Ezekiel Sunday School Lesson for Kids - Ezekiel the Watchman

Ezekiel Sunday School Lesson for Kids -

Warning!

Use this children’s Sunday School lesson about Ezekiel to teach kids about the need to tell others about their faith.

Needed: Bibles, a volunteer to play Ezekiel (or you can do this yourself)

Intro Game: Watchman

Divide students into two teams. The first team spreads out on one side of your play area and closes their eyes. Choose one of the students on that team to be the Watchman. Explain that a watchman is a lookout to see if another army is coming to attack. In this game, the Watchman won’t use their eyes though. They’ll use their ears.

The second team then tries to sneak up and tag members of the first. If the Watchman hears them sneaking up, he or she calls out, and the first team chases the second until they tag everyone. The teams then switch roles.

Lesson

(Note: Always allow students enough time to think about and answer the questions before clarifying the teaching.)

Say, The two kingdoms of Israel and Judah had been conquered. God let the Assyrians and the Babylonians conquer Israel and Judah because the people of Israel and Judah had done so many bad things. They had believed in and worshiped fake gods instead of the real God, and they had done all the wrong things that God didn’t do want them to do. So, God let the Assyrians and the Babylonians conquer their kingdoms and carry the Israelite people back to Assyria and Babylon.

(Read Ezekiel 1-2 with your students, or read the following story as a summary.)

Ezekiel: Hi, everyone! I’m Ezekiel. I was an Israelite living in Babylon after God punished up by letting the Babylonians conquer us and take us back to their country.

One day, while I was living in Babylon, I began to feel a lot of wind blowing toward me. It was very strong. And there was a huge cloud over my head with lightning in it and fire. Inside the fire were four angels. These angels had four faces, one on each side of their head. One face was a regular human face, but they also had a lion face and an eagle face and a bull face. And they had six wings each, with eyes totally covering their wings.

The four angels were carrying a throne above their heads. God was on the throne. He looked like a man, but from His stomach up, He looked like glowing metal, and from His stomach down, He looked like only fire. I don’t know if that’s how God looks all the time, but that’s how He looked then.

How would all of you like to see God?

Do you think you would be scared?

Well, I can tell you that I was scared, seeing those angels and God. I simply fell down on the ground and bowed before God.

Then God said, “Ezekiel, I’m going to make you a prophet. I want you to go preach to the Israelites living in Babylon and tell them to believe in Me and do the right things that I want them to do. I am making you like a guard on top of the castle. When the guard sees an enemy coming, he’s supposed to warn the rest of the people. Now, I want you to warn the Israelites. Tell them that if they don’t believe in Me and do the right things that I want them to do, then I will punish them again.

“If you don’t warn them, you will be guilty of doing something wrong too, because I told you to warn them and you didn’t. But if you do warn them, and they still won’t believe in Me and do the right things, then only they will be guilty. You will have done the right thing by warning them.”

So, from then on, I was a prophet. Whatever God told me to do, I did. And I tried to warn the people of Israel to start believing in God again and to do the right things that God wanted them to do. Some people believed me and started believing in God, but other people didn’t. At least, I had done what I was supposed to do and warned them, right?

(Have students thank “Ezekiel” for coming to talk to them.)

Review Questions

What did God tell Ezekiel to do? (To warn people to believe in God and do the right things that He wanted them to do.)

What would happen if Ezekiel didn’t warn people to believe in God? (Ezekiel would get in trouble for not warning people as God said.)

Do you think God wants us to tell other people to believe in God too? (Yes.)

What happens to people if they don’t believe in God when they die? Where do they go? (Hell.)

But God doesn’t want people to go to Hell. God loves everyone. He wants us to warn other people to believe in Him so that they can go to Heaven when they die instead of Hell. God says that anyone who believes in Him will go to Heaven and live with Him forever and ever. So, let’s do our best to tell as many people as possible about God so that they can believe in Him too and go to Heaven when they die.

Game: Disciple Tag

Choose one student to be It. When they tag someone, that person links hands with them and joins their team. They continue adding people to their team, linking hands with each one until all but one student is part of their chain. That remaining student becomes It for the next round.

Play two or three rounds and then, explain that when we tell people about Jesus, we want them to believe in Jesus too. If they do, they become a Christian and join our team. Then, they help us tell more people about Jesus.

Activity: Acting it Out

Divide students into groups of two or three. Have each group decide on and act out one way that they can help someone and convince them to believe in Jesus. Name some outreach activities that your church does if students need help thinking of something.

Closing Prayer

Lord, we thank You for being a good and loving God and wanting everyone to go to Heaven when they die. Help us to tell other people about You so that they can believe in You and go to Heaven when they die.
 

King Josiah Sunday School Lesson -

The Case of the Missing Bible

Use this children’s Sunday School lesson about King Josiah to teach kids about the importance of studying the Bible.

Needed: Bibles, strips of paper with clues written on them, construction paper, hole punches, ribbon, and craft supplies

Intro Game 1: The Case of the Missing Bible

Prepare a clue hunt around the church or your meeting area. The clues can be strips of paper hidden in a room. The clue on each strip of paper gives the students a hint as to where to find the next strip of paper. The last clue should lead the students to your Bible. Introduce the clue hunt by telling students that you left your Bible somewhere and give them the first clue.

