Leader Guide

Video Leader Guide

Welcome (1 minute)

Welcome, everyone! Today we begin a new Superbook adventure, “The Birth of Moses.” Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a new baby in your house. In our new video, we will meet a young girl who loved and protected her baby brother in some very creative ways! Then we’ll check in with Chris, Joy, and Gizmo to see what they’re up to.

Play Video 2: Chris and Joy’s Dilemma (5 minutes)

In Bible times, young Miriam is helping her family as they struggle to hide her baby brother from the Egyptians. In modern times, Joy is ready to go to the waterpark when she learns that her parents are helping with a community outreach.

2 Chris and Joy's Dilemma

SuperTruth and Discussion (2 minutes)

Where was Joy planning to go with Chris and Gizmo? A water park.

Why was she wondering if she should still go? Her parents were hoping she would help at a community outreach.

Why were the Israelites in Egypt doing such hard work? They were slaves of the Egyptians.

Why was Pharaoh worried about the growing number of Israelites? They could join with Egypt’s enemies to fight against them.

Amram told his friend that he was afraid God had done something; do you remember what it was? That God had forgotten about the Israelites.

Although the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, God had not forgotten them. He was watching and waiting to answer their cries for help.

Today’s SuperTruth is “I am safe in God’s care.” God loves us and wants to keep us safe. Even if we wander away from Him, God never forgets about us. He loves us and calls us to return to His strong arms of safety!

Let’s watch the second part of the video to see what Joy decides to do and if Miriam is able to help her baby brother.

Play Video 3: Bible Story and Resolution (18 minutes)

Be sure to preview this video, as some scenes may be too intense for young children. Instead, if you choose to use the Condensed Version, which is less intense, you may play Chris and Joy’s Resolution afterward. Superbook takes Chris, Joy, and Gizmo to ancient Egypt. When Pharaoh decrees that all Hebrew infant boys must be thrown into the Nile, Moses’ parents hide him at home, then put him in a floating basket on the river. Pharaoh’s daughter discovers and adopts the baby, then Miriam arranges for their own mother to become his nurse. The children learn to seek God’s plan.

Bible Story and Resolution

Video Discussion (1 minute)

If you were a parent, how would it feel if your child were in danger? Children respond.

What is the one thing we can always do when we feel afraid, unsafe, or helpless? We can trust God; we can pray to God for help and safety.

As slaves in Egypt, the Israelites may have felt hopeless. However, Moses and his family were safe in God’s care.

Play Video 10A: SuperVerse Graphic

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

10A SuperVerse Graphic

SuperVerse Discussion (1 minute)

Our SuperVerse today is Hebrews 11:23. Let’s read it out loud together.

Three months is a long time, especially when you are hiding a baby! What is something that all babies do when they are hungry, tired, or need their diapers changed? Babies cry!

Moses’ parents knew that God had given them a very special child. They were willing to do all they could, and they trusted God to keep him safe, even if it meant disobeying the king!

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

Prayer and Send-Off (1 minute)

Dear God, Psalm 121:4 tells us,

You see us no matter where we are or what we are doing. We praise You for watching over us and keeping us in Your loving care. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

In Small Group today, we are going to learn more about how we are safe in God’s care. Let’s start with a relay game called “No Sinking Allowed!”

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.

Relay Game

No Sinking Allowed! Play a game to waterproof Moses’ basket.

Moses’ mother put him in a basket made of papyrus reeds, which are not waterproof. Why didn’t it sink? Children answer.

She covered it with tar or pitch, making it waterproof so that it would float. This is what our game is based on.

Divide the children into two even teams—one player on a team may need to play twice. Each team forms a single file line behind the starting mark. Walk to the baskets as you explain.

These baskets need to be waterproofed, and I think you are just the ones to do it! I have brushes and buckets of tar for you to use—well, let me think about that! Tar is very smelly, sticky, and messy. I don’t think your parents would be very happy if you came home with tar all over your hands and clothes.

Display a few strips. I have a much neater idea! These black strips represent tar. The object of our game is to waterproof your team’s basket by covering the whole thing with these tar strips as quickly as possible! I will announce how you will travel to the table. I might say something like walk, tip-toe, skip, walk backward, shuffle, or hop on one foot.

Hold up a glue stick. You will quickly apply glue to one side of a tar strip, leaving the glue stick at the table. Walk to your team’s basket and place the strip in between any set of lines, then return to the starting line, and the next player will take a turn.

The first team to completely waterproof their basket by covering it with tar strips wins.

