Topic:

Moses

Aim

To help pupils understand that you don’t have to be ‘a star’ to be a leader.

Things you’ll need

A flipchart

Bible base

• Exodus 2, 3; 4:10-16
• 1 Samuel 16:7

Content

1 Tell the pupils that you are going to play ‘fantasy football’. Ask them the following questions, writing their suggestions up on the OHP as you go.

• Choose four or five players who you would pick to play in the first eleven for England. Why did you pick those players?
• What qualities would you look for in your team members?
• Who would you choose for captain? Why?

Now ask the children to imagine that their team has a big match coming up. Is it important to know who the opposition are? How would it help to know what the opposition is like?

2 Talk about Moses. Explain that he was adopted. (Be sensitive. Remember that some of the children listening might not be living with their natural parents. Moses was given up out of love – his parents believed this would be best for him.)

Explain that he was brought up as a prince – Pharaoh’s son. He would have had the best in education and lived in comfort. Then it was discovered that really he was a Jew (the Jews were slaves to the Egyptians). From having everything and being highly respected as a member of Pharaoh’s family – a very important person – he went to being ‘a nobody’.

Tell the children about these aspects of Moses:

• he was the son of a slave;
• he was a murderer;
• he couldn’t speak very well.

Now refer back to the qualities the children said they would look for in a team captain. Tell the children that this is the man God chose to be his team captain.

3 Talk about Moses as the captain of God’s team. He knew the opposition very well. After all, he had been brought up in Pharaoh’s home. He knew all about the powerful Egyptians. Point out that Moses must have had a lot of courage. He had to ask the man whose home he had lived in to let all the Jews go. He knew the power of the Egyptians and how important the Jewish slaves were to them.

4 Ask the children which ‘team’ they think was most likely to win: the disgraced, stuttering, son of a slave, Moses, and his team of slave labourers? Or, the powerful ruler, Pharaoh, and his strong team, the mighty Egyptians?

5 Say that the children might think that Pharaoh and the Egyptians would win easily. But Moses and his team had something special. Their team manager was God. And Moses had something else – a friend who worked alongside him. Talk about how Aaron, Moses’ brother, spoke for him, because Moses didn’t feel he could speak to Pharaoh himself.

Application

A Christian viewpoint

1 Talk about how you don’t have to be ‘a star’ to speak up for what is right, or to be brave enough to do what is right.

2 Talk about how sometimes it takes courage to believe in God and have faith in him, when others don’t.

For everyone

Encourage the children, like Moses, to stand up for what is right – even when it’s very hard or frightening to do so. Sometimes it helps to find a friend who will support you. Can they think of some times when they might need to stand up for what is right?

Response

1 Ask the children to think about leaders of the nation or local leaders. Ask them for suggestions (eg the prime minister, the police, their headteacher). Write their suggestions up on the flipchart. Lead the children in a prayer for those who are struggling to stand up for right, even though it might be hard.

2 Pray for people in leadership (like those listed on the flipchart).

3 Ask God for his help to be brave enough to stand up for what is right, even when others don’t.