Hamburger Day.

Hamburger Day

On this day, you might like to do a summary of all the “I AM’s”

Have the different parts of the hamburger available at different tables.

Different teachers and or parents can be on duty at each point.

The children all need a paper plate. They can go to any table first but must say the appropriate memory verse to collect that part of the burger. 

They go from table to table until they have a whole burger.

If a willing child us able to stand up in front of everyone and recite all the memory verses at once, that will be a great testimony. 

Hamburger Series. I am the VINE

Scripture: for teacher background:  John 15

(Top layer of bread for the hamburger to complete it)

Making contact:

If possible bring some grapes and or pictures of a vineyard and a vine.

Discuss how the grapes grow and what they are used for. 

Remind them of previous lessons on the parable of the vineyard. 

If you have a bottle of grape juice or red wine, you can also explain that the drink we enjoy during Communion is made from grapes. 

 Exploration:

Recap from last week about how Jesus was comforting the disciples and talking about leaving. It was also at the last supper with His disciples that Jesus spoke to them about the vine.

What gardening do you know about? How do you look after shrubs and roses? 

Talk to the children about cutting back plants so that they grow better and bear more flowers and fruit.

This is the last “I AM” we will be learning.

Jesus said: “I am the vine and My Father is the gardener. He breaks off every branch in Me that doesn’t bear fruit, so that it will be clean and bear more fruit.”

Jesus told us that He is like the main plant with the strong trunk and the roots and that we are like the branches. 

Then He said for the branches to bear lots of fruit they have to stay attached to the main branch. 

Wonderful liquid called sap comes up through the main stem, from the roots and flows down all the branches so that beautiful fruit can grow. 

If the branch doesn’t remain very firmly attached to the main stem it will whither and die and drop off.

Jesus said that God is like the farmer and He comes along and prunes the branches. These branches get thrown into the fire. 

They are useless. You can’t even use this woody branch to make anything. 

If it isn’t growing grapes it is useless.

Application

So what does this mean?  It means the same as when Jesus said He is the Way. 

The only one to get through this life well, and to be strong and effective and fruitful, is to stay very close to Jesus.

 In this way we can drink of His love and truth and this can flow through us.

Do you remember what the fruit of the Spirit is?

Galatians 5:22

"The Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control."

If we stay close to Jesus, we will grow these beautiful qualities. 

This is the kind of fruit Jesus wants to see in our lives. They will grow as we live close to Jesus and “ABIDE IN THE VINE.”

Challenge to Mission

 Our churches also need to stay close to Jesus and bear much fruit. 

You can soon see if a church is fruitful or not. Are the children involved in any mission or caring? Is the Sunday school doing anything to spread the Gospel and bear fruit?

 Consolidation

Worksheet. The children can write the fruit of the Spirit from Gal 5:22 on the grapes. This has been done before but is important enough to repeat.

Extra

Here is an idea you might like to use for something special. Draw or paint a large bunch of grapes on a poster. 

Take photos of the children the size of one grape and stick them on the poster.

The heading can be something like – What a fruity bunch for Jesus. 

The memory verse is printed on a picture of the top piece of bread roll – thus completing the hamburger.

Memory Verse

“I AM THE VINE, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit.” John 15:5

Hamburger Series. I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE

Scripture: for teacher background:  John 14:1-14

 (The tomato layer of the hamburger)

Making contact:

If possible have pictures of road signs and see if the children know what they mean. 

Maybe use a Learner’s license book or get some cardboard and paint some. 

You can also print signs on the computer. If you are making the “License” booklet (see later) you can point to those pictures.

If you don’t have pictures, just discuss the road signs.

Make sure you discuss what a One Way sign is and see if the children understand it.

 Exploration:

For quite a while Jesus had been telling His disciples that He had to go away. He told them that He was going to die. 

They couldn’t really understand what He meant.

 At the last supper He told them again that they wouldn’t see Him for a while. 

He told them not to be worried and upset but to believe in Him and to believe in God and that He was going to prepare a place for them in His Father’s house where there were many rooms. He would then come back and get them so that they could be there with Him.

He said that they knew the way that leads there.

Thomas said, “Lord, we do not know where you are going, so how can we know the way to get there?

