Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (1 minute)

Hello everyone and welcome back! Are you ready for another exciting lesson about Jacob and Esau?

Isn’t it exciting to be a child of God and be blessed by your Heavenly Father?

So let’s stand up and praise Him by singing Put Your Faith In Jesus.

Play Video 11: (Song) Put Your Faith In Jesus (3 minutes)

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

Put Your Faith In Jesus

SuperTruth and Discussion (1 minute)

Our SuperTruth for today says: “I will do my best to keep all of God’s blessings.” In our Bible story, Jacob wrestled with God because he wanted to be blessed by Him. He refused to let go of a blessing! Have you ever wanted something so much that you gave it all you had to keep from losing it?

God’s blessings are worth holding on to! We need to appreciate our blessings from God and do our best to keep all of them!

Introduce Condensed Bible Story Video (1 minute)

If all children watched the Bible story video in the previous lesson, you may skip it here and go straight to the Bible Background Video.

In our last lesson, we saw how Chris starts a water balloon fight. When Joy accidentally soaks Gizmo’s circuits, the robot malfunctions and Chris says he will never forgive her! Now for the children who haven’t seen our Bible story yet, we are going to watch a short version of our Superbook adventure about Jacob and Esau. For those of you who have already seen the full video, watching this short version will help refresh your memories!

Play Video 4: Condensed Bible Story (10 minutes)

Condensed Bible Story

Superbook takes Chris, Joy and Gizmo to meet Jacob and Esau, twins who compete over many things. When Esau gives up his birthright and Jacob tricks him out of a blessing, they become estranged. Esau finally forgives Jacob and the brothers are reconciled.

Discussion (1 minute)

Why did Jacob leave home after receiving Isaac’s blessing? He feared for his life and fled from Esau to live with his Uncle Laban.

Introduce Bible Background Video (1 minute)

Let’s watch our Bible Background video to learn more about the history of that period in time. When Gizmo asks a question in the video, wait for him to suggest some answers, then call out the one you think is right!

Play Video 5: Bible Background (8.5 minutes)

Bible Background

Play Video 10B: SuperVerse Graphic 2

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

SuperVerse Graphic 2

SuperVerse Discussion (1 minute)

Our SuperVerse, Genesis 32:28, says:

The Man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have wrestled with God and with men, and you have won. That’s why your name will be Israel.”

Who was the Man? God, in the form of a man! 

When we pray, the Holy Spirit strengthens us and helps us persevere and keep praying until we receive the blessing God has for us.

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

Prayer and Send-Off (1 minute)

Dear God, You love to bless Your children. Help us make wise choices and live obedient lives according to Your Word so we can keep and enjoy all of Your blessings! In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Now it’s time for Small Group, where you will play a fun game and do your best to keep all of your blessings!

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. 

Game

In our Bible story, what did Jacob do the night before he met Esau for the first time after many years? Jacob wrestled God/Jesus in the form of a man for a blessing.

What was the outcome? Jacob prevailed and received his blessing. His name was changed to Israel.

Yes, Jacob had received a blessing before, but he got it by deceiving his father! This time, Jacob wanted GOD’s blessing, and he was willing to show God how important it was to him. Jacob wanted his family and descendants to be blessed. He also wanted the strength to meet his brother and bring healing to their relationship. Esau was approaching with 400 men, and Jacob was terrified. If Esau was still seeking revenge, Jacob had no chance on his own. Jacob placed such a high value on God’s blessing that he fought for it with all his might—all night long!

Let’s say the SuperTruth together: “I will do my best to keep all of God’s blessings.″

Divide the class into two teams. Have each team form a tight circle, with all children holding their hands behind their backs. Place a filled bowl in the hands—behind the back—of one player on each team. Explain that the beans, rice, corn, or pebbles represent blessings that they each have from God, and they should try their best to keep all of their blessings without losing any! Each player will try to keep ALL the blessings in the bowl while carefully passing the bowl to the player to the right, until the bowl goes all the way around the circle, back to the first player. At the end of the game, count the “blessings″ that were lost—beans that fell out of the bowl. The team losing the fewest “blessings″ wins.

If you have extra time, you may play again using these options:

1. After the first game, pass the bowl around two or three times instead of once. Count the lost “blessings″ as before.
2. Play more than one round and combine the scores of all rounds for each team to see who lost the fewest blessings.
3. The team that passes the bowl around the circle first and then yells the SuperTruth gets ten points. Then, subtract two points for each bean that fell to the floor. The team with the highest score wins.

Let’s use Jacob as an example and persevere to keep the blessings that are promised to us in God’s Word. Jacob would not leave until He was blessed! We must never be careless about God’s blessings or take them for granted. God’s blessings are worth fighting for—and we want to share them with others!

