1

SUNDAY SCHOOL

CURRICULUM

AND

LESSON PLANS

TERM 3

2014

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INTRODUCTION

To all Sunday School Teachers

Welcome to the third book in our Anglican series of Sunday school lessons. During the first term,

we focussed on the life of Jesus – the parables He told and the miracles He performed; during the

second term we focussed on equipping ourselves to going out into the world and living a life for

Jesus.

During the Third and Fourth Term we will focus on the stories from the Old Testament, specifically

the book of Genesis, covering stories from the Creation through to Moses. This is in line with the

lectionary for Year A, although the lessons for this term cannot fit exactly according to the lectionary

readings for each week – the reasons for this are outlined on pg 3 of this book.

The Old Testament stories are seen by some as irrelevant to our lives today or not as important as

the New Testament stories and so are sometimes overlooked. However, the roots of our faith are to

be found in the Old Testament. Many of the traditions which we follow stem from the Old

Testament – stories from the Old Testament are often referred to in the New Testament, and so it is

important to be familiar with the stories of the Old Testament so that we gain a deeper

understanding as well as richness to our faith. Through the Old Testament comes a realisation that

God has been with us from the beginning of time.

The lessons for this term do not start with the first stories in Genesis i.e. The Creation and Noah’s

Ark – these lessons will be covered by a manual called “Ryan the Rhino” which has been put

together by the Anglican Diocese of Southern African for the Season of Creation, which will be

celebrated by all parishes in the Johannesburg Diocese in the month of September. This manual will

be distributed to all parishes prior to the Season of Creation.

As mentioned in our previous books, please do remember that this resource is merely a guide. We

encourage you to adapt the lessons according to your context and use other resources to

supplement these ideas and put a lesson together that works for you. Please also be aware that

lessons have only been prepared for the school terms – it is our feeling that the teachers need a

break during the school holidays in order to refresh themselves. We also feel it is also important for

the children to experience the whole church service from time to time.

Please send comments, suggestions and ideas to alice.mugglestone@saintthomas.co.za - it would be

wonderful to include new ideas in future editions. Please also let us know if you would like to

contribute to the lessons in any way – we are always looking for more writers! Once again, please

remember that the Anglican Diocese of Johannesburg offers teacher training – for further details,

see (www.anglicanjourg.org.za) – look for the link to the Sunday school / Children’s Ministry.

God bless you all!

Diocese of Johannesburg Children’s Ministry

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About this Curriculum

We believe that we have designed a curriculum that is unique to other Sunday school programmes.

We aim to provide the children with a firm knowledge of stories from both the New and Old

Testaments, while at the same time, observing the Seasons of the Anglican Church and the readings

as set out in the lectionary.

As Anglicans, we would very much like to follow the lectionary as closely as possible as it offers a

richness to our faith. There are, however, a number of obstacles associated with this when trying to

design a Sunday school Curriculum:

The Sunday Lectionary readings do not always follow on from one week to the next hence

the children do not get a sense of the chronological order of events of the Bible.

Not all the Bible stories that children should know are covered in the Sunday readings.

Stories that come up during the holiday period are never covered.

Sometimes two stories that we would like to cover come up in the same week e.g. The Story

of Jacob and Esau and Jesus feeds the five thousand (Year A, 18th Sunday of the Year) , while

other weeks may have readings that are not that applicable to children.

This curriculum has been devised to follow all the stories and themes for a year as prescribed in the

lectionary, but not necessarily the order of the lectionary. Topics that do correspond with the

lectionary reading for the day have been indicated with a *.

Each year will begin with stories relating to the life of Jesus, miracles and parables. We will then

move into Lent with topics relating to a special Lenten theme. After Easter the topics chosen for the

second term will relate to going out into the world to live a life for Jesus. The third and fourth term

will focus on the Old Testament stories.

The section from the Old Testament that the lectionary focuses on for a particular year will be

covered:

Year A: The Creation through to Moses

Year B: Joshua through to Samson

Year C: The Prophets.

The last few lessons of each year are devoted to Advent and Christmas.

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How to prepare for a lesson

Pray for yourself, the children in your group and the lesson message.

Read the Bible to learn and understand the story and the spiritual truths. Study related Bible

passages and other translations of the Scriptures.

Enrich your background understanding. Read the information for the teacher found at the

beginning of each of our lessons in this manual. If you are able to, look at reference books, consult an atlas etc.

Prepare. Preferably, you should be thinking about your lesson a week before you are due to give it,

so that you are able to collect the materials you need over that week. Decide how you will present the material and what activities you will do. Prepare the teaching aids and anything else needed for the lesson. It is important to plan a lesson which is not too short or too long. It is good to have a few extra activities planned should the church be running late.

Here follows a basic lesson structure you can use, although not all components are necessary every lesson:

Welcome

Introduction to the theme and attention grabber

Bible reading

Prayer

Memory verse

Craft

Song

Physical activity

Worksheet

Snack

Aim of the lesson. Know what you wish to accomplish during the lesson.

Reach the children. Choose the best methods to convey the message to the children. Use an age

appropriate Bible. Remember that children learn best by actively doing things and exploring and discovering for themselves. Try to vary your activities from week to week e.g. try artwork activities that include painting and collage to encourage creativity.

Evaluate the lesson after teaching it. Ask yourself questions such as:

What went really well?

What did the children enjoy?

What will I do the same next time and what will I do differently?

(The PREPARE idea is inspired by The South African Sunday School Association)

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Background Information to the Old Testament

The Sunday school lessons for this term focus on the first book of the Old Testament which is Genesis. The lessons cover the stories from the Creation to the time of Moses. It is useful to have some understanding of the world at this time. This will help us to understand the stories and to place the biblical events and God's dealing with Israel in the larger context of general human history. A map can be found on page 6 which is useful in tracking the movement of the characters we learn about. Humans had settled in what was known as the Fertile Crescent which was the land between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. As the land was so fertile, crops could be grown and agricultural settlements sprang up in this area. The Babylonians settled in cities around here. One of their leaders Hammurabi is well known for his code of laws which was found written on a stone. It is known as the Hammurabi code. The Israelites were a wandering semi-nomadic people (Deut 26:5). There was antagonism between the settled agricultural culture of the Babylonians and the nomadic Israelite people who moved from place to place with their herds and flocks. Primeval history as recorded in the first book of the Bible is a sad outline of people who failed to find fullness of life in communion with God and one another. From Eve and Adam to the tower of Babel human tragedy increased and people were estranged from God and at odds with one another. The call of Abraham is the start of redemption. The Old Testament is Israel's witness to their encounter with God. About 2000 years before the birth of Jesus, Abraham migrated from Mesopotamia to Canaan which is also known as Palestine. Here Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived until there was a famine and their families moved to Egypt where for many years they lived in peace and prosperity, but over time the Egyptians turned against them, enslaved them and set them to hard labour. Under the leadership of Moses they escaped into the desert, attacked Canaan and moved back into the land 'flowing with milk and honey'. We as Christians have a historical sense and remember the crucial events revealed in the bible. Our roots are in Jewish history, in the events of the Old Testament as well as most importantly in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. For the Israelites the crucial event in the history of Israel is the Exodus. Christians view the life, death and resurrection of Jesus as the fulfilment of the historical drama of Israel and describe it as salvation history. Many biblical scholars consider these stories to be myths that tell truths about God rather than being literally true. We read these stories in the Old Testament through the eyes of faith, seeing God's activity in the events and finding meaning and direction for our lives.

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Curriculum

Term 3 2014

Date Week in Church year

Lesson Page

The Old Testament: Creation to

Joseph

1 27 July Seventeenth Sunday of the

year

Always give of your best

(Cain and Abel)

8

2 3 August Eighteenth Sunday of the

year

Scattered (The Tower of

Babel)

17

3 10 August Nineteenth Sunday of the

year

Choices, choices! (Abraham)

26

4 17 August Twentieth Sunday of the year

Tricked! (Jacob and Esau)

38

5 24 August Twenty-first Sunday of the

year

The techni-colour dream coat

(Joseph)

48

6 31 August Twenty-second Sunday of the

Year

The dreamer (Joseph)

61

Season of Creation

7 7 September Twenty-third Sunday of the

year

Please refer to the “Ryan the Rhino”

manual which will be distributed throughout the province of Southern Africa prior to the Season of Creation.

As there are more lessons in this

manual than weeks allocated to the Season of Creation, it is suggested that you select 4 lessons from this manual that most suit the needs of your class,

or combine ideas from a number of weeks into 4 lessons. Please note that

there is a lesson on Noah’s Ark towards the end of the manual.

8 14 September Twenty-fourth Sunday of the

year

9 21 September Twenty-fifth Sunday of the

year

10 28 September Twenty-sixth Sunday of the

year

Gauteng School Term: 21 July – 3 October 2014

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Always give of your best to the Lord

(Cain and Abel)

Seventeenth Sunday of the year 27 July 2014

Reading: Gen 4 Theme: Always give of your best to the Lord Memory verse: “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” 2 Cor 9:7

or “God loves a cheerful giver” 2 Cor 9:7

Information for the teacher: The Old Testament starts with the book of Genesis. The word “Genesis” means “origin” or beginning. Genesis describes the beginning of human beings and the universe in which we live and have been given dominion over; the beginning of sin and recounts the painful stories of many lives ruined as a result; the beginning of God’s plan of redemption and the beginning of the Hebrew nation through which the Messiah was to come. The beginning of Genesis describes the perfect world that God created – this will be explored more fully during the Season of Creation in September. The fall of Adam and Eve follows on from the story of God’s perfect creation, and the story of Cain and Abel then follows on from Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden. Cain was the firstborn of Adam and Eve. Like his father Adam, he became a farmer and worked the soil. Abel was the second son of Adam and Eve and was an animal herder. As was done in those days, both Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God in thanksgiving for what He had done for them. God was pleased with Abel’s offering of his best lamb, but not with Cain’s offering from his harvest. As a result, in a fit of anger, Cain killed his brother. The Bible does not say why God rejected Cain’s sacrifice. Perhaps Cain’s attitude was improper or perhaps his offering was not up to God’s standards. Proverbs 21:27 says “The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable – how much more so when brought with evil intent!” When we give to God and others, we should have a joyful heart because of what we are able to give. We should give as a response to love for God and His love for us, not to gain God’s favour. During the time of the Old Testament, it was normal for sacrifices to be made to God, which usually involved the slaughtering of an animal, and burning the sacrifice on an altar. However, with the coming of Jesus and His death – the ultimate sacrifice - we no longer offer sacrifices. We do, however, still make offerings of our time, money and possessions. We should not worry how much we are giving up, for all things are God’s in the first place, but we should always give joyfully and of our best.

