God Provided Isaac- Sunday November 7, 2021
Sunday November 7, 2021 (Vol 1, Unit 3, Session 3)
Hi there, and thanks for joining us this week. FriendshipKids exists to help families bring their children to Christ and disciple them into maturing, lifelong, reproducing followers of Jesus Christ. We hope this blog will be a useful tool for you to use to fulfill that call on your life. Week by week, we will review the previous Sunday’s Children’s church lesson and help your kids grow in their faith. Please feel free to use as much of it as you choose. You know your kids and are the best possible teacher for them. God has given you the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do more than you think possible (Eph 3:20). So, let’s have some fun and teach our kids from the scriptures.
Parent Devotional
God Provided Isaac
Genesis 21–22
It’s been said that when a word or phrase is repeated in the Bible, we ought to pay close attention. In Genesis 22, Abraham repeated one phrase three times: “Here I am.”
Abraham first used “Here I am” on his journey when God called his name. Abraham’s eager response to God shows that he was ready and expectant to hear from God.
Abraham then used this phrase in response to his son, Isaac. On the journey to the place of sacrifice, Isaac called out to his father and Abraham responded, “Here I am.” Even though Abraham was surely wrestling with what God had commanded him to do, he was eager to hear from his son and help him understand what God was doing.
Third, Abraham responded to the angel of the Lord: “Here I am.” The angel called Abraham’s name twice as he was about to sacrifice his son in obedience to God. Even in a tense and emotional moment, Abraham was sensitive to the Lord and eager to hear from him.
Abraham’s use of this phrase clearly shows his open-handed readiness to serve. Abraham responded to the Lord, to his son, and to the angel from his humble heart and willing spirit. Instead of shutting down and stopping his ears to God because of the incredibly challenging task God had put before him, Abraham remained steadfast in His openness to the Lord.
God desires that we always be ready for however He may intend to use us for His glory and our good. It may be as we drive along in the car, as we hurry through a long list of tasks at work, or in the stillness of a quiet moment with the Lord early in the morning. It also may come in the intensity of grieving the loss of a loved one, navigating conflict in the body of Christ, or as we gather with others to worship. Whenever we sense the leading of the Spirit of God, may we take a posture similar to Abraham, always willingly to say, “Here I am.”
Terms to know
Sacrifice: What the worshiper brings to God to express love, thanksgiving, or the need for forgiveness. Jesus’ death provided the sacrifice to remove sin. Christians are instructed to sacrifice, or give up their own desires, to follow Jesus.
Parent Guidance and Instructions
As we begin to explore this week’s devotional, take a moment to pray and meditate on the verse from Deuteronomy about teaching your children the scriptures. Deuteronomy 6:7 says: “You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” Maybe you do not have time to sit and have an hour of Bible time all at once, or perhaps your children are too young to sit for that long. Consider the key points of the lesson and ask God to give you opportunities to speak them into the hearts of your children throughout the week. Let the Bible become a part of your day-to-day. Be blessed this week, my friends!
Each week we include songs, activity pages, the bible lesson video, and memory verses. We pray this will help you find ways to engage your kids spiritually. It is written in script form from the K-2nd grade lesson, so you can read directly from it or change it to suit your children. Take some time to look at and print the activity pages and to review the lesson so you can adjust as needed. Once you are ready, go ahead and start with these songs if you would like, or pick some of your favorite worship songs and then jump right in! Have fun! And remember, this does not need to be done in one sitting! Feel free to break it up over the week. Please contact us at the church if you have any questions or suggestions. We would love to hear from you!
Opening
“Blessings and Bummers”
Let’s get started. Tell me, what have you seen the Lord doing in your lives this week? What have your greatest blessings been? How about your biggest challenges?
Parents share your blessings and bummers, encourage the kids to do the same. The goal is for kids to see God at work in the everyday, seemingly small and mundane things. It doesn’t matter if it is something as small as getting to watch a favorite TV show or something big like a new baby sibling being born, God is active and in our midst.
Prayer
Let’s go to the Lord in prayer: Father God, Thank you. Thank you for providing for our needs. You are so good to us even though we do not deserve it! Thank you for continuing to bless us, Lord. Thank you for being patient with us. Thank you to our friends as well as our families. Most importantly, we thank you always for sending Jesus to live a perfect life and die to pay for our sins. Thank you for raising Him from the dead and promising us life with you forever if we believe in Him. Please help us be thankful for all you do for us and look to you in all that we do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
(Please add to or customize prayer time to fit your family)
Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers!
Think about it.
Think about a time someone provided something that you needed. Who provided? Was it something you could have provided for yourself? Why or why not?
Spend a few moments considering the questions before moving into the next section.
Let’s go!
Welcome! It’s so good to see you. If you brought your Bible, hold it up. [Provide Bibles for kids who need one.] Can anyone tell me what the Bible is about? [Allow kids to respond.] The Bible is God’s Word. It tells us the wonderful story of God’s plan to rescue sinners.
