Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (1 minute)

Welcome everyone! Today is the second lesson of our Superbook story, “Job.” I would like two people to tell me something about the story of Job from the previous lesson.

Let’s spend some time now in praise and thankfulness to God for His presence in our lives at all times and in all situations as we sing and do the motions to He has a Plan.

Play Video 11: (Song) He has a Plan (3 minutes)

Be sure to preview the song so you can sing along and do the motions with the children. They may clap and do freestyle movements during the animation sections.

He Has a Plan

SuperTruth and Discussion (1 minute)

Our SuperTruth today says: “God is always with me.” Let’s say our SuperTruth together. “God is always with me.”

How does that make you feel—to know that you are never alone no matter where you go or what you do?

Yes, knowing God is always with us can help us feel safe and cared for even when no one else is around.   

Introduce Condensed Bible Story (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 previous lesson, does anyone remember some things that happened to Chris during what he called the worst week of his life? He lost the class iguana. His money was stolen, and he broke his arm.

Good memories—yes, Chris had a very bad week! For the children who haven’t seen our Bible story yet, we are going to watch a short version of “Job” to see how God was always with Job even when he was tested. For those of us who have seen the full video, watch and listen for what God told Job’s three friends that they must do because of their foolish counsel to Job.

Play Video 4: Condensed Bible Story (10 minutes)

Condensed Bible Story

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.  

Discussion (1 minute)

When bad things happen, do you ever wonder if it is because you have done something wrong?

Was it because of a secret sin Job committed that all the bad things happened to his family? No!

Job did nothing wrong; God allowed Job’s faith to be tested. Sometimes bad things are a consequence of unwise choices or actions that we do, but that is not always the case! As long as we are in this world, both good and bad things will be experienced. The good thing is that God is always with us through everything!

Introduce Bible Background Video (1 minute)

Now let’s watch our Bible Background Video and learn more about what the world was like in the time of Job. 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 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 (1 minute)

Let’s say our SuperVerse together. Deuteronomy 31:6:

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

The word “forsake” means to abandon. Will God ever forsake or abandon us? No, never!

God has wonderful plans for our lives, and He is with us wherever we go. That’s why we should not be afraid of anything or anyone. Courage and strength come from trusting God.

Children will have more time to learn the SuperVerse in Small Group. 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 and Send-Off (1 minute)

Let’s pray: Dear God, we praise You for always being with us. Thank You that when we are afraid, You will give us the strength and courage to do great things for You! In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Let’s go to our Small Groups, where you will play a game a lot like basketball and work together as a team. Go have some 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.

Game

Omit this paragraph if you did not show the Bible story video of Job in Large Group. Now it is time for our bonus question from Large Group. What did God tell Job’s friends they must do because of their foolish advice to Job?Go to Job, offer a sacrifice, and he will pray for them; and God will not punish them.

Our SuperTruth tells us: “God is always with me.” Let’s say that together because we will need to say it during the game! Is God only with us when we feel happy and safe? No!

God is with us even when we face difficult times. Walk around the room, pointing to and reading each sign, having the class repeat the SuperTruth after each one.

1. When I feel afraid … God is always with me!
2. When I feel unsure … God is always with me!
3. When I feel alone … God is always with me!
4. When I feel sad … God is always with me!

Divide the class into even teams. One player may play twice if teams are unequal. Have teams form a single-file line a few feet behind the shooting line. The assistant and leader stand behind the baskets to retrieve the balls and roll or toss them back to the team’s shooters. 

The object of the game is to travel through the entire course and shout what is on signs 1 through 4, plus the SuperTruth, as you get to each one. This sounds easy, right? Well, hold on, the only way you can move from one sign to the next is when your teammate makes a basket!

Hand a ball to the first player of each team and have them both stand at the shooting line. The next player on each team will stand at the starting line. Each set of players must start this way.

Start the game. Both players try to shoot the ball into their basket at the same time. Each time a basket is made, that player’s teammate advances to a sign and shouts what it says, then adds the SuperTruth.

Example: When I feel afraid, God is always with me!

When players reach the fourth sign, they shout what it says, then both the shooter and teammate walk quickly to the end of their team’s line. Immediately, the next two players for that team take their positions, one at the shooting line and one at the starting line. 

