Lesson 1: The birth of Moses.
Passage: Exodus 1:1-2:10 - When the Israelites had lived in Egypt for many years, they prospered and grew in number. The Egyptian Pharaoh was afraid of them, and so he turned them into slaves and oppressed them terribly. Yet the Israelites continued to grow in number, so Pharaoh ordered that all of the Israelite baby boys were to be killed. One Israelite woman, however, took her baby boy and placed him in a basket among the reeds in the Nile River. He was found by the Pharaoh’s daughter, who took pity on him. Meanwhile, the baby’s sister, Miriam, approached Pharaoh’s daughter to ask if she should find a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby. She agreed and the baby was given back to his mother to be nursed. When the baby grew up, he was brought to the Pharaoh’s daughter and became her son, and she named him Moses.
Big Idea: God watches over us.
For Teachers:
Lesson plan.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit in a circle on the circle time rug. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: — Activity Leader
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we’re starting something brand new. We’re going to be learning about a character in the Bible who’s name is Moses.
Has anyone ever heard of Moses before? What do you know about the story of Moses?
Well we’re going to start by reading a book about the beginning of Moses’ story…
Read: Miriam at the River
Now let’s watch our video for today…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
What was the name of the place where the Israelites were living?
Why did the King of Egypt treat the Israelites so badly?
What did Moses’ mom do to try to save Moses from the Pharaoh?
And who found Moses in the end?
Why do you think God saved Moses?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story of Moses, and how we learn that even when the people of Israel were going through a hard time in Egypt, you were still watching over them and had plans to save them. Thank you for how you saved baby Moses so that he could grow up and help the people escape from Egypt. Thank you that we know that you also love and watch over us. You know about everything that happens to us and you care about us. Thank you that we can talk to you and pray to you about anything - good or bad - because we know you love us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Paper Weaving Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will weave pre-cut strips of paper into a basket-like pattern. They will then colour a picture of a baby and glue it to the woven paper.
If a child is not interested in the craft, allow them to move into free play.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Have the children sit near the TV. Welcome them to class.
Warm Up Activity: — Activity Leader
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we’re starting a brand new series. So far we’ve been learning a lot about the story of Jesus which is found in the second half of the Bible called the New Testament. But there’s actually a lot more of the Bible than just the New Testament. There’s also something called the Old Testament, which is the first half of the Bible! In the Old Testament there are a lot of interesting stories about lots of different characters. The character who’s story we’re going to be learning about is a man named Moses.
Has anyone ever heard of Moses before? What do you know about Moses and his story?
Let’s watch a video that will tell us a little bit about the beginning of Moses’ story. And then afterwards, we’ll watch our own Commons Kids video lesson…
Play Saddleback Kids ‘Baby Moses’ Video
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
What was the name of the country where the Israelites were living?
Why did the King of Egypt treat the Israelites so badly?
What did Moses’ mom do to try to save Moses from the Pharaoh?
And who found Moses in the end?
Why do you think God saved Moses?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story of Moses, and how we learn that even when the people of Israel were going through a hard time in Egypt, you were still watching over them and had plans to save them. Thank you for how you saved baby Moses so that he could grow up and help the people escape from Egypt. Thank you that we know that you also love and watch over us. You know about everything that happens to us and you care about us. Thank you that we can talk to you and pray to you about anything - good or bad - because we know you love us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Paper Weaving Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will weave pre-cut strips of paper into a basket-like pattern. They will then colour a picture of a baby and glue it to the woven paper.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Welcome the kids to class, ask how their week was and one interesting thing that happened.
Warm Up Activity: — Activity Leader
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we’ll be starting a brand new series. So far we’ve been learning a lot about the story of Jesus - his birth, life, public ministry, death, and resurrection. But now we’re going to be switching gears a little bit and going back to look at one of the most important stories in the Old Testament, which is the first half of the Bible. We’ll be learning about the story of a man named Moses.
Has anyone heard about Moses before? What do you know about him and his story?
Well let’s watch a video to find out about the first part of Moses’ story, and then afterwards we’ll watch our own Commons Kids video lesson…
Play Saddleback Kids ‘Baby Moses’ video.
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Why do you think Pharaoh so afraid of the Israelites that he decided to oppress them?
Do you think it would have been hard for the Israelites to believe that God was with them when they were going through so much oppression and they hadn’t even done anything wrong?
Have you ever had a time in your life when it felt like God didn’t care or wasn’t listening? What did you do then?
What do you think Moses’ mom must have been thinking when she decided to put Moses in a basket and float him down the Nile river?
What do you think of the fact that Moses ended up being adopted by Pharaoh’s own daughter and grew up in the Pharaoh’s palace? (It’s kind of ironic and funny that the man who was trying to get rid of all the Hebrew baby boys ended up with one of them as his adopted grandson, and that this very baby would be the one to save the Israelites in the end… It’s a great example of how God can turn a situation around completely)
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story of the Exodus that we’ve started today, and how we can learn from it that you are a God who cares about your people. Even though we may go through difficult times where we feel like you’re far away, the truth is that you’re always there watching over us, and that you have plans in store for us that we may have no idea about. Thank you for the ironic way that you can turn situations around for our good. Please help us to put our trust in you even when it’s difficult, to know that you are a God who loves and cares for us, who we can always turn to. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Basket Weaving Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will weave pre-cut strips of paper into a basket and decorate it.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
How do you think the Israelites felt when they were being treated so badly in Egypt? Do you think they thought God forgot about them?
Do you remember the name of the baby that God saved from the Pharaoh? How was he saved?
Do you remember what God’s special plan was for Moses when he grew up?
Do you think God was watching over the Israelites the whole time? Do you think God watches over you too?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Why did the Pharaoh treat the Israelites so badly? How do you think the Israelites must have felt? Do you think they thought God had forgotten them?
What was the name of the baby boy that God saved from Pharaoh? How did he end up being saved?
Do you remember what God’s special plan was for Moses’ life?
So do you think God had really forgotten about the Israelites in the end? Do you think that God is always watching over you too?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
What part of the story stood out to you the most? Why?
Do you think it would have been easy for the Israelites to feel like God was with them when they were still living a good life in Egypt? What about when they started being oppressed?
Do you think that God is still with us even when we feel like everything is going wrong and life is hard? How do you think we can remind ourselves of that?
