Preschool August 24, 2014 8:45am
Leader BIBLE STUDY Use Week of: August 24, 2014 Zechariah was a priest who had been born in Babylon. He had returned to Jerusalem with Zerubbabel. At this time, the prophet Haggai was bringing God s message to His people. The Judean exiles were struggling to finish rebuilding God s temple. In fact, several years had passed without progress on the temple when God called Zechariah to prophesy to His people. Zechariah s message was twofold: first, look back and remember the past. Second, look forward and prepare for the future. God wanted His people to learn from the mistakes of their parents and grandparents who had ignored the prophets warnings. Zechariah set out to encourage the people. 4 The Book of Zechariah is organized into eight visions, four messages, and two oracles. The visions Zechariah saw each symbolized something God would do such as rebuild Jerusalem, judge Israel s enemies, and remove national sin. (See Zech. 1 6.) A couple of years later, God spoke to Zechariah again. This time, God spoke four messages to respond to a question the people had about fasting. (Zech. 7:3) In the last six chapters, Zechariah changed the subject to the future of God s kingdom. Chapters 9 12 are rich with Messianic prophecy; the words are quoted often in the New Testament. Compare Zechariah 9:9 with John 12:15; Zechariah 11:13 with Matthew 27:9-10; and Zechariah 12:10 with John 19:37. As you teach kids about Zechariah, emphasize God s promise: A king is coming. Zechariah s visions were significant to the reality of God s people at that time, but a greater reality awaited. Zechariah pointed to Jesus, the coming deliverer who would be struck and pierced to take away sin. God would deal with His people s enemies. He would cleanse His people. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say: They are My people, and they will say: Yahweh is our God (Zech. 13:9). Under the rule of King Jesus, their future is incredibly bright. Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 21 Session 4 1
Preschool BIBLE STUDY OVERVIEW Session Title: Zechariah, Prophet to Judah Bible Passage: Zechariah 1 14 Big Picture Question: What did Zechariah say about Jesus? Zechariah said Jesus is coming. 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. Small Group Opening U N I T 21 4 Large Group Bible Study Small Group Activities Snack and Transition 2
The BIBLE STORY Zechariah, Prophet to Judah Zechariah 1 14 God s people were home. They had been taken to Babylon and lived there for many years, but the king let them go. Some of God s people went back to Judah. The people got together in the city of Jerusalem to rebuild God s temple. The first temple had been knocked down, so the people needed to build a new one. They started to build, but then they stopped. God didn t want His people to stop building the temple. He wanted them to finish what they had started. God sent a messenger named Zechariah (zek uh RIGH uh). Zechariah was a prophet. He listened to God and then told the people what God said. God said, Come back to Me, and I will come back to you. God wanted His people to remember Him and put Him first. Do not be like your parents and grandparents and great-grandparents, God said. I sent prophets to tell them to stop disobeying Me, but they did not listen. God had punished the people for their sin. One night, God gave Zechariah some more messages for His people. The messages came in eight visions like dreams, but Zechariah was awake. One, two, three, four. Each vision was a new message. Five, six, seven, eight. The messages said what God was going to do. One! What did Zechariah see? Zechariah saw a man on a red horse. The man rode his horse around the earth. He looked to see what was happening. Everything was quiet. God said He was going to punish His people s enemies, and the people would finish building God s temple. Two! What did Zechariah see? Zechariah saw four horns. God s people had four enemies. Zechariah saw four men. The men would win against the enemies. Three! What did Zechariah see? Zechariah saw a man with a rope. He used the rope to measure things. The man tried to measure the city of Jerusalem, but it was too big. Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 21 Session 4 3
Four! Five! Six! What did Zechariah see? Zechariah saw Joshua the priest. He saw a golden lampstand and a flying scroll. Seven! Eight! What did Zechariah see? Zechariah saw a woman in a basket. Then he saw four chariots. What strange visions! Everything Zechariah saw in the visions was a special message from God. God told Zechariah, Make gold and silver crowns. Put them on Joshua the priest. Joshua looked like a king, but he was not the special king God planned. God said that the true special king would come one day and bring peace. There would be no more fighting. Your King is coming, God said. He is a good King. He is riding on a donkey. Christ Connection: God showed Zechariah many visions about things God was going to do. God was going to help His people and give them a special king. Jesus is the King who came humbly on a donkey, just like Zechariah said. Because God kept His promise to send Jesus, we can trust in Jesus to forgive our sins. 4
