Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (1 minute)

Welcome, everyone! Today, we will watch a Bible story called “Tower of Babel and the Day of Pentecost.” Both of those stories are in our video today!

Raise your hand if you have heard of the Tower of Babel. That story is found in the book of Genesis in the Old Testament.

Now raise your hand if you have heard of the day of Pentecost. That story is found in the book of Acts in the New Testament.

These stories happened thousands of years apart, but they have something in common. As we watch, try to notice how they are similar—and how they are different. Now, let’s see what Chris, Joy and Gizmo are doing today!

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

Chris and Joy's Dilemma

Chris and Joy struggle to communicate with a new student in their school who just moved from India.

SuperTruth and Discussion (2 minutes)

The SuperTruth for today is: “There is power in unity"

What does the word unity mean? To join together with one purpose.

I would like one person to say the SuperTruth alone. “There is power in unity.”

Very good! We said that unity means to join together with one purpose—so let’s do that right now. Let’s all join together with one purpose, saying the SuperTruth together! Are you ready? On the count of three: one, two, three! “There is power in unity.”

Great job! Did you feel the power of unity? All of us together were much more powerful than just one person.

Why did Joy and Chris have trouble communicating with their new soccer teammate? He was from India and spoke a different language.

Have you ever had trouble communicating with someone who spoke a different language?

What happened?

Let’s watch the rest of the video to see what Chris does to solve the problem!

Play Video 3: Bible Story and Resolution (19.5 minutes)

Bible Story and Resolution

Superbook takes Chris, Joy and Gizmo to Babel, where God stops people from building a great tower for their own glory. Then they visit Jerusalem, where God sends the Holy Spirit to unite and empower believers for His glory. The children learn that language and customs may divide us, but God’s power and love can overcome all obstacles.

Play Video 10A: SuperVerse Graphic 1

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. Genesis 11:6:

He said: “These people are working together because they all speak the same language. This is just the beginning. Soon they will be able to do anything they want.”

This verse is what the Lord said when He came down to look at the tower the people were building. There was no communication problem with the workers because they all spoke the same language.

Is it always a good thing if everyone works together?

What if people are working together to build something for their own glory—is that a good thing or not?

Let’s say our SuperVerse again. Children repeat SuperVerse.

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

Prayer and Send-Off (1 minute)

Let’s pray. Dear God, You are far above everything in heaven, yet You take notice of us on Earth! You have given us wonderful knowledge and abilities. Help us to work in unity to accomplish good things that please You, to bring glory to Your name! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Let’s go to our Small Groups where you will work in unity to carry bricks and build a tower!

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 game today, each team will work in unity to complete a task. Your team has one purpose: to move bricks from one end of the room to the other so a tower can be built. Does that sound easy? Well, it may be harder than you think!

Part 1: Retrieve the blocks

Divide the class into teams of 3–5 children based on the size of class and classroom. Teams line up behind the starting mark.

The first player on each team reaches their arms out as far as possible in front of them.

The second players on each team move in front of the first players and stand with their backs touching the first players’ outstretched fingers.

Proceed this way with the other team members forming a continuously moving human chain.

When the first players are at the end of their lines, they move up to the front and the process continues.

Repeat until one player can stand on the other line and pick up one block from the team’s pile.

Part 2: Return home

Everyone on the team now pivots so they all face the starting line.

The player holding the block is now at the back of the line. That player passes the block forward to the next player and then moves to the head of the line.

Similarly, the next player with the block passes it forward and moves to the head of the line, continuing until the team reaches the starting line.

The player then places the block on the floor to begin the team tower.

That player then moves to the front of the line and the original process is repeated to retrieve another block.

The first team to complete their tower wins.

Continue play for second and third place winners.

Once a player has moved forward into position, they must stay in that spot until it is time to move to the front of the line.

Simplified game for younger children:

Form two teams and have the children on each team stand side-by-side.

Place a pile of blocks by the first child on each team, and have them pass the blocks down to the last child, who builds the tower block by block.

The first team to build their tower wins.

