Psalm 105

Hi all! This psalm is a song that remembers all the great things God had done for His people. It’s a history of a lot of the things the Israelites had been through. As you read through this song, see which Bible stories YOU remember about God and His people!

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
    make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
    tell of all his wonderful acts.
Glory in his holy name;
    let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
Look to the Lord and his strength;
    seek his face always.

Remember the wonders he has done,
    his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,
    his chosen ones, the children of Jacob.

He is the Lord our God;
    his judgments are in all the earth.

He remembers his covenant forever,
    the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
the covenant he made with Abraham,
    the oath he swore to Isaac.

abe
10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,
    to Israel as an everlasting covenant:
11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan
    as the portion you will inherit.”

12 When they were but few in number,
    few indeed, and strangers in it,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
    from one kingdom to another.
14 He allowed no one to oppress them;
    for their sake he rebuked kings:
15 “Do not touch my anointed ones;
    do my prophets no harm.”

16 He called down famine on the land
    and destroyed all their supplies of food;
17 and he sent a man before them—
    Joseph, sold as a slave.

jo
18 They bruised his feet with shackles,
    his neck was put in irons,
19 till what he foretold came to pass,
    till the word of the Lord proved him true.
20 The king sent and released him,
    the ruler of peoples set him free.
21 He made him master of his household,
    ruler over all he possessed,
22 to instruct his princes as he pleased
    and teach his elders wisdom.

jo2

23 Then Israel entered Egypt;
    Jacob resided as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord made his people very fruitful;
    he made them too numerous for their foes,
25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people,
    to conspire against his servants.
26 He sent Moses his servant,
    and Aaron, whom he had chosen.

mo
27 They performed his signs among them,
    his wonders in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness and made the land dark—
    for had they not rebelled against his words?
29 He turned their waters into blood,
    causing their fish to die.
30 Their land teemed with frogs,
    which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers.
31 He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
    and gnats throughout their country.
32 He turned their rain into hail,
    with lightning throughout their land;
33 he struck down their vines and fig trees
    and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came,
    grasshoppers without number;
35 they ate up every green thing in their land,
    ate up the produce of their soil.
36 Then he struck down all the firstborn in their land,
    the firstfruits of all their manhood.
37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,
    and from among their tribes no one faltered.

10-plagues-clipart-1
38 Egypt was glad when they left,
    because dread of Israel had fallen on them.

39 He spread out a cloud as a covering,
    and a fire to give light at night.

cloudfire
40 They asked, and he brought them quail;
    he fed them well with the bread of heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
    it flowed like a river in the desert.

waterrock

42 For he remembered his holy promise
    given to his servant Abraham.
43 He brought out his people with rejoicing,
    his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
44 he gave them the lands of the nations,
    and they fell heir to what others had toiled for—
45 that they might keep his precepts
    and observe his laws.

Praise the Lord.

jericho2

David was remembering all the great things God had done for His people. If YOUR family wrote a song about what God had done, what kind of song would it be? Would you remember when each child was born? When you moved? When someone was sick and God made them better? What kinds of things do YOU remember God doing?

Thanks for joining us again! Love to you all!

Abraham’s Children

Hello again! As we wrap up the book of Genesis, I decided to add this related (but not chronological) lesson. We did do the story of Ephraim and Manasseh yesterday but didn’t change it from LAST YEAR’S LESSON.

abrahamfaith

Today’s lesson is based on what I heard at church today and I thought it summed up Genesis so well it needed to be added here. This is from Romans 4. See also HERE.

So this month we read about God creating the heavens and the earth. We read about Adam, the first man, and Noah and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. We read about how much God loved His creation….but the people did not always love God. A lot of people disobeyed and didn’t trust God.

