Breakfast with Jesus

Scripture: John 21: 1 – 17

Target Age Group:  1st through 6th grade

Welcome the children to the classroom and chat with them about their week as they gather around the table.

Pray and ask God to teach the children not just head knowledge, but also heart knowledge. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bible Lesson:
Have the children open their Bibles to John 21: 1 – 17.

Remind the children that in the last story Jesus had appeared to the disciples, including doubting Thomas.

(Read the story to the children because at this age some of the children do not read smoothly, which hinders comprehension for the whole class.)

Discussion:

• What were Peter, Thomas, James, John, and two other disciples doing in this story? Fishing
• Does it seem strange to you that they were fishing after having just seen Jesus risen from the dead?
• What would you have expected them to be doing? Telling other people about Jesus.
• Do you remember what Jesus told Peter that last time that they went fishing? I will make you fishers of men.
• But, here they were again, fishing for fish.
• What time of the day were they fishing? At night
• Did they catch any fish? No.
• In the morning, who did they see on the shore? Jesus
• Did they recognize him? Not at first.
• What did he ask them? “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”
• What did he tell them to do? To put their net on the other side of the boat.
• What happened when they did? They caught so many fish that they couldn’t pull the net in.
• When they went fishing the first time, he told them to do the same thing. And when they did, they caught so many fish that the nets were tearing. Do you think that they suddenly realized that the man on the shore was Jesus because they remembered that day?
• When John said, “It is the Lord!”, what did Peter do? He jumped into the water and swam into shore.
• He must have been very excited to see Jesus.
• When the other disciples got to shore, what did they see? A camp fire with fish on it and some bread.
• Jesus had made breakfast for them. Have you ever had fish and bread for breakfast?
• After breakfast, what did Jesus ask Peter? “Simon, son of John, Do you love me more than these?”
• What did Peter say? “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
• What did Jesus say to that? “Feed my lambs.”
• What do you think that Jesus meant by that? He wanted Peter to teach and care for his followers.
• How many times did Jesus ask Peter if he loved him? Three times.
• And every time Peter said, yes, what did Jesus ask Peter to do? To take care of his sheep.
• Remember the night that they arrested Jesus? How many times did Peter deny Jesus? Three times.
• I think that Peter must have felt very badly about that. But, Jesus gave Peter the chance to make it right three times, didn’t he.
• Do you think that Peter felt better after that? Yes.
• Do you know what Peter did then? He went out preaching and teaching others about Jesus.
• Do you love Jesus?
• How do you show someone that you love them? You do nice things for them. You help them. You do what they ask you to do. etc.
• What do you think that Jesus wants you to do for him? To tell others about him and to care for other christians.
• Let’s pray and thank Jesus for his patience with us when we sin. And let’s ask him to help us to take care of his sheep…

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During the remaining class time do activities that help to reinforce what the children have learned. Here are some suggestions…

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Memorize the verse.

Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” John 21:15

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Have the children use colors or pastels to draw their own vision of the story on a sketch pad page. Or have them color a color page related to the story.

Color page #1  from Bible Wise

Color page #2 from Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa

An excellent color page book is “Through-the-Bible Coloring Pages For Ages 4-8” by Janet Skiles.  The pages are reproducible.

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Share a video of this story:

Video #2 (song) from Mission Bible Class

Video #3 (A great idea for acting out the story)

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This is a cute craft from Auntie’s Bible Lessons

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This is a Christmas sheep craft, but it would also work great for this lesson. It’s from Adventures of a Mom.

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Bible Class Creations has some great ideas for having the children act out the story here  and here.

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Bible Fun for Kids has a craft, worksheet and other ideas to teach this lesson.  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Make the booklet “The Amazing Breakfast” from Lambsongs. (Scroll down.  When you reach the correct story, click it open, then click on “Jellybean Television Flip book & Video songs”.  You can print a colored book or a black and white one that can be colored by the children.)

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Share this children’s sermon from Sermons4Kids. Don’t forget the activities at the bottom of the page!

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Make a fishing pond and have the children fish and act out the story.  This article is from Children’s Ministry.

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Here is a great lesson from Mission Bible Class.

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Play this game from Teach Them.

