Scripture: Numbers 10-11
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn God organized the Israeiltes to journey towards the Promised Land.
- Students will learn God gives us other people to help do His work.
- Students will learn sometimes God will give us what we want, even though we don’t need it, in order to teach us important lessons.
- Students will collect fresh food for those who are hungry.
Guiding Question: How does God teach us lessons in life?
Materials: Foods based on needs from the organization
Procedure: Remind students that God had just delivered the people from horrible slavery. Discuss what the people should have been grateful for instead of complaining. Ask the students how all of the complaining might have affected Moses and Aaron and their leadership. What about Joshua, who was in training to become the next leader? What about the people themselves? Ask the students what things they complain and whine about a lot. What should they be grateful for instead? Explain that sometimes God wants to teach us important lessons so sometimes he gives us something he knows we need to deal with or grow through in order to learn a lesson. God will provide us with the provisions and people we need in order to get through tough times and we should be grateful for that.
Introduce the service project. Tell the students that there are many people who are hungry and in need of food. Explain that if we were hungry, we may easily complain and get upset instead of being grateful for what we have. Often times those who have little can be the most grateful because they are grateful for the things that they do have and that God has provided for them. Have the students collect fresh fruits, vegetables and other perishable foods and donate them to people who need help with food (make sure to contact food banks, churches, and/or families to make sure they have people who will eat it quickly or have ways to keep it safe until others can eat).
Additional Questions: How can students support their community?
Supplemental Activity: Have students create a food garden and grow fresh food to donate to food banks.