"Lord of Hosts/ King/ King of Kings" Names of God Lessons for Kids

This lesson is part of a series we’re calling, “Hello, My Name Is…  A Series on the Names of God.” You can find the latest when you follow Tara’s author archive. We’ll add links to the whole Bible study once it’s complete.

Lesson Eight: Lord of Hosts, King, King of Kings

Main Idea: God the King is in charge of everything in the Universe, and when we believe in Jesus the King of Kings, he makes us princes and princesses.
Memory Verse: “Those who know your name trust in you, for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you.” Psalm 9:10
This is part 8 of 16  in our study of the Names of God for kids called, “Hello, My Name Is…  A Series on the Names of God.”  Visit that link to navigate to other lessons in this curriculum.
Teacher Preparation:

• Read lesson, Scripture references, and Daniel 3, Philippians 4:13, John 12:14, Psalm 80, Psalm 84
• Gather: Bible, lesson plan, dry erase markers or chart paper and markers, “God Rules ruler” printable, construction paper, scissors, glue, clear contact paper or packaging tape, crayons, markers, colored pencils.
• To help keep track of the names of God learned over this series, write each lesson’s name of God on the board along with the main idea. Tape a strip of paper over the name, and one over the main idea. Use this to review the lesson as you go. Alternatively, use large flash cards with the name of God on the front and the main idea on the back. Create one of these every week and review with the class as you go.
• Take time to meditate on this lesson and apply it to your own life. This seems like a lesson we teach to kids, but don’t necessarily apply to our lives. We say that Jesus is king, but I know I rarely reflect upon what it means to give him my allegiance. Calling myself a princess seems almost arrogant, but it’s the truth. We are royalty, and we are so very loved by the King. I get so busy in this life that the hope of the King establishing his kingdom gets pushed to the back of my mind. Make no mistake, the Lord will return, and his kingdom will forever reign! Let’s live each day in the light of this great truth.

Scripture References:

• Psalm 99:1
• Isaiah 66:1-2a
• Daniel 4:37
• Psalm 80:19
• Romans 5:8
• 1 Chronicles 11:9
• Revelation 19:16
• Galatians 3:26