Intro Game 2: Follow the Leader 

The teacher chooses a Leader. Students must follow the Leader in every way, going where they go and doing what they do. Play for a specified amount of time and then, choose a new Leader. Play until everyone has had a chance to be Leader or until students lose interest. After the game, explain that today’s lesson is about why we should study the Bible. When we study the Bible, we are learning how to play Follow the Leader. God and Jesus are our Leaders, and the Bible tells us everything we need to know to follow Them. The Bible tells us how we can live the way Jesus lived and how we can do the things that God is happy for us to do.

Lesson

Say, We’ve been reading and learning about the kings and prophets of Israel. Remember that the people of Israel actually had two kingdoms, Judah and the new country of Israel, because the country of Israel had split when King Solomon’s son, King Rehoboam, wanted to make the people work too hard.

Usually, both kingdoms had bad kings who didn’t believe in God and didn’t do the right things God wanted them to do. They believed in fake gods and did wrong things. But once in a while, there would be a good king who loved God and did the right things. One of those good kings was King Hezekiah, whom we learned about last time. His great-grandson, King Josiah, was another good king.

(Read 2 Kings 22-23:7 with your students, or read the following story as a summary.)

Summary Story

Josiah became king of Judah when he was only eight years old, and he followed God’s rules exactly right.

How would you like to be the king or queen when you’re only eight years old?

When Josiah grew up, he saw that God’s Temple church was starting to fall apart because no one was taking very good care of it. He ordered the priests to pay workers to fix the Temple church.

Why do you think King Josiah wanted the Temple church to be fixed and not fall apart? (Josiah wanted the Temple to be fixed so that people could go there and worship God.)

While they were cleaning and fixing the Temple church, Hilkiah the priest found the Bible. No one had seen the Bible for a very long time because the priests and kings that came before hadn’t been following the Bible. They didn’t believe in God or follow His rules, and so they put the Bible away and forgot about it. No one knew where it was until they started cleaning and fixing the Temple. Then, the priest, Hilkiah, found it again.

Hilkiah gave it to King Josiah, and when King Josiah read it, he was afraid, and he was sad.

Why do you think King Josiah would be afraid and sad when he read the Bible?

King Josiah was afraid and sad because when he read the Bible, he saw what God’s rules were and he knew that people had not been following God’s rules. Instead of believing in and worshipping only God, most people believed in fake gods and did the wrong things that God didn’t want them to do. Josiah was afraid that God was going to punish the people for not believing in Him and following His rules.

So, King Josiah sent Hilkiah the priest and his servants to the woman prophet, Huldah, to ask her what they should do. Huldah said, “God is going to punish the Israelites for not believing in God or following His rules. But because King Josiah does believe in God and listens to God’s rules, then God will wait until after King Josiah is dead. Then, He will let another country conquer Judah as a punishment to them.”

Hilkiah, the priest, told King Josiah everything Huldah said. Then, Josiah made it a rule in Judah that people could only believe in and worship the real God. He wouldn’t let anyone worship the fake gods anymore, and he made everyone follow God’s rules in the Bible.

The Bible tells us that King Josiah was one of the greatest kings there ever was because of how much he loved God and did the right things that God wanted him to do.

Do you all love God?

Do you want to do the right things that God wants you to do?

Where can you find God’s rules for what He wants you to do? (In the Bible.)

God gave us the Bible so that we would know how much He loves us and so that we would know what His rules are. If we love God and are careful to follow His rules in the Bible, then God will be happy with us, just like He was happy with King Josiah.

Craft: Devotion Diaries 

Let children use construction paper, hole punches, ribbon, and craft supplies to make their own Devotion Diaries. Students will tie construction paper into a booklet with ribbon and then, decorate the covers with markers, stickers, or whatever else you have available. Encourage students to take their booklets home and record Bible verses, prayers, and important things they learn about God in them.

Game: Sword Drill 

Give each student a Bible. Then, call out the name of one of the books of the Bible. The student who finds that book first wins. To make it a little more difficult, you can call out the chapter and verse of a book or the name of a Biblical person or event.

Remind students how important it is to read and study the Bible on their own so that they can know it well.

Closing Prayer

Father God, thank You for giving us Your words in the Bible. Help us to read the Bible and study it and follow it so that we can serve You the best we can, just like King Josiah. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

 

Jeremiah Sunday School Lesson for Kids - The Exile of Israel

Jeremiah Sunday School Lesson for Kids -

Exiled!

Use this children’s Sunday School lesson about Jeremiah and the Exile to teach kids about God's forgiveness.

Needed: Bibles, Play-Doh or clay

Intro Game: Forgiveness Tag!

Divide students into two teams. One team chases the other for five minutes. When someone is tagged, they’re out, but only temporarily. They go to the sidelines and count to seven out loud. Then, they re-enter the game.

If the first team can tag everyone and keep them in the out zone at any time within the five-minute period, they win. If they do win, or when the time runs out, switch which team is chasing the other.

