Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Hello, everyone! Today we are going to watch a new Superbook video about how Satan tests a man named Job. Pronounced “Jobe”. Will he pass the test? Let’s begin our Superbook video to find out what Satan tells God—then see why Chris is having the worst week of his life!

Play Video 2A: Chris and Joy’s Dilemma (4.5 minutes)

*Note: Video 2A: Chris and Joy's Dilemma is meant to accompany Video 3: Bible Story and Resolution in this lesson. Please preview Video 3. Should you feel that some scenes are too intense for young children, please play Video 2B: Chris and Joy's Dilemma Alternate instead of Video 2A. Also see note under Video 3.

Chris and Joy's Dilemma

Chris is having the worst week of his life—then his grandfather dies, leaving him angry and confused.

Video 2B: Chris and Joy's Dilemma Alternate (2.5 minutes)

Chris and Joy's Dilemma - Alternate

SuperTruth and Discussion (2 minutes)

The SuperTruth for today is: “When trouble comes, I can trust God.” I would like grades 1–3 to shout the SuperTruth as loud as you can!

Now let’s see if Grades 4–6 can shout even louder!

Wow, that was really loud! No matter what happens, we can trust God at all times.   

Why was Chris having the worst week of his life? Lost the class pet, paper route money stolen, broke his arm, Grandfather died.

Chris wondered why so many bad things happened to him when he was trying so hard to be good. Have you ever wondered about that?

Let’s watch the rest of the video to see what happens!

Play Video 3: Bible Story and Resolution (17.5 minutes)

*Note: Video 3 is meant to accompany Video 2A in this lesson. If you opted to play Video 2B, please play Video 4: Condensed Bible Story, and Video 8: Chris and Joy’s Resolution, together instead of Video 3.

Bible Story and Resolution

Superbook takes Chris, Joy and Gizmo back in time to meet Job. Satan has received permission from God to test Job by taking away his fortune, family and health. Even so, Job steadfastly trusts God—and is eventually rewarded for his perseverance. The children learn they can overcome any difficulty by trusting God.

Video 4: Condensed Bible Story (10 minutes)

Condensed Bible Story

Video 8: Chris and Joy's Resolution (2 minutes)

Chris and Joy's Resolution

Play Video 10A: SuperVerse Graphic 1 (2.5 minutes)

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

SuperVerse Graphic 1

SuperVerse Discussion (1 minute)

Let’s say our SuperVerse together. John 16:33:

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus said this to His disciples to prepare them for the fact that everyone will face hard times. Even so, what does Jesus want us to remember? He has overcome the world, we can have peace, we should be encouraged.

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

Prayer and Send-Off (1 minute)

Let’s pray before we break into our small groups.

Dear God, strengthen our faith so that we can trust You as Job did, in good times and in hard times! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Let’s go to our Small Groups, where you will play a game of give and take.

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 the Superbook adventure, Chris was really having a bad week, wasn’t he? Then he saw how Job — pronounced “Jobe” chose to trust God even though he lost everything. Listen to what Job said:

Read Job 1:21b:

“The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!”

Job was determined to praise God, no matter what! Today, we will play a game called “Give and Take.” Each team has a box, representing things you have now. There is also a basket of items, representing things your team may—or may not—get in the future. 

Divide the children into two teams. They do not need to be exactly equal. Place a pile of cards face-down on the floor beside each team. Teams play at the same time. The first player for each team draws a card from the pile, shouts what it says, quickly walks to the table, and follows the card’s instructions. “Give” means to count that number of items from the basket and place it in the team’s box. “Take” means to take that number of items from the team’s box and put it in the basket. Sixth grade helpers should stand at the table to help younger children or those with special needs. The player then returns to the team and places the card at the bottom of the pile. Play until each child has at least two turns, or until the basket or a box is empty.

You didn’t know this, but one team started out with more possessions in their container than the other team. That was on purpose. In life there will be people who start out with a lot and people who start out with less. Let’s count the possessions in the team boxes. Have sixth grade helpers count the items. So who won? All of us! Why? Because God’s goodness is not based on the amount of possessions or blessings we have. Here is what Jesus said:

Read Luke 12:15:

Then He said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

We can always trust God, no matter what we have or don’t have! Let’s shout our SuperTruth: “When trouble comes, I can trust God.”

Teaching

Let’s take a deeper look at Job. Here is what God said about him:

Read Job 1:8b:

“He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”

In our video today, we saw how Satan approached God and asked permission to test Job. Satan said the reason Job served God was that God blessed and protected him. God allowed Satan to test him but said that Job must not be harmed—so Satan immediately began the test.

