We created this lesson plan for a stuffed-animal theme night at our church. Each child was allowed to bring their favorite toy pet. The lesson began with puppet skit improvisation that to introduced the theme, Bible verses, and some random tips for safety with animals.

The main lesson is contained in the PowerPoint below. Just for fun, I included about 15 extra slides with cute or remarkable animal photos. After each one I would say something like, “Wow, God is so amazing to have made that animal.” Several of the adult volunteers in the audience would make similar remarks to help children connect these cool animals with their Creator God.

• Download as PDF document (1.87 MB) or PowerPoint file (11.4 MB).

Key Verse (Memory Verse)

• “A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.” Proverbs 12:10 NIV

Gospel Connection

Kids should realize that none of us have been perfect caretakers of God’s creatures. We have also failed to see his Glory in the creatures all around us. A trip to the Zoo should be a time for worship! Jesus came to take away our sins and re-create this fallen world. One day, in his perfect Kingdom, even the animals will sing praised to Christ. We need his grace & help even now to be better caretakers of this world and better see Christ’s glory in the his creatures.

Outline: What does the Bible say about Animals?

• God made the animals in Genesis 1-2. But why?
  • Show his glory. (Gen 1:25)
  • Sacrifice (Gen 3:21)
  • Food (Gen 9:3)
• Because of sin, people have misused animals.
  • Making them into idols. (Romans 1:23)
  • Not caring for them properly. (Proverbs 12:10)
• Did Jesus like animals?
  • They were with him in the wilderness. (Mark 1:13)
  • He rode a young donkey into Jerusalem. (Mark 11:7, John 12:15)
• Will there be animals in Heaven?
  • Horses & chariots of fire took Elijah away. (2 Kings 2:11)
  • All the creatures in the New Earth will worship God. (Revelation 5:13)
  • Jesus will ride a white horse in the final battle. (Revelation 19:11-14)
  • “Wolf & lion” ..all animals will be kind. (Isaiah 65:25)

More about animals in Heaven – This can be a touchy subject with kids. My answer has always been to stick close to what the Bible says and encourage children to draw their own conclusions. As the verses in the lesson illustrated, there will clearly be some animals in the New Creation. However, the Bible does not specify if these will be new animals or resurrected animals. My final answer is this, “We can’t be sure our pets will be with us in heaven, but we can trust that God will make us perfectly happy — even better than we can imagine. My personal guess is that God will somehow honor our love for our pets, even if that means resurrected animals in the New Creation.”

Stuffed Animal Games

We finished the last part of our class with games. For this special occasion, all the games involved their stuffed animals. I always referred to the animal as the one playing, not the child. You might bring extra toy pets to include children who may have forgotten. Another disclaimer, don’t try this with real animals! Feel free to think up your own ideas and leave suggestions below.

• Pump It Up – Invite several volunteers to come to the front of the room and lay down flat on their backs. Then invite them to hold the stuffed animal above them with both hands. This is similar to a bench press motion. Have one additional child bring up their animal to serve as a “spotters” for each contestant. The spotter will count the number of reps completed. The stuffed animal who completes the most in the allotted 30 seconds wins. Repeat several times until all the child/stuffed animal teams get a turn.
• Flying Leap – Have children toss their animal from a set starting line into a box. The distance should be close enough that many children will succeed, but not so close to seem easy. Using a wall as a backboard helps. Each animal gets one turn and then goes to the back of the line to start over. I would hold up the stuffed animal and have the kids applaud when it went in the box.

No related posts.

This lesson reveals the extent of Manasseh’s wickedness. Yet once again, we see God’s mercy when a wicked sinner repents.  The students will discover that because of God’s great mercy. He forgives all sins when a person repents and turns to Him.

This Bible study is only a guide.  Be sure to modify the lesson to the needs of your students. Click here to see all the Bible lessons in this series.

Bible Story Title: Manasseh repents and receives God’s mercy
Bible Passage: 2 Chronicles 33
Target Age Group: Age 9 – 11 (U.S. 3rd – 5th Grade)
Learning Context: Sunday School
Target Time Frame: 60 minutes
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please share your feedback and suggestions to improve this children’s Bible lesson. Click here to respond

Supply List:  Bibles, paper plates or construction paper for two sided face (smile/sad), pens/pencils, paper

Learning Goal: Students will learn that God is merciful and always forgives repentant sinners.

Learning Activity #1: Review the kings.  Using small plates or circles cut from construction paper put a smiley face on one side and a sad face on the other.  Read names of Kings that you have studied so far and allow students to show happy face or sad face indicating whether the king was pleasing to God or evil in His sight.

Learning Activity #2:  Teaching students how to use concordance.  Have them look in the concordance of their Bible (if they don’t have one have Bibles they can use that do) and look up the word Mercy.  Have them look at the different verses for mercy and have them write their favorite one down.  At the end of the activity have students share the verses they wrote down.

Test: Review Questions

Memory Verse: Exodus 34:6-7a “And He passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”

Bible Lesson:  Manasseh repents and receives God’s Mercy

(Use the Review the Kings activity to introduce the Bible lesson.)

King Hezekiah was a good king who did what was right in God’s sight. When he became king the land was filled with wickedness and the people were not worshiping the One True God.  They were worshiping false gods or idols.  As he began to reign Hezekiah brought great changes in his kingdom. If you were growing up as a child of King Hezekiah what do you think you would know about God?  (Worship God only, worship according to God’s laws, trust Him when enemies come against you, etc.)

Hezekiah was a good example for his sons to see how to live a life that pleases God.  After he died his son Manasseh became king.  Let’s turn in our Bibles to 2 Chronicles 33 to discover how he reigns as king over God’s people.

Read verse 1. How old was Manasseh when he became king?  (12)  How long did he reign as king?  (55 years)

Read verse 2.  Does this shock you?  How could a child of a good king do evil in the eyes of the Lord?  (Allow responses)

• All people are sinners.  (Romans 3:23)
• Our hearts are desperately evil. (Jeremiah 17:9)
• There is nothing good in man only God can empower us to please Him.  (Romans 7:18-8:17)

2 Chronicles 33:3-9 Manasseh’s wickedness

Hezekiah worked to bring people back to God and in a few short years his son brought the southern kingdom back into a spiritually dark place.

Evil things that Manasseh did:

• Rebuilt high places and built altars for Baal.
• Bowed down and worshiped the stars.
• Built altars to false gods/idols and placed them in the Lord’s temple and put altars in the courtyard of the temple.
• Sacrificed his sons to the god named Molech by throwing them into a fire.
• He practiced sorcery, divination and witchcraft.
• Put a carved image in the Temple

All of the things Manasseh did were openly rebellious toward God.  Everything he did broke God’s laws.  From what you know about God and His word what laws did Manasseh break?  (You shall have no other gods before Me.  You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything.  You shall not bow down to them.)

When a person sins it always affects others.  Let’s read verse 9.

We may never be a king but we will always have someone who is watching our life.  How we live is important.

• If others follow your example would they be living a life that pleases God?

In our world we are exposed to lies people believe about God.  If the world that we live in knows little about what the Word of God teaches the more lies people believe about God.  One lie that people say about God is that in the Old Testament a harsh God punishing sin, and in the New Testament God is kind and compassionate.  That is an inaccurate statement  because God is the same God in the Old Testament as in the New.  God is just.  He hates sin.  He gives us teachers to teach us His truth and to warn us of punishment if we choose to sin.  He forgives us when we repent and turn from sin.

We have seen a kind compassionate God throughout the history of Israel’s kings.  He faithfully sent prophets to kings who were sinning to warn them of coming punishment.  Some kings listened and repented and some did not.

2 Chronicles 33:10-11 God’s warning and punishment

As we return to Manasseh let’s see if God wipes Manasseh out because of his wickedness or if God warns him.  Read verse 10.