Intro Craft Activity: God the Potter

Give each student a clump of clay. Let them make whatever they like for a moment. Then, tell them to make a cup.

When they’ve made a cup, tell them to make a house.

When they’ve made a house, tell them to make an animal.

When they’ve made an animal, tell them to make a person.

Tell students, The Bible tells us that we are like clay. Just like we made different things out of the clay, God can make anything He wants, and He can make us. But just like you had to destroy your things to make something new, God sometimes has to destroy the things He made.

Lesson

In the Bible, God told the prophet Jeremiah that He had made the countries of Israel and Judah, and He made the people who lived in Israel and Judah, just like God makes all of us before we are born.

But the people of Israel and Judah were doing too many bad things. They were believing in and worshiping fake gods instead of the real God, and they were doing all the wrong things instead of the right things that God wanted them to do.

So, God said He was going to destroy the countries of Israel and Judah. Just like we can destroy the things we made out of our clay, God can destroy anything He wants to. He sent foreign armies, the Assyrians and Babylonians, to come to conquer Israel and Judah.

Israel and Judah fought against the Assyrians and the Babylonians, of course, but they didn’t win because God wasn’t helping them. He sent the Assyrians and the Babylonians to conquer Israel and Judah as a punishment to them for not believing in Him and for not doing the right things that He wanted them to do.

The Assyrians conquered Israel, and the Babylonians conquered Judah. The Assyrians took the people of Israel to their own country of Assyria, and the Babylonians took the people of Judah back with them to Babylon.

It was a very sad time for the Israelites and the people of Judah because God was punishing them.

But do you know what the good news is?

The good news is that God didn’t make the Israelites or the people of Judah stay in Assyria and Babylon forever. God said that He would keep them there for 70 years as a punishment, but that then, He would forgive them and let them come back to Israel and Judah.

We’ll start learning about the Israelites in Assyria and Babylon next time, but for now, I just want to tell you that even if God punishes us for doing something bad, He will always forgive us if we ask Him to, just like He punished but then, forgave the Israelites when He let them be conquered. God will always forgive us because God always loves us.

Craft Activity: God the Potter part 2

Have students make one more thing out of their clay. Ask them to make something that shows someone asking God to forgive them or someone whom God has forgiven. Have students tell about their creations once they finish.

Game: Forgiveness Tag! 

Play the intro game again. Remind students that the Israelites went into Exile for 70 years as a punishment for their sin, but that then, God forgave them and brought them back.

Closing Prayer

Lord, we thank You for always loving us and also forgiving us if we ask You to. Right now, we pray that You’ll forgive us for anything wrong we’ve done. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

 

King Hezekiah Sunday School Lesson for Kids -

King Hezekiah and the Prophet Isaiah

Use this children’s Sunday School lesson about Isaiah and King Hezekiah to teach kids about prayer.

Needed: Bibles, dice, index cards with weapons or God on them,

Intro Game: Raising the Dice

Divide students into two teams and give each time a six-sided die. The first student from each team runs up to a table and rolls their dice. The student with the highest roll gets a point for their team.

The trick is that each team can help their player. As the students are rolling their die, the teams cheer. The team that’s the loudest gets to add one number to their player’s die roll. So, if Team A’s player rolls a 3, but their team is cheering the loudest, you’ll count that player’s roll as a 4.

Students re-roll in case of a tie, but only if the tie occurs after you add the cheering bonus.

After the first two students roll and you determine who gets the point, those students run back to their teams, hand off their die, and the next students run up. The team with the most points after everyone has rolled wins.

Explain that when we pray for someone, it’s like we’re cheering for them. We’re asking God to help them. God doesn’t have to answer all of our prayers, but our prayers for someone else can help God decide to help that person.

Lesson

Say, We’ve been reading and learning about the kings and prophets of Israel. Remember that the people of Israel actually had two kingdoms, Judah and the new country of Israel because the country of Israel had split when King Solomon’s son, King Rehoboam, wanted to make the people work too hard. Usually, both kingdoms had bad kings who didn’t believe in God and didn’t do the right things God wanted them to do. They believed in fake gods and did wrong things.

(Read 2 Kings 18-20 with your students or read the following story as a summary.)

Summary Story

But then, Hezekiah became the king of Judah. King Hezekiah was a good king. He believed only in God and told the people not to believe in the fake gods anymore. God was happy with King Hezekiah, and so God always helped Hezekiah defeat his enemies when another country came to attack Judah.

One time, though, a very powerful country, the country of Assyria, sent their army to attack Judah. The commander of the Assyrian army came up to the walls of Jerusalem and said, “We have conquered many countries already. Now, we will conquer Judah. All those other people believed in their gods, but none of their gods could help them. Now, your God won’t be able to help you either.”

Why do you think the other gods couldn’t help the other countries that the Assyrians conquered? (Because the other gods aren’t real. They can’t do anything to help anyone.)

But can the real God help people? (Yes.)

Can the real God help Judah and King Hezekiah win against the Assyrians? (Yes.)

So, the prophet Isaiah came and told King Hezekiah, “The Assyrians think God can’t help us win, so God is going to show them what He can do.”

