Living on the Edge
Elementary Leader Guide
Lesson Four – I Learn to be Humble
The goal of the Living on the Edge series is for children to learn how to be followers of Christ.
The weekly lesson themes are in an acrostic to help children remember and apply the main
point of each lesson. Our desire is for every child to remember what they have learned by
recalling each lesson in the LIVING acrostic.
Living on the Edge Means…
Loving God and Loving Others (Lesson One)
I Surrender to God Daily (Lesson Two)
Victory Over the World (Lesson Three)
I Learn to be Humble (Lesson Four)
Noticing the Needs of Others (Lesson Five)
Giving Out Good When Things Get Bad (Lesson Six)
The Point of the Lesson:
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Each child will learn in a practical way what it means to be humble by looking at the life of
Moses. They will learn to change their way of thinking to God’s way of thinking and put others
first.
The Power of God’s Word:
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. Romans 12:3b NIV
The Practice of Each Child:
For the next five days, each child will ask the following question to at least one other person:
“How do you think God will use you to make a difference in the world?” Then, listen to their
response. As a bonus, each child can tell the same person something they really like about
them.
The Lesson in a Word
Humble
Prepare (Before Service)
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Object Lesson: Large Cookie
Game Materials: None
Student Helps and Handouts:
There are three handouts for children.
Handout One: Family EnterAction Guide. The Family EnterAction Guide is given out (one
per family) the first couple of weeks of the series to further reinforce learning at home. We
recommend giving students coupons (provided on the Resource CD) that direct parents to a
central pick-up location, such as the Children’s Information Booth at your church, so that those
parents who are interested can pick up the EnterAction Guides, and you aren’t sending
several home to the same family. You may photocopy and spiral-bind the EnterAction Guides
(provided on the Resource CD) or purchase printed guides ahead of time from
www.livingontheedge.org.
Handout Two: Activity Book. The Activity Book is designed to help each child reinforce what
they have learned in the lesson through a daily activity they work through on their own. You
may use the print-ready version on the Resource CD to have each book made up in advance,
or you may order Activity Books ahead of time at www.livingontheedge.org. Another option is
to photocopy each week’s Activity Book pages and hand them out to each child the week
each lesson is taught. The Activity Book is best used for children in grades one through four.
Handout Three: Student Handout. The Student Handout is given to each child each week
they attend and is provided for you on the Resource CD. Two artwork options, full color
handouts and black and white handouts, are available in PDF format or Word (.doc format).
The handout in the PDF format is completely ready to go and simply needs to be duplicated,
but cannot be altered. (We recommend using this one.) The handout in Word (.doc format)
can be changed so you can add your own church name, logo or anything else you would like
before duplication. If you have questions, please feel free to call Empowering Kids at
1866-EMPOWER (USA only) or 949-855-0512 (International), or e-mail us at
[email protected], and we will be happy to help you.
(Make sure each child has a pencil with their Student Handout.)
Preview (5 minutes)
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During Check-In Time:
We recommend that you have a variety of games and activities available for your kids to
interact with after they have checked into your program. Some ideas for this are board games,
a large Lego table, crafts or bead projects, a large whiteboard and markers (just for the kids),
video games (be sure to screen the games for appropriateness), large floor games (rug or
beach-type games), drawing paper and markers. Have a signal, like a certain song that is
played each week, to let the kids know when it is time to clean up and come sit down for the
program to begin.
Welcome From Emcee:
“Hey everyone, welcome to (name of your church). We are so glad you are here with us
today. We are going to have a great time together worshipping God and getting to know Him
better. Living on the Edge is an exciting series we are diving into and today we will continue
the fun as we learn what the Bible has to say about Living on the Edge by being humble!
Object Lesson:
Large Cookie
Say, “Who wants some of this cookie? It looks delicious, doesn’t it? This is my cookie, but I
am willing to share it.” (Divide the cookie into uneven halves and hold both pieces up to the
kids.) “Oops, I didn’t quite divide that evenly. This half over here is much bigger! Raise your
hand if you want this half of the cookie. Now, raise your hand if you want this smaller half of
this super yummy cookie. Even though this was my cookie, a lot of you seemed to want the
bigger half. Hmm….interesting!!”
“Our word for today is HUMBLE. Sometimes we think we deserve things that are bigger or
better than what others get, but Jesus taught us to love others as ourselves – not more and
not less than ourselves. We’re going to talk more about what the Bible has to say on this
topic…But first, I have a Kid Connect Question for you.”
