Psalms

Psalm 51

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Hello again! This Psalm was a song written by David after he killed Uriah and married Uriah’s wife Bathsheba. His heart was not obeying God. God was not happy and He sent His prophet Nathan to tell David to ask God to forgive him.

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1 Have mercy on me, O God,
    because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
    blot out the stain of my sins.

2 Wash me clean from my guilt.
    Make me perfectly clean from my sin.

3 For I recognize my disobedience;
    it haunts me day and night.

4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
    and your judgment against me is fair.

5 For I was born a sinner—
    yes, from the moment i started growing in my mother’s belly.

6 But you desire honesty,
    teaching me wisdom from the beginning.

7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Oh, give me back my joy again;
    you have broken me—
    now let me rejoice.

9 Don’t keep looking at my sins.
    Remove the stain of my guilt.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
    Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence,
    and don’t take your Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and make me willing to obey you.

13 Then I will teach your ways to others,
    and they will return to you.
14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
    then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.

15 Unseal my lips, O Lord,
    that my mouth may praise you.

16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

18 Look with favor on Zion and help her;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—
with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.
Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.

 

Back before Jesus, people would make a sacrifice when they did something bad. They would find the best sheep they could. Then they would kill it and give it to God. (This was partly because that was one of the most important things to the people back then. The best sheep got them the most money. They could eat the animals or sell them. They were very important. To give them to God meant God was the MOST important.) God would see the blood from the best animal and forgive the people for what they had done wrong.

(When Jesus came, He was God’s own perfect son and He died as a sacrifice too on the cross. Instead of an animal, He was the PERFECT sacrifice because He never sinned…He was the “spotless lamb.” Once He died, we never had to sacrifice animals again. God will forever look on Jesus dying and see that He took away our punishment for us. His blood covers us forever as long as we believe in Him.)

David knew what was most important to God, more than the animal sacrifice, was what was in his heart. We can’t just say “oh, i messed up, but Jesus died on the cross so it’s fine.” Just like people in David’s day couldn’t say “oh i messed up, i’ll just kill a sheep and God will forgive me.” God forgives because of the sacrifice AND because we ask His forgiveness and have a heart that WANTS His forgiveness and a heart that WANTS to follow Him. (We are saved by the grace of Jesus’ sacrifice though faith.)

David was very sorry and he wanted God to forgive him and give him a new, clean heart and he asked God to help him obey from now on. He promised to rejoice and sing praises to God for his fair punishment and for God forgiving him.

 

Keith Green song 

Rend Collective song

Thanks for joining us!

Psalm 105

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Hi all! This psalm is a song that remembers all the great things God had done for His people. It’s a history of a lot of the things the Israelites had been through. As you read through this song, see which Bible stories YOU remember about God and His people!

1 Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
3 Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.

5 Remember the wonders he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
6 you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,
    his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

7 He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.

8 He remembers his covenant forever,
    the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant he made with Abraham,
    the oath he swore to Isaac.

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10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as the portion you will inherit.”

12 When they were but few in number,
    few indeed, and strangers in it,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another.
14 He allowed no one to oppress them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:
15 “Do not touch my anointed ones;
    do my prophets no harm.”

16 He called down famine on the land
    and destroyed all their supplies of food;
17 and he sent a man before them—
    Joseph, sold as a slave.

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18 They bruised his feet with shackles,
    his neck was put in irons,
19 till what he foretold came to pass,
    till the word of the Lord proved him true.
20 The king sent and released him,
    the ruler of peoples set him free.
21 He made him master of his household,
    ruler over all he possessed,
22 to instruct his princes as he pleased
    and teach his elders wisdom.

