Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Hi, everyone! This is the final lesson of our Superbook adventure, “In the Beginning.” We’ve been learning about obedience, temptation and consequences.

What does the word consequence mean? 

Are consequences always bad, or can they be good? 

Consequences can be good or bad! And when we choose to walk in God’s way, things turn out for the best!

I love to worship God with you! Now let’s stand and sing The Salvation Poem, which reminds us that God sent Jesus—His one and only Son—to die on the cross so our sins could be forgiven. As we sing, let’s invite Jesus into our hearts in a fresh way.

Play Video 7: (Song) The Salvation Poem (3 minutes)

Be sure to preview the song so you can sing along with the children.

The Salvation Poem

SuperTruth and Discussion (3 minutes)

One line in that song says, “Change my life and make it new.” All of us have done things that are wrong, and these things separate us from God. But He understands that we can’t save ourselves from our own sins or change our own lives.

So what did He do? 

God sent Jesus to be our Savior. That’s why our SuperTruth today is, “God has a plan to bring me back to Him.”

Introduce Condensed Bible Story (1 minute)

If all children watched the Bible story video in a previous lesson, omit it here and go straight to the SuperVerse.

For those of you who haven’t seen our Bible story yet, let’s watch a short version to see what happened when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. If you’ve already seen it, then this time as you watch, think about how it shows our need for a Savior!

Play Video 4: Condensed Bible Story (6 minutes)

Condensed Bible Story

Superbook takes Chris, Joy and Gizmo to the Garden of Eden. There they meet Adam and Eve, who give in to Satan’s temptation and bring sin into the world. The children learn the importance of obedience and that actions have consequences.

Play Video 10C: SuperVerse Graphic 3

Graphic loops 2.5 minutes without audio; turn off or freeze video after children repeat verse.

SuperVerse Graphic 3

SuperVerse Discussion (2 minutes)

Do you think God was totally surprised when Adam and Eve sinned?

No, God knows everything, so when Adam and Eve chose to sin and were separated from God, He already had a plan to bring people back to Him!

God tells Satan in our SuperVerse, Genesis 3:15:

“And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike His heel.”

What does the word hostility mean? 

God is saying that His children will be enemies of Satan—but someday Satan will be struck in the head and lose the battle!

Children will have more time to learn the SuperVerse in Small Group.

Introduce Signposts Video (1 minute)

Note: Should you feel that some scenes in the Signposts Video are too intense for young children, you may dismiss Grades 1-3 to their classrooms to begin their Small Groups while Grades 4-6 remain for the video.

Even though Adam and Eve lived thousands of years before Jesus, their lives connect in some very important ways. Adam and Eve’s sin and failure pointed to the desperate need that all people have for a Savior! Let’s dig deeper by watching our Signposts Video.

Play Video 6: Signposts Video (4 minutes)

Signposts Video

Prayer and Send-Off (2 minutes)

Isn’t that amazing? Let’s pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You for loving us so much that You sent Your only Son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and bring us back to You. As the Salvation Poem says, “Change my life and make it new; help me, Lord, to live for You.” In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Today in Small Group, you will learn more about God’s wonderful plan to bring us back to Him. Have fun!

Teachers take children to Small Group classes for Grades 1–3 and 4–6. If the combined group is small, all children may stay together for Small Group time.

Teaching

God’s dream was for us to live in a garden where we wouldn’t have to work. Sin messed it up, but God never gave up—He had a plan. Throughout history, He has unfolded that plan to restore His dream. God’s plan was fulfilled in Christ: born as a baby from a woman, beaten and crucified, but victorious over death.

Have you ever watched a game or a contest where it seemed like a person or team was going to be defeated—but the outcome was totally different? This is what it must have looked like as God’s plan of redemption unfolded over time.

Have you ever heard of a sport called boxing, where two fighters wear big gloves and try to knock each other down? A boxing match consists of several rounds. At the beginning of each round, a bell is rung. The boxers fight until the bell is rung a second time. One boxer is declared the winner for each round. The scores are totaled at the end of the match, and a winner is declared. Let’s take a look at the battle between Satan and Jesus in rounds as if it were a boxing match today.

For each round, have a different child hold up the appropriate sign and another child ring the bell. 