Kid Connect Question: (PowerPoint slide provided on Resource CD)
The Kid Connect question is designed to get each child up, talking, moving and beginning to
think about the lesson. Have the group emcee ask the following question to get the kids
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connecting!
Would you rather eat chocolate covered worms or chocolate covered snails?
Play (5 minutes)
Here is a quick game to play with your kids to get them moving and help launch the lesson.
Game: Human Machine
Divide the kids into groups of three to five students.
Have them choose a machine or contraption that they must act out. For example: If they
choose a pinball machine, several children can lay down as the bumpers as one child
somersaults around as the ball.
Have each group act out their machine for the other groups and let them guess what their
machine is. You may play several rounds as time permits.
Transition for Emcee:
“That game was fun – but we all had to work together! If anyone did their own thing, the
machine wouldn’t have been complete. Each part was important – no one was better than any
other part. Sometimes people think they are better than others and that what they do is more
important than what their friends do, but God’s Word tells us to be humble. Today we are
going to hear about Moses who learned a very important lesson about being humble.”
Praise (15 minutes)
This is a time of corporate worship through singing and music. We suggest three songs that
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are lively and kid-friendly.
Process (15 minutes)
This is the time to play the teaching DVD for Lesson Four. To start playing the lesson, begin at
the main DVD screen, and choose Lesson Four. A sub menu will appear, giving you three
options: “Lesson Four,” “G3,” and “Live It.” Select “Lesson Four” to begin. You may also use
the notes below to teach the material yourself in a large group or classroom setting.
Lesson in a Word:
Humble
Memory Verse:
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. Romans 12:3b NIV
What Should I See?
Moses was a Hebrew boy who was adopted by one of Pharaoh’s daughters. He had
everything he ever needed or wanted. One day while he was out walking around he noticed
an Egyptian man beating up a Hebrew man. After Moses looked around to make sure no one
was looking, he grabbed the Egyptian man and killed him and buried him in the sand. Moses
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thought too much of himself. The very next day, Moses was out walking around and saw two
Hebrew men fighting with each other. He asked the one in the wrong why he was hitting his
neighbor like that. The man asked Moses, “Who do you think you are? Are you going to kill
me like you killed the Egyptian yesterday?” Moses was afraid because he realized everyone
knew what he had done. When Pharaoh heard about it, he gave an order to kill Moses, so
Moses ran away to the desert.
While in the desert, God spoke to Moses through a burning bush and told him to go back to
Egypt and rescue the Hebrew people. Moses kept giving excuses to God. Moses said, “I’m a
nobody; I don’t know what to say; they won’t believe me; I’m not very good.” Moses thought
too little of himself. But God told Moses that He would be with him and help him, so Moses
went back to Egypt with a humble attitude. God used him to make a difference in the world!
(Story found in Exodus 1-4)
What’s the Key?
The key to unlock this lesson is our word for today, HUMBLE! Moses thought he could get
away with anything. He thought he could do whatever he wanted. Moses thought he was “all
that and a bag of chips.” He thought he was above the law. It turns out that he wasn’t and had
to run away to the desert. Moses thought too highly of himself. He had too much pride!
Later in life, Moses thought too low of himself. He thought God could no longer use him
because of his past or what he had done. Moses had forgotten that with God’s power, he
could do anything.
The key is to not think too low of yourself or too high of yourself. The key is to not think of
yourself at all. That’s humility. Living on the Edge means “I Learn to be Humble”!
What’s That to Me?
So the question is, who do you think you are? That’s the question the men asked Moses. I
think Moses would have answered, “Hello…I’m Moses! I am in charge! I am all that and a bag
of chips!” Translation, ”I am better than everyone else, hello!”
God opposes arrogant people, but He is kind to humble people. James 4:6b GWRD
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Most of the time we don’t have a problem with thinking too little of ourselves. Most of the time,
we think we are better than everyone else. It’s great to have confidence in yourself, but that’s
not what we’re talking about. We are talking about pride, or thinking more highly of ourselves
than we ought to think. That means we think of ourselves as “above others” or ‘better than
others,” and when we think that, we usually treat others with less respect and honor because
we think we are better.
How Should I Be?
I need to learn to be humble. One of the ways we can do this is by asking others about
themselves. Each day, for the next five days, ask this question to at least one other person:
“How do you think God will use you to make a difference in the world?” Then, listen to their
response. As a bonus, you can tell the same person something you really like about them.
