Preschool August 10, 2014 10:15am
Leader BIBLE STUDY Use Week of: August 10, 2014 God s people had been living in Babylon for 70 years. Some of God s people had died in Babylon. Some of their children and grandchildren were born in Babylon and grew up there. But Babylon was not their home. 2 Before the people of Judah were exiled, God had spoken through the prophet Jeremiah. These are the words of the Lord: These nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years (Jer. 25:11). Then the Lord said, When 70 years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm My promise concerning you to restore you to this place (Jer. 29:10). The time had come for God s people to go back home. Cyrus, the king of the Persian empire, overthrew Babylon. Cyrus took over the kingdom, including the lands of Israel and Judah. In the following year, the Lord did something miraculous in Cyrus s heart. He prompted Cyrus to issue a decree: All the Jewish exiles are free to return to their ancestral homes. The exile was over! God s people were free to return to their own land. They were free to live as God s special people. The first group of Judean exiles returned home under the leadership of Zerubbabel (zuh RUHB uh buhl). Zerubbabel was the grandson of King Jehoiachin, who had been taken to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. (See 2 Kings 24:8-13.) Ezra 2:64-65 says nearly 50,000 people traveled back to Judah. When they got to Jerusalem, they began working to rebuild the temple that the Chaldeans had destroyed. (See 2 Chron. 36:19.) The temple was the place where God met with His people. Jesus came to earth to rescue God s people from sin. When Jesus returns, He will restore the earth and will dwell with His people forever. Preschool Worship Guide Unit 21 Session 2 1
Preschool WORSHIP OVERVIEW Session Title: Zerubbabel Led the Captives Home Bible Passage: Ezra 1:1 2:2; 2:64 3:13 Big Picture Question: Does God keep His promises? God always keeps His promises. Key Passage: Zechariah 9:9 Unit Christ Connection: God saved His people who were in physical captivity as He would one day send Jesus to save and restore His people who are in spiritual captivity. U N I T 21 2 Opening Group Activities Large Group Worship Small Group Activities Large Group Closing 2
The BIBLE STORY Zerubbabel Led the Captives Home Ezra 1:1 2:2; 2:64 3:13 God s people were living in Babylon, far away from their homes and land. But many years before, Jeremiah the prophet had told the people a message from God. It was a promise! God had said that the people would have to stay in Babylon for 70 years, but then He promised to bring His people back home. God always keeps His promises. Time went by. The children of God s people grew up. They had families and children of their own. Then their children grew up and had families and children too. When 70 years had passed, God kept His promise. King Cyrus was the king over Babylon. God gave Cyrus the idea to make a new rule. Everyone had to obey it. Cyrus said, Let God s people go back to their land. Let them rebuild God s temple in Jerusalem. This was good news! Before, God s people had to stay in Babylon like prisoners. Now they were free! They could finally go home. So the people got ready to go. King Cyrus and the other people living in Babylon gave them gifts like gold and silver. They gave God s people animals to take back to Jerusalem. So God s people started walking. A man named Zerubbabel (zuh RUHB uh buhl) led them. They walked and walked and walked. Some of the people had never seen Jerusalem because they had been born in Babylon. What would the land look like? When they got to Judah, each family set up its house. Then the people met together in Jerusalem to start rebuilding God s temple. God had special laws for how to build the temple. God s people were very careful to obey them. The priests made the altar in the same place the old altar had been. Then they made offerings and sacrifices to God. The people started building. First, they needed money to buy supplies. God s people gave money to the men in charge of building the temple. They paid people to get big logs and bring them to Jerusalem. Preschool Worship Guide Unit 21 Session 2 3
The workers made the foundation, or the bottom, of the temple. The foundation was very important. A strong foundation makes a building strong. The people were so happy that the foundation was done! The priests put on special clothes. The people shouted and sang songs to God. God is good. He is loving and always will be. What a happy day for God s people. Not everyone was happy though. Some of the older people remembered what the first temple had looked like long ago, before it had been knocked down. The people were sad, and they cried loudly. The sounds of people shouting and crying was so loud that it could be heard far away. Christ Connection: Zerubbabel led God s people home to fix the temple. Jesus came to earth to save God s people. One day Jesus will come back. He will fix up a greater home for all of God s people, and we will live with Him forever. 4
