A Note to Parents and Teachers
This Week of Prayer talks about worship. For children to receive a spiritual blessing from worship, they need to understand that worship isn't a spectator sport. Worship shows an appreciation of God as well as giving us an awareness of His presence in our lives. Whether at church or at home, the more children become involved in worship the more enjoyment and blessing they will receive. That is the reason these lessons include a lot of participation. Not all of the activities will be age-appropriate to your child or group; feel free to adapt them up or down as you see fit. Special instructions for the teacher or parent will be in italics in the text of the lessons.

We will use a scrapbook for most of the activities. You can purchase a scrapbook for each child (a glue stick or scotch tape works well with these). Or you can use construction paper (especially good if you use wet glue) and punch and tie them together when the children have completed them.

Owning a scrapbook to show others gives your child a built-in method for witnessing. It also serves as a reminder of the things the child has learned and appreciates about God. We have included suggestions for illustrating several praise songs in the lessons. Children will enjoy using their scrapbooks as songbooks with pictures they have chosen themselves to help them remember the words.

Theme Song for Each Day
We will begin with I Sing the Mighty Power of God, (Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, No. 88) as the first Worship Scrapbook activity, have the children illustrate each line of the song to aid them in recalling the words. For younger children, you may provide pictures to cut and paste or color. Use one page for each line. Older children may enjoy dividing one page into six parts and drawing their illustrations in order.

I sing the mighty power of God that made the mountains rise (mountains)
That spread the flowing seas abroad (ocean)
And built the lofty skies. (sky with clouds)
I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day (sun)
The moon shines full at His command (moon)
And all the stars obey. (stars)

SABBATH
We Worship the King!
What if the president or prime minister of your country came to your town to visit your church and afterwards came to your home for lunch. What would it be like? What would you wear? How would you act? How would you prepare? (Allow time for children to respond.)

You would certainly be in a flurry of activity! Yet the most important Ruler in the universe has agreed to come to our town and our church—not just today but every Sabbath! Our God is the King of the universe; King above all kings, President above all presidents, Premier above all premiers. That is why we come together each Sabbath. We come to worship Him. What does it mean to worship? Worship means to love, admire, and treat with reverence. How do we treat God with love, admiration, and reverence? How do we show respect for God? (Allow time for children to respond.) We will be talking about this all week.

Worship in Action
1. Start the Worship Scrapbook. On the first page have the children write "My Worship Scrapbook" (giving help as needed). They may decorate the cover later.

2. Have them illustrate the first theme song, I Sing the Mighty Power of God, as suggested above.

3. Provide magazines/coloring books/stickers for children to select items from for which they thank God.

Preschoolers: Have them make a scrapbook "thankful page" with a collage of things they are thankful for.

Older children: They may enjoy drawing their own appreciated items.

4. Direct the following discussion: Why do we worship God? (Encourage responses.) Most of our reasons can be divided into three types: we worship God for who He is, what He has done, and what He is going to do. Draw three columns and title them "Who," "Things Done," and Things to Do." Help the older children think of several ideas to place in each column. Add this page to the Worship Scrapbook.

SUNDAY
Worship with Praise
Our family went to the beach for the weekend. I sat in my wheelchair on a balcony where I could watch the boys and their daddy playing in the sand. They spent all afternoon building an elaborate sand castle. They made it as tall as they were, with a deep moat around it which they filled with water and little sand crabs. They packed the wet sand firmly so that when it dried it became strong and didn't crumble in the wind. Then they moved on down the beach looking for seaweed and shells, and hoping to find some starfish. I delighted in listening to the people who stopped to gaze at the castle.

"Look at this!" one would say.

"I've never seen a sand castle this big!"

"I wonder how they made this!"

"Look at all the intricate towers and turrets!"

"This moat is deep enough to wade in!"

"This castle is bigger than me!"

"Whoever made this must be really smart!"

I wanted to lean over the balcony and shout "My sons made that!"

I wanted to shout even louder to the people who walked right by, busy complaining that they had nothing to do and nothing interesting to see.

I wanted to shout, "You silly people! You have this whole wonderful beach in front of you. You have healthy bodies that can run around and enjoy the sand and the water! You have this beautiful castle right here to look at. If you would just stop complaining and look around you, you could have so much fun!"

I began to wonder if God ever feels like that. Now Jesus is not God's Son in the same way my boy is my son, but still the thought came to me: Does He look down from beyond the clouds and want to shout, "My Son made that! He made all those beautiful things around you!" Or, "If you would stop complaining and notice all the things my Son made for you, you could have so much fun and be so much happier!"

