Thank you for volunteering to serve as a student leader in the preteen KIDS’ Club class this Sunday, September 21! Please complete the expectations & preparation document below before Saturday at 5 PM. The form must be completed by then for you to serve as a student leader on Sunday.

PREPARE

Genesis 32:26-28

Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.”

But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

The man asked him, “What is your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

——

God’s faithfulness in Jacob’s life didn’t always take the form we might expect. In Genesis 32:26–28, Jacob wrestled with God all night. God took on the form of a man, and Jacob struggled and struggled until the man asked Jacob to let him go. Jacob refused, saying he wouldn’t let go until the man blessed him. Then the man asked his name, and after Jacob responded, the man changed Jacob’s name to Israel.

Why did God ask for Jacob’s name right after Jacob said he wouldn’t let God go until He blessed him? Some biblical scholars suggest this question parallels the one his father Isaac asked him many years before. When Isaac asked Jacob for his name, he said, “I am Esau.” Then he used his brother’s name to steal the blessing.

In today’s passage, God came to redeem Jacob of what his name symbolized. (Remember, Jacob means “deceiver.”) Obviously, God knew Jacob’s name. Perhaps God asked him for his name because He wanted to know if Jacob knew it. When Jacob answered, “My name is Jacob,” he acknowledged his true self.

After many years of running away, Jacob finally faced his sins, repented, and was changed by God. God even changed Jacob’s name to Israel, which means “one who strives with God.” God’s plan for Jacob’s life was greater than Jacob could imagine. God prevailed in Jacob’s life, blessed him, and made him into a great nation. God is faithful to complete what He begins.RESPOND & PRAY

Spend time praying, asking the Holy Spirit to speak to you through the narrative the children will hear. Think of times God provided for you in your own life. Have you ever faced a lack of money for the month and watched God provide the funds just in time? Have you ever experienced extreme discouragement and felt God heal your heart?

Pray that God will use you to bring the kids into times of experiencing Him, both at church and at home with their families. Pray that your kids and parents will be transformed by their encounters with God, that they will know Him better, and that they will respond to Him with faith and obedience. If possible, find a time to even pray with the parents for their roles as spiritual leaders.

RESPOND

It seems like just about every major character in the Bible has had a “desert experience”—a time when God worked through trying circumstances to form and shape him into the kind of person He wanted him to be. Moses had his 40 years in the desert. Joseph was sold into slavery and spent time in jail. David spent his time in the wilderness being chased by Saul. Even Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness, being tempted by Satan.

Jacob also had his time of testing and trials. He was gone from his home for 20 years—all the while being deceived by his uncle Laban. God eventually blessed him and brought him home, but that time away served to mature and grow him into the person God wanted him to be.

Think back over your life and what sorts of desert experiences you have gone through. What have been the most significant times when God has used life experiences to really get your attention? What was God teaching you through these times? How has God shown Himself to be faithful?

As you prepare this week to serve God and serve the children you will lead, meditate on how God has been faithful in your life. Then let this gratitude for God’s goodness flow over into the lesson you will teach.

PRAY

Spend a few moments praying over the class, praying for children by name. Pray they will grow in their wonder for God and His Story. Pray they will always know church is a place where they will be welcomed & safe. Pray for the safety of our children at church this Sunday.

Pray for visitors who will come to visit UABC this week.

Ask God to use you to share His love with the students & their parents this Sunday.

Ask God to fill you with His Spirit as you teach this Sunday. As Him to teach you something new about Him as you lead the students this Sunday. Make sure your heart is right with God before you come to serve on Sunday morning.

Pray God’s Spirit will awaken hearts and minds to the truth of who God is & His love for us through the lesson this week.