Ezekiel Sunday School Lesson for Kids - Ezekiel the Watchman

Ezekiel Sunday School Lesson for Kids -

Warning!

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Kindle $1.99, Print $4.99

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 worshipped 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.
 

Recommended Extras

The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible – for telling the stories with beautiful artwork and Biblical accuracy

More info...

The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Stories for Children – for telling the stories to younger children

More info...

MangaComic Book: Messengers – for your classroom or church library 

More info...

My Big Book of Bible Heroes Devotional – a devotional to recommend for families or older students

More info...

 

King Josiah Sunday School Lesson -

The Case of the Missing Bible

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Kindle $2.99, Print $5.99

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.

Recommended Extras

The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible – for telling the stories with beautiful artwork and Biblical accuracy

More info...

The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Stories for Children – for telling the stories to younger children

More info...

MangaComic Book: Messengers – for your classroom or church library 

More info...

My Big Book of Bible Heroes Devotional – a devotional to recommend for families or older students

More info...

Josiah Find the Law of the Lord – free additional game ideas

Jeremiah Sunday School Lesson for Kids - The Exile of Israel

Jeremiah Sunday School Lesson for Kids -

Exiled!

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Kindle $2.99, Print $5.99

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.

Recommended Extras

The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible – for telling the stories with beautiful artwork and Biblical accuracy

More info...

The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Stories for Children – for telling the stories to younger children

More info...

MangaComic Book: Messengers – for your classroom or church library 

More info...

My Big Book of Bible Heroes Devotional – a devotional to recommend for families or older students

More info...

King Hezekiah Sunday School Lesson for Kids -

King Hezekiah and the Prophet Isaiah

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Kindle $2.99, Print $5.99

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.

Recommended Extras

The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible – for telling the stories with beautiful artwork and Biblical accuracy

More info...

The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Stories for Children – for telling the stories to younger children

More info...

MangaComic Book: Messengers – for your classroom or church library 

More info...

My Big Book of Bible Heroes Devotional – a devotional to recommend for families or older students

More info...

Jonah Sunday School Lesson for Kids

The Prophet Jonah Sunday School Lesson for Kids

from...

Kindle $2.99, Print $5.99

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.

Recommended Extras

Superbook:Jonah – an animated video from the updated Superbook series, includes time-traveling children who learn lessons from the story

More info...

Greatest Adventure Stories from the Bible: Jonah and the Whale – animated video with time-traveling teenagers who witness the Biblical story, realistic art style

More info...

Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible – another animated video with a Disneyesque art style and no time traveling

More info...

The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible – for telling the stories with beautiful artwork and Biblical accuracy

More info...

The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Stories for Children – for telling the stories to younger children

More info...

MangaComic Book: Messengers – for your classroom or church library 

More info...

My Big Book of Bible Heroes Devotional – a devotional to recommend for families or older students

More info...

Jonah Runs Away from the Lord and Jonah Preaches in Nineveh – free coloring and activity pages

Time Out – free children’ sermon about God putting Jonah in a “time out”

Elisha and Naaman Sunday School Lesson for Kids -

Elisha Heals Naaman for Free, but Gehazi is Greedy

from...

Kindle $2.99, Print $5.99

Use this children’s Sunday School lesson about Elisha and his servant to teach children about generosity and helping others.

Needed: Bibles, pennies

Intro 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, say that you’ll explain why you played that version of tag after the lesson.

Elisha Sunday School Lesson

Say, Last time, we learned about how Elijah went up to Heaven. Does anyone remember how Elijah got to Heaven? (God sent a fiery chariot down to get him and carry him up to Heaven.)

Then Elijah’s helper, Elisha, became an even greater prophet than Elijah. Today, we’re going to learn about one of the miracles Elisha did for someone.

(Read 2 Kings 5:1 with your students.)

“Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.”

Who was Naaman? (He was the army commander for Aram, one of Israel’s enemies.)

And what disease did Naaman have? (Leprosy.)

Does anyone know what leprosy does to you? (Leprosy is a disease that makes your skin rot off and makes you look kind of like a zombie. It can even make your nose or ears or fingers or toes fall off.)

(Read 2 Kings 5:2-7 with your students.)

“Now bands of raiders from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, ‘If only my master would see the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.’

Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. ‘By all means, go,’ the king of Aram replied. ‘I will send a letter to the king of Israel.’ So Naaman left, taking with him [a lot] of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten sets of clothing. The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: ‘With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.’

As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, ‘Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel with me!’”

Why is the king of Israel upset? (The king of Aram sent his army commander, Naaman, to Israel so that Naaman could be cured of his leprosy. But the king of Israel can’t cure leprosy so he thinks the king of Aram will get mad and attack him because he couldn’t cure Naaman’s leprosy.)

(Read 2 Kings 5:8-12 with your students.)

“When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: ‘Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet in Israel.’ So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, ‘Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.’

“But Naaman went away angry and said, ‘I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?’ So he turned and went off in a rage.”

Why is Naaman angry? (Because Naaman wanted Elisha to do a special miracle for him to cure him of his leprosy, but Elisha didn’t even come out of his house to see Naaman. He just sent his servant to tell Naaman to go wash in the river. Naaman thought Elisha was tricking him because he knew that just washing in the river usually wouldn’t be enough to heal him of his leprosy.)