Jesus replied:” I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one goes to the Father except by Me.”

Application

 Now, if you needed to get to a place and you hadn’t been before, what is the best way of finding it? The best is if someone comes and fetches you and goes with you. That is so easy.

That’s how it is with Jesus. He doesn’t just say – there is heaven, now find your own way there, or give us just a map or a mobile phone with Google Maps on it.

Actually we do have a map – the Bible is our map!

 But Jesus comes and lives in our hearts and as we walk with Him everyday He is showing us how to live and how to die and when we die we will go to heaven.

Jesus is the Way. Follow Him.

This is a lifestyle. It’s not just church on a Sunday. 

This is how to live. If you live with Jesus, He is the way to God the Father.

Pray in His name – the prayers go to God the Father because they are in Jesus’ name. 

Remember also, that the lifestyle includes walking in love. God loves everybody so we must love everybody too.

Everything depends on Jesus and if we believe in Him.

Listen to His voice – the Shepherd’s voice! Eat His bread – read the Bible. Believe in Him and even if you die you will live with Him. 

HE IS THE ANSWER to everything.

Challenge to Mission

Sometimes you see a sign that says INFORMATION or ENQUIRIES. When you are lost you go there and find help.

Maybe you can be like that place for your friends and family. When they ask questions like: “What happens when I die?” – tell them about Jesus. 

When they ask directions through life – tell them that Jesus is the way.

If you are sure about Jesus, others will ask you because they can see that you believe and that you have the answers.

 Just tell them what you believe.

“ Jesus is the way. Follow Him.”

If you make “license” books for the children they can use these to witness. They can show the road signs and how Jesus is the Way. 

They can read the verses in the booklet to the person. They can also make up their own original road signs that show how to follow Jesus e.g. read the Bible.

 Consolidation

 Worksheet and/or little license book. This is a little booklet with road signs and Scripture verses. It is on 2 A 4 sheets back to back.

 Cut these in half and put them in the right order. Staple them. Check the page numbers.

Memory Verse

“I AM THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. No one comes to the Father except through Me."

John 14:6 

MAKE BOOKLET:

Page 1:

Page 2:

Hamburger Series: I am the RESURRECTION and the LIFE

Scripture: for teacher background:  John 11:1-44

 (Cheese layer of hamburger.)

Making contact:

Sometimes in the world a thing has to be buried in the ground before it can live. It seems as dead as can be and then a green shoot comes from it and it lives.

 From a single acorn buried in the ground can come a huge oak tree. From one maize seed comes a whole maize plant with lots of maize on it.

One day a man was walking in the woods near his home. As he was walking he bent down and picked up two acorns lying in the path. When he got home he examined the two acorns. He found the one to be perfect, beautifully shaped and without blemish. The other was a bit deformed and had been cracked, possibly by someone standing on it as it lay in the path. He decided to keep the "perfect" acorn, and put it in his display cabinet. The other one, the deformed cracked one, he threw out into the garden.

Now many years later that man died. As his children were sorting out his things they found the "perfect" acorn that he had, all those years ago, placed in his display cabinet. As they picked it up it crumbled to dust. 

Not being used, the potential within it had died.

Later the children had tea in the garden under the shade of a magnificent oak tree, the same tree where they had had so much fun when they were growing up. 

The little deformed, cracked acorn that the man had thrown out into the garden had done what it was designed to do. It had grown into an oak tree.

People are very scared of death because it seems to be the end.

 A person is put in a coffin and buried in the ground or their body is burned and their ashes are scattered or buried.

Ask the children if they know of anyone who has died. 

It is such a part of life in this modern world that even children are coming into contact with the reality of death. 

It is very real and very close and we, as Sunday school teachers need to talk about it openly and let them talk about it. Don't push it aside with stories and lies.

Death is very real. But is it the end REALLY?

This lesson will put the teachers on the line.

It will be a powerful lesson if the teachers are convicted that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

Children will see right through a teacher's doubts. 

 Exploration:

When Jesus was on earth, He felt what we feel.

He got tired and hot and sad.

 He also cried when His friend died. 

There was a very special family who lived in Bethany. There were two sisters, Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus.

For Jesus, it was like home. He could go there and relax and the two sisters would fuss over Him and He could chat to Lazarus. 

