Leader Guide

Leader Introduction

Welcome students as they arrive with their parents.
OPTIONAL: As they arrive, play the song “Humble More.”

Today’s Bible story expands on the previous four lessons about Saul of Tarsus who went from arresting Christians to sharing the Gospel message with all who would listen.

Saul was a proud man who was humbled by Jesus and his life was completely changed.

Back at the Gizmo Cave, a new superhero is introduced, but there is a problem. The new member has chosen a costume that does not meet Super-Gizmo’s approval!

Children learn the importance of being humble: to care about the needs of other people and not to think you’re more important than anyone else.

*Scripture is quoted from the New Living Translation except as noted.

Optional Opening Game

We have been learning about being humble. One way to show humbleness is to put others before yourself or to think of others’ needs before your own. In this game, we are going to practice this in a fun way.

The object of the game is to have the children move in a single file line in a circle around the room. What is unique is how the children will move forward. The movement is what makes this game unique and fun. The line only advances forward when the last child in line “peels off” and walks quickly to the front of the line, then the next player and so on. The player who was first in line will eventually be the last and then move to the front again! Once the children circle the room and reach the beginning mark, they will turn around and start over with the end player walking to the front again.

Note: For more of a challenge, you can tell players in the second phase of the game to turn around and walk backward to the front to advance.

Optional:

· For a small class, the children can move in a straight line from one point to another and then back.

· Call out different ways to move to the front of the line—sideways, tiptoe, hop, giant steps, etc.

Conclusion: Was it easy or difficult to let others go before you? Children respond.

It’s fun to be first, isn’t it? But it pleases God when we are humble like Jesus. So we need to think about others and put their needs or wants before our own.

Video Lesson

Saul

In today's video, Saul is on the way to the city of Damascus to do what he thinks is right, but let's see if that is God's plan!

Play Video (Bible story)

Bible Story

Teaching Time

Saul believed he was doing what was right to arrest Christians and put them in jail.

Jesus did many things that made the Jewish leaders jealous and angry, like when Jesus healed a man who was blind on a holy day. Did this make the Pharisees glad or mad? Mad!

Saul went to the high priest and asked for something to give him permission to search for Christians in Damascus and arrest them. What did he ask for? A letter.

Hold up Go Sign. What did the priest tell Saul? Go!

The priest told Paul to GO to Damascus and arrest Christians.

As Paul traveled with his men to Damascus, what suddenly appeared all around them? A bright light.

Lower Go Sign and Hold up Stop Sign. The light was so bright—what did Saul do? He stopped!

Yes, Saul STOPPED and fell to the ground. Why? Saul was blinded by the light and could not see.

Even though Saul could not see with his eyes, he could still hear with his ears. What did he hear? Saul heard a voice.

Whose voice did he hear? It was Jesus!

What did Jesus say? Jesus asked Saul why he was fighting against Him.

Lower Stop Sign and Hold up Slow Sign. Saul probably rode a horse on the long trip to Damascus but now he could not see. So how did he finish the trip? His men helped him.

The men with Saul held his hands and slowly led him to Damascus.

Lower Slow Sign and Hold up Stop Sign. Saul Stopped at a house in Damascus. What did he do there? He prayed.

How long did he pray? Three days.

Could he see anything yet? No!

Lower Stop Sign and Hold up Go Sign. Jesus told a man to GO to Saul. What was the man’s name? Ananias.

What did Jesus tell Ananias to do? Pray for Saul.

Ananias was a Christian, and he knew Saul had come to hurt the Christians. So did he obey or not? Ananias obeyed God.

Ananias went to Saul and prayed for him. What happened after Ananias prayed? Saul could see again.

Yes, Saul he see again and he was filled with the Holy Spirit!

Saul was baptized in water, and he wanted to GO out right away to tell others about Jesus!

Saul was changed from a prideful man to a humble man after meeting Jesus. He became a great missionary and preacher of God’s Word. He even wrote some books in the Bible that we can read today to know more about Jesus!

Object to Go

Hold up the crayon or image. Lead a discussion with the comments and questions below:

● What color is this crayon? Pink.