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23 Then Israel entered Egypt;
    Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord made his people very fruitful;
    he made them too numerous for their foes,
25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people,
    to conspire against his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant,
    and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

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27 They performed his signs among them,
    his wonders in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness and made the land dark—
    for had they not rebelled against his words?
29 He turned their waters into blood,
    causing their fish to die.
30 Their land teemed with frogs,
    which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
    and gnats throughout their country.
32 He turned their rain into hail,
    with lightning throughout their land;
33 he struck down their vines and fig trees
    and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
    grasshoppers without number;
35 they ate up every green thing in their land,
    ate up the produce of their soil.
36 Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land,
    the firstfruits of all their manhood.
37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,
    and from among their tribes no one faltered.

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38 Egypt was glad when they left,
    because dread of Israel had fallen on them.

39 He spread out a cloud as a covering,
    and a fire to give light at night.

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40 They asked, and he brought them quail;
    he fed them well with the bread of heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed like a river in the desert.

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42 For he remembered his holy promise
    given to his servant Abraham.
43 He brought out his people with rejoicing,
    his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
44 he gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—
45 that they might keep his precepts
    and observe his laws.

Praise the Lord.

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David was remembering all the great things God had done for His people. If YOUR family wrote a song about what God had done, what kind of song would it be? Would you remember when each child was born? When you moved? When someone was sick and God made them better? What kinds of things do YOU remember God doing?

Thanks for joining us again! Love to you all!

Psalm 1

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Hello everyone! Today’s lesson is from Psalm 1. This is a song about wisdom. Wisdom means knowing how to make good choices. You can learn a lot of things, but one of the most important things is how you make decisions. When you know what the Bible says, and what God wants then you can make wise (good) decisions. If you don’t know what the Bible says and don’t know what God wants, it can be easy to make bad choices. This song that David wrote talks about that.

1 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.

4 Not so the wicked!
    They are like chaff
    that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

Our preschool version:

Good things come to people who do not make bad choices
or stand around with other people who make bad choices.
Good things come to those whose joy is God’s word,
and who always think day and night about what God wants.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
it gives good fruit and its leaves does not wither away
whatever they do prospers.

But not for the wicked!
They are like chaff (the extra trash part of wheat and corn)
that the wind blows away.
The wicked will be in trouble for not listening to God,
these people will not get to stay with God forever.

Because the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but those who make unwise choices will only find destruction.

These verses say someone who listens to God and makes wise choices is like what?

A tree.

What do we know about trees? They are strong, and beautiful…if they are healthy, some trees make beautiful leaves or good fruit. People who listen to God and obey Him by making good choices are also strong and beautiful. And instead of fruit (because kids can’t grow fruit!!) they give other good things to people–like happiness, friendship, love and kindness.

But people who do not listen to God and make bad choices are like the extra part of wheat–when the farmers pick all the wheat, they grind up the extras and they get blown away in the wind. These people are not strong, they go any which way someone tells them to go and they can’t give good things to other people because they don’t have good things in their heart.

It’s important to listen to God and be able to wise choices so we can be like the strong trees that give good things to other people.

For our craft today, we made two pictures. One of a tree (we drew the trunk and glued on craft leaves–but you could draw it all, use tissue paper for the tree or collect real leaves from outside.) Our text reads: The wise are like a tree: strong, gives off fruit (good things to others), beautiful. Psalm 1:3

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Then for our second picture we drew stalks of wheat (just straight up and down lines with a yellow marker) and then dabbed some glue and glitter to be the chaff blowing away in the wind. Our text reads: The wicked are like chaff: blows any way, not strong, does not give good things. Psalm 1:4

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THIS is a kids song version posted by PricklyPear111.

THIS video has the verses with motions to help kids memorize this chapter (posted by Jena Thacker).

And THIS is a recitation with pictures to help kids visualize the verses posted by BaberAnimation.

Thanks for joining us! Love to you all!

Psalm 56

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Hello all! Today’s lesson is from Psalm 56. This is a song about trusting God. David wrote it when the Philistines captured him.

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1 Be merciful to me, my God,
    for my enemies are in hot pursuit;
    all day long they press their attack.
2 My adversaries pursue me all day long;
    in their pride many are attacking me.

3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.
4     In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?