This was the Mary who adored Him so much that she poured a whole perfume bottle over His feet and dried them with her hair.

One day, Jesus was in another place and the sisters sent an urgent message to Him. “Your friend Lazarus is sick. Please come quickly.”

They knew he could heal their brother but Jesus didn’t come rushing. He waited a few days and by the time He came Lazarus had died.

First Martha ran out and told Him. “If you’d been here, this wouldn’t have happened!” She wailed.

Jesus said: “Your brother will rise again.” “Yes, I know we will all rise again one day.” She replied, but Jesus had something else in mind.

He said: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die will live.” John 11:25

Mary also went out to meet Jesus and when Jesus saw her weeping He just broke down and cried. Then He said – “Take me to the tomb!” 

They said this wasn’t a good idea, but when he got there he told them to move the stone that covered the entrance. He called Lazarus out. 

This “mummy” wrapped in white cloths came staggering out and Jesus told the people to unwrap the cloths.

Application

 Jesus is the great “I AM” and He can raise people from the dead. He raised Lazarus and He Himself was raised.

But Lazarus must have died again because he isn’t around today.

So what does Jesus mean?

What He means is that even though this body dies, we will live forever in heaven if we believe in Him.

Our bodies are like a peanut shell, and they might get sick and all wrinkly, but the real peanut inside lives forever. 

It is like that acorn that gets buried in the ground. After that a beautiful tree grows. Life comes after death.

Challenge to Mission

 (It is in times of death and bereavement that the faith of a child is such a witness. A child can speak into the situation with such freshness.)

 If you know a family where someone has died, maybe see if you think it is appropriate to comfort them with the words of Scripture. You could recite today’s memory verse. Another verse is: “There are many rooms in My Father’s house and I am going to prepare a place for you.” John 14:2

Consolidation

 Worksheet. The worksheet shows an acorn that gets buried and then an oak tree of new life. It then shows Lazarus’s tomb and his new life after Jesus raised him to life. 

The memory verse is printed on a picture of cheese.

Memory Verse

“I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. Those who believe in Me, even though they die will live.” John 11:25

Hamburger Series: I am the GOOD SHEPHERD

Scripture: for teacher background:  John 10:1-16, 26-29 Ezekiel 34:1-24 Psalm 23

(Lettuce layer of hamburger)

 Making contact:

Play a game of follow the leader or “Simon says”. You can make up your own game,

 Or play:

 “Do this and do that” When you say, “do this”, and for instance, you put your hands on your head, the children must follow you. 

But if you say, “Do that” and you put your hands in the air, they mustn’t follow you, but must keep their hands where they were. 

So in other words they must only obey you if you say: “Do this.” You can give them many different things to do – kneel, stand on one foot, shake their hands, point, clap their hands etc, but only of you say “Do this.”

 Exploration:

Recently some friends were visiting in Israel, the country where Jesus lived, and they were at a watering place for sheep.

About three different shepherds were there with their sheep. The sheep were all drinking water and the shepherds were chatting. 

Then one of the shepherds decided to go. How was he going to sort out which were his sheep? No problem, he just called them and off they trotted behind him. 

He waved goodbye to the other shepherds.

Then the 2^nd shepherd went and he called his sheep. They went off.

 One of the visitors thought he would call the rest of the sheep. He called and called and started walking off, but they didn’t even look up. They ignored him completely.

When their real shepherd was ready to go, he called them and immediately they obeyed him and off they trotted!

They KNEW their shepherd’s voice and his call and they wouldn’t follow anyone else.

 Each one of them had a name and he knew their names and if they had a sore foot he would put some medicine on it. 

They also trusted their shepherd and that he would find them some nice cool water, some juicy grass to eat, some shade for resting in. 

He would also protect them from any dangers and make sure not one of them got lost. He would count them and call them and look after them like his own family.

Now read John 10:1-15 and every time the children hear the word sheep they must say, “Baa”

Application

Jesus said He is the good Shepherd and just like a good shepherd looks after his sheep so well, and knows each sheep by name, so Jesus knows our names and where we are hurting.

 He leads us and He calls us by name and He provides just what we need. He makes sure we don’t get lost through life.