We are not much different than these people in the Old Testament.  Have you ever had a parent or teacher who told you how to avoid punishment and you ignored them?  What happens when you ignore a clear warning from someone in authority?  (You face the consequence of your decision not to obey)

Manasseh and the people in his kingdom chose to ignore God.  He sent enemies (the Assyrian army) to invade the land of Judah.  They captured Manasseh.  What did they do to him?  (Read verse 11)  This was a very humiliating thing for a king to experience.

2 Chronicles 33:12-13 Manasseh’s repentance

Read 33:12-13.  God disciplines His children because He is a good father who desires His children to live the abundant life He can give.  His purpose for allowing any difficulty is to turn our hearts to Him so we can live a life that pleases Him. (Hebrews 12:5-11)

God heard Manasseh’s prayer and saw his humility and forgave him.

Manasseh sinned in many ways against God.  None of those sins were too bad for God to forgive.  It is the same with all people.  No sin we have ever committed is too hard for God to forgive.  The only sin God cannot forgive is an unrepentant heart.  All God requires for our sins to be forgiven is to repent and turn away from our sins and turn to Him.

• God provided a way for our sins to be completely forgiven by sending Jesus to die in our place on the cross.  He shed His blood, was buried and rose again the third day.  All who believe in the Lord Jesus can have every sin past, present and future sin forgiven.

2 Chronicles 33:14-20 Fruit of Manasseh’s repentance

True repentance will be evident by the way a person lives after pleading for God’s forgiveness.  How do we know that Manasseh was truly sorry for the wicked life he lived?  Read verses 15-16.  (He got rid of the idolatrous altars and idols that he used to worship, and restored the altar of the Lord)

• When a person is truly repentant of his/her sins before God they are a new creation. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
• As a new creation the Holy Spirit enables a believer to put off the sinful actions and attitudes and live a life that pleases God. (Ephesians 4:22-24)

What should you do if you are a believer and you know that you sinned?  All your sins were forgiven the moment you believed in Jesus.  When we knowingly sin as a believer it affects our relationship with God. (He never takes away our salvation…when we believe in Jesus we receive eternal life) Our relationship with God is similar to relationships we have in our lives.  If I offend or hurt someone I love and I don’t admit that I was wrong and say I am sorry it causes there to be distance in that relationship.  My sin caused Jesus to die.  When I sin as a child of God it hurts my relationship with Him.  He will always be my Father but my sin puts distance in our relationship. When I confess it to Him, He cleanses me and restores me to a close relationship with Him. (1 John 1:9)

Manasseh’s life started out wicked and very displeasing in God’s sight.  We close our lesson seeing God’s great mercy towards a great sinner who humbled himself and repented.  As we pray which stage are you in Manasseh’s life?  Are you at the place where you are a sinner separated from God by your sinful life?  Have you been saved and have allowed sin to creep into your life and habits?  Maybe you are walking closely with Jesus.  You can thank Him for His great mercy towards you.  Wherever you find yourself in Manasseh’s life, talk to God about it as we start our prayer time in silence.

Close in prayer.

Review Questions:

1. Who is Manasseh’s father?  (Hezekiah)
2. How long did Manasseh reign as King? (55 years)
3. What did Manasseh do that was evil?
4. How did Manasseh and the people respond to God’s warning? (Ignored Him)
5. Why did God forgive Manasseh?  (He humbled himself and repented)
6. How can we tell that Manasseh truly repented?  (He removed the wicked altars/idols)
7. What sin is so great that God could never forgive? (None except not believing that Jesus is the Savior)

Related posts:

1. Lesson: Uzziah finds success by seeking God
2. Lesson: Jonah Obeys and Nineveh Repents

This simple lesson plan was prepared for our Pirate Theme night at church on a Wednesday evening. It could be useful for any children’s church or Sunday School lesson. I’ve included a few hints below, but would love to hear your ideas too. Simply leave a comment below to make suggestions for other readers.

Downloads:

• PowerPoint Presentation (right-click to download)
• PDF Presentation (easy to print and display if you don’t have a computer in your teaching room)
• Optional worksheet version of this lesson for students & teacher. Use this for older children or youth to allow them to discover the boats by looking up the Bible references on their own. I actually prepared the worksheet version for a Senior Adult Bible study at our church.

Lesson: Top Ten Boats in the Bible (and what they can teach us about God)

1. Noah’s Ark ~ God knows knows how to protect his people. Genesis 7:15-19
2. Boat for a baby Moses ~ No boat is too small when God is watching over you. Exodus 2:1-10
3. Jonah’s ship to Tarshish ~ No boat is safe when you’re running away from God. Jonah 1:3
4. James & John leave their fishing boat ~ When Jesus calls, leave everything behind. Matthew 4:21-22
5. Jesus preached from a boat ~ God’s message is not just for church. Matthew 13:2
6. Jesus calms the storm (in a boat) ~ Jesus is in charge of the weather. Luke 8:22-25
7. Jesus walks on water (beside a boat) ~ Jesus showed he was truly God. John 6:16-21
8. Jesus fills Peter’s boat ~ Jesus can provide more than enough. John 21:4-8
9. Paul traveled by ship ~ God’s message comes through people, who have to travel. Acts 20:13
10. Paul’s prison ship ~ God can show his power even when the boat sinks. Acts 27:6-11

Gospel Connection: The themes in this lesson are more “general” truths about God. As you teach, look for opportunities to relate them back to the Good News. For a more specific approach, use the optional Gospel illustration below.

Directions: Advance each slide and briefly have the children tell you details about the story for each boat. Then transition to make the teaching point for each slide. Take time to elaborate or make applications specific to the children in your group. To extend the lesson, have children look up and read verses from each boat story.

At the end of the presentation, lead the children in prayer thanking God for his love, mercy, and protection.

Bridge Illustration with a Boat: You could modify the classic “Jesus Bridge” illustration to use a boat rather than a bridge. Use the following sketch as your guide. Complete the illustrations on a whiteboard or poster board. Make the point that it’s Jesus who can bring us to God, but we must trust Him to take us there.

Draw this sketch first and explain the concept of separation for God.

Then draw the "Jesus" boat to show how Jesus can bring us to God.

Alternative: You can use masking tape to create a large version same illustration on the floor of your meeting room. Have different volunteers try to jump from the island to God without help. Then layout tape in the shape of a boat and have them walk across using the boat.

Related posts:

1. Books of the Bible PowerPoint Review Slides
2. “Life in 3D” Bible Lesson for Children
3. God Sends an Angel to Visit Joseph: Christmas Bible Lesson
4. Peter Walks on Water: Preschool Lesson & Craft
5. The Miraculous Catch: Preschool Lesson & Craft

This simple lesson plan will help introduce children to the concept of “spiritual disciplines” with a particular focus on the importance of prayer. It’s designed for a smaller group of children, but could be adapted for any Sunday School or Children’s Church setting.

Bible Topic: Spiritual Disciplines
Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:7-8
Target Age Group: Elementary (1^st -5^th grade)
Learning Context: Any small group setting like Sunday School
Target Time Frame: 30 minutes
You Can Help: Please share your feedback and suggestions to improve this children’s Bible lesson. Click here to respond

Lesson Objective: Children will learn what spiritual disciplines are, and focus on the discipline of prayer.

Introduction: Begin the lesson by reading the key verse to the children. For older elementary, encourage a volunteer to read this verse to the group.

• 1 Timothy 4:7  “Train yourself for godliness.” ESV
• or in another translation … “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” NASB

Explain: This verse means we have to work at being more like Christ.  There are things we must do in order to be like Jesus.  These are called Spiritual Disciplines. There are many Spiritual disciplines, but we will focus on:

1. Prayer
2. Reading your Bible
3. Worship
4. Serving
5. Telling Others
6. Stewardship
7. Godliness

Why do we need them?

• The Bible tells us to do these things
• Promotes spiritual growth & helps us to become more Christlike
• These are like physical exercises for the body – exercising helps our bodies to be healthy and strong.  Spiritual disciplines help our minds and spirits to become strong in Christ.  They are like exercises for our minds and hearts.

Spiritual Disciplines are an important part of our relationship with Christ.  Each week we will focus on a different discipline as we try to understand how to live better lives for Christ.

1. Prayer

Tonight we will focus on prayer.

Illustration: newspaper, telephone, notebook paper/pen, radio

Ask children what those things have in common.   Answer: They are different ways to communicate with each other.

Who can tell me what prayer is?  Answer: Prayer is a way that we communicate with God.  The simple definition of prayer is talking to God.

Ask the children the following questions: (give them time to answer before telling the appropriate answer)

1. Who can talk to God?  Is it only adults that can talk to God? Answer: No.  Everyone can talk to God.
2. When can we talk to God? Answer: Anytime
3. Why should we talk with God? Answer: because it makes our relationship with him stronger & because the Bible tells us we should pray.  We should also pray because God wants to hear from us.

Read (or have a student read) James 5:13-16

From these verses, we can see the different times to pray.  List the times we can pray, based on what the scripture said.

Times to Pray:

• When we are sick
• When we are in trouble
• To confess sin
• To show faith
• For others
• When we are happy
• At all times

The Way to Pray: (references can be found at http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/Dictionary/viewTopic.cfm?type=getTopic&topic=Prayer)

• With sincerity (with honesty) – Hebrews 10:22
• With reverence (with respect and love)
• In faith – Matthew 21:22

Not only is important to understand when we can pray, it is important to understand that our hearts must be pure before God in order to pray.  We should always pray in faith, with the utmost reverence and sincerity to God.

Now, let’s review all that we have talked about today.

Review: Why should we pray?  How should we pray? When can we pray? – Allow children time to answer the questions.

Craft: Prayer chains

Supplies:

• strips of colored construction paper
• markers, crayons, pencils
• stapler

Kids will write prayer requests on strips of paper and staple them together to form chains. They tear one off each day and pray for the request.

More Ideas: If you want to plan extra activities, you could use our Lord’s Prayer coloring pages or teach the children about the 5 finger prayer model. We also have several articles to help you teach children about prayer.

Related posts:

1. Craft: How to Make a Prayer Cube for Kids
2. What Can a 2-Year Old Teach You About Prayer?
3. Lesson for Children about Prayer
4. Living a Life of Prayer
5. Effective Teaching Depends On Prayer

This lesson continues in the life of King Hezekiah and teaches the students how he handled the threats of the king of Assyria by prayer.  The students will discover lessons how to apply what they learn from Hezekiah’s response to their lives when they are confronted with difficulties.  The lesson is prepared for older elementary students.  Please adapt to your ministry needs.

This lesson is only a guide to help you to prepare for your class.  It was created for older students but can be adapted for your individual needs.  Click here to see all the Bible lessons in this series.

Bible Story Title: Hezekiah prays when threatened by Assyria
Bible Passage: 2 Chronicles 32:1-23
Target Age Group: Age 9 – 11 (U.S. 3rd – 5th Grade)
Learning Context: Sunday School
Target Time Frame: 60 minutes
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please share your feedback and suggestions to improve this children’s Bible lesson. Click here to respond

Supply List: Bibles, Bible map, Index cards, pens/pencils,

Learning Goal: Students will learn that believers have a real enemy (the devil) and can stand up against his attacks by trusting in God alone.

Learning Activity #1: Have a Sword Drill.  (This lesson plan has many different verses that can be used for the Sword Drill) It is helpful for visual learners if you write the passage on the board or have it written before hand on a piece of paper.

Learning Activity #2: Fighting Enemies with God’s Word:  This activity allows students to see enemies that attack them in their daily walk with God.  They will discover Scriptures that will help them overcome their enemies (difficulties that they are confronted with).  Have students make individualized index cards with the name of an enemy on one side and Scriptures to fight those enemies on the other side.  (Here are some examples: Fear (Deuteronomy 31:6, Hebrews 13:6), Pride (Proverbs 18:12, Philippians 2:3), Jealousy (Proverbs 27:4, 1Corinthians 3:3), Insecurity/lacking confidence (Jeremiah 17:7, Philippians 4:13), laziness (Proverbs 12:24, Hebrews 6:12), anger (Proverbs 29:22, Ephesians 4:26), hate (Proverbs 8:13, Luke 6:27) These cards will be for them to use at the different times when they are being attacked and have Scriptures readily available to help them overcome.

Test: Review Questions

Memory Verse: 2 Chronicles 32:8a “With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.”

Bible Lesson: King Hezekiah Part 3:  Hezekiah prays when threatened by Assyria

Before an army fights the enemy the captain receives orders from the king.  The captain prepares the soldiers to fight the enemy.  The captain teaches his soldiers what kinds of weapons the enemy uses.  He prepares them for their possible fighting tactics and where the enemy is usually located.  A strong army that wins battle is made up of soldiers who prepare well before going into battle.

As a believer we are in God’s army.  Believers are the soldiers, Jesus is our King and the Holy Spirit is our captain.  Jesus knows how to defeat the enemy and the Holy Spirit prepares believers by giving instructions from God’s Word and power to defeat the enemy. The Holy Spirit helps believers understand that God alone can be trusted to win the battle against the enemy. The enemy believers face is the devil or Satan.  He is God’s enemy and he attacks believers.  Believers are daily in a battle against the attacks from the enemy.  The attacks come in different forms.  Difficulties that confront us and sin are enemies that every believer is faced with on a daily basis. Each time we are tempted to disobey God’s Word we are being attacked by the enemy.

Since believers have a real enemy and are in a daily battle with sin, only God, who knows all things, has power over all things and is everywhere can help believers in this battle.  He knows everything about Satan, his tricks and his tactics.  God has given us every weapon (The Bible, Prayer) we need to not be defeated in the battle. (Hebrews 4:12)

The only way believers can win against Satan is to trust fully in God’s promises and allow Him to fight our battles.

Today we are going to see an example we can follow from studying the life of Hezekiah.  Let’s turn in our Bibles to 2 Chronicles 32.

(If you have taught part 1 and part 2 of Hezekiah’s reign, review what the students remember)  King Hezekiah was faithful to the Lord.  He brought change to the Southern kingdom by getting rid of pagan worship and restoring worship at the temple.  He invited all of God’s people to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.

Read 2 Chronicles 32:1.  King Hezekiah was faithful to God and Sennacherib the king of Assyria attacked his kingdom.  Whenever God’s people are doing great things for God and turning people’s hearts back to Him, God’s enemy the devil is never happy. The devil’s motto is: Lie, steal and destroy! (John 8:44, 10:10)

2 Chronicles 32:2-5 Hezekiah takes action against his enemy

Hezekiah blocks off the springs of water so the enemy cannot drink.  Water is a necessity for life.  By cutting off the flow of water the enemy could not stay camped in that area for long without water to drink. (Verses 2-4)

• What are some ways that you can stop the ‘flow of water’ to the sins that are enemies in your life? (James 4:7 Obey God and the enemy will have to flee)

Read verse 5.  Hezekiah worked hard to strengthen the protective walls around Jerusalem.  He repaired the broken sections and built towers on it.  He built another wall around the original wall.  He made large numbers of weapons and shields.

• How do you prepare to protect yourself from an inescapable attack?  (Believers face situations that we know that are going to be difficult (Peer pressure))  Do you study God’s Word daily?  Do you pray and ask God for wisdom every day?  Are you memorizing Scriptures?  God is our strength and shield and His Word is our weapon to fight against all the enemies we face.)
• Do you pray for your pastor and leaders?  By praying for them you are protecting them from the enemy who wants to destroy them.

2 Chronicles 32:6-8 Hezekiah encourages his army

Read verses 7 and 8.  King Hezekiah encouraged the people to be strong and courageous.  He encouraged them to trust God to fight their battles.  The people gained confidence from the King’s encouragement.

