The Birth of Moses - God Saves the Baby in a Basket

Hi, kids! Today I’m going to tell you a story about a baby who was put inside a basket. So why do you think somebody would put a baby in a basket? Let’s find out who is this baby and why he was put in a basket.

 Do you remember the story of Joseph forgiving his brothers? Our story today is the continuation of what happened to Joseph's family after they lived and died in Egypt.

After Joseph, his father Jacob (also called Israel) and his family died, their descendants lived as slaves in Egypt. But God still blessed the children of Israel so they grew in number. They became so many that they outnumbered the Egyptians.

This made the Pharaoh afraid. “There are already too many Israelites in our land! We must find a way to control their growth, or else they may side with our enemies and conquer us!” So they treated the Israelites very badly and gave them a lot of work to do. 

The Pharaoh also commanded the Hebrew midwives to kill every baby boy that is born by an Israelite woman but leave the girl alive. But the midwives feared God and did not follow the Pharaoh. So Israel continued to grow in number.

There was a Hebrew husband (Amram) and wife (Jochebed) from the tribe of Levi. The wife had given birth to a beautiful baby boy. They hid the baby so that the Egyptians won't find him.

After three months, they could not hide him anymore so they thought of a clever way to save the baby. The mother wove a basket and coated it with tar so that it would float on water. Then she put her baby in the basket.

The baby's mother and his sister named Miriam went to the shore of the river Nile. They put the basket with the baby inside and let it float on the water. The mother prayed to God to take care of his son. Then she told Miriam to watch over the baby to see what will happen.
God kept watching over the baby boy because He had a special plan for this baby. Soon the Pharaoh’s daughter came to the Nile River to bathe. The princess saw the basket and sent her servant to fetch it for her. When she looked inside, she was surprised to find a baby inside! The princess said: “This must be one of the Hebrew’s children.” She felt sorry for the baby, so she decided to keep him. “I need a nursing woman to feed him and look after him.” Miriam who was hiding saw everything that happened. She jumped out of hiding and told the Princess, “I know a nursing woman who can help you.”

“Go, bring her to me, then.” The princess ordered the little Miriam. So Miriam ran back home to her mother and said happily, “Mother, I came to tell you that the Pharaoh’s daughter found my little brother, and she told me to come with someone who could nurse the baby. So I’m bringing you to her right now!” So they went to see the Princess.

When the Princess saw the Hebrew woman, she told her: “Take care of this baby, and I will pay your wage.” So the baby boy was raised by his own mother. And when the baby grew up, her mother took him back to the Princess. The Princess treated the boy as his own son. She said: “I have brought you out of the water, so I will call you Moses.” What’s so special about this baby boy Moses? Why did God keep him alive? Well, that’s another Moses story to tell! What's important is you know that God took care and saved baby Moses.
Read this story from Exodus 2:1-10.

KIDS DISCUSSION:

Let’s try to remember what happened in the story.
1. From what tribe of Israel did the Hebrew couple came from?
2. Where did the people of Israel live during this time?
3. Why was the Pharaoh afraid of the people of Israel? What did he do?
4. Did Israel become less in number because of Pharaoh’s order? Why?
5. Who put the baby in the basket? Why?
6. Did the baby die? Why?
7. Who found the baby?
8. What did the Princess do with the baby?
9. How did the boy ended up being raised by his mother?
10. Who gave the baby his name? What is his name? What does it mean?

MEMORY VERSE: Exodus 2:10

When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses ... “I drew him out of the water.”

KIDS ACTIVITY:

1. Tell the story. Print out the complete set of pictures of this story (including the three above) from this page. Give each child a picture then let them arrange the pictures according to the sequence of the story while still holding the picture. Let each child tell the story of the picture he/she is holding.

2. Coloring pages. You can find free baby Moses coloring pages here. You can print them for personal use, meaning not to be sold.