Note: A shooter must make a total of four baskets to advance their teammate around the course and home. If a shooter is having difficulty getting the ball into the basket, allow him/her to stand closer to the basket. The first team to move all players around the course wins.

Play another round, with all players reversing roles.

Wow, good job everyone! It’s comforting to know we can face any problem because God is always with us! 

Teaching

We just played a game where we all said, “God is always with me.” How can God be with all of us at one time, since each of you said, “God is with ME”? What happens when we all go different places? God goes with us!

Can it really be true? Let’s consider this. Ask for a volunteer to stand next to you. Would you say that I am with name of child?

Yes, I am—that isn’t difficult!

Call up two more volunteers to stand with you. How about now—am I with these three people at one time?

Sure, this seems easy enough!

Have the three children go to different corners of the room; then send an adult leader or two sixth grade helpers to stand in the hallway just outside the classroom door, with the door open for safety. Uh-oh, this is a different situation; can I be with each person now? No!

Well, let me give it a try!

Move quickly from one to the other, then go out in the hallway for a moment and say you are sorry you can’t stay because you need to be with other people. Keep moving between the people, acting increasingly frazzled, frustrated and tired.

No, you were right. I simply can’t be in all places at one time—and this is just in our classroom! Now, think about all of the people over all of Earth. Can God really be with everyone? Let’s see.

Write the word prefix “Omni” on the board. This means “All.”

Write “present” next to it. Now, who can guess what omnipresent means? All present.

In other words, God is present in all places. I am a human being, so I can only be in one place at one time. But God is Spirit: He can be everywhere at all times.  

Let’s say our SuperVerse together. Deuteronomy 31:6:

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you."

God gave these words to Moses to encourage the Israelites. Does this wonderful promise only apply to people who lived in Old Testament times? No!

In the New Testament book of Hebrews, the writer quotes this promise and applies it to all of us who believe!

Optional: read Hebrews 13:5b–6 (nkjv):

For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

In our Bible story about Job, God asked Satan if he had observed Job’s life. God knew all about Job. He told Satan that Job was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He said that Job feared God and stayed away from evil. You see, God knew everything about Job, and God was with Job through all his testing and trials. It is the same with us too; God sees us, knows us, and is always with us!

Read Jeremiah 23:23–24:

"Am I a God who is only close at hand?” says the Lord. “No, I am far away at the same time. Can anyone hide from Me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?” says the Lord.

God is both near to us and far away at the same time. Nothing is hidden from Him. He fills the entire universe! And here is something amazing: He comes to live in our hearts when we ask Him to be our Lord and Savior!  

OPTIONAL VERSES FOR GRADES 4–6

Read Psalm 113:4–6 (nkjv):

The Lord is high above all nations; His glory above the heavens. Who is like the Lord our God, Who dwells on high, Who humbles Himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth?

No one is like God! His glory and throne are above the heavens, but He chooses to watch and be with each of us!

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Give a Blessing Basket Pattern and a My Blessings Pattern to children who missed Lesson 1.

God gives us many blessings, and one of them is that He is always with us. Sometimes we don’t take time to appreciate all of our blessings. That’s why we are doing the Discipleship Challenge we began last time. Think of a different blessing every day, write it on one of the 14 “My Blessing” slips, and put it in your blessing basket. Then, be sure to take time to praise and thank God for that special blessing. For those of you who have already started doing this, who would like to share a blessing you have put in your blessing basket?

Next time we meet, I’ll ask again about the blessings you thought of, and why you are grateful to God for them!

SuperVerse

Have the children sit together on the floor facing the board. Moses was 120 years old when he spoke these words to the people of Israel before they crossed the Jordan River to possess the Promised Land according to God’s promise. God had told Moses that he would not cross over the river, and Joshua would now lead His people. Moses wanted the Israelites to follow Joshua just as they had followed and trusted him. However, Moses was not asking the Israelites just to trust in Joshua; he said that God Himself would go before them and give them the victory. They would never be left alone!

As we have been learning today, God is always with us—even when others are not. No matter where we go or what challenges we face, we can be strong and take courage, knowing that God will never leave us or abandon us! Let’s learn the SuperVerse by doing an activity together.