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Lesson Suggestions:

Younger Children (3 – 6 years): Lesson Objective:

To learn about the story of Cain and Abel

To encourage the children to always give of their best to God

Attention Grabber: Show the children a healthy, perfect flower and a dying flower; a perfect fruit and a spoiled fruit; a whole biscuit and half a biscuit. In each case, ask the children which they prefer. If they had to give one of each away, which would they give to someone else and which would they keep? Today we will be discussing the story of Cain and Abel and the gifts each of them made to God.

Setting the scene: Who can remember what the first story of the Bible is all about? (Using pictures from a children’s Bible, briefly discuss that in the beginning God created a perfect world. He created man and named him Adam and he named the woman Eve. Briefly revise the lesson from earlier in the year about the fall of humankind – where both Adam and Eve were tempted by the snake to eat the forbidden fruit. As a result, Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden and move into a world that was no longer perfect. You can also mention that the first book of the bible is Genesis, and keep reminding them about this every week) Adam and Eve then had two children, Cain and Abel. We will learn more about them today.

Bible Story: Gen 4. If possible, use a children’s Bible with pictures, or tell the story in your own words. For the very young children, you may prefer to leave out the part of the story where Cain kills Abel and rather just focus on Abel who gave a gift which was pleasing to God while Cain did not. Cain then became angry because he thought God favoured Abel more.

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Review Questions:

1. What are the names of Adam and Eve’s first sons that are mentioned in the Bible? (Cain

and Abel)

2. What were Cain and Abel’s jobs? (Cain – farmer; Abel – shepherd)

3. What did Abel give to God? (the firstborn of the flock – one of the lambs born first

because they were the best ones)

4. What did Cain give to God? (Some of the fruit from his crops)

5. Which gift did God prefer? Why? (Abel’s – because Abel gave of his best and gave from

his heart)

6. In what ways can we give to God? (money, gifts such as giving to the poor, using our

talents to glorify God e.g. singing praises )

Craft:

Pictures of fruit as well as a cornucopia can be found at the end of this lesson. The children can colour in the fruit and add to a poster with a heading: “Cain and Abel: Always give of your best to the Lord”. The fruit can also be simply stuck onto a paper plate with the heading. (See www.preschools4all.com/cain-and-abel for more ideas related to this craft.)

Draw a picture – the best you can do, to remind yourself that we must offer the best that we can to God.

Snack: Put out nice looking fruit and not so nice looking fruit. Let the children snack, then discuss which pieces of fruit they chose and why. Relate this to the lesson.

Songs: Teach the children a few graces that can be sung before a meal. Two well known graces follow:

The Lord’s been good to me

The Lord’s been good to me And so I thank the Lord

For giving me the things I need The sun, the rain and the apple

seed The Lord’s been good to me

Thank you Jesus

Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus For our food, for our food

And our many blessings, and our many blessings

Amen

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Physical Activity: Play fruit salad: This game needs at least 8 players. Form a circle of chairs that is one chair fewer than the total number of players. Choose a player to be “in” – that player stands in the centre of the circle. Divide all the players into three groups of fruit by going round the group and naming them either an apple, orange or pear. The person who is “in” calls the name of a fruit. If he calls out apples, everyone who is that fruit must get up quickly and change places. People who are not apples remain seated. The person who is “in” tries to sit in an empty spot whenever players swop positions. If they manage to sit on a chair, the person not sitting on a chair is then “in”. The person in the middle can also call fruit salad and everyone who is seated has to change spots. The game can finish whenever you like.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus. We thank you for everything you have given us such as............. Please help us to always give of our best to you. Amen

Older children (7 -13 years): Lesson objectives:

To learn about the story of Cain and Abel

To understand the meaning of an offering

To encourage the children to always give of their best to God

Attention Grabber: Show the children a healthy, perfect flower and a dying flower; a perfect fruit and a spoiled fruit; a whole biscuit and half a biscuit. In each case, ask the children which they prefer. If they had to give one of each away, which would they give to someone else and which would they keep? Today we will be discussing the story of Cain and Abel and the offerings each of them made to God.

Setting the scene: Who can remember what the first story of the Bible is all about? (Briefly discuss that in the beginning God created a perfect world. He created man and named him Adam and he named the woman Eve. Briefly revise the lesson from earlier in the year about the fall of humankind – where both Adam and Eve were tempted by the snake to eat the forbidden fruit. As a result, Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden of Eden and move into a world that was no longer perfect. You can also ask the children what is the name of the first book of the Bible. Also show on a map where the Garden of Eden is thought to have been – a map can be found on page 6 of this manual. The Garden of Eden is thought to have been situated between the Tigris and Euphrates River in a region known as Mesopotamia) Today’s story follows on from Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden.

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Bible Story: Gen 4 (If possible, use an age appropriate Bible)

Review Questions:

1. What are the names of Adam and Eve’s first sons that are mentioned in the Bible? (Cain

and Abel)

2. What were Cain and Abel’s jobs? (Cain – farmer; Abel – shepherd)

3. What does it mean to give God a sacrifice? (To give something valuable to God; to offer

something to God for worship or payment for sin)

4. What did Abel offer God as a sacrifice? (the firstborn of the flock – one of the lambs born

first because they were the best ones)

5. What did Cain offer to God? (Some of the fruit from his crops)

6. What did Cain do to Abel when God liked Abel’s sacrifice better? (He killed Abel)

7. What did Cain say to God when questioned as to where his brother was? (“I don’t know.

Am I my brother’s keeper?” Gen 4:9)

8. What was Cain’s punishment? (He had to leave his family and wander around for the rest

of his life – he went to live in the land of Nod)

9. Adam and Eve went on to have more children. Name another son that was born. (Seth)

10. Who was a descendent of Seth? (Noah)

Application Questions:

1. Why do we give offerings to the Lord? (To thank God for all He has done. We do it as a

response to our love for God and His Love for us, and not to gain His favour – God loves us

anyway! Perhaps explain at this stage that we no longer offer God sacrifices as in Old

Testament times, which involved burning the sacrifice on an altar. This is because Jesus paid

the ultimate sacrifice for our sins by dying on the cross.)

2. When is God pleased with our offerings? (When it comes from our heart, not reluctantly, but

joyfully)

3. Why do you think God favoured Abel’s sacrifice over Cain’s? (A possible answer is that God

cared about the thoughts, feelings and efforts the brothers put into their sacrifices. Abel did

his best – gave his best – and THAT is what is important to God. Cain didn’t really sacrifice

anything at all. He gave God something he didn’t really need or care about.)

4. When during the Anglican Church service do we bring our offerings to the Lord? What are

the words that are used during this time? (During the offertory, directly after the peace.

“Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the splendour and the majesty; for

everything in heaven and on earth is yours. All things come from you, and of your own do we

give you.”)

5. What are some of the things we can give to the Lord? (time, money, use talents to glorify

God)

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Prayer: Encourage the children to follow the ACTS form of prayer and to include what they

have learnt in today’s lesson. Perhaps also discuss some well known graces that are said before

meals and encourage the children to learn a few. A few have been included in the younger

children’s section, under songs. The song for the older children, found below, can also be included

in the prayers.

Worksheet: Crossword – perhaps remove the word list for the older children to make the

crossword more challenging.

Craft: Make a group banner incorporating everything learnt in today’s lesson.

Song:

All that I am, all that I do (Any song of offering can be used)

Snack: Put out nice looking fruit and not so nice looking fruit. Let the children snack, then discuss which pieces of fruit they chose and why. Relate this to the lesson.

Physical Activity: Play fruit salad. (See the younger children’s section for rules of this game.)

References: www.dtlk-bible.com Life Application Bible www.missionbibleclass.org www.kids.djswilliamsport.com

http://specialed.about.com/library/Holiday-Cutting-worksheets/Cornucopia.pdf

All that I am

All that I am, all that I do, All that I’ll ever have I offer now to

you. Take and sanctify these gifts for

your honour Lord, Knowing that I love and serve you is

enough reward. All that I am, all that I do,

All that I’ll ever have I offer now to you.

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Scattered! (Tower of Babel)

Eighteenth Sunday of the year 3 August 2014

Reading: Gen 11:1-9 Theme: Keep God the focus of your life Memory verse: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Col 3:17

Information for the teacher: The tiered temple tower in Babylon, known as a ziggurat, one of the famed wonders of the age of Hammarabi (an Amorite king of the Babylonian dynasty 1728 – 1686 BCE), is most likely the origin of this story. Many biblical scholars believe the city of Babel was actually the city of Babylon, the capital of Mesopotamia. The Mesopotamians worshipped the sun, moon and stars instead of God. As shown in the picture below, ziggurats looked like pyramids with steps or ramps leading up the sides. Ziggurats stood as high as 100 m and were often just as wide, thus they were the focal point of the city.

There are 3 interpretations to the story of the Tower of Babel:

1. It can be seen as a simple primitive explanation for the fact that there are so many different languages in the world.

2. It can be seen as a condemnation of the settled, agricultural culture that was growing in the Fertile

Crescent. The building of the tower represents the move from a nomadic to a settled lifestyle.

3. It can also be considered as an act of human pride, a declaration by humans that they were great and did not need God, that they could go it alone. God visits the earth in judgement and brings an end to this power with the barrier of language.

It is the third interpretation that will be the focus of our lesson today.

