God s Unfolding Story - PDF Free Download

Bible Story: Abraham Shared with Lot (Genesis 13:1-18) Bible Phrase: another ( ). Bible Truth: I can share with others. Old Testament Unit 3: Abraham Lesson 2: Abraham Shared with Lot God s Unfolding Story 1. God created everything. 2. People disobeyed God. 3. God chose a special people. 4. God sent Jesus to help us. 5. Jesus began the Church. 6. Jesus is preparing heaven for us. Suggested Schedule: Arrival Centers 25 minutes Clean-up Time 5 minutes Bible Story Time 15 minutes Craft Time 10 minutes Snack Time 10 minutes Game Time/Dismissal Hour B Unfolding God s Story for Teachers Please read our Bible story from Genesis 13:1-18. God s decision to involve people in His redemptive plan is humbling. He chose to use men and women who often faltered and failed in their faith. Those we now call heroes of faith grew from their failures and learned to depend on God s provision. We see an example of this in our story this week. To understand Abram s growing in faith, we need to look back at chapter 12. Abram had settled in Canaan, but after a time a famine occurred. Abram journeyed to Egypt, which was known as a great breadbasket. The Bible does not indicate a direct call from God to go to Egypt, but God did not prevent the move. Abram wanted to care for his family. This in itself was not a lack of faith, but what Abram did on the trip showed fear and a lack of integrity. Sarai, his wife, was a beautiful woman. Abram feared an Egyptian would want her as his wife and would kill him and take her, so Abram introduced Sarai as his sister. Technically she was his half-sister, but Abram lacked faith to believe God would protect them. In Egypt, Abram was approached, not by a mere individual but by the king! Sarai was taken and gifts of money and livestock were given to Abram. Only by God s hand was the dilemma cleared, and only by God s sovereignty was Abram not executed for lying. Abram was sent away from Egypt with Sarai after experiencing a hard lesson about truth and trust. Now Abram faced another decision that would test his faith. Letting go and trusting God was a constant theme in Abram s life. Abram and his nephew Lot had accumulated much livestock as well as silver and gold. The two families were residing near Bethel just a few miles north of Jerusalem. The area of land was not large enough to sustain the growing herds, so quarreling arose among the helpers. Several options were available for Abram to settle the unrest. He could have sent Lot back to his birthplace or simply told Lot where to settle in Canaan. Instead he allowed Lot to choose the land he wanted. Lot settled on the grassy and well-watered southern Jordan valley. Though the land seemed the most desirable, it later would prove costly. Still, Lot s choice of this land had no impact on Abram s ultimate ownership of all the land God had promised. God told Abram to look north and south, east and west (Gen. 13:14). God affirmed He would give Abram and his offspring the land forever! Our lesson for preschoolers is one of sharing. This is a difficult concept for this age due to their egocentric natures. Demonstrate sharing, and provide opportunities for little ones to share. Developing an attitude of letting go can lay a foundation not only for generosity, but also for surrendering one s life to Christ. Lesson Plan Arrival Greet children at eye level and express how happy you are to see them. Be sure each child has a name tag and the security measures of your church are followed. Label all coats and personal belongings. Strongly encourage children who have brought items from home, such as toys and books, to place them on a shelf while they are working with other materials. Assure children their items will be safe and they can take them home at the end of the session. Help each child make a choice where he or she would like to begin his or her Center Time. OT03 Lesson 2 Hour B Page 1