Game: Army vs. God 

Print out pictures or write the names of various weapons (such as swords, spears, and shields) and the word “God” on a set of index cards. You should have an equal number of cards that have weapons as God.

Divide students into two teams and have the teams line up on separate sides of the room in single file lines. Mix up the cards and give each student a card randomly. Set a timer for 3-5 minutes, depending on how many students you have. When you say Go! the first student on both teams run toward each and show each other their cards.

If one has a weapon and the other says God, the student with God scores a point for their team. The person with a weapon does not score. If both say God, both score a point, and if both have a weapon, neither does. Both return to the back of their lines and trade their cards for a new card.

As soon as they leave the center, the second two players run up and do the same thing. Play continues until the timer runs out. The team with the most points at the end wins.

Story continues...

That night, God sent an angel to the Assyrian camp. The angel killed 185,000 of the Assyrian soldiers while they were sleeping. The next morning, the rest of the Assyrians woke up and saw all the bodies of the dead soldiers. They were so afraid of God that they left Judah and went back to their own country.

And that’s how God saved Judah and King Hezekiah from the Assyrian army.

A little while later, though, King Hezekiah got very sick. The prophet Isaiah came to him and said, “Hezekiah, God says that you’re not going to get better. You’re going to die.” Then, Isaiah walked back out of King Hezekiah’s palace.

Hezekiah was very sad, so he prayed to God. He said, “God, remember that I believe in You and that I always do the right things that you want me to do. Please help me to get better and let me live a little while longer.”

Do you think God should answer King Hezekiah’s prayer and let him live?

Remember that God doesn’t answer every prayer. He doesn’t have to answer our prayers even if we do believe in Him and follow Him. God will take us all to Heaven when we die if we believe in Him, but He doesn’t always heal us when we get sick. Sometimes, God lets people die.

But this time, God did heal Hezekiah. Isaiah was still walking out of the palace when God told him to go back to King Hezekiah. God said, “Tell Hezekiah that I have heard his prayer and that I will heal him and let him live for another 15 years.”

Do you think it was nice for God to heal Hezekiah and let him live longer?

God doesn’t heal everyone, but sometimes, He does do miracles like that.

The king of Babylon heard that Hezekiah had been sick, so he sent some messengers to bring him a gift and to say that he hoped he felt better. When the messengers got there, though, Hezekiah was all healed. Then, Hezekiah took the messengers all around his palace and showed them all the gold and treasures that he had. King Hezekiah was very proud of how much money he had, and he liked showing off his treasure to the messengers.

Do you think God wants us to show off our things? (No.)

It’s okay to have nice things, but God doesn’t want us to show off or be proud of those things.

So, the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and said, “One day, after you die, the army of Babylon will come and conquer Judah and Jerusalem. They will steal all your treasures and take it back to Babylon with them.”

King Hezekiah was sorry that he had shown off, but he was happy that God would make the Babylonians wait until after he was dead for them to come and conquer his country.

Game: Angel Attack! 

Divide the kids into two teams. One team will spread out in your play area and pretend to be the sleeping Assyrians. With their eyes closed, they’ll listen for the angels (the other team) coming to sneak up on them. The angels will tap the sleeping Assyrians. If they tap an Assyrian, that Assyrian stays quiet and is out when the round is over. The angels get a point for every Assyrian they tag.

If the Assyrians hear any movement before the angels tap them, they raise the alarm, and the round is over. The two teams switch roles.

Play three rounds. The team with the most points at the end wins.

Closing Prayer

Lord, we thank You for the good example of King Hezekiah. We also pray that You’ll help us to trust You even when You don’t answer our prayers like we want You to. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

 

Jonah Sunday School Lesson for Kids

The Prophet Jonah Sunday School Lesson for Kids

Use this children’s Sunday School lesson about Jonah to teach kids about the need to obey God and the richness of God's forgiveness.

Needed: Bibles, towel or blanket, action figure or doll or stuffed animal, trashcan or bucket or box

Intro Activity: Acting It Out

Divide students into groups of two or three. Have each group decide on and act out a scene in which someone can be nice to a person who’s been mean to them.

Lesson: Read Jonah 1-4 with your students or read the following story as a summary.

Summary Story

One day, God told the prophet Jonah, “Jonah, go preach to the people of Nineveh. Tell them that they better start believing in Me and doing the right things I want them to do or else I’m going to send fire down from Heaven to destroy their city and burn them up.”

But Jonah didn’t want to go preach to the people of Nineveh. He didn’t them want to believe in God and start doing the right things God wanted them to do because the people of Nineveh were Israel’s enemies. Jonah wanted God to send fire down from Heaven to destroy their city and burn them up.

Do you think it was nice for Jonah to want the people of Nineveh to die? (No.)

But Jonah did want the people of Nineveh to die, and he didn’t want to preach to them. So, he got on a boat and went far away from Nineveh instead of going to Nineveh as God told him to.

Do you think it was good for Jonah to go far away from Nineveh when God told him to go to Nineveh? (No.)

Jonah disobeyed God, so God sent a very bad storm to attack Jonah’s boat. The wind was blowing…

Everyone, blow as hard as you can to show what the wind was like.

The waves were going up and down….