 He says that we know His voice and that we won’t follow a bad shepherd. It’s not a voice like the one you can hear teaching you now, it’s a voice deep down inside. 

You can hear Him saying: “I love you my child….. Don’t go that way….. It’s too dangerous…… Visit your friend, she is lonely.”

You have these deep thoughts inside – they are the voice of Jesus, the Shepherd, and the more you listen and obey, the more He speaks.

 It’s easy to confuse the voice with your own desires, wishes and wants.

God’s voice will never tell you anything that makes you fell terrible. 

He tells you if you need to say sorry, but He will never tell you to do bad things. You must learn to recognize His voice.

(At this point the teacher can share with the children how they have heard the Shepherd’s voice guiding them, warning them or convicting them of a sin. Maybe a child might also like to share a testimony like this.)

The even more wonderful thing about this Shepherd Jesus is that He was willing to lay down His life and die for His sheep. 

He did this on the cross, to save His sheep. It was the only way He could help them from dying forever and going to hell.

 So He died, so that when we die, we go to heaven. It’s not really death, but passing through to eternity with Him.

Who knows a famous Psalm that David wrote?

 Psalm 23. David used to be a shepherd before he became the king of Israel and he wrote this beautiful Psalm about the Lord being his shepherd.

(Maybe someone else could read Psalm 23 at this point. You could even get an elderly person to visit Sunday school and read it and then tell the children how Jesus has been their shepherd in their lives.)

Challenge to Mission

 Some people are naughty and bad because they don’t have Jesus as their Shepherd. They are behaving like goats! 

Maybe you could tell them about your Shepherd Jesus and how He wants to be their Shepherd too.

Another idea is to visit some elderly or very sick people and recite to them the 23^rd Psalm. They love to hear it and you could bring joy to them by reading or reciting it to them.

Consolidation

 Worksheet. There are four pictures of shepherds with some sheep. 

The children must decide which of these shepherds are good and which are bad. They must put a tick or a cross in the block next to each shepherd.

Memory Verse

“I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:11 

(Print the memory verse on a picture of a piece of lettuce.)

Hamburger Series: I am the GATE.

Scripture: for teacher background:  John 10:7-9

(Meat layer of hamburger)

 Making contact:

The children can play this game. They stand in a circle with hands joined. There is a child on the outside of the circle and a child on the inside. 

One child must catch the other. As they run around, the children holding hands in the circle can decide whether to help the catcher by lifting up their hands to make an opening. 

They can help the other child by closing the gap sometimes to stop the catcher getting to them.

 Exploration:

There is a lovely story about the animals in the jungle. As they were looking for new plants to eat and needed to move across the jungle, they came across a wall right across the whole land. The food was finished on their side of the wall and they would die if they didn’t get to the other side.

The animals decided that the monkey who was a good climber had better climb up that wall and see if there was a way over the wall. He climbed and climbed and then gave up ands slid all the way down. He panted: “There is no way over that wall.”

The animals asked hyena who could walk for days if he could see where the wall ended so they could go around the wall. He was gone for many days and eventually he staggered back. “There is no way around the wall,” he said faintly.

The animals asked the snake to try and burrow under the wall. His tail disappeared down a hole and they waited and waited. When he reappeared his face was all dirty and sad. “There is no way under this wall!”

Then the animals decided to ask the strong elephant to push against the wall. He lunged his strong body against the wall, pounding it and pounding it for days. It did not budge. “There is no way through this wall.” he said.

The animals said: “We give up. There is no way over this wall, around this wall, under this wall or through this wall. We are going to die.”

Just then an amazing thing happened. Just like a miracle a gate appeared. The animals could all walk through this beautiful gate and find lots of food on the other side and live happily ever after.

Application

 Jesus said that He is just like that gate. There is no other way to Heaven. We can’t be good enough or clever enough or famous, we all need to go through the gate and there is only one gate and that is Jesus. There is no other way.

He said that it is like a shepherd in a sheep pen.

They need to come in and go out at the gate.

In those days the shepherd would lie down in the entrance and be the gate for the sheep. 

He would protect them from wolves at night and in the day He would lead them out to green grass. The shepherd was the gate for the sheep.

Challenge to Mission

 People are like those animals. They will die if they don’t find the gate. 