Small Group OPENING Session Title: Zechariah, Prophet to Judah Bible Passage: Zechariah 1 14 Big Picture Question: What did Zechariah say about Jesus? Zechariah said Jesus is coming. 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. I Was Glad song offering basket LOW PREP Connect the Dots activity page, 1 per kid crayons Welcome and Session Starter Play I Was Glad in the background as you welcome preschoolers. Set an offering basket near the door and collect the offering at an appropriate time. Activity Page: Connect the Dots Invite kids to connect the dots to discover something the prophet Zechariah mentioned. Say Zechariah was a prophet. God gave Zechariah visions to share with His people. Zechariah told God s people that their King was coming on a donkey! Note for leaders: God had kept His promise to send His people back to the land of Judah. God commanded His people to rebuild His temple. The people laid the temple s foundation but soon became discouraged when they faced opposition. God sent prophets to encourage the people to finish the work He had given them. The prophet Haggai promised that God would be with them. This week, we will learn about another messenger from God: Zechariah. Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 21 Session 4 5
paper crayons envelopes Key Passage Poster Write a message Ask children to create a message for someone else on a piece of paper. Encourage preschoolers to draw pictures and dictate a message for you to write. Seal each message in an envelope and address the message to someone else in the room. Deliver the messages immediately, or put them aside to deliver later in the session. Say God sent messages to His people through the prophets. We re sending messages to others today! Work together Arrange preschoolers in a line. Recite the key passage as a group, one word at a time. As kids say the words, point to one kid who will tug on the hand of the person to her right. That person will tug on the hand of the person to her right. It will seem as if the kids are reciting the key passage in a chain reaction, though they will speak together. Say All of God s people had to work together to finish building the temple. Let s work together to remember something about our lesson today. Transition to Bible study 6
Large Group BIBLE STUDY Session Title: Zechariah, Prophet to Judah Bible Passage: Zechariah 1 14 Big Picture Question: What did Zechariah say about Jesus? Zechariah said Jesus is coming. 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 Bible Study Timeline Map Key Passage Poster Look song Introduce the Bible story Ask children to help you remember the lessons from the last few weeks. Use the timeline map to help kids remember the Bible stories. Give children silly ways to show they know the answer to the question. Say: If you know the answer, put your hand on your nose. Other suggestions might be touch your forehead to your shoe or touch your pinky finger to your chin. Say How did God keep His promise to His people after they lived in Babylon for 70 years? (He brought them home.) Who led the people back home? (Zerubbabel) What did God tell His people to do? (Rebuild the temple.) Did the people rebuild the temple right away? (No.) How did God tell His people to finish the temple? (He sent prophets.) Which prophet did we learn about last week? (Haggai) Today we re going to talk about another prophet that God sent to His people at the same time. His name is Zechariah. Zechariah wrote down the words for our key passage. [Read the key passage or sing the song.] Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 21 Session 4 7
Bible Zechariah, Prophet to Judah picture Tell the Bible Story Point to the story in your Bible in the Book of Zechariah. Say Zechariah was a prophet whom God sent to give a message to God s people. What do you think God wanted to say to His people this time? Let s find out. Tell the story with your Bible open. Tell children that Zechariah saw eight visions. Train them to chant together, What did Zechariah see? after you say a number in the story. For instance, say, One! and the class will ask, What did Zechariah see? Big Picture Question Poster Talk about the Bible story Ask children to raise their hands if they can answer a question. But if you call on them, they must whisper the answer to a friend or teacher and that person will answer out loud. In this way the second person acts like Zechariah, hearing a message from God and speaking it to the people. Who was Zechariah? (a prophet from God) How many visions did Zechariah see? (eight) What was Zechariah really excited to tell people about? (a king) What did Zechariah say about Jesus? Zechariah said Jesus is coming. Say God showed Zechariah many visions about things God was going to do. God was going to help His people and give them a special king. Jesus is the King who came humbly on a donkey, just like Zechariah said. Because God kept His promise to send Jesus, we can trust in Jesus to forgive our sins. Transition to small groups 8