Everyone, show me with your arms how the waves went up and down.

And everyone on the boat was so afraid. They thought they were going to drown. Jonah knew that it was God who had sent the storm and he knew that it was because he was disobeying God. Jonah told the other sailors, “If you want the storm to stop, you have to throw me overboard into the sea.”

The sailors didn’t want to throw Jonah overboard because they thought he would drown, so they kept trying to row back to land. But God made the storm even stronger, so the men had to throw Jonah into the sea.

Jonah was almost going to drown, but God sent a huge fish to come and swallow him, and God kept Jonah safe inside the fish’s belly for three days and three nights.

On the third day, God told the fish to spit Jonah out, and the fish spit Jonah out on the land. Then, God said, “Jonah, go preach to the people of Nineveh. Tell them that they better start believing in Me and doing the right things I want them to do or else I’m going to send fire down from Heaven to destroy their city and burn them up.”

That’s the same thing God told Jonah to do before, isn’t it? God was giving Jonah a second chance to listen to Him. Aren’t you glad God always gives us a second chance too? God always forgives us and gives us more chances to believe in Him and to obey Him.

Jonah listened to God this time and went to Nineveh. Even though he still didn’t like the people of Nineveh, Jonah went and preached to them and warned them to start believing in God and doing the right things or else God would destroy them.

Do you think the people of Nineveh will listen to Jonah and start believing in God?

The Bible tells us that when Jonah preached to the people of Nineveh, they all believed in God and started doing the right things. They prayed to God and asked Him not to destroy them.

God was happy that the people started believing in Him and so He did not destroy them. But Jonah still didn’t like the people of Nineveh. He was mad that they believed in God and that God didn’t destroy them.

Do you think it’s nice for Jonah to be mad that God didn’t destroy the people of Nineveh? (No.)

God said, “Jonah, you should not be mad. I care about the people of Nineveh and their animals. I didn’t want to destroy them. That’s why I sent you to preach to them. Now, I’m happy that they believe in Me and I don’t have to destroy them.”

And that’s the story of Jonah. Jonah wanted God to kill the people of Nineveh, but God wanted to forgive them. God always wants to forgive people instead of punishing them, and if people will believe in God and start doing the right things that He wants them to do, then God will forgive them.

Game: Listening to God 

Have students line up at one side of the room. The teacher gives instructions, saying “Teacher Says” as in “Simon Says.” Do the motions as you say the instruction. Every once in a while, do something and give the instruction without saying “Teacher says” first. Anyone who does something without the teacher having said, “Teacher says” has to pretend that they’ve been swallowed by a fish and taken to Nineveh at the other side of the room. You can also give an instruction that doesn’t match your motion to catch kids off guard. Students who are out wait there until the end of the round and then, join back in. The last student in the game becomes the new leader.

Game: Reverse Fishing 

Place a large trashcan, bucket, or box, at the end of the room. Give students a blanket or towel and an action figure, doll, or stuffed animal. Students try to launch their action figure (Jonah) into the trashcan (fish’s mouth) using only their blanket (waves of the sea).

Remind students about how Jonah disobeyed God and had to be thrown into the sea to make the storm stop. Then, God saved him by sending a fish to swallow him.

Closing Prayer

God, we thank You for being a good God and caring about all people. Help us to be like You and love even the people that we don’t like. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Elijah and the Widow Sunday School Lesson for Kids -

God Provides for Elijah and Brings a Dead Boy Back to Life

Use this Elijah and the widow children’s Sunday School lesson to teach kids about how God supplies our needs and answers our prayers.

Needed: Bibles, a bowl with some flour in it, bowls and cereal or building blocks, 2 six-sided dice

Lesson

Say, Last time, we learned about how King Solomon died and his son, Rehoboam, made a big mistake. Does anyone remember what King Rehoboam did? (He wouldn’t listen to the people of Israel when they asked him to let them work less hard. He told the people he was going to make them work harder.)

So, most of the people of Israel wouldn’t let Rehoboam be their king. They started a new country of Israel and made a man named Jeroboam their king. But Jeroboam made a big mistake too. Does anyone remember what bad thing Jeroboam did? (He made fake gods for the people to worship.)

The people of Israel had two kingdoms, Judah and the new country of Israel, and both kingdoms had bad kings.

Today, we’re going to learn about how God started sending prophets to deal with those bad kings.

(Read 1 Kings 16:29-17:24 with your students, or read the following story as a summary.)

Summary Story

Years passed and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah had bad king after bad king. These kings kept believing in fake gods and not the real God only, and they kept doing bad things. Every time, God would send prophets to the kings to try to tell them to believe in the real God and do stop doing their bad things. One of those prophets was a man named Elijah.

Elijah was a prophet in the kingdom of Israel during the time of King Ahab. King Ahab was the worst king Israel had ever had. He worshiped fake gods and did a lot of bad things.

One day, Elijah said to King Ahab, “King Ahab, God says that He won’t let it rain in Israel any more until you start to believe in Him and do the right things.”

King Ahab was very mad at the prophet Elijah for saying this, so God told Elijah to go hide in the desert by a river so that King Ahab couldn’t find him and kill him.

