Naaman Follows Directions

You’ll Need: Disposable latex- free gloves - five per small group, A permanent marker, Bibles - one per child

Get Ready: Blow up the gloves to make glove balloons. Make a set of five balloon gloves per small group with the following words
from the verse:

1. Balloon 1 - So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times
2. Balloon 2 - as the man of God had told him.
3. Balloon 3 - And his flesh was restored
4. Balloon 4 - and became clean like that of a young boy.
5. Balloon 5 - 2 Kings 5:14

“So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.” 2 Kings 5:14

Lead kids in these steps:

• Divide the class into small groups.
• Mix all the balloon gloves in the middle of the room.
• Have kids open their Bibles to 2 Kings 5:14.
• Read the verse aloud several times for the kids and then ask them to study the verse.
• Ask teams to close their Bibles and on the word “go,” instruct teams to try to find the five hand balloons they need and put them in order of today’s verse.
• When all teams have their hand balloons in order, invite the class to read the verse aloud together.

ASK:

• What do you think about the directions Naaman was given?
• What do you think of Naaman’s reaction?

SAY: Elisha gave instructions for Naaman to follow, but they were not what Naaman expected. Like that, God doesn’t always give us instructions that we expect, but our reaction should still be to follow Him. God’s plan is simple. Just follow His directions in the Bible.

You’ll Need: A crown, Dot stickers, Blue construction paper, An envelope, A garbage bag

Get Ready: Cut holes in the top and sides of the garbage bag to make head and arm holes.

Assign the following parts to kids, making sure every child has a part:

• Naaman (Cover this person with the dot stickers and give him or her an envelope for the letter.)
• Naaman’s master
• Naaman’s servant girl
• King of Israel (This person should wear the crown and the precut gar- bage bag.)
• Elisha
• The Jordan River (Several kids will wave pieces of blue construction paper.)
• Naaman’s servants

SAY: I’ll read what happened in the Bible, and you’ll act out your part.

(Naaman stands proudly in front of the group.) Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Syria. He was a great man in the sight of his master and respected, because through him the Lord had given victory to Syria. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.

(Naaman’s servant girl comes up next to Naaman.) Now bands of raiders from Syria had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

(Naaman walks over to his master and mouths a conversation.) Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. “By all means, go,” the king of Syria replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” (Naaman walks off to the king and hands him a letter.) So Naaman left, taking plenty of money and clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

(The King pretends to read the letter and then tears off his garbage bag.) As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, “Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!”

(Elisha pretends to send a message to the king that then goes to Naaman.) When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

(Naaman acts angry.) But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name

of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.

(The servants stand around Naaman and point their finger to try to talk him into following the directions.) Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!”

(Naaman walks by the Jordan River where kids are waving their blue construction paper. Naaman walks by them seven times and each time they take off some of his spots so by the seventh time the spots are all gone.) So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

Everyone take a bow. You did amazing! This lesson gives us a great example of how important it is to follow God’s plan.

ASK:

• Tell about a time instructions helped you complete something.
• Why do you think God’s instructions are most important of all?

SAY: God’s directions are important because He made us; so He knows what’s best for us. And following His plan is simple. We just follow what He says in His Word, the Bible.

Pudding Treats

You’ll Need: Pudding cups - one per child, Toppings (such as small candies, whipped cream, and cherries), Spoons - one per child, Napkins, Individually wrapped candy

Follow these steps to make pudding treats for snack:

• Give each child a pudding cup and a spoon.
• Invite kids to add whatever toppings they would like to their pudding cups.
• Explain that they must not eat any part of their snacks until you give them the word to eat.
• Wait for all children to make their pudding cups and respond very slowly with the command to eat their snacks. (You want to make it very difficult for kids to wait and eat.)
• Enjoy.

ASK:

• What was it like to follow the directions to wait?
• Why are God’s directions good even if they involve waiting?

SAY: My instructions to wait until you were given the word to eat could have been hard for you if you were hungry or if you couldn’t wait to eat those candies. Following directions was important. Because if you did follow my instructions, you get a piece of candy to take home with you. (Give out the candy.) It was worth it to follow my instructions, wasn’t it? And it’s worth it to follow God’s plan always.

Leprosy Tag

You’ll Need: Four packets of hand wipes, Four buckets

Follow these steps to play the game:

• Define the playing area for the kids.
• Place a bucket with hand wipes on each of the four sides of the playing area.
• Choose a child to be the tagger.
• Once each child has been tagged, they have to go to a bucket on the side of the playing area and retrieve a hand wipe. They have to wipe down both hands four times before they re-enter the playing area.
• Keep playing until the tagger has tagged everyone.
• Pick a new tagger and play another round.

SAY: Naaman was angry and thought it was crazy to go wash seven times in the Jordan. Had he not eventually followed the instruction, he would have missed out on being healed. I wonder what we miss out on when we choose not to obey God.

Pudding Finger Painting

You’ll Need: Large bowls of pudding, Large sheets of paper - one per child, Hand wipes

To make the Pudding Finger Paintings, have kids follow these steps:

• Give each child a large sheet of paper.
• Have kids draw a picture of today’s lesson with Naaman using only their fingers and pudding.
• Give kids time to make their paintings and then set them to the side to dry.
• After the kids are finished painting, invite the class to walk around and see all the pudding paintings.

SAY: When someone had leprosy, that person was an outcast. People didn’t want to have anything to do with them because they thought they were unclean and didn’t want to catch their disease. So when Naaman got word that he could be healed, I am sure it might have sounded silly that he just needed to wash in the Jordan seven times. But Elisha was a man of God, and since he was giving the instructions, they were important to follow. God’s plan is simple. Just follow God’s plan.

Prayers for Healing

You’ll Need: A large sheet of butcher paper, Markers

Get Ready: Before class, gather the names of people in your church who are sick and in need of prayer. Write their names far apart on a large sheet of butcher paper.

• Explain to the kids that the names on the butcher paper are names of people in their church who are sick.
• Invite kids to go place a hand on a name and pray for that person.
• After they pray, instruct kids to trace their handprint near that person’s name on the paper.

PRAY: Dear God, we pray for all of those we know and love who are sick and in need of Your healing. We ask You to be a comfort and a peace to them, and make them better for Your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.