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Lesson Suggestions:

Younger Children (3 - 6 years): Lesson Objective:

To learn about the story of the Tower of Babel

To teach children to remember God in all that they do

Attention Grabber: Build towers out of tin cans or “Jenga” blocks or recyclable materials or paper cups with pieces of cardboard between them. Who can build the highest tower?

Setting the scene: What did we learn about last week? (The story of Cain and Abel; today’s story can also be found near the beginning of the Bible)

Bible Story: Gen 11:1-9. Use a children’s bible or use your own words to tell the story. Make sure you have a picture of the tower of Babel to show the children.

Review Questions: 1. What did the people in this story do? (They built a very high tower) 2. What did God do when He saw the tower? (God made them all speak in different languages

so they could not understand each other.) 3. Why did the people in the story decide to build the tower? (To show how great /clever they

were)

Application Question: Do you think the tower was to show how great the people were or how great God was? (To show how great the people were) The people made a tower to show how great they were and had forgotten about God. It is important to remember God in all that we do.

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Activity: Ask the children if any of them are able to speak more than one language. Ask them to say something in the language that is not the usual language of the class. Now ask the class what they think was said. Then ask the children to repeat the sentence in the language that all the children understand. Who knows what the word “God” is in other languages? Here are some examples: Yahweh (Jewish); Here (Afrikaans); Unkulunkulu (Zulu); Modimo (Tswana); Uthixo (Xhosa); Theos (Greek); Allah (Arabic); Gott (German)

Crafts:

Make a pencil tower i.e. a pencil holder – see older children’s lesson for instructions

A picture can also be found at the end of this lesson for the children to colour in.

Songs:

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty

Sing songs in different languages – the words to Masithi in different languages can be found in the songs in the older children’s section.

Snack: Make towers of biscuits, marshmallows - perhaps put together with tooth picks, bread (cut into quarters) with jam, or whatever you think would work! Once again, who can make the highest tower?

Prayer: Dear God. Thank you that you are so strong and so mighty and that there is nothing you cannot do. Please help us to remember you in all that we do. Amen

My God is so big

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do (X2)

The mountains are His, the rivers are His, the stars are His handiwork too.

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do.

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Older children (7 -13 years): Lesson objectives:

To know the story of the Tower of Babel

To identify what separates us from God and from one another

Attention Grabber: Build towers out of tin cans or “Jenga” blocks or recyclable materials or paper cups with pieces of cardboard between them. Who can build the highest tower?

Setting the scene:

Which book of the Bible are we working through this term? (Genesis)

Who did we learn about last week? (Cain and Abel)

Which story comes after the story of Cain and Abel? (Noah’s Ark - Get the children to look this up in the Bible for themselves. Explain to them that we will be discussing the story of Noah’s Ark during the Season of Creation in September)

Bible Story: Gen 11:1-9. Read the story of the Tower of Babel. Perhaps explain a bit about the background to this story, referring to the information for teachers. Make sure you have a picture of the Tower of Babel to show the children. A map is also included to show where Babel is in relation to other stories in the book of Genesis.

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Review Questions: 1. What did the people in this story do? (They built a very tall tower, one that they were hoping

would reach the heavens) 2. What did God do when He saw this tower? (He made them all speak in different languages

so they could not understand each other. As a result, the people were scattered across the earth.)

3. Why was the tower known as “Babel”? (It was there that the Lord confused the language of the whole world)

Application Questions 1. Why did God stop the building of the tower by confusing their languages? (The people in

this story built their tower as a monument to their own greatness, something for the whole world to see. The Tower of Babel was a great human achievement, a wonder of the world. But it was a monument to the people themselves -the people had lost focus of God.)

2. Why should God be the focus in all that we do? (We will then do things for the right reasons. We will make the right decisions, out of love, not in selfishness. We will make decisions out of the good for others, not just our own interests.)

3. What do you think are some of the big towers of today i.e. what blocks God out of our lives? (Money – expensive clothes, big house, fancy car; Status –important job. These things in themselves are not wrong, but when we use them to give us identity and self-worth, they take God’s place in our lives.)

4. Which commandment do you violate if you put something above God? (Commandment 2 - do not make an idol of anything and worship it)

Activity:

Ask the children if any of them are able to speak more than one language. Ask them to say something in the language that is not the usual language of the class. Then ask the class what they think was said. Then ask the children to repeat the sentence in the language that all the children understand. Who knows what the word “God” is in other languages? Here are some examples: Yahweh (Jewish); Here (Afrikaans); Unkulunkulu (Zulu); Modimo (Tswana); Uthixo (Xhosa); Theos (Greek); Allah (Arabic); Gott (German)

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Songs: Sing songs in different languages – perhaps divide the children into groups, each group singing the same song in a different language. Masithi Amen is an example of a song which can be used

Prayer: If there are children in the class who know the Lord’s Prayer in another language, ask them to pray in that language while the rest of the class prays in English, or ask the children to say the Lord’s prayer in their language of choice.

Afrikaans

Onse Vader wat in the hemele is. Laat U Naam geheilig word.

Laat U koninryk kom Laat U wil geskied.

Soos in the hemel net so ook op die aarde Gee ons vandag ons daaglikse brood

En vergeef ons ons skulde, Soos ons ook ons skuldenaars vergewe

Lei ons nie in versoeking nie, Maar verlos ons van die Bose

Want aan U behoort die koninryk en die krag en die heerlikheid, tot in ewigheid,

Amen

Zulu

Baba wethu osezulwini, Malingcweliswe igama lakho,

Mawufike umbuso wakho, Mayenziwe intando yakho emhlabeni

njengasezulwini, Usiphe namuhla isinkwa sethu semihla ngemihla,

Usithethelele amacala ethu, Njengalokhu nathi sibathethelela abanecala kithi,

ungasingenisi ekulingweni, kodwa usikhulule kokubi,

Ngokuba umbuso ungowakho, Namandla, Nenkazimulo, Kuze kube phakade.

Amen

Masithi Amen (The Great Amen)

Xhosa: Masithi, Amen si-ya-ku-du-mi-sa (X2)

Masithi, Amen Bawo, Amen Bawo Amen, si-ya-ku-du-mi-sa

Sotho/Tswana: Arere, Amen re-a-

o-rorisa (X2) Arere, amem ntate, amen ntate

Amen, re-a-o-rorisa

English: When we sing, Amen, we praise your name O Lord (X2)

When we sing, Amen, Father, amen Father

Amen, we praise your name O Lord

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Craft: Make a pencil tower i.e. a pencil holder

Use a cardboard tube as shown in the diagram below. A “Pringles” tube works best. Another idea is to use a tin can. If these materials are not available, then perhaps draw a tower on a poster or a bookmark, and make use of the ideas below.

Use a single piece of paper or scraps of paper to cover the tube and then add words that describe God in different languages to the pencil holder. Perhaps use glitter to add the final touch to the tower.

Worksheet: Decode the message – see worksheet at the end of the lesson. If the children need extra help in deciphering the code, explain that each letter is represented by the letter before it in the alphabet, so “d” would be written as ”c” in this code. The answer to this worksheet is the memory verse for this lesson: Col 3:17

Physical activities:

Build a human tower

“So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.” Gen 11:8. Cut up the memory verse of this lesson (Col 3:17) or Gen 11:8 and “scatter” the words all around. The children need to find the words and then put them together to make the bible verse.

References: Life Application Bible The make and do Bible, Gillian Chapman, Lux Verbi. BM, 2005 Jumbo Bible Activity Book, Candle Book Publishers, 2009

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The men said, “Let’s build a tower that

touches the sky.” Read about the Tower of

Babel in Gen 11:1-9

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Tower of Babel

The people could no longer understand each other. Can you understand the message

below. (To decode the message, here is a hint: “God” in this code is “Fnc”)

“V g z s d u d q x n t c n, v g d s g d q h m v n q c n q

c d d c, c n h s z k k h m s g d m z l d n e s g d k n q c

i d r t r, f h u h m f s g z m j r s n F n c s g d e z s g d q

s g q n t f g g h l.” B n k n r r h z m r 3:17

Now use this code to make up a message for others to decipher.

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Choices, choices! (Abraham)

Nineteenth Sunday of the year 10 August 2014

Readings: Gen 12-23 Theme: Making choices that are pleasing to God Memory verses: ‘The Lord told Abram, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless” Gen 17:1

Information for the teacher: The story of Abram (or Abraham) was briefly covered earlier this year during Lent - the theme for the lesson was having faith in God. Today’s lesson will revise the ideas covered in the previous lesson on Abram and will then move on to another theme that comes out strongly when reading the story of Abram, and that is that we are all given choices in life and it is sometimes difficult to know which path to follow. This lesson will mainly be based on the story of Abram and Lot, the nephew of Abram. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold. Lot was moving about with Abram and also had many flocks, herds and tents. The land could no longer support both of them for their possessions were so great that they were not able to stay together. Abram gave Lot the choice of who should move, even though Abram was older and had the right to choose first. Lot chose to move to the land which was well watered and had good pasture – he chose the best share of the land for himself. This land unfortunately was also close to the wicked city of Sodom, which would ultimately provide temptations strong enough to destroy his family. We learn from this story that there are always consequences to any action we take. When making a decision, it is important to not think not only of the immediate outcomes. Other stories where Abraham and his family need to make choices include Sarah encouraging Abram to marry Hagar so that Abram may have a son, and God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac. The lesson for older children will touch on these stories but it is up to the teacher and time constraints as to whether all these stories are covered. As mentioned earlier this year, God changed Abram’s name to Abraham, “Father of many”, shortly before his son, Isaac was conceived – this should be discussed with the older children, but the distinction between Abram and Abraham will not be emphasised in this lesson for the younger children.

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Lesson Suggestions:

Younger Children (3 -6 years): Lesson Objectives:

To learn about the story of Abraham and Lot

To realise that there are good and bad choices

To encourage the children to try to make good choices by following God

Attention Grabber: Make a “quack-quack” – see instructions on how to do this at the end of this lesson. A “quack-quack” involves having to make choices, which is the theme for today’s lesson.