Round 1

In our video today, Satan believed he had struck a victorious blow in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobeyed God. But God wasn’t caught off guard or surprised! As we learned in our SuperVerse today, He already had a plan of restoration and redemption in place! God sent His son, Jesus Christ, to Earth as a baby to grow up and live a sinless, perfect life in our place. We read in 2 Corinthians 5:21:

For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. 

Choose a child to ring the bell. So, who wins this round? 

The winner of Round 1—Jesus!

Round 2

Satan was afraid of Jesus and plotted to get rid of Him! He worked to have Jesus arrested on false charges and nailed to a cross. He thought he had won the battle when Jesus died and was buried. God knew this would happen, too! On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead! Acts 2:24 says:

But God released Him from the horrors of death and raised Him back to life, for death could not keep Him in its grip. 

Jesus won the victory over death and came out of the sealed tomb! Hebrews 2:14 tells us:

Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could He die, and only by dying could He break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 

Yes, Jesus came as flesh and blood and died to defeat Satan and death so that we can live with Him for eternity! Choose a child to ring the bell. So, who wins this round? The winner of Round 2—Jesus!

Round 3

Satan is still fighting a battle, although He has already lost! His goal is to tempt us and cause us to disobey God, just like he did with Adam and Eve. But Jesus has won the victory over sin by His death and resurrection. We have God’s Holy Spirit in us to resist temptation and live a life in obedience to God’s Word. We read in 1 Corinthians 15:56–57:

For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Satan’s time on Earth is coming to a close. There is one final round and it will be the final battle. Jesus will defeat Satan in that battle once and for all. Satan thought he was God’s equal, but he was completely wrong. God is infinitely more powerful than the devil, and we can trust Jesus to save us from the power of sin and death. Revelation 11:15b says: 

“The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.” 

When that battle takes place, we will once again be able to live in a world full of God’s presence! This was God’s plan from the beginning, and we know that in Jesus, the battle has already been won! Choose a volunteer to stand up, and hold up his or her arm like a victorious boxer’s.

So, who wins this round—and the match? 

Yes—Jesus is the winner—yesterday, today and forever! Who can say John 3:16 (nkjv)p?

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

Let’s say our SuperTruth together; “God has a plan to bring me back to Him.”

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

For the past two lessons, we have been noticing things in God’s creation and praising Him for His amazing power and creativity. Did you bring your lists to class? Even if you were absent, you can still participate by sharing a special animal you observed in the past few days. What animals have you noticed, what makes them special, and why are you thankful for them?

Game

Talk about the portion of the story where Adam takes a bite of the forbidden fruit. Note that the Bible does not tell us what kind of fruit it was.

Why did Adam take a bite of the fruit? Some children may suggest that Eve made Adam taste the fruit. 

Has someone ever tried to convince you to do something wrong?

The world is full of temptations, and you will be tempted many times in your life. It is important to keep in mind that all of our actions have consequences, just like those of Adam and Eve! But there is good news. You have help available—“24/7”! What does 24/7 mean? 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; all the time!

When we have Jesus in our hearts, we have a Helper—24/7. Jesus understands how hard it is to obey God’s ways, so He gives us His Spirit to help us around the clock. Let's read what Jesus tells us in John 14:15–17 (nkjv):

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, … for He dwells with you and will be in you.” 

Jesus gives us His Spirit in our hearts to show us how to please God. Have you ever heard a quiet voice in your heart warning you not to do something bad, or telling you to do something kind? 

God is ready to help you 24/7—and He wants us to help others, too!

Some other good news is that even when we make bad choices and sin against God, He has a plan to bring us back to Him! We can go to Jesus in prayer and He is faithful to forgive us! The Bible promises in 1 John 1:9 (cev):

But if we confess our sins to God, He can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “God has a plan to bring me back to Him.”

God made that wonderful plan long ago, and people have passed along this good news to each other from generation to generation! Let’s play a game where we pretend this ball is God’s plan, and we pass it along to each other! The tricky part is that we must do this without using our hands! 

Have the children move close together in a circle with their elbows up and their hands on their shoulders. Give the ball to a child, who must secure it between his or her elbows and pass it to the child on the left, who takes it with his or her elbows - remember, no hands! Try to pass it all the way around the circle without any drops and back around again until it returns to the first child. If it falls, the child must try to pick it up with his or her elbows. If necessary, assist any child who finds this very difficult.