Start the game and announce how you want the players to travel to the table, changing the method as often as possible. Continue this way until one team completely waterproofs their basket. Make sure everyone has had a turn before stopping the game.

Conclusion: Moses was safe in God’s care, just like we are. Now, let’s learn more about how God keeps us safe.

Teaching

Saved and Sealed! Discuss how Jesus gives us salvation.

That was an amazing video, showing how God can use anything and anyone to accomplish His purpose. Today’s SuperVerse tells us that Moses’ family obeyed God rather than Pharaoh and hid the baby for three months. Imagine being Moses’ family and putting Moses in the basket; there was nothing else to do but fully trust God to keep their baby safe.

Let’s say our SuperTruth together: “I am safe in God’s care.”

In the game we just played, you added strips to the basket. This represented what Moses’ mother did when she waterproofed the basket so it would float in the river.

Hold up the basket or the Basket Image. The basket represents something very important about God’s care and safety. The Hebrew word used for Moses’ basket is only used two times in the Bible—just two! Can anyone guess the only other time this same word is used? Here is a hint: this large object floated on the water with many animals in it. Noah’s ark! Hold up the Ark Image.

The Hebrew word for Moses’ basket is the same word used for “ark,” the huge boat that Noah built to keep animals and people safe in the Flood. God designed Noah’s ark, so it would not tip over and sink, and Noah built it according to God’s plan. The ark rescued Noah and his family while the world was being punished for its sins.

Can you think of a person who rescues us from being punished for our sins? Jesus.

How did Jesus save us from our sins? By dying on the cross.

The only way to enter the ark was through one door. Jesus calls Himself the Gate or the Door; He is the only way to enter into a relationship with God and to receive salvation, safe from God’s judgment. (See John 10:9.)

Hold up the bike helmet. What is the purpose of this? To keep your head safe, to protect you. Now, what if I rode my bike and just hung the helmet on the handlebars—would it protect me if I fell? No!

How can it protect me? You need to put the helmet on.

Put the helmet on if you are comfortable doing so. You may have a helmet, but it does no good until you choose to put it on.

When the apostle Paul described the armor of God, what did he call the helmet? The helmet of salvation.

It is the same today. God provided a way for salvation; we must simply choose to accept God’s plan by putting our trust in Jesus. Jesus is the only way to God; He is the only way to be saved. God loved Moses so much that He provided a basket to keep him safe. God loved Noah so much that He designed an ark to save him. God loves us so much that He sent His only Son to earth to die for us, to forgive our sins, and to save us!

Moses’ basket was sealed with a substance called bitumen that was used with tar or pitch. This made it waterproof, helping to keep him safe and dry inside as the basket floated in the river. This same substance was used to seal Noah’s ark inside and out. (See Genesis 6:14.) You may be surprised to know that we are sealed, too!

Ephesians 1:13 says that when we trust in Jesus, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. He keeps and protects us until the day He takes us to heaven to live with Him there forever! We all face storms and trials in life, just like Moses and Noah did—yet God will protect us as we trust in Him.

Jesus promises in Matthew 7:24–25 (NLT):

Conclusion: God provides everything we need as we face storms and trials in life. Let’s move to our Discipleship Challenge now and learn more about this.

Discipleship Challenge/Practical Application

Give each child a copy of The Birth of Moses I AM Wheel, scissors, and a pencil. Have children cut out and assemble the pieces, then put their names on the back. Display the model you made before class and assist the children as necessary to complete their crafts.

For these three lessons, we will learn seven “I AM” statements that Jesus made about Himself. God told Moses that He is “I AM.” Jesus also said this several times to reveal who He is.

Use the model craft to illustrate what you say. This is called an “I Am” Wheel. As you turn the bottom wheel, it reveals seven “I Am” statements that Jesus made to show us who He is. He meets every single need we can ever have in life! Knowing who Jesus is helps us grow in our faith and share Him with others.

Use your Bible to look up each verse on your wheel, write what Jesus said on the blank line, and draw a simple picture of what He said. Then, read these statements each day to remember them. Let’s do one as an example. What is the verse reference for #5 on your wheel? John 10:11.

Have a child look up John 10:11 (NLT) and read it aloud:

What is the name Jesus calls Himself? The Good Shepherd.

OK, write that in the blank. What could you draw for this name? A sheep, a shepherd’s staff, a shepherd.

Allow time for children to write and draw. The challenge for Lesson 1 is to complete #1 and #2 on your wheels. As you read and meditate on the verses, ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what Jesus is saying about Himself and what this means to you. For those of you who are up for a bonus challenge, you can try to learn either verse! We will discuss the statements next time.