Elijah stayed by the river for a long time. He drank from the river, and God had the birds fly and bring Elijah meat and bread every day for his food.

How would you like to have birds fly and bring you your food like that?

Game: Raven Relay 

Divide students into two teams and have them line up at one side of the room. If you want to use cereal, give each team a bowl. At the other end of the room, place a bowl full of cereal or a bucket of building blocks. One by one, the members of each team run to their bowl or bucket and bring back a single piece of cereal or building block. They then add their piece of cereal to the team’s bowl or add their building block to the team’s tower. The first team to retrieve all their pieces wins.

Explain that when the students were running to get their pieces, they were like the birds flying to get food and bring it back to Elijah.

Story continues...

So, the birds brought Elijah his food. But then, the river dried up because God hadn’t let it rain. God told Elijah to go to the town of Zarephath.

When Elijah walked up to the town of Zarephath, he saw a woman picking up sticks. He said, “Could you please give me a drink of water? And some bread?”

Would you give Elijah some bread and water?

But the woman answered, “Sir, I don’t have any bread. I’m very poor. I’m gathering some sticks to make a fire. Then, I’m going to go home to bake the last loaf of bread I have ingredients for. My son and I are going to eat and then, we’re going to die because we don’t have any money to buy any more food.”

(Show the students the bowl of flour and ask) How much bread do you think the woman could make with this?

Not very much, right? And that's all the food she has left! She doesn't have any more food for her and her son, and she doesn't have any money to buy more!

Elijah said, “Don’t be afraid. Go ahead and bake the bread for you and your son, but first, bake me a loaf of bread. God says that you will not run out of ingredients until He lets it rain again.”

The woman believed in God, and she did what Elijah said. She baked him a loaf of bread, but then, she still had enough ingredients left over to bake her and her son’s bread. The next day, she still had enough ingredients to make more bread. The same thing kept happening every day, just as Elijah had said. The woman never ran out of ingredients!

How do you think the woman never ran out of ingredients? (God kept giving her new ingredients to make her bread.)

So, Elijah lived with the woman and her son, and God kept giving them food to eat.

But a little while later, the woman’s son died. Elijah took the son and carried him upstairs to his room and put him on the bed. Elijah prayed to God, asking God to bring the son back to life.

Do you think God will make the son come back to life?

Elijah lied down on top of the son and kept praying for God to bring him back to life. After a few seconds, God answered Elijah’s prayer and the boy came back to life!

And because of everything that God and Elijah did for the woman and her son, they believed in God.

Review Questions

Why did Elijah say that God wasn’t going to let it rain in Israel? (Because King Ahab was doing bad things. God said it would only rain again when Ahab started to believe in Him and do the right things.)

How did Elijah get food when he was hiding by the river? (God told the birds to bring him food.)

How did Elijah get food when he was living with the poor woman and her son? (God kept giving them new ingredients to make bread so that they wouldn’t run out.)

Do you think God could help give you food like that? (Yes.)

God helps us in all kinds of different ways. He gives us what we need.

What did Elijah do to make the woman’s son come back to life? (He prayed for God to help the son.)

Do you think you could pray for God to help other people? (Yes.)

God likes it when we pray for other people. He doesn’t always do everything we ask Him to, like when He helped the son when Elijah asked Him to, but He does like it when we pray.

Game: Raising the Dice

Divide students into two teams and give each time a six-sided die. The first student from each team runs up to a table and rolls their dice. The student with the highest roll gets a point for their team.

The trick is that each team can help their player. As the students are rolling their die, the teams cheer. The team that’s the loudest gets to add one number to their player’s die roll. So, if Team A’s player rolls a 3, but their team is cheering the loudest, you’ll count that player’s roll as a 4.

Students re-roll in case of a tie, but only if the tie occurs after you add the cheering bonus.

After the first two students roll and you determine who gets the point, those students run back to their teams, hand off their die, and the next students run up. The team with the most points after everyone has rolled wins.

Explain that when we pray for someone, it’s like we’re cheering for them. We’re asking God to help them, just like Elijah prayed for the dead boy. Our prayers for someone else can help God decide to help that person.

Game: Resurrection Tag 

Divide students into two teams and play a game of freeze tag. When students get tagged, they freeze in place. They are Dead. Every few seconds, the leader runs through the playing field, pretending to be Jesus. When Jesus runs through, the Dead are unfrozen.

Perform this action a few times and then, switch which team is chasing the other. At the end, explain that just like God raised the dead boy back to life, Jesus is going to come back from Heaven one day and will raise all of us back to life too.

Closing Prayer

Lord, we know that You have the power to supply all of our needs and to answer our prayers. You are a powerful God and a good God. Help us to always put our trust in You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Rehoboam Sunday School Lesson for Kids -

The Kingdom Divided!

Use this children’s Sunday School lesson about Rehoboam and Jeroboam to teach kids the importance of humility and unity.

Needed: Bibles, Kerplunk or Jenga

Intro Game: Kerplunk or Jenga

Both of these games require kids to take risks and exercise wisdom. Jenga is an especially simple game that you can make yourself if you want to by cutting up some spare wood into roughly even blocks.