For added fun and greater action and participation, divide the class into smaller teams of six. Each group forms a circle. Play the above game, except see which group can pass the ball around their circle first. If time permits, play additional rounds or increase it to two times around the circle!

SuperVerse

SuperVerse—Genesis 3:15:

“And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike His heel.”

Have the children say the verse together. Note: Do not expect younger children to memorize the SuperVerse. Grades 1–3 may simply repeat it several times, while Grades 4–6 may memorize it. Be sure all children understand its meaning.

Let’s think about the words. What does “hostility” mean? 

To be hostile means to oppose something, to be unfriendly, or to be enemies. In this verse, God was speaking to the serpent in the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve sinned against God.

Who knows what “offspring” means? 

It means children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and all the children who would be born in future generations. In the SuperVerse, “the woman” refers to Eve. God declares that Eve’s children and their descendants will be enemies of the serpent—Satan, the devil.

This verse is also a signpost pointing to Jesus! Even though sin spoiled God’s perfect world, God had a plan to fix it from the very beginning. This verse is a prophecy that Jesus would be victorious over the devil. How did that happen? 

Jesus’ hands and feet were nailed to the cross, but death couldn’t hold Him down. He rose from the grave and conquered sin and death forever! Just as the verse said, the devil would strike Jesus’ heel, but Jesus struck a crushing blow to the devil’s head and defeated him! 

Let’s practice some hand motions to help us remember our SuperVerse.Read each phrase on the board and demonstrate the hand motions, then repeat and have the children do it with you:

“And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,” Angry face, fists up as if to fight.

“And between your offspring and her offspring.” Rock a baby.

“He will strike your head,” Make a striking motion with an open hand near your head.

“And you will strike His heel.” Lift a foot and hit the heel.

Have the children repeat the verse with the motions until they can do it smoothly.

Now, let’s try something a little more difficult!

Erase or turn the board over. Choose a volunteer to silently do the hand motions, one at a time. After each hand motion, ask if anyone can say the phrase associated with that motion. Try this with a few different volunteers. Then say the SuperVerse together as you do the motions.

Prayer

For our Prayer time today, we will be learning about “Pocket Prayers.” Let’s carry these prayer requests with us during the week as a reminder to pray for them.

Distribute a pencil and two strips of paper to each child.

Our SuperTruth today says that God has a plan to bring you and me back to Him. That plan is to trust in Jesus, His Son, as our Savior. God wants everyone to know and follow His plan. Jesus says in Luke 19:10:

“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” 

This shows us God’s plan to bring us back to Him! He sent Jesus to Earth—born of the Virgin Mary—the Son of Man, but also God’s Son! This is what was prophesied or foretold in our SuperVerse; this is Mary’s child or offspring as our verse says. Jesus came to Earth so He could rescue people from sin and bring them back to God!

Today, we are going to write down the names of two people who need to know about God’s plan through Jesus. Give the children a minute to write down two prayer requests each, then fold the papers in half. Keep these names in a pocket, purse, or under your pillow. Don’t forget to pray for them. Let’s pray right now.

Dear Lord, please remind us to pray for the names written down on our slips of paper. You came to seek and save those who are lost. This is Your plan to return us to Yourself! It is Your desire that none remain lost and that all return to You, so they can live with You forever! Thank You that we can trust You to answer all these prayers because You love us. In Your name, Amen.

Relay Game

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “God has a plan to bring me back to Him.”

Sin took Adam and Eve away from the perfect world God had created for them. God had a plan to bring them back. He has a plan for us, too, to bring us back when we sin! We are going to play a game where we bring an object back that was taken away.

Divide the children into two equal teams and have both teams line up single file at one end of the room—or behind the line. Give the first player of each team a ball. Start the game. Both players run to the other end of the room, place their ball on the floor—or behind the line. The players then run back to the line. The second players run to pick up the balls and bring them back to the next player in their line.

Continue this process—taking the ball away and bringing it back—until all players have taken a turn and the ball is brought back a final time. The first team that does this wins.

For added fun—call out a different way the players take away the ball or return it—walking backward, running, skipping, hopping, or walking.