Setting the scene: You will hopefully remember that we learnt about Abraham earlier this year? Who can recall what

we learnt? (God asked Abraham to leave his home and move to a new land that God would show him. God

promised Abraham that He would bless him with many children, as many as the stars in the sky. Abraham chose to obey God.)

Sing: Father Abraham Did you know that Abraham had a son? – What was his name? (Isaac) He also had a wife called Sarah. Abraham chose to obey God and God blessed him with many children. Today we will be learning

more about making good choices and trying to follow what God wants us to do. The story we will be learning about today is about Abraham and Lot. (For the slightly older children, discuss that Lot was Abraham’s nephew i.e. Abraham’s brother’s son)

Bible Story 1: Read Gen 13:1- 12. Preferably use a children’s Bible, or summarise the story based on the questions below and try to make use of pictures.

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Review Questions: 1. Who is the story about? (Abraham and Lot) 2. Why did one of them have to move to a new piece of land? (There was not enough space for

them both to live on the same piece of land.) 3. Who moved and why did he choose this piece of land? (Lot moved to the land which was

more fertile –where it was easier for food to grow) 4. Where did he move to? (He moved near to the City of Sodom.)

Application Question: 1. Lot was given the choice as to which piece of land he wanted. Abraham gave him the choice

– if you were Abraham, would you have given Lot the choice, especially considering that Abraham was older and therefore had the right to choose first?

Unfortunately Lot made a bad choice – Sodom was filled with evil people. God sent an angel to warn Abraham that Sodom was to be destroyed. An angel was then sent to save Lot

Bible story 2: Read Gen 19:15-17 and Gen 19:24 -26 (Again, tell the story in your own words if your Children’s Bible does not cover the story adequately)

Review Questions: 1. What happened to Lot’s wife? (She turned into a pillar of salt.) 2. Why did this happen? (She didn’t do as she was told and looked back)

What have we learnt from today’s story? (The children can all contribute what they have learnt from the lesson. This is a good time to revise the facts that have been taught. Also guide them to realising that we need to try to follow God in all that we do to make good choices. We can learn more about God and how to listen to Him by reading the bible, praying and going to church.

Crafts:

Make puppets of Abraham, Lot and Lot’s wife. Pictures of these characters can be found on pg 36. Abraham and Lot can be coloured in and Lot’s wife can be covered in salt by gluing the picture and then adding salt to the picture. The pictures can be stuck onto ice cream sticks / or twigs using sticky tape. The children can then re-tell the stories they have learnt today.

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Physical activities: 1. Put up the letter A, B and C at different places in the room. Explain to the children that you

will read a situation, and then give them a chance to run and gather under A, B or C to indicate their choice.

a. Your mom tells you it’s time to go to bed. Do you:

A. Say, “Not now, I’m busy” B. Go right to bed

b. You finish playing with your new toy that has many pieces. Do you: A. Walk away and do something else B. Ask your older brother or sister to put it away for you C. Put the toy away neatly before doing something else

c. You are visiting relatives and for dinner they give you something you don’t like. Do you:

A. Eat it anyway without complaining B. Stamp your foot and push the plate away C. Tell them you hate it and ask for something else

d. A friend comes over and wants the same toy you are playing with. Do you:

A. Keep the toy for yourself B. Keep the toy and ask your friend to play together with you C. Give the toy to your friend and pick something else.

e. You want to bring money to give to God to Sunday school. Do you:

A. Ask mom or dad for something to give B. Look for some extra coins lying around the house C. Bring some of your pocket money that your have earned

2. Abraham followed and trusted God, not always knowing where he was being led. Go out

and look for pictures or objects that have been scattered around which have to do with today’s lesson. Ideas of objects / pictures that can be used for the children to look for could include: stars, salt, tent, cow, picture of a city (Sodom), angel etc. Once all the objects /pictures are found, the significance of each object and how it relates to the story for today can be discussed.

Snack: Salty cracks or pretzels to remind us of Lot’s wife who was turned into a pillar of salt; or perhaps do taste tests with eyes blindfolded to decide whether a food is sweet, sour, (or bitter or spicy!). Possible foods could be salt, sugar, lemon juice, raisins, jelly beans.

Song: I want to walk with Jesus Christ (See the older children’s section for words)

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus. Please help us to follow you in all that we do and say. Help us to make good choices. Help us to read the bible and pray everyday so that we may learn to be more like you. Amen

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Older children (7 -13 years): Lesson objectives:

To learn more about Abraham and his life

To realise that choices have consequences

Attention Grabber: Your friend is having a birthday party on Friday afternoon. Two days before the party, you find out that you have been invited to play in a sport’s team that you have been working hard to get into. The match is at the same time as the party. If you don’t play in the match you may not be invited to play again. What should you do?

This example highlights that choices are not always easy to make and this is the theme for today’s lesson.

Setting the scene: You will hopefully remember that we learnt about Abram (or Abraham) during Lent this year. Who

can recall what we learnt? God called Abram to leave his homeland and move to a land that God would show him. God

promised Abram that He would bless him with many children, as many as the stars in the sky. Abram chose to obey God – he moved from the bustling city of Ur into the unknown – he stayed in Haran for a while, and then moved to Canaan. God kept his promise and started the nation of Israel through Abram. It was ultimately through this line that Jesus was born into the world.

The map on page 6 of this manual can be used to show Abraham’s journey. God told Abraham to move from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan. They went via Haran. Though indirect, this route followed the rivers rather than attempting to cross the vast desert Abraham was initially known as Abram. When did God change Abram’s name to Abraham? (Shortly before Abraham’s son was born) What was the name of Abraham’s son? (Isaac) What was the name of Abraham’s wife? (Sarah – also initially known as Sarai) How old were Abraham and Sarah when Isaac was born? (Abraham was 100 years and Sarah was 90 years) Abram chose to obey God and he was greatly blessed. Today we will be learning more about choices

and consequences. The story we will be focussing on is that of Abram and his nephew, Lot. Do you think this story comes before or after the birth of Isaac? Why? (Before the birth of Isaac – Abram was not yet known as Abraham)

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Bible Story 1: Read Gen 13:1- 12 (13)

Review Questions: 1. Who was Lot? (Abram’s nephew) 2. Why did one of them have to move to a new piece of land? (The land could not support

them both – there was not enough grass for all the animals to feed.) 3. Who moved and why did he choose this piece of land? (Lot moved to a piece of land

which was more fertile.) 4. Where did he move to? (He moved to an area near to the city of Sodom.)

Application Question: Lot was given the choice as to which piece of land he wanted. Abram gave him the choice – if you were Abram, would you have given Lot the choice, especially considering that Abram was older and therefore had the right to choose first? Unfortunately Lot made a bad choice – Sodom was filled with evil people. God sent an angel to warn Abram that Sodom was to be destroyed. An angel was then sent to save Lot.

Bible Story 2: Read Gen 19:15-17 and Gen 19:24 -26

Review Questions: 1. What happened to Lot’s wife? (She turned into a pillar of salt) 2. Why did this happen? (She didn’t do as she was told and looked back)

Application questions: 1. Gen 19:21 tells us that Lot hesitated when the angel came to try to remove him from the city

of Sodom just before it was destroyed. Why do you think he hesitated? (Lot did not want to abandon the life he had made for himself in Sodom – he was wealthy and was respected. Lot was mesmerised by Sodom when the choice seems so clear to us.)

It is important to notice that even though Lot had made a bad choice, God was merciful and helped Lot out of the situation.

2. Have you ever had to make a difficult decision?

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Extension questions: Abram, being a man of great faith always chose to follow the path of obedience to God, even when it was a very difficult path. We have already learnt that Abram left his “homeland” and people and moved to the land of Canaan. God blessed Abram – God promised Abram he would become the “father of the nations” and named him Abraham shortly before Isaac was born.

Read Gen 22 where we learn of another difficult thing God asked Abram to do.

Review Question: Did Abraham sacrifice Isaac? Why? (No, God instead provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice)

Application Questions: 1. Why do you think God asked Abram to make the difficult choice of obeying God and

sacrificing his son? (Through difficult experiences such as this, Abraham developed a great trust and commitment to God and his perfect timing and strengthened his character.)

2. What happens when we make the right choice? (As seen with Abraham, when we make the right choice we are blessed and the spiritual benefits far outweigh our sacrifices.)

Another story about Abram also tells of Sarai, who at age 90, still had no children. Even though God had promised a child to Abram and Sarai, she decided to take matters into her own hands and suggested that Abram marry her maidservant, Hagar, so that he might have a son. A son, Ishmael was born to Abram and Hagar, but Sarai became jealous and so Hagar was sent away. Had Sarai trusted God and waited patiently for the child she was promised, this messy situation would have been avoided. We also learn from this story that although Sarai did not follow God’s plan for her, God was still able to demonstrate His ability to work in all things for good and to restore His ultimate plan. Although Isaac was not Abraham’s first born, he would still be Abraham’s heir. God however did not forget Ishmael – he would also be the father of a great nation – the Ishmaelites. (Gen 16; Gen 17:17 – 21; Gen 21: 8 – 20) What have you learnt from these stories? (The children can all contribute what they have learnt from these stories. Here are some ideas -All choices have consequences and sometimes the consequences can have long term effects. It is important to think through the consequences of your choice before you make a decision. It is not always easy to make a decision which is pleasing to God but this is easier to do if you walk closely with God i.e. read the bible, pray, go to church and socialise with other Christians. Even if we do make a bad choice God does love us and will try to help us out of a bad situation.)

Snack: salty cracks or pretzels to remind us of Lot’s wife who turned into a pillar of salt.

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Songs:

Worksheet: See pg 37. Send this worksheet home as a homework exercise if not enough time in class to do this activity. The answers to the worksheet are as follows: Meaning of Abraham: Father of many Sarah’s original name: Sarai Sarah’s handmaiden: Hagar Son of Sarah’s handmaiden: Ishmael Two evil cities: Sodom and Gomorrah City where Abraham came from: Ur Abraham’s nephew: Lot The letters in the blocks spell laughter, which is the meaning of Isaac. Sarah laughed when she heard the news that she would have a child.