5 All day long they twist my words;
    all their schemes are for my ruin.
6 They conspire, they lurk,
    they watch my steps,
    hoping to take my life.
7 Because of their wickedness do not[c] let them escape;
    in your anger, God, bring the nations down.

8 Record my misery;
    list my tears on your scroll—
    are they not in your record?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
    when I call for help.
    By this I will know that God is for me.

10 In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise—
11 in God I trust and am not afraid.
    What can man do to me?

12 I am under vows to you, my God;
    I will present my thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered me from death
    and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.

The preschool version goes:

Have mercy on me, God,
because my enemies are chasing me;
all day long they try to attack me.
My enemies chase me all day long;
many are attacking me.

When I am afraid, I will trust in you.
In God, whose word I praise—
in God I trust and am not afraid.
If God takes care of me, what can people do to me?

All day long they twist my words;
they are trying to ruin me.
They think up bad plans, they lurk,
they watch my steps, hoping to kill me.
Do not let them escape;
God, bring them down.

Remember how sad i am;
write down every tear i cry.
Then my enemies will turn back when I call for help.
I will know that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust and am not afraid.
What can man do to me?

I promise you God;
I will give you thanks.
For you have saved me from death
and my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk with you forever. 

What does David say he will do when he is afraid? He will TRUST in God. When we are afraid we can trust in God too and He will be with us. What kinds of things make you afraid? How can you remember to trust in God when you are afraid?
One of our favorite modern song-versions of this song is by Steve Green  posted Kendall Sauer.
Thanks for joining us today! Love to you all!

Psalm 23

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Hello again! Today’s psalm is about trusting God. This is very popular song and it tells us God is like a shepherd that takes care of us, His sheep.

This is a song that David wrote…and since HE was a shepherd…he knew a lot about what it takes to keep sheep healthy and safe.

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1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.

For preschool understanding:

The Lord is like a shepherd, He takes care of everything I need.
He keeps me safe….like a shepherd has his sheep sleep in green pastures,
He shows me a good, peaceful way to live…like a shepherd leads his sheep by calm waters,
he refreshes my soul and makes my heart happy.
He guides me along the right paths and helps me make good choices, because that makes Him happy.
Even when sad or hard things happen, like walking through a dark, scary, valley,
I will not be afraid, for You, God, are with me;
your strength comforts me…like a shepherd’s big staff (stick) protects the sheep.

You give me everything I need AND MORE….like a whole feast of food and nothing can stop how good You are to me. 
You give me all the best things to comfort me, my cup overflows…I have more than enough.
Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will live close to the Lord in His house forever.

Like a shepherd that loves his sheep, God loves us and takes good care of us. He gives us everything we need AND more!

We did not do a craft today, but of course any kind of sheep craft would work.

I also found THIS super cute marshmallow sheep cupcake.

THIS VIDEO from Sami Cone teaches sign language along with the verses.

THIS VIDEO from zondervan retells the Jesus Storybook Bible version of Psalm 23.

And this cute video from spaz1amy is just a super cute recitation.

Thanks for joining us again. Love to you all!

Psalm 100

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hi all! Today’s Psalm is a song of thanksgiving–giving God thanks. Which works out nicely, because here in the US we are about to celebrate thanksgiving!

1 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
2     Worship the Lord with gladness;
    come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the Lord is God.
    It is he who made us, and we are his;
    we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
    and his courts with praise;
    give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
    his faithfulness continues through all generations.

What are YOU thankful for? Because it is fall here and we are celebrating Thanksgiving, we decided to make thankfulness trees. We have done this before adding one new leaf day throughout the month…but for our craft today, we drew some trees and branches on paper and then took 5 leaves and wrote down some things we were thankful for and glued them to our tree. If you have a large sunday school class, you could make a felt tree to hang on the wall, or if you want, you could memorize Psalm 100 this month and start making your own thankfulness tree, adding one new leaf of something you’re thankful for each day to the tree. You can use real leaves, craft leaves, or even leaves cut from fabric or paper.

