Curriculum
In the Potter's Hands
Memory Verse:
“Yet You, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.” Isaiah 64:8
Bible Background
What Kids Will Learn
God is all powerful. His entire creation, mountains, water, and fire, obey Him. We can respect Him for creating us just as a potter creates a pot of clay.
Scripture Summary
Isaiah was not only a prophet but also an advocate for the faithful few who remained. He pleaded with God to show mercy to those who were following Him and to harm their adversaries. In this pleading, Isaiah lists (in chapters 63 and 64) how God had shown mercy and compassion in the past.
The Almighty Creator God is infinitely powerful, and His appearance is so overwhelming. The Israelites experienced this on Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:16-19) in the form of thunder, earthquake, and smoke.
Especially when compared to God’s greatness and power, our lives seem to be nothing more than “rags.” Because of our sin, we are unclean, and we are not worthy to approach God. When we attempt to approach God only based on our successes or “good” conduct, God says there is no comparison to His perfect righteousness.
While in this passage it might seem that God rejects those who come in faith or attempt to please Him, it really is a passage for someone who is resistant to repentance.
Why Is This Important
While God holds all of the power of the entire world, He is also love. His love is even more loving because of His power. And His power is all that more powerful because He loves us so deeply. He created everything – including you and me
Teacher Devotion
Scripture
No Two Exactly Alike
“I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:14)
As I was growing up, my mom loved dishes. She still does to this day. While she’s the clear expert, I have come to appreciate dishes and how they are made. Sure, there are plates and bowls hot off of an assembly line that function just fine. Each piece is exactly the same as the one before it.
And then, there’s pottery. Hand-crafted pottery is tenderly formed and smoothed and then carefully loaded into a kiln to fire the glaze. I tend to smile when I read the “warning” label on pottery: “Due to the nature and hand-crafted qualities of reactive glaze, no two pieces are exactly alike and will exhibit unique variations in color and pattern.”
Our God is such a craftsman; He’s a potter. He takes such care in forming us, smoothing us, and even letting us heat up in a kiln in order for us to gain His strength. There’s not one person who looks, acts, and thinks just like you do. God is just too creative for that. No two are alike, and we exhibit unique variations in color and pattern.
Ponder your answers to these questions:
- Do you feel most like you’re in the forming, smoothing, or firing stage of pottery?
- How has it been easy or difficult to trust God, the potter, this week?
Prayer
Dear God, thank You for Your creativity. It’s a beautiful thing to witness You focusing Your power and creativity as You create and form each of us. Please help me trust You as the potter. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Bible Memory Verse
You’ll Need: Heart shapes, Markers, Tape, Poster board, Timer
Get Ready: Write a word from today’s Bible memory verse on each heart shape and hide them around the room.
“Yet You, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, You are the potter; we are all the work of Your hand.” Isaiah 64:8
- Explain to the kids you’re going to time them and see how long it takes them to find the hearts around the room and tape them to the posterboard in order.
- After the heart shapes have been placed in order on the poster board, invite the class to read the Bible memory verse aloud several times.
ASK:
- How might we be the work of God’s hands?
- What kinds of things do you think God does in our hearts?
SAY: Today we’re learning God is the potter and we’re the clay.
We are all a work of His hands. He molds our hearts so we can be more like Jesus. The best way He can shape us into all He wants us to be is to keep a soft heart before Him.
Interactive Bible Experience
You’ll Need: Bibles - one per child, “In the Potter’s Hands” handouts one per child, Pens or pencils one per child
- Invite each child to turn in their Bibles to Isaiah 64:8.
- Give each child a handout.
- Have kids read the passage several times and list in the table what it says about who God is and who we are in the columns.
- As a class, review what they found.
ASK:
- Tell about a way we might try to be the potter ourselves.
- Why is it better to let God be the potter for us?
SAY: Today we’re reminded that God our Father is our potter.
We are the clay. We are a work of His hands. Sometimes we get the idea that we’re in charge, but this is a great reminder that God the Father is in charge. He created us. We’re a work of His hands.