I believe God is delighted when people notice and appreciate what He has made.

Worship in Action
1. Go for a worship walk, taking turns pointing out things that God's Son made.

2. Preschoolers: Have the children make a sand castle in a sandbox, or build a castle from blocks or other toys. Hug each child and say, "I am so proud of the things you made! God is proud of the things His Son Jesus made too. Let's thank Him for some of them." Encourage each child to think of something Jesus made. Help them pray a thankful prayer.

3. Older children: Draw a castle. Rub glue stick or paint thinly with white glue and then sprinkle sand over the picture. Let dry, then shake excess sand off. While the glue is drying, make a page of something you think God is especially proud of His Son for making. Add to the Worship Scrapbook.

MONDAY
Worship with Imitation
Michael is a baby. He wants to be like his daddy. He tries to eat with a spoon like his dad eats. He spills most of his food before the spoon gets to his mouth. He tries to enjoy the newspaper like dad does. He ends up tearing it and chewing on the edges. He tries to walk like dad, but he falls on his little padded seat. Michael's dad doesn't get mad at him for not being able to be like him. He loves it when Michael tries. He encourages him and helps him get back up and try again. Dad is proud of baby Michael.

Michael's older brother Donnie can do a lot more than Michael can. He can feed himself like dad. He can put on his own clothes like dad. But Donnie can't read yet. He sits by his dad with the newspaper and colors and cuts out the pictures. He can't drive yet either, but he likes to sit in his booster seat with his own steering wheel and pretend he's driving. He often honks his little horn at other drivers for his daddy. Donnie's dad does not get angry because Donnie can't read or drive yet. He is delighted that Donnie loves him and tries to be like him.

We love God, and we try to be like Him. Sometimes we get discouraged when we don't feel like we are doing it very well. But God doesn't get angry or upset when we make mistakes or fall. He is delighted when we try to be like Him. He knows that the longer we love Him the more we will grow to be like Him.

Worship in Action
1. Preschoolers: Have them play "What would Jesus Do?" Give several examples such as: a. Jesus is visiting a family who has a pet kitten. Would Jesus pull its tail or pet it gently?

b. Jesus is visiting a friend who has a toy He wants to play with. Would Jesus grab it away or wait for His turn?

2. Older Children: Use age-appropriate scenarios and ask what they think Jesus would do. If their answer isn't reasonable, ask why they believe as they do. Rather than telling them you think they are wrong, calmly discuss their rationale with them.

3. Sing I Would Be Like Jesus. (Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, No. 311.)
Non-readers need to learn only the chorus. Have them illustrate the song in the Worship Scrapbook so they can use their illustration to remember the words.

Be like Jesus, this my song, (sticker of Jesus and music notes)
In the home and in the throng (picture of a house and group of stick people)
Be like Jesus all day long, (sticker of Jesus and a clock)
I would be like Jesus. (sticker of Jesus)

4. God is our Creator. Worship Him by imitating His creativity. When we create, we are imitating God. Have the children use modeling clay to make an object that reminds them of something God made or something they like about God.

Imagine God creating Adam out of clay and then breathing the breath of life into him so that Adam became a living man. God is awesome!

TUESDAY
Worship with Trust
Shaylin is almost two years old. She visits our house to play. We allow Shaylin to play anywhere in the kitchen or the living room. But if she wants to play outside, she needs someone to watch her. It's not because we don't want her to have fun; it's because some things outside can be dangerous to her. Shaylin is too little to understand which things could hurt her.

Our dog Dorothy loves Shaylin. She plays with her in the house. When Shaylin goes outside, Dorothy does too. One day Shaylin was playing outside the kitchen door. I sat in the doorway watching her, and Dorothy lay beside her. Shaylin got up and wandered over to the steps leading up to our water tub. She climbed up onto the first step. Dorothy barked.

"No, Shaylin!" I said. "Come back." Shaylin climbed to the second step. Dorothy grabbed Shaylin's dress firmly in her teeth and pulled her back down onto the deck. Shaylin tried to climb up again, and Dorothy pulled her back down again and then licked her face to let her know that she wasn't mad at her. Shaylin trusted Dorothy and looked for something else to play with.

We don't always know when danger is around either, but God does. He sends His angels to protect us and keep us from many things that could hurt us. We worship Him by trusting Him and thanking Him for taking care of us, even for the times we didn't know we were in danger. During scary times when we feel afraid, God wants us to remember that He will always be with us.

