with us…he is personal.  He died for our sins, he rose again, and he lives to have a relationship with us where he meets us…and changes us…over and over again.

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We’re going to look at five encounters with a personal God that changed the ones he met:

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Turn off all the lights and ask the kids why darkness is scary.

• When afraid – Daniel was thrown in a den of lions and what was his reaction? 3 times a day he got on his knees and prayed.  So his reaction was to kneel and pray.

Have you ever had an encounter with something scary? How did you react? What’s the scariest thing you can think of?   

Read John 3:16 and ask the kids what it means to them.

• When God speaks – God speaks to us through his Word and through others who love Him, but the Word is always the checkpoint.  God spoke to Moses in a burning bush and then told him to remove his sandals.  Moses’ reaction was fear and then he obeyed.

Have you ever heard God speak to you…through mom/dad, church, reading the bible, at school? What did He say?  God won’t ever tell you something contrary to his Word.

Ask one of the kids to do something impossible, like build a house. Why can’t they?

• Noah obeyed – Noah was told by God that rain, floods, were coming and he was to build a boat.  What would have happened had Noah disobeyed and said no to God?

What’s something you did to obey your parents, or did what you knew was right, and it was hard?

Ask the kids why hide and seek is so fun for little ones.  But is it fun if no one finds you?

• Adam and Eve hid – After they disobeyed God and ate from the forbidden tree, they hid from him, ashamed for their sin.  Little kids hide when they disobey, because they  know and they don’t want to be in trouble.

Have you ever hidden something you did wrong?  How did it feel to disobey?

Ask the kids if they’ve ever seen an angel.  Angels are messengers and oftentimes we don’t realize their presence.

• Mary had an angel visit her! – An angel came to Mary and told her she would be the mother of Jesus, the savior of the world.  What an incredible message she heard! And she listened and received it.

Did you know Jesus is calling everyone to know him, that he loves them, and he wants to be their Savior?

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God knows there will be times when we are afraid, there will be things he wants us to do, there will be instances where we disobey, and that we need to encounter him personally as our God, our Savior, our Lord.

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He’s a God that is personal, up close, a friend, a deliverer, and he forgives us every time we ask him to…he’s a good father, we can believe and see that he’s good, and we can then sense his presence daily…as we respond, too.  We might kneel and pray, raise our hands and sing or dance, obey what he tells us to do, even hide when we don’t do what is right…but he’s always there to hold us, love us, forgive us and bless us.  He’s a personal God.  And when we encounter him, we will react in some way…as He enters our world.