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Play the Breakfast by the Lake Game from the Catholic Toolbox.  When I do a file folder game in the classroom, I make enough file folders for two children to share each folder. That way everyone can see and reach the board easily. I also give each pair a dice. This keeps the game moving along quickly. Kids love these games and are quick to learn the details of the story when they play them. Have a prize for the winner, but also a prize for each contestant when playing with younger children.

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There are a couple more activities here from Flame Creative Kids. Scroll down.

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Evaluate what the children have learned.  While they are coloring or crafting ask each one what they learned today.

Send each child’s parent an e-mail (or a hard copy) of the Parents’ Page.

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Lesson Index

Breakfast with Jesus Parents’ Page

Use the parents’ page as a way to keep in touch with parents, to keep them informed of what you are teaching, and to encourage them to continue reinforcing the lesson at home. Use this template as a starting point. Make it your own by telling them how the children responded to the lesson or something funny that happened. You could substitute any activity suggestions that you think would be appropriate for parents to do with their children at home.

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Dear Parents, Today we learned about the breakfast that Jesus had with his disciples on the shore of Galilee from John 21: 1 – 17.   Help to reinforce the lesson to your child this week by talking to him or her about the lesson and helping him or her learn the memory verse. Here are a few activity ideas…

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Help your child memorize the verse.

Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” John 21:15 

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Take your child along to serve at a soup kitchen or to visit a shut in. Talk about how when we are serving others, we are also serving Jesus.

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Visit the Children’s Church web site to view the lesson. https://childrenschurch.wordpress.com/2014/04/18/breakfast-with-jesus/

Jacob and Esau

Scripture: Genesis 25: 21 – 34 ; Genesis 27: 1 – 45 

Target Age Group:  1st through 6th grade

Welcome the children to the classroom and chat with them about their week as they gather around the table.

Pray and ask God to teach the children not just head knowledge, but also heart knowledge.

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Bible Lesson:
Have the children open their Bibles to Genesis 25 or pages 48 – 52 in The Golden Children’s Bible.

(Read the story to the children because at this age some of the children do not read smoothly, which hinders comprehension for the whole class.)

Discussion:

• First of all, do you remember the boy in last week’s story?  His name was Isaac.  Well, Isaac grew up and got married to Rebekah.  Soon Isaac and Rebekah were going to have a baby!
• What did God tell Rebekah about the baby she was going to have? There would be twins!  The older would serve the younger
• What was the first baby’s name? Esau
• How would you describe Esau?  He was hairy.  He liked to hunt.
• What was the second baby’s name?  Jacob.
• Can you describe Jacob? His skin was smooth.  He liked to stay home.
• Which son was Abraham’s favorite?  And why? Esau.  Because he brought him meat.
• Which son was Rebekah’s favorite?  Jacob
• What did Jacob and Esau trade?  Esau gave his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew.
• What is a birthright?  The inheritance of the first born son, including leadership of the family.
• Do you think this was an even trade?  No.
• How long would a birthright last?  The birthright would last for eternity.  It would affect them and their families forever. 
• How long would a bowl of stew last?  The stew would only satisfy hunger for a few hours.
• Do you think that the Lord was pleased with Esau for selling his birthright?  No.  He didn’t appreciate God’s blessings.
• What did Isaac ask Esau to do?  To hunt some wild game and make him a meal so that he could give him the blessing.
• What did Rebekah and Jacob do to get Isaac to give him the blessing? They tricked him by having Jacob pretend to be Esau.
• Why didn’t Isaac recognize Jacob?  He was blind in his old age. Jacob had animal skins on his arms to make them hairy and  Esau’s clothes on to make him smell like Esau.
• God had promised the blessing to Jacob before he was born.  Does this justify what Rebekah and Jacob did?  No.  They should have trusted God to work that out in his own way.
• What did Esau say he would do to Jacob?  He would kill him.
• Do you ever fight with your brothers and sisters?  Do you think that that pleases God? No
• Do you think that Jacob deserved the blessing? No.  But, neither do we. We’re sinners, too.  But, God loves us anyway, and sent his Son to save us anyway, didn’t He.
• What did Rebekah tell Jacob to do to avoid Esau’s anger? She said he should go to her brother Laban’s house until he stopped being angry.
• Do you think that Rebekah was sad to send her favorite son away? Yes.  (She died before he came back, so she never saw him again.)
• Do you think Jacob missed his family when he left?  Yes. He loved to be at home, so this would have been very hard for him.
• What things should we be very careful never to give away? faith, purity, honesty, relationship with God, relationships with family, etc.
• What do you think is the very most important thing that we have?  Our salvation and relationship with God.
• What we do when we are young does often have everlasting consequences. Let’s pray and ask God to help us to make wise choices…