Teaching

In our Bible story, Esau chose to sell Jacob his birthright. Do you remember why? He was hungry after hunting all day. He didn’t value his birthright.

A birthright meant headship of the family and a double share of the inheritance. Let’s read the story in the Bible.

Read Genesis 25:29–34:

One day when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau arrived home from the wilderness exhausted and hungry. Esau said to Jacob, “I’m starved! Give me some of that red stew!″ (This is how Esau got his other name, Edom, which means “red.″) “All right,″ Jacob replied, “but trade me your rights as the firstborn son.″ “Look, I’m dying of starvation!″ said Esau. “What good is my birthright to me now?″  But Jacob said, “First you must swear that your birthright is mine.″ So Esau swore an oath, thereby selling all his rights as the firstborn to his brother, Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew. Esau ate the meal, then got up and left. He showed contempt for his rights as the firstborn.

Esau thought the birthright was of little value compared to his hunger; in fact he despised it. How sad it is to value the temporary physical pleasures of this world more than God’s spiritual blessings and rights we have as children of God, that will endure forever! Our SuperTruth tells us that we are not to be careless or take for granted the things of God. Let’s say it aloud together: “I will do my best to keep all of God’s blessings.″

Ask children to name specific items that are very important to them. Display the “item of value″ you have brought, then hold up the beverage.

Would you trade that item for this drink? No.

What if you just played a game of soccer, you had just run a very long distance, or you had been in the hot sun all day? No.

Esau gave up his important birthright because he was hungry. Temporary satisfaction caused him to give up something of great value for something that just gave him a moment or two of satisfaction. Let’s think about what that means.

If you brought a lollipop and a photo of a $100 bill, display them for the class. If you gave a 2-year-old baby the choice between a lollipop to eat right away or a hundred-dollar bill to spend later, which one do you think the baby would choose? The lollipop.

You know how good that lollipop would taste right now; but because you are older, you understand how much that $100 bill could buy later—so which one would you choose? The $100 bill.

As we read God’s Word and grow in Christ, we begin to understand more and more what it means to be a child of God and that His promises and blessings are priceless to us! That is how we can make wise choices so we can keep all of our blessings in Christ.

Esau was careless and foolish to give up his birthright for a bowl of stew. We must not be careless and throw away our birthright for foolish things the world has to offer. The Apostle Paul wrote about this in the Bible.

Read Philippians 3:8:

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.

When we know Christ as Lord; when we are united with Him, we have all God’s blessings through Him! Jesus made a wonderful promise about this.

Read John 15:7:

But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!

When we remain in Jesus, our prayers will be answered when we ask according to His Word. Just as Jacob wrestled with God until he received his blessing, we can receive what we need through Christ in prayer.

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Let’s discuss the Discipleship Challenge we started last lesson.

Hand out the Gizmo Face Patterns to any children who didn’t receive them last time and tell them to cut them out and fold them at home.

We have been challenged to pray about forgiving others and asking forgiveness from others who God brings to our remembrance. Does anyone have an experience you would like to share with us? Allow volunteers to share.

Continue to pray and act on what God shows you in prayer, and I’ll ask you about it next time.

SuperVerse

Our SuperVerse, Genesis 32:28 says:

The Man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob. You have wrestled with God and with men, and you have won. That’s why your name will be Israel.″ 

Stand in a circle with the children. Say the verse together, looking at the SuperVerse on the board.

The Man in this verse is God in the form of a human being. Jacob actually called the place where they wrestled, Peniel. The word means “Face of God.″ When Jacob told the Man what his name was, the Man changed Jacob’s name to Israel, which is formed from the Hebrew words for “wrestle″ and “God.″ Israel also means “Prince with God.″ The name Jacob represented the old Jacob who took things by trickery. The name Israel represented the new Jacob who had committed his life to serving God and valued God’s blessing enough to fight for it and keep it!

Explain that you will throw the ball to a child, who will then say the first word of the verse. That child will then throw the ball to another child, who will say the next word of the verse. Each child should throw the ball to a different child until everyone has had a chance to say at least one word. Continue the process until the whole verse has been said, and repeat as time permits. Children may look at the board as they say their words. Close by asking everyone to recite the verse together from memory.

Note: Younger children may not be able to memorize the entire SuperVerse. They may simply repeat it several times, while older children may memorize part or all of it. Be sure all children understand its meaning.

Prayer

We can pray to God with people or alone, silently or out loud, any time and anywhere. Today, we will have private prayers. Is there something that you need from God today? Are you struggling to forgive someone? Are you trying to hold onto one of God’s promises? It is important to keep praying and trusting God until you receive that blessing.

Read Hebrews 10:19:

And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus.