Craft: Make a “quack-quack”. The children will probably be familiar with a “quack-quack” – the instructions on how to make this craft are at the end of this lesson. Instead of using colours and numbers as choices, perhaps use names of people and places that come up in the lesson. The middle of the “quack-quack” can be the lessons that have been learnt from today’s story e.g all choices have consequences; trust in God in all that you do etc

In His time

In His time, in His time He makes all things beautiful in His

time Lord, please show me every day

That you’re teaching me your way That you do just what you say in

your time

Trust and obey

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His word

What a glory He sheds on our way While we do His good will, He

abides in us still And with all who will trust and obey

I want to walk with Jesus Christ

I want to walk with Jesus Christ All the days I live of this life on

earth To give to Him complete control

Of body and of soul

Follow Him, follow Him, yield your life to Him

He has conquered death, He is King of kings

Accept the joy which He gives to those

Who yield their lives to Him

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Physical activity: Play the game twister. This is a fun game with which many of the children may be familiar. It reminds you that the choices you make can complicate your life and get you in a tangle. Try to do what God wants for you; try to keep your life simple and free of complications.

If you do not have the game, it can be easily made as follows:

The game consists of 4 rows of large coloured circles on it with a different colour in each row: red, yellow, blue and green.

Each circle is 18 cm in diameter.

Each circle is 5 cm from the next circle of its colour and 10 cm away from the next row of colours.

Make sure that each circle is stuck down firmly.

Have a bag containing pieces of paper, each with one of the colours written on it.

Have another bag containing pieces of paper, with one of the following instructions written on each piece of paper: Left foot, left hand, right foot, right hand

2 to 4 players can play at a time, and another person, the “referee” calls out the instructions.

Each player starts at opposite ends of the rows of circles.

The referee puts his/her hand into each bag and pulls out a piece of paper from each, and reads what it says e.g. red, right hand.

Each player must then put their right hand on a red circle.

The referee then puts the pieces of paper back into the correct bag and then pulls out another piece of paper from each bag e.g. blue, left foot.

Each player must then put their left foot on a blue circle, while keeping their right hand on the red circle. And so the game continues –the referee calls out another instruction which the players follow while not moving their other hands/feet from the circles called out in previous rounds, until the referee calls out an instruction to move a hand/foot to another colour from which it is on already.

There must never be more than one hand or foot on any one circle. The referee must decide which player gets there first. The other player(s) must find another vacant circle of the same colour.

The players may never remove a hand or foot from a circle unless told to do so by the referee. A hand or foot may only be lifted to allow another hand or foot to pass by, as long as you announce it to the referee beforehand, and replace it on its circle immediately afterward.

If all 6 circles of a colour are already covered, the referee must choose another two pieces of paper from each bag until a different colour is called out.

Any person who falls, or touches the mat with an elbow or knee is immediately out of the game

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Prayer: Encourage the children to follow the ACTS form of prayer and to include what they have learnt in today’s lesson. Perhaps use the words of one of the songs suggested in this lesson as part of the prayer. References: Life Application Bible www.kidssundayschool.com How to make a “quack-quack” 1. Start with a square piece of paper. 2. Fold in half to make a triangle. 3. Fold in half again to make another triangle. 4. Open the paper up so that a cross has formed in the middle. 5. Take each corner and fold so that each corner meets at the centre of the cross. 6. Turn over the paper – you should now have a smaller square. 7. Again take each corner and fold so that each corner meets at the centre of the square. 8. Fold the square in half. 9. You will find 4 flaps to put your fingers in to shape your “quack-quack” as shown in the picture

below.

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Tricked! (Jacob and Esau)

Twentieth Sunday of the year 17 August 2014

Reading: Gen 25:19-35 and 27:1- 45 Theme: Sibling rivalry Memory verse: “The voice is Jacob’s voice but the hands are the hands of Esau” Gen 27:22

Information for the teacher: The story of Jacob and Esau tells of twins born to Isaac and Rebekah and the sibling rivalry that exists between

these two boys. Sibling rivalry is merely the competition between brothers and sisters. It happens in most families

and it is important to acknowledge that it exists and to teach the children that God wants them to be kind to each

other.

In Genesis 4, the story of Cain and Abel, we saw that Cain became jealous of God’s approval of Abel and killed him.

In Genesis 37-50 we see that because Jacob loved Joseph more than his other sons, they became jealous and sold

him to the Midianites. Being frustrated and even jealous of a sibling “outshining you” is something that a lot of

people can relate to.

Today’s lesson deals with the tussle between Esau and Jacob for their father’s blessing. Jacob tricked Esau out of

his birthright and then deceitfully took his blessing. This could hardly have endeared him to his brother, but

eventually Esau forgave him. Our message to the children should be that relationships with siblings are very

special, as your family is with you for life, and it is important to value and nurture these relationships.

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Lesson Suggestions:

Younger Children (3 - 6 years): Lesson Objectives:

To learn about the story of Esau and Jacob

To realise that family relationships are important and need to be nurtured

Attention Grabber: Blindfold game – blindfold one of the children. This child needs to guess who the other person is by touching the person or perhaps talking to the other person. If the group is large and the children do not know each other very well, select a few volunteers, introduce them to each other and then play the game. This game relates to the story in the lesson where Isaac, who is blind, tries to identify his son by touching him. You may like to refer to this game when discussing that specific story.

or What’s in the bag? (See the older children’s lesson for instructions on this game)

Setting the scene: Last week we learnt about Abraham. Who was he married to? (Sarah) What was the name of their son? (Isaac) Isaac grew up and married Rebekah. They had two children named Jacob and Esau – today we will learn more about them.

Bible Story: Gen 25:19-35 and Gen 27:1-45. These chapters tell us the story of Jacob and Esau – of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob and then, years later, also losing his blessing to Jacob. If possible, use a Children’s Bible with pictures, else tell the story in your own words. Perhaps even have some props as you relate the story e.g. pot of soup, rough and soft pieces of material to represent Esau and Jacob; even puppets to represent the different characters. Use the review questions that follow as a guide as to what content you should cover. The words “birthright” and “blessing” are difficult concepts for the children to understand, so find ways of explaining these words simply. A birthright can be explained as a special gift which was given to the eldest child when his father died. He became head of the family and most of what the family owned became his. A blessing can be explained as a special goodbye, made to the eldest son before his father died, again promising all the families riches and leadership to him.

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Review questions:

1. Who did Isaac marry? (Rebekah) 2. Isaac and Rebekah had twin boys. What are twins? Do they always look the same? 3. What were the names of their children? (Jacob and Esau) 4. What was Esau like? (Elder twin, red hair and hairy; skilful hunter; liked the open

country; Isaac favoured Esau) 5. What was Jacob like? (smooth, not hairy; preferred to stay at home and help with the

cooking; Rebekah favoured Jacob) 6. Re-tell the story of how Jacob stole Esau’s birthright but this time get the children to

participate by perhaps filling in the words as you retell the story e.g. ...... had been hunting and was very hungry. ...... had cooked a delicious soup ........... etc (Gen 25:29 – 34)

7. Re-tell the story of how Jacob stole Esau’s blessing, again getting the children to participate. (Gen 27:1 -40)

8. How did Esau feel when he found out that Jacob had stolen his blessing? (He was furious and wanted to kill Jacob, so Jacob had to run away. Also mention that after a long time, Jacob did meet up with Esau again. Esau was happy to see him. Esau forgave Jacob.)

9. Today we learnt about Jacob and Esau. Jacob did something to Esau that was not nice.

Esau wanted to kill Jacob. Which other brothers did we learn about a few weeks ago

where the one brother was angry with the other brother? (Cain and Abel)

Application Questions: 1. Ask the children if they have any brothers and/or sisters or cousins who are close to them

Ask them to think of the good times they have with their family, especially their brothers and sisters and to tell the class about some of these good times. (Be sensitive because not all children have siblings. Also be mindful of those who don’t have happy family situations.)

2. Ask the children if they sometimes fight with their brothers and sisters? 3. What makes them cross with their brothers and sisters? 4. Do they sometimes say and do things to their brothers and sisters that they would never say

to their friends? 5. Discuss the following situations:

a. Your younger sister wants you to play with her rather than you going to your friend’s house.

b. Your older brother is preparing supper and asks you to help, even though it is not your turn.

c. Your brother is studying for a test. You are watching tv and distracting him from his studies.

Explain that brothers and sisters are likely to be with you for life, through good times and bad, while many of your friends will not be. Friends come and go but family is forever. It is important to look after this relationship – treat your brothers and sisters as you would treat your best friend.

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Craft:

Children love working with glue. There is a worksheet of a pot of soup on pg 45. They can stick on lentils and take it home as a reminder of the lesson.

Children can paint a person on a piece of paper. Then press this piece of paper onto another piece of paper so that an image of the painting is made on the second piece of paper. The children can then decorate each piece of paper, the one piece representing Jacob, adding words such as smooth, homely, loved by Rebekah to the picture; and sticking on lentils, drawing a pot of soup and perhaps covering him with smooth material. The other picture represents Esau, so words such as hairy, hunter, loved by Isaac can be added to the picture; and red wool can be stuck on him to represent red hair and perhaps cover him with rough material.

Snack: Make “one minute” noodles with your class in a soup bowl, or perhaps even lentil soup, and share the soup of the day.

Physical Activities:

Play a game such as soccer or “piggy- in-the- middle” which involves trying to take the ball from another player, just as Jacob took what belonged to Esau.

The children may enjoy acting out the stories told today. Provide some props for them to add to the story.

Prayer: Dear Lord. Help me always to be kind to my brothers and sisters and to treat them as nicely as I treat my friends.