Worship in Action
1. Antiphonal reading: Repeat the following reading until the children have learned the bold print line

"I will trust in God for He knows best."
In the morning I will pray and say,
I will trust in God for He knows best.
As I play and do my chores
I will trust in God for He knows best.
As I go to school
I will trust in God for He knows best.
When I am afraid
I will trust in God for He knows best.
When I am not aware of any danger at all
I will trust in God for He knows best.
All my life I will feel safe and confident because
I will trust in God for He knows best.

2. Preschoolers: Play peek-a-boo trust game. Have a child hide under a blanket. Say, "Sometimes you hide under a blanket. I can't see you, but peek-a-boo! (Pull up the blanket.) God can see you wherever you are hiding, and He will help me take care of you." Continue to play using other hiding places.

3. Older children: Have them make a picture for their scrapbooks of a situation where they trust God to take care of them.

WEDNESDAY
Worship with Thanks
Wamml lives at our house. Wamml is an African grey parrot. He does not talk as much as my other parrots, but he communicates with noises. He has a special whistle he always makes when Daddy comes home from work. He makes a rude noise when he doesn't like what is happening. He uses a special noise to call the dog and another one that sounds just like the neighbor's cat. Wamml is a polite bird and always remembers to say thank you. He makes a clicking noise to show his appreciation, and he never forgets. He clicks "thank you" when he gets his bowl of parrot chow and when we give him fresh water. He clicks "thank you" when Dad scratches his neck or when the neighbor children give him peanut snacks. He clicks "thank you" to Mom when she gives him orange slices or apple treats. Everyone wants to do more for him because he's so appreciative instead of being rude, shy, or frightened or just ignoring them (like some of my other birds do).

It also makes God happy when we say thank you. He gives us so many good things, and He likes to hear us tell Him how much we like them and how much we appreciate Him.

Worship in Action
1. Preschoolers: Have magazines available for the children to cut out pictures. Have them paste pictures of things they are thankful for in their Worship Scrapbooks.

2. Older Children: Have them write in their Worship Scrapbooks things they are especially thankful for and illustrate with drawings or cutout pictures.

3. Sing the song "God Is So Good" and include it in the Worship Scrapbook. Let each person add a new verse, telling how good God has been to them. Add that to the scrapbook.

God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good.
He's so good to me.

Examples of added verses:

He gave us Spot (the dog). He gave us Spot. . . .
He gives us food. He gives us food. . . .
He helped my knee. He helped my knee. . . .

THURSDAY
Worship with Obedience
Mr. Blue is another pet that lives at Sally's house. Mr. Blue is a big green parrot with a little blue spot above his cere. (A bird's cere is his nose, just above his beak where his two little nostrils are for breathing.)

Sally always laughs when she thinks about his name. She thinks he should be Mr. Green! Mr. Blue was ten years old when he came to live with Sally--too late to change his name. Even though Mr. Blue was homesick at first, he came to love Sally. When she talks to him he blinks his eyes at her and puts his head to one side. He takes peanuts and orange slices gently from her hand. He takes treats from other family members too, but only one person has his total loyalty and obedience. When Sally puts out her hand and says, "Mr. Blue, step up!" he gently steps up onto her finger. When she holds out her arm and says, "Fly, Mr. Blue!" he flaps back to his cage.

It isn't hard for Mr. Blue to be obedient when Sally plays with him. It's hard when he wants to do something else. Mr. Blue has his own cage. It's never locked. He spends most of his time sitting on the top or exploring, but he doesn't like anybody else sitting on the cage.

Each bird has its own spot. Wamml has his cage, the parakeets share a cage, the finches have their cage with two little nests to hide in, and Miss Cinnamon has a tree branch she perches on. We have several climbing branches for any of the birds to play on, plus a little fountain. Mr. Blue likes to take a bath in the fountain. But he doesn't like anyone else to use it. Since nobody's cage is locked, sometimes the other birds will try to play in the water or visit the branch Mr. Blue is playing on. Mr. Blue opens his beak wide and makes a loud squawk as he flaps toward the offending bird.

Sally calls, "No, Mr. Blue! Be nice!" Mr. Blue knows what that means. He sits back down and puts his beak down on his chest. Sometimes he goes back to his cage to sit. It's easy for him to be nice to Miss Cinnamon. She is a little grey cockatiel and Mr. Blue's best friend. He won't be so nice to Wamml and Beako, or the parakeets. But when Sally tells him to be nice, he stops. Not because he likes the other birds, but because he loves Sally.

Being obedient is Mr. Blue's way of showing Sally he loves her. Being obedient is one way we can worship God. He even asks us to love Him this way in the Bible. Read John 15:16. Sometimes it's easy to obey Him. Sometimes it's harder. Sometimes people make us angry, and we don't feel like being kind to them. When this happens, we obey Jesus. And He helps us treat them kindly. It's not because we suddenly like them, but because we love Jesus.

