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Am I Willing to Sacrifice?

Some stories in the Bible lend themselves to crafts and colouring sheets.  This is not one of them.

There is no way to lightly depict a father being asked to kill and sacrifice his precious son.  The story of Abraham Preparing to Sacrifice His Son is a test of faith like no other.

Of course, even as Abraham was about to carry through with what God had told him to do, an angel intervened and stopped him.  Yes, Abraham had reasoned that God would not ask this unless he planned to bring his son, Isaac, back from the dead after the sacrifice (Hebrews 11:17-19).  But even so, there was a father and a son and a knife.

As difficult it is to comprehend the events of Genesis 22:1-18  they are only a foreshadowing of another time, later in history, when another father allows his son to be sacrificed on a cross.

I wanted the children in my Bible class to contemplate sacrifice.  I wanted them to think about what it would mean to love and trust God so much that we would be willing to give up something we hold precious.  Abraham passed the test and showed he was willing to go to any extreme God asked of him.  Would we pass that test?

The following activity meant a lot to my group of kids so I thought you might like to try it too.  Like Abraham, they will be taken to the very edge in contemplating sacrifice but then they will not actually be sacrificing.

I would suggest you speak calmly and not too fast so that you create an environment of contemplation among the children.

Supplies you will need:

  • Enough paper so that each child will have a few small sheets of paper
  • Pens or pencils
  • Some flat stones
  • Something upon which to place the stones (I used a round metal pizza pan)
  • An empty box of matches

Instructions:

After telling the story of Abraham and Isaac further discuss how God was more important to Abraham than anything or anyone.  Abraham proved that he was willing to sacrifice even the most important thing in his life, his son.  Is God that precious to us?  What would we be willing to sacrifice if we were tested?

  1. Have the children write or draw what is important or precious to them on small pieces of paper.  One item on each piece of paper.  As they write you can already begin asking them whether the thing written on their paper is as important as God.  Keep in mind that this is not about good or bad.  They will be writing down some very good things and people.  This is about whether or not God is more important than even the MOST precious things.
  2. After they have written for a little while then bring out the stones and stack them together to form an altar.  My class was sitting at a table so I placed the stones on the metal pizza pan in the centre of the table.  The children immediately recognised it was an altar.
  3. Now ask the children to think carefully about what they have written on their papers and whether or not they would be willing to give them up (sacrifice them) if God asked them to.
    If they are willing to give it up then have them scrunch up the piece of paper and place it on the altar. Don’t rush this.  Allow them to really consider. More than one child in my class was not ready to “sacrifice” what they had written but, after some thought, bravely decided to do so.  When they place something on the altar be sure and tell them you understand how difficult it is and are proud they have made that decision.  After all, sacrifice is difficult for children just like it is difficult for us adults!
  4. Once the papers are all on the “altar” then bring out the matchbox.  When you seem to be ready to burn all of these sacrifices then open the matchbox to show that it is empty.

At this point continue the conversation to relate the activity back to Abraham.  Here is what I said, “Of course we are not going to burn all of these things.  God wants us to enjoy all of these blessings in our lives.  After all, many of these people and things are very good for us and he does not want us to give them up.

But God DOES want us to understand that HE is more important than even the best things in our lives.  Isaac was the best thing in Abraham’s life but Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice him showed that God was even more important than his beloved son.

In today’s bible lesson we learn that God tested Abraham to see if he was willing to give up Isaac if it was for God.  Abraham passed the test.

And guess what?  Today we have had a kind of test.  YOU were willing to give up your precious things if it was for God.  You showed that God is more important than all of these things.  You passed the test. I am so proud of you.”

At the conclusion of the activity I prayed out loud for each child individually.

 

 

I Say L.O.V.E

Have you ever had a song stick in your head and refuse to go away?   This week a friend of mine shared a song with me that has done exactly that.

The song is not fancy.  It only has six words.  It is a teacher training video and not a performance for the Grammy Awards.   Even so, it is stuck in my mind like glue.  Listen a few times and I dare you to forget it.

Everybody needs some love.

Lyrics:

I say L
I say L-O
L-O-V
L-O-V-E

Everybody needs some love.  L-O-V-E!

Everybody needs some love.  L-O-V-E!

Everybody needs some love.  L-O-V-E!

Everybody needs some love.

 

For more songs and free teaching resources visit Mission Bible Class

 

The Judges- Round and Round They Go

Recently I taught a set of classes about the time of the Judges.  The background to this time in history is one of a repeating cycle.  To illustrate the idea of a cycle that goes round and round I decided to use a hoola hoop.

Each week, as we studied our way through the Judges I used part of the class time to review this cycle.  Soon the children were able to explain this to the others in the class.  The rattle sound the hoola hoop made as it turned added to the fun.

How to Make a Wheel for Your Class

 If a hoola hoop is not available then use any circular object that can be rotated and used in the same way.  A bicycle wheel, hubcap, pizza pan or a round piece of cardboard would work just as well.

Write each of the stages of the cycle on thick card and tape them to the hoola hoop to form something like a wheel that can be rotated round and round.

