Grades 1–6: The Extraordinary Word of God — Session 4: Prophets Told About Jesus (November 24)

Grades 1–3

Introductory Activity—Draw and Guess

Materials: dry erase board, markers, and eraser; timer (optional)

Ask the kids to tell you the best gifts they have ever received. Tell kids they can guess what gift is being drawn. Choose a volunteer to draw. Whisper a gift to the child. (Ideas: bike, football, doll, shirt, book, money, tablet, skateboard) Encourage kids to guess what is being drawn. Use a timer to limit draw time, if you choose. Repeat as time allows with different kids drawing. Tell the kids you have one last picture to draw. Draw a picture of a baby. When they guess, tell them they will hear about the coming of a special baby.

Live It Out

Game—Hoop Toss

Materials: chairs, plastic hoops, tape

Place one or more chairs in the middle of the game area. Space chairs a couple of feet apart. Use tape to create a tossing line a few feet from the chairs.
Guide kids to stand at the tossing line. They can take turns tossing plastic hoops, trying to get a hoop around a chair. When the hoop rings a chair, ask a review question. Continue playing, reviewing the Bible story. After asking questions, lead kids to repeat the Life Point when the hoop rings a chair.

Craft—Blueprints

Materials: blue paper, white crayons, rulers

Talk about the Life Point and the plans God had to send a child, the Messiah. Say: “Plans for buildings are blueprints. The blueprints show people what the architect planned for the building’s construction. Let’s make blueprints today.” Using the blue paper and white crayons, kids can write the Life Point or Bible verse. They can add designs using the rulers and crayons. Talk about the Bible story as kids work. Suggest kids place their blueprints in a place at home to remember that God’s plan to send Jesus is in the Bible.

Grades 4–6

Introductory Activity – Verse Puzzles

Materials: heavyweight paper, marker, scissors, boxes or other containers, shredded paper

Print the Unit Verse on paper. Make several copies of the verse. Cut each verse into six or more pieces. Mix all the pieces and hide them in a box of shredded paper (or in several different boxes of shredded paper).
Lead kids to take turns running to the box of paper and finding puzzle pieces. As they gather pieces, lead them to sort and assemble the various verse puzzles. After all the puzzles are complete, say the verse together. Tell kids that people learn about God’s ways and God’s plans by reading the Bible. Tell them they will hear more about God’s plan from the Bible today.

Live It Out

Game—Button Golf

Materials: 9 small paper plates, buttons (2 per team), permanent marker

Number the plates 1-9. Scatter the plates on the floor in the game area.
Group the kids into two (or more) teams. Guide players from each team to try and flip the buttons onto plate 1. Kids flip the buttons by laying one button on the floor near the plate and pressing the edge of the second button on the first button to make it flip in the air. When a team flips the button on the plate, ask that team a review question. If the team answers correctly, the team moves to plate 2. Players on each team should take turns trying to flip the buttons on the plates. Continue moving through the course. The first team to flip a button onto plate 9 and correctly answer a question is the winning team. Talk about the Life Point.
Teacher Tip: To lengthen the game, add more plates or tell teams to move through the course twice.

Craft—Mini Megaphone

Materials: colorful paper cups, chenille stems (cut in half), large address labels, other colorful stickers, decorative tape, scissors, gel pens

Talk about the Bible story. Tell kids that the prophets announced the news that a special child would be born. Tell kids they can make megaphones to announce good news. Tell kids to cut the bottoms from their cups. They may want to cover the cut edge of the cups with decorative tape. Help them each cut two slits about an inch apart along the seam (or one side) of the cup. Insert one end of the chenille stem into each slit and bend the ends to keep the stem in place (for a handle). Guide kids to print the Life Point or Bible verse on large labels and attach to the sides of their cups. They can add more stickers and decorative tape as they choose to decorate their megaphones. When everyone completes their megaphones, lead kids to hold them near their mouths and say the Life Point together.