Job was a very rich man—with thousands of sheep, camels, oxen, and donkeys. But then three messengers brought the news that all of the animals had died or were stolen, and most of his servants had been killed. Carefully remove the “Possessions” card from the board. 

Try to imagine how Job felt as one messenger after another brought such horrible news. Job had just lost all of his animals and most of his servants! Yet the worst news was yet to come. A fourth messenger told Job that his ten children had died when a great wind blew down the house they were in. Satan had unleashed a series of events that tested Job’s trust and devotion to God. What did Job do? Did he blame God and shake his fist at Him? Did he abandon God? Would Job fail the test, as Satan thought?     

Carefully remove the “Children” card from the board.

Read Job 1:20–22:

Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, … “The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Did Job pass the first test? Yes!

Job chose to worship God despite losing his possessions and even his children! Job knew he could still have faith in God, even though incredibly bad things happened.

Satan wasn’t done yet. He went to God a second time and asked permission to attack Job’s body. God gave permission as long as Satan did not kill Job. Satan immediately caused boils or sores to cover Job’s body. What would Job do? Would he still serve God even if his health was taken away? He was in such agony that even his wife told him to curse God and die!

Read Job 2:10:

But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” So in all this, Job said nothing wrong.

Did Job pass the second test? Yes!

When everything was taken away—even Job’s health—what did he have left?

Carefully remove the “Health” card from the board which will reveal “Trust in God.”

Job trusted in God. No one could take that away from him. Regardless of what we are going through in our lives, we can trust that God is good, He loves us, and He has a wonderful plan for us. In the next two lessons, we will learn more about Job and see how God blessed him for his trust and faithfulness! Don’t ever give up on God! When we trust Him in good and bad times, we will be blessed! Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “When trouble comes, I can trust God.”

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Now it is time for our Discipleship Challenge and craft! 

Give each child a Blessing Basket Pattern, a My Blessings Pattern, and scissors. Show them the sample you made and help them make their own. Be prepared to assist any children with special needs.

God has given each of us many blessings—yet sometimes we don’t take time to appreciate them! Can you name some blessings that God has given you?

Every day for the next 21 days, let’s each think of a blessing, write it on one of the 21 My Blessing slips, put it in your baskets, and then take time to praise and thank God for that special blessing. Next time we meet, I’ll ask you about the blessings you thought of, and why you are grateful to God for them!

Prayer

Can you guess what book of the Bible has the story of Job? Job.

At the beginning of the book of Job, we learn that Job was very concerned about his children. He would often offer sacrifices to God in case his children had sinned. He wanted them to have a good relationship with God. Many of us have parents or relatives who want us to have a good relationship with God, so they pray for us.

Praying for others is called intercessory prayer. Have you ever asked someone to pray for you?

It is wonderful to know that someone else is praying for your needs. Today, we will go to God and pray for others.           

Option 1: Form groups of three to four children, depending on class size. Ask each child to share a prayer request. It is important to tell the children that no one needs to give specific details or names in their request. They can simply say they would like prayer for an important/urgent need. Then allow time for the other children to pray for the requests. .

Option 2: Keep the class together in a large group, and ask if anyone would like to share any prayer requests. Be careful not to allow children to share anything that could be potentially embarrassing. As each need is expressed, ask if someone would volunteer to pray for that need, then allow time to do so before taking the next request.  

Close in prayer. God, we thank You for the strength, support and encouragement we receive when people pray for our requests. Thank You for hearing us and answering our prayers. In Jesus’ name, Amen.              

SuperVerse

Let’s say our SuperVerse together. John 16:33 (niv):

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Who said these words? Jesus.

Why do you think Jesus said this? To prepare His disciples so they wouldn’t be surprised when hard times came, and to help them know that Jesus has overcome every problem.

How does this verse relate to our Superbook story today? When we trust God with our lives, we can have peace and victory, even in hard times.

God’s peace doesn’t come from being rich, or from living in a beautiful home, or from having an easy life with no problems. True peace comes from knowing God. No matter what difficulties we experience in our lives, we can have peace and joy simply because we have a relationship with God.

How can we have that relationship with Him?

We have all sinned, and sin separates us from God. Jesus died on the cross to pay the punishment for our sins—so we can be saved by trusting in Him. Did Jesus stay dead? No!

What happened? He rose from the grave!

Jesus rose up from the grave, overcoming the power of sin and death. He lives inside us, and gives us His power—so we can have victory over our fears, victory over anything that is tempting us to do wrong, victory over sin, victory over shame, and victory over death! That’s why He says,

“Take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Have all the girls say the first part of the verse quietly:

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.”