Older children (7 -13 years): Lesson objectives:

To learn about the story of Esau and Jacob

To realise that family relationships are important and need to be nurtured

Attention Grabber: What’s in the bag? – have a bag full of objects, perhaps enough for the whole class if the class is not too big, so that each child has a chance to put his/her hand into the bag and guess what the object is without looking at it. If the class is too large, just let a few children play the game at the start of the lesson and then let the other children have a chance to play the game later in the lesson when the others are busy with an activity. This game relates to the story in the lesson where Isaac, who is blind, tries to identify his son by touching him. You may like to refer to this game when discussing that specific story.

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Setting the scene: Last week we learnt about Abraham. Who was he married to? (Sarah) What was the name of their son? (Isaac) Isaac grew up and married Rebekah. They had two children named Jacob and Esau – today we will learn more about these characters. Before we read from the Bible today we need to understand the meaning of blessing and birthright. Birthright: A special honour that was given to the firstborn son. It included a double portion of the family inheritance along with the honour of becoming the family’s leader when the father died. The eldest son could sell his birthright or give it away if he chose, but in so doing, he would lose both material goods and his leadership position. Blessing: A ceremony of blessing was performed before a father died, during which the birthright was handed down to the rightful heir. Although the firstborn was entitled to the birthright, it was not actually his until the blessing was pronounced. Before the blessing was given, the father could take the birthright away and give it to a more deserving son. After the blessing was given, the birthright could no longer be taken away. This is why a father usually waited until later in life to pronounce the blessing. In the story of Jacob and Esau, we read that Esau gave Jacob his birthright, but Jacob still needed his father’s blessing to make it binding. Once Jacob was given the blessing, his father could not go back on his word, even though he knew he had been deceived by Jacob.

Bible Story: Read Gen 25:19-35 and Gen 27:1-45 These chapters tell us the story of Jacob and Esau – of Esau selling his birthright to Jacob and then, years later, also losing his blessing to Jacob. The stories as told in the bible are long, and so it is suggested that the readings are condensed or told in your own words; the 11 – 12 year olds could perhaps be asked to prepare skits - different groups could cover the two basic stories, although this could be time consuming. The children could be provided with props for the skit, such as a pot for soup, pieces of fabric to use as robes, and rough and soft pieces of material to be used for Jacob and Esau.

Or

If you think your children are very familiar with the story, then go straight to the review questions found below.

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Review Questions:

1. Who did Isaac marry? (Rebekah) 2. What were the names of their children? (Jacob and Esau) 3. Describe Esau. (red hair and hairy; skilful hunter; liked the open country; Isaac favoured

Esau) 4. Describe Jacob. (smooth, not hairy; preferred to stay at home and help with the cooking;

Rebekah favoured Jacob) 5. Describe the story of how Jacob stole Esau’s birthright. (Gen 25:29 -34) 6. Later in life, Jacob deceived Isaac (and in so doing also stole Esau’s blessing). Explain the

story.(Gen 27:1-40) 7. Esau was of course furious with his brother for stealing his blessing and wanted to kill him.

How did Jacob escape? (Rebekah organised for Jacob to flee to her bother, Laban)

Application Questions: (Please note that there are many questions in this section – you may want to select a few

questions that you feel would most benefit your class)

1. Do you think Esau valued his birthright? (No, he gave it up for a bowl of soup!)

2. Do you think Jacob’s name suited him? (Yes, Jacob means “grasping the heel”. Jacob was

always struggling with Esau, trying to outdo Esau of what was rightfully his.)

3. As discussed last week in the lesson on Abraham, the choices that you make are important,

and can have huge consequences, as seen in today’s lesson. What were the consequences

to the choices made by:

a. Esau? (He gave up his birthright for a bowl of stew(!) and so lost material wealth as well

as leadership of the family)

b. Jacob? (He had to flee for his life and never saw his mother again. He did however gain

his brother’s birthright which meant he became the leader of the clan and gained the

wealth)

4. Do you think it was right for Rebekah to help Jacob deceive his father? (No – we find

throughout the Bible that the bible characters are human and do wrong, just like us. God still

loves them and uses them. However, we should try to stay away from doing wrong.)

5. Which other 2 brothers did we discuss a few weeks ago where there was also great sibling

rivalry? (Cain and Abel)

6. Later in the book of Genesis, we read that after many years, Jacob wanted to return to Esau.

Esau welcomed Jacob back with open arms. (Gen 33) If you were Esau, would you have

welcomed Jacob back so gracefully?

7. Do you sometimes fight with your brothers and sisters?

8. What makes you cross with them?

9. Do you sometimes say and do things to your brothers and sisters that you would never say

to your friends? In what way?

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Do you know that your brothers and sisters are likely to be with you for life, through good times and bad, while many of your friends will not be? It is important to look after this relationship – treat your siblings as you would treat your best friend.

Worksheet: A crossword and a codeword can be found at the end of this lesson. The

answer to the code word is: Birthright a double share of the inheritance and leadership of the clan

Snack: Prepare “one minute” noodles in a soup bowl, or perhaps even lentil soup, or stew with bread

Physical Activity: Play a game such as soccer or piggy- in-the- middle which involves trying to take the ball from another player, just as Jacob took what belonged to Esau.

Homework! (Perhaps give a treat to those who come back with answers next week)

1. Just after Jacob fled to Laban, he had a dream. (Gen 28:10-22) a. Where did he have the dream? (Bethel) b. Describe the dream c. What was the message of the dream?

2. What was the name that was given to Jacob by God later in life and what is the meaning of this name? (Gen 32:28) (Israel –“struggled with God and men and has overcome”)

3. When did Jacob struggle with God? (Gen 32:22-32) (He struggled with a man / angel throughout the night, just before he met up and reconciled with Esau. The man could not overpower Jacob)

4. Jacob was himself deceived later in life. Read Gen 29: 15 -30 to find out how.

Prayer: Encourage the children to discuss what they have learnt from today’s lesson and then use these ideas as the basis for a prayer. References: www.dtlk-bible.com http://www.missionarlington.org Life application Bible

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Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup

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The techni-colour dream coat (Joseph)

Twenty-first Sunday of the year 24 August 2014

Reading: Genesis 37:1-36 (Jealousy) Genesis 42-45 (Forgiveness) Theme: Jealousy and forgiveness Memory verse: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)

Information for the teacher: The story of Joseph is found in Genesis 37-50 and is part of the greater story of God’s people, journeying from the time of Abraham, through to the Exodus. Joseph was the favourite son of Jacob and was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. From this calamity he rose to become the most powerful minister of Egypt and rescuer of his people. The story of Joseph starts as one of favouritism, envy, betrayal and deceit. It is not until 13 years later that it becomes a story of forgiveness, humility, love and restoration. The themes of jealousy and forgiveness will be our focus this lesson where we learn of Joseph and the coat given to him by his father, the dream Joseph has of his brothers’ bundles of wheat bowing to his, as well the moon and stars also bowing to him, and the jealousy of his brothers who then subsequently sell Joseph into slavery. The lesson will then move onto the reconciliation of Joseph with his brothers many years later. Joseph’s time in Egypt will be discussed next week.

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Lesson Suggestions:

Younger Children (3- 6 years): Lesson Objectives:

To know the story of Joseph

To encourage the children to be thankful for what they have

To encourage the children to love each other so that they do not hurt each other by what they say or do

Attention Grabber: Fabric and Button Fun: Cut scraps of material into small squares. Let them play with these, sorting them according to different colours and patterns. For children who are five years and older ( small children might swallow them or choke on them) bring a collection of buttons, have children count them, sort them according to colours or size, or make patterns with them by putting them into rows according to size or colour. For example you can start a pattern of blue, green, red, and yellow and then have the children copy your pattern.

Setting the Scene: Last week we learnt about twins. What were their names? (Jacob and Esau) Today we will learn more about Jacob. Jacob married Rachel. They had 12 children. Some of their children’s names were Reuben, Joseph and Benjamin Today we will be learning about these brothers, and in particular, Joseph

Bible Story: Use a children’s bible to relate this story or tell the story in your own words. The story has a lot of detail, so simplify according to the needs of your class. Use pictures as you tell the story or props such as stars, wheat, 20 pieces of “silver”, bags of grain with silver “coins”, silver cup etc. Gen 37:1-36 -The important points are: Joseph and the coat his father gave him; Joseph’s dreams about the sun, moon and stars bowing down to him as well as his brothers’ bundles of wheat bowing to his; the jealousy of his brothers; Joseph sold into slavery. However, because Joseph was able to interpret dreams, he became a very important person in Egypt, which we’ll learn about next week. It was because of Joseph that Egypt was saved from famine i.e. shortage of food. Joseph’s brothers and his father were also struggling with the famine and so they came to Egypt to get food. They had to ask Joseph for food, although they did not realise it was him.

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If you were Joseph, would you have helped your brothers after the cruel thing they had done to you? Read Gen 42- 45 to see what Joseph did. Again, simplify this section as much as you feel is necessary – what is most important is that the children realise that Joseph forgave his brothers and they were reconciled.

Review Questions: 1. Who did Jacob marry? (Rachel) 2. How many children did he have? (12) 3. Which of his children did we learn about today? (Joseph, and possibly Reuben and Benjamin) 4. Briefly revise the story for today, making use of the props to help the children remember the

main ideas. 5. Do you think Joseph’s dreams came true? (yes, Joseph became head of Egypt and his

brothers bowed to him when they asked him for food)

Application questions: 1. How do you feel when your brother gets a new bike?

I hate him.

Maybe he will let me ride it.

I’ll say something horrible

He must be happy!

I’m glad I have a bike too, even if it is not new.

2. How do you feel when it is your sister’s birthday?

I don’t like her at all.

I’m glad she is my sister.

Mom gives me presents too.

I’ll say something horrible.

I’ll steal that present.

3. Do you ever want something that your brother or sister or friend has? e.g a toy; clothes; a new game; perhaps you prefer the way they look etc?

4. How do you stop yourself from wanting what someone else has? (Try to love your brother

/sister/ friend and try to be happy for what they have, although this is not always easy to do! Also know that you are special too and be thankful for what you have. Do you know that we are all different and God has made us all special in some way?)