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During the remaining class time do activities that help to reinforce what the children have learned. Here are some suggestions…

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For the Teacher in preparation for the class:  If you’re having a difficult time deciding who are the good guys and who are the bad guys in this story, read this short message from Steps of Faith.

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Memorize the verse.

Matthew 16:26a “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” 

or

Romans 5:8  “But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

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Have the children use colors or pastels to draw their own vision of the story on a sketch pad page. Or have them color a color page related to the story.  An excellent color page book is “Through-the-Bible Coloring Pages For Ages 4-8” by Janet Skiles.  The pages are reproducible.

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Show a video of this story:

“Jacob & Esau”  from Crossroads Kids’ Club

“Jacob and Esau Message” from Kids on the Move

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This is an excellent activity from Bible Baton.

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Bible Fun for Kids has some good ideas for acting out the story with the children.

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Mission Bible Class has a great introduction activity.

“Let children take turns being blindfolded. In each round one blindfolded child should sit in a chair. The other children can take turns standing in front of the blindfolded person and holding out one hand. The blindfolded person has to guess which person it is by feeling their hand. You could change each round and have the blindfolded person guess identities by feeling an elbow, knee, foot, etc. “In today’s story, a blind man tried to recognize his son by feeling his hand.””

Get the full lesson and more ideas here.

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Have the children make the booklets “Jacob Makes Esau a Bowl of Soup”  and “Jacob Tricks His Father” from Lambsongs.  (Scroll down to find the “download” section.)

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Share this children’s sermon from sermons4kids.

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Here is a page of activities from Bible Wise.

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This clip art makes a nice craft.  Give each child a copy and have them cut out the pieces.  Give each a page of card stock folded in half like a book.   Have them paste the pictures of Jacob and Esau on each side.  Then have them paste the pictures that go with them on the appropriate sides.  On the cover side of the “book”, have them write the Bible verse.

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This lesson from In My World has cut-out paper dolls of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and Esau.  Make a poster of the family tree so that the children have a clear understanding of how the stories fit together.  Kids (and adults) don’t always understand that the Bible is one story from the beginning in the Old Testament to the end of the Old Testament.

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Make these Jacob and Esau verse flags from Bible Crafts by Jenny.

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Have the children put together this puzzle about the story.  It’s from Sunday School Zone.

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Have the children act out the story.

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This lesson from Sunday School Sources has a wonderful activity and object lesson.

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This is a cute craft idea from 10 Minutes of Quality Time.  (Requires a membership to download.)

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Sing: 

“I Saw Esau” by Mary Rice Hopkins from her “In the Beginning” album.

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If you have extra time left at the end of the class, have them fill out a worksheet such as this crossword puzzle by DLTK.

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Evaluate what the children have learned.  While they are coloring or crafting ask each one what they learned today.

Send each child’s parent an e-mail (or a hard copy) of the Parents’ Page.

<<< Previous Lesson

Next Lesson >>>

Lesson Index

Jacob and Esau Parents’ Page

Use the parents’ page as a way to keep in touch with parents, to keep them informed of what you are teaching, and to encourage them to continue reinforcing the lesson at home. Use this template as a starting point. Make it your own by telling them how the children responded to the lesson or something funny that happened.  You could substitute any activity suggestions that you think would be appropriate for parents to do with their children at home.

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Dear Parents,

Today we learned about Jacob and Esau from Genesis 25 – 27.   Help to reinforce the lesson to your child this week by talking to him or her about the lesson and helping him or her learn the memory verse.

Here are a few activity ideas…

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Help your child memorize the verse.

