Covenant PREPARE

Genesis 17:1-8 We are recipients of God’s love, but not because we earn it. This is abundantly clear in this story of God coming to a childless, elderly couple and making a seemingly ridiculous promise that they would become the ancestors of countless offspring. God initiated this everlasting covenant with humanity—not the other way around. Although Abraham and Sarah were the first to benefit, the covenant wasn’t just for them—it was for all people. The promise of land and a multitude of descendants was a big deal at the time, because owning land and having descendants was how people lived on after death. Still, that paled in comparison to the most significant covenant promise— God’s promise in Genesis 17:8 that “I will be their God.” This promise is the foundation of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, because it established the relationship between God and God’s people. The covenant is a sign that we are loved, even though we probably don’t deserve it. Despite our sin and rebellion, God is active in our lives through promise and presence. God did tell Abraham to “be blameless.” Spoiler alert: Abraham did not stay blameless. And yet the promise of the covenant remained. God is faithful even when we are not. Genesis 15:5-6 Romans 4:1-5 Mark 14:22-25 In the ancient world, a woman’s value Writing to the church in Rome, Paul With his disciples, Jesus celebrated was traditionally defined by her ability corrected the idea that only Jews are the Jewish Passover, the remem- to provide heirs. A man’s worth was eligible for God’s covenant. Non- brance of God liberating the Israelites counted in descendants and land. Jews (Gentiles) could be a part of the from slavery in Egypt. Jesus used the Family legacy was passed on through covenant even though they were not common occasion of eating to explain a firstborn son. Old and childless, descended from Abraham and Sarah. his imminent death and a new cove Abram and Sarai arranged for a ser- The covenant should never be a nant. Jesus explained that through vant to serve as heir. But God prom- dividing line for who is “in” and who his life, death, and resurrection, ised Abram and Sarai would have is “out.” The covenant is a gift from God was bringing humanity into a countless descendants. It seemed God and is not earned by us. new covenant. We are bound to God impossible, but Abram believed. through Jesus. Neither our sin nor our death can cut us off from the promise of life with God.

What the Heck Are Preteens Thinking? The knot represents how God is • In preteen years, kids fumble a lot. As kids grow more tied to us throughout our lives. A independent and learn how to problem-solve, they push knot reminds us that we are bound their boundaries and sometimes make poor choices. It is and wrapped up in God’s love even when we are important for them to feel that even as they stumble, they frayed. Unlike a regular knot, we can’t be untied are loved and embraced. from God’s love. • Preteens know about fickle relationships. BFF = Best Friends Forever, until they aren’t. Help them understand how God’s relationship with them is steadfast.

Connect Leader Guide. Unit 2—The Promise: Covenant. wearesparkhouse.org © 2013 sparkhouse. All rights reserved. 1 May be reproduced for local use only provided each copy carries this notice. SEE covenant (15 MIN.)

Warm Up Leader Tip Suggest creative ways to get kids Supplies: none to scatter from their partners: have them shake hands with other peo- 1. Pair up, and then mix everyone up as they scatter about the room. ple or find something in the room. 2. Once the kids are sufficiently scattered, yell, “Knot it—fingers!” Kids must scramble to find and knot fingers with their partner. Variation 3. The last pair to knot fingers spells K-N-O-T with their bodies while the rest of the group yells, K! N! O! T! For larger groups, have kids form teams of three or four instead of 4. Scatter the partners again; change which body part partners must knot. For pairs. example, yell, “Knot it—elbows!” (Other ideas include big toes, pinky fingers, necks, or knees.)

Video Leader Tip Supplies: Connect Unit 2 DVD, whiteboard/chart paper, markers Students may recognize many forms of broken covenants in their 1. Write the definition of covenant (covenant: a binding promise, pact, or agree- lives: divorced parents, a friend who ment) on a whiteboard or chart paper. Have kids brainstorm covenants, promised not to tell a secret but promises, pacts, or agreements they’ve made or must follow. did, a mom who promised to make open house at school but had to 2. Watch the video, “Covenant” (Connect Unit 2 DVD, chapter 1). work late, and so on. Acknowledge that broken promises can cause 3. Look over the group list of covenants. Star the covenants kids think God much turmoil and sadness. God is might enter into with them. perfect; humans of any age are not. • How would you explain a covenant to Becky and Todd? • How is the covenant between God and humanity different than covenants we make with each other? How is it similar? • Is it ever okay to break a covenant? Why or why not? • If nothing we do can convince God to break the covenant made with us, then what’s the point of working to do good stuff?