Play either game a couple of times. Then, Say, You have to be careful and make good choices about what piece to pull in that game. Otherwise, it all comes crashing down. We’re going to learn about a king today who needed to make a good choice or else his kingdom would come crashing down.

Lesson

Say, Last time, we learned about King Solomon. Does anyone remember who Solomon’s father was? (King David.)

When Solomon took over as king, God told Solomon that he could ask for one thing and God would give it to him. What was the good thing that Solomon asked God to give him? (Wisdom.)

And what is wisdom? (Being smart enough to make the right decisions and to do the right things that God wants us to do.)

But then, Solomon started listening to his wives instead of to God. What was the bad thing that Solomon’s wives told him to do? (To believe in and worship fake gods and not the real God only.)

(Read 1 Kings 11-12 with your students, or read the following story as a summary.)

Summary Story

After Solomon died, his son, Rehoboam, became the next king of Israel. All the people of Israel came to Rehoboam and said, “Your father, Solomon, made us work very hard. If you will let us work a little less hard, we will serve you as our new king.”

Do you think Rehoboam should let the people work less hard?

If Rehoboam doesn’t make the right decision, his whole kingdom could come crashing down.

Rehoboam wasn’t sure. He said, “Let me think about it for a few days and then, come back.” The people left, and Rehoboam asked the older men who had served his father Solomon, “What should I do?”

The older men answered, “You should let the people work less hard and then, they will serve you as their new king.”

But Rehoboam didn’t want to let the people work less hard, so he asked his friends, “What should I do?”

And his friends said, “You shouldn’t let the people work less hard. You should make them work even harder!”

Do you think Rehoboam should make the people work harder?

What do you think will happen if Rehoboam tells the people he’s going to make them work harder?

Three days later, the people of Israel came back to Rehoboam, and Rehoboam said, “My father, Solomon, made you work hard. I’m going to make you work even harder!”

Some of the people of Israel decided to still let Rehoboam be their king, but most of the people decided not to let Rehoboam be their king. They started their own country and made a man named Jeroboam their king.

Israel had been split into two countries. The smaller country that still had Rehoboam as their king was named Judah. The larger country that had Jeroboam as their king was named Israel.

Game: Peer Pressure Playacting part two

Explain that Rehoboam lost most of his kingdom because he listened to his friends instead of the wise older people.

Have students form groups of three. Give them a few minutes to think of how to act out a scene in which one or two of them pressure the other(s) to do something wrong, but then, the person resists them. Tell them to be creative in how they might say no to someone who’s trying to get them to do something wrong. Then, all the groups perform their scene for the class.

You can allow them to think of their own scenarios or give them cue cards to base their scene on. Ideas include Smoking, Drinking, Doing drugs, Stealing, Lying, Making fun of someone, Cheating, Cursing, Telling a Dirty Joke, and Watching a TV Show they Shouldn’t.

Story continues...

King Rehoboam had done a bad thing by listening to the bad advice of his friends and not listening to the people and letting them work less hard. But King Jeroboam in Israel also did a bad thing. When he became king of the new country of Israel, he made fake gods and set them up for the people to worship.

Why would it be wrong for Jeroboam to set up fake gods? (Because there’s only one real God and God says we’re supposed to believe in and worship only Him.)

So, the Israelites had two countries and two bad kings. Next time, we’ll start learning about the prophets that God sent to deal with these bad kings.

Game: Splitting the Kingdom 

Divide students into two teams for a modified game of Red Rover. The teams line up facing each other on either side of your play area. They link hands with the students next to them.

You’ll call the name of one of the students on Team A. That student must then break away from his team and try to break through the linked hands of two members of Team B. If that student breaks through, they get a point for their team. If Team B resists the charging student, Team B gets a point.

Next, call a student from Team B to try to break through Team A’s line.

Whenever a student breaks through the opposite team’s line, those two students do not link hands again. The next student from the opposing team has to try to break through the linked hands of another two students. When one team succeeds in breaking all the links of the opposing team, they win.

Explain that just like the teams were trying to split the other team up, King Rehoboam made a bad decision that ended up splitting his kingdom.

Closing Prayer

Lord, we pray that You’ll help us to make good decisions that don’t cause people to fight. We want to be all united together in You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

King Solomon Sunday School Lesson for Kids -

Solomon, the Wisest King?

Use this children’s Sunday School lesson about the life of Solomon to teach kids to be faithful to God their entire lives.

Needed: Bibles, index cards (some with names of various gods written on them and some with “God” written on them), a piece of paper for each group of students with the basic scenario of the two women claiming one baby written on it

Intro Activity: Peer Pressure Playacting 

Have students form groups of three. Give them a few minutes to think of how to act out a scene in which one or two of them pressure the other(s) to do something wrong. Then, all the groups perform their scene for the class.

You can allow them to think of their own scenarios or give them cue cards to base their scene on. Ideas include Smoking, Drinking, Doing drugs, Stealing, Lying, Making fun of someone, Cheating, Cursing, Telling a Dirty Joke, and Watching a TV Show they Shouldn’t.

Say, Today, we’re going to learn about a King who gave in to the pressure of what other people wanted him to do.