3. Baby on a woven basket.

• You need one blue-colored paper, white bond paper, one brown colored paper, blue crayon, scissor, glue and a picture of a baby. Prepare one set for each kid in class.
• Cut out the biggest oval shape you can in the middle of the blue-colored paper. You can also use white bond paper then simply color it blue after cutting out the oval shape from the middle.
• Cut some brown and white paper strips. Lay the strips of brown paper side by side over the oval shape until it is covered. Glue both ends of the paper strip to the edge of the oval shape. Then, get 1 strip of white paper and weave it through the glued strips of brown paper. Weave other strips of white paper until the oval shape is covered.
• Glue the baby picture on top of the woven basket. You can print out the baby picture shown below from this page or just manually draw one. The kids could also draw their own baby pictures if they like.
• Let them write something on the paper to remind them of today's story like "God saved baby Moses. God saved me, too."

This is how the finished craft will look like.

Joseph Forgives His Brothers

Hi Kids! Do you remember what happened to Joseph in the last lesson? The Pharaoh of Egypt made Joseph the governor of Egypt after interpreting his dream about the upcoming famine. Our story for today will be about how Joseph meets his brothers again and forgives them.

During the seven years that Egypt had plenty of harvests, Joseph gathered up as much grain as they can and stored them. After the seven years of plenty, the seven years of famine began, as Joseph had said to Pharaoh.

Image from Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing / CC BY-SA 3.0) Wikimedia Commons

There was a famine in all lands. But there was food in Egypt. The people cried to Pharaoh for food and the Pharaoh said to them that they should go to Joseph. Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grains to the Egyptians.

Joseph Interprets the Dreams of the Cupbearer, the Baker and the Pharaoh

Hi kids! Do you still remember what happened to Joseph? In the last lesson about Joseph, Potiphar and his Wife, Joseph ended up in prison because Potiphar's wife lied that Joseph did something wrong.

So poor Joseph was placed in the prison but God continued to be with him. The prison warden soon put Joseph in charge of all those held in prison.

One day, the Pharaoh became angry with his chief cupbearer and chief baker and put them in prison where Joseph was in charge. Then, one night, each of the two officials had a dream.

The following morning, Joseph asked the two what's wrong because they looked sad. They told Joseph that both of them had a dream but they did not know what they mean. Joseph said that God knows what dreams mean and they told Joseph their dreams.

The chief cupbearer said that in his dream I saw a vine with three branches. The vine blossomed and brought forth ripe grapes. Then he saw the Pharaoh's cup in his hand. He squeezed the grapes and gave the juice in the cup to Pharaoh.

Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

Joseph, Potiphar and His Wife - Trusting God in Difficult Times

Hi Kids! In our past lesson, we learned about Joseph, His Coat and Dreams. Do you remember what happened to Joseph in our last lesson? (Ask some questions about the past lesson such as: Who gave Joseph his coat? How do the brothers of Joseph feel toward Joseph? What did the brothers do to Joseph?)

Joseph was sold by his brothers to Ishmaelite traders and he was taken by them to Egypt. In Egypt, he was sold again and was bought by Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the Captain of the Guards, to become his slave. 

If you were Joseph how would you feel as somebody who came into Egypt? (Afraid? Shocked?) 

Remember he is in a new environment with different language, culture and beliefs.  Consider that Joseph was taught by his father that there is only one God but in Egypt there are many gods. So, I guess, it's a big and scary adjustment for Joseph.

Joseph, His Coat and Dreams - Lesson on Jealousy

Hi Kids! Do you still remember who Jacob is? Jacob married Leah and Rachel and had 12 sons from both of them. Joseph is the favorite of Jacob among all his sons and he made a colorful coat for him. Because of this, Joseph's brother were very jealous and hated him.

Joseph dreams of his future. Image from Wikipedia.

To make matters worse, Joseph had a dream which he told his brothers. He dreamed that all of them were binding sheaves of grain, and then his brothers' sheaves bowed down to his sheaf. This made his brothers even angrier because of the thought that Joseph will reign over them.

