3. Ears for Listening
God gave me ears to listen to Him.
“Ears for Listening” Unit: Getting a Sense of God
LESSON PURPOSE: God gave me ears for listening to god.
EDUCATIONAL FRAMEWORK: Heart for God
MATERIALS:
Samuel Hears God craft: printed templates, cardstock, scissors, glue, crayons
SONG IDEAS:
Bye and Bye
PICTURE BOOKS:
“The Prayer that Makes God Smile” by Stormie Omartian
SCRIPTURE:
“Call to me and I will answer you. I will tell you great things.” -Jeremiah 33:3
“You must use your whole being for the sake of others… your ears, your nose, your mouth, your limbs.” -Rev. Moon
AS CHILDREN ARRIVE: Choose 1:
String Phone: Make a string phone out of plastic cups and yarn. Allow children to play with it by whispering into the cups and trying to hear what the other is saying.
Guess that Sound: Fill several egg shakers with different materials such as rice, beans, paper clips- anything! Set out 1 sample of each item in the eggs. Tape the eggs shut and have children guess which item is in each egg.
INTRODUCE the Lesson (Engage)
WELCOME: SONG, PRAYER, TP Greeting
REVIEW & TRANSITION:
Last week we learned about our eyes. God made our eyes so we can see His beautiful creation. And we made some cool Looking Glasses! Did you use them this week? What are some things in creation you were able to observe?
ATTENTION GRABBER:
We’re going to start our lesson with a game. It’s called Telephone. I’m going to whisper a word or phrase in one person’s ear and that person has to whisper it in the next person’s ear, and we’ll keep going until we reach the last person in the circle, who then says the word or phrase out loud. Ready??
(Some ideas: spotty ripe bananas, fat fruit flies, rabbits rumble, hats cannot tango, cows ate pie)
INTRO: God loves us and He always wants to communicate with us. But it’s important that we learn how to use our ears to hear Him.
ACTIVITY: choose 1 or more:
VIDEO:
Hearing Test: Watch this video to test how good your hearing is! (Suggestion: stop the video after the test.)
The Story of Samuel (video): Play this 4 minute video to teach the children about the story of Samuel.
The Story of Samuel (audio): Listen to the story of Samuel. Explain to the children “Jehovah” means “God”.
READ ALOUD STORY:
“The Prayer that Makes God Smile” by Stormie Omartian
TEACH the Lesson (Explain/Explore)
*TEACHING POINT 1: God gave me ears to listen to him.
INTERACTIVE LESSON: POWER POINT SCRIPT HERE
Close your eyes. What are some things you can hear right now? (breathing, clock, people in the hallway, etc.) Our ears are very sensitive to the sounds around us. God has blessed us with the gift of hearing!
What do you think God gave us our ears for? Yes, for hearing. Hearing a loud sound is easy, the harder part is actually listening. Listening can be one of the hardest things to do, and it takes a lot of practice. Just like sometimes we don’t want to always listen to our parents, even though we know it’s good for us. Listening to God can also be challenging.
Many of us have not mastered the art of listening to God. One reason is because we have too many distractions around us, like the TV or listening to the thoughts in our heads. Another reason is because we don’t want to listen. We’re afraid to learn more, especially if we’re in trouble or something is wrong. Not listening can create mistrust between us and God, and it can make us miss many important experiences with God.
There are many ways we can practice listening to God. One way is to meditate. When we meditate, we put our bodies and minds at peace, almost like we are sleeping. It’s important to find a quiet place. Most people like to meditate outside or in an empty room, where we can step away from any distractions. When we meditate, we close our eyes, sit still and breathe deep. But our ears are awake and trying to hear God.
Another way to listen to God is through other people. When you talk to people and they say something that inspires you or makes you feel happy, that is God sharing His love through them. Our parents are probably the closest people in our lives who know God better than we do. So it’s important to listen to your parents because God is always working through them.
*TEACHING POINT 2: A bible story- samuel hears god
INTERACTIVE LESSON:
There are many stories in the Bible where God called out to people by their names. Jesus, Moses, and Noah are just a few examples. Do you think God knows your name? I’m sure He does! What if God called out to you by your name? How would you feel? What would you do?
The Bible tells us a story of when God called out to a young boy named Samuel. His mother, Hannah, promised God to raise Samuel to serve Him faithfully. So when Samuel was old enough, his mother took him to serve in the temple under the priest named Eli.
One night Samuel was sleeping when he heard someone call his name. He got up and ran to Eli. "Here I am; you called me," he said to Eli.
"I didn't call you," Eli answered. "Go back to bed." So Samuel went back to bed.
Again God called, "Samuel!" Samuel jumped out of bed and went to Eli. "Here I am; you called me."
"I didn't call you, go back to bed," Eli answered a second time.
A third time God called Samuel and Samuel got up and went to Eli. "Here I am; you called me," he said.
Finally, Eli realized that it was God who was calling Samuel. He told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you again, say, 'Speak LORD, for your servant is listening."
Samuel went back to bed and sure enough, again he heard the voice of God calling, "Samuel! Samuel!" This time Samuel answered as Eli had told him, "Speak, for your servant is listening."
Samuel learned that it is very important to listen to God. Some people think God only calls grown-ups. We are all special to God and He wants to talk to us each and every day. If we know that God wants to talk to us, we can open up our ears and seek God’s voice.
Discussion:
Why do you think God made 2 ears and 1 mouth?
What are 2 ways we can practice listening to God?
Why is it important to listen to God?
Have you heard God speaking to you before? Let’s share about it.
APPLY the Lesson Evaluate
GROUP ACTIVITIES: Choose 1 or 2:
Samuel Hears God… I Can Too!: You will need cardstock, scissors, crayons, and glue. Print one face on cardstock for each child. Have them draw their faces using crayons. Cut out the ear templates and give each child two. Glue the ears to the face.
“Come Here Samuel” Game: Have the class sit in a circle. One child will lay down in the middle of the circle and pretend to be asleep. Pick a child in the circle to say, ‘Come Here, Samuel.’ The child in the middle will then wake up and guess who called him. If he guesses correctly, the two children will switch places and the game continues. If the child guesses incorrectly then you will say, ‘Go back to sleep’ and someone else will say ‘Come Here Samuel.’ Continue until they pick the correct child.
Guided Meditation: Try this calming meditation session. If you do not have time for the whole video, we recommend to stop at 6:40.
SNACK IDEA:
Potato chips- hear that crunch!
Rice Krispie treats- yum!
CONCLUDE the Lesson
CONCLUSION:
Our bodies are made by God! Today we learned about our ears. God made our ears to hear the creation around us. He also made our ears so we can listen to God’s wisdom. He wants to speak to us every day, so we need to practice opening up our ears to hear Him.
PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Parent, thank you for teaching us about our ears today. We want to use them to listen to you and connect with you every day. Our bodies are beautiful and amazing! This week, I hope we can be more grateful for our ears and use them in ways that will make you happy. Aju!