Say the SuperVerse with the children, reading it slowly from the board. Have them close their eyes or turn around as you erase a word, such as strong, good, courage, fear, afraid, them, Lord, Your, God, goes, leave, forsake, or another word you choose. Have the children look at the board and raise their hands to tell you what word you erased. Write the word where it belongs, or allow a child to do so. Next, repeat the process, but erase two words. Continue the game, erasing more words each time.

Great job everyone. This was a long verse and you are doing very well learning it! Now let’s shout the SuperVerse—all together! Deuteronomy 31:6:

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

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

Have the children find places to sit down where they can pray alone. 

Sometimes we may face situations that seem difficult or even impossible to us. Job faced unimaginable sorrow and suffering, yet he never turned his back on God. We can take courage knowing that God is with us, and He also goes before us to prepare the way, just as He promises in our SuperVerse!

Have the children pray silently about any loneliness they may feel, or some problem they are facing. Encourage them to ask God to fill them with His strength, comfort, peace, and a sense of His presence today.

Allow a few minutes for them to pray silently, then close in prayer.

Dear God, thank You that we can be strong and courageous because You are with us. We praise You that You will never leave us or abandon us. We do not need to be afraid when we trust that You are always with us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Building Activity

Divide the class into groups of 3 or 4 children, adjusted to class size. Have each group find an area on the floor or table to build. Give a filled bag to each group, keeping the bag of extra items out of sight. Instruct each group to work together to create a building or structure using all of the items they were given. Give the groups a few minutes to finish building.   

Walk around the room and admire each group’s building. You worked very hard and did a great job making your buildings! Unfortunately, I must knock all of them down as part of a test—but not because you did anything wrong!

Calmly knock down or take apart all the groups’ buildings, leaving all the pieces on the table or floor. Be sensitive to children with special needs; if you think they may get upset, simply remove their building or cover it with a cloth. 

How did it feel to see all of your hard work ruined as part of a test? 

Yes, that couldn’t have been a good feeling, even though this was just an activity. Imagine how Job felt, an upright and blameless man, losing all he had! We are going to talk about how God restored or replaced all that Job lost—in fact, Job received even more back than before! This included his animals, family, and friends; plus his name, honor and reputation. Now everyone knew that Job had done nothing wrong and was not being punished by God.     

Read Job 42:10–12a:

When Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes. In fact, the Lord gave him twice as much as before! Then all his brothers, sisters, and former friends came and feasted with him in his home. And they consoled him and comforted him because of all the trials the Lord had brought against him. And each of them brought him a gift of money and a gold ring. So the Lord blessed Job in the second half of his life even more than in the beginning.

Retrieve the bag with the extra building items and decorative materials, and distribute equal amounts to each group. Tell them to build a replacement of their original structure.

Well done! Your new buildings are even better! You didn’t give up when your first buildings were destroyed. God blessed Job for his courage and faithfulness. When we remain faithful to God through trials and difficulties, He will bring us restoration and healing.

Let’s close this activity with a verse in the New Testament book of James, which was written many years after Job lived. It talks about how Job persevered and faithfully trusted God in spite of all that he faced. 

Read James 5:11 (nkjv):

Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “God is always with us.”

We can persevere as Job did and hold fast to God in all trials and tests because He is right beside us!

Fireball Toss Game

If you were here for the Superbook video in Lesson 1, why did Gizmo cover Chris and Joy with his titanium shield pod? To protect them. 

The Bible tells us that the second messenger ran to Job and told him that fire fell from the sky, or heaven, and destroyed the sheep and their shepherds. This was part of the first test that Job experienced.

Divide the children into groups of about 5–6; adjust according to class size. Have each group stand in a circle and give them one “fireball.” To make things interesting, as you pass out the balls, juggle each one as if it is hot. The game is played like hot potato, with each child catching and tossing the “fireball” as quickly as possible to another person in the group.

