Worship Tools

Worship Outline

Additional Scriptures 

Psalm 124; Matthew 16:13–20; Romans 12:1–8 

Prelude 

Welcome 

Call to Worship 

Responsive Psalm: Thanksgiving for Israel’s Deliverance 

Leader:  Psalm 124 comes from a time after God rescued the Hebrews from the pharaoh and uses images to praise God who saves people from their oppressors. Let us join together in reading this psalm. The psalmist begins: If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—let Israel now say— 

Left side: if it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when our enemies attacked us, 

Right side:  then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us; 

Left side:  then the flood would have swept us away, the torrent would have gone over us; 

Right side:  then over us would have gone the raging waters; 

Leader:  We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. 

All:  Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and Earth. 

—Based on Psalm 124 

Hymn 

“Deep in the Shadows of the Past” CCS 64 

OR “The Living Word of Scripture” CCS 65 

Opening Prayer 

Response 

Disciples’ Generous Response 

Scripture Reading: Doctrine and Covenants 165:2a 

Statement 

When our lives are touched deeply by God, we want to be more Christ-like in our living. As disciples of Jesus Christ, we acknowledge God’s grace and love in our lives. Accepting God’s gifts means offering our whole life to Christ as a faithful disciple. We are invited to a journey of whole-life stewardship in response to God’s amazing generosity in our lives as we seek to build communities of joy, hope, love, and peace. 

—Sharing in Community of Christ, 4^th Ed. Herald Publishing House, p.43 

Blessing and Receiving of Local and Worldwide Mission Tithes 

Scripture Reading: Exodus 1:8—2:10 

Focus Moment 

In Exodus we’re told that a new Pharaoh has come to power in Egypt, one who had not known Joseph, a Pharaoh who was fearful. Two Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, protect mothers and babies, covering for them when male children are born. The mother of the young one who becomes Moses protects him by sending him down the river in a basket. Unexpectedly, the daughter of the new Pharaoh finds the baby in the basket and decides to protect him and raise him as her own. 

Facilitate a discussion around: 

Who showed courage in this story? 

How did courageous action affect Israel’s future? 

Can you think of present-day situations that might require our courageous action? 

OR Testimonies  

Ahead of time ask two or three individuals to share about acting with courage, standing for peace and justice.  OR Invite those in attendance to offer their testimonies. 

Ministry of Music OR Community Hymn 

“A Mother Lined a Basket” CCS 239 

OR “Restless Weaver” CCS 145 

OR “Lord Jesus, of You I Will Sing/Jésus, je voudrais te chanter” CCS 556/557 

Encourage participants to sing in a language other than their own. 

Morning Message 

Based on Exodus 1:8—2:10 

Prayer for Peace 

Light the peace candle 

Prayer 

Read stanzas 1 and 3 of “Blessed Be the God of Israel,” CCS 396. End with an Amen. 

Hymn of Courage 

“You Are Called to Tell the Story“ CCS 625 

OR “Your Cause Be Mine” CCS 639 

Or “God of Grace and God of Glory” CCS 624 

Encourage participants to sing in languages other than their own. 

Sending Forth 

Be courageous and visionary, believing in the power of just a few vibrant witnesses to transform the world. Be assured that love will overcome the voices of fear, division, and deceit. 

—Excerpted from Doctrine and Covenants 161:3c 

Postlude 

Sacred Space: Small-Group Worship Outline

Gathering

Welcome

Ordinary Time runs from Pentecost to Advent. This part of the Christian calendar is without major festivals or holy days. During Ordinary Time we focus on our discipleship as individuals and as a faith community.

Prayer for Peace

Ring a bell or chime three times slowly.
Light the peace candle.

There are so many ways we divide ourselves from one another: politics, theology, economics, and culture, and these are only a few of the many. It seems we can manage to be in conflict about nearly everything.

Yet, there also are so many ways we are drawn together: the compassionate response of thousands of individuals to hurricanes; the coming together of neighbors and friends in response to a bombing.

Help us to choose and practice drawing together. Help us to not be paralyzed by the divisive.

Help us to seek you when we are faced with difficult questions.

Help us to see the value and efforts of others who serve in your behalf, especially from those who are not like us.

Help us remember through Communion that we are the body of Christ…your hands and feet; your heart and mind…that we may be about your peace.

—Charles Curry

Spiritual Practice

Body Prayer

Read the following:

Today we are focusing on the Enduring Principle of Sacredness of Creation. Our bodies are an amazing gift. Sometimes we don’t feel fully connected to our bodies. Our bodies often know things before we allow our minds to think them. When we pray with the movement of our whole body, we can receive different insight than when we use our normal prayer stance.

