1. Tech Que: “Emoji Madness” title graphic

2. Hello everyone and welcome back to another amazing week of “Emoji Madness!” During “Emoji Madness,” we’re learning all about the Book of Psalms. Did you know that Psalms is the longest book in the Bible? It’s true! It has 150 different psalms, or prayers/songs. But here’s something else that’s cool—not only does Psalms have the most songs and poems in it, it has both the shortest and longest poems in the Bible.

3. The shortest is Psalm 117. Guess how many verses it has
The shortest is Psalm Guess how many verses it has. (Take a few guesses.) It only has 2 tiny verses. The longest one is Psalm Guess how long it is. (Take a few guesses.) It’s 176 verses long! Whoa—that is a LONG poem!

4. But here’s one of the coolest things about the Book of Psalms—it’s filled with all kinds of emotions. Happy, sad, scared or mad—the Book of Psalms has them all. Each week during “Emoji Madness,” we’re going to look at a different emotion and see what the Book of Psalms has to say about it. Are you ready to see which emotion we’re going to look at today? (Kids respond.) Drum roll please! (Prompt kids to create a drumroll along with the “Emoji Reveal” video.)

5. Tech Que: Play “Emoji Reveal: Joy” video Oh joy
Tech Que: Play “Emoji Reveal: Joy” video Oh joy! This week we’ll be looking at joy! There are all kinds of things that can bring us joy. Things like puppies, or eating ice cream, or riding a bike, or puppies that eat ice cream while riding a bike! (Seriously— that would bring me a lot of joy to see that!) But the Book of Psalms tells us about something that can give us more joy than anything in the world. Let’s look at our Psalm for today and see what it is.

6. Tech Que: “Your covenant laws are your gift to me forever
Tech Que: “Your covenant laws are your gift to me forever. They fill my heart with joy.” Psalm 119:111 (NIrV) Let’s dive deeper into that Psalm by looking at a story from another book of the Bible—the Book of Nehemiah. I’m going to need some help, though.

7. Choose 3 kids to play the following Bible story characters: Israelites, Ezra, and Levites. Place the appropriate emoji box over each kid’s head with side #1 facing forward.

8. (Stand behind “Israelites
(Stand behind “Israelites.”) In the Old Testament, many of the Israelites turned away from God and did wicked things. Because of that, God allowed for the wall around Jerusalem to be destroyed and for the people of Israel to be taken away as slaves. But many years later, the Israelites turned back to God, so God allowed them to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall.

9. (Stand behind “Ezra.”) While the wall was being rebuilt, God chose a man named Ezra for a special job—He wanted Ezra to teach the people how to worship Him again. Ezra was a scribe. That means he made copies of God’s Word so that more people could read it. They didn’t have printers back then, so he had to copy every word by hand. Ezra was also a priest. That means he was in charge of teaching people how to follow God.

10. (Turn Ezra box to side #2: idea. ) One day, God gave Ezra an idea
(Turn Ezra box to side #2: idea.) One day, God gave Ezra an idea. Ezra gathered all of the Israelites together in one place. When everyone was ready, Ezra opened the Book of the Law—that’s what they called the first 5 books of the Bible. When the book was opened, everyone stood up to show how much they respected God’s Word

11. Then, for 6 hours, from sunrise to lunchtime, Ezra read the Book of the Law to all of the Israelites, and the Israelites listened carefully to every single word. (Turn Israelite box to side #2: confused.) When Ezra had finally finished reading, some of the people were confused. They didn’t understand some of the things they heard in God’s Word. (Stand behind Levite.) So the Levites, who were priests like Ezra, stepped in to help out.

12. They explained to all of the people what everything meant
They explained to all of the people what everything meant. (Turn Israelite box to side #3: sad.) When the people finally understood, they began to realize how much they had made God upset with them, so they began to cry. (Turn the Levite box to side #2: stop.) But when the Levites saw what was happening, they said “Stop! Today is a holy day, a day of celebration, so don’t be sad!”