● Raise your hand if your favorite color is pink. Children respond.

● What are some things you’ve seen that are pink? A flower, flamingo, clothes, icing, bubble gum, etc.

● In the next video, someone is wearing pink clothing and it is causing a problem! Can you guess who is wearing pink? Do you think it is Professor Fern, Miss Tina, Widget, Rodney, or Professor Bumble? Children guess.

● Let’s watch the video to see if someone guessed correctly!

Leave the question unanswered until it is revealed in the video.

Play Video (Wonder Widget)

Wonder Widget

● Hold up the crayon. Raise your hand if you guessed that Widget wore pink. Children Respond.

● Who is the newest member of the group? Wonder Widget.

● What did Widget say when she entered the Gizmo Cave (catchphrase)? Let’s get wonderful!

● Why was Super-Gizmo not happy with Wonder Widget? Her costume colors didn’t match his.

● Being humble is considering others more important than yourselves. Do you think Super-Gizmo was being humble? No, he thought he was more important than the others.

● When Super-Gizmo told them to start their own team, how did the other robots feel? Sad, disappointed.

● What emergency did Professor Quantum need the superheroes to help with? A fire downtown.

● When Professor Quantum heard that the other superheroes quit, what did he ask Super-Gizmo to do? Stop thinking about costumes and put others first.

Optional Object Talk

Make one copy each of the two Superhero Pages.

Make one copy of the Prideful Gizmo Page.

Cut out the individual characters. Do not cut off the base bands on the sides of each character. The bands must stay attached so the figure stands upright.

Bend the base bands of each character behind it to form a ring. Tape the two bands together. The character should now stand upright on the base ring.

Place the Large Prideful Gizmo character face down on the table, out of view.

Place Super-Gizmo (normal size) near the front of the table. Gizmo was the first bot Superhero.

Add Super Gear-O beside Super-Gizmo Then, Super Gear-O joined Super-Gizmo.

Add Rocket Rig beside Super Gear-O. Next came Rocket Rig to the team.

Each superhero wore the same orange and blue costume colors that Super-Gizmo wore.

All was well until a new member was added to the team.

Do you remember the name of the new superhero? Wonder Widget.

Add Wonder Widget beside Super-Gizmo. Then what happened that made Super-Gizmo angry?

Wonder Widget’s costume was colored pink and green.

Yes, Super-Gizmo, who usually is very humble, was suddenly full of pride.

Remove (small) Super-Gizmo and add (large) Prideful Gizmo.

He told Professor Quantum that it was “MY team and MY colors.” He also complained that no one would know that he was the leader now.

Move (large) Prideful Gizmo to the front of the table. Position the other three superheroes in a line behind Gizmo so they are hidden.

Did Gizmo put other people first or did he think what he wanted was most important? He put himself first and thought what he wanted was more important.

Would you say that Super-Gizmo is being humble or prideful now? Prideful!

Professor Quantum reminded Gizmo that he started the super team to help people.

Gizmo forgot that and was filled with pride. He wanted to be a big shot and what he wanted was more important than what other people might want. Then what happened? Children answer. 

Gizmo admitted that he was wrong. He humbled himself and asked the other superheroes to forgive him. Did they forgive him? Yes!

Remove (large) Prideful Gizmo and place face down on the table. Add back (small) Super-Gizmo. Place the other three superheroes beside him again.

Now, everyone looks humble and happy again!

God loves us all the same. In His eyes, nobody is more important than anyone else. God’s Son, Jesus, came to earth not to be a great leader but to be a humble servant to all. He cared about the needs of people and put them first over His own needs. He chose to die on the cross to save us from our sins. To be humble is to have the heart of Jesus to love and to serve others.

Verse to GO!

Philippians 2:3 (CEV)

Children will practice the second part of the verse today.

Today’s Bible memory verse is Philippians 2:3. Say the memory verse slowly.

“Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves.”

The last time we met we learned the first part of the verse together. Let’s do that now.

Stand facing the children and lead them in to repeat phrases and imitate the motions.

Don’t be jealous or proud … place one hand palm up in front of you (stop) and shake head no.

But be humble… lower head, place hands together in prayer.