Read the following: I will show you movements with some explanations. Then we will repeat the movements three times silently together.

We start with our hands in the prayer pose (hands pressed together in front of you). This centers us.

We raise our arms high. This opens us to the all-encompassing love of God.

We put our hands on our hearts. This reminds us to listen to our voice within.

We open our hands in front of our bodies. This offers our love to others.

We lift our hands to the sky. This reminds us to open to all.

We lower our hands and place them on our heart. This helps us gather and bring all to our heart.

We bring our hands back to prayer pose. This brings us back to stillness and peace.

Now, let us move through these motions three times in silent prayer.

Repeat the movements three times. Bow to one another and say, “Namaste” (I bow to you).

Sharing Around the Table

Exodus 1:8—2:10 NRSVue

⁸ Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. ⁹ He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we. ¹⁰ Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” ¹¹ Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh. ¹² But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites. ¹³ The Egyptians subjected the Israelites to hard servitude ¹⁴ and made their lives bitter with hard servitude in mortar and bricks and in every kind of field labor. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.

¹⁵ The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, ¹⁶ “When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” ¹⁷ But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live. ¹⁸ So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and allowed the boys to live?” ¹⁹ The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” ²⁰ So God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very strong. ²¹ And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families. ²² Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

2 Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman.² The woman conceived and bore a son, and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. ³ When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. ⁴ His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.

⁵ The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. ⁶ When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,” she said. ⁷ Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” ⁸ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹ Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. ¹⁰ When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

—Exodus 1:8—2:10 NRSVue

The Israelites thrived while living in Egypt. But today’s scripture begins with an announcement that a new king is taking the throne in Egypt. Pharaoh feels threatened by the large Hebrew population and takes brutal steps. He enslaves the Israelites to work on construction projects. He decrees that every Hebrew male child be killed at birth. When that is not successful, he commands that every Hebrew male baby be thrown into the Nile

As is often the case in the Bible, God uses those who otherwise would be considered of little worth to overthrow the best efforts of those who are believed to be in power. Today’s text is a story filled with fearless and compassionate women, from the midwives to Moses’ mother and sister, to Pharaoh’s daughter.

The Hebrew midwives first thwart the Pharaoh’s efforts by not killing the Hebrew males at birth, claiming the Hebrew women are birthing children before they arrive. Then Moses’ mother and daughter find a way to save this male infant from death. Finally, it is the Pharaoh’s own daughter who saves Moses from the Nile and raises him in the safety of the Egyptian court. As Moses grows, we sense God’s faithfulness in preparing to answer the cries for justice voiced by those who are oppressed. The stage is now set for the larger Exodus story—the Israelites will defy the oppressive regime of the Pharaoh and be led away from captivity by one of their own.

In our modern environment, there has been much oppression, from the local schoolyard bully to racial and gender discrimination. As disciples we find ways to disrupt and overturn systems of injustice and oppression that are realities in our lives and our communities. We trust in God’s faithfulness—not power-hungry humans—to propel us and creation toward freedom and hope.

Questions

1. How have you participated in a system of oppression or injustice?
2. What steps might we take to stop bullying, marginalization, and persecution of others?
3. How might God be working through events and people to bring justice today?

Sending

Generosity Statement

Faithful disciples respond to an increasing awareness of the abundant generosity of God by sharing according to the desires of their hearts; not by commandment or constraint.

—Doctrine and Covenants 163:9

The offering basket is available if you would like to support ongoing, small-group ministries as part of your generous response.

This offering prayer is adapted from A Disciple’s Generous Response:

God of our discipleship, As we navigate our world of debt and consumerism, help us to save wisely, spend responsibly, and give generously. In this way may we prepare for the future and create a better tomorrow for our families, friends, the mission of Christ, and the world. Amen.

Invitation to Next Meeting

Closing Hymn

CCS 239, “A Mother Lined a Basket”

Closing Prayer

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Optional Additions Depending on the Group

• Communion
• Thoughts for Children

Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper

Communion Scripture

Choose one scripture to read from this selection: 1 Corinthians 11:23–26; Matthew 26:17–30; Mark 14:12–26; Luke 22:7–39.