Lesson

(Note: Always allow students enough time to think about and answer the questions before clarifying the teaching.)

Read 1 Kings 1-11 with your students, or read the following story as a summary.

Summary Story

When King David was old, he made his son, Solomon, the next king. Solomon loved God and did what was right. One night while Solomon was sleeping, God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, “Solomon, I want you to ask Me for something, and whatever you ask for, I will give it to you.”

If you were the king or queen of the country and God told you He would give you one thing, what would you ask for?

Solomon answered, “Lord, You were always very kind to my father, David, and now You have been kind to me by making me king. But, God, being a king is a big job. If I can ask You for one thing, I want to ask You to give me wisdom.”

What is wisdom? (Wisdom is being smart enough to make the right decisions and to do the right things that God wants us to do.)

God was very happy with Solomon because he asked for wisdom. God said, “Solomon, you could have been selfish and asked Me to make you rich or to help you live a long time or to help you defeat your enemies, but instead, you did the right thing and asked for wisdom. Now, as a reward, I’m going to give you wisdom and gold and a long life, and I’m going to help you defeat your enemies.”

So, Solomon became the wisest, richest king there ever was. He always made the right decisions, and kings and queens from other countries would even come to learn from Solomon.

Game: Solomon’s Wisdom

Divide students into groups of two or three. Give each them a piece of paper with this scenario and question written on it.

Two women were living in the same house.

Both had a baby the same week.

One of the babies died while the women were sleeping.

Both women claim that the living baby is theirs.

How can King Solomon use his wisdom to decide which woman should keep the baby?

Underneath this section, you can add a picture of two women and a baby.

Give the groups approximately five minutes to brainstorm. Then, have them present their ideas.

Explain that because Solomon didn’t know which woman the baby belonged to, he said to cut the living baby in half and give one half to the first woman, and the other half to the second woman. The woman who knew that it was her baby said, “No! Give my baby to the other woman.” She was willing to give up her baby to the other woman to save her baby from being cut in two. The other woman didn’t say anything. So, Solomon knew that the woman who said not to cut the baby in half was the baby’s real mother.

Story continues...

Solomon built a Temple to God. His father, King David, had wanted to build a Temple, but God said that Solomon was going to be the one to do it. It was a great Temple for God where everyone could go and worship God and where the priests could live.

There was a curtain in the Temple, and behind that curtain, it was called the Holy of Holies. That’s where they put the Ark of the Covenant with the stone tablets that God had written the Ten Commandments on, and a piece of the manna that God had used to feed the Israelites when they were walking through the desert after they crossed the Red Sea and left Egypt with Moses.

When the Temple was finished, Solomon prayed, and God’s Presence came down from Heaven like a cloud and went into the Temple. God’s Presence lived behind the curtain in the Holy of Holies, and no one was allowed to go behind the curtain and see God except for the high priest once a year.

So, Solomon was very wise and very rich, and he did a great job building the Temple for God. But then, Solomon made a very big mistake. Can anyone guess what bad thing Solomon did?

Solomon married very many women. That wasn’t the wrong thing because God said that men could have a lot of wives back then. Today, men are not allowed to have more than one wife, but back then, they could. Solomon had very many wives. In fact, he had one thousand wives! That’s a lot, right?

And some of Solomon’s wives were from other countries where the people didn’t believe in and worship the real God. They believed in and worshiped fake gods. These wives told Solomon that they wanted him to believe in and worship their fake gods too, and not believe in and worship the real God only.

Do you think Solomon should listen to his wives and believe in and worship fake gods and not the real God only? (No.)

What would you do if someone wanted you to believe in fake gods and not the real God only?

God’s number one rule is that we believe in and worship only Him because He’s the only real God that there is. But Solomon started to believe in and worship the fake gods too, and that made God very angry. It made God so angry that He decided to make someone else king instead of Solomon’s son when Solomon died.

But we’ll learn about that next time. For now, let’s see if we can remember some things from our story today. What was the good thing that Solomon asked God to give him? (Wisdom.)

And what is wisdom? (Being smart enough to make the right decisions and to do the right things that God wants us to do.)

But then Solomon started listening to his wives instead of to God. What was the bad thing that Solomon’s wives told him to do? (To believe in and worship fake gods and not the real God only.)

Game: gods vs. God

Print out or write the names of various gods and the word “God” on a set of index cards. You should have an equal number of cards that various gods’ names as God.

Divide students into two teams and have the teams line up on separate sides of the room in single file lines. Mix up the cards and give each student a card randomly. Set a timer for 3-5 minutes, depending on how many students you have. When you say Go! the first student on both teams run toward each and show each other their cards.

If one says the name of a god and the other says God, the student with God scores a point for their team. The person with a god does not score. If both say God, both score a point, and if both say a god, neither does. Both return to the back of their lines and trade their cards for a new card.

As soon as they leave the center, the second two players run up and do the same thing. Play continues until the timer runs out. The team with the most points at the end wins.

Play again if time allows.

Closing Prayer

God, we pray that You will give us wisdom too so that we can know the right things that You want us to do. And we pray that You will always help us to listen to and believe in only You as our God. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.