• How strong is your faith in God?  Is your faith strong enough that you can point others to trust God and have courage when they are in a battle? (Hebrews 3:12-13)

2 Chronicles 32:9-19 The enemy’s tactics

Read selected verses:  9 (Sennacherib is laying siege (harassing) Lachish (show on map) and sends his messengers to threaten Hezekiah and his kingdom), 10-11, 15 (messengers cast doubt on Hezekiah’s instruction to have confidence in the Lord), 16-17 (Messengers insult God), 18 (Messengers try to terrify the men on the wall)

Satan (the enemy-Ephesians 6:12) uses these same tactics in the lives of believers.  Have you ever doubted God’s ability to rescue you from the enemy? (Did God really say? Genesis 3:1) Have you ever been bullied?  Has anyone every made fun of your faith in God?  If so, you can relate to how the people in Hezekiah’s kingdom felt.

2 Kings 18-19; 2 Chronicles 32:20 Hezekiah’s Battle Strategy

King Hezekiah trusted God to fight against the King of Assyria.  The following are some of his strategies to help his people when they were attacked by the enemy. Each strategy can be used by believers when they are attacked by the enemy. (Depending on how much time you have available you can have the students look up the verses and read.)

• Keep silent before the enemy. (2 Kings 18:36)/ (1 Peter 2:23)
• Humble yourself before God.  (2 Kings 18:37-19:2)/ (Micah 6:8)
• Seek Godly Counsel. (2 Kings 19:2-4)/ (Proverbs 15:22)
• Take your troubles to the Lord.  (2 Kings 19:14-19; 2 Chronicles 32:20)/ (Philippians 4:6)
• Trust your Defender (2 Kings 19:34)/ (Psalm 35:23)

2 Chronicles 32:21-23 God Responds and Rescues

God can be trusted to hear and answer prayer.  His answers are above and beyond what we could ever expect.  (Ephesians 3:20)

Let’s turn to 2 Kings 19:35-37.  How many Assyrian soldiers were killed by the angel of the Lord?  (185,000)What happened to Sennacherib?  (He was killed by his sons while he was worshiping his god)

Read 2 Chronicles 32:22-23.  King Hezekiah faced a dangerous, intimidating enemy.  He chose to trust God.  God defeated the king of Assyria and his army.  We too can trust God to rescue us from the enemies we face.  We will never be disappointed when we trust God with every aspect of our lives (Psalm 22:5).

At the beginning of our lesson we talked about believers being in God’s army.  If you have never been saved you are not in His army. To be a soldier in God’s army you must admit that you are a sinner.  Your sin separates you from God.  You must believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, was buried and rose again on the third day.  When you call upon Jesus to save you from your sins you are now an enlisted soldier in the Lord’s army (2 Timothy 2:3-4).  If you are a believer are you obeying King Jesus and following the Holy Spirit’s instructions each day?  It is important to walk closely with God each day so you will be fully prepared for attacks from the enemy.

Close in prayer.

Review Questions:

1. What did King Hezekiah do when the King of Assyria invading his land?  (Blocked the springs, repaired broken walls, made weapons)
2. How did Hezekiah encourage the people?  (Told them to be strong and courageous and trust God)
3. What did Sennacherib’s messengers say?  (Tried to cause the people to doubt that God could save them, insulted God and frightened the people)
4. What did Hezekiah do?  (Humbled himself, sent a message to Isaiah, prayed)
5. How did God respond to Hezekiah’s prayer?
6. How did this lesson encourage you to trust God when faced with difficulty?
7. What changes do you need to make so you can stand firm when faced with difficulty?

Related posts:

1. Lesson: King Hezekiah Celebrates Passover
2. Lesson: King Hezekiah Brings Reform
3. The Kings of Israel (Lesson Series Index)
4. Preschool Bible Lesson: Jesus Prays
5. Lesson: The Great Battle of Daniel 11

This lesson was prepared for our students who are currently studying the Book of Acts.  The purpose of the lesson was to tie in what the students were learning in their study as they study the birth of Christ.  This was created for older students but can be adapted for your ministry needs.

Bible Story: Jesus is the Light of the World
Scripture: Selected passages (Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 2:1-7)
Target Age Group: Age 9 – 11 (U.S. 3rd – 5th Grade)
Learning Context: Sunday School
Target Time Frame: 60 minutes
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please share your feedback and suggestions to improve this children’s Bible lesson. Click here to respond

Supply List: Bibles, blindfolds, white board, dry erase marker, flannel graphs or pictures to illustrate the story. For more lesson ideas, you can browse another Christmas Sunday School lesson based on the theme “Jesus is the Light.”

Learning Goal:  Students will learn that the birth of Christ fulfills God’s promise to send Light into the world.

Learning Activity #1: Blind-fold demonstration:

• Blindfold students
• Give students simple instructions like-walk to the door and touch the handle, return to your seat, choose one student at a time to come to the white board and write his/her name on it and then return to their seat.  Call out a student’s name and tell him/her to switch seats with another student you choose, etc.
• Remove blindfolds and have the students look at the board and see how their names turned out.
• Discuss difficulties of being blindfolded. (Bumping into people, things, didn’t know if someone already wrote on the board where they wrote etc.)

Test: Review Questions

Memory Verse:  1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”

Bible Lesson:  Jesus is the Light of the World

Related posts:

1. Children’s Bible Lesson: Jesus is the Light
2. Birth of Jesus Foretold to Mary: Christmas Bible Lesson
3. Free Christmas Plays for Children “The Birth of Jesus”
4. Jesus Brings Peace: A Gospel Lesson for Christmas
5. Story of Christmas Video Part 4 “Birth of Jesus at Christmas”

It can be common for children who are raised in our churches to profess Christ at a young age and then become wrapped up in living a good life for Jesus.  Slowly their salvation becomes dependent on their good works and they forget the power of the true gospel message.  This lesson from 2 Peter will remind children that their good works must be based upon their faith first.  Faith in Christ is the foundation for everything a Christian does.

Text: 2 Peter 1:5-8

Learning Objective:  The children will learn how faith in Christ is needed before any good works.

Target Age: 3^rd-5^th grade

Time Needed: 20 minutes

Materials Needed:  a glass jar, a sharpie marker, six ping pong balls, one bag of rice

• Another option would be use colored bouncy balls instead of ping pong balls. You could send one home with each kid and challenge them to live out that virtue during the week and report back.

Hook:

“I am going to begin with one very important question.  What needs to happen in a person’s life for them to be saved from their sins and spend their eternal life with God in heaven?” Take answers from the children.

“A person must believe and put their trust in Jesus Christ dying on the cross on their behalf.  They must believe that Jesus’ death saved them from their sins by taking the punishment of God’s wrath for them.  They must put their faith in Jesus.”

“Faith is the beginning of everything in the Christian life.”

Book:

• Open your Bibles to the book of 2 Peter.  We are going to read together from chapter one verses five through eight. Read the passage aloud.

Look:

“In verse five Peter begins by telling us to supplement our faith.  That means our faith in Jesus comes first.  Everything we do comes after our faith in Jesus.”  Place the glass jar on a table where all the children can see it. “This glass jar will be representing our faith in Jesus today.”

“After Peter stated that our faith comes first.  He made a list of good things for us to do and be after we have put our faith in Jesus’ work on the cross.” “What is the first good thing in the list?” Virtue.

“What is virtue?”  Take answers from the children. “Virtue is living a life that is good.  Doing the right thing and making good choices.”

Choose one child to come up and pick a ping pong ball.  Write the word virtue on the ball with the sharpie marker.  Have the child drop the ping pong ball into the glass jar.

“What is the second thing on the list after virtue?” Knowledge. “What is knowledge?” Take answers from the children.

“Knowledge is to know about something, which in this case would to know about God and the Bible.”

Choose one child to come up and pick a ping pong ball.  Write the word knowledge on the ball with the sharpie marker.  Have the child drop the ping pong ball into the glass jar. “After we put our faith in Jesus it is good to have virtue and knowledge, but our faith must come first to hold the virtue and knowledge together in our life.”

“What comes after knowledge in the list?” Self-control. “What is self-control?”  Take answers from the children.  “Self-control is having control of your actions, feelings, and words.”

Choose one child to come up and pick a ping pong ball.  Write the word self-control on the ping pong ball with the sharpie marker. Have the child drop the ping pong ball into the glass jar. “God wants us to have a life full of virtue, knowledge, and self-control, but first we must put our faith in Him.  Without faith in the work of the cross, our good works in our life will fall apart just like these ping pong balls would all roll away without this glass jar to hold them together.”

