Sample OT Story

Please note: This example story for He Established a Testimony Old Testament preschool curriculum is not included in the curriculum. This example is given to demonstrate how a teacher may develop a lesson based on the themes included in the curriculum.

SAMPLE STORY FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

GOD OPENS THE RED SEA

by Sally Michael

(Note: Use flannelgraph figures where appropriate.)

HOOK:

(Turn on a fan.) Can you feel the wind? This is a little wind.

Do you want to hear a story about a big wind?

BOOK:

Uh, oh!-Something's wrong. The Hebrew people can't go this way-there is a big river here with lots and lots of water. They can't walk through the water.

Uh, oh! They can't go back this way-Pharaoh's men are here! And they want to hurt the Hebrew people.

Uh, oh! What can they do?

God knows what to do! God knows everything!

God said, "I know what to do. I'll send a big wind and I will push that water out of the way!" God is strong! God can do anything! Nothing is too hard for God!

So God sent a big wind (turn on fan)--- and God pushed that water out of the way.

Now the Hebrew people could walk on the ground to the other side of the big water.

Could they push the water out of the way? No!

But God could push the water out of the way because God is strong. God can do anything! Yeah, God.

But Pharaoh's men still wanted to hurt the Hebrew people so they came after the Hebrew people. But God takes care of His people-He pushed the water back! So Pharaoh's men couldn't hurt the Hebrew people. God is strong! God can do anything! Yeah, God!

The Hebrew people were so happy-They clapped (clap) and they sang and they danced! God is strong! God can do anything!

LOOK:

Are you happy too? Can you clap?-Yeah, God you are so big! (Have children cheer for God.)

Can you sing? (Sing a song such as: "My God is So Great")

Can you dance?-(dance and sing song; rhythm instruments)

COLORING BOOK:

Show the picture of the crossing of the Red Sea in the coloring book. Lead a short discussion with the children to reinforce the concepts taught. For example:

Who are these people?

Where are they walking?

What happened to the water? [God pushed it out of the way!]-God is strong! God can do anything! Can you say that? [God is strong! God can do anything!]

Is it too hard for God to push the water? No! God is strong!

Why are the people happy? They are happy because God is strong! God can do anything! Let's clap for God.

This sample story corresponds with the curriculum, He Established a Testimony: Old Testament Stories for Young Children, published by Desiring God Ministries. For more information about this and other children's Bible curriculum, please contact:

Desiring God Ministries
720 13^th Ave S
Minneapolis MN 55415
Toll-free 888-346-4700
Email: mail@desiringGod.org
Website: www.DesiringGod.org

SAMPLE STORY FOR YOUNG CHILDREN

THE MOST HIGH RULES THE KINGDOM OF MEN

God Will Not Share His Glory with Nebuchadnezzar

by Sally Michael

(Note: For questions which are not rhetorical questions, wait for responses and make appropriate comments. Use flannelgraph figures where appropriate.)

HOOK:

(Have a person make a mooing sound.)

Does anyone know what that sound is?

You're right! It is a cow sound. What do you know about cows?

What do cows eat? (Show a handful of grass.)

Would you like to eat grass? How would you feel if your mother served you a plateful of grass for supper? (Show a plate of grass.)

Do you think anyone would eat grass like a cow?

Well, somebody did! Would you like to hear about the grass-eating man and what he learned about God?

BOOK:

This is a story from the Bible. (Show and open the Bible.) So it is a true story. The stories in the Bible are true because they are God's stories and God does not lie.

(Have the palace scene placed on the flannelgraph board.)

This man is a king. (Place Nebuchadnezzar in the palace.) His name is Nebuchadnezzar.

Can you say Nebuchadnezzar? That is kind of a strange name, isn't it?

Well, Nebuchadnezzar was an important king-and he knew he was important.

One night King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and his dream made him afraid. I'm sure you've had a scary dream before so you know how Nebuchadnezzar felt.

Well, Nebuchadnezzar was so bothered by his dream that he asked all kinds of important and wise men what his dream meant.

But none of them could tell him. So Nebuchadnezzar asked a young man Daniel what his dream meant.

Do you think Daniel could know what Nebuchadnezzar's dream meant?

The Bible says that the Spirit of God was in Daniel, so even though Daniel couldn't know the meaning of the dream, God knew what the dream meant because God knows everything. So God showed Daniel what the dream meant.

This is what God made Daniel understand the dream to mean:

There would be a punishment from the Most High.

Who is the Most High? Was Nebuchadnezzar the Most High?