Great work everyone! Now, what would have happened if one person did not remember what to do?

Yes, you could not have completed your task. Everyone joined together for the same purpose. You actually formed a human chain of unity. Now, let’s find out more about the power of unity.

Teaching

Our SuperTruth says: “There is power in unity.” You experienced the power of unity in the game. If even one player decided not to cooperate and had a different purpose, your team could not have built the tower. Unity is powerful; yet in our Bible story; we see that unity can be used for the wrong purpose!

Read Genesis 11:4:

Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”

Why were the people building the tower?

They had selfish desires to become famous and stay all together in one place.

Place 15 blocks on the floor in a pile and ask two volunteers to begin building a tower straight up—do not build out horizontally.

This is an example of what the people joined together, or united, to do. Yet here is what God told Noah to do after the flood, in Genesis 9:7 (cev):

“I want you and your descendants to have many children, so people will live everywhere on earth.”

Another translation of that same verse says the people should “… spread out over the earth" (hcsb).

Did God want the people to build a tower so they could all stay together in one place?

No. Have the children knock the tower down and scatter the blocks on the floor.

They were commanded to spread out andlive everywhere onEarth! The people tried to ignore God and prevent themselves from being scattered, yet God saw what they were doing. He acted and changed their plan! Nothing escapes God’s eyes!

There was another problem with their plan. Listen again to what they said:

Write these excerpts from Genesis 11:14 on the board as you say them:

Let us build a city for ourselves … make us famous … keep us from being scattered.

Can you find a word that is repeated three times? Us.

Yes, and “ourselves” is used, also.

Does this sound like God was the focus of their plan?

Did they come together in unity to do God’s work?

No, they were focusing their work and creativity upon themselves.

The center of the issue is pride. Write “pride” on the board.

Read Genesis 11:6–7:

“Look!” He said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.”

God decided to stop the tower before it was completed to protect the people from doing even greater prideful acts of disobedience and rebellion. Nothing would be impossible! Now, listen to how our loving God corrected their plan. He didn’t destroy the tower, city and people. He chose to confuse their language so they couldn’t communicate. This is why the tower is called Babel. Babel means to confuse.

Speak a few sentences in a foreign language that the children don’t understand, or use nonsensical words, looking serious as if nothing has changed and they should understand.

Why do you have such puzzled looks on your faces?

Imagine how the people felt when suddenly they could not communicate with each other! What a loving and effective way for God to correct the people and accomplish His will!

Their desire was to make a name for themselves by building a great tower and city for all to admire and applaud their ability and knowledge. They wanted to bring glory and honor to themselves instead of God! God does not want His gifts to be misused for selfish purposes.

God has given us amazing and powerful talents to do His work. When we focus on God and combine our talents and abilities in unity, there is nothing that we can’t accomplish together with Him and for His glory—not ours!

Read Psalm 148:13:

Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For His name is very great; His glory towers over the earth and heaven!

As tall as the Tower of Babel was, it fell far short of the heavens. God’s glory towers over heaven and Earth! Only He is great and worthy of our honor and praise! No one else can compare to Him.

There is power in unity, and that is what our Discipleship Challenge is about. Let’s find out more about how we can work toward achieving unity in different ways.

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Hold up the Unity Chain craft model. Unity means to join together. The links of this chain are joined together to represent unity.

Give each child a pattern, pencil, children’s scissors, glue stick, and tape or stapler. Have them cut apart the strips and write their names on Link 1. Display the sample chain you made and help them assemble the links in the correct order to make their own chains. Be sure they connect all the links to make a chain circle.

Link 2 says, Unity with Christ—1 Corinthians 1:30–31. Let’s read this Scripture:

³⁰ God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; He made us pure and holy, and He freed us from sin. ³¹ Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

Who does God unite us with? Christ Jesus.

When we are united with Christ Jesus, we are made right with God—not because of anything we have done; only by what Christ has done for us! He made us pure, holy, and freed us from sin!

How did Jesus do this? By dying on the cross to pay the price for our sins.