Jacob Reconciles with Esau - Lesson on Forgiveness

Hi Kids. Do you still remember how the story of Jacob and Esau went? Even from the womb, the twins had been struggling with each other. We learned about the stories when Esau sold his birthright to Jacob and when Jacob stole the blessings that Isaac wanted to give Esau. These stories led to the hatred of Esau for Jacob and the threat to kill him. Jacob, then, had to run away and live to a far away land.

But after many years, Jacob decided to go back and meet with Esau. He sent messengers to Esau telling him about his return, his messengers came back saying that Esau is coming with 400 men. How do you think Jacob felt? Afraid? He was afraid that Esau is coming to attack them.

Jacob Wrestles With God - Lesson on Persistence

Kids, have you done anything that was really hard to do? How about an assignment in school? a test in Math or Science? Do you simply give up? Let's see at a story of Jacob and a lesson about never giving up.

In the last lesson, Jacob just married Leah and Rachel. He worked for another 7 years for Laban and had many children. Afterward, he decided that he wanted to finally take his whole family and possessions and go back to his homeland. At first, they fled from Laban but Laban caught up with them. At the end, they agreed that they would part peacefully.

Jacob wrestles with a man. Wikipedia.

Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments

The stories in the whole Bible, including both Old and New Testament stories, is connected to Jesus in some way. As we teach our children the different stories and poems, different characters and different events in the Bible, I hope we could pinpoint them to Jesus. If we could connect Jesus to every story they hear, they would understand how the plan of God unfolds from Genesis to Revelation.

I did not receive a review copy of this book The Gospel Story: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments, but when I saw the preview pages (embedded below), I thought of sharing this with you. This new beautifully illustrated Bible Story book does what I have mentioned above - connect Jesus to every story. In addition, at the end of every story, the author has put in simple questions for the kids to explore. This is certainly a wonderful resource for every Christian family who wants to teach their kids the Bible at home, for every Sunday School class or Christian school.

Jacob's Dream of the Ladder

Has any one of you ever had a dream? What did you dream about? Was it scary? Was it adventurous? Was it a beautiful dream? (Let the kids tell some of their dreams.)

Our story for today is also about a person who had a dream. Do you remember Jacob? In our last lesson, we learned that after Jacob Got Isaac's Blessings, his brother, Esau, was so angry and wanted to kill him. So Jacob, as advised by his mother, Rebecca, decided to go away from their home in Beersheba to Haran.

When he reached a certain place, he was so tired. He just took a stone as his pillow and fell asleep. Then, he had a dream. He dreamed that there was a ladder from the ground that reaches to heaven. Then he saw angels going up and down the stairs.  Above it, he saw the Lord who said "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and Isaac. I will give and your offspring this land. Your offspring will be like the dust of the earth and all peoples of the earth will be blessed through you and your people. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised."

Jacob woke up and said "Surely the Lord is in this place. How awesome is this place!" Early in the morning, Jacob took his stone pillow and set it up as a pillar. Then he called the place Bethel which means house of God.

This story is found in Genesis 28:10-22

KIDS DISCUSSION:
1. Who is Jacob? What happened to him on his to Haran?
2. What was his dream about? What did God tell him in his dream?
3. Is God also with you and watches over you just like He did to Jacob?
4. If He is watching over us, how should we feel? (safe, protected, not afraid).
5. What are God's promises to Jacob? What is God's promises to you?
6. Do you think God can help you fulfill your dream? Pray to Him about it.

MEMORY VERSE: Genesis 28:15
I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go.

KIDS ACTIVITIES
1. Coloring pages: Jacob's ladder

2. Role playing: Pretend that you and the kids are like Jacob on a journey. Then, you get a small piece of crumpled paper (the children would love to crumple the paper by themselves and use scratch paper) and use it as your pillow.  Then, let someone pretend as angels and the Lord who spoke that "I am the Lord of Abraham and Isaac. I will increase your descendant. I will be with you and watch over you wherever you go." After hearing this, let all the children wake up and say together "Surely, the Lord is in this place."