13. (Turn the Israelite box to side #4: joy
(Turn the Israelite box to side #4: joy.) Then, just like that, a huge feast broke out through the entire city. The people of Israel ate and drank and celebrated with a TON of joy. The party lasted for 8 days and on each day, Ezra read more of God’s Word to the people. As the people listened to God’s Word, they turned away from their sin and drew closer to God. And because of that, they felt more joy than they had ever felt before.

14. Tech Que: “Big Bible Story Questions” graphic At the end of the Bible story have the kids turn briefly to their small groups and discuss the following questions: For Younger Kids: What was your favorite part of this story? Why do you think the people of Israel felt so much joy? After a few minutes, draw their attention back to the teaching area.

15. Tech Que: “Emoji Madness” title graphic Isn’t that incredible
Tech Que: “Emoji Madness” title graphic Isn’t that incredible?! At first, the people in today’s story were down in the dumps, but by the end, they were filled with joy! What do you think caused that? (Take answers.) You’re right—it’s God’s Word! When the Israelites read God’s Word, it showed them the right way to live and it made them realize that they weren’t living that way. It showed them their sins!

16. At first that filled them with sadness, but then something happened— the people turned away from their sins. They asked for forgiveness and went back to living God’s way. And when they did that, their hearts overflowed with joy. And do you know what? The same thing happens when we read God’s Word. Let me show you what I’m talking about.

17. Ahead of time, combine hydrogen peroxide, food coloring, and liquid dish soap in a 2-liter bottle. In a separate small cup, combine warm water and yeast. See “Set up Instructions” above for more details.

18. (Hold up the 2-liter bottle with a heart on it
(Hold up the 2-liter bottle with a heart on it.) Imagine this bottle is your heart and the liquid inside of it is joy. Is that a lot of joy? (Kids respond.) No—not really. This is about how much joy you would feel if you got a good grade on a test or found a dollar shoved in the seat cushion. Things like that only give you a

19. little bit of joy and it doesn’t last for very long
little bit of joy and it doesn’t last for very long. (Set the bottle down on a baking pan. Pick up the small cup with water and yeast.) Now imagine this is God’s Word—the Bible. The Bible shows us the right way to live. But better than that, it shows us what to do when we mess up. It shows us how much God loves us. It shows us how Jesus died for us and wants to forgive our sins.

20. It shows us how we can live forever with Him in heaven
It shows us how we can live forever with Him in heaven. And when we read it, look what happens. (Using a funnel, pour the cup of water and yeast into the 2-liter bottle. Remove the funnel. The chemicals will react and the bottle will overflow with foam.) When we fill our lives with God’s Word, it causes our hearts to overflow with joy.

21. In fact, that’s what our Psalm for today tells us
In fact, that’s what our Psalm for today tells us. Let’s look at it one more time. (Encourage kids to open their Bibles to Psalm 119:111. When ready, choose a kid to read the verse aloud or read it aloud yourself.) Tech Que: “Your covenant laws are a gift to me forever. They fill my heart with joy.” Psalm 119:111

22. “Covenant laws” is a fancy way of saying “God’s Word
“Covenant laws” is a fancy way of saying “God’s Word.” This Psalm says that God’s Word is a gift to us. It fills our hearts with joy. But you have to read it if you want it to fill you with joy. In our story, Ezra read God’s Word to the people every day. We should do the same thing.

23. We should make time every single day to open the Bible and see what it says. And there’s something else we should do too! When the people in today’s story listened to the Bible, did they understand it right away? (Kids respond.) No—some of it confused them at first. Do you ever feel that way when you read the Bible? (Kids respond.) Me too! But the people didn’t stay confused because they weren’t alone!

24. The Levites explained to them what the Bible meant
The Levites explained to them what the Bible meant. When you read the Bible, you don’t have to do it alone. Read it with your parents and ask them questions if there’s something that confuses you. Or ask a leader here at church if you don’t understand something. (Pick up the 2-liter bottle.) If you do that every day, your heart will look like this bottle—it will be overflowing with joy!

25. Tech Que: “Emoji Madness” title graphic