5. What do you do if someone does something to you that is not very nice? (The Bible teaches us to forgive, just like Joseph forgave his brothers – he gave them food even though they had sold him as a slave. Again this is not easy to do!)

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Prayer: Dear God, help me to always love my brothers, sisters and friends, even when they have something that I want, so that I don’t hurt them by what I say and do. Help me to forgive others when they do something wrong to me. Thank you for everything you have given me. Amen

Craft: Children can colour in a picture of Joseph’s coat – see pg 55 for an outline of a coat. Children can also make a collage of Joseph’s coat by gluing small pieces of coloured paper to the outline of the coat. Another fun idea (but messy!) is to sprinkle food colouring onto paper towelling or coffee filter paper and then spray with water – the colour spreads and makes beautiful new colours when it mixes with other colours.

Snack: Ice a marie biscuit and then put hundreds and thousands on it to remind the children of Joseph and his coat

Songs: Listen to songs from the musical “Joseph and his amazing technicolour dreamcoat”

Older children (7 – 13 years): Lesson objectives:

To know the story of Joseph

To understand the meaning of jealousy and how to deal with it

To realise that holding a grudge hurts us more than others.

To help each child have the desire to forgive others.

Attention Grabber: Colour Elimination Game: As the children arrive in class write down on small pieces of paper different things they are wearing and what colour they are. For example, you can write white socks, blue pants, red flowers on shirt. Put the pieces of paper in a bag. Have all the children stand up, give each child a turn to pick a piece of paper from the bag then read what it says. If a child is wearing something picked from the bag, he or she has to sit down. Keep playing until only one child is left standing up.

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Setting the Scene: Last week we learnt about Jacob and Esau. Who did Jacob marry? (Rachel) Do you know how many children Jacob had? (12) Do you know any of their names? (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulum, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Joseph and Benjamin) Today we will be learning about these brothers, and in particular, Joseph

Bible Story: Today’s stories have a lot of detail and it is suggested that the teacher summarises the stories rather than read directly from the Bible. Use pictures as you tell the story or props such as stars, wheat (can use long pieces of grass as a substitute), 20 pieces of silver etc. If the children are familiar with the story, you may like to encourage them to participate in the storytelling in some way. Gen 37: 3- 36: The important points are: Joseph and the coat his father gave him; Joseph’s dream about the sun, moon and stars bowing to him, Joseph’s dream about the brother’s bundles of wheat bowing down to his; the jealousy of his brothers; Joseph sold in to slavery. However, because of Joseph’s God given talents, he became a very important person in Egypt, which we’ll learn about next week. It was because of Joseph that Egypt was saved from famine i.e. shortage of food. Joseph’s brothers and his father were also struggling with the famine and so they came to Egypt to get food. They had to ask Joseph for food, although they did not realise it was him. If you were Joseph, what would you do? Read Gen 42- 45 to see what Joseph did. Again, summarise this section as much as you feel is necessary – what is most important is that the children realise that Joseph forgave his brothers and they were reconciled.

Review Questions: 1. Who did Jacob marry? (Rachel. You may want to also mention that he married Leah – see

homework from last week for more on this) 2. How many children did he have? (12) 3. Which of his children in particular did we learn about today? (Joseph, Reuben and Benjamin) 4. Did Joseph’s dreams come true? (yes, Joseph became head of Egypt and his brothers bowed

to him when they asked him for food) 5. You may want to briefly revise the story for today, making use of the props to help the

children remember the main ideas.

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Application Questions: 1. What is meant by the word jealousy? (the feeling of wanting something someone else has) 2. It’s tough sometimes to be nice to other people all of the time, especially those we spend

the most time with. Sometimes we become angry with our friends or siblings because we feel like they are getting all the attention. Have you ever been jealous of someone you were close to because you felt people treated them better than they treat you?

3. What things make you jealous? (Others may get more attention than you or have more than you e.g. brand pair of shoes or an i-pad; teacher having a favourite)

4. Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him – let’s see how jealousy affects you: Demonstration: Half fill one clear glass with water. Half fill an identical clear glass with white vinegar. The glass of water represents a pure heart; the glass with vinegar an impure heart, and in this case, the hearts of Joseph’s brothers. Put a drop or two of green food colouring in the vinegar and give it a stir. Joseph’s brothers were jealous of him – let’s see how jealousy affects you. Ask a child to put a teaspoon of baking soda in the glass of water – nothing will happen to the water. Have another child put a teaspoon of baking soda in the green vinegar glass – the vinegar should bubble. Discuss this illustration and what can be learnt from it.

5. Which of the Ten Commandments can be applied to the lesson today? (Commandment 10 -

Do not envy) 6. How do you stop yourself from being jealous?

Realise that we are all different and God has made us all special in some way. Try to think for yourself how God has made you special, or what you can do that can make you special i.e. stand out from others in some way e.g. try to be extra caring of others; learn to play a musical instrument etc

Love the other person and be happy for him/her

Pray to God to help you to stop your jealousy 7. We learn in this story of how Joseph forgave his brothers. It is important for you to forgive

others – holding a grudge hurts you more than it hurts others.

For your discussion on forgiveness you may wish to bring a bag and some small stones. Have a child hold the bag as you put each stone in it. Explain that each stone represents an angry or hurt feeling. Have the child walk around the room or just hold the bag for a while. Explain that if we keep our anger or hurt feelings, they become burdens to us. If we forgive others, our burden will go. (Take out the stones) People are more important than problems, it is important to forgive others and continue to love and care about them. Encourage the children to be forgiving as Joseph was to his brothers.

8. How do you forgive others?

Love them!!

Try to understand why they did what they did –were you possibly to blame too?

Remember the example of Jesus who forgives us every time we do wrong. Jesus says in Matt 18:22 we must forgive “seventy times seven”!

Sometimes it takes time to heal and forgive. Time can really change a heart, especially when you spend that time with God. He teaches you how to forgive the way He does.

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Prayer: Heavenly father, so often we are like Joseph’s brothers with feelings of anger, jealousy and hatred in our hearts. Often these feelings turn into actions and we say and do things that hurt others. Send your holy spirit to make our hearts clean and full of love for others. Thank you for sending Your Son to die for all our sins. In His name we ask for your forgiveness. Help us to live as your children. Amen.

Craft: The children need to cut out the colour patches (Pg 56 or pg 57 for a black and white version) and then glue them onto Joseph’s coat which can be found on pg 55. When done, the verse from Gen 37:3 will be seen. This picture can then be cut out and used as a bible bookmark. Please note that this craft is not as easy as it looks! The children should first look up the bible verse to help them and even then the words may not be the same as in the craft. The words in this craft read: “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colours” Gen 37:3. You may also need to remind the children that Israel was the name given to Jacob by God later in life.

Worksheet: Anagram. Here are clues to the answers if the children are not able to unscramble the words: 1. Joseph’s father (Jacob) 2. The country Joseph came from (Canaan) 3. The gift that was given to Joseph by his father (coat) 4. Joseph was able to interpret these (dreams) 5. Joseph’s brothers’ were _________ of him (jealous) 6. The country Joseph went to as a slave (Egypt) 7. The word for a shortage of food (famine) 8. Joseph’s youngest brother (Benjamin) 9. This was found in the youngest brother’s sack (cup) 10. Joseph was able to ________ his brothers even though they sold him into slavery. (forgive)

Songs: Listen to the songs from the musical, “Joseph and his amazing technicolour dreamcoat” References: www.calvary-kids-pages.com www.misssionbibleclass.org www.dltk-bible.com/genesis/pstory_of_joseph-cv.asp www.sundayschoolsources.com/lessons/OT Genesis/ Illustrated Bible Stories Parragon UK My Princess Craft Book Parragon UK

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Joseph Anagram

Unscramble the letters to find the words. Your teacher has clues to

each word if you need some help.

cajbo _____________________

anacna ___________________

ocat ______________________

srmdae ___________________

solejau __________________

tepyg ____________________

efimna ___________________

jnbaenmi _________________

pcu ______________________

egvfiro ___________________

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The dreamer (Joseph)

Twenty-second Sunday of the year 31 August 2014

Reading: Genesis 39-41 (Joseph’s time in Egypt) Theme: Being a channel to do God’s work Memory verse: “You intended to harm me, but God turned it into good” (Genesis 50:20)

OR “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” (Romans 8:28)

Information for the teacher: The previous lesson told the story of Joseph and the coat given to him by his father; his dreams of where the sun, moon and stars bowed down to him, and then of his brothers’ bundles of wheat which bowed to his; the jealousy of his brothers and their decision to sell Joseph as a slave. After many years Joseph reconciled with his brothers and so a story of hatred and jealousy became one of forgiveness. In today’s lesson, we learn about Joseph’s time in Egypt and how he rose to be one of the most prominent men in Egypt. He initially found himself as a slave to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials. He was then thrown into jail after false accusations were made about him by Potiphar’s wife. While in prison, Joseph used his God-given talent of interpreting dreams. When Pharaoh heard of Joseph’s gift, he called on him to interpret one of his dreams which warned of famine. As a result the Egyptians were able to store food in the good years before the famine, so that they could be fed in the bad years. As a result of his wisdom and discernment, Joseph was put in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Many lessons can be learnt from this story. To the Israelites, Joseph’s life demonstrated that God could reveal his purpose through adversity as well as success. Joseph endured many hardships in his life, but God was always with him and blessed him in all he did. Because of Joseph’s positive attitude, ability to forgive and use of his God-given talents, God was able to use Joseph to save Egypt and his people and prepare the way for the beginning of the nation of Israel.

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Lesson Suggestions:

Younger Children (3 – 6 years): Lesson Objectives:

To learn about Joseph’s time in Egypt

To know that God is always with us, in good times and bad

Attention Grabber: Discuss dreams that the children have had while sleeping. Do they sometimes have nightmares or dreams that don’t make sense? Do they sometimes have dreams that recur or do they sometimes wake up just as their dream is about to get exciting? Most importantly, have they ever had a dream that came true? Today we will be talking about Joseph and the dreams that he and others had that did come true.