But not everyone felt that way. Abraham DID trust God and God made a special promise to Abraham…that he would be the father of many many people. As many as the stars in the sky, as many as the sand on the beach. That’s a lot of people! And Abraham BELIEVED God. He had faith. And not only did he BELIEVE God, he OBEYED God too. When God told Abraham to move, he moved. When He told him to give back his son Isaac, he did. Abraham showed that he had faith in God. God loved Abraham and made a special promise to him…not because he was a great person, or because he always did the right thing…but because he TRUSTED God and when God told him to do something…he did it. He had faith.  (Rom 4:9-13)

Abraham did have children, and those children had children and we know Jacob had a LOT of children and those guys had a LOT LOT LOT of children…and all those people would become Israel. The people of Israel thought THEY were God’s special people because they came from Abraham. BUT…in the book of Romans, God tells us that ANYONE who BELIEVES and OBEYS God is a son of Abraham, a part of Abraham’s family. (Rom 4:16-17, 24-25)

If YOU love AND obey God, then YOU are one of Abraham’s children too. Abraham’s family did get pretty big…but that also includes all the people who choose God and love and obey Him.

When we love and obey God, we get adopted into God’s family. He adds us into the family. We don’t have to be born in Israel to be one of Abraham’s children…to be one of God’s children. We just need to trust God, love Him and obey Him. And some of the people IN Israel choose not to love and obey God…the Bible says they are NOT Abraham’s children. They are NOT God’s children. The real children of Abraham and the real children of God are those that have faith in Him. (Galatians 3:7)

So when we read the Bible, we aren’t just reading about THOSE people a long time ago…it’s about God’s story. His plan for ALL of us. God would send His son Jesus through Abraham’s family…but anyone and everyone who believes in God becomes His child and becomes part of Abraham’s family too. One of the stars in the sky.

We will start the next part of God’s story tomorrow, in the book of Exodus. And as we read through Exodus, let’s remember that WE are also God’s children…like the Israelites…their story is our story.

Thanks for joining us. Love to you all!

Isaac and Rebekah

Welcome! This lesson is from Genesis 24.

Isaac-Marries-Rebekah
Image from Wesleyan Kids

 

So our friend Abraham was getting really old and he was faithful to God and followed Him. God had given Abraham lots of money and people working for him. He was a pretty famous guy and God blessed him in every way.

Abraham knew it was time for Isaac to get married. Back then, people didn’t always go on lots of dates and date a lot of people before getting married. Sometimes they would pick someone and CHOOSE to love that person forever. (As my daughter said, you could line the boys up and do eeny-meeny-miney-mo to pick! Haha)

When you get married it’s forever…and sometimes you feel lovey and sometimes you feel sad or angry…but you always work together to take care of each other and show love.

Abraham called his servant and said “I want you to go back to where we came from…to our family…to the people who love God…and find a wife for Isaac. The servant was nervous! How would he know who to pick?!

When he got to the right place he prayed and asked God for some help. He went to a well (a place to get water…because you couldn’t just get water in your house like you can now) and said, “God, please send a woman out here and when I ask for a drink of water, the girl who says ‘Of course! And here’s some water for your camels too!’ Let that be the girl you have picked for Isaac.”

Before he had even finished talking to God, a girl named Rebekah came out. He asked her for some water and she said “Of course! And here’s some water for your camels too!”

The servant knew that was the right girl. He told her and her family all about Abraham and Isaac and how God had led him to her and then he asked if she would come to marry Isaac. She said she would!

So the servant brought her back and Isaac was in the field. He saw her and said “WHO is THAT?!” *wink wink*

And she saw him and said “WHO is THAT?!” *wink wink*

They got married and next time we will learn about their kids.

 

Did you notice in that story before the servant had even finished praying God was answering his prayer? God knows what we need before we even ask Him! And God even knows if you’ll get married someday and who that will be. (My older boy and girl insisted they are marrying each other haha).You can already pray to God for the person you will marry that they will love Him and do a good job taking care of you. And you can pray that you will do a good job taking care of them too! Mostly, you can pray and thank God that He had good plans for your life whether you get married or not. You can trust God’s plan and be sure when you talk to Him that He is listening.

 

Thanks for joining us, love to you all!

God provides another way

Hi all. Today’s lesson is from Genesis 21 and 22. Last year’s lessons can be found HERE and HERE.

Abraham and Sarah were very old but God had promised them many many children! And Sarah did have a baby boy, and she named him Isaac which means “he laughs.” Sarah had laughed when the angels told her she would have a baby and now she knew everyone else would laugh too when they heard someone SO old had had a baby!