“What is next on Peter’s list?” Steadfastness. “What is steadfastness?”  Take answers from the children. “Steadfastness is keeping a set direction.  Moving in the right direction at all times and not giving up.”

Choose one child to come up and pick a ping pong ball.  Write the word steadfastness on the ping pong ball with the sharpie marker. Have the child drop the ping pong ball into the glass jar. “In order to be steadfast in our life we must first have faith in Jesus’ work on the cross.  It is hard to keep your life moving in the right direction if you do not know the right direction in which it should go.  Having faith in Jesus helps you to know the right direction.”

“What is next on Peter’s list?” Godliness. “What is godliness?”  Take answers from the children. “Godliness is living in the way God would want you to live.”

Choose one child to come up and pick a ping pong ball.  Write the word godliness on the ping pong ball with the sharpie marker. Have the child drop the ping pong ball into the glass jar. “We cannot know how to live in the way God wants us to unless we first put our faith in Him.  Faith comes before all other good things we do in our life.”

“What is next on Peter’s list?” Brotherly Affection. “What is brotherly affection?” Take answers from the children. “Brotherly affection is caring about the well-being of the people around you.”

Choose one child to come up and pick a ping pong ball.  Write the word brotherly affection on the ping pong ball with the sharpie marker. Have the child drop the ping pong ball into the glass jar. “Understanding how much God cared for us to send Jesus as a sacrifice for our sins will help us to then care for others.  Remembering Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross will help us to make sacrifices in caring for others.  Our faith in Jesus must come first before our brotherly affection.”

“What is the last good thing in Peter’s list?”  Love. “Love is special because love should be a part of every good thing we do in our life.  We should grow in knowledge because we love God.  We should have self-control over our words and actions because we love others.  We should be steadfast out of our love for God and others.” “Turn to 1 Corinthians 16:14.” Read this verse aloud.  “All that we do should be done in love.”

Choose a child to come up and take the bag of rice.  The child will pour the rice into the glass jar covering the ping pong balls. “This rice represents love in your life.  It covers all of the good deeds you do in your life.  Yet even love is held together by your faith in Jesus’ dying on the cross of your behalf.”

Took:

Read aloud 2 Peter 1:5-8 one more time. “Why does God want us to live out this list of good things in our life?”  Take answers from the children. “We live out these good things as a demonstration of our faith in Christ.  These good things are fruit in our Christian life.  They show that we have life within us that wants to live for God.”

“What comes first before we can live any of these good things?  What is the foundation?  What holds all of these good things together?”

“Our faith in Jesus Christ dying on the cross on our behalf to save us from our sins by taking the punishment of God’s wrath for us.” “The Christian life begins with faith and then has love poured all over it!”

Tip:

• This lesson could be a quick introductory lesson to a nine part series about each of these character traits.

Related posts:

1. “Faith Overcomes Fear” Bible Lesson for Children
2. Thank You Sponsor: Faith Baby
3. Church Bulletin Insert: The Faith Focused Family
4. Abraham, Sarah and Isaac (Children’s Bible Lesson About Patience)
5. Parable of the Lost Coin (Lenten Lesson)

This is a continuation of the study of Israel’s Kings.  In part 2 of the life of King Hezekiah this lesson focuses on King Hezekiah’s invitation to all (both Northern and Southern Kingdoms) Israel to come to Jerusalem and celebrate Passover.  Students will be learning about the meaning of Passover and how it was pointing God’s people to the Lamb of God Jesus who would take away the sins of the world.

This lesson is only a guide to help you to prepare for your class.  It was created for older students but can be adapted for your individual needs.  Click here to see all the Bible lessons in this series.

Bible Story Title: King Hezekiah Celebrates Passover
Bible Passage: 2 Chronicles 30-31:1
Target Age Group: Age 9 – 11 (U.S. 3rd – 5th Grade)
Learning Context: Sunday School
Target Time Frame: 60 minutes
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please share your feedback and suggestions to improve this children’s Bible lesson. Click here to respond

Supply List: Bibles, construction paper, markers, supplies to make invitations, visual aids for telling the story (use Google Images)

Learning Goal: Students will learn that believers are commanded to invite others to come to Jesus and be saved from their sins.

Learning Activity #1: Students create invitations to communicate the Gospel to someone who is not a believer.

Learning Activity #2: Passover Activities for Kids from Apples for Teachers

Test: Review Questions

Memory Verse:  2 Corinthians 5:20 “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf:  Be reconciled to God.”

(If Hezekiah Part One was taught and 1 Peter 2:9 was introduced you can build upon the responsibilities of a believer.  Believers are God’s royal priests pointing others to Jesus.  Ambassadors represent King Jesus. As Christ’s ambassadors believers invite others to come to Jesus so they can be reconciled to God.)

Gospel Connection:  Using brown construction paper cut two pieces 10 inches long and 1 ½  inch wide.  Cut one piece 5 inches by 1 ½ inch wide.  This visual connects the blood placed on the door posts on the first Passover and Jesus’ death on the cross. (Display the 3 strips of construction paper in the shape of a door frame) On that first Passover if the Death angel saw the blood he passed over the home and did not send death to that family.  (Take away one of the long strips and make the door frame into a cross)  Jesus the Lamb of God sent to take away the sins of the world shed His blood on the cross.  All who believe by faith that Jesus died on the cross for his/her sins, was buried and rose again is saved from death.  (Romans 6:23) When you believe in Jesus, God sees His shed blood over the ‘door post’ of your heart and will not punish you as your sins deserve.

Bible Lesson:  King Hezekiah Part 2:  Celebrate Passover

(Introduce or refresh students’ memory of the meaning of Passover for God’s people.  Exodus 12)

Many years ago God’s people the Israelites were slaves in the land of Egypt.  God sent Moses to Pharaoh (the king of Egypt) warning him to let the Israelites go.  If he was unwilling to release the Israelites God was going to punish the Egyptian people.  The Pharaoh did not listen to Moses and God sent 9 plagues (or disasters) to punish Egypt.  The tenth plague was the final blow to the nation of Egypt.  Pharaoh would finally let the Israelites go free.

Through Moses, God warned of the coming devastation of the death of the firstborn males (human and animal).  He also made a provision for deliverance and protection from the disaster.

God commanded the people to kill a lamb and take the blood and place it on the door frame of their home.  Everyone who had the blood from the lamb on the outside of the door frame would be kept safe when the death angel went throughout the land killing the firstborn of each family.  If the death angel saw the blood he passed by the home and the firstborn was not put to death.

God rescued His people on the night of this terrible plague of the firstborn.  God didn’t want His people to ever forget the deliverance from slavery.  He commanded that every year His people celebrated Passover to remind them.

Let’s return to 2 Chronicles 30 as we continue our study of King Hezekiah.

Hezekiah became king during a very wicked and sinful time of Israel’s history.  Many years had passed from the night that God rescued them from slavery in Egypt.  God had powerfully rescued them from being slaves to pharaoh.  Now God’s people were slaves to sin.  They chose to disobey God’s laws and worship false gods and do every kind of evil thing.

Read 2 Kings 17:7-12.  Throughout God’s word we will see that God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4).  On the night that God was going to destroy the firstborn in Egypt, He provided deliverance to those who by faith obeyed God by putting blood on the door frames.  This is an example of mercy because God didn’t have to provide a way to avoid punishment.

All people have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God.  All people deserve to be punished for their sins. (Romans 3:23, 6:23)  God is holy and must punish sin.  However He always provides a way of escape.  As we examine the wickedness of Israel we see that He sent prophets to warn of coming punishment.  Read 2 Kings 17:13.

Sadly, the Northern kingdom would not repent.  (2 Kings 17:15-17)  God punished them as He said.  (2 Kings 17:18-20)

Hezekiah recognized the sinfulness that surrounded him.  Someone had taught him from God’s Word who God is and what He expects His people to do.  He understood that God must punish sin if His people did not repent and turn away from their sin.

