BETHEL KIDZ WEEKLY STUDY

Lesson – Judges: God Wins Gideon’s Battle

September 13, 2020

Dear Parents,

God sees the best in us. Even kids who seem super confident have insecurities. Whether or not they vocalize it, they see the worst in themselves at times. Help your children see that in spite of our insecurities, God sees our potential and how we can do His work. Pray that God will affirm kids by helping them realize how He sees them.

Parents How to Teach this Lesson - This lesson will help your child understand that God sees the best in us.

Start by reading the bible lesson, then lead your children in prayer.

As you read the lesson, watch the video.

Enjoy time together in worship.

Download and print the activity sheet and coloring page.

On the Winning Side,
Migdalia "Mickey" Hernandez
Director - Bethel Kidz

Lesson – Judges: God Wins Gideon’s Battle

Lesson Introduction

Today we’re going to learn that God sees the best in us. We’ll learn about a man who didn’t think he had what it took to be a hero—but God thought differently.

Dig Into the Bible Lesson

· Judges 6-7 (NIV) – Read Listen

· In This Passage: Midianites are oppressing the Israelites. God sends an angel to tell Gideon he’s the mighty hero who will rescue the Israelites. Gideon doesn’t think he has what it takes, but God thinks so because God sees the best in us. Gideon leads a small army to fight the Midianites, and God wins the battle.

· Bible Point: God sees the best in us.

· Memory Verse: “This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

· Bible Lesson:

· Today we’re going to learn that God sees the best in us. We’ll learn about a man who didn’t think he had what it took to be a hero—but God thought differently.

In our Bible story, there are some bad people called Midianites. They keep taking all of the Israelites’ food! Let’s think about foods we wouldn’t want stolen from us.

Open a Bible to Judges 6. There are a lot of great kinds of food. But imagine if you didn’t have enough to eat because enemies kept stealing your food. When that happened in the Bible, God saw the best in a man named Gideon and saw that Gideon could stop the Midianites. Let’s see what happened. The Bible is God’s special book. God uses the Bible to talk to us. He’s always here, and he wants to talk to you now. Let’s listen.

Here’s what God was up to in today’s true Bible story. God’s people, the Israelites, weren’t obeying God. So God let some enemies, the Midianites, treat the Israelites in a mean way.

Let me tell you what the Midianites were doing. Read Judges 6:3-6.

If you were an Israelite, how would it feel to have to guard your food?

With the Midianites taking all their food, the Israelites must have gotten hungry.

When the Israelites got really hungry, they asked God for help. So God picked someone to help them. He chose Gideon, an Israelite. Let’s see how Gideon got a message from God.

How would you describe Gideon?

Let’s see how God’s angel described him.

Read Judges 6:12.

Why do you think the angel called Gideon a mighty hero?

God sees the best in us. Even though Gideon was scared, hiding his food from the Midianites instead of fighting against them, God saw that he had what it took to be a hero.

Gideon didn’t feel like a mighty hero. Listen to the conversation he had with the angel.

Read Judges 6:14-16.

Why do you think Gideon felt so weak and unimportant?

The angel called Gideon a mighty hero, but Gideon might’ve called himself “least important.” Think about a not-so-nice nickname you sometimes feel is true about yourself.

God sees the best in us. Sometimes we’re like Gideon—we see the worst in ourselves. We might think we’re not strong enough, not important enough, not big enough, or not smart enough. But God sees who we really are, and he knows we can do amazing things for him. He called on Gideon to rescue Israel, even when Gideon felt weak.

Even though God saw the best in Gideon, Gideon still wasn’t sure he could succeed. He asked for a sign from God. Gideon would put a piece of fleece on the threshing floor overnight. If it was wet in the morning but the ground was dry, that would be a sign that God was really going to use him. Sure enough, the fleece was wet in the morning, but the ground was dry.

Our mighty hero, Gideon, still wasn’t sure he could rescue Israel, so he asked for the opposite sign. This time, he wanted the fleece to be dry but the ground to be wet. God sees the best in us, and he wanted Gideon to see the best in himself. So he gave Gideon the sign. Then Gideon was finally ready to battle the Midianites.

When you hear people use the phrase “putting out a fleece,” it means asking God for a sign. This story is where that phrase comes from.

Gideon gathered a big army of 32,000 men to fight the Midianites. God thought Gideon’s army was too big, because if the Israelites won the battle, they would boast that they won by their own strength.

So God told Gideon to send home anyone who felt afraid or didn’t want to go to battle, and 22,000 of the men went home.

Looking at the two armies, do you think this is a fair battle? Why or why not?

The Midianite army was much bigger. But even then, God didn’t think Gideon needed so many men. He had Gideon send more men home based on how they drank water from a stream. When those men went home, Gideon’s army was down to just 300 men.

Let’s hear what God’s strategy was. You can act it out with the pieces as I read. Read Judges 7:15-18.

God sees the best in us, and he gave Gideon courage. And Gideon became a great leader of the Israelite army!

Read Judges 7:21-22.

With God’s strength, and a very small army, Gideon was able to defeat the Midianites. God sent the Midianites into a panic, and they ran away. But God used Gideon to make it happen. God sees the best in us, and he saw that Gideon was right for the job. God saw Gideon as a mighty hero.

Let’s watch this video to recap Gideon’s story:

Watch: Gideon’s 300 Men

Download the “Who Am I?” handout - download here

The Bible has a lot to say about how God sees us. Your handout has several Bible verses about how Jesus sees you. Read over the list, and choose one that says something you don’t see in yourself. Ask God to help you see that characteristic in yourself.

· Pray: “Dear God, thank you that you see the best in us. Thank you that you tell us in the Bible just how you see us. Help us see the best in ourselves and in each other. Help us see the potential you see so we can serve you. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

Watch: Summer Camp

Have you ever tried something new and been kind of nervous? Talk about that. Share your own example first.

In our video today, we’ll see a boy who’s about to go to summer camp for the first time. Have you ever been to an overnight camp? What was it like?

Let’s see how it goes for Chris.

Watch – Summer Camp

• Did Chris seem very courageous to you in this video? Why or why not?

• Why do you think the camp counselor called him Courageous Chris?

The camp counselor saw the best in Chris. Even though he probably didn’t feel all that courageous, she knew he was courageous just for coming to camp and trying something new! God sees the best in us. Even if we don’t feel very special, God sees amazing things in us!

Bethel Kidz - Let’s Worship God Together! (VIDEO)

Coloring Page

Activity Sheet