Invitation to Communion

All are welcome at Christ’s table. The Lord’s Supper, or Communion, is a sacrament in which we remember the life, death, resurrection, and continuing presence of Jesus Christ. In Community of Christ, we also experience Communion as an opportunity to renew our baptismal covenant and to be formed as disciples who live Christ’s mission. Others may have different or added understandings within their faith traditions. We invite all who participate in the Lord’s Supper to do so in the love and peace of Jesus Christ.

We share in Communion as an expression of blessing, healing, peace, and community. In preparation let’s sing from Community of Christ Sings (select one):

• 515, “In These Moments We Remember”
• 516, “Coming Together for Wine and for Bread”
• 521, “Let Us Break Bread Together”
• 525, “Small Is the Table”
• 528, “Eat This Bread”

Bless and serve bread and wine.

Thoughts for Children

Materials: battery-operated tea lights for each participant to hold (optional, but might be a good idea for younger groups)

Say: In today’s scripture we learn the Egyptians treated the Israelites very unjustly. While people have gotten better at treating other people justly, there is still a lot of injustice in our world.

Holding in the light invites us to place a person or concern in the light of God’s Spirit. Today, we are going to pray for people who are treated unjustly.

If you don’t know anyone specifically who experiences injustice, that’s OK. You can pray for people who don’t have enough to eat, people who are separated from their families, or people who constantly are afraid because of violence. You also can pray for people in your life whom you would like to hold in the light. Maybe someone in your family is sick, or someone at school doesn’t have many friends. Those are good people to hold in the light, too.

If you are using tea lights, pass those out before you begin praying. Invite all present to participate.

Allow a picture to form in your mind of the person or concern you wish to pray for. See the person or concern being surrounded and held in God’s light. Feel or sense this healing light, even if you do not have an image of it. Open your heart to God’s love for the person and continue to hold the person in the light until you hear me say amen.

Wait 30 to 60 seconds to allow children time to think and pray. At the conclusion, say: “Amen.”

Sermon Helps

Exploring the Scripture

The Israelites, while living in Egypt, thrived. But today’s scripture passage begins with an announcement that a new king is taking the throne in Egypt. Pharaoh is threatened by the large Hebrew population and takes brutal steps:

• Enslaves the Israelites to work on construction projects
• Decrees that every Hebrew male child be killed

As a counterpoint to this horrific background, two heroic midwives refuse to kill the newborns. Their excuse is that Hebrew women are so healthy (unlike Egyptian women) that they give birth before the midwives arrive. When Pharaoh becomes aware of this, he commands that all the male Hebrew babies be thrown into the Nile.

A Hebrew woman named Jochebad hides her baby boy for as long as possible (estimated at three months). Then she makes a waterproof basket and floats the baby down the Nile near Pharaoh’s daughter under the watchful eye of the baby’s older sister Miriam. When the princess rescues the child (probably knowing he was Hebrew), Miriam suggests an available Hebrew nurse. Pharaoh’s daughter hires the baby’s mother to nurse the child. The princess names the baby Moses, which can be interpreted as “one who draws out.”

Because of the kindness and compassion of the royal princess, Moses grows up in the Egyptian court, at the same time nursed by his birth mother. Today’s text is a story filled with fearless and compassionate women, from the midwives to Moses’ mother and sister, to Pharaoh’s daughter. Pharaoh is thwarted at every turn, ironically by those with little power. The stage is now set for the larger Exodus story—the Israelites will defy oppression and be led away from captivity by one of their own.

As Moses grows, we sense God’s faithfulness in preparing to answer the cries for justice voiced by those who are oppressed. God is working through events and people to free the Israelites in opposition to a powerful earthly king.

In our modern environment, there has been much oppression, from the local schoolyard bully to racial and gender discrimination. We trust in God’s faithfulness—not power-hungry humans—to propel creation toward freedom and hope.

Central Ideas

1. God is faithful to God’s covenant people.
2. Those with power oppress others based on the fear that their power is in some way threatened.
3. Pharaoh’s power is reduced by the civil disobedience of brave and compassionate women.
4. God works through events and people to bring about justice.

Questions for the Speaker

1. In our impatience, we may question the years it took to set the stage for Israel’s flight from captivity. What is your understanding of God’s faithfulness in this story?
2. Do you know a woman or women who show courage and compassion like those in the story?
3. What ironies do you see in this story? For example, Pharaoh commands that Hebrew boy babies be thrown into the Nile—the river that Moses’ mother uses to float him toward the Pharaoh’s daughter.
4. What behavior do you see in today’s world that parallels Pharaoh’s behavior?
5. What can we do to stop bullying, oppression, and persecution?
6. How might God be working through events and people to bring about justice today?