2 EXPLORE covenant (15 MIN.)

Genesis 17:1-8 Supplies: Connect Bibles, pens or pencils, colored pencils or Bible highlighters God gave the biggest of big promises to Abraham and Sarah—not just that the elderly couple would have as many descendants as stars and a place to live, but that God would be bound to all of them forever. Even when Abraham and his descendants fell short of God’s expectations, God remained faithful.

1. Read Genesis 17:1-8 aloud. 2. Check out the covenant summary in the Connect Bible on page 26. Invite a student to read it to the group. 3. Follow the instructions to draw strings around words that describe Abraham’s family, then connect them with knots. • What do you think Abraham and Sarah thought when God explained the promises of the covenant? • Check out the timeline in the back of the Connect Bible. Approximately how many years have passed since God made the covenant with Abraham and Sarah? What’s the longest time you’ve kept a promise? Genesis 15:5-6 Romans 4:1-5 Though he was an elderly, childless man, when the word Paul wrote to a community that was uncertain whether or of God came to Abram that he would be the father of a not Gentiles (non-Jews) could be a part of the new cove multitude, Abram believed God’s promise. nant in Jesus. He reminded them that even though Jews were from Abraham’s family, they were not better than 1. Flip back to Genesis 15:5-6 and read the verses. those who were not. Because God creates and sustains the covenant, there is nothing for humans to brag about. 2. Draw a constellation of knots in the Bible. The covenant is a gift from God not earned by anyone. • When have you believed something that seemed almost impossible? 1. Turn to Romans 4. Ask a volunteer to read verses 1–5. • What reminds you of God’s promises? 2. Complete each prompt with things or people you trust • How do you feel about God when you look up at to keep you safe. the stars? • How can you help a kid who doesn’t always have someone to keep him or her safe? • If God stuck with us only because we do good stuff, how long do you think our relationship with God would last? More Time? Mark 14:22-25 Jesus used ordinary bread and wine to explain the meaning of his imminent death. In a similar way to the covenant made with Abraham and Sarah, this new covenant forever bound us to God through Jesus. Nothing, not even our sin or death, can separate us from the promise of life with God.

1. Read Mark 14:22-25. 2. In the bread, write a memory of seeing or participating in communion. In the cup, write a way God promises to be with us.

3 MAKE covenant (20-30 MIN.)

Project Supplies: Covenant Learner Sheets, scissors, pens or pencils, tape Abraham didn’t live long enough to see his offspring number as vastly as the stars 1 in the sky, but he trusted God and God’s covenant against all odds. Sometimes Complete the prompts. Cut promises and blessings take awhile to be fulfilled, but we can trust that God is with out the blessing strips. us while we wait. And we can be a blessing to others in the meantime. As kids create their projects, use these questions to help them engage their minds and connect with one another.

• Have you ever asked for something important and been totally ignored? How did it make you feel? 2 • A funny thing about God’s covenant is that it even includes people we might not Fold strips in half. Fold each like. What does that say about God? half inward along the dotted • Do you ever try to barter with God? (“God, if you do this, I promise to . . . ”) Do lines. you think God’s blessings work that way? Why or why not? • What do you think someone on the other side of the world thinks about while staring up at the stars? What do you think people around the world hope for? • Do you think there is anything we could do to “untie” us from God’s knot? Why? 3 Insert one strip into the other. Closing Ritual Supplies: ink pad, chart paper, pencil trace of the knot symbol on chart paper. 4 1. Ask a kid to press his or her whole index finger in the ink pad and put their whole Continue interlocking the fingerprint at an angle across the penciled knot outline. Have the next kid repeat links to form a constellation the action, leaving a fingerprint right next to the first, and so on. The long finger- of blessings. prints will form the image of a rope knot. 2. Keep the fingerprint image in a central place. 3. Form a circle, and invite preteens to link fingers with the people on either side of Leader Tip them. Invite them one at a time to share a promise they’ve received from God. Let kids keep their answers Quickly echo each promise clockwise around the circle. private if they don’t feel 4. Close with a prayer thanking God for making a covenant with Abraham and comfortable sharing what Sarah that also binds God and us today. they write about them- selves.