 

Thanks for joining us! Love to you all!

Psalm 51

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Hey all! Welcome again!

This month we are learning about Psalms–a book of songs. We’ve already learned about songs that praise God and songs for when we are frustrated with God. Today’s song is a song to tell God I’m sorry.

King David had done a bad thing. He wanted to marry a lady but she was ALREADY married to someone else! So he sent her husband to war so he would die and then David could marry her. God was not happy that David wanted to kill her husband and the priest (church leader) named Nathan said “God is NOT happy with you. You sinned and disobeyed God’s words, David!”

David realized he had done a terrible thing and he wrote this song asking God to please forgive him and help him do better.

 

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

 

When we write this in simplified kid-version it reads like this:

Please don’t give me the consequences I deserve, O God,
 but because of  Your love;
and because of how much You care about me, 
wipe away the bad things I have done.

Wash away all my bad choices
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know what I have done wrong,
I think about it all the time.
Against You, God, have I sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight;
so You are right in whatever you decide to do with me.

I was sinful since I was a baby,
even when I was inside my mom’s belly.

If YOU cleanse me I will be clean;
 wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;
It’s like my bones are crushed to pieces because of my sin….let my body celebrate again.
Hide your face from my sins
and wipe away all my bad choices.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and give me a right spirit within me.
Do not send me away from you, or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Bring back to me the happiness of You saving me,
 and help me always follow you.

Then I will teach other people who disobey You, Your ways,
so that lots of sinners will turn back to You.

Save me from the guilt of killing that guy, O God,
You who are God who saves me from my sins,
and my tongue  will sing of Your righteousness (all the perfect things you do and are).

Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will yell Your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
You do not take pleasure in gifts.
What I give you, O God, is a broken heart;
You, God, will not forget me.

May it please You to prosper us, your people,
to keep us safe and protect us.
Then you will be happy with the gifts we bring, when we bring them to You with hearts that love and obey You.

For today’s craft, we cut out and decorated hearts with verse 10 written on them. Then we learned THIS SONG.

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Thanks for joining us! Love to you all.

Psalm 44

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Hi all! We are currently looking at some of the Psalms (songs). Most of these were written by David (David and Goliath, King David) but some were written by other people. If you remember from yesterday, we talked about how some of the songs are about praising God.

Today’s Psalm is about being frustrated. Do you ever get frustrated? Do you know God wants us to talk and maybe even sing, EVEN when we are frustrated? This Psalm is Psalm 44.

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1 We have heard it with our ears, O God;
    our ancestors have told us
what you did in their days,
    in days long ago.
2 With your hand you drove out the nations
    and planted our ancestors;
you crushed the peoples
    and made our ancestors flourish.
3 It was not by their sword that they won the land,
    nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand, your arm,
    and the light of your face, for you loved them.

4 You are my King and my God,
    who decrees[c] victories for Jacob.
5 Through you we push back our enemies;
    through your name we trample our foes.
6 I put no trust in my bow,
    my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory over our enemies,
    you put our adversaries to shame.
8 In God we make our boast all day long,
    and we will praise your name forever.

9 But now you have rejected and humbled us;
    you no longer go out with our armies.
10 You made us retreat before the enemy,
    and our adversaries have plundered us.
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep
    and have scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold your people for a pittance,
    gaining nothing from their sale.

13 You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,
    the scorn and derision of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword among the nations;
    the peoples shake their heads at us.
15 I live in disgrace all day long,
    and my face is covered with shame
16 at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me,
    because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

17 All this came upon us,
    though we had not forgotten you;
    we had not been false to your covenant.
18 Our hearts had not turned back;
    our feet had not strayed from your path.
19 But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals;
    you covered us over with deep darkness.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
    or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21 would not God have discovered it,
    since he knows the secrets of the heart?
22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep?
    Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.
24 Why do you hide your face
    and forget our misery and oppression?