Have the boys immediately respond by shouting the second part of the verse:

“But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Then switch, so the boys say the first part and the girls shout the second part. Finally, have everyone in the class whisper the first part of the verse, then shout the last part.

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.

Hedge of Protection Game

Satan wanted to test Job. He thought Job only served God because God blessed and protected him. So Satan said that if God removed the protection around him, Job would no longer trust and serve God. Here is what Satan told God:

Read Job 1:10:

“You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is!”

God agreed to remove His wall of protection for a time to show that Job would trust God, no matter what. Let’s pretend to be Job and play a game to illustrate God’s protection. The pool noodles represent God’s wall of protection. The dominoes or other items represent the possessions and blessings in life. For this game, you need to find someone you don’t know very well to be your partner!

Children should pair up into twos, with each pair being a team. If you have an uneven number, ask a sixth-grade helper or another volunteer to play. Four teams will play at one time while the other teams cheer them on. Have the four teams sit or kneel on the floor in a square about 10–12 feet across. See diagram. Assign each team a number from 1 to 4. Have two sixth-grade helpers or other older children serve as assistants to remove the noodles on your command. Give each team 10 dominoes, six marbles, three per player, and one pool noodle. Have the teams place their noodle about 2 feet in front of them on the floor to serve as a “wall.” Teams will then set up their ten dominoes behind the noodle in whatever pattern they choose—staggered in rows is best.

Start the game. Both players on every team will begin to ROLL, not throw, their marbles at the dominoes of the team directly across from them. They will not have success knocking over dominoes because of the protection. This will be challenging with the cross-fire from other teams’ marbles all being rolled at the same time! Players can also roll the marbles that come to them from the other teams. Once a domino is knocked down, it may not be set up again.

After about 5 seconds, shout, “Remove the wall for Teams 1 and 3!” The assistants should quickly remove the noodles from the two teams. Wait about 5 more seconds, then shout, “Remove the wall for Teams 2 and 4!” The assistants should remove the noodles from Teams 2 and 4 and replace the walls for Teams 1 and 3.

Continue in this fashion, replacing and removing the walls for two teams every 5 seconds. Note: always call out the numbers of two teams that are not directly across or playing against each other. Play until three teams have all of their dominoes knocked down. The last team is the winner.

Play more rounds until all teams have had a chance to play. If time permits, you may have additional rounds between all the winning teams until one team is the final winner.

That looked like a lot of fun! Could you knock down the dominoes when the protection was in place? No!

So, it was easier to attack the other team when their protection was removed?

We are protected by accepting Jesus as our Savior and obeying His Word. When we follow His ways, God surrounds us with protection. Here are two wonderful promises in the Bible:

Read Hebrews 13:5b:

For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”

Read Proverbs 30:5:

Every word of God proves true. He is a shield to all who come to Him for protection.   

Thank God for the protection He gives to all who love and trust in Him!

Color Iggy Activity

Find Iggy: Color a picture to find the lost lizard

Give each child a copy of the Find Iggy Pattern. Also give the children crayons, washable markers, or colored pencils in all the following colors: red, yellow blue, brown, orange, green, and purple. Children may share colors if necessary. Have them put their names on the back of the pattern. Explain that they should find Iggy the Iguana by coloring the numbered sections on the design according to the directions at the bottom of the page:

1 = Red

2 = Yellow

3 = Blue

4 = Brown

5 = Orange

6 = Green

7 = Purple

As they color, ask them to discuss whether they’ve ever lost something important to them, and how they felt. Talk about how we can pray about anything that we may face in our lives and how we can trust God to care for us.

Bible Study

Divide the class into groups of three to four children each. The number of groups will depend on the size of your class. Give each group a pencil and one section of the Trust God in Hard Times Worksheet. Each group should choose a spokesperson who will write down the group’s answers and share them later with the class. Have each group work as a team to look up and read the scripture passage, discuss the questions, and decide on the answers. After about 10 minutes, bring the entire class together and have each spokesperson share their group’s answers. If more than one group has the same passage, have them share their answers one after the other.

Bible passages and answers:

1. Acts 6:8–15, 7:54–60.Stephen; arrested for preaching about Jesus; prayed for those who stoned him.

2. Acts 16:22–34. Paul and Silas; arrested, beaten, put in prison; prayed, sang praises to God; miraculously set free; prison keeper and family became followers of Jesus.

3. Luke 4:1–13. Jesus; tempted in wilderness as He fasted for 40 days; did not sin; stood on God’s Word; the devil left Him. 

Pray to close: God, Your goodness is constant—in good times and hard times. Thank You that when we trust in You, we can experience Your blessings and victory, no matter what challenges we may face. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.