Lesson on Loyalty - Abraham's Big Test

Abraham's Big Test (Genesis 22:1-19)

Isaac grew up to be a fine boy. Abraham was very thankful to God that He gave him a son whom he really loves. One day, God spoke to Abraham and said "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."

The next day, Abraham, Isaac and two other servants went on a journey. They brought with them enough wood for the burnt offering. They walked 3 days and when they were near Moriah, only Abraham and Isaac continued onto Mount Moriah.

Isaac brought the wood for the burnt offering on his shoulders while Abraham carried the knife and fire. Probably wondering, Isaac asked "The fire and the wood are here,but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"

Abraham only replied "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." When they reached the place, Abraham built an altar, laid the wood on it, bound Isaac and laid him on the altar.

Abraham was about to strike Isaac with the knife when he heard the voice of the angel of the Lord call his name "Abraham! Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy. Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."

Then Abraham saw a ram caught in the thicket and he sacrificed that ram instead of his beloved son, Isaac.  God again spoke to Abraham "because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you..."  How happy Abraham must have been when he, his son and his two servants went back home.

KIDS DISCUSSION
1. If God (your mom or your dad) asks you to do something difficult, would you do it? Why?
2. What did God tell Abraham to do in our story? Was it easy or difficult?
3. How did Abraham respond? Did he follow God? Was it easy? What do you think Abraham felt?
4. What is loyalty? (complete devotion/faithfulness/staying by someone no matter how difficult things are) How did Abraham show his loyalty to God in the story?
5. How can you be loyal to God?

6. How did God reward Abraham's loyalty? 

MEMORY VERSE: James 2:23
"Abraham believed God ....and he was called God's friend."

KIDS' ACTIVITY
Abraham Sacrifices Isaac coloring page.
Memory Verse Puzzle. You can print this puzzle, color it yourself and cut along the lines. You can alternatively glue a cardboard at the back of the cut pieces to make them more sturdy. Make 2-3 sets depending on the number of students. Then play a game by letting 2 or 3 groups race each other in building the puzzle.
Dramatize the story of Abraham Sacrifices Isaac. Find in this page a sample Abaraham Sacrifices Isaac drama script. You may have to scroll down to find the script.
Word Search Puzzle. You can try this word search puzzle for the big kids.

Lesson on God's Faithfulness - The Birth of Isaac

We will continue our story with Abraham. When God first called Abraham, He promised that He will make Abraham into a great nation.  He also told Abraham that his offspring will be as many as the stars in the heavens (Genesis 15:4-5).  Can you count the stars in the sky at night? When Abraham heard this, he believed the Lord and he credited it to him as righteousness.

But the problem is, Abraham was already old, in fact he's already 99 years old and his wife Sarah is barren and past the age of childbearing, and they still don't have a child.  Do you think God can fulfill his promise to Abraham?

One day, Abraham saw three visitors nearby his tent. These visitors were really angels from God. He hurriedly went to them and invited them over and prepared something for them to eat and drink.  While eating, they asked "Where is Sarah?"  Abraham said, "There in the tent."  Then, they said that "Surely at about this time next year, Sarah will have a son."  When Sarah heard this, she laughed to herself thinking how can that be when she and Abraham are old. Then the angel said, "Why did Sarah laugh? Is anything too hard for the Lord?" Sarah then lied and said "I did not laugh." But the angel said, "Yes, you did laugh."  (Please read this account in Genesis 18:1-15)

Soon, the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant  and bore a son. Abraham gave the name Isaac.  Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. (Read from Genesis 21:1-7)

Kids Discussion
1. What did God promise to Abraham?
2. Why can't Abraham and Sarah have a child? How can God's promise be fulfilled?
3. What did the angels from God tell Abraham?
4. Why did Sarah laugh?
5. Did God fulfill his promise? How?
6. What can we learn from our story today? (God fulfills his promise. When He makes a promise, He is faithful to fulfill it. We should believe what God says.)

MEMORY VERSE:  Genesis 18:14
Is anything too hard for the Lord?

KIDS ACTIVITY

• Abraham coloring pages. Abraham looking at the stars.
• Simple foam star on Popsicle stick. See the video tutorial here.  Alternatively, you can use yellow colored paper (or any colored paper you like) and draw stars on them which the kids can cut. Help them in drawing a face on the stars then glue the stars on a Popsicle stick.  If you wish, you can glue the stars first on cardboard, cut and paste them to the Popsicle stick.
• Kirigami simple star. You can also make this simple paper star - similar to origami.