Lessons

Adult Lesson

Focus Scripture Passage

Exodus 1:8—2:10

Lesson Focus

Small acts by courageous people can have a big impact.

Objectives

The learners will…

• identify a new insight into a familiar scripture story.
• discuss parallels in contemporary times.
• discuss the impact people who work for the greater good can have.
• strategize something they or the congregation could do to address the Mission Initiative Abolish Poverty, End Suffering.

Resources

For background into Old Testament scripture the following resources may be helpful:

• International Bible Commentary, Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1998
• Any lectionary commentary series for Year A, 2019-2020

Supplies

• Bibles or handouts of Exodus 1:8—2:10
• Flip chart, chalkboard, or dry erase board
• Small note cards, one for each class member
• Pencils or pens
• Community of Christ Sings (CCS)

Notes to Teacher

In preparation for this lesson, read “Exploring the Scripture” for Exodus 1:8—2:10 in Sermon & Class Helps, Year A: Old Testament, p. 104, available through Herald House.

Gather

The book of Genesis (meaning origin) lays out two main themes: the primeval saga of creation and the dramatic story of God’s dealings with the world. It particularly follows God working with one familial line who would develop a relationship with God that would benefit other people.

Today we begin exploring the book of Exodus, which picks up the overarching story. Descendants of Joseph had settled in Egypt and become prolific, which resulted in imperial Egyptian dynasties becoming fearful of them, forcing them into harsh labor and trying to control their population growth.

Read or sing stanza 1 of “A Mother Lined a Basket” CCS 239.

Engage

Today’s scripture passage tells a story most of us have heard many times. Sometimes it is difficult to see or hear something new in what is familiar. As the scripture is read, listen carefully for a word or phrase that affects you and be ready to tell about it.

Ask for volunteers to read the scripture (Exodus 1:8—2:10) in the following manner.

• King of Egypt
• Midwife
• Daughter of Pharaoh
• Sister of the baby
• Two narrators (one reads all verses not in quotes in chapter 1 beginning with verse 8; the other reads the same in chapter 2, vv. 1–10)

Discuss:

• What word or phrase stood out to you?
• What new insight did you gain?

Rapid population growth of the alien Hebrews caused the Egyptian ruler to become fearful of their numbers and the possible consequences of having more Hebrews than Egyptians in the country. Amid the plan to make life harsh for the Hebrews and to forcibly limit their population growth, one segment of the population resisted.

Discuss:

• Who resisted? Why?
• Ask for a volunteer to reread stanza 1 of CCS 239 again.
• What were the consequences of their actions?
• How do you see God at work?

Respond

In our contemporary world there are echoes of some of the same fears felt by the Egyptian king.

• Name a situation in today’s world that reflects fear of others, particularly aliens.
• Identify injustices observed in those situations.
• List actions people have taken to restore justice.
• Which Mission Initiative(s) speak(s) to this issue?
  • Invite People to Christ
  • Abolish Poverty, End Suffering
  • Pursue Peace on Earth
  • Develop Disciples to Serve
  • Experience Congregations in Mission
• What do you think you as individuals or your congregation can do to practice the Mission Initiatives?
• Use a chalkboard, dry erase board, or flip chart to record comments and brainstorm practical ideas that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.

Distribute small note cards and pencils or pens and ask class members to write one of the action ideas with which they connect.

Send

Allow a minute or two for class members to reflect silently on the idea they have written on the card. Invite them to jot down notes about action steps they could personally do to make that idea happen.

Bless

Ask for a volunteer to offer a prayer for guidance and courage to be about the mission of Jesus Christ.

Youth Lesson

Focus Scripture Passage

Exodus 1:8—2:10

Lesson Focus

The oppression of the Hebrews and the birth of Moses set the stage for the exodus toward the Promised Land.

Objectives

The learners will…

• discover a continuing understanding of God’s faithfulness in the Sacred Story.
• identify God’s work through human events.
• recognize how the practice of civil disobedience can produce change in injustice.

Supplies

• Bible
• World map or map of Egypt
• Sharing in Community of Christ, 4th Edition, Herald House, 2018
• Basket
• Doll
• Cloth to wrap doll
• Grasses or reeds to cover doll
• Paper strips, pens, pencils
• Chart paper and markers
• Copies of Moses Word Search (end of lesson)

Note to Teacher

In preparation for this lesson, read “Exploring the Scripture” for Exodus 1:8—2:10 in Sermon & Class Helps, Year B: Old Testament, p. 104, available through Herald House.