Sarah and Abraham LOVED Isaac. He was their very favorite thing in the whole world …they loved nothing more…except for God. God said that Abraham would have as many children and grandchildren and great children as all the stars in the sky…and they would come from Isaac.

One day God asked Abraham to give Isaac back to Him. Isaac would have to die and live in heaven with God, away from Abraham. How do you think that made Abraham feel?

Sad? Scared? Confused?

Do you think Abraham obeyed?

He did. He trusted God. Even though it sounded like a CRAZY thing to do and even though Abraham loved Isaac so so so so much…he trusted God’s plan.

So Abraham took Isaac up a mountain and they were going to give Isaac to God as a sacrifice. A sacrifice is like a present of your best thing. Usually back when Abraham lived, people would kill and give God their best sheep. It was hard for them to give up their best sheep. That sheep would give them lots of money to buy the things they needed…but the people had to trust God most and give up their best to let GOD take care of them.

So instead of a sheep, Abraham was asked to give up HIS best….Isaac.

As they were walking Isaac said, “Dad…where is the sheep for the sacrifice?”

Abraham answered, “God will provide.”

When it came time to give Isaac back to God…God said, “Stop. You don’t have to give Isaac back to Me. I will provide another way.” And then they saw a ram (a boy sheep) and they sacrificed that to God.

God was very happy that Abraham was going to obey Him no matter what…even if it mean giving up his only son. God provided another way.

And do you know that WE are supposed to die forever for our bad choices and sin…but God has provided another way for us? God provided His own son, Jesus. Jesus is sometimes called “the Lamb of God” because HE became the sacrifice for us. (When He died on the cross and took our sin and punishment instead of us having to have the consequence of forever death.)

God has provided another way for us but He had not yet provided a way for Abraham and Isaac but Abraham still trusted Him. We can be sure that a God who loves us enough to send His own son to die in our place, is a God worth trusting and loving.

God’s plan is always best…even if it seems crazy at the time…we can ALWAYS trust Him and know that He loves us no matter what.

 

For our craft today we took paper plates (you could use plain paper) and we drew Abraham and Isaac. Then we glued on toothpicks to be the sacrificial altar (the place the sacrifice was made) and then we glued on a white pom pom to be the sheep.

Our text reads: God provides another way! Genesis 22

THIS is an old-school song by Don Moen called “God will make a way.”

THIS video is a recap from LC LifeKids.

Thanks again for joining us. Love to you all!

Sodom and Gomorrah

Hey all. Welcome back! Today’s story is from Genesis 18:16-33 and 19:1-29. Our lesson from last year can be found HERE.

sodomgomorrah

So our friend Abraham was getting ready to move to the next place God told him to go.

God said,  “Abraham will become a great and powerful nation, and everyone else on earth will be blessed through him. I have chosen him, so that he will lead his children and his household to follow Me by doing what is right.”

God then told Abraham about two cities nearby. Sodom and Gomorrah. God told Abraham the cities were very bad and the people did terrible things to sin against God (disobey Him.)

Abraham knew his nephew Lot lived in Sodom and so he asked God: “Will you get rid of the good people just because some of them are wicked? What if there are fifty righteous (right with God) people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not save the place for the sake of the fifty good people in it?

The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will save the whole place for their sake.”

Then Abraham spoke up again: “What if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?”

“If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.”

Once again Abraham spoke to Him, “What if only forty are found there?”

He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.”

Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?”

He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”

Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?”

He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”

Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.”

When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.

****Abraham knew God would do what He wanted…and he knew it was a bold thing to ask God to save the city. We know we can talk to God anytime and ask Him anything…even if it seems crazy because we know NOTHING is too hard for God. But like Abraham, we must also remember God is in charge. Abraham was talking to God on behalf of the people of Sodom–he was interceding…that means to come between and negotiate…or to come between and bring peace between two people. Abraham was trying to help save the people. Can you think of anyone else in the Bible who intercedes? Someone who talks to God for US?

Jesus! Jesus talks to God for us and we can also talk to God for other people. When we pray for our friends who are sick or sad…or when we pray that they come to know Jesus that is interceding…we are coming to God FOR them, to ask God to help them, just like Abraham did for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah.****

Now let’s get back to the story….