(From King Hezekiah Part 1) Hezekiah called the priests and Levites to cleanse themselves and the temple. (2 Chronicles 29)

• Do you recognize the evil that is taking place in the world around you?  What actions are you taking to point others back to God?

2 Chronicles 30:1-9 King Hezekiah sends messengers with an invitation to celebrate Passover.

The invitations were unlike most invitations you and I have received to attend a celebration (birthday, wedding, etc.)

Let’s read the invitation that went to the entire nation of Israel (Both the Northern-some Israelites remained after most of them were taken as prisoners to the land of Assyria, and Southern kingdoms)

Read 2 Chronicles 30:6-9.  What was King Hezekiah inviting all of Israel to do?

• Return to the Lord.  (Verse 6)
•  Come to the sanctuary. (Verse 8)
• Serve the Lord. (Verse 8)

What was the warning that King Hezekiah sent out in the invitation?

•  Do not be unfaithful and stubborn to the Lord.

What promise is found in King Hezekiah’s invitation?  (Verse 9)

• God invites you to turn away from your sin.  Come to Jesus and have your sins forgiven.

2 Chronicles 30:10-12 Some accept invitation and some reject.

Read 2 Chronicles 30:10-11.  It’s hard to understand why people who have experienced God’s punishment (Northern kingdom has been taken captive by Assyria) reject His invitation to repent.

Even today people hear the Good News that Jesus rescues people from sin.  They will mock, ridicule and even persecute believers who share the message.

The messengers obeyed King Hezekiah and invited all the people. Some rejected and some accepted the invitation to celebrate Passover.

•  Believers are commanded by King Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20) to share the invitation to come to Jesus and be saved from sin.  Some will accept and be saved and some will reject and face God’s punishment (separated from God for all eternity in a place called hell).

2 Chronicles 30:13-27 A large crowd celebrates Passover.

Those who came and celebrated Passover experienced God’s healing (verse 20) and great rejoicing (vs. 21, 23, 25-26).

• When we remember what God has done for us by sending His Son Jesus to die on the cross in our place it should cause us to rejoice.

2 Chronicles 31:1 Celebration leads to action.

Read verse 1.  The invitation to come is not only for an emotional response.  When we come near to God He comes near to us.  (James 4:7-10) When we experience God’s forgiveness and blessing it should change our lives.

The Israelites smashed and demolished idolatrous objects and places where worship of false gods took place.

•  As we look at our own lives and compare what God tells us to do (from His Word) and how we live, what sins need to be ‘smashed’ and ‘destroyed’?

The Passover that God’s people were commanded to celebrate each year was a preparation for them to recognize the Lamb of God (Jesus) who takes away the sin of the world.  Jesus was crucified on the night that the Jews were sacrificing their lambs in remembrance of their deliverance from Egypt.

Gospel Connection:  Use the brown pieces of construction paper and share the connection between the blood on the door posts and Jesus’ death on the cross.  Jesus was crucified on the cross as our sacrifice for the sin of every man, woman, boy and girl.  God made provision for the deliverance of my sin so that I can be rescued from the punishment of sin (eternal separation from God in hell).

Is this the first time you’ve heard the invitation to come to Jesus to have your sins forgiven?  Don’t delay.  Today is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2)

If you have accepted the invitation and are saved, are there sins you need to turn from so you can return to a close relationship with God?  (1 John 1:9)

In our first lesson about King Hezekiah we learned that if we are believers we have a high calling as Royal priests.  Believers are representatives in this world to invite others to come to Jesus and celebrate eternal life.

Close in prayer.

Review Questions:

1. Why did God command His people to celebrate Passover?  (To remember how they were rescued from Egyptian slavery, to prepare them for the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world)
2. What did Hezekiah invite all Israel to do?  (Come to Jerusalem and celebrate Passover)
3. How did God’s people respond to the invitation?  (Some ridiculed and some came to celebrate)
4. What emotion did those who celebrated Passover feel?  (Great joy)
5. What action did the people take after Passover ended?  (They smashed and destroyed things and places that were for false gods)
6. How can people be saved from the punishment for sins?  (Believe in Jesus the Lamb of God)

Related posts:

1. Lesson: King Hezekiah Brings Reform
2. Children’s Bible Lesson: The Passover
3. Lesson: God’s Great Sign (Exodus / Passover Story)
4. The Kings of Israel (Lesson Series Index)
5. Lesson: King Ahaz’s brings great suffering to Judah

This is a continuation of the study of Israel’s Kings.  This lesson is part one in the life of King Hezekiah.  In 2 Chronicles 29 Hezekiah commands the priests and Levites to consecrate themselves and the temple.  Students will learn about the ministry of the priests and Levites in the Old Testament and how believers are called to be royal priests in the New Testament.

This lesson is only a guide to help you to prepare for your class.  It was created for older students but can be adapted for your individual needs.  Click here to see all the Bible lessons in this series.

Bible Story Title: King Hezekiah (Part 1) Consecration of priests and cleansing of Temple
Bible Passage: 2 Chronicles 29
Target Age Group: Age 9 – 11 (U.S. 3rd – 5th Grade)
Learning Context: Sunday School
Target Time Frame: 60 minutes
Printer Friendly Bible Lesson: Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. this lesson plan
You Can Help: Please share your feedback and suggestions to improve this children’s Bible lesson. Click here to respond

Supply List:  Bibles, materials for object lesson

Learning Goal:  Students will learn that believers are appointed as royal priests to point others to Jesus.

Learning Activity #1:  Object Lesson on Sin  As we have studied Israel’s kings we have seen how sin continues to permeate the kingdoms.  King Ahaz (Southern Kingdom) followed the wicked example of the Northern kingdom and led his kingdom to worship false gods.  The sin of the people had become increasingly ‘gross’.  King Ahaz closed the temple doors and placed altars on every corner for the people to worship.  When Hezekiah began his reign he had a huge task before him.  He could either do something about the spiritual mess in his kingdom or allow God to use him to clean things up.

Test: Review Questions

Memory Verse: 1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”

Bible Lesson:  King Hezekiah Part 1-Consecration of priest and cleansing of Temple

Introduction:  Biblical Historical background of priests and Levites.

(Exodus 32) When Moses was on Mt. Sinai receiving God’s laws for His people, the Israelites had grown impatient waiting for their leader to return.  They asked Aaron to make them a golden calf to worship.  When Moses came down the mountain and saw the people worshiping the golden calf he was angry.

Have a volunteer read Exodus 32:25-29.

(Depending how new to the Bible your students are share a brief description of God’s people Israel.  Israel is a nation of God’s people.  They are descendants of Abraham.  God promised Abraham that from his descendants the Savior would be born.  Abraham and Sarah gave birth to Isaac.  Isaac is the father of Jacob who had twelve sons.  These sons make up the 12 tribes of Israel.)  Levi was one of Jacob’s sons and his family is called the tribe of Levi or Levites.  This passage of Scripture is how the Levites were set apart to serve as priests and Levites.

God gave Moses specific guidelines for how the priests and Levites were to serve in the temple and to lead the people in worship.  Priests had to be descendants of Aaron (Exodus 28:1 Numbers 3:1-4).  Their job was to make offerings in the temple.  The Levites were assistants to the priests and were given different jobs to help the people worship God.  (Numbers 3:5-10)

During the time of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness the priests and Levites served in a tabernacle that could be taken apart and moved from place to place.  Later in Israel’s history during the reign of King Solomon a Temple was built.  The Temple was built in Jerusalem and God’s people came to the Temple to worship Him.

Now with that brief history of priests and Levites let’s return to our study of Israel’s kings. Turn in your Bibles to 2 Chronicles 29.

What is the spiritual condition of the Southern kingdom at this time in history?  (Review King Ahaz’s reign-people were sinful, temple doors had been closed, people were not worshiping God according to His law (worshiping at altars that Ahaz had built on every corner).