Gather

A Basket and a Baby

Before class place a basket on the table where learners can see. In the basket place strips of plain paper and pens or pencils. Cover with rushes or use fresh greens for rushes. Place a doll wrapped in a cloth on top of the rushes.

Ask:

• What is the potential in the basket?
• If the doll were real, what might the child grow up to become?
• What would you be willing to do to make sure this child fulfills its potential?

Share some ideas.

Engage

From Freedom to Slavery and a Baby

Today’s lesson is about a free people pressed into slavery by a threatened pharaoh. It is also about a baby named Moses. We will meet his mother, his sister, and an Egyptian princess. Read Exodus 1:8–22; then answer the questions.

• In what country does the story take place? (Have a map available to help locate where Egypt and the Nile River is today.)
• This Pharaoh was afraid of something. What was it?
• Describe Pharaoh’s plan.
• What did Egyptians think about Hebrews? What verse tells us how they felt? Was this a new concept?
• Who were the Hebrew midwives?
• What decree did Pharaoh make to the midwives?

Now read Exodus 2:1–10 then answer the questions.

• What did Moses’ mother do with her baby? Why?
• Who found him?
• Who took care of the baby?
• What did the mother do when the baby grew older?
• What does the name “Moses” mean?
• Why was Moses put in the basket in the Nile River at that time?
• Why do you think this story was included in the Bible?
• What was God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph?
• How does this promise apply to Moses?

Remove the doll and reeds from the basket. Have each learner select a slip of paper and pen or pencil from the basket. Ask them to predict what Moses’ life will be like as the grandson of the Pharaoh. Share.

Distribute the Moses Word Search and allow students time to complete.

Respond

Going Deeper: Heroic Women

Look again at Exodus 1:8–2:10 and list the main characters in the story on chart paper. (Pharaoh or king, Hebrew midwives or Shiphrah and Puah, daughter of Pharaoh, Levite man and woman or mother, sister, boy child or Moses) Beside each character describe the role each played. You will notice most of the characters are women, powerful women that defied the ruling made by Pharaoh to kill all Hebrew male children. They saved the babies! Refer to the scripture passage to discover how God worked through them to achieve this in a time when women really had no power and little control over their lives.

Civil disobedience is a strategy in which people refuse to obey the unjust rulings of a government or power in a nonviolent manner. Examples of people practicing civil disobedience are Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Norwegians who sheltered Jewish refugees during World War II, and Nelson Mandela. Can you think of other examples? Would you have the courage to participate in civil disobedience against unjust practices and laws? Discuss.

Serving God

Many learners will already know the story of Moses and how people served God by protecting him as a young child. Thinking about service for God, make a chart of the five Mission Initiatives leaving space under each for writing. Ask learners to list activities they can do to serve God for each initiative. Following are some sample ideas:

• Invite People to Christ—have youth parties at church, invite people to a community dinner, invite to class, have church families and other families join in activities
• Abolish Poverty, End Suffering—collect clothing and food for people in need, have a fundraiser for another organization, help stock a food pantry, serve a meal at a shelter
• Pursue Peace on Earth—visit older people in the community, visit someone who is ill, care for a young child without expecting pay, do something for love, give a hug, read scripture passages about peace
• Develop Disciples to Serve—read scripture passages about how Jesus served others, share ideas with friends, design a project for the class that practices some of the ideas on this chart, teach younger children
• Experience Congregations in Mission—create an activity for the congregation that explores how everyone can serve God

Send

Who Am I?

Many things will happen in Moses’ life as he grows up. Today, we remember that Moses was an adopted Egyptian, adopted by the pharaoh’s daughter. He grew up in a royal household, but then learned he was Hebrew. Learning that information probably caused him much thought and many questions about who he really was. What kind of questions would you be asking? How might this information change your decisions? Your life? How would you live differently? Share and discuss together.

Bless

Say: Things happen in our lives we do not plan. Events change, places change, people change, and friends change. How do we handle change? The Bible tells us that God is with us through the changes in our stories. God was with the Hebrews who were pressed into slavery with the change of a new pharaoh. In Moses’ story, a new law in the land threatened his family, yet God made it possible for them to be family in a new way. We saw God in the life of Jacob and Joseph, too. God is faithful to God’s people. God is with us.

Offer a prayer for God’s presence in the lives of the learners as they meet life changes each day.