Setting the Scene: Remind the children of what they learnt last week about Joseph. This week we will learn about his time in Egypt.

Bible Story: Gen 39 – 41. As with last week, the story is long, so either use a children’s Bible appropriate for your age group with lots of pictures, or re-tell the story in your own words. As with last week, use props as you relate the story e.g. bread for the baker’s dream; bunch of grapes / grape juice to represent the cup-bearer’s dream; ring to represent Joseph in charge of Egypt. The important points to discuss are that Joseph went to work as a slave for Potiphar; he was then thrown in jail because he was accused of doing something he didn’t do; the baker and cup bearer’s dream; Pharaoh’s dream; Joseph became in charge of Egypt- he saved Egypt and his brothers from starvation. (See the older children’s section for a more detailed account of these stories)

Review Questions: Review the story told today, using the props as reminders, asking the children questions based on what you have just discussed.

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Application questions: 1. What were the bad things that happened to Joseph? (He was sold by his brothers as a slave;

he was thrown into jail for something he didn’t do) 2. What would you have done if all these bad things happened to you? 3. What did Joseph do? (He still did his best in everything he did and helped everyone he could) 4. Was God always with him, even in bad times? (Yes!)

Prayer: Dear God. Thank you that you are always with us in good times and bad. Help us to

always do our best and to help others wherever we can. Amen

Crafts: 1. See worksheet on pg 69 and 70 which the children can colour in. This activity is a story

wheel, which the children can use to re-tell Joseph’s dreams. Cut out the wheel shaped objects. On the first wheel, cut out the “dream window” above where Joseph is lying. Use a split pin to attach the wheels together at the centre, so that the wheels can move independently of each other.

2. The children can use play dough to represent the lesson they have learnt today e.g. they can mould the clay to make grapes; bread, fat cows, thin cows etc. A recipe for play dough can be found in the older children’s section under crafts.

Snack: bread and grapes / grape juice – to remind the children of the baker and cup-bearer’s dream

Songs: Listen to the songs from the musical, “Joseph and his amazing technicolour dreamcoat”

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Older children (7 -13 years): Lesson objectives:

To learn about Joseph’s time in Egypt

To know that just as God was with Joseph, he is also always with each one of us.

To be encouraged by Joseph’s positive approach to hardships and to respond to our tough times with a positive attitude, acknowledging that with God’s help any situation can be used for good.

Attention Grabber: Discuss dreams that the children have had while sleeping. Do they sometimes have nightmares or dreams that don’t make sense? Do they sometimes have dreams that recur or do they sometimes wake up just as their dream is about to get exciting? Most importantly, have they ever had a dream that came true?

Today we will be talking about Joseph and the dreams that he and others had that did come true.

Setting the Scene: Remind the children of what they learnt last week about Joseph. This week we will learn about his time in Egypt.

Bible Story: Gen 39 -41: Important points to cover:

Joseph went to work as a slave for Potiphar, who was one of Pharaoh’s officials

Joseph was then thrown in jail after false accusations made about him by Potiphar’s wife

While in jail, Joseph interpreted the baker and cup bearer’s dream – describe these dreams and Joseph’s interpretation

Pharaoh then heard of Joseph’s gift to interpret dreams and called on Joseph to interpret his dream of 7 fat cows and 7 thin cows and also 7 heads of grain and 7 withered heads of grain.

Joseph interpreted these dreams to mean that Egypt would have 7 good years of abundance of food, followed by 7 bad years of famine

Through these dreams, Pharaoh was warned to store food for the 7 years of famine and as a result, Egypt was saved from starvation.

Because of his wisdom and discernment, Joseph was put in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

As with last week, the story is quite long, so unless you have a Children’s Bible which condenses the story well, you may prefer to tell the story in your own words. A suggestion for today is to make a dream catcher with decorations on it which can be used to revise last week’s lesson as well as discuss this week’s story. Instructions on how to make a dream catcher appear in the craft section for older children. Once again, if the children are familiar with the story, encourage them to help relate the story e.g. guess what each decoration on the dream catcher represents

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Review Questions: Review the story told today, using the dream catcher or other suitable props as reminders, asking the children questions based on what you have just discussed.

Application Questions: 1. What were the bad things that happened to Joseph? (he was sold by his brothers into

slavery; thrown into jail for being accused of something he didn’t do; the cup bearer didn’t acknowledge him)

2. How did he react to all these bad things that happened to him? (As a prisoner and slave, Joseph could have seen his situation as hopeless. Instead he did his best with each small task given to him and made use of his God given talent of interpreting dreams. His diligence and positive attitude was noticed by all.)

3. God was always with Joseph and blessed him in all that he did. Read Gen 39:20-23 and Gen 39:2-4

4. Joseph always glorified God in all that he did / gave God the credit. Read Gen 41:16 5. What can we learn from the story today? (We should try to face difficult times with the same

positive attitude as Joseph. God is always with us, in tough times as well as good, and blesses us, even in bad times. Because of Joseph’s positive attitude, his ability to forgive and his use of his God given talents, God was able to use him to save Egypt and prepare the way for the beginning of the nation of Israel. God used the evil action of his brothers to achieve his ultimate plan – we don’t always understand the ways of God.)

Prayer: Encourage the children to contribute their own prayers based on the lesson for today. Here are some extra ideas to add to the prayer: Dear God. Help us to know that you are always with us in good times and bad. Help us to trust you in all that we do and use our God given talents to your glory. Amen

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Crafts:

1. Dream catcher: Materials: a paper plate, wool or string, scissors, project glue, punch to make holes, paint or wax crayons, various materials for decorations – see ideas below. The idea of this craft is to visually remind the children of the story of Joseph, and particularly the dreams. A dream catcher should be visually appealing. The following picture is an example of a dream catcher, although not an example of a dream catcher used to depict the story of Joseph:

It can be left to the children as to how they would like their dream catcher to look. There are many ways of making a dream catcher. The easiest is to use a paper plate from which objects can hang. The centre of the dream catcher can be cut out or left in tact. The paper plate could possibly be painted blue with a bright moon and stars as a reminder of Joseph’s dreams or decorated with drawings of scenes of the story e.g. a bunch of grapes or a silver cup.

Other ideas for decorations to add to the dream catcher include: coloured ribbon to represent Joseph’s coat; pieces of veld grass tied together to represent Joseph’s dream about his brothers’; cut outs of stars decorated with glitter; pieces of tin foil to represent silver coins; sand can be glued onto the dream catcher as a reminder of Egypt; purple tissue paper scrunched up into balls to represent grapes; a feather to represent birds eating the baker’s bread etc. A range of materials can be put out for the children to use to make their decorations. Leave it to the children as to how to decorate their dream catchers – they may want to add to their dream catchers by using materials from the garden, or even taking home to complete and bring back the following week.

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Crafts continued: 2. Decorate a notebook, greeting card or a bookmark with wheat or dried grasses to remind

you of Josephs dreams. (See pg 68 for a picture of the completed craft)

Instructions:

Take a piece of textured paper slightly smaller than a covered note book, and cut two small horizontal slots across the centre.

Glue around the edge of the paper and stick it on the front cover, leaving the slots unglued.

Thread dry grasses or stems of wheat through the slots and glue them with small blobs of project glue.

3. Make a play dough grapevine to remind you of the cupbearer’s dream. (See pg 68 for a picture of the completed craft)

Instructions:

Make three long sausage shapes from the dough by rolling it on a flat surface.

Twist or plait them together at one end to form the trunk of a vine with three branches.

Roll out another piece of dough and use a plastic knife to cut out some leaf shapes.

Place these on the branches, and then make lots of small balls of dough with your fingers and stick these together on the branches to make bunches of grapes.

Allow to dry and harden.

When the dough is dry, paint the vine with crafters paint.

Recipe for Play Dough 500ml cake flour 200ml salt 500ml water 30ml cream of tartar 30ml cooking oil 2.5ml vanilla Mix all the ingredients in a pot and stir thoroughly. Cook on a medium heat stirring the dough continuously and until it pulls away from the sides forming a ball. After dough has cooled down store in a plastic bag in the fridge so that it doesn’t dry out.

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Worksheet: A worksheet can be found pg 71 and 72. The answers to the picture bible verses on pg 71 are: 1. “You intended to harm me but God turned it into good” Gen 50:20 2. “We know that God works for the good of those who love him” Rom 8:28

(These are the memory verses for this lesson.)

The suggested answers to the words on pg 72 are: 1. Save /saviour 2. Hear (h+ear) 3. Give 4. Will 5. My (m+eye) 6. Father

7. Believes 8. Shall 9. Looks 10. What (w+hat) 11. Now 12. Ways 13. Proverbs 14. Bring 15. These (th +e’s) 16. Anyone 17. lives

Snack: bread and grapes / grape juice – to remind the children of the baker and cup bearer’s dream

Songs: Listen to the songs from the musical, “Joseph and his amazing technicolour dreamcoat”. The “Joseph megamix” can be used as a form of revision for the story of Joseph, where the children identify the part of the story which is told by the various songs in the megamix.

References: Life Application Bible The make and do Bible, Gillian Chapman, Lux Verbi. BM, 2005 www.dltk-bible.com/genesis/pstory_of_joseph-cv.asp www.gospelhall.org Scripture Picture Bible, Dawn M. Rector, 1993

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The Season of Creation

Twenty-second Sunday of the year to the

Twenty –fifth Sunday of the year

September 2014 Readings: Gen 1,2 and 6 (The Creation and Noah’s Ark) Theme: Revelling in God’s Creation

Information for the teacher: September has been declared by the Anglican Diocese of Johannesburg as the Season of Creation and all parishes

should be using this theme for the month. The Anglican Province of Southern Africa has put together a Sunday

school manual called “Ryan the Rhino” for this purpose. This will be distributed to all parishes prior to the Season

of Creation.

As there are more lessons in this manual than there are weeks in September, it is suggested that you select 4

lessons from this manual that most suit the needs of your class, or combine ideas from a number of weeks into 4

lessons. In particular, do take note that there is a lesson on Noah’s Ark towards the end of the manual.

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