Here’s an example. “Hey Dad, how do you think God will use you to make a difference in the
world?” “Really! That’s cool. You know, one of the coolest things about you being my dad is
when we go to the park together.” When we focus on others; it helps us to be humble.
Practice Point
I will learn to be humble each and every day.
Ask others about themselves and listen to what they say.
Practice (30 minutes)
On the Resource CD, select PowerPoint Game and then select Lesson Four. Press the arrow
key to advance the slides. If you would prefer not to use the PowerPoint game, you can read
the questions to the group and wait for them to respond.
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1. Total Recall (10 minutes)
Question One: What is the word for today?
(Humble)
Question Two: Where is today’s story found?
(Exodus 1-4)
Question Three: True or False: Moses killed an Egyptian.
(True)
Question Four: What did God use to speak through to Moses?
(Burning bush)
Question Five: True or False: Moses immediately obeyed God.
(False)
Question Six: Where did Moses hide from the Pharaoh?
(Desert)
Question Seven: True or False: God used Moses to make a difference in the world.
(True)
Question Eight: Complete the memory verse: Do not think of yourself more _____ than you
ought. Romans 12:3b NIV (Highly)
2. “Live It” Testimony on Video (5 minutes)
This segment will feature Diane sharing a real life experience about what it means to Live on
the Edge and directly reinforces this lesson. On the DVD Menu Screen, choose “Lesson Four”
and then select “Live It” on the sub-menu screen. If you do not use the video for this section
you can have one of your own leaders or children give a testimony about what it means to be
humble.
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3. Memory Madness Challenge (10 minutes)
At this time, use the PowerPoint slide in the multimedia presentation that shows the verse.
You can have your entire group or class do the challenge together or separate into a few
teams and compete to see who can remember the verse the best. If you separate into teams
then each team tries to recite the week’s memory verse with the corresponding hand motions.
Show the slide and give the children a couple of minutes to practice the verse together. Then
take the slide away and give each group a chance to recite the verse. The emcee gives points
to the teams according to how well they do on the Memory Madness Challenge. You can also
reward children who come back the following week with their verse memorized.
Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. Romans 12:3b NIV
4. G3 Video Game (5 minutes)
Here is a fun video game to play with your kids that will help reinforce the lesson. The G3 host
will ask a question and then present the students with a multiple-choice answer. Each student
will then vote for the answer they think is correct. You can have students vote a, b or c by
having them stand if they think the answer is “a.” Have students remain seated if they think
the answer is “b.” Have students stay seated but raise their hand if they think the answer is
“c.” On the DVD menu screen, select “Lesson Four” and then on the sub-menu screen, select
“G3.” The video will pause when it is time for you to ask the students what their selection is.
After the short pause, the video will resume playing and reveal the answer.
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Question One:
Where did Moses go after Egypt? (Desert)
a) The Beach
b) The Desert
c) The Lake
Question Two:
What did God use to talk to Moses? (Burning bush)
a) Cell Phone
b) Television
c) Burning Bush
Question Three:
What is our word for the day? (Humble)
a) Humble
b) Helping
c) Healthy
weekly handout: large group or small group time
Large Group Time or Small Group Time: It’s Your Choice!
At this point, have several leaders help pass out the Student Handouts and pencils to
everyone. (We don’t recommend handing these out earlier in the program, like upon check-in,
because students may leave the handouts somewhere, roll them up, make paper airplanes,
you get the idea…) This can be done in a large group by having students turn around and use
their chairs to write on, or in a small group by splitting the students into groups and having
them answer the questions around tables with leaders facilitating the questions. Either way,
allow time for students to fill in their personal answers and then give them an opportunity to
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share their answers with the group. You can keep these groups consistent or mix them up
each week, depending on your church needs and program.
Things to Do Here:
Question One:
What is the opposite of being humble? How are they opposite?
Question Two:
Why is it important to be humble?
Question Three:
How did Moses see himself early in his life? Why do you think he changed?
** Allow the students an opportunity to fill in the information on the tear-off portion of the
Student Handout and give it to a leader. This provides students with a chance to share prayer
requests, questions or comments with you! Be sure that someone on the Children’s Ministry
Team has time to follow up on these notes, questions and prayer requests.
Things to Do at Home:
As students are dismissed, they should take their Student Handout home and finish the last
three questions or items during the week. You may want to offer an incentive of some type to
students who return with their handout the following week.
Read the story of Moses in Exodus 1-4.
Ask your parents to tell you about a time when they found it hard to be humble.
Do you know someone that is an example of humility? Thank them for being an example to
you.
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