(Read 2 Kings 5:13-14 with your students.)

“Naaman’s servants went to him and said, ‘My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, “Wash and be cleansed”!’ So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.”

How did simply washing in the river heal Naaman? (Washing in the river usually wouldn’t have been enough to heal Naaman, but God did a miracle for Naaman and healed him.)

When Naaman did what Elisha said and went to wash in the river, God did a miracle for him. If we want God to help us, then we have to do what He says. How do we know what God wants us to do? (The Bible tells us what God wants us to do.)

If we do the right things that God tells us to do in the Bible, then He will help us.

(Read 2 Kings 5:15-16 with your students.)

“Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, ‘Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift from your servant.’

The prophet answered, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.’ And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.”

Why didn’t Elisha want Naaman to pay him for healing him? (Elisha didn’t want money for healing Naaman. He only wanted to help him.)

God likes it when we help people for free. We shouldn’t always do things for money. We should do things because we want to help people.

And did Elisha care that Naaman was one of Israel’s enemies? (No.)

Even though Naaman was one of Israel’s enemies, Elisha still helped him. God likes it when we help everyone, even the people we don’t like very much.

(Read 2 Kings 5:17 with your students.)

“’If you will not [take anything],’ said Naaman, ‘please let me, your servant, be given as much earth as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord.’”

Naaman said that he was only going to worship the real God now, and not any of the fake gods. Why do you think Naaman decided to believe in the real God? (Because God and Elisha had healed him from his leprosy.)

That’s why we should help other people too. Sometimes, when we help people in God’s name, it makes them want to believe in God, and God is happy when more people believe in Him. God loves them and wants them to go to Heaven when they die so that they can live forever with Him.

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.

Lesson continues...

Read 2 Kings 5:18-20 with your students.

“’But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.’

“’Go in peace,’ Elisha said.

“After Naaman had traveled some distance, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, ‘My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the Lord lives, I will run after him and get something from him.’”

Elisha said he wouldn’t take any money for helping Naaman because he only wanted to help Naaman, but what is Elisha’s servant doing? (He’s going to try to get something from Naaman.)

Do you think Gehazi, the servant, is doing the right thing or the wrong thing by trying to get something from Naaman?

(Read 2 Kings 5:21-22 with your students.)

“So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. ‘Is everything all right?’ he asked.

“’Everything is all right,’ Gehazi answered. ‘My master sent me to say, “Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them [some] silver and two sets of clothing.”’”

Did Elisha send Gehazi to say that? (No.)

So Gehazi is lying and trying to get money for himself.

(Read 2 Kings 5:23-27 with your students.)

“’By all means, take [the silver],’ said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the [pieces of] silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left.

“When he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, ‘Where have you been, Gehazi?’

“‘Your servant didn’t go anywhere,’ Gehazi answered.

“But Elisha said to him, ‘Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves? Naaman’s leprosy will cling to you and to your descendants forever.’ Then Gehazi went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.”

What happened to Gehazi because he lied? (He got Naaman’s disease of leprosy.)

So, remember, God likes it when we help people for free because it’s nice to help people and because maybe when we help people in God’s name, that will make them want to believe in God as we do. Then, they will get to go to Heaven when they die and live forever with God.

Game: Disciple Tag

Play the intro game again 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.

Game: Give it Away 

Remind students that Elijah wanted to help Naaman for free, but Gehazi was greedy. To help them not be greedy, you’re going to play a game about money.

Divide students into two teams. Give one team a handful of pennies. Have them keep as much as they think they need, giving a rationale for each cent. Question their decision on what they need to keep their money for and what they don’t. You are trying to get them to see the difference between needs and wants.

Tell them to give away the rest, putting it into an offering plate. The leader takes some of that money, explaining that it’s for the church to pay its bills, and then gives the rest to the other team. Now, ask the second team to keep what they need from what they’ve been given by the first team. Again, they put their extra into the offering.

Then, the leader pulls out more money to give to the first team to reward them for their generosity. The more they gave away during their round, the more they receive as a reward from God. They are also given the offering from team two. This is how offering works and how God rewards us for it.

Play three rounds. At the beginning of each round, the money that the teams kept is “spent” on their necessities and recycles back into the leader’s supply.

Closing Prayer

Lord, make us generous and giving like Elisha was. Help us want to help people in Your name so that they can believe in You. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Recommended Extras for Your Elisha Sunday School Lesson

Superbook:Naaman and the Servant Girl – an animated video from the updated Superbook series, includes time-traveling children who learn lessons from the story

More info...

The Complete Illustrated Children’s Bible – for telling the stories with beautiful artwork and Biblical accuracy

More info...

The Beginner’s Bible: Timeless Stories for Children – for telling the stories to younger children

More info...

MangaComic Book: Messengers – for your classroom or church library 

More info...

BibleFun Factory: Solomon, Elijah, and Elisha –additional or substitutional material for your lessons

More info...

My Big Book of Bible Heroes Devotional – a devotional to recommend for families or older students

More info...

The Widow’s Oil – free coloring and activity pages