Passages: 1 Kings; Esther; Daniel; Jonah
Big Idea: There is only one true God, so trust in him alone.
Ages: 3-4
Ten lessons for 3 and 4 year olds exploring trust in God.
Elijah means “Jehovah is my God”. He was sent by God to confront an idolatrous king of Israel, Ahab, who had married Jezebel, a foreigner who brought the worship of foreign gods into Israel. Elijah was used by God to demonstrate that there is only one true God and the Israelites’ worship of false gods was utterly offensive to him.
Esther entrusted herself into God’s care for the salvation of God’s people, just as Jesus would entrust himself to his Father and save us.
The book of Daniel finds the Israelites taken from the promised land to a foreign land. The one true God reveals to Daniel both King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and the interpretation of the dream. Everything Daniel reveals to the king takes place. God brings the most powerful king on earth to his knees till finally he recognizes Daniel’s God, the God of the Israelites, as the one true God. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to bow down to King Nebuchadnezzar’s statue. God again humbles a proud king and chapter 3 ends the same way as chapter 2: the most powerful king on earth praises the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Towards the end of Daniel’s life he is again faced with the choice: obey the king or obey God, follow man or follow God. Daniel chooses to trust in the true God even though it may cost him his life.
Jonah is the saddest prophet of all. His failure to love the lost is clearly demonstrated in his disobedience in chapter 1. He does not want the people of Nineveh to experience what his people have experienced, the undeserved kindness of God. The sailors, non-Jews, are the ones who at the end of chapter 1 are found worshipping the one true God - the God who made the land and sea. God does what Jonah feared, he shows mercy to the people of Nineveh, who fear the Lord and repent. Jonah is angry, so angry he could die. He failed to extend the same mercy he’d received to others.
The unit comes complete with a banner for display and a resource file full of crafts and stories that can be used to create a scrapbook for each child. These scrapbooks, illustrated by the children, will become a lasting reminder for each child of what they have learnt. There is also an interactive take-home craft for each lesson.