Two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot (Abraham’s nephew) was sitting in the gateway of the city. When he saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the ground. “My lords,” he said, “please come to my house. You can wash your feet and spend the night and then go on your way early in the morning.”

“No,” they answered, “we will spend the night in the middle of the city.”

But he insisted so strongly that they did go with him to his house. He made a meal for them and they ate. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom—both young and old—surrounded the house. They tried to do very bad and mean things to Lot and his family. Lot even made a bad choice and said “Don’t hurt me or my visitors! Here take my daughters instead!” Isn’t that a terrible thing to say??

But the angels saved Lot AND his daughters. God was merciful (nice even when they didn’t deserve it) to Lot and his family. He saved them because of his promise and love for  Abraham…not because they deserved to be saved. Then the angels said “Do you have anyone else here in the city who belongs to you? Any family? Get them out of here, because we are going to destroy this place. The people here are so bad that God has sent us to destroy it.”

So Lot went out and told his family, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the Lord is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking and they didn’t go.

When the sun was about to come up, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”

When he hesitated, the angels took his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! DON’T look back, and DON’T stop anywhere on the way! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”

Then the Lord rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah. (THIS is a video of what burning sulfur in a volcano looks like). The whole city, all the people animals and plants were destroyed. But Lot’s wife didn’t obey the angels and she looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. God had told them not to look back. He wanted them to obey Him. When it says she became a pillar of salt that could mean she was covered in the ashes from the sulfur and died, or that the burning sulfur overtook her…she didn’t obey and move fast enough. When God gives us clear directions, we should always obey Him, and keep our focus on Him…not on what we are leaving behind. God’s way is ALWAYS the best way.

Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down at Sodom and Gomorrah, and he saw the smoke from the land, like smoke from a furnace. When God destroyed the cities, he remembered Abraham and kept him safe, and he saved Lot and his family too.

 

In this lesson we learn the importance of obeying God and putting Him first..not thinking about other things that might seem better (like Lot’s wife who was so sad about leaving she disobeyed God). We can always remember God’s way is the BEST way. We also learned about God’s favor toward Abraham and how Abraham used that favor to help others. He KNEW God and talked to Him to try to help the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. When we love God and follow Him the Bible says we become God’s children and can come to Him anytime. (Hebrews 4:16) We should always remember to come to God to intercede for others–we can pray to God for the things we need, but like Abraham, we can pray for other people too. Jesus does that for us. (Hebrews 7:25) In everything we do, we try to be more like Jesus and when we pray for other people we are bringing them before God, just like Jesus does for us.

God’s way is the best way by Veggie Tales.

(Interestingly enough, I found a slew you tube videos about prayer for kids…but not anything about praying for OTHERS. So…if anyone finds anything…please feel free to share in the comments. I may need to make up my own song for that one!)

Thanks for joining us today. Love to you all.

God’s Promise to Abram

Hi all! Today’s lesson is from Genesis 15 and 18. Last year’s lessons can be found HERE and HERE. (This is a much simpler version of our two stories from last year…so this may be better for smaller toddlers/preschoolers whereas last year could be better for slightly older preschoolers/kids.)

So Abram and Sarai were very very old and wanted to have children…but they thought they were too old. One day God told Abram he WOULD have many many children and grandchildren…as many as the stars in the sky!

Have you ever looked out at night time and tried to count all the stars? It’s a LOT!

Abram believed God and God gave him a new name: Abraham: which means “father to many.” He also gave Sarai a new name: Sarah. Sarai means quarrelsome…like fighting a lot. Sarah means princess.

Sarah laughed when she found out God’s plan. She couldn’t believe that SHE could have a baby being so old?! But NOTHING is too hard for God. You can be sure God DID keep His promise to Abraham and Sarah.

We can always trust God. He can do ANYTHING. Nothing is too hard for God.

For our craft today we cut sponges in star shapes. Then we dipped them in glue and stamped black pieces of paper with the glue and then added glitter to represent the stars in the sky.

Our text reads: Nothing is too hard for God! Genesis 18

IMG_6723

IMG_6730

 

Thanks for joining us! Love to you all!