For today’s game, we are going to imagine that each ball is a fireball that has dropped from the sky! I will start the music and you will toss it back and forth as quickly as you can until the music stops. The person holding the ball, or who tossed it last if no one is holding it, must sit down until the next round. Now, here is what makes this game interesting. I have written the SuperTruth on the board with a blank line at the end. When you catch the fireball you must shout the SuperTruth and then add somewhere that God is with you during a typical day for you. For example—“God is always with me at school” or “God is always with me when I feel alone.” Oh, yes; one more rule—you cannot repeat what another player has already said in that round! Remember, the fireballs are red-hot, but you must say the phrase before you toss it to someone else. If you forget, you must sit out until the next round. 

Does everyone understand how to play?

If anyone is unsure, play a practice round with the children. 

Start the music and stop it after about 10–15 seconds. Continue starting and stopping the music at longer and shorter intervals to keep children guessing. Play until only one player is left in each group. Play additional rounds as time permits so children who were eliminated early can play again.   

Optional: Have all the players who won the first round assemble into a new group for the next round to determine the grand champion. 

Conclusion: It was interesting and encouraging to hear all the places that God is with all of you! No matter where we are or what we face, God is always with us! You know, it would have been easy for Job to think God had forsaken or abandoned him. However, Job knew that was not true! Job believed God was with him through it all. Here is what the Bible says. 

Read Job 1:22:

 In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Let’s say our SuperVerse together. Deuteronomy 31:6:

“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

What's the Difference

Make one copy per child of the What’s the Difference activity sheet, with extras if needed.

Hand out a pencil and a What’s the Difference activity sheet to each child. Explain that the first picture on your sheet represents Job during the time he was tested. The second picture represents Job after he was restored by God. Tell children that there are a total of 5 differences between the drawings. Have children circle the differences they see on the second picture after Job’s possessions and health were restored by God. Once children have completed the activity, have children raise their hands and share the differences they found.

Conclusion: Let’s say the SuperTruth together: “God is always with me.” Job never wavered in his trust of God. Even when he was put to the test, Job trusted God.

Bible Study

Most of the verses are very short and children should be able to find and read them quickly. You may choose to have children race to see who can find each verse the fastest. If time is short, you may read the verses aloud as children follow.   

I’d like to ask you a very important question; please think about it for a moment before you answer. When should we praise, worship and thank God? Allow children a few moments to think. Okay, raise your hands to share your thoughts.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Let’s consider your answers as we read some verses in the Bible together. 

Have children look up and read Philippians 4:4:

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!

Have children look up and read 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18:

¹⁶ Always be joyful. ¹⁷ Never stop praying.¹⁸ Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

What is the first word in both of the passages we read? Always.

Yes, we are always to rejoice, always to have an attitude of prayer, and always to be thankful! 

In verse 18, does it say to be thankful only when good things happen? No, in all circumstances. 

Yes, it says to be thankful IN all circumstances. This doesn’t mean we must be thankful FOR all circumstances. For example, if something bad happens, we don’t have to be thankful for that—but we can be thankful that God is with us to help us find His peace and comfort in the midst of such a loss. 

Job wasn’t thankful that he lost all of his fortune and family. Yet, despite all of the horrible tragedies that occurred, Job was still thankful that God is God, and that Job was His servant! Let’s read verse 18 again, out loud this time.

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

God’s will is for all who follow Christ to always rejoice and be thankful! 

Have children look up and read Job 1:20–21:

²⁰ Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. ²¹ He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!”

Job had just lost his possessions and children. He was overwhelmed with grief, then in verse 20, he fell to the ground and blamed God—right? No - Job worshiped God!

In verse 21 Job said he had nothing when he was born, and he could take nothing with him when he leaves Earth. God gave him all he had. Now, after saying this, Job finally blamed God, right? No - he praised God!

What we have or don’t have should not affect our praise, worship and thankfulness to God. Our worship should not be based on how we feel or how well things are going for us at the time. Yes, we should praise and thank God for all of His wonderful blessings, but even in the midst of all Job’s grief, he blessed God’s name. Why?

God never changes. He is always with us, He always loves us, and He always cares for us. No matter what problems we may face, God is worthy to be worshiped and praised for being God! So, when should we praise, worship and thank God? Always! In all things, at all times! 

Optional: play the worship music you selected and lead children in a time of praise, worship and thanksgiving. Encourage them to participate, regardless of their present circumstances.