This free Bible lesson for children is focused on the concept of praising God, specifically how music can be used to give him worship. It could be used in your Sunday School class or children’s church.
Learning Aim: Children will learn the importance of music as a way to serve the Lord. Children will understand that the Lord is so deserving of praise that the Earth (mountains, rivers, seas, etc.) praise Him. Children will be challenged to use their voices to praise God.
Gospel Connection: The 98th chapter of Psalms is a song of praise to the Lord. Its purpose is to thank God for the work that He has done through Jesus Christ in bringing about our salvation. This Psalm was written before Christ came to the Earth, but David loved God and looked ahead to a day when God bring salvation to all the Earth. He understood the prophecies of Jesus’ impending birth and believed that God would be faithful to fulfill this promise. The Lord has been faithful in loving us and helping us in our times of need and is certainly deserving of our praise.
Lesson Title: Let the World Praise the Lord
Bible Reference: Psalm 98 see also Bible verse on Singing Praise to God
Target Age Group: Elementary to Middle School
Learning Context: Sunday School
Target Time Frame: 1 hour
Memory Verse: “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.” -Psalm 98:4
Basic Supply List:
- Pencils
- Paper
- Dry erase board/chalk board
- Markers/chalk
Note: In the teaching plan below the words in italics are meant to be read aloud. The regular text is simply directions for the teacher.
Bible Lesson Plan: Sing Praise to God
Open the Lesson with Praise: Begin by asking the children what their favorite praise song is to sing to the Lord. Allow responses and then invite the children to sing one of these songs as praise to the Lord. If none of the songs that the children think of are viable options, sing “Praise Him, Praise Him.” The lyrics are listed below.
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!
Hail Him! Hail Him! Highest archangels in glory;
Strength and honor give to His holy Name!
Like a shepherd, Jesus will guard His children,
In His arms He carries them all day long.
Refrain:
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
For our sins He suffered, and bled, and died.
He our Rock, our hope of eternal salvation,
Hail Him! Hail Him! Jesus the Crucified.
Sound His praises! Jesus who bore our sorrows,
Love unbounded, wonderful, deep and strong.
Refrain:
Praise Him! Praise Him! Tell of His excellent greatness;
Praise Him! Praise Him! Ever in joyful song!
Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer!
Heavenly portals loud with hosannas ring!
Jesus, Savior, reigneth forever and ever;
Crown Him! Crown Him! Prophet, and Priest, and King!
Christ is coming! Over the world victorious,
Power and glory unto the Lord belong.
Biblical Evidence: Explain, Praise songs are a way in which we can express our thankfulness to God for all that He does for us. We praise God with music, but other things in nature praise God as well. The waves of the sea crashing upon the shore are praise songs to God. The stars praise God at night by twinkling, sparkling and shining. Let’s read about how and why we praise God in Psalm 98.
Read Psalm 98:1. Ask the children what kind of miraculous things that God has done for them. Make sure to explain/have them explain how God was wonderful in each situation. Explain the last part of verse 1, the most wonderful thing that God has done for us is create a way for us to have salvation and spend eternity in Heaven, even though we are sinners. If God never did another miraculous work, He would still deserve our never ending praise because He sent Jesus to us to save us from our sins.
Read verses 2 and 3. Say, The Lord doesn’t just love us and didn’t just give us salvation, but He gave it to the whole world. All elements of nature praise God. Think about the sound that the wind makes as it is whistling in a storm, or the lullaby of crickets late at night. God is faithful to all the Earth and all the Earth praises Him.
Read verses 4 through 6. In this verse, emphasize the command to praise the Lord. Ask the children what instruments they can use to praise the Lord. Remind the children that all of the Earth praises God.
Read verses 7 through 9. Say¸ Verses 7 and 8 describe natural elements that praise God. Our God is a God of the whole world. He created the whole world and He expects all of His creation to praise Him. If the mountains and rivers can praise God, how much more should we praise Him? Verse 9 reminds us that God is a good and fair judge. He deserves praise for His righteousness.
The Praise Craze: Once the children have a good understand of the biblical passage, they are ready to put what they have learned into action. Explain that Psalms are like poems or songs. Children can work alone for this activity or with a partner depending on what best fits your class needs. Give each child a pencil and paper. Instruct them to write their very own praise song/poem to God. If the children are working in groups, encourage them to make up a song and have some children write the lyrics, some create a dance, and others create the music. If children are working alone I would have them just focus on writing a poem and encourage them to sing the poem if they wish. Be sure to give the children ample time to complete this task. Use Praise Him, Praise Him as an example.
Once most children have completed their praise songs/poems, invite the children to share their praises. Remind them that these are praises to God and He will be pleased with them no matter well they can write and sing.
Mountains and Rivers Tag: This game is basically like freeze tag with a few new twists. Pick one or two children to be it, depending on your class size. Whoever is ‘it’ must chase the other children and lightly tag them on the shoulder. When a child has been tagged they must freeze and put their arms above their head, making a triangle. They are now a ‘mountain.’ The mountains may not move until they are set free by another untagged player. A player can set a mountain free by becoming a river and swimming in a circle around the mountain. The game is over when everyone is frozen as a mountain.
Memorize the Bible Verse: Play ‘Erase a Word’ to help children memorize the Bible verse. This is played by writing the verse on the dry erase/chalk board. Have the children repeat the verse three times while the teacher points to the each word. Then, erase one word from the verse and say it again. Keep repeating the verse and erasing words until everything is erased. Then challenged the children to say the verse from memory and see how many of them can do it!
Reviewing the Lesson: Use this game as a way to review the learning concepts. Divide the children into 2 teams. Each team will elect a spokesperson. Everyone else will work together to answer the question, but the spokesperson will speak for the group. The teacher will ask team 1 a question. If they answer the question correctly, their team will get 2 points. If they answer the question incorrectly, Team 2 may attempt to answer the question for 1 point. Then continue the game with Team 2’s question. Whichever team gains the most points wins. Questions are listed below and possible answers are in italics.
Review Game Questions:
- Which chapter of Psalm are we studying today? We are studying Psalm 98.
- Why do we sing praise songs? We use praise songs as a way to thank God for the good in our lives.
- What are some of the ways that we can praise God? We can praise God by singing to Him.
- Can other elements in nature praise God? Yes. Nature is constantly crying out and praising God.
- What does Salvation mean? Salvation means that Jesus died on the cross for us when we were sinners so that we could be saved even though we don’t deserve salvation.
- Who did God give salvation to? The Whole world.
- Who is commanded to shout for joy to the Lord? The whole Earth is commanded to praise God.
- Name two of the instruments listed in verses 5 and 6. The harp, trumpet and ram’s horn.
- How does God judge the world? He judges the world in righteousness and with equality.
- What can we learn from nature? We can learn to be continuously praising God, because nature is also continuously praising God.
- Recite today’s Memory Verse. “Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music.” -Psalm 98:4
Closing the Lesson: Have the students sit in a circle and each tell about one thing that they are thankful for in their lives. Once every child has had a chance to share, lead them in a prayer of thanksgiving to God.
Thank you. Very helpful
Preschool lessons are God filled and very helpful teaching 5-7 yr olds.
Thankful, Lynn