What’s in a Name? The Lord’s Prayer: Hallowed be Thy Name
See the Bible Crafts on God’s Name is Holy.
Main Objective: Names are essential to all of us. Kids can understand that names mean something and that having a name misused, misspelled, or mispronounced is frustrating. This message taps into those feelings to communicate how important it is to use God’s name appropriately and reverently. Discuss the Lord’s Prayer and the Commandment about the Lord’s name to emphasize how special God is, and how we can use His name correctly.
Law/Gospel Theme: The Bible gives us several names for God. One key name we read is Yeshua, which means “The Lord Saves.” Of course, we know this better as Jesus, God incarnate, who saves us from sin. When we consider the commandment not to take the Lord’s name in vain, we also remember the positives of what we should do with the Lord’s name: call upon it for help and praise it, knowing how powerful and holy God’s name is.
Note: This lesson is the second in a series on the Lord’s Prayer. Each lesson will consider another part of the Lord’s Prayer, examining what it means and how we can use it in personal prayer. Each lesson will also include a story from the Bible that illustrates the point.
Optional Materials: Name tags (from a job or restaurant, or generic sticker name tags).
Bible Passage: Matthew 6:7-9; Exodus 3:1-17
True freedom in Christ (John 8:36) — a complete Bible lesson with printable activities, free from the Sunday School Store.
Message: Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this one are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs.
Greet children, and discuss names…
Hello, children of God!
What do I have here? Hold up a name tag of some sort. Yes, this is a name tag. Someone at a store or restaurant usually wears one of these to show that they work there and can offer help if needed. A lot of times people in churches wear name tags. Maybe you’ve worn a name tag before at a special event or activity of some sort. They tell people who you are and how to call you.
Names are important, and they are significant. Not only do they give people a way to address us, but every name means something. Do you know what your name means? Share what your own name means, and mention what some of the students’ names mean, if you know. Have you ever had someone say your name wrong, or call you the wrong name? Or maybe you’ve even heard someone make fun of your name. It can be frustrating and hurtful when people do that, right?
Well, God also has an important name, and we want to make sure that we honor it and use it correctly. Actually, the Bible gives us several names for God, but all of them are special. One name we see God give us in Scripture is “Yahweh.” This is the name that He told Moses when He called to him from the burning bush. God told Moses that he was going to lead the people out of slavery in Egypt. Moses asked the Lord who He was, and what name he should give the people. God told Moses that He was “I am,” and “I am” sent him. Yahweh means “I am.” In giving Moses his name, God was sharing something valuable and precious, and describing the essence of who He was.
God wants us to honor Him by recognizing how holy His name is. In the Lord’s Prayer, we start by saying “hallowed is your name.” The word “hallowed” means holy, or set apart for a special purpose. When we declare that God’s name is holy, it means we respect it and understand that it’s part of God. In the Ten Commandments, we are directed not to take the Lord’s name in vain. That means we want to use God’s name for the right purpose. We don’t use it as a curse, or a casual exclamation. We don’t ignore its significance and power. We don’t love it when people misuse or mistreat our names, and the Lord’s name is so much more meaningful and wonderful!
So how can we keep His name holy? We use God’s name in prayer, when we call upon Him for help. We can also honor it in worship, when we sing praises to Him or honor who he is and how wonderful He is. God is mighty, powerful, and Holy, and His name is great and to be praised. We revere and respect His name, and by doing that, we show love and care for Him. Hallowed be His name!
Let’s pray now and ask God to help us honor and respect His holy name.
Prayer:
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for giving us your wonderful name.
Please help us to remember that it is special and holy.
Help us honor your name and you,
And call upon you when we need help.
We praise your name!
Thank you for your love.
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!
Bible Verses/story to Reference:
Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?”4 God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”’
-Exodus 3:1-17