So, since we didn’t do anything to be right with God, do we have anything to boast or brag about? No!

Who should we boast about then? The Lord, God, Jesus.

Yes! Now, the first part of the challenge at home is to look up and read the verses on Link 2, which we just read aloud. The second part is found on Link 3: to thank Jesus daily for dying for us and forgiving us—then to tell someone what He has done for you. Take this Unity Chain home as a reminder to do the challenge. Next time, I’ll ask who remembered to do it—and what happened when you did!

SuperVerse

Read Genesis 11:5:

But the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building.

God took notice of the tower and city being built. He sees everything that happens on Earth. Nothing big or small escapes God’s eyes. When people come together in unity, it is a powerful force that can accomplish good or bad things. Once the people saw what they could accomplish, God knew they would not stop planning projects to make a name for themselves.

Let’s say our SuperVerse together. Genesis 11:6:

He said: “These people are working together because they all speak the same language. This is just the beginning. Soon they will be able to do anything they want.”

Divide the children into groups of two or three children. Adjust group sizes so you have an even number of groups.

Remove a set of six cards from a #1 bag and give to a group without allowing them to see the number on the bag.

Repeat this with a set of six cards from a #2 bag.

Continue giving out bags of#1 and #2 cards, making sure you end by giving a #2 bag. This ensures that you have complete sets of the SuperVerse to build.

When you say Go, each group works to find another group with the other cards they need to build the complete verse.

The children in those two groups then work together to form a line and hold up the cards in the correct order. The first team to do this wins.

Allow the other groups to complete their verses.

Great job working in unity to complete the verse! You could not complete the task without communicating and working together for the same purpose! Let’s say our SuperVerse all together! Genesis 11:6:

He said: “These people are working together because they all speak the same language. This is just the beginning. Soon they will be able to do anything they want.”

Prayer

In the Superbook adventure, Chris and Joy had difficulty communicating with their new friend from India. Joy reminded Chris how it must be even more difficult for their friend, who moved to a new country, started a new school, and didn’t know anyone.

Have you ever moved to a new place and had to learn a new language and make new friends?

Was it easy or hard?

Or, have you ever met someone who just moved from another country?

Perhaps they didn’t speak the same language or dress the same as you. At times, it may be difficult to accept and understand others because they look or sound different. Yet, we must try to find something in common and treat them with respect and kindness. God loves all people in all the countries of the world. He wants us to see others as He does, and show them His love.

Today, I would like you to pray silently and ask God to open your eyes and your heart to others who may need a friend. Ask Him to help you reach out to them with a smile and a friendly voice to help them feel included. Ask God to help you understand others who may have different languages, clothing or customs.

Allow time for children to pray quietly for a minute or two.

Close in prayer. Dear God, Your desire is for all people to live in unity with each other, and to work together to complete Your work on Earth. We want to love everyone, not just those who are like us. Help us to find ways to share the Good News of Jesus with those who have not heard about You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Building Game

We watched a story about the Tower of Babel. The people on Earth worked in unity to build a city and a tall tower that would reach into the sky!  See Genesis 11:4.

Who remembers our SuperTruth? “There is power in unity.”

Let’s shout it together in unity! “There is power in unity.”

Today, you will work together to build the highest tower in 30 seconds.

Start the time and shout, “Go!” Both teams play at the same time. Players within a team must alternate stacking one block at a time to build their towers. Teams may start again if their tower falls. The team with the highest tower when the time runs out wins!After the blocks are counted, players will disassemble their tower for the next team to play. Continue to play two teams at a time until all teams have played. Play another round if time allows.

Wow—you worked in unity to build some very high towers. We can accomplish great things working together!

Scatter Game

If you have not already crumpled the 80 sheets of paper into balls—40 of each color—have the children do so before the game. Place the paper balls into the taped squarearound the tower.

We learned in our Bible story that the people did not want to be scattered around the world. They built a city and great tower so they could stay in one place. This was not God’s desire for them, so He confused their language and they scattered.

