Preschool March 16, 2014 8:45am
Leader BIBLE STUDY In the days Ahaz was king of Judah, the political situation between Judah, Israel, and Syria was tense. The Kingdom of Assyria was getting stronger and taking over nations. Israel and Syria formed an alliance against Assyria and asked Ahaz to join them. If Ahaz joined the alliance and Assyria won, he was as good as dead. If he said no and the alliance won, he was as good as dead. Ahaz said no. What happened next is found in Isaiah 7. The kings of Syria and Israel went to Jerusalem to wage war, but the kings could not succeed. Though they didn t conquer Judah, they still devastated the country. Syria took many captives. Israel killed 120,000 men, plundered Judah, and took 200,000 captives. (See 2 Chron. 28:6,8.) Judah was able to survive because Ahaz entered into an alliance with the king of Assyria. Isaiah 7 opens with the armies of Israel and Syria approaching Jerusalem, the capital of Judah. Ahaz was terrified. Isaiah and his son, Shear-jashub, gave Ahaz a message from God. Calm down and be quiet, Isaiah told Ahaz. These kings are planning to conquer you, but God says this will not happen. God would be Ahaz s ally. All He asked of Ahaz was to trust Him. God would give Ahaz a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel. Immanuel means God with us. If God was with Ahaz, what did Ahaz have to fear? Ahaz did not trust God, and a short time later, Assyria defeated Judah. Isaiah s prophecy was partially fulfilled immediately with the birth of Isaiah s son. (See Isa. 8:1-4.) Judah would escape Assyrian captivity because God was with them. Isaiah s prophecy was ultimately fulfilled through Jesus. (Matt. 1:23) Jesus is God with us. He is our faithful ally at all times protecting, defending, and comforting those who trust in Him. 1 Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 15 Session 2
Preschool Bible study OVERVIEW Session Title: Isaiah Confronted Ahaz Bible Passage: Isaiah 7 Big Picture Question: What does Immanuel mean? Immanuel means God is with us. Key Passage: Isaiah 53:6 Unit Christ Connection: God s promised Messiah comes out of David s family and is described in Isaiah s prophecy. Small Group Opening Large Group Bible Study Small Group Activities Snack and Transition Each child will take home their Journal Page and a Big Picture Card for Families. 2
The BIBLE STORY Isaiah Confronted Ahaz Isaiah 7 The prophet Isaiah had a special job: to talk to God s people in the Kingdom of Judah. The king of Judah was named Ahaz (AY haz). He was not a good king. He did not do what was right. King Ahaz worshiped idols people and things that are not the one true God. Another kingdom in the area was the Kingdom of Israel. The king of Israel was named Pekah (PEE kuh). Pekah wanted Israel to be safe, so he asked the king of Syria to protect Israel. The kings of Israel and Syria agreed to help each other in battles. King Ahaz gave gold and silver to the king of another country Assyria. Assyria was powerful, and its army was strong. The king of Assyria agreed to help the kingdom of Judah. The kings of Israel and Syria were going to attack the city of Jerusalem. Ahaz was afraid! Everyone in Judah was afraid. Ahaz didn t need to be afraid. A long time ago, God promised his ancestor, King David, that He would be with His people. God always keeps His promises! God sent Isaiah and Isaiah s son to talk to Ahaz by a channel of water. Isaiah said, Listen and be quiet. Trust God. He will take care of you. Then Isaiah said, The kings of Israel and Syria are planning to attack your city. They want someone else to be king. But God isn t going to let this happen. God is in control of everything. This was good news for Ahaz, but how could he be sure this was true? God s words are always true! Isaiah spoke God s words: Don t you believe Me? I m going to protect you. Believe it! Isaiah told Ahaz to ask for a sign, proof that God was telling the truth. But Ahaz didn t ask for a sign. God gave Ahaz a sign anyway. Isaiah said, A young, unmarried girl will have a baby. She will name the baby Immanuel. Isaiah said that Ahaz would be safe from the other kings soon. 3 Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 15 Session 2
But, Isaiah said, God s judgment is coming. He will punish you and the people of Judah for your sin. The king of Assyria and his strong army will attack! Your enemies armies will surround Judah. You won t be able to escape! Christ Connection: God told Isaiah about His plan. Isaiah said that God was going to send someone named Immanuel. Jesus is the One God promised to send. One of Jesus names is Immanuel. The name Immanuel means God with us. Jesus is God with us. 4