Snack
Heart Snacks
You’ll Need: Homemade Rice Krispie treats one per child, Icing, Sprinkles, Plates - one per child, Napkins - one per child
Get Ready: Ahead of time, prepare Rice Krispie treats using extra marshmallows so they’re easier for kids to mold.
SAY: Think about how God might be molding you right now.
Maybe He is teaching you to have patience with your brother or sister. Or maybe He is helping you be courageous to do something new. Mold your Rice Krispie treat into something simple that reminds you of what you were thinking of right now.
- Give each child a Rice Krispie treat.
- Explain that these treats have sat as squares for a while, so they could be hard to form.
- Allow time. As kids work, invite them to share what they’re molding if they want to.
- Invite kids to add icing and sprinkles to their Rice Krispie treats.
ASK:
- Explain whether it was easy or hard to form your treat.
- What are some reasons we might resist being formed by God?
SAY: These treats were more difficult to shape now than right after they were made. When we don’t trust God or we just want our own way, our hearts can be like this. But when we place our hearts in His hands, God can mold us to be more like Him.
Game
Creation Guessing Game
You’ll Need: Modeling clay some for each child
- Divide the class into two teams, and pick a team to go first.
- Give each child a lump of clay.
- Secretly give the starting team something to work together to create (i.e. a house, a rainbow, a beach, a night sky, etc.). They have 5 minutes to work together using all of their clay to create what you told them to make.
- While the first team is creating, the second team is watching closely to see what they’re creating.
- Each minute in the 5 minutes, the second team gets to guess. They get 1 point if they guess it right after five minutes and they get 1 additional point for each minute earlier they guess it right.
- After round one, switch teams and play again.
- Repeat, as time allows.
SAY: You all were amazing creators. Now think about how great, perfect, and wonderful God is. (Pause.) How much more can He create something amazing in us? We keep soft hearts before God so He can mold and shape us into His wonderful plan for our lives.
Craft
Potter’s Bowl
You’ll Need: Air Dry Clay some for each child, Toothpicks - one per child, Plates - one per child
To make the “potter’s bowls” have kids follow these steps:
- Give each child a paper plate, a lump of air dry clay, and a tooth- pick.
- Instruct kids to take their clay and form it into a bowl. They can be creative and form their bowl into any kind of bowl they want.
- After their bowls are formed, invite kids to use their toothpicks to carve this saying into the side of the bowl: “God is the potter. I am the clay.”
- Explain to kids that you’ll leave their creations out to dry for the week. When they come back, their bowls will be complete and ready to take home.
ASK:
- Think about if your clay started telling you how it wanted to be formed—what does that make you think about when we try to tell God what to do?
SAY: Today you were the creator of your bowl. You were the potter. We need to be reminded that with God we are not in charge. He is the potter, and we are the clay.
Prayer
Handy Prayers
You’ll Need: Markers - one per child, Construction paper - one per child, Scissors - one per child, Tape, Newsprint
Get Ready: Before class, write “We are all a work of Your hand” along the top of a large piece of newsprint. Hang the paper on the wall.
- Give each child a piece of construction paper and a marker.
- Instruct kids to each trace their own hand, and then cut out the tracing.
- On their hand prints, invite them to write a prayer request they have for themselves.
SAY: Today we’re reminded that God made us and we’re works of His hands. That means He knows us better than anyone. So He knows the request you wrote on your handprint. Hold your handprint in your hand and talk to your Creator about that request.
Allow time for kids to pray over their handprint prayer requests. Then invite them to tape their handprints to the piece of newsprint on the wall. If their prayer requests are private, they can tape their handprint blank side out or make additional handprints to symbolize what they wrote on their first handprints.
PRAY: Dear God, You are the potter; we are just the clay. We are a work of Your hand and You made us. Because You know and love us, we know we can bring any request we have to You today. Please hear our prayers and open our eyes to how You answer them and show us Yourself. In Jesus’ name, amen.
