The Lord Is My Hope

Host

Let’s begin today with a fun game. It’s all about being the stickiest person here. We have two teams who will compete to be the ultimate champion.

Co-Host

One team member will toss the Velcro balls at their teammate. Your job is to try to catch them with your suit. You can’t use your hands to catch the balls, but you can move backward and side to side.

Host

We’ll have each team take turns. Let’s see who can catch the most in 60 seconds.

Host

They were very sticky competitors, for sure. Do you ever wish you could walk down the street and have really good stuff just stick to you like Velcro?

Co-Host

I do. The good news for Jesus’ followers is that there are good things from God that stick to us.

Host

Psalm 23 tells us about those. Listen closely during today’s service. Let’s see what sticky situation our friends are in at the lab today, as we do tell someone nearby which is stickier in your opinion: marshmallows or caramel.

Host

Sophia is convinced she’s attracting all kinds of bad things because she broke a mirror.

Co-Host

She might feel like she has a curse, but our feelings don’t always tell the truth.

Host

That’s why we need to check what we think or feel against what is true. Each week, we learn a true Big Point from the Bible. Let’s check out our Big Point and see what it says.

Co-Host

After we count down from three, will you please read the Big Point.

Co-Host

Let’s all say it together, The Lord Is My Hope! Even when bad things happen, we trust God has a plan for our lives.

Host

I wish I could say that bad things will never happen. That’s not true. King David, who wrote Psalm 23, had lots of problems. Some of them were because of his wrong choices, and some because of others’ evil choices. Either way, God never gave up on David.

Co-Host

Hope is trusting in God’s promises despite not knowing how it’s all going to work out. Let’s play a group game. I’m going to show you a picture. In this picture, there are ten hidden items.

Host

Let’s see how many we can find.

Co-Host

You guys seem to be struggling to find all the missing items. What’s the problem? (Pause) Are you sure they are there? How do you know that?

Host

Because we told you there are ten items to find. What do you think is the problem with this picture? (Pause) You’re only seeing a small part of the big picture. Look at this.

Host

In the same way, we often only see what’s happening around us at that moment. We don’t see everything that God sees. He sees the whole picture and knows His big plan. Our hope is in the fact that God is working out His plan for our good.

Co-Host

That’s exactly what Sophia needs to hear.

Co-Host

Let’s repeat the Big Point,

Co-Host

The Lord Is My Hope!

Host

Sophia’s worried that black cats and ladders are giving her bad luck. We call those superstitions, and superstitions are super fake. Those things can’t force bad things to happen.

Co-Host

Unfortunately, people sometimes believe untrue things, and it causes them to act like Sophia. We’re blessed because we have God’s Word to teach us what is true.

Host

Let’s choose an assistant to help us reveal the true things that King David wrote in the Big Verse.

Co-Host

After we count down from three, you can read the verse.

Host

Psalm 23:6 (NIrV), “I am sure that goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.” That verse means that God’s good blessings and love will pursue us and hunt us down. We usually think bad things are coming after us, but the Bible says God’s good things want to pounce on us.

Co-Host

Let’s play a game. It’s a game of tag. These contestants wearing flags will try to avoid these two players trying to catch them. Can you see what’s on their shirt?

Host

They say “goodness” and “love.” Those two are going to attempt to remove one of the two flags on as many kids as possible. Let’s see how many they can catch in 60 seconds.

Co-Host

It’s crazy that some people try to avoid God’s goodness and love by not following Him. When you make Jesus your Leader, you can be sure that the good things from God are ready to pounce.

Host

Before we hear today’s Big Story, let’s take a moment to stop and worship God.

One of the best ways to remind yourself of God’s goodness and mercy is by placing your focus on Jesus through saying His Word and worshipping Him. When you speak God’s Word and worship in spite of how you feel, you exercise your faith. Let’s repeat our verses from Psalm 23 together. “The Lord is my Shepherd. He guides me in the right paths. I will not be afraid. You are with me. My cup runs over. I am sure that goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.” (Repeat one or two more times)

Host

Even when the Israelites made choices that pushed God away, His goodness and love still followed them. That’s the story of everyone. We’ve all done the wrong thing at times, but God still sent Jesus to save all of us.

Co-Host

God never gives up on us. Let’s say our Big Point again,

Co-Host

The Lord Is My Hope!

Host

Let’s check out this week’s Big Do, so we can learn how to talk with our family about the Big Point.

Co-Host

Today’s Big Do is to have everyone in your family share something they are hopeful for this year.

Host

There’s a great verse from

Host

Lamentations 3:23 (NIrV). It says, “His great love is new every morning. Lord, how faithful you are!” It’s a good reminder of how God’s blessings keep coming day after day.

Co-Host

Let’s think of something we could praise God for each day of the week as we remember His goodness and love.

Host

I love that we can trust God and not lose hope in His help. Let’s gather in our Small Groups and discuss today’s lesson.

• How have you experienced God’s love and help this week?

• What mistake did the Israelites keep making? Worshipping false gods.

• How did God respond even after all those mistakes? He didn’t forget about them and had a plan to help them.

• What does it mean in Psalm 23 that God’s goodness and love follow us? God’s help and blessings are available to us, even when problems happen. He loves to help us. He won’t forget about us.

• What is this week’s Big Do? Have everyone in your family share something they are hopeful for this year.

• Our Big Point says, The Lord Is My ______!

  • Hope

• What happened to the Israelites because of pushing God away?

  • Another country defeated them

  • They became an empire

• What was Sophia trying to get rid of at the lab?

  • Old clothes

  • Bad luck

• Psalm 23:6 (NIrV), “I am sure that goodness and love will ______ me all the days of my life.”

  • Follow

  • Avoid

• God had promised a long time before bad things happened to help Israel.

  • True

  • False

• What are some examples of God’s goodness and love to us?

• When the Israelites were prisoners in another country, God forgot about them.

  • True

  • False

• God’s help is only available if you don’t make mistakes.

  • True

  • False

• How does it help us to know that we can put our trust in God’s goodness towards us?

• What is this week’s Big Do? Have everyone in your family share something they are hopeful for this year