Small Group ACTIVITIES Session Title: Zerubbabel Led the Captives Home Bible Passage: Ezra 1:1 2:2; 2:64 3:13 Big Picture Question: Does God keep His promises? God always keeps His promises. Key Passage: Zechariah 9:9 Unit Christ Connection: God saved His people who were in physical captivity as He would one day send Jesus to save and restore His people who are in spiritual captivity. Opening Group Activities LOW PREP Follow the leader Guide the kids to line up behind you. Lead them along a winding path through the room in a variety of ways such as marching, tiptoeing, stomping, and so on. You may add arm movements as well. After a few moments, allow the next kid in line to be the leader. Play until each kid takes a turn. Say Zerubbabel was a descendant of King David. God chose Zerubbabel to lead His people home. Does God keep His promises? God always keeps His promises. Transition to large group Preschool Worship Guide Unit 21 Session 2 7
Small Group Activities interlocking bricks, separated by color construction paper crayons and markers tape stickers Trade and build Invite kids to form pairs. Give each pair one color of interlocking bricks. Explain that they must trade bricks with another pair to get the right color of bricks to build. For example, kids with yellow bricks must trade for red bricks. Kids with red bricks need blue bricks. Once teams have traded their bricks to get the right color, they may build. Say God s people traded with the nations who lived around them to get supplies for the temple. Does God keep His promises? God always keeps His promises. Make megaphones and shout Invite each kid to decorate one side of his sheet of paper. You may also help kids print God always keeps His promises on their paper. Once a child has finished decorating, he may roll up his paper to make a simple megaphone. Tape the megaphone to secure it. Invite kids to practice shouting for joy in their megaphones. Say The Bible says that the people were so happy, their shouts of joy could be heard far away. Does God keep His promises? God always keeps His promises! Transition to large group closing 8
Large Group CLOSING Session Title: Zerubbabel Led the Captives Home Bible Passage: Ezra 1:1 2:2; 2:64 3:13 Big Picture Question: Does God keep His promises? God always keeps His promises. Key Passage: Zechariah 9:9 Unit Christ Connection: God saved His people who were in physical captivity as He would one day send Jesus to save and restore His people who are in spiritual captivity. Large Group Closing Bible Timeline Map Bible Story Picture Poster Key Passage Poster Look song Big Picture Question Poster Here I Am to Worship song I Was Glad song Review Invite kids to march to the large group area like the Israelites marched back home to Judah. Draw attention to the timeline, helping kids sound out Zerubbabel s name. Say Zerubbabel was the grandson of King Jehoiachin. He led the Israelites home to their own land. Zerubbabel helped the people lay the foundation for God s temple. The people were so happy that their shouts of happiness could be heard far away. Does God keep His promises? God always keeps His promises. Read the key passage poster. Remind kids that Zechariah was a prophet who helped encourage Zerubbabel to build the temple. Zechariah also said that Jesus was coming! Sing the key passage song together. Pray and sing Pray, thanking God for always keeping His promises. Thank Him for sending Jesus to save us. Sing Here I Am to Worship. Invite kids to sing I Was Glad and move to the music as they sing. Preschool Worship Guide Unit 21 Session 2 9
*Name changed for security purposes. building toys timer, stopwatch, Missions story: God knows her by name Jane* tenderly washed her daughter s sores. Mommy, I m tired of these sores, Maria* cried. Why do we have to live here? As Jane gently applied the homemade ointment, she said, So that we can tell Fatuma about Jesus. Maria looked at her mother quizzically, Who s Fatuma? Jane laughed, It s just a name that came into my head! The following day Jane and her daughter welcomed their friend who had come to call. She brought with her a little girl who looked to be Maria s age. Maria noticed that the girl had sores like hers. Mommy, could we give her some of our medicine? Jane readily agreed. The two girls enjoyed playing together. At the end of the visit, Maria hoped that her new friend would come again. As the girl was leaving Maria asked, What is your name? She replied, Fatuma. Please pray for this little girl Fatuma that she will learn to love Jesus, and pray for Maria and her mother to always be faithful in telling others about Him. Say God knows each and every person by name. Did you know that 150 years before Cyrus became king, the prophet Isaiah said Cyrus would help God s people rebuild the temple? God used Cyrus to keep His promise, just as God uses missionary families like Jane and Maria to tell others about His Son, Jesus. Play a temple building game Remind kids that in today s Bible story, the Israelites laid the foundation for God s temple. Invite kids to work in pairs or trios to build a temple with blocks, interlocking bricks, or other building toys. You may make this game a fun competition by using a timer, stopwatch, or the countdown video to see who can build a temple the fastest. 10
Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey. Zechariah 9:9 Unit 21 Key Passage Poster (ESV) OK TO PRINT
Does God keep His promises? God always keeps His promises. Unit 21 Session 2 Big Picture Question OK TO PRINT
Unit 21 Session 2 Zerubbabel Led the Captives Home OK TO PRINT