Tips

• Showing kids a real Bible and reading part of the story directly from the Bible helps kids know this isn’t just a made-up story—it’s found in God’s Word!
• Using “pair shares” where kids share with a partner ensures everyone gets a chance to answer the question—not just one or two kids.

Discuss

            Say: Today we’ll learn that God is real. And we’ll learn about a guy named Moses who saw that firsthand when God got his attention in an unusual way.

            Ask: • Tell about a time someone tried to get your attention. Have kids turn to a partner to share. Then ask a few kids to share with everyone.

            Say: People try to get our attention all the time. But I bet you’ve never seen anything quite like what God did to get Moses’ attention!

Make a Burning Bush

            Open your Bible to Exodus 3, and show kids the words.

            Say: Let’s find out what God did one day when Moses was out taking care of some sheep in the desert.

            Read Exodus 3:2-3.

            Say: Normally when things are on fire, they burn up! But the bush wasn’t burning up. Let’s make bushes that don’t burn up.

            Give each child a piece of each color of tissue paper. Show kids how to crumple the green paper to make a bush, then wave the orange paper all around it. Have kids set down their papers.

            Say: The burning bush got Moses’ attention to start with—but when he got closer, God really got his attention. Moses heard God’s voice calling from the bush. “Moses! Moses!” And God asked Moses to do a big job: Save God’s people by helping them get free from the leader of Egypt. That guy was called Pharaoh, and he didn’t treat them well.

            Moses was scared to do that job. He thought people might not believe God had sent him. But God said to tell people “I Am who I Am.” In other words: God is real! It was the real God who sent Moses to save people.

Make a Snake

            Say: Moses still wasn’t totally sure. He asked God to give him signs—or miracles—that he could show people to prove that God is real and God sent him.

            Read Exodus 4:1-4. Let’s see what that might have been like…well, a little bit!

            Have kids uncrumple their bushes and roll up the green paper to make snakes. Let kids play around with throwing them on the ground and picking them up a couple of times. Then have kids sit down and set down the paper “snakes.”

            Say: Our papers don’t change when we throw them on the ground and pick them up. But Moses’ staff—which is like a walking stick—turned into a real snake! God said if Moses showed that sign to people, they would know God is real.

Make Skin Spots

            Say: Then God gave Moses another way to prove that God is real.

            Read Exodus 4:6-7. Let’s act that out!

            Have kids tear small pieces of white tissue paper and place them all over their hands and arms. Then have them cross their arms and then lift and wave them to make all the pieces fall off. Direct kids to move away from the papers.

            Say: God said if people didn’t believe Moses based on the snake sign, Moses getting a skin disease and healing it before their eyes would prove God is real.

Make a Puddle of Bloody Water

            Say: And just in case that wasn’t enough, God had one more sign.

            Read Exodus 4:9. Time to act out this sign, too.

            Have kids use the red tissue paper to make a puddle on the ground.

            Say: These three signs, plus the burning bush, proved that God is real. Moses still didn’t want to do what God had asked. So God said his brother Aaron could help him.

            We had to make fake versions of God’s amazing signs. But Moses saw real things from God! But we can see other true signs that God is real. If we watch for ways he’s working around us, we’ll see all kinds of evidence! For example, we can see God in the amazing things he’s made!

            Ask kids to share the most amazing things they’ve seen in nature. After each one, lead kids in saying, “God is real!”

Tip

• Don’t have internet in your classroom? That’s okay! You can choose your own worship songs from our Best Of Dig In Music DVD here. 

Sing Songs to God

            Sing the three songs in any order.

Tip

• You may have kids in your class who don’t know Jesus, or who’ve heard untruths about him. So when you ask kids to describe Jesus, kids may share things that are inaccurate. Rather than shaming kids or calling out their misunderstandings, simply repeat what kids say, with the preface, “Maybe you’ve heard that Jesus is…” This is an excellent time to get a better understanding of what kids do believe about God’s Son!

Describe Items

            Say: There’s a saying that goes like this: Seeing is believing.

            Ask: • What do you think that means?

            Say: Sometimes it’s hard for us to believe in things that we can’t—or don’t—see. Let’s think about that as we try something together.

• Have kids close and cover their eyes. This keeps them from looking around the room to get ideas about what you might be talking about.
• Describe an item in your classroom. It may be out of sight (like in a drawer or cupboard) but should be accessible. It’s okay to be a little tricky in your descriptions, like saying, “This is made out of wood” as you describe paper.
• Give about three descriptions, then let a few kids guess (keeping their eyes closed). When someone guesses correctly, everyone can open their eyes, and you can show kids the item. If no one guesses correctly, reveal the answer and show the item.
• Choose a child to describe the next item.
• Play as many rounds as time allows.