Let’s read verse 1-2.  Hezekiah’s father was a very wicked king.  Did Hezekiah follow his father’s example?  (No) His mother’s name was Abijah.  She was related to the priest Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:20-22) It is very likely that she taught her son Hezekiah God’s laws and how to live a life that pleases Him.

• We are responsible for the choices we make.  We must choose to follow examples that please God according to what is written in His Word.

The first thing Hezekiah does as king is clean up the sinful mess in his kingdom.  He opens the doors of the temple and has them repaired. He commands the priests and Levites to consecrate themselves and consecrate the temple.  (Verses 4-5)  Consecrate means to set apart or sanctify.  Sanctify means to purify or free from sin.

Whenever we study God’s Word we should always be thinking and even asking questions so we can learn and understand what we are studying.

God set apart the priests and Levites to lead His people to worship Him according to His laws.  What do you think happened to the priests and Levites during the reign of Ahaz that they would not stand up to his command to put a pagan altar inside the temple (2 Kings 16:15-18)? (Allow students to respond with their thoughts)

In the Bible the disease called leprosy is symbolic of sin.  A person with leprosy eventually loses feelings in their body.  An example would be that they might put slam their hand in the door and not feel a thing.

In a sense it seems that God’s people became desensitized to sin. Even the people God had given the job to teach the people God’s ways and to lead them in worship had become deadened to the power of sin and allowed wickedness to overpower them and God’s people.

• Believers must be alert because sin desensitizes our hearts to God’s truth and leads us to walk in darkness.  “Be very careful, then, how you live-not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”  Ephesians 5:15-16

King Hezekiah was alert to the spiritual condition of his kingdom and knew that the anger of the Lord had fallen on them (they were being punished) because of the sinfulness of turning away from worshiping the One true God according to His laws.  (Verses 6-9) He had the opportunity to use the position God gave him as king to turn the people back to God.  If the people repented of their sin and turned back to God, He would remove His hand of punishment. (2 Chronicles 6:36-39)

• Believers can have their sins cleansed by confessing them to God.  (1 John 1:9)  God will forgive and purify us from all unrighteousness.

2 Chronicles 29:11-19 Read verse 11.  These priests and Levites had been chosen by God to serve Him.  It was a privilege and responsibility to do His work. These men obey King Hezekiah and  immediately get to work and purify themselves.  Then they took on the task to purify the temple.  Read verse 16.

The temple is a physical building where God’s people went to worship Him. God met with His people at the temple.  When Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose again all who believe in Him become His temple.  The Holy Spirit lives in the heart of each person who believes that Jesus died for his/her sins.

• Believers need to keep every area of his/her life pure because we are the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) When people see our lives they should be able to see a life that pleases God and allows people to see Jesus.  What needs to be cleaned up and removed from your life so that you reflect the Lord Jesus more clearly in your life?

2 Chronicles 29:20-24 King Hezekiah commands to offer the sin offering.

The priests obey Hezekiah and slaughter the animals that were brought to the temple for the sin offering.  Read verse 24.  The blood was shed to atone (cover) for all Israel.

In the Old Testament God’s requirements for worship point to what the Savior of the world would accomplish in the New Testament.  Jesus Christ is our sin offering who died once for all, shedding His blood so our sins could be cleansed forever (not just covered). (Hebrews 10)

2 Chronicles 29:25-34 Hezekiah gives order for burnt offering.

What takes place in this passage is another act of worship that was required by God’s law to worship Him. (Exodus 20:24)  The priests began to offer the burnt offerings and the Levites who were musicians and singers began to sing and play music.

The burnt offering is symbolic of complete dedication to God.  As the priests offered this to God they were saying they were giving their lives completely to God.

• Believers are called to offer our own bodies to God as a living sacrifice.  We are to dedicate our entire life to Him.  (Romans 12:1)

When the priests and Levites performed their tasks according to God’s law the response of those around them is found in these verses:  Read 2 Chronicles 29:28-31

King Hezekiah began his reign by immediately beginning to clean up the spiritual mess that his kingdom was in.  He led the priests and Levites to rise up and once again serve the Lord.  As a result God’s people were turning back to Him.

We live in a world that is spiritually messy.  We see sin in most every place we turn.  Can you think of places where people are not living according to God’s Word?  (Homes, schools, government, sadly even churches)

Our memory verse ties what we learned from 2 Chronicles 29 to our lives today.  Let’s read it together.  1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”

Because of King Jesus who is our High priest we do not have to be from Aaron’s family to be a priest (Revelation 1:6, 5:10).  We become priests when we believe in Jesus and are adopted into God’s family.  We are given the privilege and responsibility to point others to Jesus so they can be saved and live forever with God.

If you are a believer how seriously do you take the responsibility of being a chosen, royal priest?  What sin needs to be cleared out of your life so that you can lead others to worship King Jesus?

If your sins have never been cleansed by believing in the Lord Jesus, today you can call on Him to save you.  If you have questions about how to be saved please talk to us and we can show you from the Bible how to be saved from your sins.

Close in prayer.

Review Questions:

1. How did Ahaz leave the Southern Kingdom?  (A spiritual mess, the temple doors were closed and people were worshiping idols)
2. Who became king after Ahaz died?  (His son Hezekiah)
3. What kind of king was Hezekiah?  (He pleased God)
4. What did Hezekiah do in the first year of his reign?  (Opened the temple doors, had them repaired and commanded the priests and Levites to consecrate themselves and the temple)
5. When the priests and Levites performed their responsibilities according to God’s laws how did the people respond?  (Bowed down and worshiped)
6. How can God use you this week to point others to Jesus?

Related posts:

1. Lesson: King Ahaz’s brings great suffering to Judah
2. Lesson: Israel’s Northern Kings “King Ahab”
3. Lesson: Jehoiada’s Godly influence upon King Joash
4. The Kings of Israel (Lesson Series Index)
5. King Saul Lesson for Children’s Church

This is a continuation of the study of Israel’s Kings.  The lesson covers the reign of King Ahaz over the Southern Kingdom.  Students will see how sin affects others.  Many people in Ahaz’s kingdom suffered as a result of his idolatry and rebellion against God.  Students will learn that individuals are responsible before God and their sin affects others.

This lesson is only a guide to help you to prepare for your class.  It was created for older students but can be adapted for your individual needs.  Click here to see all the Bible lessons in this series.

Bible Story Title: King Ahaz’s wickedness brings great suffering to Judah
Bible Passage: 2 Chronicles 28
Target Age Group: Age 9 – 11 (U.S. 3rd – 5th Grade)
Learning Context: Sunday School
Target Time Frame: 60 minutes
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Supply List:  Bibles, index cards

Learning Goal: Students will learn that sin always affects others and each individual is responsible for his/her choices before God.

Learning Activity #1: Sin’s Consequences (Examples from Scripture): Create Cards with people from the Bible who affected others because they sinned and people who were affected by others’ sins. Have the name written on the card with Scripture references for students to discover whether the person affected others or were affected by someone’s sin. (Examples:  Adam-Romans 5:12-17, 1 Corinthians 15:22)  Abraham (Genesis 12:10-20) Achan (Joshua 7) David (2 Samuel 11-12, 1 Chronicles 21) Jonah (Jonah 1), Jesus (Romans 4:25, Hebrews 2:9)

Learning Activity #2: Other activities for sin’s affect on others.

Test: Review Questions

Memory Verse: Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived:  God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows.  The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”

Teaching the Memory Verse:  Explain how a person’s actions have consequences.  Divide the verse into phrases (enough phrases for students to have one phrase) and place on the wall around the room or in students chairs.  Play ‘musical chairs’ and when the music stops the student says his/her phrase as the verse is recited.

Teacher Study Resources:  How sin affects others: (Sins of the Fathers) , The Blessing of Brokenness: Why God allows us to go through hard times, Others Suffer

Bible Lesson:  King Ahaz’s wickedness brings great suffering to Judah

As we learn about the history of God’s people in our study of Israel’s kings we have been on a journey that is a lot like riding a roller coaster.  When God’s people did what is right it has been an enjoyable ride.  We have seen God’s blessings and victory over the enemy God gave to those who did what pleased Him.  It has been a bumpy and not so enjoyable ride when we have seen God’s people sin and rebel.  The kings who rebelled against God were punished and were defeated by their enemies. (If your class has been studying the series have them share names of good kings and the bad kings.)