Small Group Opening Session Title: Isaiah Confronted Ahaz Bible Passage: Isaiah 7 Big Picture Question: What does Immanuel mean? Immanuel means God is with us. Key Passage: Isaiah 53:6 Unit Christ Connection: God s promised Messiah comes out of David s family and is described in Isaiah s prophecy. Mighty to Save song offering basket Welcome and Session Starter Play Mighty to Save in the background. Set an offering basket near the door. LOW PREP Match Fathers and Sons activity page, 1 per kid crayons craft sticks, 4 per kid markers Activity Page: Match Fathers and Sons Give preschoolers clues to help them match fathers and sons. (Isaiah has the beard.) Say Isaiah took his son to meet with King Ahaz. Draw lines to connect fathers with their sons. Which pair is Isaiah and his son? Make story puppets Make craft stick puppets. Kids can draw faces and hair on one end of each craft stick. They should make one of them very scary; label it Assyria. Label the other sticks Ahaz, Israel, and Syria. Spread them out and help kids move sticks around as necessary to show who was allied with whom. Say Kings of different countries made war with one another. They sometimes made friends with other kings to help them feel safer. Israel and Syria were friends. [Move their sticks together.] They wanted to fight Judah (King 5 Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 15 Session 2
Ahaz). God said Israel and Syria would not win a fight with Judah. But King Ahaz of Judah didn t believe God could help him. He wanted protection from Assyria, so he made friends with that king. The army of Assyria was very fierce. It fought and won battles with all of them: Israel, Syria, and then Judah. Define prophet Say Isaiah was a prophet. In the Old Testament, God told prophets to tell people messages from Him. If somebody said, I am a prophet, but what he said was not true or did not ever happen, then he was not really a prophet from God. Sometimes people had to wait to see a prophecy from God come true. Make some statements and ask kids to say whether a true prophet would have said them. Remember that you promised to obey God. Do it! God will never discipline you if you disobey. Tell God you are sorry. Quit being mean to other people. God doesn t care if you are mean to others. Do what you want. God said He would take care of you. Stop making friends with evil kings who worship idols. This problem is too big for God to fix. We need someone else s help. The Messiah will come. He will save you from being punished from your sin if you trust Him. Transition cue: clap a simple rhythm for children to copy to gain attention. Transition to Bible study This Bible story is about armies and battles. March to group time. 6
Large Group Bible Study Session Title: Isaiah Confronted Ahaz Bible Passage: Isaiah 7 Big Picture Question: What does Immanuel mean? Immanuel means God is with us. Key Passage: Isaiah 53:6 Unit Christ Connection: God s promised Messiah comes out of David s family and is described in Isaiah s prophecy. Large Group Bible Study Introduce the Bible story Sing a song to the tune B-I-N-G-O ; hold the first syllable of Im-man-u-el for two counts. Sing the song and repeat it four times, each time replacing a syllable of the name with a clap, beginning with el and working toward Im. Immanuel was sent from God; His name means God is with us. Im man-u-el; Im man-u-el; Im man-u-el He s Jesus, the Messiah! In the first repeat, sing Im man-u-(clap). In the second repeat, sing Im man-(clap-clap). And so on until you are clapping the entire name. Isaiah Confronted Ahaz picture Bible Tell the Bible story Open your Bible to Isaiah 7:14. Say God told Ahaz to ask for a sign that would help him calm down and not be afraid. Ahaz would not ask for a sign, so God gave Ahaz a sign. Isaiah wrote it for us to read. It is here [point to Isaiah 7:14] in the Old Testament Book of Isaiah. Watch (or listen to) the Bible story to learn what the sign was. 7 Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 15 Session 2
8 Timeline Map Key Passage Poster All We Like Sheep (Thank You, God) song Big Picture Question Poster Tip: Do activities one of these ways: as a group, all at the same time in small groups that rotate through each activity set up as centers, allowing preschoolers to browse and choose Talk about the Bible story Say Ahaz, king of Judah, was afraid. What was he afraid of? (He was afraid that other countries Israel and Syria were going to make war on Judah.) What did Isaiah tell Ahaz from God? (Do not worry. God said it wouldn t happen. God was in control.) What sign would God give Ahaz? (Immanuel would be born.) Ahaz tried to make friends with Assyria. What did God say Assyria would do? (Assyria would fight Judah, too, but not completely destroy it.) Show the timeline. Point to today s Bible story picture. Move down the timeline to The Exile Began. Explain that more prophets would warn Judah, but Judah wouldn t listen to them. Read the key passage and listen to All We Like Sheep (Thank You, God). Talk about the three sections of the key passage. Say We are like sheep, doing whatever we want, straying from the shepherd who takes care of us God. In today s Bible story, who was doing whatever he wanted without paying attention to God? (Ahaz) Did that make him calm or worried? (worried) Who was punished because people (including us) went around doing whatever they wanted instead of obeying God? (Jesus, Immanuel, who always obeyed God) What does Immanuel mean? Immanuel means God is with us. Transition to small groups Describe the activities and what rules you have for working in them. If your situation allows, consider sending kids to activities wandering to them instead of going straight.