Children’s Lesson

Focus Scripture Passage

Exodus 1:8—2:10

Lesson Focus

When we are afraid, we can trust God.

Objectives

The learners will…

• hear the story of Moses’ birth.
• explore the Enduring Principle of Worth of All Persons.
• learn Psalm 56:3, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”

Supplies

• Bible or Lectionary Story Bible, Year A, by Ralph Milton, illustrated by Margaret Kyle (Wood Lake Publishing, 2007, ISBN 9781551455471)
• Large bowl of water
• Various items to put into the water (some that sink and some that float)
• Paper for each child, plus some extra
• Props for telling the story of Moses in the basket: toy people, blue fabric, green paper
• Blue paper plates (or plain white), blue tissue paper, green paper, play dough or clay, white paper, markers or crayons
• Printed scripture verses from this lesson
• Small ball

Notes to Teacher

In preparation for this lesson, read “Exploring the Scripture” for Exodus 1:8—2:10 in Sermon & Class Helps, Year A: Old Testament, p. 104, available through Herald House.

Gather

Place a large bowl of water in the middle of the table where the children can see it. Show them several objects and have them make a prediction if each object will sink or float. Then test their predictions. Possible objects include a ball, a paper clip, a piece of wood, a rock (volcanic rock is porous and will float!), a piece of clay, or a pencil. Finally, ask the children if a piece of flat paper will float. When the flat paper sinks, give each of them a single piece of paper and see if they can make it into a shape that will float.

Tell children today’s scripture passage is about a baby that was put into a floating basket and placed on the river! He survived and became one of the most famous people in the Bible. His name was Moses.

Engage

Our scripture passage today is from Exodus 1:8—2:10. The people of Israel, or “Hebrews” eventually became slaves of the Egyptian people. There were more and more Hebrews, and the Egyptians began to fear that the Hebrews would take over. The pharaoh told his soldiers to drown all the Hebrew baby boys in the river. This is where the story of Moses begins.

If you choose, you can tell the story of Moses using some props. Use small figurines or toy people as the characters: baby Moses, Jochebed (Moses’ mother), Miriam (Moses’ sister), and the princess. Use a strip of blue fabric for the river. Create some reeds along the edge of the river using green paper.

Use the props and tell the story of Moses in the basket by reading Exodus 2:1–10 or read the story, “Miriam Saves Her Brother” in Lectionary Story Bible, Year A, on pages 186–188.

Respond

God took care of Moses, just like God takes care of us. Do you think Moses’ mother was afraid? Psalm 56:3 says, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” It must have taken a lot of courage and trust for Moses’ mother to put him in that basket. God took care of Moses and had great plans for Moses’ future.

• Discuss times when the students have been afraid. Did it help to put their trust in God?

Moses in the Basket craft

Use a blue paper plate (or plain paper plate colored blue) and blue tissue paper for the water. Help children cut fringes on a rectangle of green paper to make the reeds. Let children make a basket out of play dough or clay. Let them use plain paper to create a baby for the basket and a lid for the basket. (See lettheirlightshine.com for additional ideas for this craft or search “Baby Moses paper plate craft” for other design ideas.)

Copy the scripture verse (below) and glue on each plate. Or, on a small piece of paper, write, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” –Psalm 56:3. Glue the scripture to the plate.

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. —Psalm 56:3	When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. —Psalm 56:3
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. —Psalm 56:3	When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. —Psalm 56:3
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. —Psalm 56:3	When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. —Psalm 56:3

Send

The pharaoh thought the Hebrew people were not as important as the Egyptian people. Most Hebrew people were slaves, who were forced to work for Egyptians without being paid. They were treated like property. Pharaoh even thought it was OK to kill Hebrew babies. We know that God loved the Hebrew people and that all people are precious to God.

In Community of Christ, one of our Enduring Principles is Worth of All Persons. We believe God views all people as having equal worth. God wants all people to know the joy that comes from knowing about God and about Jesus Christ. Baby Moses was important to God long ago, and each of you is important to God!

Sit in a circle. Toss a ball around the circle. When a child has the ball, they should say, “Tim has worth!” or “Sarah has worth!” and toss the ball to the child whose name they said.

Bless

Do a call-and-response prayer. Tell children to say: “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you” each time you point to them.

Leader: God, sometimes we are afraid.

Children: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

Leader: Sometimes we don’t feel important.

Children: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

Leader: Sometimes we don’t know what the future will be like.

Children: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

Leader: Thank you, God, for showing us that we each have worth and that we can trust you.

All: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. Amen.