Matthew 16:26a “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

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Together, watch this video http://vimeo.com/45313207  from Crossroads Kids’ Club

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Read the story “Jacob and Esau and the Very Expensive Bowl of Soup” and “Jacob Steals the Blessing” from Paul Dallgas Frey. http://www.essex1.com/people/paul/bible24.html    http://www.essex1.com/people/paul/bible25.html

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Sing “I’m Yours” http://vimeo.com/77168212 song from Crossroads Kids’ Club

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Visit the Children’s Church web site to view the lesson. https://childrenschurch.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/jacob-and-esau/

Abraham and Isaac

Scripture: Genesis 22: 1 – 18

Target Age Group:  1st through 6th grade

Welcome the children to the classroom and chat with them about their week as they gather around the table.

Pray and ask God to teach the children not just head knowledge, but also heart knowledge.

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Think of your most prized possession.  What if you had to give it away?

Bible Lesson:
Have the children open their Bibles to Genesis 22.

(Read the story to the children because at this age some of the children do not read smoothly, which hinders comprehension for the whole class.)

Discussion:

• What strange thing did God tell Abraham to do?  To offer Isaac as a burnt offering.
• How do you think Abraham must have felt about that? Very, very sad. Confused.
• Think of the thing that you treasure the most.  Now think about it being taken from you or destroyed.  How would you feel?  Abraham must have felt that way, too.
• Remember how long Abraham and Sarah had waited for Isaac to be born?  Until Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old.
• It was a miracle that Isaac was born in the first place.  Now God was asking Abraham to sacrifice him?  What about the promise that his children would be as many as the stars and the sand on the sea? How could that happen if Isaac died?  
• But, did Abraham obey God?  Yes.
• Why do you think Abraham was able to be so obedient? God had made a promise about his descendants through Isaac, and he trusted God to keep his promise and work that out.  He may have thought that God would raise him from the dead. Hebrews 11:17 -19 says, ^“By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.”
• Has God ever allowed you to go through something very hard? How does God want us to respond to hard things that we don’t understand? Obey him and trust him.
• How long did it take for Abraham, Isaac and the servants to get to the mountain?  Three days.
• Did the servants go all the way up the mountain? No. They stayed with the donkey.
• Who carried the wood for the alter?  Isaac
• What question did Isaac ask his father?  “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”
• What did Abraham tell him?  “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.”
• When Abraham put Isaac on the alter, what happened?  An angel told him to not hurt Isaac.
• Why did God have Abraham go through this?  He was testing him.  He wanted to know if he loved God more than his own son.
• Do you think that you could give up everything for God like Abraham did?
• Now I want you to understand that this was the only time that God asked a human father to go through this kind of a test.  Abraham was to be the father of a great nation, and He wanted to know that Abraham loved Him enough to be that special father.  God would never ask your parents to sacrifice you.  And Abraham didn’t end up having to sacrifice Isaac in the end either, did he. 
• What did Abraham see when he looked up?  A ram caught in the thicket by it’s horns.
• So, Abraham offered the ram for the sacrifice instead of Isaac.
• What did he name that place?  “The-Lord-Will-Provide”
• There was one Father in the Bible who did sacrifice his Son. Can you think of who that was? God the Father!  This story foreshadows how God provided his own son, Jesus, to die on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.
• How sad do you think God must have been to have to give his Son?  Very, very sad
  
• Why did God give up his only Son, Jesus, if it made Him as sad as Abraham was to give up his son?  Because He also loved us, too!
• John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”  Think of that.  God must love us all very much!
• Who’s place did Jesus take on the cross? Ours
• What did the Lord do then?  He promised to bless Abraham with as many descendants as the stars and that the nations of the earth would be blessed because he obeyed God.  This blessing came true because one of his descendants was Jesus!
• Let’s pray and thank the Lord for giving his son, Jesus, to be the lamb who took our place when he died on the cross…

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During the remaining class time do activities that help to reinforce what the children have learned. Here are some suggestions…

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Memorize the verse.

      “And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb …’” Genesis 22:8a

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Show a video of this story, but take note that this is a very traumatic story for children.  Be careful not to show them anything too graphic, and emphasize the positive outcome.

