Session 1 PRESCHOOL UNIT 17 1 UNIT 17 // SESSION 1 // CYCLE 1 PRESCHOOL 3-5 YEAR OLDS

Transcription

1 BIBLE STUDY Isaiah s name means Yahweh is salvation. God called Isaiah to be a prophet when King Uzziah s reign was ending more than 700 years before Jesus was born. At the time Isaiah spoke to the people of Judah, the kingdom of Judah was very wealthy. But the people did not follow God. They worshiped false idols, cheated one another, and mistreated the poor. Isaiah spoke to the people of Judah at a critical time in their history. After King Uzziah died, the people were afraid. They were vulnerable to their enemies, and their new king was less than ideal. Isaiah s prophecies warned the people that God would judge them, but Isaiah also spoke words of hope. He told of how God would one day rescue those who were faithful to Him. Perhaps the most amazing of all are Isaiah s detailed prophecies about Jesus His birth and His suffering and death. Jesus Himself read from the Book of Isaiah, telling the people that He was the One the Scriptures spoke of. As you teach preschoolers, help them see how Jesus fulfilled God s promises spoken by the prophet Isaiah. God kept His promise to send a king from the family of Jesse, the father of King David. (Luke 3:23-32) The Spirit of the Lord rested on Jesus. (Matt. 3:16-17) He was filled with wisdom and understanding. (Luke 2:40) He came to bring salvation to all the nations. (Acts 13:47-48) Isaiah s prophecies from God did not speak just to the people of his time; they also speak to us. Hundreds of years before it happened, Isaiah told of how Jesus would be born and how He would suffer and die to take away the sins of His people. We look forward to the day when King Jesus will come back and rule forever. Jesus is the promised Messiah. He will make all of the prophets words come true. SUGGESTED THEME DECORATING IDEAS: Christmas-themed elements such as strings of lights, a small tree, or a nativity scene. 1 // SESSION 1 // CYCLE YEAR OLDS

2 Key Passage song His Name Will Be Jesus. KEY PASSAGE SONG Play the Key Passage song as your kids arrive. WORSHIP Worship leaders sing two songs with the children and collect offering. Theme Slide PROPS none needed Bible Story Video Anticipating the Coming King video Bible Story Picture Slide Bible INTRODUCE THE SESSION (3 MINUTES) [Large Group Leader enters] Leader Merry Christmas, everyone! I m so excited for the holiday season, I could hardly wait to put up my Christmas decorations. Do you like them? [Allow responses.] Thanks! I m glad. You know, Christmas really is my favorite time of the year. How many of you feel like you wait all year for Christmastime and are super excited for it to finally arrive? [Allow responses.] Me too! I m glad that the longest we have to wait is one year from one Christmas to the next. Can you imagine how hard it would be to wait many years? Like, for example, hundreds of years? WATCH THE BIBLE STORY (10 MINUTES) Say The Bible tells about things that will happen in the future. Everything the Bible says will happen will happen because the Bible is God s words, and God s words are true! Today s Bible story comes from Isaiah. Show the Bible story video Anticipating the Coming King or tell the Bible story in your own words using the script provided. Use the bolded version for younger preschoolers. OPTIONAL BIBLE STORY SCRIPT Anticipating the Coming King Isaiah 11:1-10 God s people in Judah were afraid. Their king had died. Now they had a new king a bad king and their enemies wanted to hurt them. But God was with His people, and He had a plan. God sent a messenger to tell them about His very good plan. God sent a prophet named Isaiah to tell the people about something wonderful that was going to happen. A King is coming! Isaiah said. Isaiah told the people about the King and what the day will be like when the King the Messiah comes to rescue His people. The King will come from Jesse s family, and He will be King forever, Isaiah said. Jesse was King David s father. God had promised that someone from King David s family would be King forever, and God always keeps His promises! Isaiah said, God s Spirit will be with Him, and the Spirit will help Him. He will be wise and understanding. He will know God and respect Him. Isaiah said that the King will always do the right thing. He will be fair, and He will do what He says He will do. 2 // SESSION 1 // CYCLE YEAR OLDS

3 Isaiah said that the King will bring peace. In His kingdom, the wolf will live with the lamb. The leopard will lie next to the goat. Calves and lions will eat together, and a child will lead them. Lions will eat straw like oxen, and young children will play near snakes. But none of these animals will hurt or kill anything or anyone. Everyone on the earth will know God, Isaiah said. In the future, this King will bring together people from all over the world. All the people will come to Him, and He will be their wonderful King. Christ Connection: Long before Jesus was born on earth, Isaiah told God s people about a King who would come and rule forever. Jesus is the King whom God promised to send. Jesus will make all these words come true. Timeline Poster Main Point Slide Big Picture question slides TALK ABOUT THE BIBLE STORY (1 MINUTE) Say Long before Jesus was born on earth, Isaiah told God s people about a King who would come and rule forever. Isaiah wrote about the Messiah. Jesus is the Messiah whom God promised to send. King Jesus will make all these words Isaiah wrote come true. Have the kids answer with either a thumbs up or thumbs down for each question. Point to the Bible story picture as you ask the following review questions: 1. Did God send the prophet Isaiah to tell the people something wonderful (thumbs up) was going to happen? Or something terrible (thumbs down)? 2. Did God keep his promise to make someone in David s family king forever? yes (up) or no (down)? 3. Who will know God when the king comes? Everyone? (up) or just people in David s family? (down) BIG PICTURE QUESTION (1 MINUTE) Say Our big picture question is, Why was Jesus born? Jesus was born to rescue us. Did you know you need to be rescued? We are sinners. Our sin separates us from God, but our coming King took the punishment for our sin. When we trust in King Jesus, we will be safe forever. KEY PASSAGE (5 MINUTES) Open your Bible to Matthew 1:21. Read the key passage aloud several times. Say Our key passage tells us that Jesus will save His people from their sin. Our sin separates us from God, but Jesus came to earth to take the punishment for sin. When we trust in Jesus, we get to be part of God s forever kingdom. Key passage PRAYER (2 MINUTES) Invite kids to pray before dismissing to small groups. DISMISS TO SMALL GROUP 3 // SESSION 1 // CYCLE YEAR OLDS