Game: Steal the Crown
This is “Steal the Bacon,” with a different name. Split the class into two equal teams and have them face each other, lined up shoulder to shoulder, at opposite sides of the room. Number each player on each team. (So each team has a number one, number two, etc.)If you have an uneven number of students, you or an assistant will have to play so everyone has a partner. Place a toy crown (or hat) right between the two teams. When you call out a number, the player from each team assigned that number must try to steal the crown and get it back to their team before the other player can tag them. If a player is tagged, then no points are assigned. A new round begins. If a player makes it back to their place in line without being tagged, their team receives a point. You can play to a certain number of points, until everyone has had a chance to play, or until you run out of time.
Message: Open in prayer, then say, today we are almost halfway through our study of the names of God, and today we will learn three new names! Before we continue, let’s take a few minutes to review what we have learned. (Go over the names of God and the main ideas from previous lessons that you have written on the board. See how much your students remember.) See, I knew you have all worked hard to learn the names of God and what they mean for our lives! Let’s turn in our Bibles to Psalm 99:1 to learn about our first name of the day. (Read, or have a student read, Psalm 99:1.) “The Lord is king! Let the nations tremble! He sits on his throne between the cherubim. Let the whole earth quake!”
This one is pretty straightforward, and one I am sure you have all heard before. God is the king of everything in the whole universe. (On the board, write, “God is King.”) Isaiah 66:1-2 says, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Could you build me a temple as good as that? Could you build me such a resting place? My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine, I, the Lord, have spoken!’” God is king. His kingly throne is heaven and he rests his feet on the earth. Maybe not literally, but this gives us a picture of how big God is and how very, very little we on our tiny planet are.
It’s so easy to forget that God is the king. We see kings and presidents and principals and bosses and all sorts of rulers, all sorts of people in charge here on earth. I sometimes get so caught up in living my busy life that I forget who is really in charge of this world. It isn’t any president, prime minister or king. It is God, and God only! A king is someone who is in charge of a kingdom or country, who makes rules and laws and who takes care of the people in his kingdom. The Bible and all of history is full of good and bad kings. Even King David, the best king Israel ever had, wasn’t perfect. God is the only perfect king, because he is GOD.
A lot of earthly kings want to be worshiped, but only God the King deserves our praise. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made that mistake once. King Nebuchadnezzar is the king in the book of Daniel who made a huge statue of himself and told everyone to worship it. Do you remember Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego?  (Have students retell the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego with you filling in the parts they miss. This story is found in Daniel 3. Just hit the high points to refresh their memories or to introduce the basics: The king wanted everyone to bow down and worship the giant statue of himself, but three Jews, who worship God, refused. God saved them from the fiery furnace and the king was amazed at God.) Nice job remembering this story! So as you can see, King Nebuchadnezzar thought a lot of himself. He thought he was the best king ever, all by his own strength. God warned him not to brag, but he did anyway. So long story short, God punished the king. Nebuchadnezzar went crazy for a while, and when God restored his sanity, the king said, “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.” (Daniel 4:37.) As King Nebuchadnezzar learned, Yahweh the King is the only King worthy of our worship, and no one can ever take his crown away. (On the board write “Worthy of our worship.”)
But why is God the only one we should praise, the only King we should follow? Let’s have a sword drill to find out. Take all fingers and bookmarks out of your Bibles. When I say go, turn to Psalm 80:19. Go! (Read, or have a student read, Psalm 80:19.) “Turn us again to yourself, O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. Make your face shine down upon us. Only then will we be saved.” We learn two things from this verse. One is that we can never work hard enough or be good enough to make God happy. The only way to be right with God is for God to turn to us. Yes, we have to repent of our sins and believe in God and follow him. But none of that would do us any good if God stayed angry with us. God chooses to love us and chooses to forgive us, even before we say we’re sorry for our sins. Romans 5:8 says, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Our King loves us enough to send his very own son to die for us, even before we repented. That is why we worship God, and only God. (On the board write, “The King loves us.”)
The second thing we learn from Psalm 80:19 is another name of God. Did anyone catch it? Go back and look. (Have a student tell you the name of God found in Psalm 80:19: “Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.”) This Psalm calls God the “Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.” A lot of translations say the “Lord of Hosts,” meaning the hosts, or armies of angels in heaven. (Write, “Lord of Hosts” on the board.) Basically, it means God is in charge! He has armies of angels at his command. God is so big and so strong, and he still loves us most of all. Remember we mentioned King David earlier? God loved King David. The Bible says in 1 Chronicles 11:9, “And David became more and more powerful, because the Lord of Heaven’s Armies was with him.” David was a powerful and good king because he trusted God. God made him strong, and the Lord of Heaven’s Armies makes us strong when we trust in him. (Philippians 4:13)
Now for our last name of God for today. Follow along with me as I read from Zechariah 9:9. “Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt.” Who is this verse talking about? (Allow students to guess who this verse is about.) This verse is about Jesus, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. (John 12:14.) When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, he fulfilled this prophecy in Zechariah made about him hundreds of years earlier. He was proclaiming to everyone that he is the king, that he is God! Revelation 19:16 says, “On his robe at his thigh was written this title: King of all kings and Lord of all lords.” Jesus is the King of kings. (Write “Jesus is the King of Kings” on the board.) This means he is the ruler in charge of all the rulers in all the world, for all of time.
Now here is my very favorite part. What do we call the children of a king? (Allow students to answer.) A king’s kids are called princes and princesses. Now let’s finish up with a sword drill, because I want everyone to read this. Take all fingers and bookmarks out of your Bibles and hold them above your heads. When I say go, turn to Galatians 3:26. Go! (Read, or have a student read, Galatians 3:26.) “For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” Do you guys get this? When we believe in Jesus, when we repent of our sins and God forgives us, we become princes and princesses! God, the King, makes us his very own children! (Write “We are princes and princesses” on the board.) We are royalty. And we have a very big responsibility to the King of Kings. We need to tell everyone about God’s love! God wants everyone to become princes and princesses. So as we pray, I want you to quietly, to yourselves, pray for one person you can talk to about Jesus this week. Pray that they would get to know Jesus so they too can be children of the King!
Close in prayer.
Craft: God Rules! Ruler, or Prince/Princess Crowns
Print the “God Rules!” Ruler on cardstock (download here), or glue it to heavy paper or light cardboard. After the kids color and cut these ruler bookmarks out, you can cover them in clear contact paper or packaging tape for added durability.
Alternatively, or if time allows, give the children stacks of construction paper and have them design their own crown to wear. Cut a piece of construction paper in half lengthwise, using zig zag cuts to make a crown shape. Glue or staple these two pieces together. Have kids decorate, then wrap it around their heads so their crown fits comfortably. Tape the crown together. Have the kids write, “I’m a child of the KING!” on their crown.