Encourage the children to have a private prayer time with God and take their needs to Him. Allow time for them to enter into God’s presence. Close in prayer, thanking God that we have the right, though Jesus, to enter into His presence and bring our requests to Him. Encourage children to continue in prayer and not to give up!

Balloon Game

Let’s take a moment and name some of the blessings that we have available to us through Christ. 

After each response, briefly discuss each answer. Divide the children into two teams. The children will work in pairs during their turn.

We have named many blessings, but there are so many more to discover and experience as we serve God! Let’s say our SuperTruth together. “I will do my best to keep all of God’s blessings.”

Have the volunteer helper stand in the middle of the room, surrounded by clear space. Place the two sets of balloons beside the helper. Give a towel to the first pair of players from each team. They will each hold one end of their towel. Each pair will stand in front of and about ten feet away from the helper.

Esau and Jacob were twins, so we are going to work in pairs. Your partner is your temporary twin during this game! You, as twins, are going to do what our SuperTruth tells us—do your best to keep ALL of God’s blessings.

I will start the timer and say, “Throw.” The helper, who represents Jesus, will throw a pair of balloons, one in each hand, with the same blessing written on each, high up in the air toward each team. Each pair will try to catch a balloon on their towel to keep that blessing. In 5 seconds I will shout “throw” again, and you will try to catch the second blessing (balloon) in your towels without losing the first blessing (balloon). Every 5 seconds I will instruct the helper to throw a blessing, and each team will try to catch that blessing while at the same time trying to keep the other blessings on the towel. If a balloon falls to the floor, you lose that blessing. Partners must keep hold of their towels at all times. You may not use your hand to hold, catch or guide the balloons. You cannot catch or steal both balloons on any throw because God has enough blessings for all His children! After each round, we will count the balloons in each team’s towel. Each balloon scores one point.

Record the score on the board. Play until all pairs have played. The highest score wins.

Spoon Review Game

Esau was a hunter and Jacob liked to stay home. Jacob prepared a tasty stew in our story and spooned up a bowl for Esau when he was very hungry. We have spoons and two different ingredients you must add to our pot as we review our lesson.

Divide the children into two teams. Each team lines up behind the starting mark. Place a full container on each line.

We are going to play a review game with two ways to score points. The first player on each team will use a spoon and put just one bean, corn or pebble on it from your container. I will ask a question about the lesson to both players. The first one to shout the correct answer scores five points. If the answer is wrong, the other player may try to answer. If neither team answers correctly, zero points are scored for that portion of your turn. I will then shout “Go” and start the timer. You will have five seconds and three tries to flip the item in your spoon into the pot. Remember, both players will be flipping at the same time. I will say “Stop” to end your turn. Each item you add to the pot scores one point. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Note: Tally the Q&A points on the board as you play. Wait to count the items in the pot until the end and then add it to the board scores, if time permits. After each child has had a turn to answer and flip the item on the spoon, give each child three more flips to add points before tallying the final score.

Singing Activity

The Jewish people are descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Abraham was the father of Isaac, who was the father of Jacob, who had twelve sons! God gave Jacob a new name—Israel—and Jacob’s twelve sons became the twelve tribes of Israel.

Some tribes had very well-known descendants! King Saul came from the tribe of Benjamin. Other kings came from the tribe of Judah: King David, King Solomon, and the King of kings—Jesus! All of the priests of Israel came from the tribe of Levi. Moses and Aaron both were descendants of Levi.

Point to each name on the board and have children say the names aloud with you to help with the pronunciation before they learn the song, "The Sons of Jacob." Then teach the children to sing to the tune of “Ten Little Indians.” Then teach the children to sing it using the sheet music and/or the song audio. Music is under the Get Ready tab of this activity.

Word Game

Today, we are going to review our story involving the twins, Jacob and Esau, by using twin words that sound alike but are spelled differently and have different meanings.

Show the Sound-Alike Words on the board and discuss them together. Ask for volunteers, one at a time, to choose one set of twin words. They select and circle one of the words and use it in a sentence to describe a portion of the Bible story about Jacob and Esau.

Example: The child selects SUN/SON and circles the word SON, using it in a sentence. As the oldest SON of Isaac, Esau was entitled to the birthright. Jacob was Rebekah’s SON.

They may use examples from the experiences of Jacob and Esau as well as Chris and Joy, if they were present for lesson one and saw the full story. Give assistance as needed. Elaborate on the sentences for story review.

When every child who wishes to participate has been given at least one opportunity to select a pair of words, write two more sets of Sound-Alike Words on the board: “dew and do,” and “awl and all,” then discuss their meanings.

Two of these words are in our SuperTruth! Let’s all say the SuperTruth together: “I will do my best to keep all of God’s blessings.”