Lesson 3: Moses returns to Egypt.
Passage: Exodus 4:18-6:12 - Moses returns to Egypt and meets his brother Aaron whom God has sent to help him speak to the Israelites and to Pharaoh. The two of them speak to the Israelites and tell them that God has sent them to rescue them from slavery. The Israelites, however, don’t believe them, so Moses performs two signs that God gave him to prove that God really sent him. Then, Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh and demand that he let the people go and take a journey into the wilderness to worship God. Pharaoh is angry and refuses to let the Israelites go, instead making their lives even more miserable by forcing them to meet the same quota of bricks built each day without being given the straw needed to build them. The Israelites are angry at Moses and Aaron, but God promises the Israelites that God will deliver them from Egypt and from their slavery.
Big Idea: God is on our side.
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: Pyramid Building — Activity Leader
Children will work together by sticking foam blocks to form a pyramid.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today is the third Sunday that we’re talking about the story of Moses.
First we learned that when Moses was a baby in Egypt, he was in danger from the Pharaoh, and so his mother put him in a basket and floated him down the river where he was found by the princess of Egypt. She felt sorry of him and she took him home to be her own son.
Then we learned that when Moses grew up, he saw the Egyptian people treating his people really badly. And so he got angry and attacked an Egyptian man. So Moses was in trouble for what he did and he ran away to a place called Midian, where he got married and took care of sheep. But one day Moses saw a bush that was caught on fire and when he came closer to the bush, he heard God speaking to him.
Does anyone remember what God said to Moses through the burning bush?
God told Moses to go back to Egypt to rescue the Israelites, because they were still being treated so badly. But Moses was scared. He didn’t want to go back. And God gave him the power to do some miraculous signs so that the people would believe that God sent him.
So Moses went back to Egypt, and what do you think happened then?
Moses told the people that God sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t believe him! So Moses did his two miracles and the Israelites finally believed him. But then, when Moses went to talk to Pharaoh and ask him to let the people go. But Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to him and wouldn’t let the people go. In fact, he tried to make life even harder for the Israelites. He made them work 10 times as hard as before.
Finally, Moses warned Pharaoh that if he didn’t listen to God, then God would send even more signs for him until he would finally listen. So that’s what today’s story is all about.
Let’s watch our video to find out more…
Lesson Video — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
What did you think about the story so far, about how God sent Moses to help the Israelites escape from Egypt?
Why do you think the Israelites didn’t believe Moses at first when he said that God sent him to help them?
Why do you think Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to him and let the people go?
What do you think is going to happen in the end?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we learned about today about how you sent Moses back to Egypt to save the Israelites from the people who were treating them so badly. Thank you that Moses trusted in you, even though he was scared, and that even though no one listened to him at first, you were taking care of things, and sending signs to show them that you were on his side. Please help us to also trust in you, even when we have to do things that are kind of scary sometimes. Please help us to remember that you are always there for us when we need you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Pyramid Craft — Activity Leader
Children will take pre-cut strips of paper to form a triangle of pyramid, gluing it to a sheet of paper and decorating it as they like.
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: Pyramid Building — Activity Leader
Children will use connector sticks to build pyramids. They can work together in groups.
Preliminary Discussion — Bible Story Leader
Today we are continuing our story about Moses and the Israelites in Egypt. Let’s see if we can remember some of the story that we learned so far…
When Moses was a baby in Egypt and he was in danger from Pharaoh, what did his mother do to try to save him?
Who was it that found baby Moses and took care of him?
When Moses grew up and saw one of the Egyptians hurting an Israelite, what did he do? Where did he have to run away to afterwards?
And how did God end up speaking to Moses? What did God tell him?
So today we’ll be learning all about what happened when Moses did finally go back to Egypt. What happened was… Moses went back to Egypt and met his brother Aaron who was going to help him. Moses and Aaron spoke to the Israelites and told them that God was going to save them, but the people didn’t believe them at first. So Moses performed two miracles to prove that God was really the one who sent him. Then the people believed him.
But, when Moses and Aaron went to the Pharaoh to tell him to let the people go, the Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to them. Instead, he made things even worse for the Israelites, making them work 10 times as hard and telling them to make bricks but that they wouldn’t have any straw to make it with. It was horrible. So Moses warned Pharaoh that God would send a bunch of really scary signs to Egypt until he finally listened and let the people go.