Talk About Jesus

            Ask: • Which helped you understand what something was: seeing the real thing or listening to me tell about it? Why?

            Say: Sometimes words help us know more about something. And sometimes seeing helps us understand better. In the Bible, seeing the burning bush helped Moses see or better understand that God is real! Many, many years later, God sent his Son, Jesus, to live on earth. Jesus is 100 percent human and 100 percent God. No one had ever been able to see God walking around on earth like that before! Jesus helped people see or understand that God is real. Let’s try something now!

            Ask: • How would you describe Jesus?

            • How could we find out the truth about Jesus?

            Hold up a Bible.

            Say: The Bible—God’s Word—tells us that God is real. The Bible also tells us that God sent his Son, Jesus, to live here, and to die as a way to take the punishment for our wrong choices. Because of Jesus, we can have a forever friendship with God! That’s as real as it gets!

Tip

• Find reflective worship music and other great DIG IN resources here.

Sit on a Chair and Pray

            Say: God is real. Even if God doesn’t usually speak to us in a burning bush, like he did Moses, we can trust that God is real and likes to talk with us.

            You see, God is our Abba Father. The word Abba means “Father” in the Aramaic language. That’s the language Jesus spoke when he lived on earth! Jesus called God “Abba” or Father.

            Jesus made a way for us to call God “Abba,” too. When he died on the cross and came back to life again, Jesus welcomed all people who believe in him into God’s family.

            God is an Abba Father we can always depend on. God supports us, so we can rest in his loving care. Like a chair supports us and gives us a solid place to rest, our Abba Father God supports us, too. No matter what we’re going through, we can rest and rely on him. Let’s rest with God now and tell God we depend on him.

            Have kids sit comfortably on a chair or the floor. Play quiet worship music for a minute or so as kids simply sit on the chair, rest, and think about God.

            Say: When we were little and needed a hug or wanted to be held, we’d raise our arms to a grown-up. Now as we sit and rest with God, let’s raise our arms to our Abba Father to show we need him, too. Have kids extend arms as you pray.

            Pray: Abba Father, thank you for inviting us to be a part of your family. May we depend on you today and find rest, knowing that you love us and that you are real. In Jesus’ name, amen.

            Say: God is our Father, and God is real.

Tips

• It may take a while for kids to find the Bible verse. That’s okay! This activity is primarily about building Bible navigation skills.
• If you have a lot of non-readers, have some picture Bibles on hand for them to flip through as older kids look up verses. They won’t look for anything specific, but they can look at the pictures to practice paging through Bibles.
• It’s a great idea to have a stash of matching classroom Bibles, such as the Hands-On Bible. This will avoid confusion of different translations or storybook Bibles that don’t include every passage. Even so, avoid the temptation to just tell kids a page number—let kids practice finding verses.

Explore Deuteronomy 4:35

            Say: God is real. He showed Moses he was real by speaking from a burning bush and giving other cool signs. Let’s see what the Bible says about why God shows us he’s real.

            Make sure kids all have Bibles. Younger kids can sit with older kids so they can observe the skills of using their Bibles even before being able to read.

            Say: Our Bible verse is in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 4, verse 35. Let’s find the book of Deuteronomy. That’s in the Old Testament—which is the first part of the Bible. Open your Bible kind of near the front. Allow time.

• Point to the book of Deuteronomy on the poster so kids can see the name and what books come before and after it.
• Mention that the chapter numbers are the big numbers, and help kids find the big 4 in Deuteronomy.
• Mention that the verse numbers are the small numbers, and help kids find the small 35 in Deuteronomy 4.
• When everyone has found the verse, ask someone to read Deuteronomy 4:35 aloud.

            Say: God is real. He shows us he’s real so we can know and trust him.

Talk About What’s Real

            Say: To help us understand this verse, let’s think some more about how we know things are real. Encourage kids to call out answers to the following questions:

            Ask: • How do you know the sun is real? Challenge kids to think more deeply as they answer. For example, if kids say they see it shining, ask how they know it’s real on a cloudy day. If kids say it lights up the world so we can see, ask how they know it’s real at night.

            Say: We have an easier time believing something is real if we can see it, like the sun. But there are lots of things we can’t see that are still real.

            Ask: • How do you know air is real? If you have a bigger group, form smaller groups of four or five kids each, and ask for a few highlights after groups have time to share.

            Say: Okay, I have one more challenge:

            Ask: • How do you know you are real? Again, have kids share in groups if you did before.

