FOR PRESCHOOL AND YOUNG ELEMENTARY CHILDREN:

Ask your child what his or her favorite food is. Where do you usually get that food? Imagine with them what it would be like if instead of rain, God sent that food down from the sky for them each day.

It’s silly to think about the sky raining down pizza, ice cream, or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but there is a story in the Bible that talks about a time when God sent food down like rain from heaven for some people who really needed it.

Read Exodus 15:22-25 and Exodus 16:1-5,12-14. What were the Israelites complaining about?

The Israelites were a group of people from Old Testament times who God called to be his special people. For many, many years the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, which meant they worked very hard for the Egyptian people and were not free to live their own lives.
God used Moses and some very big miracles to set the Israelites free from Egypt, but they were confused when God led them into a different place (“the wilderness”) where they couldn’t find water or food. They were tired, thirsty, and hungry.

What three things did God provide for the Israelites to meet their needs in the wilderness? (water, bread, quail) How did God give them the water? How did he give them the food?

When God’s people were thirsty, God turned gross water into water that tasted good by having Moses throw a piece of wood into the water. That’s not how we get our water today, is it?
When the people complained about being hungry, God sent birds (quails) for them to eat, and he sent a special type of bread down from heaven. That’s definitely not how we get our food!
Each day God sent them new food because he wanted them to trust him to take care of them. Because a lot of difficult things happened in their lives, they had a hard time believing God would take care of them, and he really wanted them to know that he would, no matter what.

What are some of the good things God has given you?

Talk about different ways God provides for your family and has met your needs recently, including through the gift of Jesus. Share with your child how God sent Jesus to take care of our biggest need—forgiving us for our sin. Because God sent his son to die on the cross for our sins, we know we can trust him to take care of our other needs, too.

Review these songs we sing in Sunday School and Catechism worship:

Is there more than one true God? No, there is only one true God.
Where is God? God is everywhere. Can you see God? No I cannot see God, but he always sees me.
Does God know all things? Yes, nothing can be hidden from God.
“My God Is So Big”
“All Creatures of Our God and King”

FOR OLDER ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL CHILDREN:

If your child used the listening guide to follow along with the sermon, take a few minutes to talk through his or her notes.

What is something you’ve complained about in the last week? Did the complaining work, did it get you what you wanted or make you feel better?

Read Exodus 15:22–16:36. Discuss what made this time in the wilderness especially hard for the Israelites.

The Israelites spent years in slavery in Egypt, until God used Moses, Pharaoh, the ten plagues, and the miraculous parting of the Red Sea to set them free. We can understand their frustration when they realized their freedom from Egypt led not to the promised land but to the harsh climate of the wilderness. They were tired, hungry, thirsty, and confused about where God was leading them and what his plan was.

How do we know God heard the Israelites’ complaints about not having food and water?

Exodus 15:25; 16:4; and 16:12 tell us that God heard the complaints of the Israelites, and that he had a plan to meet their needs in the wilderness. They just had to trust his plan, and not their own.

What do we learn about God from this part of Israel’s story?

Over and over again God showed Israel that he loves them, takes care of them, and they can trust him. This is the same story we read repeated throughout the Old Testament and into the New Testament. God is faithful, and he provides for the needs of his children. The difficult times in our lives often give us the best reminders that we are not in control of our lives; God is in control, and his plans are much better than ours.

Read Exodus 16:21. God not only gave the Israelites enough bread to survive, he gave them more than enough to be full and satisfied. But God made sure they only had enough for each day so that they were daily reminded of their reliance on him.

Parents, share an example from your life of a time when you have seen God do the same, a time when God gave you something in abundance, or a time when he was faithful to give you exactly what you needed to get you through a tough season.

What is the greatest need we have (even greater than water and food)? Did you know that God has already met that need for you? What does he want you to do in response?

In the sermon, Matt mentioned how the greatest need in our lives is not for physical food or water, but for Jesus the Bread of Life. We need the forgiveness of our sins that he offers us so that we can spend eternity living with him. We can trust God will get us through the difficulties of this life and provide for our physical needs because through the death and resurrection of Jesus, he has taken care of the greatest need we have.