Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (1 minute)

Welcome back to the second lesson of our Superbook adventure titled “Philip.” Today we will learn about seeking one thing above everything else—more than fame, power, or success. In fact, seeking this will take us on a journey that never ends. Now, let’s stand and sing about this with the song, “Endless Adventure.”

Play Video Song: Endless Adventure (3 minutes)

Preview the song so you can help the children sing along with the music.

Chris and Joy's Dilemma

SuperTruth and Discussion (2 minutes)

Our SuperTruth today is: I will seek God above all else. Let’s say that together: I will seek God above all else.

People in the world can get caught up in seeking all the wrong things. Many of them put their time, energy, and money into things that will not last. When we seek God with all of our hearts, we will never be disappointed. God promises us in Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV): “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Now, that is something to look forward to! Let’s watch a short version of our Bible story about Philip. If you have seen it before, listen and watch carefully to find out what a man named Simon thought he could buy with his money. Are you ready?

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.

Play Video 4: Condensed Bible Story (12 minutes)

Superbook takes Chris, Joy, and Gizmo to Samaria, where Peter and John join Philip to teach about the power of the Holy Spirit. When Simon the magician offers money to buy this power, Peter sternly rebukes him. Later, Philip witnesses to an Ethiopian official and baptizes him. Returning home, Chris thinks about baptism and attends a Bible study.

Chris and Joy's Dilemma

Video Discussion (2 minutes)

How did Peter and John’s ministry in Samaria differ from Philip’s? They laid hands on people so they would receive the Holy Spirit. Philip preached the Gospel and baptized people in water.

Where had the Ethiopian official just been? Jerusalem.

If he had already worshiped God in Jerusalem, why was it so important for Philip to meet with him? To understand the Scripture he was reading about Jesus. He knew God but did not believe in Jesus as his Savior. He needed to hear the Good News to be saved.

What did the Ethiopian man ask Philip to do in the desert after they talked? To baptize him in water.

What did the man do after Philip was taken away by the Spirit? He was rejoicing.

Imagine all the exciting news the Ethiopian man had to share with everyone when he arrived home! No doubt, the Good News was spread to even more people! This is the privilege we have to serve God by sharing the Gospel!

Introduce Bible Background Video (1 minute)

In today’s Bible Background video, we’ll learn more about the places that Philip and the other apostles traveled to spread the Good News. Be ready for Gizmo’s questions! Wait for him to give some answers, then call out the one you think is right!

Play Video 5: Bible Background (8 minutes)

Chris and Joy's Dilemma

Play Video 10B: SuperVerse Graphic

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

Chris and Joy's Dilemma

SuperVerse Discussion (1 minute)

The SuperVerse today is Matthew 6:33 (NLT); let’s say it together:

At the beginning of Large Group, we talked about seeking something above all else. The SuperVerse contains the answer; what is it? The kingdom of God.

Can we travel to God’s kingdom somewhere on the earth and see a castle with tall walls, a moat, and a drawbridge? We will find out the answer to that in our teaching today! There are many things that people seek or pursue on this earth; some are good things that will last—other things are not. When we seek God’s kingdom, what does the SuperVerse promise us? God will give us everything we need.

Children will have more time to learn the SuperVerse in Small Group. If they are not able to memorize the entire verse, be sure they understand its meaning.

Prayer and Send-Off (1 minute)

Let’s pray. Heavenly Father, when we seek You, we will find You—what an awesome promise You have given us! Please help us seek You above all else. We want to grow closer to You and to expand Your kingdom on earth! In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

Raise your hand if you like to bowl? Children respond. In Small Group, you will have an opportunity to play a very unique bowling game called “Seek-a-bowl.” That sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Let’s go see how to play this game.

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.

Bowling Game

Seek-a-bowl: Play a bowling game of priorities.

In Large Group, you were asked to watch carefully to find out what a man named Simon thought he could buy with his money. Who knows the answer? God’s power; the power to lay hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit. 

Can we ever buy the things of God—like forgiveness, mercy, salvation, or power? No! 

If they can’t be bought, how can we possibly receive them? Through believing and obeying Jesus. He gives them to us as free gifts. 

Yes, when we put God first and seek to grow closer to Him, He gives us these things and more—everything we need! The key is seeking Him above all else! Simon put fame, personal gain, and power in front of God’s kingdom. Peter told him to repent and seek God first. That’s what our game “Seek-a-bowl” is about. 

Divide the children into two teams; they don’t need to be equal. Teams will form two single-file lines behind the mark or taped line. Hand two balls to the first players on each team. 

Why can’t we clearly see what the signs say? The bottles are in the way. 

