✨Chapter 2 -Fear to Courage

30 mins:   [✨✨]

Activity: Hidden Picture

Things Needed

• Small pieces of white candle (one for each child)
• One large white chart or plain white paper for each class
• Watercolour paint (any colour)
• Cotton swabs
• Small cups of water

Instructions

• Ask the children to sit in a circle around their class’s chart paper.
• Give each child a small piece of candle.
• When the host gives the “Start” signal, ask the children to draw anything they like on the chart using the candle. They can draw shapes, flowers, trees, people, or anything they imagine.
• The children will not be able to see their drawings because the candle is the same colour as the paper.
• When the host gives the “Stop” signal, give each class watercolour paint, water, and cotton swabs.
• Ask the children to dip the cotton swabs into the paint and gently colour over the entire chart. As they paint, the hidden candle drawings will magically appear!
• Invite each class to come to the front and show their hidden picture to the rest of the Spark children.

Message

At first, you couldn’t see your drawing. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. When you painted over the paper, the hidden picture was revealed.

In the same way, there is Someone we cannot see, but He is always with us and always at work in our lives. Even when we cannot see Him, God is there—watching over us, helping us, and caring for us.

Today, we are going to learn more about this wonderful God.

After the activity, dismiss the children to their respective classes.

30 mins:   [✨]

Bible Portion: Exodus 2

Story Time

God saved a baby

Props: (Optional) A basket with a blanket inside. Use it while telling the story to help children imagine what happened.

Story

Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, was a very cruel man. He hated the Israelites and gave a terrible order. Every baby boy born to the Israelites had to be thrown into the River Nile.

Around that time, a beautiful baby boy was born to Amram and Jochebed.

Have you ever seen a tiny baby? (Let the children answer.)

Amram and Jochebed loved their little baby very much. They did not want him to be thrown into the river, so they hid him safely in their home for three months.

As the baby grew, he became bigger—and louder!

Can you make a baby crying sound? (Let the children imitate a baby.)

Soon, they could not hide him anymore. So Jochebed made a little boat out of a basket. She lined it carefully to keep it dry, placed a soft blanket inside, and gently laid her baby in the basket.

Then she carried the basket to the River Nile and carefully placed it among the tall reeds along the riverbank.

How do you think the baby’s mother felt when she had to leave him there? (Let the children answer.)

She must have been very sad.

The little baby may have cried because he was all alone in the basket. But was he really alone?

Who do you think was with him? (Let the children answer.)

That’s right! God was watching over him. The baby was never alone because God was with him.

God had also given the baby a loving and wise big sister named Miriam. She quietly watched from a distance to see what would happen to her little brother.

Do you think Miriam was worried? (Let the children answer.)

Yes, she probably was. But she wasn’t alone either. God was with Miriam too, helping her.

Just then, something amazing happened!

Pharaoh’s daughter came to the river to bathe. God helped her notice the little basket floating among the reeds. She asked one of her servants to bring it to her.

What do you think she found inside the basket? (Let the children answer.)

Yes—a little baby!

When she opened the basket, the baby was crying.

Can you show me how a baby cries? (Let the children answer.)

Pharaoh’s daughter felt sorry for him and said, “This must be one of the Hebrew babies.”

Do you remember who was still watching nearby?

Yes! Miriam!

Miriam bravely walked up to the princess and asked, “Would you like me to find someone to take care of the baby for you?”

The princess gladly said, “Yes!”

Do you know who Miriam brought?

She ran home and brought her own mother, Jochebed!

The princess said to Jochebed, “Please take care of this baby for me, and I will pay you.”

Isn’t that amazing? God not only saved the baby, but He brought him safely back to his own mother!

When the little boy grew older, Jochebed brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, just as she had promised. The princess adopted him as her own son and named him Moses, because she had drawn him out of the water.

Moses grew up in the very palace of the king who wanted to kill him. Many years later, God chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and rescue nearly 600,000 men, along with their families, from Pharaoh’s cruel rule.

Message:

God is watching over you. You are never alone.

Sometimes you may feel like the little baby in the basket. Maybe you feel lonely. Maybe no one wants to play with you. Maybe you’re scared or think no one understands you.

But just as God watched over baby Moses, God is watching over you too. He loves you, cares for you, and is always with you—even when you cannot see Him.

Would you like to thank God for always being with you?

(Lead the children in a short prayer, thanking God for His love, care, and protection.)