Good morning! I’m so glad you’re all here!

Connect Question:Would you rather swim through a pool of gelatin or a pool of whipped cream? Why?

Here’s what you’re going to do: Go around the room and meet three people. As you meet them, shake hands with your left hand (or your right hand if you’re left-handed) and ask them the Connect Question.

Let’s read our Remember Verse together a few times. It’s the first week, so they won’t have learned it yet!

Be strong and courageous.Do not be afraid or terrified, for the LORD your God is with you.He will never leave you or desert you.Deuteronomy 31:6

walks on stage carrying ladder and sets it down to the side. Hello there! I bet you’re wondering why I’ve got this ladder with me. Well, you see, there’s this cat in my neighborhood that keeps running away and getting stuck high up in the trees.

You think he would learn his lesson and stop running away! Over and over he gets himself in danger and needs to be saved. Silly cat!

Pause as if remembering something. That reminds me of The Big God Story, when the Israelites kept disobeying God and getting in trouble. God delivered His people from difficult situations over and over and over again! Let’s pause and invite God to teach us today as we learn how He delivers. Lead kids in Prayer of Release.

Tech: After Prayer, Cue Timeline Video

When God led the Israelites out of slavery, He promised them a land of their own, where they would be free to worship only God. But before God led them into the Promised Land, He gave His people instructions. God knew other people already lived in the land—people who worshipped false gods. So He reminded the Israelites that He was their Deliverer. That means that God set them free from their enemies and any difficulties they faced. But to keep their freedom, the Israelites needed to worship God alone.

If you brought your Bibles, open it with me to Joshua 23. Read Joshua 23:9,16 aloud.

9- The LORD has driven out great and powerful nations to make room for you. To this day no one has been able to fight against you and win.

16- Suppose you break the covenant the LORD your God made with you. He commanded you to obey it. But suppose you go and serve other gods. And you bow down to them. Then the LORD will be very angry with you. You will quickly be destroyed. You will be removed from the good land he has given you.

The first commandment God gave to His people said, “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3). God knew that if the Israelites mixed with the people from the lands around them, they would forget Him and would start worshipping the false gods too.

The Israelites chose to disobey God anyway. When they got to the Promised Land, they destroyed some of the altars of the false gods—but not all of them. And they started mixing with the other people.

Ask three volunteers to come onstage and stand in line, single-file. Give the first one the Rebellion sign, the second the Repentance sign, and the third the Restoration sign.

This started a cycle in the lives of the Israelite people of rebellion (first volunteer in line holds up Rebellion sign), which means disobeying or going against God; (first volunteer moves to back of line as second volunteer holds up Repentance sign); repentance, which means turning away from sin (volunteer at front of line moves to back of line as next volunteer holds up Restoration sign); and restoration, which means coming back to God.

Let’s act out this cycle together. Volunteer with Rebellion sign steps to front of line. When you see the word “rebellion,” cross your arms and yell, “No!” Practice actions with kids.

Cycle front volunteer to back of line as volunteer with Repentance sign steps forward. When you see the word “repentance,” hold up both hands clasped together, as if you’re pleading, and call out, “Help!” Practice with kids.

Cycle front volunteer to back of line as volunteer with Restoration sign steps forward. When you see the word “restoration,” turn to the person beside you, smile, and shake hands. Practice actions with kids.

Cycle through three signs one more time (Rebellion, Repentance, and Restoration) while practicing actions.

A generation after conquering Jericho and other cities in the Promised Land the Israelite people forgot that only God saves, and they started to worship other gods. Volunteer with Rebellion sign comes forward. Lead kids to fold their arms.

Because of their disobedience, God allowed the Israelites to be conquered by other people.

Volunteer with Repentance sign comes forward. Lead kids to hold up hands clasped together and call, “Help!” Still, every time God’s people cried out to Him, God raised up leaders called judges to deliver them from their enemies.

Volunteer with Restoration sign comes forward. Lead children to smile and shake hands. Again and again, God delivered His people.

Let’s look, in the Bible, at Judges 3:12:Tech: Cue Slide“Again the Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. So the LORD gave Eglon power over Israel. Eglon was the king of Moab.”

Volunteer with Rebellion sign comes forward. Lead kids to hold up hand in a fist. For 18 years the cruel King Eglon made the Israelites miserable, so they cried out to God.

