Introduction

This is a two week series. It was designed to be done outdoors on the Zoo van. The purpose of this set of lessons is to present the children with a challenge. They have listened to ten to twelve lessons over the course of the summer. The gospel message was presented regularly and clearly, we told the children that they could accept Christ at anytime. It was left as an open invitation. In this series we will stress the fact that now is the time. Today is the day of salvation, since the future is uncertain. In these lessons the theme is Emergency 911.

The first week will be centered around fire stations and the second week will focus on the hospital. All of the puppets will be dressed accordingly. Safety will be dealt with in a small portion of the program.

Lesson 1 - Fire Station

In lesson one we will share that Jesus came to rescue us from sin. It will be paralleled with a rescue from a fire. In both cases people are saved from a bad situation and their lives will be different. An emphasis will be placed on the fact that both circumstances are urgent. The time to be saved is now.

Goals

• to teach the kids that Jesus can make their lives different. He can save them from sin.
• to emphasize that Jesus loves them.

Opening

In this lesson the stage was decorated with a town sign. It said "Fox Hollow". This is the town where all of our puppet friends live. Like most towns, Fox Hollow has a fire department. The remainder of the stage had a fire suit, ladder and a fire safety banner on it. This segment of the lesson was used to discuss fire safety. Ask the kids to tell you some fire safety rules.

Rules

It is very difficult to deal with a large group of kids. Some are always more agreeable than others. You will find that it is easy to make exceptions for these children. They make you want to stretch the rules. Resist the temptation. We all have favourites but it is important not to let the children know that. Consistency in rules and in treatment is essential. Treat all the children the same way.

Prayer

It is important to pray that the children will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Have volunteers who will pray for your program while it is in progress. Remember to pray that God will work through you and your ministry to change lives.

Singing

It might be an interesting change to have the puppet lead the singing. You could develop a puppet that comes back on a regular basis to lead the singing. The puppets would be interesting to watch during action songs. This might help to spice up your program.

Game 1 - Bucket Brigade

This is a bean bag relay race. Select four or more children for each team. Each team member receives a bucket. The object is for them to move as many bean bags from the back of the line to the front of the line in a certain time frame. One leader stands at the end of the line and places the bean bag in the bucket. The players must pour the bean bag into the next persons bucket without dropping it. If a bean bag is dropped then the bean bag must stay where it fell till the end of the game. At the end count the bean bags to see who is the winning side. If it is a hot afternoon and you are brave, try this relay with water and a measuring container.

Game 2 - Fire Fighters Dress Up

This relay race has the children dress up in Fire Fighters gear and run to a point and back where they remove the gear and hand it to the next person. Clothes could include a pair of large boots, heavy coat, fire hat, and a hose. When the children run make them yell "fire". If you have older children, set up stations or stunts that they have to perform.

Memory Verse

This memory verse will be written on a ladder. The ladder must be placed back in its proper order so that it can be of assistance to the fire fighter. Have the children sort it out and then learn it together. Use a puppet and a leader to help the children assemble the verse. The puppet is "CHET THE CHIEF", an older fireman who has an extremely nice manner and a lot of experience in fire fighting. He refers to that experience throughout the lesson. As well as teaching the memory work for the day, "Chet the Chief" also explains to the kids some basic safety rules regarding fire prevention as well as teaches them the local telephone number for the fire department. (example: 911)

The memory verse for the day is: "For Jesus came to seek and to save the lost" Luke 19:10. Most verses that we use at "The Zoo" are slightly altered from the "New International Version" or are direct quotations from "The Kid's Application Bible". When altering a verse it is never our intention to proof text, but to assist the child's understanding of the verse.

Leader: I would like to introduce to you a man who has been fighting fires for years. He is a good friend of mine and has made the trip all the way from his home town of Fox Hollow today to visit with us. Welcome Chet the Chief.

Chet: Nice to be here... (Fill in name of leader) I am glad that you invited me here to be with you. I understand that you are doing a little bit of fire safety today.

Leader: That is right chief.

Chet: Well, let me tell you, I've been a firefighter for a lot of years. My grand-daddy was a fire fighter, my daddy was a fire fighter, I am a fire fighter, and my son Junior is in training to be a firefighter. I sure have seen a lot of action over the years and let me tell you, I know how important fire safety is.

Leader: Do you have any fire safety tips for us today?

Chet: Well, I was listening to you all talk about fire safety earlier, you kids have a lot of great ideas. I can only think of one thing that you missed. Does anybody know the number you call for the "Fire Department"? (Allow for response) The number in Halifax is now 911. When should you call this number? (Allow for response), That is right, only in case of an emergency!