Now let’s watch our video for today…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
What did you guys think about the story so far?
Why do you think the Israelites didn’t believe Moses at first when he said that God sent him to help them?
Why do you think Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to him and let the people go?
What do you think is going to happen next?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story we learned about today about how you sent Moses back to Egypt to save the Israelites from the people who were treating them so badly. Thank you that Moses trusted in you, even though he was scared, and that even though no one listened to him at first, you were taking care of things, and sending signs to show them that you were on his side. Please help us to also trust in you, even when we have to do things that are kind of scary sometimes. Please help us to remember that you are always there for us when we need you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Pyramid craft — Activity Leader
Children will use paper and tape to create 3d paper pyramids.
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 is week three of the story of Moses and the Israelites in Egypt. Let’s see if we can remember some of the story that we learned so far…
When Moses was a baby in Egypt and he was in danger from the Pharaoh, what did his mother do to try to save him?
Who was it that found baby Moses and took care of him?
When Moses grew up and saw one of the Egyptians beating an Israelite, what did he do? Where did he have to run away to afterwards?
And how did God end up speaking to Moses? What did God tell him?
Today’s part of the story is all about what happened when Moses did finally go back to Egypt. The story goes like this…
Moses went back to Egypt and met his brother Aaron who God sent to help him. Moses and Aaron spoke to the Israelites and told them that God was going to save them from their hardship in Egypt. But the people didn’t believe them at first. So Moses performed two miracles to prove that God was really the one who sent him. Then the people believed him. But, when Moses and Aaron went to the Pharaoh to tell him to let the people go, the Pharaoh wouldn’t listen to them. Instead, he made things even worse for the Israelites, making them work even harder, telling them to make the same amount of bricks as they did before, but this time they wouldn’t be given any straw to make it with. So they had to go and find the straw themselves, and still make the same amount of bricks every day. So the people were angry at Moses for making their lives even more miserable. And Moses went to the Pharaoh and warned him that God would send plagues on Egypt until he finally listened and let the people go.
Now let’s watch our video for today…
Video Lesson — Bible Story Leader
Follow Up Discussion — Bible Story Leader
What do you guys think about the story so far?
How do you think the Israelites must have felt after hundreds of years enduring hardship in Egypt? Do you think they thought that maybe God had forgotten about them?
Why do you think they didn’t believe Moses at first when he said that God sent him to help them?
Why do you think Pharaoh was so stubborn and refused to let the people go, and even went as far as making life worse for the Israelites?
Prayer — Bible Story Leader
“Dear God, thank you for the story of Moses and the Israelites that we’ve been learning about. Thank you that you are a God who sees what is happening in our lives, just like you saw what was happening to the Israelites, and you care about us. Just as you sent Moses to save the Israelites from slavery, we know that you always help us in our times of need. Sometimes we’re like the Israelites who need rescuing, and other times we are like Moses who you call to help others. Please give us the strength and the faith to know that you are always on our side. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Activity: Sugar Cube Pyramids — Activity Leader
Using sugar cubes and glue, children can build a pyramid on top of a piece of cardboard paper and decorate as they like.
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?
Why do you think the Pharaoh didn’t want to let the people go? What did he do instead?
How do you think the Israelites and Moses felt when Pharaoh didn’t listen but just made their work even harder?
Do you think that God will save the Israelites in the end, even though it seems impossible? How do you think God will do it?
Do you think God is always with you, even when you’re feeling bad and things are going wrong?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
Why do you think the Pharaoh didn’t want to let the people go? What did he do instead?
How do you think the Israelites and Moses felt when Pharaoh didn’t listen but just made their work even harder?
Do you think that God will save the Israelites in the end, even though it seems impossible? How do you think God will do it?
Do you think God is always with you, even when you’re going through something really hard?
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What was the story you learned about in class today?
How do you think the Israelites must have felt after so many years of slavery in Egypt?
Why do you think it was hard for them to believe Moses at first when he said that God was sending him to save them?
How do you think Moses must have felt when he was trying his best to do what God asked him to, but Pharaoh wouldn’t listen and only made things worse for the Israelites?
Do you think it’s hard to trust that God is on our side when our situation doesn’t seem like it at all? What can we do when we feel that way?