The bottles represent things that people seek in place of God—things like power, popularity or friendships, possessions and wealth, entertainment, or success, to name a few. These things can get in the way or take priority over seeking God’s kingdom—just like you see here. Your mission is to roll the balls so the bottles are moved from in front of the “God’s kingdom” signs to behind them. This represents seeking God first, with all else being less important. Keep this in mind: it isn’t enough to knock the pins over—each pin must rest behind the sign to win. 

Have the teams form separate lines behind the starting line. Say “Go” to start the game. The first players of each team roll one ball at a time to try to knock the pins behind the sign. Once both balls are rolled, the players will quickly retrieve the balls and bring them to the next player in line. The first team to knock all of the bottles behind their sign wins. 

Conclusion: Let’s say our SuperVerse together—Matthew 6:33: 

Now we can clearly see and focus on God’s kingdom! As followers of Christ, we need to keep God first and make His will a priority. Sometimes that means making changes to rearrange or remove things from our lives. Let’s learn more about seeking God for the right reasons in our teaching time.

Teaching

Seek and Find: Discuss pursuing God’s kingdom first.

Let’s say our SuperVerse together—Matthew 6:33:

In Large Group, you were asked to think about whether God’s kingdom was a place we could visit on earth—like you could visit a castle. Do you think so? No? Well then, where is God’s kingdom? Children respond.

In John 18:36, Jesus said that His kingdom was not of this world. His kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, not a physical or earthly one. It is located in the hearts of all who serve Him. Jesus came down from heaven to live and minister in the world as a human being. He lived His life perfectly, obeying God’s will and following His Word. People could look at Jesus and see what God is like. In this way, the world would witness heaven’s kingdom on earth. When we believe in Jesus and live according to God’s will and God’s Word, we experience His kingdom on earth, in our hearts and lives. This is what it means to live righteously. We can never live a perfect life as Jesus did; yet, we can seek to obey Him and trust in Jesus’ righteousness to please God.

Those who choose to make Jesus the Lord of their lives willingly obey him and let Him rule over their hearts. To seek God’s kingdom means to seek to do His will rather than follow our own desires. Can someone say the SuperTruth from memory? I will seek God above all else.

Simon the magician became a believer in Jesus, yet he continued to put his own interests and desires above God’s. When Simon offered money to buy God’s power, Peter said that his heart was not right. Simon wanted God’s power to impress and entertain people and to make money. Is that how we should use God’s power? No.

We want to use it for God’s kingdom by sharing the Gospel, so people choose to follow Him. When God’s power is unleashed on earth, we see His will being done as people are saved, healed, and set free. As a result, God’s kingdom expands on earth. Let us seek God for the right reasons—to draw closer to Him and to do His will on earth!

Each day, people make choices of how they will spend their time and energy—what they will seek and focus on. Simon focused on these things. Hold up the three balloons and choose three volunteers, each to read the word on one balloon: FAME, POSSESSIONS, POWER.

Many people today still seek after these same things instead of God’s kingdom. The sad part is that these things are temporary—they won’t last. Pop each balloon. (Remember that many children with special needs are afraid of the loud noise balloons make when they pop—adjust your presentation accordingly.)

Was anything inside the balloons? No, they were empty.

Exactly. Even if someone manages to get one or all of these things, their lives will still be empty. Hold up the GOD’S KINGDOM balloon and ask a volunteer to read the words on it.

Let’s see what happens when we seek God’s kingdom above all of these other things. Pop the balloon, and the cards will scatter.

Was this balloon empty? No!

Gather the cards. Let’s see what we receive when we seek God first. Give a card to five different children who are good readers to read the words aloud:

1. SALVATION AND FORGIVENESS

2. PROVISION AND HIS PRESENCE

3. PURPOSE, DIRECTION, AND WISDOM

4. PEACE, HOPE, AND JOY

5. LOVE, MERCY, AND HEALING

Briefly discuss each one and how they benefit and practically apply to us.

It is amazing what God provides for us when we seek Him first—and these are just a few examples! Not only will we have everything we need in this world, but we are also blessed with His presence forever in heaven! God’s blessings will never fade away or disappear! When we seek God’s kingdom first, does it mean that everything in our lives will go smoothly, and we won’t have any more problems? No.

The disciples faced rejection and persecution simply because they followed Jesus. However, God promises to give us all that we need, even in the midst of adversity and difficulties. The Apostle Paul talked about how God is faithful to supply all we need.

Read Philippians 4:19 (NLT):

Now let’s apply what we have learned about seeking God in our Discipleship Challenge!

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Give any child who missed Lesson 1 a Seeker Scroll Pattern. Show children the sample craft made in Lesson 1 and have them assemble the craft at home. Hold up the sample craft.

Raise your hand if you prayed for the Holy Spirit to give you understanding before you read 1 Chronicles 16:11–12. Children respond.

Let’s briefly discuss your thoughts about the two questions from the first challenge.