If people don’t find Jesus as their gate, they cannot go to heaven, so it is very important that we tell them. Jesus wants us to tell everybody, because He doesn’t want anyone to be left to go to hell.

 Consolidation

Worksheet. The children can draw sheep going in the gate. The memory verse is printed on a picture of a meat patty. 

Remember to reward the children with a little picture of a hamburger if they know last week’s memory verse.

Memory Verse

“I AM THE GATE. Whoever enters by Me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.” John 10:9

Hamburger Series: I am the LIGHT of the WORLD

Scripture: for teacher background:  John 9:1-41

(Pineapple layer of hamburger)

Making contact:

Play a game of hide and seek. When one child is out of the room, hide a candlestick or candle.

 All the children know where it is hidden and sing to the child looking for it. If the child is far from the candle they sing softly and as they get closer, the singing gets louder.

Use a song about light like “This little light of mine” or “Walk in the light”, if possible,

Talk about how it would be easy to play this game in the dark if the candle was lit!

It is very difficult to hide a light.

During the 2^nd world war, when the aeroplanes were dropping bombs, all the people had to cover their windows very carefully so that no even a crack of light showed through. There were no streetlights on and people weren’t allowed to go out at night. 

In this way it was so dark that the people flying the bombers couldn’t see where the towns and villages were to drop their weapons.

Another game the children could play is to blindfold a child and ask them to find something. Talk about how difficult it is to see in the dark and how important light is.

Exploration:

During the story, it would be helpful if all the children could be blindfolded.

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been born blind. His disciples asked Him if it was the man’s sin that caused his blindness or his parents’ sin. 

Jesus replied that blindness had nothing to do with sin but that God’s power would heal him. Then Jesus said:  “While I am in the world, I am the light for the world.”

After Jesus said this, He spat on the ground and made some mud. He rubbed the mud on the man’s eyes and told him to go and wash his face in the Pool of Siloam. 

After the man did this he could see.

The children can now take off their blindfolds.

The man was asked by the religious leaders who had healed him.

 He first said – the MAN called Jesus. 

Later on they questioned his parents, but they replied that their son was old enough to speak for himself. They asked again and he said that Jesus was a PROPHET.

He said: “All I know is that once I was blind but now I can see!”

As they argued with him and cursed him, he said to them that Jesus must come from God because he can now see. They were furious about Jesus.

Although they didn’t know it, they were actually blinder than the blind man because they couldn’t see who Jesus was.

Later Jesus found the man, who must have been feeling very confused – happy that he could see, but unhappy that these leaders were spoiling it all with their anger. Jesus said to him: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He replied: “Yes, show me who He is.” Jesus said: “You are talking to Him!” 

Application

The man could see as soon as he washed the mud off his eyes, but spiritually he took a bit longer to SEE who Jesus really was.

Did you notice what he said?

 He first said that Jesus was a “man called Jesus.”

 Then he said Jesus was a prophet.

Then he said He must have come from God and then he believed that Jesus was the Son of Man – the Messiah, and he knelt down and worshipped Jesus.

Now you might have very good eyes, but how are the eyes of your faith? 

Is Jesus just a name to you?

 Is He just a man to you? 

Maybe you believe He is a special prophet and that He came from God to do miracles. If you believe these things you are still rather blind.

 When you can see that Jesus is God, that He is the Son of God, the Messiah, then you can see properly.

When you believe that He Is then you have seen the light, and you will walk in the light for the rest of your life. 

You don’t ever need to be afraid of the dark, if you believe that Jesus the light is always with you. He chases away the darkness. 

You can’t have darkness living in light. It disappears. Jesus is the light of the world

Challenge to Mission

Some people talk about Africa being a deep and dark place. They call it “darkest Africa.” But this is changing.

 The light is spreading, because more and more people on this beautiful continent are coming to know that Jesus is Lord.

 How can you help the light to spread in Africa?

There are other continents that are dark because they don't believe in Jesus. God is sending Christians all over the world to spread the light of Jesus.

When we believe in Jesus then we also shine as lights. Let’s shine in dark places that need light.

Consolidation

 Worksheet. There is a picture of a piece of pineapple with the memory very printed on it. They can colour the pineapple in yellow.

There is a word search in a light bulb picture for the words that the blind man used to describe Jesus.

