Grades 1-3
Introductory Activity – Leader Says
Materials: none
Play a game of Simon Says, but insert your own name in place of Simon! After the game is over, talk to kids about obedience. Remind them that God expects us to obey Him, and in today’s story, kids will learn about someone who did.
Live It Out
Game – Review Race
Materials: none
Create two teams of kids and line them up on either side of the room. Using the review questions, stand at the front of the room with two hands out and ask a question. The first kid from each team can race up, high five your hand, and answer the question. If the first child to high five answers correctly, his team gets a point. Otherwise, the other child has a chance to answer and she gets a point for her team if answered correctly. If time allows, use some review questions from previous weeks as well. Remind kids that Abraham obeyed God, even though God’s command was difficult.
Craft – Keys to Obedience
Materials: construction paper, writing utensils, cardboard stencil of a key, scissors, craft chenille stems
Create a stencil using cardboard of a key. Trace that key on construction paper, five keys per child. Give each child the construction paper with drawn keys, scissors, chenille stems, and writing utensils. Kids can cut out each of their keys and write the following words on four of the keys: completely, cheerfully, immediately, and without complaining. Guide them to write the Weekly Verse on the fifth key. Tell kids that when we obey God, we should seek to implement each of these keys. Kids can then create a key ring with the chenille stems and attach the keys by poking a hole through the top of the keys.
Grades 4-6
Introductory Activity – Connect the Story
Materials: none
Gather kids into a circle, choosing one child to start. She tells the group a little about herself. The next child to her left then picks an aspect of what she has told and adds his own little bit of information to the story. Consider this example:
Kid 1: I enjoy going to school and learning about art.
Kid 2: My grandmother is an artist, but she lives in California and I don’t see her often.
Kid 3: My family went on a vacation to California last year, and we stayed at the beach.
Kid 4: The beach is my favorite place to go! We bring our dog with us when we go…
And so on. Give kids prompting as needed. Remind kids that God knows how all of our stories connect. In fact, all the stories in the Bible actually connect back to the one kids will learn about today: the story of Abraham’s obedience.
Live It Out
Game – Leader, May I
Materials: none
Designate one player as the Leader and all the other players are followers. The Leader stands on the opposite side of the room as the followers. Kids can take turns asking the Leader if they can do certain things. For example, “Leader, may I take five steps forward?” The Leader may say “yes” or “no,” but if he says “no,” he should say something the followers can do instead. For example, the leader may say, “No you may not, but you may take three steps forward instead.” Any child who forgets to ask “Leader may I?” must return to the starting line. The first child to reach Leader wins the game and becomes the next Leader. Debrief with kids about how this game required complete obedience from the followers. Similarly, God expects complete obedience from us.
Craft – Create Commands
Materials: plastic cups, craft sticks, markers, Bibles
Pass Bibles, plastic cups, and at least ten craft sticks out to each kid. Write the following verse references on the board. Instruct kids to look up the verses and write the command and the references down on the popsicle sticks. They can put the sticks in the cups. Tell kids they can use the sticks as reminders of some of God’s commands and even add more commands to them as they find them during their own Bible study time.
Deuteronomy 10:20
John 14:15
Philippians 4:4
Matthew 5:17
Isaiah 41:10
Acts 2:38
Exodus 20:12
Ephesians 5:1
Mark 16:15
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