1. How is seeking God’s face different from coming to Him for things we need or want? To draw closer and to spend time with Him, rather than asking Him for anything. Can someone please share about how you prayed during the challenge? Children respond.

2. What are some ways we can seek God’s face? By spending time in prayer and worship, praising Him for who He is—His holiness, and there is no one like Him, and He is above all. How can seeking God in this way build our faith in Him? Realize His greatness and power—that He is above the earth and far greater than anything we face. We more deeply understand His love for us.

Give a volunteer the scroll to read aloud the second challenge title. “Seek what God desires.”

For our second challenge, instead of praying for your desires like personal wants or needs in your prayer time each day, seek what God desires instead. Ask Him what will please Him and what His will for your life is. What does the SuperVerse for today say will happen when we seek Him above all else? He will give us everything we need.

The second part of this challenge is to read Psalm 37:4 each day and ask the Holy Spirit to give you an understanding of what it means and how it applies to seeking God’s desires. Discuss the verse with your family, if possible. Then, answer the two challenge questions and try to memorize Psalm 37:4 because it is not very long. We will discuss all of this the next time we meet.

SuperVerse

Seeking God’s kingdom first means to make the things of God most important in our lives. It means desiring to live according to His Word and His will more than anything else. When we do this, God promises to meet all of our needs. Seeking the kingdom of God is putting Jesus at the forefront of your thoughts and allowing Him to be Lord of your lives. When we do that, everything else will fall into its proper place.

This SuperVerse is about placing things in the proper order. And that is what we will do in this activity to help us learn the verse.

Divide the children into teams of two. Try to pair older and younger children together. Give each team a bag of cards and have them find a place to sit together. Teams will empty their bag of cards in a pile on the floor. Say “Go!” and have the teams assemble the verse in the correct order. The first team to assemble the verse in order and stand up wins. Teams continue this way until all teams are standing.

If time permits, erase the SuperVerse from the board, shuffle the cards and play again.

If children cannot memorize the SuperVerse, be sure they understand its meaning. Remind them to keep working on the verse at home.

Prayer

Priority Prayers: Communicate with God.

Why did Peter become so angry with Simon the magician? He thought he could buy God’s power.

Peter told Simon that his heart was not right with God. Even though Simon believed in Jesus, he still needed to repent and change his old way of thinking. Simon wanted God’s power for the wrong reasons. He placed his own selfish desires above seeking God’s kingdom.

As followers of Christ, we must never stop seeking God to grow closer and stronger in our relationship with Him and to know His ways and will. Sometimes things can get “out of whack”—or out of order—in our lives. We must then put them back in their proper place. Thankfully, we don’t have to do this alone; the Holy Spirit can help us.

Let’s close our eyes and bow our heads. If you want, you can open your hands or lift them to God as a sign of surrender and submission to His will. Pray silently and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any things or desires that have become more important than seeking God. Allow children time to pray.

Next, silently ask the Holy Spirit to help you seek God and to desire His presence in your life more than anything else. Allow children time to pray.

Pray: Dear God, help us to seek Your kingdom above anything else and to hunger and thirst for Your presence. Let us make time to pray and worship and to read Your Word every day to learn more about You. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

Match Game

Kingdom Match: Play a game to seek after the things of God.            

Let’s say the SuperVerse together—Matthew 6:33:

Seeking the kingdom of God means to pursue God, His Word, and His will continually. It means to follow Christ’s perfect example from when He lived on earth. In this game, we will seek and find matches of things found in God’s kingdom. You must also identify and avoid cards that do not represent God’s kingdom.

Divide the children into two teams; they do not need to be even. Have teams sit together so everyone can see the cards on display. On each team’s turn, a player gets two guesses to seek and match things found in God’s kingdom. The player chooses a card number, and the leader will flip that card up along its taped edge to reveal the word. The same player will then select a second card number to try to match the first card. If the cards don’t match, they are flipped back down again. If the two cards match, the leader carefully peels the cards from the board and gives them to the team. There are also four cards that represent unrighteousness: fame, greed, pride, and selfishness—these things have no part in God’s kingdom. When these cards are revealed, ask if it is something that would exist in God’s kingdom and represents righteous living. Tell children to remember the card’s location and flip it back down again. Play until all “kingdom” pairs are removed from the board. The team with the most pairs wins.

Conclusion: As followers of Christ, we must continually seek after God’s kingdom first, and stay away from things not pleasing to God. Simon sought after God’s power because of greed, pride, and selfishness. As with Simon, we must guard our hearts and repent. When we seek God’s kingdom first, God will provide everything we need.

Coloring Activity

Filled With the Spirit: Color a page from the Bible story.

Give a coloring page to each child, along with crayons, colored pencils, or washable markers to share. Lead a discussion using the questions below as children color their pages.

