Teacher BIBLE STUDY The tenth plague was the most severe and had the greatest impact on the Egyptian people. God told Moses that around midnight, every firstborn male in Egypt would die. No one would be excluded. Even the firstborn of the livestock would die. But God gave specific instructions to the Israelites. They were to slaughter a lamb or goat and put its blood on their doorposts. The blood on the doorpost would be a distinguishing mark. When God saw the blood, He passed over the house. The Israelite people were sinful, and they deserved death just as much as the Egyptians did. But God, by His grace, provided them a way out. By marking their doorposts with the blood of a lamb, they were spared from the judgment and death they deserved. They deserved to die; the lamb was killed instead. The tenth plague happened just as the Lord said. The Lord struck every firstborn male in the land of Egypt. There wasn t a house without someone dead. Pharaoh had finally had enough. Get up, leave my people, and go, worship Yahweh as you have asked, he said. (See Exodus 12:29-31.) As Christians, we are redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish (1 Peter 1:18-19). The heart of the gospel is found in the story of the Passover: Jesus was crucified, not for His sins, but for our sins. We deserve death, but He died instead. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). His death was the ultimate sacrifice, and those who are under His saving blood will be passed over in the final judgment. God gave the Passover to show us His loving provision for sinful man to be made right with Him. 1 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources
The BIBLE STORY The Passover Exodus 11:1 13:16 Frogs. Flies. Gnats. Hail. Darkness. Nine plagues had struck the people of Egypt, but Pharaoh still refused to let the Israelites go. God promised that, after one more plague, the king of Egypt would let them go. God told Moses about the tenth plague: Around midnight, the oldest child in every family in Egypt will die. The king s son will die, the animals babies will die. Everyone in Egypt will be so sad. Then the king will let the people go. God had a different plan, a special plan, for the Israelites. None of their children would die as long as they obeyed God s instructions. These are the instructions God gave: Each family should take a lamb or a goat and put its blood on the doorposts of their house, prepare a special meal, and be ready to go! God called this meal the Passover, because when God saw the blood on the houses, He passed over them and did not kill the oldest child. At midnight, God struck every oldest child in the land of Egypt the oldest child of the king, the oldest child of the prisoners, the oldest babies of the animals. There was loud crying all throughout Egypt because everyone was so sad. The king called for Moses and Aaron in the middle of the night and told them, Get up, leave my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship God as you have asked. So the Israelites left quickly. There were more than 600,000 of them. They took bread and their animals with them. They even asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing, and the Egyptians gave them what they asked! God gave Moses and Aaron more instructions. God said He was going to bring them into a land called Canaan (KAY nuhn). Everyone would remember what happened on this special night. God led His people out of Egypt. The Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for 430 years. They were finally free! 3 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources
Christ Connection: By His grace, God spared the Israelites from judgment by requiring the blood of a lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. His death was the ultimate sacrifice, and those who trust in Christ are under His saving blood and will be passed over in the final judgment. God Formed His Nation 4 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources
Small Group OPENING Session Title: The Passover Bible Passage: Exodus 11:1 13:16 Big Picture Question: Why is the Passover important? God saved His people at the first Passover. Key Passage: Exodus 6:7 Unit Christ Connection: God saved His people from physical captivity in Egypt as He would one day send Jesus to save His people from spiritual captivity. Prepare: Play the song You Lift Me Up in the background. Set an offering basket near the door. Set out a few favorite toys such as puzzles and blocks. Match the Shadow activity page, 1 per kid crayons LOW PREP ball or beanbag Welcome and Session Starter (15 20 minutes) Post the allergy alert for the snack ingredients where parents can see it. Greet children and parents with a smile! Activity Page: Match the Shadow Look at the pictures of things you will hear about in today s Bible story. Then look at the shadows. Choosing a different color for each picture, circle the picture and its corresponding shadow. Say These are some things you will hear about in today s Bible story: roasting meat for supper, sheep, painting blood on the doorposts of the house, and going into the house for safety, as God said to do. Pass over Form a circle. Pass the ball around the circle, specifying a different way to pass it each time. Let kids think up directions. Begin with pass around the circle, passing the ball from hand to hand. Turn so that everyone s right hand can point to the center of the circle, as in a line. Pass the ball inside around the inside of the circle (kids righthand side). Then pass it outside around the outside 5 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources
of the circle (kids left-hand side). Then pass under between the legs. Finish by passing over the heads pass over. Say Today s Bible story is about the Passover, which celebrates a time that someone passed over the homes of the Israelites. Remember that the Israelites were God s chosen people. Transition cue: Ring the bell, flip the lights, or clap a simple rhythm for children to copy to gain attention. Transition to Bible study Say Last week, we learned that God sent nine plagues to show the Egyptians and Israelites He is the one true God, but Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go. In today s Bible story, we will hear that God told Moses that He had one more plague to send against the Egyptians. After that, the Israelites had to be ready to leave quickly. Let s walk as fast as we can without running to the Bible study area. Move to the large group area to hear the Bible story. God Formed His Nation 6 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources
Large Group BIBLE STUDY Session Title: The Passover Bible Passage: Exodus 11:1 13:16 Big Picture Question: Why is the Passover important? God saved His people at the first Passover. Key Passage: Exodus 6:7 Unit Christ Connection: God saved His people from physical captivity in Egypt as He would one day send Jesus to save His people from spiritual captivity. Large Group Bible Study Time (10 15 minutes) Bible personal mementos (wedding ring, baby pictures, vacation souvenir, and so forth) The Passover video Introduce the Bible story Bring in some personal mementos and explain to the children what they remind you of. Explain that after Jesus came, churches celebrate the Lord s Supper to help us remember what He did for us, as the Passover feast helped the Israelites remember this mighty act of God. Say God promised Moses He would save His people. God told the Israelites to follow special instructions to prepare their houses to be protected from the last plague. God told the Israelites that every year, they would make the special Passover supper to remember how God saved them. Watch or tell the Bible story Tell the Bible story with expression, or show The Passover video. 7 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources
Small Group ACTIVITIES Session Title: The Passover Bible Passage: Exodus 11:1 13:16 Big Picture Question: Why is the Passover important? God saved His people at the first Passover. Key Passage: Exodus 6:7 Unit Christ Connection: God saved His people from physical captivity in Egypt as He would one day send Jesus to save His people from spiritual captivity. Small Group Activities Time (20 25 minutes) LOW PREP Play a rhythm game Form a circle and set up a rhythm: slap knees twice and then clap hands twice; repeat the pattern throughout the game. Tell kids to think of things they would pack if they were moving to a new land. Go around the circle, giving each child a turn to tell what he would pack. At the end, talk about what they chose to pack. Did they think of food and clothing? Repeat the following: We re going to the promised land! What will you bring? We re going to the promised land! (name of child), tell one thing. Say God sent Moses to save His people from Egypt and lead them to the land God had promised Abraham. 9 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources
12-month calendar stickers or markers Note: Passover begins on these dates: 2013 - March 26 2014 - April 15 2015 - April 4 backpacks or totes, 2 enough packable items for each child to have one play jewelry (optional) Make a calendar Use a 12-month calendar or print one from the Internet. Before the session, fill in birthdays of your kids and teachers. Talk about and add to the calendar important days we remember, such as holidays and important days for families. Let each child put a circle around her birthday or stick a sticker on the date. Say God told the Israelites to remember what He did at Passover every year. They have been celebrating Passover for more than 3,400 years. Why is the Passover important? God saved His people at the first Passover. Pack Your Bag relay Use backpacks or tote bags and a pile of clothing or other items that kids might pack for a trip. You might include some plastic jewelry. Form two teams; for young kids, do not declare a winning team but applaud during the action. One member of each team will run to the other side of the room, put an item in the bag, and run back for the next child s turn. Open your Bible and read from Exodus 12:11 God s instructions for eating the Passover meal: Here is how you must eat it: you must be dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord s Passover. Say The Israelites had waited for 430 years to leave Egypt, now they had to be ready to go in the middle of the night! God saved His people at the first Passover. God Formed His Nation 10 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources
countdown video (optional) matzo bread or crackers Charoset or some other brownish spread for crackers walnuts or apple slices (optional) grape juice or grape-flavored water Journal Page Bible Story Coloring Page crayons books and puzzles Snack Time and Transition (20 minutes) Clean up after the activities and prepare for snack time. Distribute matzo bread or crackers. Consider telling kids some facts about the bread and spread used even today to celebrate the Passover. The matzo bread is made without yeast because the people had to get ready to leave Egypt in a hurry. To celebrate the Passover meal, matzo dough should be made and baked in 18 minutes. Consider purchasing Charoset (or Haroset, pronounced kha ROH set) or, perhaps, apple butter to spread on the matzo. Charoset is a dessert which is mashed into a paste resembling mud. Some of the ingredients are apples, cinnamon, and walnuts. It is eaten at the Passover meal to remind Jewish people of the mortar they had to use when building cities in Egypt. Say Every year, Jewish people celebrate the Passover with a special meal. They eat things that remind them of the first Passover, and they tell the story of how God saved His people then. Pray, thanking God for the food and for the mighty way He saved His people at the first Passover. Transition After kids finish eating their snack and disposing of their trash, allow them to choose a quiet activity such as reading a book, working a puzzle, coloring the Bible story picture, or drawing/writing on a journal page. Suggest that they draw something they would like to take if they moved to a different place. If family members are picking up their children at this time, be sure to follow the church s security procedures. God Formed His Nation 12 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources