Big Idea: God wants us to work together to build His kingdom.
Bible Basis: The book of Nehemiah
Key Verse: “Two people are better than one. They can help each other in everything they do.” Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NIrV)
OPENING PRAYER
Lord, open now my heart to hear, And through your Word to me draw near. Let me your Word ever pure retain; Let me your child and heir remain. All this I ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN
Simply ask your child to share one good thing that happened today or this week (thumbs up) and one not-so-good thing (thumbs down). This is a great way to share celebrations and struggles with one another.
BIBLE LESSON VIDEO
ASK THESE QUESTIONS
For younger kids:
What was your favorite part of this story? Why?
How do you think the story would have turned out differently if no one had helped Nehemiah?
For older kids:
How did Nehemiah go about solving the problem in this story?
How do you think the story would have turned out differently if no one had helped Nehemiah?
REFLECT AND RESPOND
After the video, have your child pick one or more of the prompts on the GO! Home Guide.
Prayer Station prompt: Write a prayer to God and tell Him how much you love Him.
Journal Station prompt: Have you ever worked together with other people to do something helpful or kind? Write a letter to God and tell Him about it.
Bible Station prompt: Read it for yourself: Nehemiah 4. Draw a picture of the story or write to God your favorite part of the story. Tell Him why you like it.
Art Station prompt: Ezra helped the people of Jerusalem worship God together. We can do that too! Draw a picture of yourself singing and worshipping God with your friends.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
+ Brick and Mortar (Application Activity)
- Say: Bag od mini-marshmallows, container of frosting, popsicle sticks or plastic knives
- Say: Nehemiah and the people of Jerusalem did something incredible—they rebuilt a giant wall in only 52 days! When we work together like they did, we can do some BIG things for God. We’re going to do an activity right now that will help us think about some ways that we can work together to build God’s Kingdom.
- Directions: Show your group a bag of mini marshmallows. Tell them that they’re going to use the marshmallows like bricks to build a wall together. To get marshmallows, though, they have to answer a question. For each answer a kid gives, hand them 10 marshmallows:
- Question: What are some of the things that the people of Jerusalem did together in today’s story? (Answer: gave money, gave materials, worked, guarded, listened to God’s Word, prayed, worshipped, celebrated, and confessed sins.)
- Question: When the wall was finished, the people of Jerusalem worshipped and celebrated together. What are some ways that we can worship and celebrate together as a church or as a family?
- Question: What can we do together to help build God’s Kingdom? In other words, what are some ways that we can help people know about Jesus and show God’s love to people?
- Directions: When all of the kids have some marshmallows, place the container of frosting in the middle of the group along with some plastic knives or popsicle sticks. Allow the kids to use the frosting like mortar. They can spread a little bit on each marshmallow and stick them together in the form of a wall. Place a piece of cardstock paper or cardboard on the floor to use as a platform for the wall. Challenge your group to work together to make the wall as big and strong as possible.
+ Sing It Out (Bible Memorization Activity)
- Directions: Place the Bible verse sign in the middle of the group and read it carefully with your kids several times so they can begin to memorize it. “Two people are better than one. They can help each other in everything they do.” Ecclesiastes 4:9 Ask your group to listen carefully as you read the verse a few times. Then, tell your group that they’re going to make up a tune to sing the verse to. Start your group off with an example of how you might sing the verse and then ask the kids if they have any different suggestions. Consider clapping along to the beat of the song as your group sings. After singing the verse a few times, ask if anyone else wants to sing it to a different tune or in a different silly voice such as robot, giant bear, or super-fast. Let your group choose how they would like to sing it. Continue the activity until it appears that your group can remember the verse. Afterwards, ask the following question:
- Question: It can be hard to follow Jesus all by yourself. How can being in a group like this help you love and follow Jesus more?
- Option 2: Place the Bible verse sign in the middle of the group and read it carefully with your kids several times so they can begin to memorize it. Then, tell your group that they’re going to make up a tune to sing the verse to. Ask if anyone in your group would like to try it first. After the volunteer sings the verse to a tune, have the rest of the group sing the verse back to the same tune. Next, choose another volunteer to sing the verse to a different tune. This time, ask them to sing it using one of the following musical genres: Rock ‘n Roll; Rap; Country; Opera. Continue the activity until all of the genres have been used or until everyone who wants a turn has had one. When finished, ask the following question:
- Question: It can be hard to follow Jesus all by yourself. How can being in a group like this help you love and follow Jesus more?
+ Show Me Prayers (Prayer Activity)
- Directions: Ask the kids in your group to think of something that they need prayer for. Choose a kid to share first, but instead of sharing their request aloud, ask them to show their prayer request as a charade. Allow the other kids to guess the prayer request. When the group has guessed successfully, allow the kid to verbally share specifics of their request. If a kid doesn’t want to perform the request as a charade, has trouble performing the request, or if the group has trouble guessing, allow them to share their request verbally. As kids share, write down their request. When finished, open the group in prayer. Allow any kid who would like to pray aloud to do so.
(Due to copyright restrictions, the printable materials described in the activities above are only available to those who have registered for Our Savior’s Kids. To register your child(ren), click the button below)
CLOSING PRAYER
Dear God, Thank you for sending Jesus to forgive all my sins and make me part of your family. That took a lot of work. Help me to work together with my fellow believers so that we can build your kingdom by telling others about all that you have done for them. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
DURING THE WEEK
Read in the Bible the story that was the basis for this week’s lesson:
The Book of Nehemiah
Do more of the activities list above with your child.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LESSON?
Leave them in the comments below!