Lesson 4: Cain and Abel.
Passage: Genesis 4 - After Adam and Eve were sent out of the Garden of Eden, they had two sons named Cain and Abel. When the two boys grew up, they both brought an offering to God. Cain brought some of the produce that he had grown, while Abel gave the best parts of the sheep that he had raised. God favoured Abel’s offering over Cain’s, and this lead Cain to become jealous of his brother. One day, Cain snuck up on Abel and attacked him. When confronted about this by God, Cain asked if he was supposed to be his brother’s keeper. Because of what he had done, Cain was sent away to become a restless wanderer on the earth. Cain said that this punishment was too much for him to bear, and that he was afraid someone would attack and harm him. In response, God placed a mark on Cain, promising that he would be protected from harm wherever he went.
Big Idea: God has given us tools to help with our big feelings.
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 and introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Simon Says — Activity Leader
This is really just to get kids to get their movement out at the beginning of the class. I'd recommend doing some really active commands (I'll print out a list of commands to help get some variety) and then finish the game with a couple calmer actions (deep breaths, lie on the floor, etc).
Class can play a couple rounds of this by playing until everyone is 'out' except one student and then they get to lead the next round.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is our last day learning about the story of Creation in the Bible. We learned that God created the whole world and everything in it. Then we learned that God made the first humans and put them in a beautiful garden with only one rule to follow. Sadly, the humans didn’t trust God and broke the one rule! Because of this, they had to leave the garden, but God was still with them.
Today we’ll be finding out what happens next in the story to Adam and Eve’s two children - Cain and Abel.
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Does anyone here have brothers or sisters, or maybe a best friend who is like a brother or sister to you? Do you always get along well with each other or do you sometimes fight?
Have you ever felt jealous of somebody else? Why was that? What did you do about it? What do you think we can do instead of being mean to each other like Cain was to Abel?
Do you think that God was still with Cain and protecting him even after he was given his consequences? Why do you think God still took care of him even though he did wrong things?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we learned today about Cain and Abel, and how it teaches us that we need to be careful about our hearts and our thoughts. Sometimes we can feel angry or jealous of others, and that can lead us to do things we shouldn’t, like hurting each other. Whenever we feel jealous or angry, please help us to take a moment to pause and remember even if we make mistakes, you still love us and want to help us heal our hearts. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Craft: Cain and Abel Pop-Up — Activity Leader
Cut outs will be provided, which kids can colour with markers and glue together to create their pop-up art.
If a child is not interested in the activity, allow them to move to 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. Introduce yourselves .
Warm Up Activity: Offering Race — Activity Leader
Supplies: A piece of plastic fruit and a stuffed animal (preferably a lamb).
This game is played like red light, green light. The teacher starts on one side of the room with a stuffed lamb in one hand and a piece of plastic fruit in the other. Next, the teacher places both hands behind their back and has all students line up on the other side of the room.
When the teacher shows the students the lamb, they may slowly move forward. When the teacher shows the fruit, the students must stop. Any students who move when the fruit is shown must go back to the start. The first student to make it all the way to the teacher wins.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is the last day of our series on the story of Creation.
Can anyone remember some of the things we learned about so far?
Well today we’ll find out what happened next after Adam and Eve left the garden and had two children named Cain and Abel…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Has there ever been a time when you felt jealous of someone else? Why do you think you felt that way? What did you do about it?
When we feel frustrated or jealous or mad what can we do with our thoughts? (suggestions: we can pray to God to help us heal our hearts when we feel like they are not in the right place, we can talk to a trusted adult or friend, we can take deep breaths and regulate our bodies.
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we learned today about Cain and Abel, and how it teaches us to watch our hearts and our thoughts because they can lead us to do things that we shouldn’t, like hurting others out of anger or jealousy. Please help us to notice our thoughts and feelings. Thank you that even when we make mistakes, you are still there for us, and love us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Craft: Cain and Abel Pop-Up — Activity Leader
Cut outs will be provided, which kids can colour with markers and glue together to create their pop-up art.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
-
Welcome — Activity Leader
Welcome the kids to class, introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Simon Says — Activity Leader
This is really just to get kids to get their movement out at the beginning of the class. I'd recommend doing some really active commands (a print out list of commands will be available to help get some variety) and then finish the game with a couple calmer actions (deep breaths, lie on the floor, etc).
Class can play a couple rounds of this by playing until everyone is 'out' but one student and then they get to lead the next round.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is the final day of our series on the story of Creation.
What are some of the things that we’ve learned so far?
Today we’ll find out about what happens next after Adam and Eve leave the garden and start to have a family.
Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
After Adam and Eve were sent out of the Garden of Eden, they are said to have had two sons. Can anyone remember the names of those sons?
Has there ever been a time when you felt jealous of something that someone else had? What was it? Why do you think you felt that way? What was your response?
What are some things we can do to combat feeling of jealousy or anger when they rise up in us?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God please help us to be mindful and aware of our thoughts and feelings towards others. Please help us to see how people are made in your image and how to love them with our actions. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Craft: Cain and Abel Pop-Up — Activity Leader
Pages will be provided with pictures that the kids can cut out, colour, and glue together to create their Cain and Abel pop-up art.
Crossword ages will also be provided.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
For Parents:
Follow-up questions.
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What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
Why was Cain jealous of his brother Abel? What did he do because of his jealousy?
Have you ever felt jealous of someone else? How did you react? What do you think is the best thing to do when we start to feel jealous or angry?
Where do you think our actions come from? If our actions come from what’s in our hearts, do you think it’s important to take care of our hearts? What are some good things that we can fill our hearts and minds with?
Do you think that God was still taking care of Cain even after he did wrong? Why do you think that is?
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What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
Why was Cain so angry and jealous of his brother Abel? What did that jealousy lead him to do?
Has there ever been a time when you felt angry or jealous of someone else and it lead you to do something you shouldn’t? How did you feel afterwards?
If our actions always come from what’s inside our hearts, do you think it’s important to care for our hearts? What are some ways we can do that?
Do you think that even someone like Cain who did something really wrong can still be forgiven by God? How did God show that God was still taking care of Cain even after he harmed his brother?
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What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
Why was Cain so jealous of his brother Abel at the beginning of the story? Do you think it was fair for him to feel this way? What do you think of the way he reacted to the situation?
What do you think is the main lesson we can learn from this story? What are some ways that the condition of our hearts can affect our actions?
What do you think are some positive things we can do when we start to notice that our hearts of full of things like anger or jealousy?
Do you think that God is able to heal and forgive anyone, even someone like Cain who attacked his brother out of jealousy?