Optional: Read Genesis 11:7–9:

“Come, let’s go down and confuse the people with different languages. Then they won’t be able to understand each other.” In that way, the Lord scattered them all over the world, and they stopped building the city. That is why the city was called Babel, because that is where the Lord confused the people with different languages. In this way He scattered them all over the world.

We have a tower, and it is surrounded by paper balls which represent people. The people want to stay near the tower and live in the city they built. Your job is to scatter the people and move them outside the city square. Now, in Genesis 11, it does not say that God destroyed the tower; He stopped the tower from being completed. So, you must be careful not to hit the tower and knock it down.

Divide the class into 2 teams.

One player from each team plays at the same time.

Each player is given a cardboard tube to roll the paper balls. Players may not use their hands, feet, or anything else to move the balls.

Teams each have 40 paper balls of one color to scatter.

A round lasts 20 seconds. Adjust the time as desired.

Begin with one player from each team standing inside the square.

Shout, “Scatter the people!” and start the timer for 20 seconds.

Players use the tube to roll as many of their team’s balls as possible outside the square before time ends.

Paper balls can go anywhere outside the square, with balls of different colors mixed together.

Players must be careful not to accidentally scatter the other team’s balls!

If a player accidentally knocks over part of the tower, time and play immediately stops and the children must rebuild the tower. Once the tower is rebuilt, time is started again and the round continues.

The team that knocked over the tower loses 3 points at the end of the round.

When time ends, shout, “Stop scattering!” A team scores one point for every ball of their color that is outside the square.

After scoring the round, the players return the balls back inside the square.

Play until all children have had a turn. The team with the highest score wins.

Conclusion:That looked really fun and challenging. It is amazing how God used the different languages and communication problem to scatter the peopleall overEarth!He could have destroyed the tower and the people, yet in His love and mercy, He gave the rebellious people a second chance to do His will.

Craft

Optional: Read Genesis 11:1–6

At one time all the people of the world spoke the same language and used the same words. As the people migrated to the east, they found a plain in the land of Babylonia and settled there.They began saying to each other, “Let’s make bricks and harden them with fire.” (In this region bricks were used instead of stone, and tar was used for mortar.)Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches into the sky. This will make us famous and keep us from being scattered all over the world.”But the Lordcame down to look at the city and the tower the people were building.“Look!” He said. “The people are united, and they all speak the same language. After this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!”

God recognized the power in unity. Unfortunately, the people were unified in a project that was different from God’s plan. This disobedience caused God to confuse the workers to stop their prideful plan. Today, you can build your own tower. This tower won’t be made of bricks and tar—only paper and glue!

Display the model craft for children to view as they assemble their crafts.

Give a pencil, glue stick, scissors, crayons, and Tower Pattern to each child. If necessary, you may have the children share some supplies.

Optional: Have children color the craft, then assemble it according to the instruction page.

Children will fold, assemble, and glue the pieces according to the pattern instructions.

Children can write their name with a pencil on their craft.

Bible Activity

Have the children work in pairs to look up the verses and find the answer to each question. Try to pair skilled Bible users with visitors, children who are not as familiar with the Bible, or those with special needs. Questions may not always have an exact word answer. Children will have to read and then discuss the passage with their partner to form their answer. Allow the children about 10 minutes to complete their sheets, then review the questions as a group and allow the teams to share their answers. If time is short, assign different questions to various pairs of children.

Teacher’s Answer Key:

1. He will not share His glory with any person or idol.
2. To bring praise to God, our heavenly Father.
3. Show off, call attention to, announce, or brag about our good deeds.
4. We may get a temporary reward on Earth but will lose our reward from God in heaven; God is not pleased when we are prideful and selfish.
5. God.
6. Children’s discussion.
7. Wisdom, power, riches.
8. Yes, if we boast in God’s love, justice and righteousness.

Conclusion: God has given us amazing gifts, talents and abilities. He has filled us with knowledge and wisdom. It is important that we give God the credit and glory for these blessings instead of boasting in ourselves. When we do this, God will reward us!