It is important that the children really learn their memory verses well each week.

As a weekly reward you could give them a little picture of a hamburger to keep.

Memory Verse

“Again Jesus spoke to them saying, ”I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Hamburger Series: I am the BREAD of LIFE

Scripture: for teacher background:  John 6:32-58

(Bread part of hamburger)

Making contact:

You could give the children a slice of bread to eat and talk about different kinds of bread,

Or

Ask the children what they like to put on a hamburger.

Or

Play a game about a hamburger. You start and say: “I am so hungry I could eat a hamburger”.

The first child says: “I am so hungry I could eat a hamburger with tomato sauce.” 

The next child repeats the whole thing and adds something else e.g. a slice of pineapple, lettuce, tomato, chips, etc.

Explain again that just as the game built a huge hamburger, today we are going to begin our “I AM” burger, beginning with the bread or roll.

 Exploration:

The first “I AM” we are going to learn about is when Jesus said: “I am the bread of life.”

Bread is a very important basic food for us. I am sure we all have bread every day.

Bread gives us strength and energy.

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we say: “Give us this day our daily bread.” 

We are praying that God will provide for our daily needs. We didn’t say cake or sweets – not luxuries, we aren’t greedy, we prayed for bread – the basics.

Now when Jesus was teaching all the people and they had been following Him around for a couple of days, they were very hungry. 

Do you remember what special thing happened? 

Do you remember about the little boy who gave his lunch to Jesus?  

Jesus first said grace and then He broke up 6 little loaves of bread and the 2 fish and 5 000 men got food, plus all the woman and children. 

The disciples collected 12 baskets of leftovers after the meal. Jesus did this again on the other side of the lake for 4 000 people.

It was after this that the people demanded another miracle. They asked Him to always give them bread. 

Jesus then said these famous words: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.”

Application

 It was at the last supper that Jesus took bread and broke it and gave it to His disciples and told them to eat it in REMEMBRANCE of Him, because just like He broke the bread, His body would be broken. 

He then took the cup and gave thanks and told them to drink from it to remember how His blood was shed for us. 

Every time we have communion, we are remembering how much Jesus did for us and we are eating the bread in faith. It strengthens us, and we believe as we eat it that Jesus is the Bread of life!

We do need to eat real bread each day, and we do get hungry again, but Jesus feeds our hearts and souls, giving us peace and joy. 

When we ask Jesus to live in our hearts we never have that soul hunger again.

That’s why people get into alcohol and drugs and wrong sex, they are looking for something to fill their empty souls. 

But Jesus must fill that gap in our hearts. Nothing else will satisfy for long –Only He is the Bread of Life.

Challenge to Mission

Starving people can’t just be told that Jesus is the Bread of life. Let’s first help them by giving them something to eat and then help them to get work so that they can buy their own bread, with dignity but MOST important of all we must tell them about Jesus. 

God blesses us that we bless others. Jesus first fed the people with actual bread and then He told them that He was the bread of life.

 Consolidation

On the worksheet, the children need to fill in BREAD. (Give us our daily……..) There is a reminder to say  ‘Thank you for food.”

Memory Verse

Jesus said to them: “I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35

This is printed on a picture of half a bread roll on the worksheet.

Tell the children to practice this verse all week and next week they will get a little picture of a hamburger to keep if they can say the verse. See sheet of small hamburger pictures.

Hamburger Series. Introductory lesson: Jesus said, "I AM"

This lesson is to introduce the series to the children and to tell them about the "I am" hamburgers. They will begin to build their burger next time.

Scripture: for teacher background:  Exodus 3:1-14  Psalm 46:10  John 8:48-59  John 18:1-7

Making contact:

Talk to the children about the meanings of their names. Find out some of them before hand in case they don’t know. 

A naming baby book could come in handy. Tell them what your name means.

How many names do we know that mean God?

Lord, King, Jesus, Saviour, Holy Spirit, Father, The Shepherd, Abba………..are some examples.

There are names for God using every letter of the Alphabet.

 Exploration:

You may remember when we learned the story of Moses, that he had an amazing experience one day when he was looking after sheep. 

He had run away from Egypt because in his hurry to help his people he had killed an Egyptian and now he was hiding in another country. 