1. What is happening in this scene from the Bible story? Peter and John (Jesus’ apostles or disciples) are laying hands on the believers for them to be filled with the Spirit.

2. How was this different than Philip’s ministry in Samaria? He preached the Good News and baptized people in water; however, they were not filled with the Spirit.

3. What did the people do when they were filled with the Spirit? They began to praise God in different tongues or languages.

4. Can you name another time in the Bible that this same thing occurred with a large group of people? On the Day of Pentecost—in the Upper Room in Jerusalem.

5. What was Simon’s reaction? He was amazed and wanted the same power and tried to pay for it.

6. What is the purpose of God’s gifts? To bring glory to God, to accomplish His will, to confirm His Word, to point people to Him, and to show others His love and power.

7. How do we receive any of God’s gifts? Are there some we must purchase? No; we receive them when we believe in Jesus. They are freely given by the Holy Spirit.

Object Lesson

First Things First: Visually show seeking God above all else.

Together, let’s say our SuperVerse, which is Mathew 6:33: 

Display the tray with the empty jar, the ball, the stones, and the rice. The jar represents our lives. Let’s fill this jar with things we might choose to pursue or do in a day. These things are represented by this rice.

Begin by pouring in the rice and talk about how it represents things like hobbies, watching TV, browsing the internet, hanging out with friends, sports, and reading for pleasure.

These stones represent the important things that we must do each day. Begin placing the stones and talk about how they represent things such as sleeping, going to school, doing chores, practicing an instrument, eating, and studying.

Now, hold up the ball. This ball represents God and everything related to seeking and serving Him. These can be things like reading your Bible, praise and worship time, praying, going to church, and serving others.

Attempt to fit the ball in the jar and close the lid—it won’t work!

Oh no! Everything was supposed to fit inside this jar, but it doesn’t. There isn’t enough room in the jar, which represents our lives, to seek and pursue the things of God! Pour everything out of the jar onto the tray.  

Does anyone have an idea of what we could do to fix this problem? Children respond.

Today, we have been learning to seek God above all else. Let’s start over by putting God in the jar first. Place the ball in the jar.

Now, let’s put in the important things we need to do every day. Place the stones in.

Now, let’s put in all the activities we might choose to do. Put in the rice and put the lid on the jar.

Look, everything fits perfectly! When we put God first, everything else falls into place. When we seek God above all else, other things can’t take the place of our time with Him. When we are faithful to do this, God promises to give us everything we need!

Bible Activity

Passionate Pursuit: Race to find verses about seeking God.

Let’s say the SuperTruth together: I will seek God above all else.

What a wonderful promise we have from God; when we sincerely seek after Him, He will be found! In this activity, you will look up verses about searching or seeking after God. Here is how it works: I will say a verse reference and write it on the board. You may start to look it up immediately. I will then read a fill-in-the-blank question for that verse. One player in each group will write the answer on a sticky note and then walk quickly to stick it on the board. You have thirty seconds to do that. The first team scores ten points for the correct answer; all other teams score five points for the correct answer stuck to the board within the time limit. Even finding the answer after time has expired scores one point, so don’t give up! The team with the most points wins. Are you ready to begin?

Have the children sit in pairs. Try to pair an experienced Bible user with a child who isn’t as familiar with the Bible. Give each pair a Bible. The experienced Bible user can quickly look up the verse while the other player writes the answer on a sticky note. The notes are then stuck to the whiteboard. If both players are experienced Bible users, the players can alternate looking up a verse and writing down the answer. Have children close their Bibles before you announce the next verse.

Note that the suggested answers are from the New Living Translation. If children are using different translations, their answers will vary. Allow spelling errors because of the fast pace of the game. Do as many verses as time allows. Be prepared to help any children with special needs.

1. 1 Chronicles 16:11. We must _____ seek Him. (Continually)

2. Acts 17:27. God’s purpose is for the _____ to seek Him. (Nations)

3. Hebrews 11:6. God _____ those who sincerely seek Him. (Rewards)

4. Jeremiah 29:13. We will find God if we _____ look for Him. (Wholeheartedly)

5. Matthew 7:7. If we keep on _____, we will find. (Seeking)

6. Psalm 105:4. Continually seek God; search for the Lord and for His _____. (Strength)

7. Psalm 9:10. The Lord will not _____ those who search for Him. (Abandon)

8. Psalm 63:1. The writer _____ searched for God. (Earnestly)

9. Isaiah 55:6. Seek the Lord while you can _____ Him. (Find)

10. Psalm 119:2. We are _____ when we obey His laws and search with all of our hearts. (Joyful)

Conclusion: God wants us to seek Him with all of our hearts and minds; when we do that, He will provide all that we need.