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» Sovereignty
1
Give the Remote Control
Hold up the remote control and ask:
What does the remote control do? (Basically, the remote controls or is in charge of the TV; it changes the channel, it controls the volume, etc.)
Is there someone who is in charge of the world? If so, who? (God)
Do the people in the world always do what God says? (Unlike the TV who listens to the "commands" of the remote, some people do not listen or obey God's commands.)
A sovereign is a supreme ruler or king—the one in charge. God is in charge of this world, but He gives man a free will or the ability to choose whether he or she will obey Him. Even though man chooses to sin and bad things happen, God is so powerful that He can take even the bad things and work them out for good.
Give the remote control to one of the kids and let him or her be in charge of it for the night. (Remind the "controller" that a good sovereign listens to and cares about the people.)
2
Items needed: scrabble tiles or blocks (or even pieces of paper with an alphabet letter written on each piece)
Bag to put them in
Put the scrabble tiles (or blocks) in the bag. Ask one of the kids to shake them up and pour them out.
Ask:
What words did they spell? (Probably none)
How would you get these tiles to spell words? (A person would need to put them together) Let kids make some words.
How likely is it that the world came into existence by a big bang? (None)
Just as there needed to be someone to make words out of the letters, the world needed a creator. There is one true God who made the world and is in charge of it.
3
Starry Nights
Choose a clear night and bundle up to go outside and look at the stars. Share a few star facts with your kids. Ask your kids to share what facts they know about stars. (Building a fire and roasting marshmallows or drinking hot chocolate would make it even more fun!)
A few star facts:
The sun is the brightest and biggest star in our universe—the earth and the other planets in our solar system revolve around this star which is 93 million miles away from the earth.
With good eyesight, as many as 6000 stars are visible with the eye.
Stars are usually grouped in clusters (commonly referred to as constellations).
The North Star is also known as the “pole star” or Polaris. The star is the last one in the handle of the Little Dipper. This is important because it indicates true north, and you are going north if you head toward the North Star.
Since the earth revolves on its axis and revolves around the sun, the constellations are always changing. The constellations are still there, but you can’t see them during the daytime. However, on a clear night, you will always be able to see the North Star, which is part of the Little Dipper, because the earth’s axis aims in that direction.
The color of stars can range from red to white to blue. Red is the coolest color. Stars like our sun are yellowish white and average around 6,000 Kelvin. The hottest stars are blue, which corresponds to surface temperatures above 12,000 Kelvin.
The closest star to earth is Proxima Centauri, located 4.2 light-years away. (Astronomers measure the distance between stars in units called light-years.) In other words, it takes light more than 4 years to complete the journey from earth. If you tried to hitch a ride on the fastest spacecraft ever launched from earth, it would still take you
Read Psalm 8.
Ask:
How did David feel about God and him when he looked at the stars? (Awed that God would even care about or want to have a relationship with him)
How do you feel when you look at the stars and all that God created?
Say a prayer of praise to the God who created the stars and who loves us.
4
The Right to Rule
Items Needed: Blocks, Legos, or building materials
Invite each family member to make his or her own creation out of blocks and other building materials. Allow time for each person to tell about his or her creation.
Ask:
How would you feel if I walked up to your "creation" and smashed it?
What would you say? (Hey, that's mine; you have no right to do that, keep your hands off, etc.)
When you create something, you are in charge of it. No one has the right to ruin what you've made. God created a perfect world, yet man ruined it through sin.
Write the word sovereign on a white board or piece of paper.
What does the word sovereign mean? (In charge, ruler, reigning over, etc.)
What smaller word do you see inside this bigger word, sovereign? (Reign)
God reigns (or rules) over the whole world. God made the world and has the right to rule over it. God is a wise and powerful ruler. It is good to have someone so wise and powerful in control.
Why is it good that God is in control? (He knows what is best; He will punish those who do wrong; He will guide us in the right way, He will help us live in peace, etc.)
Read Psalm 100:3 and say the verse together several times.
5
Safety in Rules
Items Needed: Hair dryer (or other electric appliance) with a warning label
Ask one of the kids to read the label on the hair dryer.
Why do you think they put this label on the hair dryer? (The manufacturer wanted us to be safe; they didn't want us to get hurt, etc.)
Do you think they were trying to spoil our fun by saying we couldn't use it in the bathtub? (No)
God made us and knows what is best for us. That's why He has given us rules. He is a loving and wise sovereign who wants to protect us from bad consequences. He wants us to obey His rules and be happier.
6
Yielding to God
Items Needed: Small cars and a sign that says, "YIELD"
Give each family member a car and ask him or her to act out a situation with you. Assign each one a starting point and ask them to "drive" in a certain direction (where you will all meet in the middle). When you are about to crash into each other, ask:
What do we need to keep us from crashing into each other? (We need a STOP or YIELD sign; we need a traffic light; we need to look out for each other, etc.)
Make a YIELD sign. What does it mean to YIELD? (One person lets the other one go first and then follows behind)
We need someone to make rules for us to live by. We all want to go our own way; we all want to be first; we all want what is best for ME. God is a loving ruler who has made good rules (Ten Commandments) for us to follow. But we must obey or yield to His rules.