Puzzle Center: Work Puzzles Offer a variety of non-fantasy wooden or cardboard puzzles for the children to work. What to Do: Encourage each child to finish a puzzle before leaving the center. Offer guidance rather than working the puzzle for the child. Link to the Bible Story: As children work, take advantage of opportunities to say the Bible Phrase or to briefly tell the Bible story. Home Living Center: Role Play Small rocking chair, sink and stove unit, small table and chairs; plastic dishes, child pots and pans, plastic food items; and doll items such as baby doll, doll bed, doll bag, blanket, clothes, bottles, and diapers. What to Do: Home living items will encourage children to role play home activities such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for the baby. Link to the Bible Story: As children play, look for opportunities to engage in conversation about the Bible story, Bible Phrase, or Bible truth. Center Time Bible Learning Center: Picture Search Copies of Activity Page: Picture Search Abraham Shared with Lot? (Reproducible) Crayons or washable markers What to Do: Invite children to look at the pictures at the bottom of the page and search the larger picture to find matches. Say, When each match is found, color the object in the larger picture. Link to the Bible Story: As children work, express that Abraham and Lot used the same land for their sheep. Explain that they had too many sheep for the land they were using, and Abraham told Lot to choose some land and claim it as his own. Comment that Abraham showed kindness to Lot when he allowed him to choose the land. Art Center: Sharing Playdough Playdough Playdough accessories such as: craft sticks, cookie cutters, small rolling pins What to Do: Encourage children to make sheep pens with the craft sticks and to form sheep with the playdough. Children can take turns with the cookie cutters and rolling pins. Link to the Bible Story: As children work, say today s Bible Phrase, to one another ( ). Praise the children when they share the materials. Comment that in today s Bible story a man named Abraham shared some of his land with a family member named Lot. Block Center: Build with Blocks Wooden blocks Plastic animals What to Do: Provide a small carpet if possible. Blocks are best located in a corner of the room away from the traffic flow. Link to the Bible Story: As children build, listen for opportunities to share the Bible Phrase or to tell a part of the Bible story. OT03 Lesson 2 Hour B Page 2

Clean-up Time Encourage preschoolers to help at clean-up time. Assign specific tasks for preschoolers to do such as placing all the crayons in the basket, throwing away the trash, gathering all the glue sticks, etc. Guide children to the Bible Story Time area. Bible Story Time Bible Teaching Picture, Abraham Shared with Lot (Reproducible) God s Unfolding Story Cube (Reproducible/Cardstock) Introduction Show the God s Unfolding Story Cube. Express to the boys and girls that even though there are many stories in the Bible and all of them are true, there is one overall story we can call God s Unfolding Story. Tell children that each picture on the cube represents a part of God s Unfolding Story. Turn the cube and talk about each point in the story. (Refer to page 1.) Express that every story in the Bible is from one of these main points in God s Unfolding Story. Today s story is from the third point; God Chose a Special People. Express the following in your own words. If you had two cookies, would it be hard to share one with a friend? What if you had only one cookie? Would it be hard to share half? Or, how hard would it be to give a friend the whole cookie, leaving you nothing? Our Bible story today is about a man who decided to share, even though it was hard. Bible Story Abram Shares with Lot (Genesis 13:1-18) Abraham had moved his wife Sarah, his nephew Lot, and all his helpers and animals to a new place that God had shown them. Both Abraham and Lot became very rich. They had many, many sheep and goats. Each day the helpers would take the animals to the grassy areas and to the water so they could eat and drink. One day, they realized there was not enough grass for all the animals. Their helpers began to argue with each other. Lot s helpers may have said, You can t let your sheep eat here that is our land! Then Abraham s helpers may have said, No, this is our land! You take your sheep somewhere else! Abraham was sad the helpers were arguing, so he said to Lot, Let s not argue about the land anymore. You decide which part of the land you want, and I will take the rest. So Lot looked over the land. Some of the land had grassy fields and water. Other parts of the land had less grass and water. Lot chose the land with lots of grass and water. Abraham had been kind to let Lot choose first. Even though Lot chose the best land, God promised Abraham that one day all the land surrounding Him would be his. Abraham knew God would take care of him. Abraham worshiped God and thanked Him for taking care of his family. Talk Time 1. Show the teaching picture for today s Bible story. Ask questions like these. Why were Abraham and Lot s helpers arguing? What did Abraham decide to do? Who got the best land? Do you think God still took care of Abraham? 2. Say today s Bible Phrase together, another ( ). Express the following in your own words. Abraham showed kindness to Lot by allowing Lot to choose first. Do you think it was easy for Abraham to let Lot choose? 3. Close the Bible Story Time in prayer, asking God to help each person be kind and share with others. 4. Direct children to Craft Time. OT03 Lesson 2 Hour B Page 3