3. Kids Draw. Let the children draw about their dream or what is their dream in life like having a beautiful house, or becoming a doctor or a teacher. Then, let the children write on their drawing, God can help me fulfill my dream.

Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessings

Have you ever played tricks or jokes on your brother or sister or any of your family members? How did that make them feel? This time, we will study the story of Jacob and Esau when their father, Isaac was already old and his eyes were already so weak.

One day, Isaac called his favorite son, Esau, and told him that he is already old and do not know when he will die. So, he told Esau to go out and hunt some wild game. Afterward, he will cook it into a tasty dish and give it to Isaac. Then he will bestow his blessings on him.  Esau quickly went out to do what is asked of him.

Now, Rebekah, Isaac's wife heard what he told Esau. She immediately told her son, Jacob, about the conversation and instructed him to bring two young goats so she can prepare the tasty dish which he will bring to Isaac, that he may receive the blessing.

But Jacob told his mother that his brother Esau is hairy and he is not. His mother told him that she will take care of that. After preparing the dish, Rebekah took Esau's clothes and put them on Jacob. She also put goatskins on his hands and the smooth part of his neck. Then, off he went to Isaac's tent.

This is how the conversation between Isaac and Jacob went. (This can be done by two people who will role play as Jacob and Isaac).
Jacob: My father.
Isaac: Yes, my son. Who is it?
Jacob: I am Esau. I have done as you told me. Please sit up, eat some of this tasty dish so that you may give me your blessing.
Isaac: How did you find it so quickly, my son?
Jacob: The Lord your God gave me success.
Isaac: Come near so I can touch you, my son, to know whether you really are my son Esau or not.
(Jacob went close to Isaac who touched him)
Isaac: The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau. Are you really my son Esau?
Jacob: I am.
Isaac: My son, bring me some of your game to eat, so that I may give you my blessing.
(Jacob brought it to Isaac and he ate. He also gave some wine and he drank.)
Isaac: Come here, my son and kiss me.
(Jacob went and kissed him. Then Isaac blessed him.)

After Jacob received the blessing and left Isaac's tent, Esau arrived. When Esau went into his father's tent and learned that Jacob has acted deceitfully, he cried bitterly.  He held a grudge against Jacob and said to himself that he will kill his brother Jacob after his father dies.

This Bible story can be found in Genesis 27:1-42.


KIDS DISCUSSION
1. What did old Isaac tell his son Esau?
2. What did Rebekah tell his son Jacob?
3. How did Jacob disguise himself to get the blessing from Isaac?
4. How did Esau feel when he learned that Jacob got the blessing?
5. What can we learn from this story? (We should not tell lies. Lies and trickery can hurt other people)


MEMORY VERSE: Colossians 3:9
Do not lie to each other.

KIDS ACTIVITY:
1. Coloring pages: Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessings; Memory Verse
2. Review the story by letting the kids answer this Crossword puzzle.
3. Role playing.  Let the children do the role playing of the conversation between Isaac and Jacob.
4. Playing Disguise. Make an easy paper plate mask. This can be done at the beginning and the children can play "guess who" before telling the story of Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessings.

Lesson on Growing Up With Your Siblings: Jacob and Esau

Do any of you have a brother or a sister? How are you getting along with him or her? Do you have the same likes and dislikes or different?  Today, we will study about twin brothers.

Remember Isaac and Rebekah? Isaac prayed to the Lord for Rebekah and she became pregnant. When she gave birth, she had twin boys. The first to come out was red and hairy so he was named Esau. The second was holding to Esau's heel so he was named Jacob. When they grew up, Esau became a hunter while Jacob was quiet and home bound. Esau was Isaac's favorite, while Jacob was favored by Rebekah.

One day, Esau came home from hunting very hungry. Jacob was cooking some stew so Esau asked for some. But Jacob said, "First, sell me your birthright."  (Birthright means a double share of the father's property upon his death. Usually, the oldest son gets this status or privilege.)  Because Esau was very hungry, he said "What good is birthright to me if I am about to die." So, he sold his birthright to Jacob.  Jacob, then gave Esau some bread and stew.