The Bible tells us what is true about God and about ourselves. Today’s story comes from the Book of Genesis. Does anyone remember what the word genesis means? (‘beginning’)
Big Picture Question
If left on our own, humans would ruin everything. It’s good news that God is in control. Throughout the Bible, we see how He works out His plan through people. Remember our big picture question as we hear more about today’s story: Who is in control of everything? God is in control of everything in heaven and on earth. Nothing is outside of God’s good plan.
Review
All the stories in the Bible fit together. God the Creator made people to know Him, enjoy Him, and love Him. He created people to reflect God in the world and to love one another. Creation was ruined when sin entered the world, but God had a plan all along to restore His creation. We learned that God chose a man named Abraham and promised to give him land and a large family. God promised to bless the world through Abraham’s family.
Abraham believed God’s promise. But when God made that promise, Abraham didn’t have any children. He and his wife Sarah were old.
In today’s Bible story, God fulfilled His promise and gave Abraham and Sarah a son. But then He did something surprising: God tested Abraham. He instructed Abraham to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to God. It didn’t make any sense to Abraham! Let’s find out what happened.
Bible Lesson
In the Bible, a sacrifice was something a worshiper brought to God to express obedience, love, thanksgiving, or the need for forgiveness. Usually sacrifices involved killing an animal. In this story God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son. That was not a normal request God made. In fact, it is the only time in the Bible God ever asked anyone to sacrifice someone else.
What did Abraham do? Look at Genesis 22:3. [Choose a volunteer to read aloud Gen. 22:3.] Abraham didn’t delay. He didn’t make excuses or hesitate, hoping God would change His mind. He didn’t try to figure out a way to get around God’s command.
Abraham was willing to be faithful to God’s command even though he probably didn’t understand why God would ask him to do this. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:19 that Abraham believed that if Isaac died, God had the power to raise Isaac from the dead. He showed that he believed God’s plan even when he didn’t understand God’s plan.
Remember that Abraham was a real person who lived long ago. He felt emotions. The Bible says he loved his son. He had waited so long for a child. How do you think Abraham felt when God asked him to give up Isaac? How do you think he felt when God provided a ram instead?
God later provided His one and only Son. We deserve to die for our sin, but God provided Jesus as the substitute. What does that tell you about how God feels about us?
Christ Connection
Abraham showed his love for God by being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac. God provided a ram instead. God provided the sacrifice for Abraham, but for all of humanity He has provided the true Lamb: His Son, Jesus Christ—the ultimate sacrifice for sin. This is how God showed His love for us. Jesus came to die on the cross so that we could have eternal life through Him.
Bible Time!
Abraham showed his love for God by being willing to sacrifice his son Isaac. God provided a ram instead. God provided the sacrifice for Abraham, but for all of humanity He has provided the true Lamb: His Son, Jesus Christ—the ultimate sacrifice for sin. This is how God showed His love for us. Jesus came to die on the cross so that we could have eternal life through Him.
DISCUSSION
Ask the following questions. Lead the group to discuss.
Say How do we know Abraham had faith? Does your faith change how you live?
Lead kids to recognize that Abraham acted out of his faith. He was willing to obey God because he trusted God. He believed God could raise Isaac from the dead. Our faith should influence our decisions and how we live. Faith in Jesus changes our lives. We don’t just say we trust in Jesus; we live it out through faithful obedience.
(Option: Choose a volunteer to read Rom. 2:13.)
Say Do you think you could obey God if He asked you to do something you didn’t understand? Why or why not?
Guide kids to share their thoughts. Remind kids that it can be hard to obey God when we don’t understand His plan. Abraham believed that God would keep His covenant to make Abraham the father of many nations. We don’t see the big picture like God does, so we have to trust Him. The Bible shows us that God has been faithful to keep His promises over and over. He is trustworthy and in control.
(Option: Choose a volunteer to read Prov. 3:5.)
Say What plans do you have for your own life? Would you be willing to give them up if God asked you to?
Invite kids to share honestly. Encourage them that they can trust God completely. We may make plans about where we will live in the future, what job we might have, or what our family might look like; but God is in control. His plans are good, and anything He asks us to give in this world is worth it because He is worth so much more.
(Option: Choose a volunteer to read Prov. 19:21.)
Key Memory Verse
Show the key passage poster. Lead kids in reading aloud Psalm 135:5-6 together.
Write words or phrases of the key passage on separate index cards so each kid has one index card. (Tip: If your group is more numerous than the words of the key passage, form smaller groups and prepare additional sets of cards.)
Mix up the cards and distribute them among the kids. You may choose to provide clothespins for kids to clip the cards to the front of their clothing.
Challenge kids to arrange themselves in order to complete the key passage. Then prompt them to say the key passage aloud with each kid saying the word on her card.
SAY Remember these words when you don’t understand what God is up to. You can trust Him even when you don’t fully understand His plan. God is good, and He is in control.
Lead kids to sing “For I Know (Psalm 135:5-6).” You may also choose to sing a worship song of your choice.
That is all I have for this week. Let’s pray together:
Father God, You provided Isaac to keep Your promise to Abraham. Thank You for always keeping Your promises. We know You love us because You provided Your one and only Son as our sacrifice for sin. Thank You. Amen.
Thanks for joining us! I hope to meet you here again next week!
Thank you to Lifeway for allowing us to publish this lesson using their Gospel Project materials.