Share the story “The Present” from “The Jesus Story Book Bible”   (Make sure that you order the collector’s edition, which has the DVD with the stories animated and narrated.  It’s wonderful.)

“The Story of Abraham & Isaac Bible Story” by Kids on the Move

“God’s Story: Preparing for Jesus” by Crossroads Kids’ Club (about the foreshadowing of Jesus)

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Flame Creative Children’s Ministry has a great idea to get the kids to discuss their reactions to this story.

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Have the children use colors or pastels to draw their own vision of the story on a sketch pad page.

Color page #1  from Bible Wise.

Color page #2   from Crafting the Word of God.

Color page #3   from What’s in the Bible?

Color page #4 from Sunday School Zone

Or have them color a color page related to the story.  An excellent color page book is “Through-the-Bible Coloring Pages For Ages 4-8” by Janet Skiles.  The pages are reproducible.

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Have the children make this craft from Auntie’s Bible Lesson.

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Make a 3D craft from My Little House.

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Bible Class Creations has a magic window for this lesson. The patterns for this don’t pop up anymore. (At least not on my computer.) But, if you’re good at crafting, you might be able to make your own version of this craft.  Here is her link at the bottom of the post for instructions on how to make a magic window.

This project, also from Bible Class Creations, would be a lot of work, but highly effective.

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Give the children Lego blocks and Lego people. Have them build alters and act out the story.

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Have the children make the booklet “Abraham and Isaac” from Lambsongs. 
(Scroll past the “publisher” links to the “download” links.)  There is also a cute craft at this site.

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There are some more great ideas about how to teach the lesson at Mission Bible Class.

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Bible Class Creations has a couple of ideas for making an alter.

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Play Simon Says.

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Here is a game from Sunday School Sources.

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This is a great object lesson for older kids from Teach Them.

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Sing:

“Father Abraham” by Kids on the Move

“Abraham”  by  Mary Rice Hopkins from her “In the Beginning” album.

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Free Sunday School Curriculum has some good worksheets and a game as well as a snack idea for this lesson.

Or have the children complete this worksheet puzzle from Bible Wise.  These kind of puzzles are great to fill up the last few minutes of the class time if you get done a little early.

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Evaluate what the children have learned.  While they are coloring or crafting ask each one what they learned today.

Send each child’s parent an e-mail (or a hard copy) of the Parents’ Page.

<<< Previous Lesson

Next Lesson >>>

Lesson Index 

Abraham and Isaac Parents’ Page

Use the parents’ page as a way to keep in touch with parents, to keep them informed of what you are teaching, and to encourage them to continue reinforcing the lesson at home. Use this template as a starting point. Make it your own by telling them how the children responded to the lesson or something funny that happened.  You could substitute any activity suggestions that you think would be appropriate for parents to do with their children at home.

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Dear Parents,

Today we learned about Abraham and Isaac from Genesis 22.   Help to reinforce the lesson to your child this week by talking to him or her about the lesson and helping him or her learn the memory verse.

Here are a few activity ideas…

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Help your child memorize the verse.

Genesis 22: 8a  “And Abraham said, ‘My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb …’”

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Together, read the story God Will Provide the Lamb by Paul Dallgas-Frey. http://www.essex1.com/pages/paul/bible20.html

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Sing “Abraham”  by Mary Rice Hopkins from her “In the Beginning” album. Get it at itunes.

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Visit the Children’s Church web site to view the lesson.  https://childrenschurch.wordpress.com/2014/02/01/abraham-and-isaac/

God Calls Abram

Scripture: Genesis 12: 1 – 10, 13: 1 – 4, 15: 1, 15: 5 – 21 or pages 34-35 and 38-39 in The Golden Children’s Bible

Target Age Group:  1st through 6th grade

Welcome the children to the classroom and chat with them about their week as they gather around the table.

Pray and ask God to teach the children not just head knowledge, but also heart knowledge.

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Bible Lesson:
Have the children open their Bibles to Genesis 12: 1 – 10, 13: 1 – 4, 15: 1, 15: 5 – 21 or pages 34-35 and 38-39 in The Golden Children’s Bible.

(Read the story to the children because at this age some of the children do not read smoothly, which hinders comprehension for the whole class.)