The story is taken from Genesis 25:19-34

KIDS DISCUSSION:
1. How do you describe Esau? Jacob? Are they the same or different?
2. Do your father or mother have favorites among your siblings? How do you feel about it?
3. If you were Jacob, would you ask for your brother's birthright?  Why?
4. If you were Esau, would you sell your birthright? Why?
5. What can you say about the relationship between Esau and Jacob? good or bad? with jealousy? with fighting?
6. How is your relationship with your siblings? Do you love your brother or sister even if he or she is different from you? How can you show your love?
7. What lesson have you learned from Esau and Jacob?


MEMORY VERSE: John 13:34
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

KIDS' CRAFT:
Origami heart: Since this lesson teaches about loving siblings, the kids may like to learn how to make an origami beating heart. There is a YouTube video of how to make this in this link.

Origami Photo frame: The kids can make this simple origami photo frame where they can put a picture of themselves and their siblings.




Jacob and Esau coloring page: Find on this page coloring pages telling the story of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for stew.

Finding a Bride for Isaac

In the last two lessons about Abraham, we learned of the birth of Isaac, his son. Then, when Abraham's loyalty to God was tested, he willingly sacrificed his only son, Isaac. Though Isaac's sacrifice did not push through because an Angel of the Lord spoke and said that Abraham was found faithful.  What then happened to Isaac after that?

When Abraham was old, Isaac was also grown up too.  When he still did not have a wife, Abraham asked his chief servant to go to back to his country and his relatives and look for a wife for Isaac.  He specifically told him to bring the woman back with him immediately and will not bring Isaac to her. That is a tall order.  Would a woman really come with him and marry Isaac even if she has not seen the man she's going to marry?

Abraham's servant then went on with the journey taking with him 10 camels bringing all kinds of goods on its back. When they reached the home town of Abraham, he had the camels kneel near the well outside of town. Then, he prayed:

"O Lord, God of my master Abraham, give me success today, and show kindness to my master Abraham. See, I am standing beside this spring, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. May it be that when I say to a girl, 'Please let down your jar that I may have a drink,' and she says 'Drink, and I'll water your camels too' - let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. By this, I will know that you have shown kindness to my master."

When he finished praying, Rebekah, the granddaughter of Abraham's brother, came out with her jar. The servant asked her, "Please give me a little water from your jar." Then Rebekah answered, "Drink, my Lord." After he had a drink, she also said "I'll draw water for your camels too."

The servant was excited looking closely at what happened. He asked about the family of Rebekah and learned that they were Abraham's relatives. He stayed in their house, explained the purpose of his journey and what happened at the well. He also asked for the hand of Rebekah in marriage for Isaac.

Laban (Rebekah's brother) and Bethuel (Rebekah's father) then said, "This is from the Lord. Here is Rebekah; take her and go and let her become the wife of your master's son, as the Lord has directed." Rebekah also agreed to go.

The servant was overjoyed and bowed down to the ground before the Lord and praised Him. Then, he gave gold and silver jewelry and articles of clothing to Rebekah. He also gave gifts to her brother and her mother.  The next day, they immediately went on their way back to Isaac. Isaac and Rebekah got married and Isaac loved Rebekah.

You can find this story in Genesis 24.

KIDS DISCUSSION (Hear what the kids have to say.)
1. Aa arranged marriage is common in Isaac's time, would you agree to marry someone you do not know someday?
2. What made the servant's mission successful? Why was he able to find a willing bride for Isaac? because of the servant's faith? because God answers prayer?
3. What do like most about this story? What did you learn? be prayerful, trust God always
4. Can you trust God in everything? in your family? finding your future husband or wife? in your school?

