AGE GROUP: elementary (ages 6-11)
TIME REQUIRED: 45 minutes

This is lesson 30 of 42 in our study on the Attributes of God called “Can you tell me what God is like?” Visit the series index to view all the lessons and get more ideas for using this curriculum in your children’s ministry.

---

LESSON 30: GOD IS THE ROCK

• Key Verse: “For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God?” 2 Samuel 22:32
• Teaching Passage: The wise & foolish builders- Matthew 7:24-27
• Supporting Texts: 2 Samuel 22:32, Psalm 62:2, 2 Samuel 22:2

---

SUPPLIES NEEDED:

Bibles, previous attribute of God posters, a large piece of paper with the words GOD IS  THE ROCK written on it, key verse (2 Samuel 22:32) printed on a piece of paper, blank paper and markers or colored pencils for each child in the group.

LESSON OUTLINE:

REVIEW PREVIOUS LESSONS: 

Ask one of the kids in the group to remind you what you’re learning this year. Remind them that each week we’ll be looking into the Bible to answer the question… “Can you tell me what God is like?” and will be learning one of the many truths about God that we see in His Word.

Take a few minutes to review the attributes you’ve previously learned. Have kids stand in a line. Whisper an attribute of God in the first person’s ear. They should say the attribute outloud. The next person should do the motion and the 3rd person should define or explain the attribute. Those 3 people should then move to the back of the line so you can start all over again. If someone doesn’t know the motion or definition, they can pass or someone can give them a clue. Play for 5 minutes or so.

• God is Almighty=  He has absolute power or is all powerful
• God is the Alpha and Omega= He is the beginning and the end, the first and the last
• God is Awesome = He inspires awe and amazement
• God is Compassionate = He shows a deep concern for His people & a desire to meet their needs
  
• God is the Deliverer = He is the rescuer or savior
  
• God is Exalted = He is noble, elevated and lifted up
  
• God is Faithful = He is reliable, trustworthy, true to His Word & keeps His promises
  
• God Forgives = He grants pardon and cancels the debt of sin
  
• God is Glorious = He is full of glory (praise, honor & distinction)
• God is Good = morally excellent, virtuous or righteous
• God is Gracious = merciful, benevolent, kind & compassionate
• God Guides His People= He leads, accompanies, assists and gives direction/ guidance
• God Heals = make healthy & whole & free from ailments
• God is Holy = He is sinless, perfect and set apart
• God is our Hope = He is the One in whom our expectations are centered
• Jesus is Immanuel = God with Us
• God is Judge = He is the One who rules over and passes judgement on others
  
• God is Just = He is the One who is fair and does what is right
  
• God is  King of kings & Lord of lords  = He is The One who rules the rulers
  
• Jesus is the Lamb without blemish  = He is the perfect sacrifice for sin
  
• God is Love = God has tender and caring affection for His people
  
• God is Majestic  = God is stately, kingly, grand & raised up
  
• God is Merciful = God is full of compassion, pity, and undeserved grace & love for another
  
• God is Omnipotent =  He is almighty or infinite in power
  
• God is Omnipresent = He is everywhere all the time
  
• God is Omniscient = He knows everything
  
• God is One = the Only God
  
• God Protects His People = He defends, guards, covers & shields His people
  
• God is Righteous = He is always right & He always does what is right

TEACH- GOD IS THE ROCK:

Ask the kids to tell you what they think of when they hear the word ROCK. Have them name other words that come to mind when they think of a rock. Talk about how a rock is hard and strong and unchanging and if it’s big enough it can become a shelter, etc.

Then, explain that this morning we’re talking about the truth that God is our rock. Ask if anyone can think of any stories from the Bible that might illustrate our God is our Rock – try to help them think of times when God showed that He is strong, or when God was a refuge for His people to hide in, etc.

Introduce the story from Matthew 7:24-27 and tell it in your own words. Some of the truths to discuss are:

• In Matthew 5-7 we find one of the longest sessions of Jesus‘ teaching recorded in the Bible. This part of the Bible is called the Sermon on the Mount.
  
• Jesus and His disciples were out among people and Jesus had the people sit down and He taught them. He taught about the law and how He came to fulfill the law, He taught about murder and divorce and taking oaths and prayer and fasting and all kinds of things.
• Then, Jesus told them a story about 2 builders, and how if you follow Jesus and do what He says you’ll be like the wise builder in the story. This is how the story went.
• There were 2 builders who went to build houses.
• One builder (turns out to be the foolish one), builds his house on sand. His house had no foundation. It looked good from the outside, but it wasn’t strong and wasn’t built on anything that would last.
• The other builder (turns out he’s the wise one), builds his house on a rock.
• When the storm came, the house built on the sand fell down and was destroyed, but the one built on the rock stayed strong.
• In this story, Jesus was teaching us that our lives need to be built on a strong and solid foundation and that He is that rock. If we build our lives on Jesus, that means that everything we do will be based on Him. He will be our strength.

DEFINE AND REMEMBER:

To help the kids remember this truth about God, take a few minutes to define the attribute.

This week we’re talking about the truth that God is the Rock. When we think of a rock we think of something that is strong and unchanging and if it’s a big enough rock something that we can hide behind for protection. Ask kids to tell you what they think it would be like to hide behind a big, strong rock and what they think the rock could protect them from.

THE ROCK = THE FIRM FOUNDATION, FIRM, NEVER SHAKING

Since motions & actions help kids remember, choose an action for ROCK. A good motion might be to squat down to form a rock with your body.

MEMORY VERSE:

SAY: “This morning we’re talking about the truth that God is the rock. Our key verse for the week is 2 Samuel 22:32. This verse reminds us that not only is God a strong refuge for His people, but that He is THE strong refuge for His people. There is no one else we can run to in times of trouble. Only God can give us the protection we truly need.”

Read the memory verse (2 Samuel 22:32) a few times together and do the motion for rock.

CROSS CONNECTION:

In the story that Jesus told about the wise and foolish builders, he was teaching us something very important about salvation. Probably, when these two houses were built and before the storms came, they both looked good on the outside and no one would know that one of them had a good foundation and one didn’t. If we take this comparison to people we could say that there were 2 people who both went to church and both of them tried to do good things and both of them tried not to sin too much, but one of them was just doing these things trying to look good and trying to be strong on their own. Through this story, Jesus was reminding us that we can’t do it on our own (Ephesians 2:8-9), we can’t be good enough (Romans 3:23) and that we need to build our lives on Jesus. Jesus needs to be the foundation of our lives. We need to trust and believe that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins. We need to turn away (repent) from our sin and turn to Jesus as our salvation That’s what it means to build your life on the rock!

REVIEW:

Give each child a blank piece of paper provide markers or colored pencils. Encourage them to write the word the rock somewhere on the paper and then write or draw something to help them remember this attribute of God. They could write the definition for the rock or the memory verse or they could illustrate the parable that Jesus told about the wise and foolish builders. After a few minutes, bring the group back together and give kids time to share what they have drawn or written.

PRAYER:

Pray that the kids in the group would come to know God more and more each week through this study and that they would remember that all of us are sinners who need to be saved and that they would turn to this good God for salvation. Pray that children in the class would run to God as the rock of their salvation and find their refuge in Him alone instead of the things of the world.