Craft Time: Copies of Bible Phrase Bees (Reproducible) Washable markers or crayons, glue Coffee filters (3 per child) Chenille sticks (1 per child) What to Do: Cut apart the Bible Phrase Bees. Invite children to color their coffee filters and Bible Phrase Bees. Demonstrate to children how to stack their filters one on top of the other. Teachers should assist by pinching the middle of each stack of filters and twisting a chenille stick around the center. Demonstrate to children how to pull apart each layer of their coffee filters to form a flower. Children can glue the Bible Phrase Bee to the flower. Link to Bible Story: Remind children how Abraham allowed Lot to choose his own land. Comment that Abraham was kind to his nephew when he shared the land. Tell children you would like them to do something special with their flowers. Ask each boy and girl to think of a family member or friend, and to give the flower to that person. In this way, the children can show kindness and love like Abraham. Snack Time Be sure to wash hands or use hand sanitizer. Say a thank-you prayer to God for the snack. When snack time has ended, encourage preschoolers to help with cleaning up. Game Time / Dismissal Beanbag Game Beanbag What to Do: Invite children to come to the Game Time area and sit in a circle. Remind children of the Bible story and how Abraham shared the land with Lot. Explain to children that the word share is spelled S-H-A-R-E. Tell each child to toss the beanbag to the friend next to them and with each toss to say a letter of the word share. When the word has been spelled, children should stop the toss and think of a way to share or to show kindness. Some ideas for sharing would be: Share your favorite toy with a brother, sister, or friend; bake some cookies and take them to a friend; give clothes to someone who is in need; take the money you may have saved for something you wanted and give it to the church so more people can hear about Jesus. At the close of the game, say the Bible Phrase together: to one another ( ). Dismiss children when parents arrive. Be sure to follow your church s security guidelines. OT03 Lesson 2 Hour B Page 4

Resources and Supplies Old Testament Unit 3: Abraham Lesson 2: Abraham Shared with Lot Hour B Standard Art Supplies (Supplies that are generally in the room) Washable markers Crayons Child scissors Playdough and accessories Drawing paper Easel (optional) Glue/glue sticks Tempera paint, 4 colors Tape/masking tape Pencils/colored pencils Hole punch Teacher scissors Stapler/staples Permanent markers Watercolors Paintbrushes Yarn Standard Equipment (Equipment that is generally in the room) Bible Small beanbag for Bible Story Time Assorted wooden/cardboard puzzles Set of wooden blocks Small cars and trucks Doll bed Baby doll (soft plastic) Stove/sink unit Play dishes/pots and pans Small table and chairs Small carpet for block area Play food items Storage shelf for blocks Tables and chairs for art, puzzles, and Bible Learning Center CD player/children s Worship CDs Reproducibles (Included with the lesson plan downloads) Activity Page: Picture Search Abraham Shared with Lot (1 copy per child) Bible Phrase Bees (1 copy for every 6 children) Teaching Picture, Abraham Shared with Lot (1 copy per class) God s Unfolding Story Cube (Cardstock 1 copy per class) Parents Connect (1 copy per child) Additional Craft Materials Coffee filters (3 per child) Chenille sticks (1 per child) Additional Block Materials Plastic animals OT03 Lesson 2 Hour B

Picture Search Activity Page: Picture Search Abraham Shared with Lot Instructions: One copy per child. Search the larger picture to find the smaller pictures at the bottom of the page. Color the pictures when they are found. OT03 Lesson 2 Hour B Bible Learning Center

Bible Phrase Bees Craft Time: Bible Phrase Bees Instructions: Copy 1 sheet for every 6 children. Cut out the bees. Follow the instructions in the teacher pages for the Bible Phrase Bees. OT03 Lesson 2 Hour B Craft Time

Coloring Page Abraham Shared with Lot OT03 Lesson 2 Optional