MEMORY VERSE: Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

KIDS ACTIVITY:
1. Ask the children to dramatize or make a simple play from the story of Finding a Bride for Isaac.
2. The 10 camels were instrumental in the servant's knowing how to find the right girl for Isaac.  Print this paper camel masks which the kids can also use during the play.
3. You can find a lot of other camel crafts from Artists Helping Children website.
4. Coloring page of Isaac and Rebekah.

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.

Lesson on Handling Conflict - Abraham and Lot

Do you remember our lesson last time when God called Abraham? Do you remember what God told Abraham to do? What did Abraham do? Do you remember who are the people that went with him? One of those who came with Abraham was his nephew, Lot.  Our lesson today will be about him found in Genesis 13:1-18.

Abraham and Lot are both shepherds and as they traveled, their animals like sheep and goats went with them. The time came that their flock grew in number and the land could not support them altogether.  The helpers of Abraham and the helpers of Lot started quarreling because of this.

Then Abraham said to Lot "Let's not have quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers. There's much land around us. Let's part company. If you go to the left, I'll go to the right. If you go to the right, I'll go to the left."  Then. Lot made his choice of the land to the East and Abraham went to the West. They parted ways peacefully.

KIDS DISCUSSION
Ask the kids after telling the story
1. What do Abraham and Lot have in common?
2. Why did their herdsmen/helpers quarrel?
3. What did Abraham do to stop the quarrel?
4. What good quality did Abraham show in this story?
5. Do you quarrel? Is it good to quarrel? What should you do when you're in quarrel with your siblings or friends or playmates?

Teach the children to handle conflicts.  This is a good time to teach about sharing, giving and forgiving. Ask the kids to make a choice by giving examples of familiar situations like
1. You have a new toy, what should you do with it when you see your friend?  (Share the new toy with his friend.)
2. Your friend doesn't want to lend you her new toy, what should you do? (Learn to wait for your turn)
3. Your friend doesn't want to do what you want when you are playing, what should you do? (Don't feel bad because he may not want to play the game. Think of other games you can play together.)
Think of other situations the kids can relate to.


MEMORY VERSE: Romans 12:18
"Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone."

KIDS ACTIVITY
Abraham and Lot coloring page.
Make a sheep craft. You will find lots of simple craft ideas for kids making sheep on this page. You can follow the instructions or just improvise. This can be done prior to telling the story or afterward.  You can also choose any of the sheep coloring pages here and instead of coloring, you can ask the kids to glue cotton on the sheep.

The Story of the Tower of Babel

What are the different languages you know? English, Spanish, German, Chinese, Italian, Filipino? Why do we have different languages? We can find the answer to this question in Genesis 11:1-9.

After the flood, God told Noah to be fruitful, increase in number and fill the earth. But when they have increased in number, the people decided to stay in one place, in the plain of Shinar. Then the people said to each other that they will make bricks and build a tower.  They said that they will build a tower that reaches up to the heavens so that they will make a name for themselves and not be scattered over all the earth.

But the Lord did not approve of this plan of theirs. During this time, people still speak one common language.  Then God confused the language of the people so that they did not understand each other. They stopped building the tower and began to scatter throughout the earth.  Thus, the tower was called Babel because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world.

KIDS DISCUSSION
1. What did God command Noah and his descendants?
2. Did the people obey this command?  What did they do?
3. What is wrong about building the tower? shows man's rebellion and pride
4. How did God feel about the men building the tower?
5. What did he do about it and what was the result?

MEMORY VERSE: James 4:6
God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

KIDS ACTIVITY
1. Ask the kids to color the Tower of Bable coloring page.

2. Using Building blocks. If the kids have building blocks to play with they can play a game. Two or three groups of kids can be given the same number of blocks and they build the tallest tower they can as fast as they could. The one who finishes first is the winner. Alternatively, if you don't have building blocks, you can just use plastic cups in playing the game.

3. The children can also review the lesson by role-playing. They can retell the stories by doing what the people in the story did. There should be a narrator and someone who will do the role of God. They can also use the building blocks or stacks of cups as props.