            Say: We’ve thought about how we know things in our world are real, like the sun, the air, and ourselves. Keep your answers to those questions in mind as you answer this one.

            Ask: • How do you know God is real? If you have kids in groups, again ask for highlights after group discussion.

            Say: God shows us he’s real in lots of ways. The verse we read said that God showed his people miracles so they would know he’s the only God. And God still shows us evidence that he’s real! God is real, so let’s watch for ways he’s showing that to us!

Tip

• WARNING! Don’t just print and distribute! Here’s why.

Older Kids: Do an Activity Page

            Say: When Moses heard God speaking to him from the burning bush, he knew God is real. Then God gave him signs to show other people to prove it!

            Let’s see if you can figure out what’s real.

            Distribute the activity pages and pencils. Kids will circle the photos of the items they think are real.

            Ask: • Which items are you the most sure about? Why?

            • Think about the items you’re less sure about. What would help you know for sure whether it’s real or fake?

            Say: Some of these pictures were obvious. But some were harder to tell! If you were able to look at the object up close, you’d be able to know for sure. The closer we get to items, the better we can tell if they are real or fake.

            Ask: • What does that teach us about getting to know that God is real?

            Say: God might not speak to us through a burning bush. But we can still get close to God. We can talk with him and read his words to us in the Bible. The closer we get to God, the more confident we’ll be that God is real.

            Give kids the answers to the puzzle.

            Ask: • Did any items trick you?

            • What are some things that trick people when it comes to God?

            Say: Sometimes there are people who might say things that sound good about God but aren’t true. If we’re not careful, those fake things can trick us! But God is real, and everything we need to know about him is in the Bible.

            ANSWER KEY: 1, 3, 5, and 6 are real

Younger Kids: Color a Coloring Page

            Distribute the coloring pages and crayons. Say: In the Bible, the bush that was on fire but not burning up was proof for Moses that God is real. Let’s color that scene!

            Allow time for kids to color. If you have orange highlighters, kids can use those for the flames.

            When kids finish coloring, three-hole-punch their pages and put them into binders, if desired.

Celebrate God and His Creation

            Say: Moses saw some surprising things in nature that showed him God is real. David was another friend in the Bible who looked at nature and was reminded that God is real, too! Let’s look in the Bible to see what David wrote about that.

            The Bible is broken up into 66 books. Each book contains chapters and verses. This verse comes from a book called Psalms. Hey, that sounds a lot like the word songs! And Psalms is filled with songs! Let’s learn one.

            Psalm 8:1 tells us, “O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens.” Let’s say that together! Lead kids in saying the verse with you, saying one phrase at a time for kids to repeat. Repeat several times until kids begin to feel comfortable saying it.

            Say: The word majestic is a way to describe someone special, like a king. This whole psalm talks about how God’s awesome creation—all the things that fill the earth—shows us how special and amazing God is. Let’s think about our majestic, awesome God and all the cool things he made.

• Gather kids around a parachute with you.
• Cheer the verse together as you all raise the parachute overhead. Lead kids in quickly pulling the parachute behind and sitting on the edge of it. This creates sort of a “bubble” overhead.
• Call out one of the categories below, and let kids call out as many things in nature that fit that description as possible:

• green
• fuzzy
• wet
• noisy
• quiet
• colorful
• tall

• As soon as the parachute lowers enough to touch someone’s head, lead kids in standing back up.
• Repeat the activity, first cheering the verse, then making a bubble and calling out things in nature that fit one of the categories.
• Play as many rounds as time allows.

Talk About It

            Ask: • What are some of your favorite things God made?

            • How can God’s creation show us God is real?

            Say: God is real! We may not see and touch God like we do our friends in class, but we can see, touch, smell, taste, splash in, play with, and hear plenty of his incredible creations!

Showcase Talents

            Say: In today’s Bible story, Moses saw that God is real. God proved it with amazing signs like turning a staff into a snake! In this game, you’ll do amazing signs—or at least claim you can!

• Have kids line up shoulder to shoulder across the middle of the room.
• One at a time, kids will make a claim about something unique they can do, such as lick their elbows, do the splits, recite the books of the Bible, or other ideas.
• The claims may or may not be real!
• After each claim, all the other kids will vote on whether they think the claim is true or false by using thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
• The child who made the claim will either showcase the skill or admit it’s not real.
• Kids who guessed right will take one step forward; kids who guessed wrong will take one step back.
• Periodically say “God is real” and let all kids take a step forward to show they believe it’s true.
• Let the game keep going as long as needed to fill time until parents begin to arrive.

            Distribute a copy of the “Dig In @ Home” handout to kids as they leave, or email it to parents during the week.