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

“Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.

I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.  Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.  Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.

Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.  And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.  So Abram journeyed, going on still toward the South.

Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land…

Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord…

After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.”…

Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.”

And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Then He said to him, “I am the Lord, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it.”

And he said, “Lord God, how shall I know that I will inherit it?”

So He said to him, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when the vultures came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him. Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

And it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces. On the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying:

“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates.”

Discussion:

• What did God ask Abram to do? To leave his family,home and country and travel to another land.
• Have you ever moved to a new city or state?  Was it hard to do?  Did you miss your house and your friends and family there?  It’s hard to go to a strange place isn’t it.
• How was Abram going to know where to go? God would show him.
• What did God promise would happen when he got to the new country? He would bless Abram and make his family into a great nation.  His family would be a blessing to all the families of the earth.
• How do you think Abram’s family would be a blessing to the whole earth?  Eventually, many years later, Jesus would be born in his family, and he would save us from our sins.
• Did Abram obey?  Yes.
• Who went with him?  His wife, Sarai, and his nephew, Lot
• Where did God take them?  The land of Canaan.  (Show the children on a map.)
• When he got there God appeared to him again and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.”  What are descendants?  Children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great-grandchildren, etc.
• What did Abram do to show the Lord that he was thankful?  He built an alter to the Lord
• Where did Abram settle in the land?  Between Bethel and Ai
• What happened then?  A famine came.
• What is a famine?  There was no food.
• What did Abram do then?  He and his wife and Lot went to Egypt until the famine was over.
• What did he come back to Canaan with?  Animals, silver and gold.
• When Abram came back to the place he had originally settled between Bethel and Ai, what did he do?  He called on the name of the Lord.
• What does it mean to call on the name of the Lord?  He prayed to God and trusted in Him.
• God spoke to Abram in a vision.  What did he say to him?  He would give him children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren, etc. until there were as many of them as the stars.
• Did Abram believe God?  Yes
• Then God had Abram bring a cow, a goat, a ram, a turtledove and a pideon.  He cut the animals (except the birds) in half.  Then at night a burning torch came and passed between the pieces.  This was how a covenant was made in those days.   What is a covenant?  A promise.
• What else did God show Abram in a dream?  That his family would be slaves for 400 years, but that they would come out of slavery with great riches.  Abram himself would grow old and die in peace.
• Let’s pray and ask the Lord to help us to trust him to lead us into his perfect will for our lives.  And let’s thank him for Abraham’s descendant, Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins….

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During the remaining class time do activities that help to reinforce what the children have learned. Here are some suggestions…

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Memorize the verse.

Genesis 12:3b “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

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Have the children use colors or pastels to draw their own vision of the story on a sketch pad page. Or have them color a color page related to the story.

There are several color pages here at Coloring Home.

An excellent color page book is “Through-the-Bible Coloring Pages For Ages 4-8” by Janet Skiles.  The pages are reproducible.

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Show a video of this story:

Share the story “Son of Laughter” from “The Jesus Story Book Bible” . (Make sure that you order the collector’s edition, which has the DVD with the stories animated and narrated.  It’s wonderful.)

“God’s Story: Abraham and Sarah” from Crossroads Kids’ Club

“The Story of Abraham & Isaac Bible Story” from Kids on the Move (first half)

“Pantano Kids – The Story of Abraham and Sarah (Elementary)” by Pantano Kids

“Abraham for Kids – Introduction” by bibliatv , followed by “Abraham for Kids – part 1”, followed by “Abraham for Kids – part 2”

“Lego- God’s Promise to Abraham” by Nomad Brickfilms

“Context Travel”  from Crossroads Kids’ Club  –  discussion starter

“Bible in Animation – Abraham”  (This is long, so I just play parts of it.)

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Sing:

“Abraham and Sarah” by Kurtis Parks and Friends.

“Abraham” by Mary Rice Hopkins from her “In the Beginning” album.

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Sunday School Curriculum has worksheets and activity ideas for this story in lesson #9

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This is a great craft from Jesus Without Language.  It’s called a constellation tube.  Kids love these kind of crafts that have moving parts and things to peer into.

