Lesson 1: The call of Abraham.
Passage: Genesis 11:31-12:1 - Terah took his son Abram (or, Abraham), his grandson Lot, and his daughter-in-law Sarai (or, Sarah), and traveled with them from Ur of the Chaldeans towards Canaan. On their way, they came to a place called Harran and settled there. They lived there until Terah died. God appeared to Abram and told him to take his family and his entire household, leave their country, and travel to a land that God would show him.
Big Idea: Taking a leap of faith.
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: I Spy — Activity Leader
Choose kids to volunteer to be the leader of each round. The leader will say "I spy with my little eye something that is [fill in the blank with a colour]". The rest of the kids will try to guess what it is that the leader spies.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we're starting something brand new! We'll be learning about a story from the Bible about a man named Abraham and a woman named Sarah, and how God called them to go on a big adventure where they would have to learn all about trusting God.
Let's watch our video to find out more about the story...
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the story we learned that God spoke to Abraham one day. What was it that God told Abraham to do?
Have you ever had to move to a new home before? What was that like?
How do you think you would feel if one day you had to move to a new city or a new country... or even just a new school? Do you think it would be a little bit scary or make you nervous? Why or why not?
Do you think that God will be with us no matter where we go or what new things we have to face, just like God was with Abraham and Sarah in the story?
What are some things you can do to feel better when you are nervous or scared or when you have to try something new that you've never done before?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the story of Abraham and Sarah that we started learning about today. Thank you that you were with them and you were guiding them in their new adventure of moving away from their home to a brand new country. Thank you that we can learn a lot from them and how they trusted you to be with them and take care of them anywhere they went. Please help us to trust you too whenever we're feeling nervous or scared or facing something new. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Craft: Abraham and Sarah's Journey Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will cut out the printed picture of Abraham and Sarah traveling with a donkey. They can colour in the characters and the background page, and glue the characters to a popsicle stick so they can "walk" to the promised land.
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: Guess the Picture — Activity Leader
See video... https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=shared&v=Xunobl2V-BQ
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we're starting a brand new series about a man named Abraham and his wife Sarah, and how God sent them on a big adventure.
Let's watch our video to find out more about that story...
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the video, God appeared to Abraham one day and told him to do what?
How do you think Abraham and Sarah would have felt about being told to pack up their bags and move away to a new country?
Have you ever had to make a big move like that? What was that like? What are some other big changes that you've had to face in your life?
Do you find big changes (like moving a new home or a new school or going on a plane for the first time) to be a little bit scary? Why or why not?
Do you think that God is always with you wherever you go and whatever you are facing, just like with Abraham and Sarah? Does it help to remember that God is with you?
What are some other things that can help when you're feeling nervous or scared about a big change or a new thing that you have to face?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the story that we learned today about Abraham and Sarah, and how much they must have trusted you when they packed up their bags and moved to a new country that they'd never been before. In our lives we will also face many big changes and new things, and it might be scary or nerve-wracking, but we know that we can trust you to be with us and to guide us through all of it. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Craft: Abraham and Sarah's Journey Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will cut out the printed picture of Abraham and Sarah traveling with a donkey. They can colour in the characters and the background page, and glue the characters to a popsicle stick so they can "walk" to the promised land.
Dismissal: Collect tags and make sure each child leaves with their caregiver.
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Welcome — Activity Leader
Welcome the kids to class, introduce yourselves.
Warm Up Activity: Blindfold Guide — Activity Leader
Supplies needed: blindfold, item to hide
To play, have one kid leave the room while another kid hides something (like a ball). Now the kid outside the room is blindfolded and brought back into the room. All players must give verbal clues to the blindfolded person to help them find the object.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we're starting a brand new series. For the past few weeks we've been learning about the story of Creation. Well today we are going to moving on and talking about a couple in the Bible named Abraham and Sarah, and how God sent them on a big adventure.
Let's watch our video to find out more about that story...
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
In the video, God appeared to Abraham one day and told him to do what?
How do you think Abraham and Sarah would have felt about being told to pack up their bags and move away to a new country?
Have you ever had to make a big move like that? What was that like? What are some other big changes that you've had to face in your life?
Do you find big changes (like moving a new home or a new school or going on a plane for the first time) to be a little bit scary? Why or why not?
Do you think that God is always with you wherever you go and whatever you are facing, just like with Abraham and Sarah? Does it help to remember that God is with you?
What are some other things that can help when you're feeling nervous or scared about a big change or a new thing that you have to face?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
"Dear God, thank you for the story that we learned today about Abraham and Sarah, and how much they must have trusted you when they packed up their bags and moved to a new country that they'd never been before. In our lives we will also face many big changes and new things, and it might be scary or nerve-wracking, but we know that we can trust you to be with us and to guide us through all of it. In Jesus' name, Amen."
Craft: Abraham and Sarah's Journey Craft — Activity Leader
Kids will cut out the printed picture of Abraham and Sarah traveling with a donkey. They can colour in the characters and the background page, and glue the characters to a popsicle stick so they can "walk" to the promised land.
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?
* What was it that God told Abraham and Sarah to do? How do you think they might have felt about being told to move away from their home and travel to a new land?
* Have you ever moved to a new home or gone to a new school or tried something you've never done before? What was that like? Were you nervous or scared or excited?
* Do you think that God was with Abraham and Sarah on their journey to a new home? Do you think that God is also with us wherever we go? How does that make you feel about trying new things?
* Do you think that it's easy or hard to trust that God will be with us wherever we go and whatever new things we are trying? What are some things we can do when we're feeling nervous or scared?
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* What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
* What was it that God told Abraham and Sarah to do? How do you think they might have felt about being told to move away from their home and travel to a new land?
* Have you ever moved to a new home or gone to a new school or tried something you've never done before? What was that like? Were you nervous or scared or excited?
* Do you think that God was with Abraham and Sarah on their journey to a new home? Do you think that God is also with us wherever we go? How does that make you feel about trying new things?
* Do you think that it's easy or hard to trust that God will be with us wherever we go and whatever new things we are trying? What are some things we can do when we're feeling nervous or scared?
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* What was the Bible story that you learned about in class today?
* What was it that God told Abraham and his family to do? How do you imagine they would have felt about having to pack up their whole lives and move away from their home to a new place that God would show them?
* Why do you think they trusted God so much that they decided to do what God was telling them to? Have you ever had any experiences in life that led you to believe that God is trustworthy?
* What was the scariest or most nerve-wracking thing that you've ever had to face (ie. moving to a new place, trying something new, etc.)? How did you get through that experience?
* If you could be sure that God was with you everywhere you go and through every experience you face, how would that change how you felt about trying to new things and taking risks?