That was fun. The object of this game was to bring back what was taken away. I am so thankful that God has a plan to bring me back to Him!

Index Card Game

Now we are going to play a game about consequences—with a twist. 

Have the children sit in a circle and give each child a pencil and two cards: one that says “Mistake” and one that says “Consequence.” Each child needs to think of a mistake someone could make and write it on the appropriate card, then think of a consequence for that situation and write it on the other card. Do not use an example from the story. 

Here's an example:

Mistake: I let the dog in the kitchen with muddy paws.

Consequence: I need to wash the kitchen floor.

Assist individual children with ideas if necessary. When everyone has completed both cards, carefully explain: 

First, pass your “Mistake” card to the person on your left.

Next, pass your “Consequence” card to the person on your right.

Now, you should each have a new set of “Mistake” and “Consequence” cards that don’t match! Let’s go around the circle and read them out loud! 

The results should be quite funny. Finally, take turns matching the correct consequence to each mistake and discussing the best ways to handle each situation.

That was a fun game mixing up the mistakes and consequences! But, let’s not forget how serious the consequences of sin are. Repeat after me as loud as you can: Sin separates me from God. Sin separates me from God.

Now, say our SuperTruth even louder: “God has a plan to bring me back to Him.”

Object Lesson: Liquids

We have been learning about how sin came into the world. 

Hold up the pitcher of water and tell the children that the water represents God. It is pure and clean. Ask a child to pour some water into the first container. Hold up the canola oil and explain that the oil represents sin. Ask a different child to pour some oil into the container with the water. Invite the children to come up and look at it carefully. 

Is the oil mixing with the water? No.

Hold up oil.

When you try to mix sin together with God, they separate. A consequence of sin is separation from God. Remember how God walked in the garden with Adam and Eve. That was God’s plan, to walk with us and to have fellowship with us. But, Adam and Eve sinned; and instead of walking with God, they hid from God. They were filled with guilt and shame from their disobedience. Sin had broken their relationship with God.

Ask another child to pour some water into the second container. Hold up the red food coloring. 

This red food coloring represents God’s plan through Jesus, His Son. He shed His blood when He died on the cross to forgive our sins. This plan brings us back to God and restores that wonderful relationship He planned for us from the beginning. 

Have another child pour some red food coloring into the water. Gently stir the dye and water. 

Do you see how the red is mixing nicely with the water? There is no separation like with the oil/sin and water/God. God’s plan brings us back into a relationship with Him. Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “God has a plan to bring me back to Him.”

Object Lesson: Toothpaste

Choose two children for this demonstration and have them stand at a table so the class can see. Give each of them a trial-size tube of toothpaste and a paper plate. 

When I say “Go,” race to see who can squeeze all the toothpaste out of the tube first. Get ready! Get set! Go! 

Afterward, declare a winner. Then give each of the two children a plastic spoon. 

This time, when I say “Go,” race to see who can put all the toothpaste back into the tube first. Get ready! Get set! Go! Allow time for them to try.

That’s a lot harder, isn’t it? In fact, would you say it’s impossible? 

This is a lot like sin, isn’t it? We can sin very quickly—without giving it much thought at all. But sometimes it’s impossible to undo the mess we make! Give children wet wipes or towels to clean their hands.

God created Adam and Eve to live forever in a perfect world. What were the consequences when they sinned? They had to leave the Garden of Eden, and they would eventually die.

Yes, just like Adam and Eve, we all have sinned. So, what can we do to go back to a right relationship with God and return to Him, if we all have sinned? Is it impossible, like we found when we tried to put the toothpaste back in the tube?

Yes, on our own it is impossible. But, God has a plan to bring us back to Him! Hold up the full toothpaste tube as you read John 3:16: 

“For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”

That is God’s plan to bring us back to Him! When we believe in Jesus, we can live with God forever! Let’s take a moment and thank Him!

Pray: Dear God, thank You for creating a plan for us to come back to You! Thank You for sending Your only Son to Earth to die on the cross, so our sins can be forgiven and we can have a relationship with You! We admit that we have sinned and we ask You now to forgive us and wash us clean from our sins. Help us to follow Your ways! In Jesus’ name, Amen.