SuperVerse

Superbook Cover-up: Memorize the SuperVerse with a group activity.

God had a plan for Moses’ life. Even when he was a baby, his parents recognized that God’s hand was upon him and that he would do something special for God. Little did they know that the baby they held and cared for would grow up to rescue the Israelites from captivity and slavery in Egypt!

When Pharaoh gave the wicked command to throw baby boys into the river, Moses’ parents fearlessly disobeyed. Instead, they trusted God and hid their baby from Pharaoh for three months. God can use anyone and anything to accomplish His will and protect His people.

For this activity, I am going to hide words in the verse, and then you will raise your hands to tell me what word is hidden.

Let’s read the SuperVerse on the board together. Hebrews 11:23:

Have the children lower their heads or cover their eyes so they cannot see the board. “Hide” one word at a time by holding up the index card to cover it, then have the children look at the board and raise their hands to tell you what word is hidden. Repeat this with different words. As they become familiar with the verse, hide more than one word at a time to make it more challenging. Afterward, ask if any children would like to volunteer to try to say the verse from memory. If children cannot memorize the SuperVerse, be sure they understand its meaning. Remind them to keep working on the verse at home.

Prayer

Care Prayers: Communicate with God.

What’s our SuperTruth today? “I am safe in God’s care!”

God inspired Moses’ parents to do something very unusual to save his life! There are many other times in the Bible when God told someone to do something unexpected to accomplish His will or to protect His people. God has no limits on how He can care for us and keep us safe.

Let’s close our eyes right now and pray. Allow children time to think and pray silently after each statement.

Let’s thank God for loving us and sending His Son, Jesus, to save us from sin and death by dying on the cross. Now let’s praise Him for rising from the dead and giving us new life. Silently, we can tell God about any fears we have; then, we can ask Him to help us trust Him no matter what happens. Finally, let’s ask Him to seal us with the Holy Spirit, filling us with His power to follow Him and make wise choices, to give us the strength to resist temptation, and to keep us protected and safe.

Allow children time to pray silently and then close in prayer.

Pray: Dear Jesus, thank You for loving us and caring for us. We put our complete trust in You to answer every prayer that was privately shared with You today. In Your name, we pray, amen.

Experiment

That Sinking Feeling: Perform an experiment to determine which objects float in the water.

In the Bible story, Moses’ mother applied tar to the basket so it would float in the water. Without the tar, the basket would quickly sink, especially with the weight of the baby inside! Moses was safe because of his mother’s care. Today, we are safe in God’s care. We are protected—sometimes, when we don’t even realize it!

Now, we all are going to participate in a fun experiment. Hold up the bag of items. In this bag are some items. Some will float, and some will sink. You will each have a turn to select an item from the bag and guess whether it will float or sink. Optional: you may allow children to see the item they choose or have them choose an item without looking into the bag.

Next, the whole class will have a “float vote.” Raise your hands if you think the item will float, or keep your hands down if you think it will sink! Finally, the person who chose the item will put it into the water, and we’ll see what happens!

Start the activity and allow every child to have a turn. Leave some objects in the water if possible; to make room, you may need to remove some and place them on a towel to dry. That was very interesting and fun! Did anyone guess all of the items correctly? Children respond.

Which items surprised you with the results? Children answer.

How were all of the metal objects alike? All of them sank. Most metal objects cannot float unless they are shaped like a boat.

Optional discussion for Grades 4–6: In another Bible story, God performed a miracle through a man named Elijah and made a metal object float. Can anyone tell me what it was? An ax head. A man had lost the ax head in the water, and Elijah did a miracle by the power of God, making the ax head rise to the surface of the water and float. This also brought glory to God’s name. Without a doubt, God inspired Moses’ mother to do what she did to keep Moses safe. He had important plans for Moses many years later!

Game

In Safe Keeping: Play a game to hide and reveal Moses!

Let’s say our SuperVerse together. Hebrews 11:23:

God kept Moses safe in several different places. Can you name them? Children answer. God kept Moses safe in his parents’ home, in a basket, in Pharaoh’s palace, and then later in the wilderness until it was time for Moses to do what God called him to do—lead God’s people out of Egypt! That’s what this game is all about!