Small Group ACTIVITIES Session Title: Zechariah, Prophet to Judah Bible Passage: Zechariah 1 14 Big Picture Question: What did Zechariah say about Jesus? Zechariah said Jesus is coming. 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. Small Group Activities Mention the big picture question and Christ Connection in each activity. As kids work together in the activities, reinforce details from the Bible story. LOW PREP jump rope Limbo with helping hands Play a game of limbo using a jump rope. Ask one child to hold one end of the string. Tell the other kids that you need a straight line to play the game. Ask how they could make a straight line out of the rope. When a child volunteers to hold the other end, kids can play the game. Point out that one person can t hold the limbo line alone. Like Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua, who worked together to accomplish the same job, kids must work together to hold the limbo line. As preschoolers move safely under the limbo line, invite them to take turns holding up the limbo line. Say God used many people to build His temple. He also used a few prophets to deliver messages to His people. Zechariah was one of the prophets God sent to give messages to His people. What did Zechariah say about Jesus? Zechariah said Jesus is coming. Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 21 Session 4 9
blocks Bookmark Template art supplies hole punch yarn envelopes plastic crown Run a block stacking relay All children in the class will work as one team. Together, kids will try to build the tallest tower possible, but they may only add one block to the tower at a time. Each team member will carry a block from one side of the room to the other, and then add it to the stack. Ask, How tall can you build the tower together? Say Building the temple was a job for all God s people living in Jerusalem. God used more than one man to share His message with the people. Zechariah was a prophet whom God sent to tell His people His message. What did Zechariah say about Jesus? Zechariah said Jesus is coming. Make bookmarks A bookmark template for each preschooler. Encourage children to decorate them. Punch a hole in the top of each bookmark and tie a piece of yarn through it. Each child will put her finished bookmark in an envelope to give to a friend or family member as a gift. You can also help kids find the Book of Zechariah in their Bibles and place their bookmarks there. Say God s Word is the most important thing we can hear. Zechariah was a prophet. God sent him to share an important message with His people. What did Zechariah say about Jesus? Zechariah said Jesus is coming. Who gets the crown? Invite preschoolers to sit in a large circle. Remind kids that in today s Bible story God told Zechariah to make gold and silver crowns to put on Joshua the priest. Give one child the crown and instruct her to walk around the outside of the circle, gently placing the crown on the head of each child. She may choose one who gets the crown 10
and leave it on his head. After she places the crown, she must run back to her seat in the circle before the kid with the crown tags her. Play as time allows. Say God used Zechariah to deliver the message that a special king was coming. The king would come one day and bring peace. That king is Jesus. What did Zechariah say about Jesus? Zechariah said Jesus is coming. Bible bookmarks, 3 bag music Pass around the Bible Position three bookmarks in a Bible at the books of Zechariah, Haggai, and Ezra. Place the Bible in a bag. Pass the bag around in a circle while music plays. When the music stops, direct the child holding the bag to take the Bible out and open it to one of the bookmarks. Help the child identify the first letter of the book name (Z, H, or E). Read the book name aloud. Then instruct the child to close the Bible, put it back in the bag, and play again. Say The Bible is God s Word. God sent Zechariah to His people so they could hear His words. What did Zechariah say about Jesus? Zechariah said Jesus is coming. Preschool Bible Study Leader Guide Unit 21 Session 4 11
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 her snack and throws away the trash, offer the journal page for drawing something related to the Bible story. Encourage boys and girls to draw a picture of themselves doing an activity with somebody else. Play a game of Messenger Chairs. Everybody sits in a different chair all around the room. Whisper to one child, Look, your King is coming! He then goes to another child, whispers the same message, and then sits in that person s chair. The new messenger chooses someone else to whisper the message to and takes her seat, and so on, until everyone has heard the message. 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 particular child. 12
Journal Page August 24, 2014 Key Passage: Zechariah 9:9 Session 1: Obadiah the Prophet Obadiah 1-21 Session 2: Zerubbabel Led the Captives Home Ezra 1:1 2:2; 2:64 3:13 Session 3: Haggai, Prophet to Judah Haggai 1 2 Session 4: Zechariah, Prophet to Judah Zechariah 1 14 Session 5: The Temple Was Completed Ezra 4:24 6:22 Session 6: Esther Saved Her People Esther 1 10 OK TO PRINT
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
What did Zechariah say about Jesus? Zechariah said Jesus is coming. Unit 21 Session 4 Big Picture Question OK TO PRINT
Your King Is Coming! Your King Is Coming! Your King Is Coming! Your King Is Coming! Unit 21 Session 4 Bookmark Template OK TO PRINT
Unit 21 Session 4 Zechariah, Prophet to Judah OK TO PRINT
Connect the Dots Instructions: Guess what the picture will show after you connect the dots. Hint: It is a picture of something the prophet Zechariah mentioned in these words: Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. (Zechariah 9:9) UNIT 21 Session 4 Preschool Activity Pages
Zechariah, Prophet to Judah Zechariah 1 14 2013 Christian Resources.