Now it is time to review the cycle with the children in your class.  Turn the wheel as you tell about each stage. (To remind you of what to say write the following notes on the back side of the papers.)

  1. SAFE WITH GOD:
    God protected his people as they obeyed him.
  2. FORGET:
    Then the people strayed from God and even started worshipping false Gods.
  3. HURT:
    Because they left God they also left his protection.  When the enemies began to hurt them they had no protection from God.  This was a terrible time.
  4. HELP!
    Finally, after so many bad things were happening, the people realised their mistake and cried out to God for help.
  5. JUDGE:
    Even though the people forget God, God never forgot his people. When his people cried out for help he would send a hero (called a Judge) to save the day and turn them back to him. Sometimes these heroes were soldiers, sometimes they were very clever.  At least once they were a bit wild and crazy (Samson). God knew what kind of judge they needed.And the cycle continues…The judge would bring the people back to a time of safety with God (repeat number one again).  Sometimes many years would pass but then, the people began to forget again…(and this is where you continue to number two and so on).

Stories that Took Place During the Time of the Judges

1_Deborah Deborah the Judge

Gideon and Fleece Gideon and the Fleece

Gideon and Midianites Gideon and the Midianites

4_Birth of Samson The Birth of Samson

5_Samson and Delilah Samson and Delilah

6_Death of Samson The Death of Samson

7_Ruth and Naomi Ruth and Naomi

 

8_Ruth and Boaz Ruth and Boaz

9_God Answers Hannahs Prayer God Answers Hannah’s Prayer

10_Samuel Helper in Temple Samuel- Helper in the Tabernacle

11_Lord Speaks to Samuel The Lord Speaks to Samuel

Teaching Children to Pray

One of the most profound aspects of helping shape the spiritual lives of children is guiding them in talking to God.

A few years ago I realised that I was not giving proper attention to prayer in my Bible classes.  I found myself sometimes tagging a prayer on at the end instead of taking the time to facilitate an actual connection between the children and the Creator of the Universe.  He has, after all, invited these children into his presence and that is no insignificant thing to be passed quickly over!

Since that time I have used a number of different methods to encourage active prayer.  You can read more at Prayer in Bible Class but I thought I’d just share a few of my favourites here.

Prayer Sticks

Prayer requests written on craft sticks encourage children to pray in this activity.

  • Colorful popsicle sticks over white background (Shallow depth of field)At prayer time guide the children in drawing out the prayer sticks. Each child prays for the request that is written on the stick he or she has drawn.
  • Use this prayer method over a number of weeks. As prayers are answered move the sticks to a different container.
  • From time to time pull the sticks out of the “prayers answered” container and praise God for how he has heard and answered our prayers.

Five Finger Prayer

childs-handChildren pray in their own words for five different groups of people represented by each of their five fingers.

  • Thumb (As it point back at us.  Praying for people who are close to us)
  • Pointer Finger (Praying for those who point the way and lead us)
  • Tall Finger (Praying for people in authority)
  • Ring Finger (The weakest finger.  Praying for people who are weak or vulnerable)
  • Little Finger (Lastly, I will pray for myself)

Paper Chain Prayers

Children write prayer requests on the links of paper chains and then use the chains as prayer reminders.

  • Prayer ChainsGuide the children in writing specific prayer requests on the slips of paper. One prayer request on each piece of paper.
  • Staple or tape the ends of the papers together to form links of a chain.
    Connect the links to from a chain of prayer requests.
  • Children can hang the chains in the room in the classroom and bring them down at prayer time. The leader of the prayer prays for the requests listed on each link.
  • Or send the chains home with children so that they can use them at home and invite their families to pray with them.

 

Oh, Baby!

my-friend-jesus

After a long delay between lessons the “My Friend Jesus” series for Babies and Toddlers is now complete.  Hopefully, it will help parents and teachers share the story of Jesus with little ones.

In this series infants and toddlers are introduced to Jesus and relate to him through various common experiences of childhood (celebration, helping, community, worship and growth). Role-play and sensory activities are used to express a growing relationship and friendship with him.

 

The first breath Jesus took on this earth was as a fragile newborn infant. The One who would save the world had to have his nappies/diapers changed. He learned to feed himself, crawl and walk. He experienced the human senses of taste, touch, hearing, sight and smell.

Infants and Toddlers can know that Jesus is special, experience affinity with Jesus through role-play and sensory activities.  They can learn practices that express friendship, affection, obedience, respect and worship.

 

Lessons in this Series:

1. Cherished Baby
Expressing love through protection and tender care.

2. Time to Celebrate
The joy of giving, receiving and celebrating.

3. Helper at Home
Being part of a family by sharing responsibilities at home.

4. Worship and Praise
Being part of a community of worshipers.

5. Growing and Learning
The satisfaction of maturing and moving forward.

6. My Friend, Jesus
Comfort, love and affection in a relationship with Jesus.

my-friend-jesus

 

Download the complete set here.

Go to the “My Friend Jesus page on this website.

 

 

Additional Infant and Toddler Lessons

god-created    god-is-with-me