Volunteer with Repentance sign comes forward. Lead kids to hold up hands clasped together and call, “Help!”

And even though they’d been unfaithful, God heard their cries and delivered them through a man named Ehud.

Have volunteers with signs sit onstage.

Ehud, one of Israel’s judges, was an unlikely choice. You see, Ehud had a disability. He had little or no use of his right hand. He could only use his left hand.

When soldiers went into battle, they held their shields with their left hand and their swords with their right hand. Tech: Cue Soldier slide. If you were left-handed, it would be hard for you to fight. Yet God used Ehud to help deliver His people.

God helped Ehud come up with a plan to save His people from the nasty King Eglon. Let’s read more to find out Ehud’s plan.

Read Judges 3:15–16 (Tech: Cue Slide)Ehud was left-handed. The Israelites sent Ehud to Eglon, the king of Moab. (King Eglon was a very fat man.)Ehud had made a sword that had two edges. It was about a foot and a half long. He tied it to his right leg under his clothes.

Ehud decided he would visit the king to “pay tribute” by giving money or gifts to him on behalf of the Israelites. Tech: Cue King’s Chamber slide. After presenting his gift, Ehud told the king he wanted to give him a secret message. King Eglon told his servants to leave the chamber so they could talk in private.

Let’s see what happened next! Read vv. 20–22Then Ehud reached out his left hand. He pulled out the sword tied to his right leg. He stuck it into the king’s stomach. Even the handle sank in after the blade. King Eglon fell to the floor. Ehud didn’t pull out the sword. And the fat closed over it.

The king hadn’t been expecting Ehud to use his left hand for anything—and definitely not for that! Tech: Cue: Sword slide. The knife, which was 18 inches long, went so far into Eglon’s huge belly that it got lost inside the king! And Ehud’s hand went inside the king’s belly too!

After King Eglon died, Ehud slipped away safely.

God used Ehud to deliver His people from the rule of a king who mistreated His people. The people were delivered from the terrible king. The Israelites saw how God delivered them and once again chose to worship Him alone!

Have sign volunteers stand in line. Volunteer with Restoration sign comes forward. Lead children to smile and shake hands. For the next 80 years they lived in peace from God’s deliverance.

Through this part of The Big God Story, we see a picture of God’s grace, which means undeserved kindness. Though the Israelites knew God’s commands, they still rebelled.

Volunteer with Rebellion sign comes forward. Lead kids to cross their arms.

Yet God faithfully delivered His people when they turned away from their sins and cried out to Him. Volunteer with Repentance sign comes forward. Lead kids to hold up hands clasped together and call, “Help!” Volunteer with Restoration sign comes forward. Lead children to smile and shake hands.

Thank and dismiss volunteers.

It’s easy to get frustrated with the Israelites. But sometimes we make some of the same mistakes! God calls us to worship Him by loving Him and loving others. But we still turn away from God, or rebel.

We do this in many ways: by bullying people, saying mean things about people when we should love them; choosing to spend too much time and energy talking about, watching, or listening to things that aren’t good for us; and more.

Next week we’ll hear how the Israelites chose to disobey God again—and again, disaster followed! We’ll meet a woman named Deborah who helped lead the Israelites in a fierce battle against a mighty army. When we – OR the Israelites – put other things before God, that’s sin. But God hears our cries and delivers us. He also restores us to a good relationship with Him. How amazing! (Tech: Cue RESPONSE Slide)

No matter how bad the Israelites had been, God always answered their cries for help. He always delivered them. God showed His everlasting love for His people by calling them back to worship Him.

God also sent us a Deliverer—Jesus Christ—who saves us from sin and shows us God’s love. Today we’re going to use our imaginations as we think about God as our Deliverer.

Throughout the Bible, God’s people worshipped Him for saving them. As they wrote songs of worship to God, they used pictures and symbols to describe His character. As I read Psalm 18:2. Listen to how God is described as a deliverer: (Tech: Cue Slide)The LORD is my rock and my place of safety. He is the God who saves me. My God is my rock. I go to him for safety. He is like a shield to me. He’s the power that saves me. He’s my place of safety.

Close in prayer.

Invite children to go to the tables and draw what they think God The Deliverer looks like. (Maybe He looks like a soldier, or maybe he looks like a super hero. Maybe he’s riding on a horse [or a MOTORCYCLE!])

Give them time to draw their pictures before dismissing them by grade.