Lesson Objective:
The children will understand that God always keeps his promises, even when we don’t see how it is possible (this is a three-part lesson)
Scripture:
Genesis 12 – 20
Arrival:
As the children arrive, tell them that you have something special to tell them. Build some anticipation, and then offer them this: You promise that at the end of the lesson, if they behave, they will get a special snack. If needed, outline the rules for behavior. Then sing some songs.
Prayer Time:
Thank God for His many promises in the Bible.
Lesson:
Why did Abraham leave his home country? (Because God told him to). Do you think that was an easy decision? (no) Is it always easy to behave in Sunday School (no). So why are you doing it today? (Because you promised a treat).
One of the reasons that Abraham was willing to obey God is because God gave Abraham a promise. God promised that He would bless Abraham by making him into a great nation. What is a nation? (take responses) A nation is a group of people who have a common family.
God made a beautiful picture for Abraham. He told Abraham to look at the night sky, and He said, “I will make your descendants as many as the stars in the sky!” Can you count the stars? This was a wonderful promise!
It may not seem like a big deal for God to promise this, but Abraham had no children. His wife, Sarah, was unable to have children. How would God make Abraham’s family into a great nation if he didn’t even have one child?
There was more to the promise than just this. God promised that through Abraham’s family, his children and their children, and their children, God would send a Savior. The Savior, which was Jesus Christ, would be able to restore man to a place of fellowship with God. In other words, all of the nations of the world would be blessed through Abraham’s family.
Isn’t that a great promise! Abraham was excited about it, so he obeyed the command to leave in spite of the problem of having now children. He probably figured there would be time to have more children later.
However, Abraham did not have children right away. Remember the stories about Lot that we learned? During all of that time, Abraham had no children. He probably began to doubt. We know that he tried to take matters into his own hand, and we will talk about that next week. Abraham had to wait a very, very long time before he had a child, and that waiting was not easy. But, God fulfilled his promise, even though it was not when Abraham though the child should come.
Sometimes we have to wait for things that are promised to us, but waiting can make the reward even better. Would you like to have your treat now? Well, I am going to let you wait, just like Abraham, so that the reward will be even better!
Memory Verse:
Psalm 36:5 – write the words to this Psalm on the board, and have the children quote it with you. Then, remove one word at a time by letting a child come to the board and erase a word. Continue quoting it, removing a word, and quoting it until all of the words are gone. Then, let the children try to say it by themselves.
C raft/Game Time:
Make “The stars in the sky.” Give each child a black or dark blue piece of construction paper. Allow them to use school glue to make star designs (or dots for younger children) and then sprinkle glitter over the page. After they dry, shake off the excess glitter.
Dismissal:
At the end, give the children the snack. Choose something they will like, like cupcakes or cookies. Talk about how good the snack tastes, and how waiting made it taste even better!