We are going to continue on this journey with the history of Israel’s kings.  Let’s turn to 2 Chronicles 28.

(If you have been teaching the series, review what the students remember about King Uzziah)  After King Uzziah died his son Jotham reigned over Judah for 16 years.  He was a good king.  He did what was right before the Lord.  Jotham was a powerful king because he walked steadfastly before the Lord his God.  (2 Chronicles 27:6)  Even though Jotham was a good king sin was still present like a virus in the lives of God’s people.  “The people, however, continued in their corrupt practices.” (2 Chronicles 27:2)

2 Chronicles 28:1-4 King Ahaz’s wickedness

After Jotham’s death Ahaz his son became king.  Choose volunteer to read 2 Chronicles 28:1.  (2 Kings 16:1-4)

Ahaz like all of us have a variety of people we can look to as role models.  As king over the southern kingdom of Judah Ahaz had many good examples to look to and model his leadership after.

Read verse 2.  Who did Ahaz model his leadership after?  (The wicked ways of Israel’s northern kings)  The entire history of the northern kingdom of Israel beginning with Jeroboam all the way to their exile (God’s punishment to them for their wickedness) is filled with wicked kings.  Not one of Israel’s northern kings did what was right in God’s sight. (1 Kings 12:26-33; 13:34; 2 Kings 13:2,6; 14:24; 15:9, etc)

Ahaz’s father Jotham was a king who did what was right in the eyes of the Lord so Ahaz has no excuse for not having any Godly role models.

• Whether we have good role models or not we all are responsible before God for each choice we make.  (Ezekiel 18; Romans 1:20, 3:23, 6:23, 14:12; James 4:17; Hebrews 9:27)

2 Chronicles 28:5-8 Consequences to Ahaz’s wickedness.

Read verse 5.  God was not pleased with Ahaz’s sin.  God is holy and must punish sin.  He punished Ahaz for his wickedness by allowing enemies to attack his kingdom.  (Southern Kingdom-Judah)

Blessings and victory are given to God’s people when they obey Him.  Distress and defeat are the consequences to disobedience.  (Deuteronomy 28) Ahaz’s sin brought God’s hand of punishment against him and the people of his kingdom.  God used enemies of the Southern Kingdom as His instruments to punish Ahaz.

Enemy #1:  Rezin King of Syria (Aram).  He defeats Ahaz and takes many of God’s people as prisoners back to Damascus. (2 Chronicles 28:5)

Enemy #2:  Pekah King of Israel (Northern Kingdom).  He attacks Ahaz and causes considerable damage to the Southern Kingdom.  His army kills 120,000 soldiers in one day.  A warrior from Israel named Zicri kill 3 men close to King Ahaz (his son Maaseiah, an officer in charge of the palace Azrikam, and a man second in charge to the king Elkanah)

There are consequences to our sin.  Who was affected by Ahaz’s sin?  (The people of his kingdom)

• The consequences of my sin can cause pain and suffering to others around me.  As a believer my sin affects other believers (the Body of Christ) 1 Corinthians 12:26.  How does this challenge me to think before I choose to sin? (Sin is a choice)

2 Chronicles 28:9-15 Israel listens to Oded’s warning.

Read verse 9.  The army of the northern kingdom was an instrument of God’s punishment to the southern kingdom.  Both kingdoms are God’s chosen people from the nation of Israel.  Both kingdoms are under the same laws of God.

The Northern Kingdom is not righteous before God and we have already mentioned their wickedness and rebellion before God.  They were unrighteous and were already under the cloud of God’s punishment (future exile 2 Kings 15-17). They were not without sin before God and when they were given the opportunity to attack Judah they did so with cruelty.  When they took prisoners of their own people (2 Chronicles 28:8) they were breaking God’s laws (Leviticus 25:39-46)

God is full of mercy.  Even though Israel is wicked and deserves punishment for their sins, He sends a prophet named Oded to warn them to turn away from their cruel punishment of their own people.  Oded tells them to repent and send back the prisoners to the southern kingdom.  If they would not repent he told them that the Lord’s fierce anger rests on them (verse 11).

The leaders of Israel’s army obeyed what Oded said. They clothed the naked prisoners.  They gave them food to eat and water to drink.  They also put ointment on their wounds.  They put the weak on donkeys and took them back to their homes.  (Luke 10:25-37)

• As believers we are to love our enemies and do good to them.  It does not please God if we treat them harshly or with cruelty. (Luke 10:27-31)

2 Chronicles 28:16-27 Ahaz’s refusal to repent.

When we face trouble and hardship in our lives it should cause us move closer to God.  When we move closer to God we see the sin in our lives.  When we see that sin we should repent and obey God.  The closer we are to God the more dependent we are on Him.  We realize that He is the One who is always with us and will always help us when we cry out to Him.

The consequences for Ahaz’s sins have caused him and his kingdom to suffer great loss.  Let’s read 2 Chronicles 28:22 to discover if the trouble and hardship has caused him to repent and come close to God. (No-unfortunately he becomes more unfaithful)

Enemy #3:  King of Assyria, Tiglath-Pileser.

In his rebellion and unbelief of God’s promises Ahaz turns to the King of Assyria (Tiglath-Pileser) for help when he was attacked by another enemy (verse 16). Instead of helping Ahaz the king of Assyria only caused more trouble.

Ahaz turned even further away from God when he decided to have an altar built so he could worship the gods of Damascus. (2 Kings 16:10-14; 2 Chronicles 28:22-23)

The final thing recorded about Ahaz’s wicked reign is that he gathered the furniture from the temple and had it taken away.  He closed the doors of the temple and set up altars on every street corner for people to worship false gods.  His wickedness provoked the Lord, the God of his fathers to anger.  (2 Chronicles 28:25)

Challenges for our generation from Ahaz’s reign:

• If you have a wicked leader ruling over you how do you respond?  We may not feel like we can make a big difference in our country if the leaders are wicked but God has told us that we should pray for our leaders.  (1Timothy 2:1-2)

Gospel Connection:  The ultimate example of the price of sin and its consequence is seen when Jesus Christ, the innocent Son of God was crucified on the cross.  He suffered humiliation and death because of my sin and yours. Jesus died in my place and yours to pay the price for our sins.  He took the pain and suffering that we deserved so that we don’t have to be punished and can have eternal life.  What do you need to do if you have never been saved from your sins? Admit to God that you are a sinner.  Believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, was buried and was raised from the grave three days later.  Confess to others that you believe that Jesus is the Savior.

Close in prayer.  Lord, help us to learn from Ahaz’s example that our sin has consequences and those consequences bring suffering to those around us.  May the thought of others having to suffer keep us from choosing to sin.  Help us to live a life that pleases you so that others can see Jesus in our lives.  In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.

Review Questions:

1. Which kingdom was Ahaz king over?  (Southern Kingdom/Judah)
2. What kind of king was he?  (Wicked, sinful like the Northern Kingdom)
3. How did God punish Ahaz?  (Resin, Pekah, Tiglath-Pileser)
4. Who suffered because of Ahaz’s sin (the people in his kingdom)
5. What did the leaders of the Northern Kingdom’s army do that was obedient to Oded’s warning?  (Clothed the prisoners, fed them, put healing balm on them and released them)
6. True or False:  Ahaz relied on God to help him defeat his enemies.  (False he asked the King of Assyria for help)
7. How is the time of Ahaz’s reign over Judah similar to the nation you live in today?  How is it different?
8. What do you need to change as a result of this lesson? (Personal-not to be answered out loud unless someone want to volunteer)

Related posts:

1. Bible Lesson: King Asa seeks God
2. Lesson: King Amaziah’s Distractions
3. The Kings of Israel (Lesson Series Index)
4. Lesson: The Great Battle of Daniel 11
5. Lesson: Jehoiada’s Godly influence upon King Joash