Leader Guide
Tossing Game
- Two umbrellas, boxes or buckets
- Popcorn—popped, unbuttered and unsalted—rice, or slips of paper
- Small cups, one per child
- Broom for cleanup
- Bible or the Superbook Bible App
Put popcorn, rice, or slips of paper in the small cups, one cup per child.
100 Percent Chance of Rain: Play a game about God’s miraculous provision.
In the video, what are some things that the Israelites complained about? Stopping and starting again, walking and wandering in the desert, almost starving and having to eat manna instead of the meat and foods they had in Egypt.
God was teaching His people to live by faith and not by sight. He wanted them to learn to trust and rely on Him every day for what they needed.
Place the two umbrellas—opened and upside-down—on two different sides of the room. Divide the class into two teams and have each team stand in a circle about 8–10 feet away from their team’s umbrella. Give each child a small cup filled with the popcorn.
Who can guess what an umbrella might have to do with the game we are about to play? Children answer.
The answer is found in Exodus 16:4:
This popcorn represents manna. You are all going to throw your manna into your team’s umbrella—but you can only throw one piece at a time! The team that collects the most manna in their umbrella is the winner. On your mark, get set, GO!
OPTIONAL DISCUSSION FOR GRADES 4–6
Manna in Hebrew actually means, “What is it?” Each morning, God sent manna from the sky. Manna lay on the grass like dew and the Israelites gathered it for their families. God had specific rules for the gathering of the manna. The Israelites were only to gather enough for their family’s needs for that day and could not save any for the next day, or it would spoil! Why do you think God made this rule? To teach them to trust Him daily.
The only exception to God’s rule was that they could not gather manna on the Sabbath. That’s because the Sabbath, or the seventh day of the week, was to be kept holy, according to one of the Ten Commandments. Instead of gathering manna on the Sabbath, the people were to gather twice as much on the sixth day and keep the extra manna overnight. The manna for the seventh day was not spoiled! God provided manna and meat to eat for 40 years in the wilderness! God wanted the Israelites to rely on Him for their needs. (See Exodus 16:4.)
Let’s list a few things on the board that God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness.
Write the children’s answers on the board:
- Manna and quail to eat.
- Water to drink.
- A cloud to guide them and protect them from the sun during the day.
- A pillar of fire to direct them and keep them warm during the night.
- Moses as their leader.
- The Ten Commandments to guide their thoughts and actions.
Conclusion: The next time it rains and you get your umbrella, remember the manna that God provided, and remember that He will provide for you, too! Let’s say our SuperTruth together again: “I will live by faith and not by sight.”