Worship in Action
1. Sing: "Trust and Obey" (Seventh-day Adventist Hymnal, No. 590). Have younger children learn only the chorus. Add it to the Worship Scrapbook.

Trust and obey,
For there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus
But to trust and obey.

2. Preschoolers: Play the game "I like God Because." Each participant takes a turn telling a reason why they like God. Keep going around the circle until everyone has had a turn. If children keep adding reasons, go around as many times as necessary.

3. Older Children: Play the following version of "I like God Because:" Sit in a circle. The first person says, "I like God because . . ." and adds a reason.

The second person says "I like God because . . ." and gives the first reason and then adds his/her own. Each participant lists all the reasons already given, then adds another one. The game continues until participants can't remember the reasons in order.

4. Traffic light obedience game: Make a traffic light with construction paper or draw and color one. (Green light at the top, yellow in the middle and red at the bottom).

When we are riding in the car and we see a traffic light, we check to see what color the light is. Then we know what we are supposed to do, and we obey it. We know that not obeying the traffic light could cause us to get hurt and hurt other people too.

God's word is like a traffic light for us. It tells us what we can and cannot do to live the best, safest, and happiest life. Sometimes the Bible tells us yes (with a green light). Sometimes it tells us no (red light). Sometimes it does not say specifically, and then we just need to proceed carefully (yellow light).

Choose which light the Bible gives us for each of the situations below: (Have older children give the rationale for the light choice.)

a. I like my friend's new matchbox car. Should I slip it into my pocket when it's time to go home? (red - thou shalt not steal)

b. Should we get a new puppy this month? (yellow)

c. I want to do something really special for my mom to show her how much I love her. (green)

d. My brother makes me so mad I just want to hit him! (red)

e. I know it's time for worship but I would rather play Nintendo. (red)

f. I really enjoy eating fruit. Apples are my favorite! (green)

Add more scenarios of your own. Make pages of red light, yellow light and green light activities by cutting and pasting or drawing pictures.

FRIDAY
Worship with Love
Puff is an iguana. Iguanas are a type of green lizard. They start out small but keep growing as long as they live. Puff started out small too, but he is almost five feet long now. Puff is Sally's pet. Puff and Wamml live in the same room. Sometimes Wamml visits Puff's carpet-covered climbing tree and sometimes Puff visits Wamml's cage and climbing branch. Visiting is okay, but they both know they are not supposed to hurt each other, and they are not supposed to eat each other's food. Bruce and Sally made these rules because they love Puff and Wamml and don't want either of them to get hurt. Sometimes Puff and Wamml don't understand that, and then they are naughty and break the rules.

Wamml eats parrot food made of seeds and dried fruits and vegetables. He likes orange slices and any other kind of fruit. When Bruce gives apples to Wamml, he cuts them in big chunks. Wamml likes to hold them in his claws and nibble them a little bit at a time with his big beak. Puff eats mostly greens. He loves salads of any kind as long as it's green and has no salad dressing on it. He likes grated carrots and some kinds of fruit. He loves apples and bananas. But oranges give him tummy troubles. When Sally gives fruit to Puff, she cuts it very small. This is because Puff swallows his food whole.

One day while visiting Wamml's cage, Puff saw Wamml's apple pieces and wanted one. He did not understand that Wamml's apple pieces were too big for him. With a big gulp he grabbed a piece. Suddenly Puff became terrified. He tried to swallow, but he couldn't. He tried to breathe, but he couldn't. The apple piece got stuck in his throat! He started scrambling frantically. Sally recognized the problem. She knew that Puff's dilemma resulted from his selfishness, and that he had been naughty stealing Wamml's fruit. She also knew that she loved Puff, and that if she didn't help him he would die. She also knew that handling a panicking iguana could be dangerous. Sally did not wait for Puff to be sorry for what he had done, nor did she worry about getting hurt. She jumped up from her chair and scooped Puff into her arms. Puff scratched and bit but Sally hung on and pulled the fruit out of his throat. Her arms and face bled, but Puff could breathe again.

Puff seems to remember what Sally did. He crawls up in her chair and sits on her lap. Sometimes he sits on the back of her chair and rest his chin on top of her head. When Sally got sick he even crawled up onto her bed and lay there to keep her company. Puff didn't spend a lot of time feeling terrible about how he had hurt the one who had saved him. He just loved her.

