Our God is So Great!

Itty Bitty Lutherans continues to discover the Exodus journey this week along with our month long look at praying with and for our children.


First a quick story. The other day our house was quiet.  Quiet always means trouble! I peeked around the corner and sure enough, there was Adelae sitting with my purse, munching on Cheerios while doling them out to little Pete too.  I just stood behind them and watched for a few minutes; it was such an Adam and Eve moment.  I just wanted to see what they would do when they noticed I'd caught them.  True to the Biblical account, Adelae hid - just like Eve! Funny thing, the next day I found Peter, on his own, digging in my purse - three separate times! 

Our little babes are learning more each day than they can ever express! Thank you for taking the time to bring them to Sunday School where the Holy Spirit is teaching them more than we can imagine! 

The Story:  We began the sign of the cross and Luther's morning prayer per our norm, and learned a new song, "My God is So Great".  This song works well with our story today, but I like it for our class because we have so many little boys in our class.  Sometimes Christianity gets painted with a sweet and sissy brush, but our God is a God of enormous strength and power - there is nothing sissy about powerfully pushing up walls of water!  There is nothing sissy about protecting your loved ones - dieing for your loved ones!

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do! xx

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do! xx

The mountains are His, the rivers are His, the stars are His handiwork too! xx

My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do! For you!

Introduce the story simply, God's people were ready to go.  They were leaving on a journey to a new land.  God was with them.  God was leading them.  God lead His people to the new land as a pillar.  A pillar is tall and strong.  Here is my little pillar.  Show children a "pillar" made from half a pool noodle. 

During the day the pillar was pillar of clouds, like the clouds you see in the sky. Show your cotton ball "clouds" and invite them to tape clouds to the pillar. Now let's go on a journey, like God's people went away on a journey.  We'll follow our cloud pillar too.  Lead the children and parents out of the nursery, into and around the church, to the center aisle.  After awhile God's people came to a stop in their journey.  They couldn't go any further.  They came to a beach and there was only water in front of them.  They had to stop their journey!  God's people had to stop, but they were not to their new land yet!  God is so strong!  He blew back the water.  The water was pushed back and God's people walked to the other side of the water!  God pushed the water back so that they were dry.  The water was moved. Their path was dry. God saved His people! 

Walk down the aisle until you reach the baptismal font. God took care of His people.  He pushed back the water to keep them safe.  God keeps us safe too.  He also saved us with water.  He saved you right here!  Many of you were baptized right here.  The pastor baptized you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  The pastor poured water on you.  God saved you by sending Jesus to die on the cross. God used the water and the Word together save you. He washed away your sins!  God loves you and you are His child!

Lord's Prayer Booklets:  When God's people were in trouble they took their concerns to Him.  He protected and saved His people!  God invites us to pray to Him too.  Start by teaching your child the Lord's Prayer. To help, make a Lord's Prayer Booklet.  Trace your hand, fingers together and thumb out, onto a file folder, making sure your pinkie is touching the fold of the file.  Cut out your hand, including the layer folded underneath your traced hand, to make the base of your book.  Trace your child's left hand onto a piece of scrapbook paper. Cut it out and glue it on top of your traced hand to make the cover of the little book, also with the pinkie touching the fold. 

On the inside, paste another piece of scrapbook paper in the middle of the two hands, and a copy of the Lord's prayer on top of the scrapbook paper.  It helps to pre-fold the inside pieces prior to gluing them in the book so that it folds easily.  Very young children may benefit from laminating the book or covering it with clear Contact paper. 

If you missed class and would like the materials used for today's craft, please email or text me and I'll bring them next week. 

Share this little prayer book with your child, teaching how to fold hands while in prayer.  Remember, this is the Lord's Prayer because the Lord, Jesus, is praying it along with us.  Reading a few Bible verses is another great way the Holy Spirit teaches us to pray.  By beginning prayers from God's Word our focus shifts away from our needs to the goodness and promises of God!  Moses sings a great prayer after the people are delivered through the Red Sea, "The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation!"  Old Moses said more than he knew!

WELCOME to our class, little Karl!  We're glad you joined us this week!