Faith

Hello again! Our lesson today is from Hebrews 11 and it’s about Faith.

(Our lesson and craft from last year can be found HERE).

In Hebrews 11 it says that “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we can not see.”

We hope that God will forgive our sins and give us forever life with Him. We can not see God or Jesus today. But, when we have FAITH, we KNOW God forgives us (because of Jesus) and we believe in Him even though we can not see God.

Sometimes it can seem scary or strange to believe something you can’t see, but in Hebrews, God reminds us of a lot of people who had faith and that God DID just what He said He would. We can trust and believe God.

He reminds us of Noah who built the big boat, called an ark, when God told him to and how he and his whole family were safe because they obeyed God.

He reminds us about Abraham, who left his home and followed God and believed God when God said he would have many many children even though he was already super old. (And he did have many many MANY children!)

There was Moses, who led God’s people away from the angry Pharaoh. And He prayed to God and God gave the people food.

And Joshua who led God’s people around the city of Jericho and they blew their trumpets and the walls fell down–those seem like silly instructions, but Joshua believed in God and obeyed and God provided for them and the walls DID fall down.

There are so so many more! Can you think of someone in the Bible who had faith in God? (Jonah, Isaac, Jacob, Ruth, Esther, David, Daniel). You can read Hebrews 11 to see all the others listed too.

When we believe in God, even though we can’t see Him that’s called……Faith!

We can be SURE that God’s promises are true and that we can always always trust in Him, even if we can’t see Him with our eyes.

Is there a time in YOUR life when you had to trust God? Is there a time when believing in God was hard? (Ask your parents to answer too). What is your favorite promise of God’s to remember?

 

For our craft today, I had the kids pick their favorite story of faith and draw a picture of it. Then we added googly eyes (sine faith is about seeing God with ur hearts, not our eyes) to the main character and today’s verse.

IMG_5391

Joshua blowing his horn and Jericho falling down.

IMG_5393

Moses and his staff facing the angry Pharaoh.

 

Thanks again for joining us. Love to you all!

All have sinned…

Hi all, today’s lesson is from the first 4 chapters of Romans.

Paul wrote a lot of letters. He wrote some while he was traveling and some while he was in jail. One of the letters he wrote was to the people of a big city called Rome. These people were called Romans and the book of the Bible named after his letter to them is also called Romans.

Paul starts this letter by talking to the Jewish people. If you remember a long long time ago a man named Abraham believed God and obeyed Him. And even though Abraham and his wife didn’t have any kids, they believed God when He said Abraham would be the father of many many countries and many people. God chose Abraham and Abraham loved God right back. God did give Abraham a son and his family became God’s people. Abraham had a son named Isaac and Isaac had a son named Jacob and Jacob had 12 sons who became the leaders of the 12 tribes (big family groups) of Israel. (The people of one tribe, Judah became known as Jews.)

Paul wanted the people to know that God had chosen the people of Israel to give His laws to and He made a promise to always be with them. They would sacrifice (kill) special kinds of animals when they sinned and God would forgive them. BUT Jesus came and sacrificed HIMSELF and from then on, anyone who believes in Jesus would be right with God and forgiven for their sins (bad choices against God).

The Jewish people didn’t always like hearing that God was for EVERYONE. They thought they were special! God’s chosen people, remember?? But Paul said, ANYONE who believes and obeys God is like one of Abraham’s children. God didn’t choose Abraham and his family because of the great things they did, but because they believed. So anyone who believes like Abraham and obeys God will also be forgiven and be one of God’s people.

Paul said “all people have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” No one is perfect… We all sin (make bad choices) and that sin keeps us from God. Have you seen the movie Brave? Merida shoots her bow and arrows at the target. When we try to follow God we are like the arrow, but sometimes we miss the bullseye (the middle of the target). When we mess up and sin, we fall short and miss what God wants us to do. That also means we miss out on God. Our sin keeps us from God, BUT Jesus gave us something we don’t deserve. He died for us so when we believe in Him, when God sees us, He sees us as right on target. Righteous….right with Him. Paul said there’s nothing we can do to EARN God’s love or to EARN a place in heaven. God loved us enough to give His son in our place. And not just the Israelites, but ALL people because EVERYONE sins and needs the gift Jesus gave us when He died on the cross and took the consequences for our sin.