25 We are brought down to the dust;
    our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Rise up and help us;
    rescue us because of your unfailing love.

Our cliff notes, child-directed version reads:

——————————————————————–

We have heard it with our ears, O God; our ancestors have told us
everything You did a long time ago. 

With Your hands You drove out the other nations and put our families in the promised land; You crushed the other people and made our ancestors grow and have everything they needed.

It was not by their swords that they won the land, nor did their strength bring them victory; it was Your power and Your strength, for You loved them.

You are my King and my God, who gives victories for Israel. With Your power, you we push back our enemies, through your help, we defeat our enemies.

It’s not my bow and arrow or my sword that gives me victory; but You give us victory over our enemies, You put our adversaries to shame.

We say all day how wonderul God’s power is and we will praise your name forever.

***until now there has not been frustrated complaining…even when we’re frustrated or don’t understand what God is doing or why sad things are happening, it’s important to always remember to thank God for everything He has done for us and how much He loves us**

But now you have rejected and humbled us; You no longer go out to help fight with our armies. You made us run away from our enemies, and the other guys have taken all our things.

You gave us up to be eaten like sheep and have scattered us among the nations…made us leave the promised land. You sold your people for a pennies, gaining nothing from their sale. You have made us a disappointment to our neighbors, a joke to those around us. The people call us names and shake their heads in disappointment at us. I live in disgrace all day long, and my face is covered with shame at the mean things said by those who hate me, because the other guys are bent on getting even.

All this happened, even though we had not forgotten you; we never betrayed your covenant. Our hearts had not turned yucky; our feet had not strayed from your path. But you crushed us like putting us in a lion’s den; you covered us over with deep darkness.

If we had forgotten the to praise Your name, or worshipped a pretend god, You would have found out, because You knows the secrets of the heart? But for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep about to killed and eaten.

Wake up, Lord! Why are You sleeping? Do not forget us forever. Why do you hide your face
 and forget our sadness and the bad things that are happening to us? We are brought down to the dust, about to die.

Rise up and help us; rescue us because of Your unfailing love.

———————————————————————

The people who wrote this song first praised God for the wonderful things He had done for His people–leading them to the promised land and helping them defeat their enemies. But then they complained because bad things were happening. They said, “we didn’t disobey You, God, or worship other pretend gods…so WHY aren’t You helping us anymore? Why are you mad at us? We know You really do love us, so PLEASE come help us!”

Did you know that just because you love and obey God doesn’t mean only good things will happen to you? Sometimes even if you love and obey God, sad and scary things might happen. We can always remember how much God loves us and that He fights for us! And it’s ok to tell God when we are sad or scared or frustrated. Just like when you are sad or hurt and you call for your mom or dad to come help, God is the same way. When we are scared or hurt, we can pray or sing to Him and He will help us and remind us how much He loves us.

THIS VIDEO is a musical version of today’s verses posted by The Living Psalms-Randy Gordon.

Thanks for joining us today. Love to you all!

Psalm 8

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hey all! Today (and for the next few days) we are talking about the book of Psalms. A Psalm (sawlm) is a song.

There is a whole book of the Bible just of songs! Most of them were written by King David (David and Goliath, King of Israel), but some were written by other people.

Mostly the songs are either asking God for help, or thanking God for all He’s done for us.

Did you know you can sing songs to God when you are sad or happy? Even when you are mad or confused! Some of the songs we sing in church today come from the book of Psalms!

There are different kinds of psalms–some tell God “thank you,” some ask God for help, some tell the story of God’s people, and some are just to tell God how wonderful He is…they tell about God!

Our first psalm we are going to read is Psalm 8. This is a song that praises God for being SO big and wonderful and also for loving US!

psalm-8-sun

 

NIV:

1 Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
    in the heavens.
2 Through the praise of children and infants
    you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
    to silence the foe and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,
    the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
    which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?