Jesus has scars from the time he came to earth to save us. He didn't wait to see if we were sorry. He came to save us before you and I were even born. He just knew we needed to be saved, and that without Him we would die. Jesus does not want us to spend lots of time feeling bad about how cruelly He people here on earth treated him. He doesn't want us to spend all our time feeling terrible about the things we do that hurt Him now. He wants us to love Him. Just like Puff, we will never forget that He loved us so much that He came to save us even though it hurt Him a lot. And just like Puff, we will always love Him.

Worship in Action
Love Letters: The Bible is a love letter to us from God. He loves you. In John 3:16 He tells us about it. "God loved (add child's name) so much that He gave His one and only son. If (add child's name) believes in Him (add child's name) will not die but have eternal life."

Preschoolers:: In each Worship Scrapbook, write John 3:16. Also draw a heart and help children place a sticker of Jesus in the middle. Have children color and decorate this love letter to Jesus.

Older Children: Have them write and decorate John 3:16 in their scrapbooks. Then encourage them to write a private love letter to Jesus telling Him how they feel toward Him.

SABBATH
Worship with Time
Wamml is Bruce's pet parrot. Wamml loves to eat peanuts. He loves to chew on his parrot toys and swing on his knotted rope. But what Wamml loves the best is to be with Bruce and to play with him. As soon as Bruce comes home, Wamml gives his special "Bruce is home" whistle. He bobs his head up and down and flaps his wings. Bruce puts his arm out and Wamml hops onto his hand and runs up to his shoulder where he hopes to stay perched for the rest of the day.

Bruce does lots of things because he loves Wamml. He works so he has money to buy Wamml's parrot chow. He brings him fruit snacks. (Wamml's favorite is orange slices.) Whenever the family has ruby red pink grapefruit juice for breakfast, Bruce always saves the last swallow for Wamml. All of these are good things, but Wamml still wants more than anything else to just be with Bruce. They sing songs together, and Wamml will bob his head up and down to the music. Bruce gives Wamml's head little scratches, and then Wamml scratches Bruce's head with his beak. They play catch with his wiffle ball until Wamml gets tired of that game and eats the ball. Sometimes they just sit together and relax and watch TV. (Wamml likes animal shows unless they have snakes, big cats or veterinarians. Those scare him.)

We can do many things to show God that we love Him like being kind to others, giving our offerings at church, and being obedient. But God enjoys spending time with us the most. (The more we learn to love God, the more we will want to spend time with Him too!) God set aside a whole day for being together. It's the Sabbath. On Sabbath we go to Sabbath school, we sing to God, talk to Him, tell stories about Him, and sometimes just spend quiet time together. Other times we go out and look at the neat things God has made for us and tell Him how much we appreciate them. What is your favorite thing to do with God on Sabbath? (Allow time for children to respond.)

Worship in Action
1. Talk about things God created. If weather permits, go for a nature walk and bring back interesting leaves, twigs, and other nature things from outside. Glue them into the Worship Scrapbook.

2. Some things from your nature walk, such as ferns, will not keep and will rot if glued in the scrapbook. Try placing them carefully, then use a small square of screen and a toothbrush. Hold the screen about 3 inches or 8 centimeters above the fern which has been placed on the paper. Dip the toothbrush into paint (washable paint is the best for children to use) and gently brush it across the screen around the edges of the fern. We call this spatter painting. Carefully remove the fern and you will see an attractive fern outline on the page. This process is messy and best done outside or with lots of newspaper or plastic table cloth underneath to cover surfaces.

3. If weather is too wet to go out, learn about stars. Cut out tin foil stars and place them on dark-colored construction paper. Let the younger children make a star picture. The older children will enjoy learning simple constellations. (You can find pictures of these in encyclopedias and astronomy books. Perhaps the Pathfinder leader or another adult in the church enjoys studying the stars and can help you identify some constellations in the night sky.) Make several constellation pictures, and then use them as flash cards to see who can remember the names.

4. Imagine you are in heaven this afternoon. God offers to take you anywhere in the universe and explain anything to you. What do you tell Him you want to learn about?

5. In the new earth, God will have a room for you in His palace. You can go there anytime, and especially on Sabbaths when we all worship together with Him. Suppose that God asks you to design the home you would like to live in during the week or at times when you are not staying with Him in His palace. What would it be like? (Ideas could include under water homes, tree houses, floating hot air balloon residences, etc.) Draw your idea in your Worship Scrapbook.

Week of Prayer Closing
Review the completed Worship Scrapbooks with the children, sing the songs, and help them summarize what they have learned this week about worshiping God.

_________________________
Sally Pierson Dillon is a freelance writer living in New Market, Virginia, with her husband, Bruce, sons, Donnie and Michael, and all their pets.