Do you remember what strange thing he saw, and he went closer to have a look? It was a bush that was burning but it wasn’t burning up.

 As he got closer, he heard God’s voice telling him that he must take off his shoes because he was standing on very holy ground. That was how people showed honour in those days.

By the way, if you happen to go in a mosque, you have to take your shoes off to show honour to that god. I don’t know about you, but I would rather only honour Jesus. Be careful not to give glory to other gods.

Anyway, God spoke to Moses at the burning bush that day. This was before the Bible was written. God told Moses that he had to go back to Egypt and that he had to lead them out of that country, back to Israel.

Moses doubted and argued. 

He said he was a “Nobody.” and would not be able to do this. Then he tried a different argument. He said: “When I go to the Israelites and say to them The God of your ancestors sent me to you, they will ask me “What is His name?” So what must I tell them?

God said: “I am who I am. This is what you must say to them. The One who is called

I AM has sent you to them.” (Ex 3)

Now, think about that – what does it mean? It means… God is everything. “I Am.” -full stop.

Not I was or will be………but I am!

Many years later Jesus was talking to some very religious people, some Pharisees, and they were asking Jesus if he was a Samaritan (a half Jew – they hated Samaritans) or if He was demon possessed, possessed by the devil!

They asked Him how He could be greater than Abraham?

He said Abraham was very happy that Jesus was coming to earth.

They told Him he wasn’t even 50 years old, and asked Him how it was possible for Him to claim to know Abraham? He then said these famous words:

“I am telling you the truth, before Abraham was born, I AM.” (John 8:58)

It was a while later that they sent soldiers to arrest Him in the Garden of Gethsemane. They arrested Him and killed Him because He claimed to be the Son of God. To them it was blasphemy but Jesus was brave and true.

 As the soldiers came closer to Him in the garden, He asked them “Who are you looking for?” They replied “Jesus of Nazareth. Instead of running away Jesus replied: “I am He.” 

As Jesus said, “I am”, they moved back and fell to the ground. Then they got up and He asked them again before they arrested Him.

Why did they fall to the ground? They were in the presence of God, which is overwhelming. For that moment His power and holiness overcame them and they fell down.

During His teachings Jesus often used these words “I am”, when He was teaching about whom He was, but He put something after it. Do you know what He said?

Well, He said seven different things and in the next seven Sundays we are going to learn about these is a fun way.

Who likes hamburgers?

They say the way to a person’s heart is through their stomach! We are going to get the truths about Jesus into our hearts through our stomachs – through HAMBURGERS!

But we are going to call them I AM BURGERS instead.

So, come each week and we are going to build an “I AM BURGER”, and at the end of the term we will actually eat a real hamburger if we can say all seven memory verses.

 Application

God is your “I am”.

Who is your God? He replies: “I am.”

Who is my strength? “I AM.”

Who is my guide? “I AM.”

Who is my protector? “I AM.”

Who is my friend? “I AM.”

God is your “I am” He is everything to you and me.

Challenge to Mission

 We must not be shy to tell people that we believe in THE GOD of the Holy Trinity! – He is the great “I AM”

The world needs to know who God is and maybe you could begin by telling a family member or friend about your God.

Consolidation

 There is a worksheet where the children can colour in the name of God – I AM.

There is a list of questions. The children can write I AM next to each one.

There is a burning bush picture. They can colour it in to make flames or stick orange paper or cellophane paper over the bush.

Memory Verse

“I am telling you the truth,” Jesus said, “Before Abraham was born, I AM.” (John 8:58)

Hamburger Series - INTRODUCTION for teachers: Jesus seven 'I AM" sayings

This series teaches the seven “I am” sayings of Jesus. 

I got this idea from SANSSA years ago where a hamburger is used to teach the I AM sayings.

It is helpful to make a big poster of a hamburger and each week to stick the memory verse on the poster.

You can also prepare stickers of burgers to use each week for the memory verses if the children have a little booklet or worksheets.

Memory verses should be RETAINED memory from the previous week, before moving onto a new verse.

Stickers:

Preparation for Hamburger Day

After reading through all the lessons for this series you need to decide how you will bring it all to a close. 

You can plan a Hamburger Day and during Sunday school get the children to recite their memory verses to receive each part of their real burger?

