Passage:
Familiarize yourself with the following passage:
The Book of Ezekiel
Ezekiel was a prophet, a younger contemporary of Jeremiah. Ezekiel was not in Jerusalem, however. He was already with a group of exiles in Babylon, delivering God’s messages to the people in captivity. While Ezekiel warned people of the pending destruction of Jerusalem, he did so in unconventional ways. One time, God told Ezekiel to lay on his side, tied up, facing a little model city for almost 400 days, to symbolize the number of days that Babylon would lay siege to Jerusalem. Another time, God told Ezekiel that his wife would die, but he was not allowed to mourn for her. This was done to show the people that they would not be able to mourn for Jerusalem’s destruction in the normal fashion. Probably the most famous prophetic moment in this book is when God commanded Ezekiel to speak over a valley of dry bones. When Ezekiel told the bones to come to life, they pieced themselves back together, forming muscles and skin, and stood before Ezekiel, an entire army! As the book closes, Ezekiel also brings reason for hope, prophesying of a return from exile. Even though the people listened to what Ezekiel had to stay, they still did whatever they wanted.
Object Lesson:
Directions:
1. Tell the children that they will hear a bible story today, but first, you have something you want them to do.
2. Ask the children to do several strange things, such as standing on their head, walk in a straight line while covering one eye, or do the crab walk while balancing a book on their belly.
3. Explain to the children that adults sometimes ask children to do things that seem a little bit strange. Most of the time, the adult has a very good reason for asking us to do these things. God sometimes asks people to do things that may seem strange to us. We must remember that God always has a reason for what he is doing, even it if seems strange to us. Today’s bible story will talk about many strange things that God asked a man named Ezekiel to do.
Memory Verse:
Ezekiel 36:26
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Jesus Connection:
Just like the people of Jerusalem, we have sinned against a holy God. God cannot stand with this sin, and thus we must be exiled for it, eternal punishment (Romans 6:23a). God loves us and longs for restoration with us. He has promised us that if we believe in the restoring work of His Son, Jesus, that we can have eternal life (John 3:16-18)
Songs:
Dem Bones
Intro 1
Ezekiel connected dem dry bones,
Ezekiel connected dem dry bones,
Ezekiel in the Valley of Dry Bones,
Now hear the word of the Lord.
Verse 1
Toe bone connected to the foot bone
Foot bone connected to the heel bone
Heel bone connected to the ankle bone
Ankle bone connected to the shin bone
Shin bone connected to the knee bone
Knee bone connected to the back bone
Back bone connected to the shoulder bone
Shoulder bone connected to the neck bone
Neck bone connected to the head bone
Now hear the word of the Lord.
Chorus
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around.
Now hear the word of the Lord.
Intro 2
Ezekiel disconnected dem dry bones,
Ezekiel disconnected dem dry bones,
Ezekiel in the Valley of Dry Bones,
Now hear the word of the Lord.
Verse 2
Head bone (dis)connected from the neck bone
Neck bone connected from the shoulder bone
Shoulder bone connected from the back bone
Back bone connected from the knee bone
Knee bone connected from the shin bone
Shin bone connected from the ankle bone
Ankle bone connected from the heel bone
Heel bone connected from the foot bone
Foot bone connected from the toe bone
Now hear the word of the Lord.
Chorus
Dem bones, dem bones gonna rise again.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna rise again.
Dem bones, dem bones gonna rise again.
Now hear the word of the Lord.
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.
Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones.
Now hear the word of the Lord.
Games/Activities:
Memory Verse Reveiw
Supplies needed:
· Bone template
· Pen
· Bible verse
Directions:
1. Print out the bone template and write the bible verse on the bones, putting two or three words on each bone.
2. Mix up the bones in front of the children. Have them arrange the pieces in order until they have discovered the bible verse.
3. Other variations of this activity include:
a. Create two copies of the verse on the bones, split the children into two groups and have them race to complete the verse.
b. Create individual copies of the verse for each child, have them race to complete the verse, and they can take hope their verse game.
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Crafts:
Dry Bones Skeleton Puppet
Supplies Needed:
· Skeleton bones template
· Scissors
· Paper brads
· Colors (optional)
Directions:
1. If you would like, have the children color the skeleton bones template. This is optional.
2. Cut out all the bone pieces.
3. Push a paper brad through the circles at the joint of each bone piece.
4. Lay out the bone pieces so that they are in the correct body position.
5. One at a time, connect each bone to another using the paper brads.
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Straw Skeleton Puppet:
*This is a craft geared more toward older children; 3rd and 4th grades and higher!
Supplies needed:
· Pipe cleaners; 2 full lengths and one half length per child
· Beads; 5 small white or tan beads and 1 larger white or tan bead per child
· Straws, cut into 1 inch segments (10 pieces per child)
· Fine point markers or sharpies
· scissors
Directions.
1. Have the children sit at a table or on the floor with plenty of space around them. Give each child all the supplies they will need for this project. (10 straw pieces, 2 full length pipe cleaners, one half length pipe cleaner, 5 small beads and one large bead.) Put the scissors and markers in the middle for everyone to have access to. (Having the supplies presorted saves on time and ensures that you have enough pieces for each child.) Explain to the children that they must watch you as you assemble the craft, doing only what they see you doing, when they see you do it!
2. Bend the two long pipe cleaners in half. Taking the short pipe cleaner, twist it around the bend of one of the long pieces. This will make an upside down Y. The short piece will be the body and the long, bended piece will be the legs.
3. On each of the legs put a straw, a small bead, and another straw. Cut off some, but not all, of the excess pipe cleaner. Bend the leftover pipe cleaner into itself, causing the straws and beads to be secured.
4. Put two straw pieces on the short pipe cleaner. Twist the short pipe cleaner around the bend in the second long pipe cleaner, leaving enough extra on the top to put the large bead and a small bead.
5. Complete the arms in the same way you did the legs (straw, bead, straw).
6. Using a marker, draw a face on the large bead. Place the large bead on the pipe cleaner sticking out from the body. Place the last small bead on top and bead the extra pipe cleaner around the small bead to secure them in place.
Coloring Page:
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