Leader: That is a very important number to know. It could save your life if there ever was a fire in your home. I know something else that could change your life too.

Chet: What is that?

Leader: I have a verse that was taken right out of the Bible. It is very important, it talks about a rescue.

Chet: I sure would like to hear that verse.

Leader: The Children and I will sort it out. Do you mind if we borrow this ladder.

Chet: Go ahead.

Leader: Thanks, we will sort the pieces of the verse out and will stick them in the spaces between the rungs of the ladder so they are easy to read.

Chet: Good idea.

Leader: (Pick volunteers to assist in placing the verse in the right order, once this is done, read the verse once out loud and then let the children join you a couple of times, use your finger as a guide to assist those with weaker reading skills, try it without the ladder to see how many kids have committed it do their short term memory)

Chet: Excuse me, I don't see how this verse has anything to do with a rescue.

Leader: It does, that verse talks about why Jesus came. It was his job to find and to save those who were lost.

Chet: Who are the lost? I'm not lost. I know how to get back to my fire station.

Leader: Not that kind of lost Chet, I'm talking about people who do not know God.

Chet: Oh that is different I see now. It is like a rescue. Jesus came to save all of us. Well thank you, you helped me understand the most important rescue of all.

Leader: Thanks for coming today Chief and teaching us some safety facts.

Chet: No problem, I'll see you guys later.

Story

Interaction between leader and puppets. One puppet is a Fire Fighter and the other is a person who was injured in a fire. He is dressed in bandages.

Leader: I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine. His name is Franklin. Franklin is a fireman. He has been to a lot of fires since he started his job. Sometimes it is really scary and he has to rescue people. He is going to tell you about one of his experiences now.

Franklin: Hi, I am so glad to be here today.

Leader: We are really glad too! I heard you were on the scene of a really big fire last month.

Franklin: Let me tell you about it. It was awful, I was sleeping in my bed when the Station 5 fire alarm went off. That meant that there was a fire somewhere in the town of Fox Hollow. I jumped up and put on my suit. We jumped into our truck and turned on the siren and lights and took off into the night. When we arrived at a huge apartment building we saw that the fire had spread to most of the building. We knew that we would have to work hard to contain the fire from spreading to other buildings around. Another fireperson handed me a hose and we began to work. I heard someone yelling. I looked up, and in a window close to the top of the building, I saw a person trapped, screaming for help. The chief saw it too and told a team of us to go into the building.

We put on our gear and went into the smoking building. It was terrible in there. The smoke was so thick that you could not see anything. We got to the floor that the person was on, we could hear him, but we could not see him. Finally, we found the person. He was hurt. So I picked him up and went back down the stairs and outside.

Leader: You are a real hero Franklin, you saved that person from the fire. That is amazing! Do you know that he is with us today and wants to let us know his side of the story.

(Puppet enters) Hi Alex, Are you feeling better?

Alex: Oh I'm doing much better. I just wanted to tell you guys about that fire. I was hurt pretty bad, but I'm going to be alright. I was in my apartment when I heard the fire alarm go off. I thought it was just someone having fun with the alarm, so I decided to ignore it. The next thing I knew, the fire had spread to my floor and into my apartment. I was so afraid. I should have just left the apartment. If it wasn't for Franklin, I don't know what would have happened. He saved my life. Thanks so much Franklin. (Hugs Franklin)

Leader: That is such an amazing story. Thank you both for sharing. You know kids, it is very important that we obey all the fire bells and alarms that we hear. It is very important that you and your family know the escape route out of your home in case of an emergency. You also should have a place to meet outside if there is ever a fire in your home so that your parents know if you are out. Remember when we talked to Chief Chet earlier today, and we heard that Jesus was like a fireman. Jesus came to save us from our situation, which was like a fire. The Bible tells us that we all have sinned. Sins are those things that we do or think that God disapproves of and "we all have sinned".

The Bible tells us also that "the price of sin, is death". If it wasn't for Jesus who came to save us all from sin, than we would be in trouble. Jesus said that we have to believe in Him, that means that we have to put our trust in Him and believe that He came to save us. You need to believe that He died on a cross to save us and that He rose from the grave. If we can do that, and live for Jesus, than we will be saved. Everyone has to make that choice for themselves, your parents or your friends can't make it for you. If you want to make that decision today, than find one of the Zoo Leaders after we are done and you can ask them any questions you have and they will pray with you and tell you how you can live for Jesus.

Copyright 1997, Bread of Life Ministries