Object Lesson: How a Little Girl Utilized the Telephone

This short story teaches the little children about the importance of faith and prayer and that God answers prayer.  Note: The telephone conversation in the story can be used for role playing in the Sunday School class.  This can be taught along with the story of how Jairus' daughter was healed by Jesus found in Mark 5:21-24; 38-43.

There was mother watching over a sick baby who came down stairs for a moment to take a second's rest. She heard the voice of her little, 4-year old girl in the living room by herself.  She went and saw her seated in front of the telephone, and stood upon it, with the piece against the side of her head. The child was so earnest talking on the telephone and this was the conversation the mother heard, while the tears stood thick in her eyes.

"Hello."

"Well, who's there?"

"Is God there?"

"Yes."

"Is Jesus there?"

"Yes."

"Tell Jesus I want to speak to him."

"Well?"

"Is that you, Jesus?"

"Yes. What is it?"

"Our baby is sick, and we want you to let it get well. Won't you, now?"

No answer, and statement and question again repeated, and finally answered by a "Yes."

The little one put the ear-piece back on its hook, went down from the chair, and with a radiant face, went for her mother, who caught her in her arms.

The baby who has been began to mend that day and got well.

~ Elmira Free Press

MEMORY VERSE:  Mark 11:24
Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

KIDS CRAFT: How to Make a Simple Telephone

Cain Killed Abel - Lesson About Being Angry

Kids do you have any brother or sister? How are you getting along with them? Do you fight with your brothers or sisters? Why? What happens when you fight?

Our Bible story for today which is found in Genesis 4:1-8 is about two brothers who had some problems getting along with each other. They are the sons of Adam and Eve. Cain, who is older, is a farmer while Abel, the younger, is a shepherd.

Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing / CC BY-SA

One day, they went and offered their sacrifice to the Lord. Cain offered the fruits from his crops while Abel offered a firstborn of his flock.  God was pleased with Abel's offer and this made Cain mad.

Then Cain said to his brother, "Let's go to the field" and there he killed his brother.

Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing / CC BY-SA

DISCUSSION WITH THE KIDS
1. What can you say about the two brothers?
2. Why was Cain angry with his brother Abel? What did he do?
3. Do you fight with your brother or sister? Why?
4. Does God like us to be jealous and fight our siblings? How does God want us to deal with our siblings? What should we do to avoid fighting with our siblings?

You may also want to read this Cain and Abel lesson for additional input on how to teach this story.

MEMORY VERSE: James 1:19
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.

KIDS CRAFT / ACTIVITY
I like this craft from DLTK-Bible where the kids will use toilet paper roll to make Cain and Abel toilet paper roll craft. Good to use as visual aid as well while telling the story.  Find the instructions for making Cain and Abel by clicking the links.

Lesson on Steadfastness and Integirty: The Young Martyr

Here's another life story from the Public Domain which can be used to teach the children about steadfastness and integrity.  Below the story is another Sunday School lesson.

In the afternoon of August 9, 1853, there was a little Norwegian boy named Kund Iverson.  He lived in the city of Chicago, Illinois. He was going to the pastures for his cow on that summer afternoon. On his way, he came at a stream of water where there was a gang of idle, ill-looking, big boys. When they saw Kund, they came up to him; and said they wanted him to go into Mr. Elston's garden and steal some apples.

"No," said Kund promptly; "I cannot steal, I am sure."

"Well, but you've got to," they cried. 


They threatened to duck him, but the threat did not frighten Kund. So to make their words good, they seized him and dragged him into the river, and in spite of his cries and struggles, plunged him in. But the heroic boy even with the water gurgling and choking in his throat, never changed his mind.  For he knew that God had said: "Thou shalt not steal."  And he had made God's law to be his law; and no cursing, or threats, or cruelty of the big boys would make him give up.

Provoked by his firmness, the bullies ducked him again, but it still was, "No, no"; and they kept him under water. Was there no one near to hear his distressing cries, and rescue the poor child from their cruel grip? No; there was none to rescue him. Gradually the cries of the drowning child grew fainter and fainter, and his struggles less and less, and the boy was drowned.