Divide the class into teams of five children. Depending on class size, you can do groups of two to ten if you prefer. Have the teams form two separate lines, several feet from the table. Hold up the single-color cup, then place it on the bottom of the stack. This cup is a different color than the other cups in your stack. It represents Moses. You will pick up a cup stack and hide Moses by moving the cup from the bottom to the top of your stack. Then each player will take a turn moving a cup from the bottom to the top of the stack, only one cup at a time. Continue this way until “Moses” reaches the bottom position and can be seen again.

This represents how Moses was hidden for many years until God called him to go to Egypt to speak to Pharaoh, where everyone could see him again!

Start the game. The first player from each team will quickly walk to the backside of the table and face the other children. Each player will pick up the stack of cups, take the cup from the bottom, and place it on the top as described above. The player will then quickly return home, and the next player will take a turn. Continue until the “Moses” cup is revealed again at the bottom of the stack. The first team to do this wins.

Play additional rounds with the children who played last going first this time.

Game variations:

• Use one stack and play as a large group for the fastest time for all to finish.

• Play rounds of two or more children facing off against each other. Then, have a playoff to determine the champion.

• Add additional cups to the stacks for longer play.

Let’s pray: God, we are learning that we are safe in Your care. You have a purpose and plan for each one of us. Help us to trust in Your care as we wait for Your timing. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.

Maze Activity

Baby Moses in the Nile: Trace the safest routes for baby Moses to float to the princess.

Give each child a copy of the maze and a pencil.

Your mission is to find two paths on the Nile River for Moses to float safely to the princess. What are some dangerous things on the river that you must avoid? Rocks, snakes, hippos, crocodiles.

Tell the children they may begin. Lead a discussion using the questions below as the children complete the activity. They may color the picture after tracing the routes.

1. Why did Moses need to be hidden in a basket on the river? Pharaoh ordered all the Hebrew baby boys to be thrown into the river.

2. Why didn’t the basket sink in the water? Moses’ mother (Jochebed) put tar on the outside of the basket to waterproof it.

3. Why was it surprising that Pharaoh’s daughter wanted to keep the baby safe? Because it was against what her father had ordered.

4. Who gave Moses his name? Pharaoh’s daughter, the princess.

5. This question is more difficult—do you remember what Moses’ name means? “I lifted him out of the water.”

Have the children share the two safe routes that they found.

Your maze can be a reminder of our SuperTruth today; let’s say it together: “I am safe in God’s care.”

Bible Activity

Scramble to Safety: Unscramble words and read verses about God’s care for His people.

Have the children sit in pairs. Give a Safety Scramble Sheet and a pencil to each pair of children. Try to pair an experienced Bible user with a child who isn’t as familiar with the Bible. Give each pair a Bible. Children can alternate looking up the verses and writing down the answers.

In this activity, we will learn about people in the Bible who were safe in God’s care. You will have 15 or 20 seconds to do the first word scramble. After time expires, we will look up the verse that contains the unscrambled word together.

Note: The answers are taken from the New Living Translation Bible. 

First, give the children about 15 to 20 seconds to unscramble the word without looking up the verse. When time expires, allow children to share their answers. Then, have them look up the scripture reference. Choose a child to read the verse(s) and then briefly discuss it. Repeat this for all eight scrambles or as many as time allows.

Paul
1. Paul was lowered in a __ __ __ __ __ __ to escape. (KSABTE) (Basket)

2 Corinthians 11:32–33

David
2. David praised God for hiding him from Saul. He said he took refuge in the

 __ __ __ __ __ __ of God’s wings. (HSAWOD) (Shadow)

Psalm 57:1

Us!
3. The Lord will strengthen and __ __ __ __ __ you from the evil one. (DUGRA) (Guard)

2 Thessalonians 3:3

King Jehoshaphat and the Israelites
4. God caused the enemy to start __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ among themselves. (IHGNTFGI) (Fighting)

2 Chronicles 20:22

Moses and the Israelites
5. God __ __ __ __ __ __ up a path through the sea to protect the Israelites from Pharaoh’s army. (EPNOED) (Opened)

Exodus 14:21

Elijah
6. God kept Elijah safe from a wicked queen and __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ ravens to feed him. (MDDMENAOC) (Commanded)

1 Kings 17:2–4

Elisha
7. When the Syrians came to capture Elisha, God struck their army with

 __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __. (DBSLNSINE) (Blindness)

2 Kings 6:18

Paul and Silas
8. God saved Paul and Silas from prison by sending a massive __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __. (AKEQTAEHUR) (Earthquake)

Acts 16:26

Conclusion: We are safe in God’s care. He can use any means to protect us.

Job said in Job 42:2: