Title of lesson / The Bible
Scripture / None
Outcomes / At the end of the lesson the children should know how the Bible is structured. The children should also understand that the Bible can be used to guide us on how to live a Christian life.
Resources / Materials / Option 1
Lightly coloured project paper (A4)
Markers
Scissors
Option 2
Coloured paper
Large poster paper
Markers or paint
Bostik
Option 3
Paper
Scissors
Glue
Crayons or something else to colour with
Wool
Application
Pictures or models of branches, leaf, fish, frogs, locusts, bracelets, rainbow, sun, horn or trumpet, animals, star, snake, coins, ring, sandals (two of each)
Assessment
Hand out of bible puzzle
Introduction / The Bible is more than just a big old book! The Bible is full of adventure, mystery, and rules that we should all follow. But most importantly, everywhere you look in the Bible, you will find a promise from God.
Lesson content / THE LESSON...
The Bible was not written by just one person, but was written by many different authors -- each one of them guided by God.
The Bible is made up of 2 different, but connected books - The Old Testament and The New Testament. The Old Testament is made up of 39 smaller books. The New Testament is made up of 27. All of these books are also divided into chapters and each chapter contains many different verses.
We've already learned some of the stories from the Bible. It's a very exciting book! In the Old Testament, we read about the creation of the whole universe, huge floods, burning bushes and major showdowns where God helps the little guys win. In the New Testament, we will read even more exciting stories about an evil king and a tiny baby who turns out to be the most important person that ever lived!
In the Old Testament books, the story of the beginning of the Universe and the creation of man are found. We learn about brave men like Noah, David, Daniel and Moses and we learn about brave women like Ruth, Esther and Sarah. Throughout the Old Testament, God asks His people to obey His laws, but over and over again His people disobey him. Despite this disobedience, God promised to make a way for all things to be right again.
The New Testament tells us how God's promise that he made in The Old Testament came true. The New Testament is all about the birth, life, teachings, death and resurrection of a very special person named Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the saviour promised to us in the Old Testament. In the New Testament we learn what Jesus taught and what happened in His life. We also learn how Jesus made the Old Testament promises of salvation come true when He died on the cross for us. The very best part of the story is that Jesus came back to life.
The Bible is like a long letter written to us from God. He made sure there were stories that we can learn from, and if we're ever having a bad day the Bible can help with that too. He made sure there were plenty of verses to make us feel better, and tons more where He tells us that He loves us.
Activity / Option 1: Bookmark
Give each child paper, large enough for them to be able to trace around their hand.
Without spreading fingers too far apart, have the children trace around their hand and then cut out the shape of their hand. Have a volunteer read the book of Romans 10:17; Revelation 1:3; Acts 17:11; Psalm 119: 11,13; Psalm 119: 15, and as a class discuss each verse with the class. As the verses are covered, have the children write the corresponding words: Hear, Read, Study, Memorize and Meditate on the fingers.
Let the children keep the hand in their Bible to use as a bookmark and a reminder to understand fully the Bible and to have the Word of God richly dwell in them.
Option 2: Bible Names Scramble (game)
Make a banner size wall hanging and paint a book shelf on it with several shelves. (this is God's Library!) Have the children cut sheets of paper into strips resembling the spine of books. Use as many colours as you can find. Next, using markers or paint, write the names of the Bible books on the spines. After they are dry attach small pieces of sticky bostik to each "book".
Now for the fun part! Before the kids arrive to class move the 'books' around on the shelves. They must figure out which are moved out of position and place them back into the right order. Or, take them all off and time the kids to see how fast they can put them back in the right position
Option 3: Bible bookmark (craft)
Give the children a copy of the template and let them colour it in as appropriate. Cut the bookmark out (one big rectangle) and fold in half (left to right) along the center line. Glue so it stays folded together.
OPTIONAL: cover with clear contact paper so it lasts longer (you could also put a piece of cardboard in the center before gluing for a sturdier bookmark)
OPTIONAL: Poke a hole in the top of the bookmark and tie a string/wool through as a tassle.
Option 4: THE B-I-B-L-E (song)
Application and / or homework / To help the children find their way in the Bible you can use the Bible Scavenger Hunt game. Divide the children into two groups so that the groups work together. The first group to find all the items wins.
Let the children fill in the blank clues with Bible references. They can look up the Bible verses to find the answer if they didn’t know it. Cut out pictures or draw or buy little models for each of the clues in the scavenger hunt, and hide them outside or in your classroom for the children to find
Answers:
1. Branches
2. Leaf
3. Fish
4. Frogs
5. Locusts
6. Bracelets
7. Rainbow
8. Sun
9. Horn or trumpet
10. Animals
11. Star
12. Serpent or snake
13. Coins
14. Ring
15. Sandals
Reflection / Memory verse
Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."
Assessment / You may use activity Option 2 OR
Use the bible puzzle handout
Bible puzzle:
Can you find thirty (30) books of the Bible in the paragraph, below? Actually there are thirty-one (31) Bible names, one is a variant of an Old Testament prophet.