5 You have made them a little lower than the angels
    and crowned them with glory and honor.
6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their feet:
7 all flocks and herds,
    and the animals of the wild,
8 the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,
    all that swim the paths of the seas.

9 Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

And an easier read for kids, the Living Bible translation:

1 O Lord our God, the majesty and glory of your name fills all the earth and overflows the heavens. 2 You have taught the little children to praise you perfectly. May their example shame and silence your enemies!

praise

3 When I look up into the night skies and see the work of your fingers—the moon and the stars you have made— 4 I cannot understand how you can bother with mere puny man, to pay any attention to him!

stars

5 And yet you have made him only a little lower than the angels and placed a crown of glory and honor upon his head.

hug

6 You have put him in charge of everything you made; everything is put under his authority: 7 all sheep and oxen, and wild animals too, 8 the birds and fish, and all the life in the sea. 

an

9 O Jehovah, our Lord, the majesty and glory of your name fills the earth.

jehovah

 

 

Isn’t it amazing that the GREAT BIG God who made EVERYTHING and is in charge of EVERYTHING loves us? He knows you and He loves you! Wow.

(We didn’t do a craft today,  but you could certainly illustrate these verses, or make a list of the ways God is amazing. Or maybe make an earth from a painted paper plate and write verse 1 on it.)

THIS VIDEO is a popular song based on these verses by Lincoln Brewster (posted by Bob Marshall).

THIS VIDEO is a kid’s version of the well-known hymn version of these verses posted by Kids Praise Kids.

THIS VIDEO posted by jwoelmer2 has these verses in Hebrew set to music…so you can hear how David or the Israelites *may* have sounded when THEY sang the song.

Thanks for joining us! Love to you all!

David the Shepherd

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hi all…today’s lesson is a variance on David the shepherd. Today’s lesson is more focused whereas last year’s lesson was more broad. (Found HERE.)

Do you remember what David was doing before God said he would be the new king? He was taking care of the sheep! That’s called being a shepherd. What kinds of things do you think a shepherd has to do? (Feed the sheep, get them water, keep them safe, show them where to go, keep them healthy.) The shepherd loves his sheep.

When David got bigger, he was like a shepherd to the people of Israel. He became king and he took care of the people just like he took care of the sheep! He kept them safe, fighting in battles, and he made sure they had food and water. He led the people to God and he obeyed God which helped remind the people to obey God too! (2 Samuel 5:2, 1 Chronicles 11:2, Ezekiel 34:11-23, Psalm 78:70-72)

David would get married and have a baby boy. And that boy would grow up and have a boy and he would have a boy and on and on for 14 times, until another baby boy was born–Jesus. Jesus is like a shepherd too. He leads us to God and He keeps us safe. David wrote a lot of songs and in those songs, David called God “our Shepherd” a lot. (Psalm 23:1-3, 28:9, 95:7, 79:13, 100:3)

He takes care of us…and even more important than making sure we have the THINGS we need, He takes care of our hearts. Jesus doesn’t just take care of us, He loves us, just like a shepherd loves his sheep. (Isaiah 40:11, 53:6, Micah 7:4, Jeremiah 31:10)

Sometimes if a wolf or other scary animal would come and try to eat one of the sheep, the shepherd would fight the animal–even if he died..he would try to fight to save his sheep. Do you remember Jesus died for us? Sin (anything that disobeys God) wants to have our hearts…which keeps us away from God forever…but Jesus, the Good Shepherd, fought and died to save us. (Isaiah 53:6, John 10:11). But He didn’t stay dead–because unlike a regular shepherd, Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is stronger than sin and death. Not EVEN dying can keep Jesus away from us or away from loving us.

God gave His people in Israel a good shepherd, David to lead them and protect them. But later He would give ALL of us Jesus, the Good Shepherd (the best shepherd of all) to love us, protect us, and save our hearts.

 

For today’s craft, we cut out a sheep’s head and then glued some fluffy cotton balls to make a sheep.

 

Thanks again for joining us. Love to you all!