He could die, but would not steal.

There was a German boy who had stood near, much frightened by what he saw, ran home to tell the news. The agonized parents quickly came and searched for their lost boy all night. It was found the next morning; and who shall describe their feelings as they clasped the little form to their bosoms? Early piety had blossomed in his little life. He loved his Bible and his Savior. His seat was never vacant at Sunday school, and so intelligent, conscientious and steadfast had he been.

The little boy thought he was only going after his cows that afternoon. His mother, the other boys, and the neighbors, if they saw him, thought so, too. They did not then know that instead of going to the pasture he was going to preach one of the most powerful sermons the country ever heard. They did not know that he was going to give an example of steadfastness of purpose and of unwavering integrity, such as should thrill the heart of this nation with wonder and admiration.

Kund Iverson was only thirteen years old, but his name was soon to be reckoned with martyrs and heroes. And as the story of his moral heroism winged its way from state to state, and city to city, and village to village, how many mothers cried with full hearts: "May his spirit rest upon my boy!" And strong men have wept over it and exclaimed: "God be praised for the lad!"  May there be a generation of Kund Iversons, strong in their integrity, true to their Bibles, ready to die rather than do wrong.

BIBLE STORY LESSON:  Read Exodus 20:1-17; 24:1-7
This passage is taken from the time when the Israelites reached Mount Sinai and God told the people throught Moses to prepare themselves because He is going to come in a dense cloud and speak to them. Exodus 20:1-17 lists the 10 commandments that God spoke to them. When the people saw the thunder and lightning, they were afraid.  So they told Moses that he speak to God himself and they will listen.

The next time Moses went and told the people all the Lord's words and laws, they responded with one voice; "Everything the Lord has said we will do."


Kids Discussion:
1. How did God speak to the people? How did the people feel? What did they say in response?
2. What are the commands of the Lord?
3. What should we do with the Lord's words and laws?
4. How can the children follow the example of Kund Iverson? What is steadfastness and integrity? (loyalty in the face of trouble and difficulty)


MEMORY VERSE: Exodus 24:7
Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey."

KIDS ACTIVITY
Ten Commandments Quiz
Ten Commandments Coloring Pages:  1 2   3
Game: Let the children play some games (indoor: chess, snake and ladder; outdoor: relay games, sack race) and see how steadfast they are to the end.

Lesson on Trusting Jesus: Jesus Calms the Storm

One evening, Jesus and his disciples took a boat to get to the other side of the lake.  Then, a storm came up and the waves broke over the boat so that the boat is nearly filled with water.  Jesus doesn't seem to be bothered by the storm, he is sleeping on a cushion.  The disciples woke him and said "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

Jesus got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!"  Then everything was completely calm.  He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid?" Do you still have no faith?"  The disciples were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"

This Bible story is found in Mark 4:35-41

REFLECTION: (You can use these simple questions to discuss the story to the kids)
1.  What happened while Jesus and his disciples were in the boat?
2.  How did Jesus feel?  How did the disciples feel?  If you were in the boat, what would you feel?
3.  What miracle did Jesus do in this story?  What does that tell us about Jesus?
4.  What are some of the things you are afraid of?  When you are afraid, what should you do?


KIDS SUNDAY SCHOOL SONG: With Christ in My Vessel.  This song is perfect to to with this story.  I have taught this to kids in Sunday school and they love to sing this song.  We even play a simple game with it.  We change words in the song with M.  For example, we change all the Christ words with M and sing "With M in my vessel, I can smile at the storm...."  Then, we change another word - vessel and sing  With M in my M, I can smile at the storm...." We sing over and over until we've changed all these words - Christ, vessel, smile, and storm.  The kids enjoy this.





MEMORY VERSE: Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

KIDS ACTIVITY
Free coloring page courtesy of Calvary William Sport dot com.
Make an origami boat.  Click the link for instructions.