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This is a cute craft, but it’s not available anymore.  It would be easy to make one like it, however, using a color page which you shrink on the copier.

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Here is a God calls Abraham – Easy Bible craft for kids by Trueway Kids.  I’m not big on using paint in Sunday School because of the mess and ruined clothes. But, you could modify this to use glitter on dots of glue, or star stickers, etc. Use your imagination. I’d probably use the Abraham Follows God coloring craft from Sabbath school Crafts at the bottom of a large dark blue or black construction page with lots of dots of glitter in the sky.

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Here is a great craft from Auntie’s Bible Lessons.

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Younger children will enjoy this activity from Bible Class Creations.  You may want to use this backpack craft to go along with it.

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Bible Class Creations also has cute popsicle stick  characters for acting out the story.

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Older children would enjoy this star mobile from Sturdy for Common Things. (Scroll down.)

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This is a starry sky craft from Bible Class Creations.

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There are several activities here at Bible Wise.

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Younger children may enjoy these activities from Flame: Creative Children’s Ministry. 

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There are activities and crafts at Jesus Without Language. 

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Have the children make the booklet “God Makes A Promise to Abram” from Lambsongs.   (Scroll down past the links marked “publisher” to the links marked “download”.)

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Share this children’s sermon from Sermons4kids.   Don’t forget the activities at the bottom of the page!
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Make Abraham Bookmarks by Bible Crafts by Jenny.
She also has a board game and a star necklace for this lesson.

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Evaluate what the children have learned.  While they are coloring or crafting ask each one what they learned today.

Send each child’s parent an e-mail (or a hard copy) of the Parents’ Page.

<<< Previous Lesson

Next Lesson >>>

Lesson Index 

God Calls Abram Parents’ Page

Use the parents’ page as a way to keep in touch with parents, to keep them informed of what you are teaching, and to encourage them to continue reinforcing the lesson at home. Use this template as a starting point. Make it your own by telling them how the children responded to the lesson or something funny that happened.  You could substitute any activity suggestions that you think would be appropriate for parents to do with their children at home.

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Dear Parents,

Today we learned about the call of Abram from Genesis 12: 1 – 10, 13: 1 – 4, 15: 1, 15: 5 – 21.   Help to reinforce the lesson to your child this week by talking to him or her about the lesson and helping him or her learn the memory verse.

Here are a few activity ideas…

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Help your child memorize the verse.

Genesis 12:3b “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 

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Read the story “One Starry Night” by Paul Dallgas-Frey. http://www.essex1.com/pages/paul/bible15.html

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Sing “Abraham” by Mary Rice Hopkins from her “In the Beginning” album.  Get it at itunes.

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Visit the Children’s Church web site to view the lesson.  https://childrenschurch.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/god-calls-abram/

The Tower of Babel

Scripture: Genesis 11: 1-9 or page 32 in The Golden Children’s Bible

Target Age Group:  1st through 6th grade

Welcome the children to the classroom and chat with them about their week as they gather around the table.

Pray and ask God to teach the children not just head knowledge, but also heart knowledge.

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Bible Lesson:
Have the children open their Bibles to Genesis 11 or pages 32 in The Golden Children’s Bible.

(Read the story to the children because at this age some of the children do not read smoothly, which hinders comprehension for the whole class.)

Discussion:

• After the flood, God told Noah and his family to spread out all over the world.  Did they do that?  No.
• They settled in the plain in Shinar, below the mountain where the ark landed. Why do you think that they all stayed there?  It would have been easy and safe and secure to stick together.  Going out into the world apart from one another would have been difficult and scary.
• What did they decide to do?  To build a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens.
• What did they build the tower with? bricks and tar
• Do you think they could reach heaven with a tower of bricks?  No.  The only way to heaven is by trusting in Jesus.
• Why were they building it?  to make a name for themselves and so that they wouldn’t be scattered throughout the earth.
• But, what had God told them to do?  To fill the earth
• What do you think it means when the Bible says that they wanted to make a name for themselves?  They were pretty impressed with themselves because they could build a big tower like that.  They thought that they were pretty smart.
• Do you see people doing the same thing today?  (Think of some big towers or monuments etc. Or think of spaceships to the moon or to mars. Discuss why man builds these things and if it is right or wrong. Building something isn’t wrong unless it is done in pride and defiance of God.)
• And do you think that God wanted them to make a name for themselves?  No.  God wanted them to glorify him – not themselves.
• They were directly disobeying what God had told them to do, weren’t they. 
• What did God do to stop them?  He confused their language so that they weren’t able to understand each other.
• Can you try to imagine what that would have been like?  If you asked for a hammer, your partner would maybe have handed you a saw, or you need a screwdriver and you’re handed a yardstick, etc.
• After their language was confused what did they do?  They quit building the tower and spread out to other places in the world.
• Do you think that you can stop God’s plan from happening?  No.  God’s will will be done.
• God planned that Jesus would come and die on the cross for our sins.  Satan wasn’t able to stop that plan either, was he.
• Let’s pray and ask the Lord to help us to always be humble and do what he has told us to do.  And let’s thank him for his plan of salvation in Christ…

