LEADERS HUB
Year 1, Term 2, Week 3: Ideas for Junior Group
Week 3: Serving God - To show others His love!
Lesson Objective:
When we serve God, we can show others his love and power!
Bible Passage:
Daniel 3: 16-30 (Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego Part 2)
Memory Verse:
Daniel 3:28- King Nebuchadnezzar said: Praise their God for sending an angel to rescue his servants! They trusted their God and refused to obey my commands.
Story Idea: Tell it with actions!
Ask the kids if they can remember last weeks story and prompt them to remember:
- The king built a giant gold statue
- He asked everyone to bow down to it
- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego wouldn't bow down to it because they loved God above everything and only wanted to praise Him!
Tell the next part of the story, using hand actions and have the kids copy your actions:
- King Neb had a giant (hold arms up high, indicating tall) gold statue and he wanted everyone to praise it like it was God when the music played!
- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego loved (make love heart with hands) God more than anything and didn't want to bow down to a statue that wasn't God!
- The music played, do do do dooooo! (Pretend to play trumpet) and they stood up while everyone else bowed down to the statue!
- The king was VERY angry (make angry face) and he told the three friends that they had to praise the statue or he would put them in the fire!
- The men trusted God (point finger up) and would only do what God wanted - so they still didn't bow to the statue!
- The king was EVEN ANGRIER (make angry face) and so he had the men thrown into a fire
- But the king and all of his people were surprised (surprised face) - they pointed (point finger) in amazement!
- The men were in the fire but they didn't get burned! And there was a fourth (hold up four fingers) man in the fire - somebody who God had sent to look after His people!
- The king and all of the people were amazed (amazed face)
- They now knew (point finger to head) that God was powerful!
- They knew that He was the only true God and the king said that everyone should praise Him only and not the silly gold statue!
Quiz Questions:
1. Did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego love God above everything else? Yes
2. What did the king want them to do? Praise the Gold statue
3. The king was mad that the men wouldn't bow to His statue and he threw the men in the fire, did God save them? Yes
4. Is God really big and powerful? Yes
5. Can we trust God? Yes
6. Because the men put God first, the king and lot of others saw how powerful God was, did they praise God then too? Yes
7. Who should we put first in our lives? God
Game Idea: Musical Statues
- Play some music and have the kids dance around the room, when you pause the music, everyone should be a statue!
- Anyone who is caught moving is out and can dance off to one side.
- The last player in is the winner
Remind the kids that God saved the men in the fire when they wouldn't bow to the statue and so everyone got to see how powerful God was!
Craft Idea: Fire Collage
Before the lesson:
- Download and print the fire collage template on white paper and the message reminder on red paper, then cut out the parts
- Cut flame-like pieces of orange, red and yellow tissue paper and cellophane
- Gather colouring pencils and glue
Have the kids:
- Colour in their picture
- Stick the fire pieces along the base
- Glue on their lesson reminder
Prayer Idea: Thank you prayers!
- Have the kids sit in the circle
- Go around the circle and allow each child to thank God for something
- Encourage them to thank God that He is powerful and that He cares!
- Do a second and third round if kids can think of extra things to thank God for!