You could include the whole church family and involve the parents to prepare the burgers and even join in saying memory verses.

Whatever you decide to do, remember to plan ahead and get others to help with the food preparation.

Posters:

Term C. 4th Term. Lesson 8. Bible Buddy: PAUL - prison and shipwreck

Scripture: for teacher background:  Acts 21:27-40 Ch 23,27,28

Making contact:

Play the game of shipwreck.

The children all stand in the front of the room and you explain that the bow of the ship is the front, the stern is the back, and port is the left and starboard is the right. 

When these are called out they must run there. If the leader says salute the captain, they must all line up and salute. 

Hit the deck means lie down flat and climb the ropes means to climb up chairs or whatever they can. 

You can say that the children who are last to arrive are out, but I prefer not to do elimination games, to protect their sensitive egos.

 Exploration:

Paul had done an amazing job of spreading the Gospel and starting churches all through Europe and Asia, but his enemies were becoming more and more adamant to deal with him. Forty men had even taken a vow not to eat anything until they had killed him.

God spoke to Paul in the night and said: “Don’t be afraid! Your have given your witness for me here in Jerusalem and you must also do the same in Rome.”

Paul was kept in prison and was moved from Jerusalem to Caesarea with two hundred soldiers, two hundred spearmen and seventy horsemen guarding him, because of the Jews trying to kill him. 

Two years passed and the governors in a row, Felix and then Festus gave Paul court hearings but couldn’t decide what to do with him. 

Eventually Paul appealed to the Emperor and that meant he had to have a court hearing in Rome. This was how Paul was sent to Rome with soldiers guarding him. He had always wanted to go to Rome and God had promised him that he would testify there for Him. Now his long trip was paid for!!

The journey was very interesting. Paul could see that it would be too dangerous to sail so close to winter and all the storms but the captain wouldn’t listen to Paul.

They were caught in a huge storm and thought they would die, but Paul knew that he was going to get to Rome alive because God said so.

He encouraged them and told them that he trusted his God. There were 276 people on board and everyone survived. 

They had managed to run the ship into a bay on the island of Malta and it hit a sandbank. They all got to shore.

They were warming themselves next to a fire and the people on the island were very kind, but when they saw a snake suddenly wrap itself around Paul they thought he was cursed and would die.

Instead Paul just shook it off into the fire. Then they realized he had special power and they asked him to pray for sick people. They all got better.

They stayed there for 3 months and then once again sailed for Rome. 

In Rome Paul was allowed to live by himself with one soldier guarding him under house arrest for two years. Many people visited him. He wrote many letters to the churches he had started to encourage them. 

We still have some of these letters in our Bibles today. E.g. Philippians is the one he wrote to those Christian living in Philippi – like the jailer and Lydia. 

He wrote to Timothy and Titus. Look in your Bible and at the beginning of the letters it says “From Paul to…” 

Count how many letters he wrote. 

You can learn a song about all the New Testament books. It is to the tune of “Here we go round the mulberry bush.”

Application 

God had His hand on Paul and even though he suffered many things, he kept his eye on the goal. He trusted God to protect him and use him.

In the difficulties God brought glory. He could have just sat in a heap in prison and moaned, but instead he wrote many letters and reached the whole world. 

If he hadn’t been in prison he might never have written those letters and we wouldn’t have half our New Testament.

Challenge to Mission

 Paul preached and taught and wrote at every opportunity. Can we be zealous for mission like this? 

He could say near the end of his life that he had fought the fight, run the race, finished the work that God gave him to do and that he was happy to be on earth serving Jesus but would be even happier to go to be with Jesus forever.

“As for me, the hour has come for me to be sacrificed. I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance and I have kept the faith. And now there is waiting for me the prize of victory.” 2 Tim 4:6-8

Will we be able to say the same?

Consolidation

 On the worksheet there is the song about the books of the New Testament. The children can underline which ones Paul wrote. 

There are pictures of Paul writing letters, a shipwreck and the snake he shook off into the fire.

Memory Verse

(This is a long verse but very powerful and helpful to know if we ourselves are ever in trouble, this verse will comfort us.)

“Who then can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution…? No, in all these things we have complete victory through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:36,37