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During the remaining class time do activities that help to reinforce what the children have learned. Here are some suggestions…

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Memorize the verse.

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.”

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Share a video of this story:

God’s Story: Tower of Babel from Crossroads Kids Club

Storytellers: Tower of Babel from Crossroads Kids’ Club

What was the sin of Babel? from Ripple of Light Ministries

The Rebellion at Babel from Answers in Genesis

“What Was So Wrong With The Tower of Babel?” from Bible Study Fellowship (for the teacher)

Share the story “A Giant Staircase to Heaven” from “The Jesus Story Book Bible”.  (Make sure that you order the collector’s edition, which has the DVD with the stories animated and narrated.  It’s wonderful.)

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Have the children use colors or pastels to draw their own vision of the story on a sketch pad page. Or have them color a color page related to the story.

An excellent color page book is “Through-the-Bible Coloring Pages For Ages 4-8” by Janet Skiles.  The pages are reproducible.

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This is a great idea for a Story Telling Box. (But, leave out the part about the big earthquake.)

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Play one of these two Tower of Babel games from Crafting the Word of God.

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Introduce the story with this activity from When One Teaches, Two Learn.  Talk about how they feel about what they built.  Were they proud?  Then go into the story.

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Here is a cute craft from  Mozi Esme,

Older children may be able to handle this more complicated pop up tower.

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My Little House has a Tower of Babel craft.

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This Tower of Babel craft is from Charlotte’s Clips 

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Have the children make this Tower of Babel craft from Auntie’s Bible Lessons.

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Here are worksheets and activities from Sunday School Curriculum.

Here are more worksheets and activities from Bible Story Printables.

Or have the children fill out worksheets from Calvary Curriculum.  (You need a paid membership at this site.)

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Older children will enjoy this game object lesson from Teach Them.

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Here is another lesson plan from Sunday School Sources along with review activities. 

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This is also a great lesson from Mission Bible Class.

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Sing:

“Babbling On” by Mary Rice Hopkins.

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Evaluate what the children have learned.  While they are coloring or crafting ask each one what they learned today.

Send each child’s parent an e-mail (or a hard copy) of the Parents’ Page.

<<< Previous Lesson

Next Lesson >>>

Lesson Index

The Tower of Babel Parents’ Page

Use the parents’ page as a way to keep in touch with parents, to keep them informed of what you are teaching, and to encourage them to continue reinforcing the lesson at home. Use this template as a starting point. Make it your own by telling them how the children responded to the lesson or something funny that happened.  You could substitute any activity suggestions that you think would be appropriate for parents to do with their children at home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Parents,

Today we learned about the tower of Babel from Genesis 11:1-9.   Help to reinforce the lesson to your child this week by talking to him or her about the lesson and helping him or her learn the memory verse.

Here are a few activity ideas…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Help your child memorize the verse.

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Make a tower out of play dough.   Talk to your child about the lesson as you build it.

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Here is a pinterest page full of craft and game ideas for this lesson. http://www.pinterest.com/jennyj8/tower-of-babel/

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Sing “Babbling On” by Mary Rice Hopkins.  You can find it on YouTube.

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Visit the Children’s Church web site to view the lesson. https://childrenschurch.wordpress.com/2014/01/18/the-tower-of-babel/