is always something important. It matters. So, when God speaks, you better be listening!

In the book of Luke, we find the story of Mary. She was just an ordinary young woman, but God sent an angel named, Gabriel, to visit her. Gabriel brought a message from God to Mary.

Primary Bible Lesson – What Does God Say?”– 25-26 July 2020 ______She had been chosen to be the mother of Jesus, God’s son. The angel gave Mary specific instructions about what she was to do and what she was supposed to name her baby.

In many other places in the Bible we find God giving specific instructions and assignments to people. God assigned Noah to build an ark, assigned Moses to lead the Israelites, and many others as well. It’s the same way when God speaks to you and gives you a specific assignment. It might an assignment to talk to your friend about Jesus. It might be an assignment to give one of your toys to a kid in your neighbourhood who doesn’t have one. It might be an assignment to pray for a certain person or a missionary. Whatever the assignment, when God speaks - it’s definitely time to pay attention.

Just like we heard in our Bible Story today, sometimes God speaks when He wants to correct us after we have gotten off track. At times, we may not mean to, but we get off the path that God has for us. When that happens, God speaks to us to correct us and get us back on track. When we are off track, God speaks to us to correct us and get us back on track.

APPLICATION: The key is, you have to make the decision that when God speaks, you obey Him. Whether God is speaking to give you a specific assignment OR to give you correction, you must obey whatever God speaks to you about. If you obey, then you will be in God’s will. If you disobey, then God has to continue to do whatever it takes to correct you. It’s like when your parents or carers give you an instruction to do something, what happens when you don’t listen to them and do what they say? Hmmmm, I think you know! So, when God speaks - obey! You’ll be glad you did!

LET’S PRAY: “Dear God, help us to listen to your instructions and to be obedient to you. Let us be wise about our decisions and the directions we take. Thank you for loving us so much that you always want what’s best for us. You want to keep us safe from harm and to receive the blessings you have for us. In Jesus’ name we pray”, Amen!

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