"This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket, on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours. He enjoyed it so much, he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, "The books are all right here in plain view hidden from sight." Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Samuel may occur without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus; there really are 30 books of the Biblelurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found. God Bless."
Scavenger Hunt Handout
Hidden around throughout the yard or classroom are the things talked about in these Bible verses and stories. Fill in the blank to figure out what you are looking for and then search the designated area in the park to find the object. Collect each object in your bag.
1) John 15:5 – Jesus said, “I am the vine and you are the ______.
2) Genesis 8:11 – Noah sent a dove out from the ark and it returned with an olive ____ in her mouth and Noah knew the waters of the flood were going down.
3) Matthew 14:15 – The boy shared the meal he had packed. Jesus used the five loaves and two ____ to feed the 5,000 people.
4) Exodus 8:2-3 – The second plague visited upon pharaoh and the Egyptians was _____. “So the river shall bring forth ____ abundantly.”
5) Exodus 10:4-5 – The eighth plague visited on pharaoh and his people was ______. “They shall cover the face of the earth and they shall eat every tree which grows out of the field.”
6) Genesis 24:22 – Abraham sent his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac. “So it was when the camels had finished drinking that the man took a golden nose ring and two ______for her wrists and said, ‘Whose daughter are you?’”
7) Genesis 9:13 – God made a covenant with Noah never again to destroy the earth with a flood. God said, “I set my ______in the cloud and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.”
8) Luke 23:44-45 – On the day that Jesus died, there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour; the ___ was darkened.
9) Joshua 6 – God commanded Joshua and his army to march around the city of Jericho seven times on the seventh day and the priests shall blow the ______. And the people shall shout and the city wall will fall down.
10) Genesis 6 – God told Noah to bring onto the ark two of every living thing, of the birds after their kind, of ______after their kind, and of every creeping thing.
11) Matthew 2:2 – Now after Jesus was born n Bethlehem, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews, for we have seen his ____ in the East.
12) Genesis 3 – And the ______said to Eve, ‘Did God really say you shouldn’t eat of every tree of the Garden?’
13) Mark 12:42 – One poor widow came and threw two ______into the treasury. Jesus said to his disciples, “This poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury.”
14) Luke 15:22 – In the parable of the lost son, when the son returns home the father says to his servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ____ on his hand and sandals on his feet.”
15) Exodus 3:5 – Moses saw a burning bush in the desert, but it was not consumed by the flames. God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” Then God said, “Do not draw near to this place. Take your ______off your feet for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
The B-I-B-L-E (song)
The B-I-B-L-E
Yes that's the book for me.
I stand alone on the Word of God
The B-I-B-L-E.
The B-I-B-L-E
I'll take along with me,
I'll read and pray and then obey,
The B-I-B-L-E.
By F-A-I-T-H,
I'm S-A-V-E-D,
I'll stand alone
on the Word of God,
The B-I-B-L-E.
The B-L-O-O-D
That Jesus shed for me,
Cleansed me from sin,
I belong to Him,
The B-L-O-O-D.
Title of lesson / The 10 Commandments
Scripture / Exodus 20
Outcomes / At the end of the lesson the children should know and understand that God’s laws tell us how to treat Him and each other.
Resources / Materials / Option 1
Chalk
Rope, or tape
Option 2
Template for each child
Scissors
Glue
Colouring pencils
Assessment
Sets of Commandment strips for each child (or each group) Envelopes
Coloured project paper
Glue
Treats (sweets, fancy pencils etc.)
Introduction / The Bible tells us that God gave us the Ten Commandments as a sort of guardian, or baby-sitter, to teach us right from wrong. When we disobey a command of God it is called sin. The Bible tells us that ALL people sin. Without the commands we wouldn’t know how to behave. But we also wouldn’t understand how much we fall short in being like God. He is perfect and without sin-he is holy. What if we were never told it is wrong to steal, or to lie, or to murder? Just think how much worse this world would be!
However, it is important to understand that the commandments are more than just a list of "DON’TS". The commands show us how much God loves us. Why do you think your parents do not want you playing in the street when there is oncoming traffic? (Allow for discussion) Yes, you could get hit by a car. Do they say, "Don’t play in traffic" because they hate you? No, because they love you and want to protect you. Our Father God has given us the Ten Commandments for the same reason: he loves us and wants to protect us.
Lesson content / Commandments #1-4: Teach us how to show love towards God.
* Commandments #5-10: Teach us how to show love towards others.
This is how God gave us the Ten Commandments:
Thousands and thousands of years ago God’s people, the Israelites, were slaves in Egypt. Their slave masters were cruel and worked them very hard. They even killed their children. The Israelites cried out to God for help and God sent Moses to save them and to lead them out of Egypt. Three months after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they camped at the bottom of Mount Sinai. It was there that God spoke to Moses and told him to tell the House of Jacob, the Israelites, "to get ready", because he was going to do something very special for them. He was going to give them the Ten Commandments.