4 Welcome children and set out a few favorite theme-related toys, such as puzzles and blocks. Activity Page, What s going on here? pencils or markers ACTIVITY PAGE (10 MINUTES) Invite preschoolers to circle four strange things in the picture. (Answers: leopard and goat napping near each other, child playing with snake, lion and cow eating straw together, wolf and lamb walking side by side) Say Today s Bible story tells about a King who is coming. In His kingdom, all the animals will get along with each other. Children will even be able to play with wild animals and not get hurt! Who do you think is the King of this coming kingdom? 10 minutes after the start of service Break into groups of 10 or less children for Small group Temple Foundation printable plastic tablecloth sponges scissors clothespins washable paint foam plates smocks Purple paper yellow paper sequins ACTIVITY (10 MINUTES) Make a crown Christmas ornament Before the session, cut 5-inch circles from construction paper and mount the circles on heavyweight paper. Trim excess paper. Cut 4-inch long crowns from yellow felt. Attach the crown to the center of the circle. Write JESUS above each crown with a permanent marker. Provide a crown ornament for each preschooler. Invite preschoolers to decorate their ornaments with sequins. Punch a hole in each ornament and loop yarn through the hole to hang the ornament. Say Isaiah wrote about the Messiah. Long before Jesus was born on earth, Isaiah told God s people about a King who would come and rule forever. Jesus is the King whom God promised to send. Jesus will make all the words Isaiah wrote come true. SNACK TIME Gather preschoolers for snack time. Remind preschoolers that Isaiah wrote about the Messiah. When we live in the new kingdom that Jesus will bring, nothing will get ever get old or wear out. 4 // SESSION 1 // CYCLE YEAR OLDS

5 TRANSITION When a child finishes his snack, guide him to throw away any trash. He may select a book or puzzle to examine, play quietly with toys, or color the Journal coloring page. crayons Journal Page While preschoolers might not be ready to respond to the gospel, use this guide to help little minds begin to grasp big truths about Jesus and the kingdom of God. GOD IS KING. Ask: Who is in charge at home? Who is in charge over the whole world? Explain that God made everything! He is King over everything, and He is in charge. WE SINNED. Ask: Have you ever done something wrong? Tell preschoolers that everyone sins, or disobeys God. Our sin makes God sad. GOD SENT JESUS. Explain that God must punish sin. He loves us and He sent His Son, Jesus, to earth. Jesus came to take away the punishment for sin. JESUS LOVES. Ask: Do you like presents? Explain that Jesus gives us the best present. He never did anything wrong, but He was punished in our place. Jesus wants to take away our sin because He loves us. Pray that God will save your preschoolers. As you faithfully teach the Bible, you are planting gospel seeds in children s hearts. Ask God to grow the preschoolers into children who love and trust in Jesus. JOURNAL PAGE AND PRAYER Offer the journal page and invite preschoolers to draw a picture of what they think things will look like in this new kingdom. Lead preschoolers to draw themselves in the picture. Remind preschoolers that the words Isaiah wrote will really happen. We will get to live in that kingdom one day if we trust in King Jesus. Pray for the children. Say God, we cannot wait for all these words Isaiah wrote to come true! Thank You that Jesus already came to rescue us from sin. Help us look forward to the day King Jesus comes back to rule forever. Amen. THE GOSPEL: GOD S PLAN FOR ME Use Scripture and the guide provided in the classroom to explain to boys and girls how to become a Christian. Assign individuals to meet with kids who have more questions. If this is not possible, encourage boys and girls to ask their parents, leader, or other Christian adults any questions they may have about becoming a Christian. Anticipating the Coming King Isaiah 11:1-10 God s people in Judah were afraid. Their king had died. Now they had a new king a bad king and their enemies wanted to hurt them. But God was with His people, and He had a plan. God sent a messenger to tell them about His very good plan. God sent a prophet named Isaiah to tell the people about something wonderful that was going to happen. A King is coming! Isaiah said. Isaiah told the people about the King and what the day will be like when the King the Messiah comes to rescue His people. The King will come from Jesse s family, and He will be King forever, Isaiah said. Jesse was King David s father. God had promised that someone from King David s family would be King forever, and God always keeps His promises! Isaiah said, God s Spirit will be with Him, and the Spirit will help Him. He will be wise and understanding. He will know God and respect Him. Isaiah said that the King will always do the right thing. He will be fair, and He will do what He says He will do. Isaiah said that the King will bring peace. In His kingdom, the wolf will live with the lamb. The leopard will lie next to the goat. Calves and lions will eat together, and a child will lead them. Lions will eat straw like oxen, and young children will play near snakes. But none of these animals will hurt or kill anything or anyone. Everyone on the earth will know God, Isaiah said. In the future, this King will bring together people from all over the world. All the people will come to Him, and He will be their wonderful King. Christ Connection: Long before Jesus was born on earth, Isaiah told God s people about a King who would come and rule forever. Jesus is the King whom God promised to send. Jesus will make all these words come true. 5 // SESSION 1 // CYCLE YEAR OLDS