 

For our craft today we made targets out of paper plates and construction paper. We folded our red piece of paper in half and drew three rings on it like this.

image

We cut out each ring and glued the smallest and biggest onto our plate. Then we cut out and glued on an arrow and wrote the paraphrase of our verse:

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but are made right with God for free, as a gracious gift, because of Jesus’ sacrifice.” Romans 3:23-25image

 

Thanks for joining us, love to you all!

Advent-Day 6-Sacrificial Lamb

Welcome all.

This month we are learning about God, His son Jesus and Jesus’ earthly family tree.

Yesterday we learned that Abram followed when God told him to GO! Well Abram obeyed and after he and his wife were very very old, finally God gave them a baby boy. (Found in the Bible in Genesis 22, and our complete lesson can be found here). One day, God asked Abram (now called Abraham) to give his son back to God. It made Abraham very sad to have to give his boy back to God, but he obeyed. When it was time, an angel came and said, “No! God has provided another way! Look!” And there was a ram (a daddy sheep). People used to give sacrifices (big gifts) to God like sheep. This time God had asked for Abraham’s son, but after Abraham obeyed, God provided a ram instead. “You did not keep your only son from me, and for that you will be blessed.” God provided another way.

The Bible tells us Jesus is like that ram. He is OUR sacrificial lamb. God sent HIS only son Jesus to come to earth to die for our sins (our bad choices that disobey God). Jesus would die for us, like a sheep, and God would then forgive us for all the bad things we do, so we don’t have to apart from God forever for our sins. (John 3:16, John 1:29, Rev 5:12)

When God put the baby in Mary’s tummy, an angel told her that she would have a baby boy and his name would be Jesus (which means “God saves.”) The very name of Jesus tells us He came to save us, to come in our place, and be the sheep of sacrifice, just like God gave a sheep in place of Abraham’s son. (Luke 1)

Bible story: Abraham’s sacrifice

Attribute of God: Sacrificial lamb

Jesus’ birth story: Jesus is given His name

Craft: for side one of our ornament today, I sketched a sheep shape and the kids glued pom pons on and gave him a face.

Our text reads: God provided a ram, like Jesus is our sacrificial lamb. Gen 22:1-19, John 1:29

IMG_0214

Side two I outlined the name and let the kids color in Jesus’ name.

Our text reads: His name will be Jesus, Son of the Most High, the lamb who takes away the sins of the world. Luke 1, Rev 5:12

IMG_0215

We taped a string in the middle and glued the two sides together and then hung it on our “tree.”

IMG_0216

Thanks for joining us again. Love to you all!

Abraham Tested/God Provides

Hello again!

Today’s story is from Genesis 22.

So God had kept His promise and given Abraham and Sarah a son, named Isaac.

Isaac grew up…and one day God asked Abraham to give Isaac back to Him. Isaac would have to die and live with God in heaven.

This made Abraham very sad. But he loved God. He trusted and obeyed. He took Isaac up a mountain to make an offering and worship God and Isaac said, “Dad, where is the sheep for the offering?”

Abraham told him “God will provide.”

As Abraham was going to give Isaac as a sacrifice to God, God said “Stop! Don’t hurt Isaac. I know you really love and obey Me. And because you have loved Me, all of your descendants (children, grandchildren, their children and grandchildren) will ALL be blessed. And through your family line ALL people will be blessed.”

(Later God would send HIS son, Jesus (one of Abraham’s descendants to die for all of US!)

Abraham then saw a ram (a daddy sheep) and he sacrificed that to God as an offering. God provided. He provided a son to Abraham, He provided a ram, and He provided Jesus, His son, as a sacrifice for us.

The funny thing about this story is that God already knows everything. He knows what is in our hearts and He knew Abraham loved and trusted Him. BUT, Abraham’s obedience was a way for God to show Isaac and US that even if God asks us to do something scary, we can trust Him to take care of us. Even if things are scary or sad, we can know that God is in control and He has a great plan.

We found this little video from saddleback kids on YouTube:

Watch here

Thanks for joining us today! Love to you all!