Nebuchadnezzar thought he was a great king and that he was very important. But Nebuchadnezzar was not the Most High. God is the Most High, not Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar thought he was in charge. But God is in charge.

God said that Nebuchadnezzar would live with animals-not in his fancy palace-and that he would eat grass like an ox. An ox is like a cow. (If you have a picture of an ox, you can show the picture.) God said that Nebuchadnezzar would be like an animal for seven years.

Do you think that would happen? Could God really do that to Nebuchadnezzar?

Let me tell you what happened:

One day King Nebuchadnezzar was walking on the roof of his palace in Babylon. Babylon is the name of the place where Nebuchadnezzar lived.

While Nebuchadnezzar was walking on his roof and looking at the city of Babylon, he was thinking that he was so great and that he built Babylon by his own mighty power.

But Nebuchadnezzar was very wrong. We can't do anything by ourselves. God helps us in everything we do.

As Nebuchadnezzar was walking on his roof, he said, "Isn't this a great place, this Babylon that I have built by my mighty power?"

How do you think Nebuchadnezzar was walking? (Demonstrate Nebuchadnezzar strutting around saying, "Isn't this a great place, this Babylon that I have built by my mighty power? And that I have built to show how great I am?" You may even want the children to demonstrate the same.)

And as soon as Nebuchadnezzar said those words, there was a voice from heaven: (Have a man read the following verse.)

"O King Nebuchadnezzar, this message is for you: You are no longer ruler of this kingdom. You will be forced out of the palace to live with the animals in the fields, and to eat grass like the cows for seven years until you finally realize that God rules the kingdom of men and gives them to anyone he chooses."

(Daniel 4:31-32; Adapted from the Living Bible by Ken Taylor. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Pub., 1971.)

And that is exactly what happened, right away!

What did God say Nebuchadnezzar would eat?

Nebuchadnezzar ate grass. (Show the handful of grass again.)

Where did God say Nebuchadnezzar would live?

Nebuchadnezzar lived with the animals. (Take the flannelgraph figure of Nebuchadnezzar from the palace and show the picture of Nebuchadnezzar in the HE ESTABLISHED A TESTIMONY workbook.)

How long did God say Nebuchadnezzar would live like a crazy person eating grass?

Nebuchadnezzar lived like that for seven years.

Everything God says He will do, He does.

Nebuchadnezzar sure wasn't very important now, was he?

God is the Most High. He is in charge, not Nebuchadnezzar.

At the end of seven years, Nebuchadnezzar looked up to heaven, and God made his mind all better. (Place Nebuchadnezzar flannelgraph figure back in the palace.)

And do you know what Nebuchadnezzar did? He praised God!

He said,

"People are nothing but God is the Most High. God does whatever he wants and no one can stop what God is going to do. God can do anything and he is the greatest, and anyone who thinks he is greater than God, God will show that they are nothing compared to him" They are not so great.

Nebuchadnezzar finally learned that he wasn't so great but that GOD IS GREAT! God is the MOST HIGH!

LOOK:

Who was in charge in this story? Was King Nebuchadnezzar in charge?

God was in charge.

Sometimes people think they are in charge, and that they are great. They forget that God is in charge and that He is the greatest.

Do you ever think that you are in charge? How about when your Mom tells you to do something and you say, "No!" That's acting like you are in charge. Do you ever do that?

Sometimes it is hard not to act or feel like you are in charge. So we need God to help us. Do you think He is strong enough to help us? Do you want Him to help you?

Let's pray about that.

Dear God, we know that you are a great God and you can do anything. You are in charge of this whole world. We don't want to be like King Nebuchadnezzar who thought he was greater than you are. Help us when we want to be the boss and act like we are in charge and say, "No!" We know that is wrong. We need your help. Please help us today. Amen.

(Note: Application (LOOK) is difficult with young children because their life experience is so limited. So you will need to be discerning of how well they are following you and how much they can understand and apply, and adjust your application accordingly. Also, in drawing an application, the responses to your questions may determine the direction you will head, so it is better to have an idea of the directions in which you can go and then adjust as you see where the Holy Spirit is leading. Application is much easier to make in a small group or one-on-one setting.)

USE THE COLORING BOOK FOR REVIEW.

TOOK: (Child acts on the truth he has learned.)

Desiring God Ministries
720 13^th Ave S
Minneapolis MN 55415
Toll-free 888-346-4700
Email: mail@desiringGod.org
Website: www.DesiringGod.org