Small Group Activities Session Title: Isaiah Confronted Ahaz Bible Passage: Isaiah 7 Big Picture Question: What does Immanuel mean? Immanuel means God is with us. Key Passage: Isaiah 53:6 Unit Christ Connection: God s promised Messiah comes out of David s family and is described in Isaiah s prophecy. Small Group Activities LOW PREP paper painters tape crayons Color initials Use painters tape to create the letter I for Immanuel, or tape the first letter of each child s name on a piece of paper. Preschoolers scribble with crayons. Encourage them to put lots of color on and around the tape. Lift the tape when child is finished, revealing the initial. Keep paper towels handy in case of spills. Say: God told Isaiah about His plan to send Immanuel. Jesus is the One God promised to send. One of Jesus names is Immanuel. The name Immanuel means God is with us. Jesus is God with us. What does Immanuel mean? Immanuel means God is with us. 9 Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 15 Session 2
scarves Play a partner game Say One of Jesus names is Immanuel. Isaiah said that God would send Immanuel. The name Immanuel means God is with us. Jesus is God with us. Let s play a partner game. When you run together with your partner, remember that God promised that Immanuel, God with us, would come. Assist kids in finding partners. Tell each pair to put arms around each other or hold opposite ends of a scarf. Pairs may take turns running to a point across the room, where a teacher will ask the big picture question, What does Immanuel mean? After the pair responds, Immanuel means God is with us, they may return to the starting point. Repeat the game, challenging kids to answer more quickly or loudly. chenille stems large jingle bells Joy to the World Make wrist bells Assist kids as they thread chenille stems through three large jingle bells. Bend the threaded bells around a kid s wrist and twist the ends together to make wrist bells. Play Joy to the World and lead preschoolers to play bells with the music. Say Isaiah told Ahaz a sign from God. God said that Immanuel would be born. What does Immanuel mean? Immanuel means God is with us. 10
Snack and Transition Take a bathroom break and wash hands. Choose volunteers to help set up for the snack; remind kids during snack time to say please and thank you. Thank God for the snack. Journal Page crayons Transition - Journal Page When a child finishes his snack and throws away the trash, offer the journal page for drawing something related to the Bible story. Suggest drawing two things that go together. If parents are picking up their children at this time, tell them something positive about their child s day. Inform incoming leaders if there is something they need to know about a child. 12
Journal Page March 16, 2014 Key Passage: Isaiah 53:6 Session 1: God Called Isaiah Isaiah 6 Session 2: Isaiah Confronted Ahaz Isaiah 7 Session 3: Hezekiah, Judah s Faithful King 2 Kings 18 20 Session 4: Isaiah Preached About the Messiah Isaiah 53 OK to print
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6 Unit 15 Key Passage Poster (ESV) OK to print
Match Fathers and Sons Instructions: Isaiah took his son to meet with King Ahaz. Draw lines to connect fathers with their sons. Which pair do you think is Isaiah and his son? Unit 15 Session 2 Preschool Activity Pages
Isaiah Confronted Ahaz Isaiah 7
What does Immanuel mean? Immanuel means God is with us. Unit 15 Session 2 Big Picture Question OK to print
Unit 15 Session 2 Isaiah Confronted Ahaz OK to print