Repeat slowly one more time.

Now, let’s learn the second part of the verse.

And consider others … Move arms out wide in front of you as if to welcome or embrace people.

More important than yourselves. Point to self.

Repeat slowly one more time.

Good! Now let’s put both parts together and slowly say the verse with the motions.

Don’t be jealous or proud … place one hand palm up in front of you (stop) and shake head no.

But be humble… lower head, place hands together and look down at your hands in a prayerful, peaceful manner. 

But be humble… lower head, place hands together in prayer.

And consider others … Move arms out wide in front of you as if to welcome or embrace people.

More important than yourselves. Point to self.

Rig was usually a humble robot. But, after he became a star, he became prideful and thought he was more important than other people. The good news is that Rig had a change of heart and remembered that his teammates were just as important as he was.

Make sure children know what it means to be jealous and to consider something.

To be jealous means to feel unhappy or angry because someone has something you want.

To consider means to carefully think about something.

Note: Preschool children may not be able to memorize the entire verse. They may simply repeat it with you. Be sure all children understand its meaning.

Prayer Time

Close the lesson in a simple prayer to encourage the children to consider others.

For example: Dear God, help us to be humble and never think that we are more important than others. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Music Time

Humble More

The lyrics and chords for this song are found in Resources.

Play the video song “Humble More.” Encourage children to create their own motions or imitate the motions of Miss Tina and the Quantum Lab crew. At the end of the chorus and verses, lead the children in counting on their fingers and shouting:

“One, two, three, four, brag less, humble more!”

Singing Activity

If You’re Humble And You Know It

Lead the children in singing a song to the tune of “If You’re Happy And You Know It, Clap Your Hands” [Public Domain], but with the words and motions below:

Vs. 1

If you’re humble, God will know it; clap your hands. [Clap, Clap]

If you’re humble, God will know it; clap your hands. [Clap, Clap]

If you’re humble, God will know it, and your life should really show it,

If you’re humble, God will know it; clap your hands. [Clap, Clap]

Vs. 2

If you’re humble, God will know it; jump for joy. [Jump, Jump]

If you’re humble, God will know it; jump for joy. [Jump, Jump]

If you’re humble, God will know it, and your life should really show it,

If you’re humble, God will know it; jump for joy. [Jump, Jump]

Vs. 3

If you’re humble, God will know it; say AMEN! [“Amen!”]

If you’re humble, God will know it; say AMEN! [“Amen!”]

If you’re humble, God will know it, and your life should really show it,

If you’re humble, God will know it; say AMEN! [“Amen!”]

Vs. 4

If you’re humble, God will know it; do all three [Clap, Clap, Jump, Jump, “Amen!”].

If you’re humble, God will know it; do all three [Clap, Clap, Jump, Jump, “Amen!”].

If you’re humble, God will know it, and your life should really show it,

If you’re humble, God will know it; do all three [Clap, Clap, Jump, Jump, “Amen!”].

Humble More

Singing Activity

Singing Activity

   When We’re Humble We Have Joy

Lead the children in singing a song about the joy of being humble to the tune of “Did You Ever See a Lassie” [Public Domain]. Any word followed by a dash should be held an extra beat.

When we’re humble, we have joy—,

Have joy—, Have joy—.

When we’re humble we have joy—

And serve others first.

For “J” is for Jesus

The “O” is for Others

And then last of all is “Y--” and that’s for Yourself!

Take-Home Coloring Page

As children color, review today’s lesson using the discussion points below:

● Can you remember the new costume colors of each superhero? Children respond.

● Can you name the newest Superhero? Wonder Widget.

● What color was her costume? Pink and green.

● Raise your hand to name one of the four superheroes. Super-Gizmo, Mighty Gear-O, Wonder Widget, Rocket Rig.

Game

Game

Play the Optional Opening Game “You First!” at the beginning of this lesson.

Play the game “Humble Hiding” from Lesson 1.

Play the game “Where is Miss Tina?” from Lesson 2. 

Play the game “Stop and Go!” from Lesson 3. 

Play the game “Humble-FULL, Not Prideful” from Lesson 4.