Sodom and Gomorrah

Passage:

Familiarize yourself with this passage:

Genesis 19:1-30
After God left Abraham, he sent two angels to Sodom and Gomorrah. When the angels arrived, they found Lot sitting at the gate of the city. When Lot saw the angels, he rushed to greet them and urged them to stay at his house, even though they wanted to stay in the center of the city. After the angels entered Lot’s house, the men of the city started pounding on the door, demanding that Lot send the visitors out so they could do evil things with them. After striking the men of the city with blindness, the angels took Lot, his wife, and his two daughters and fled the city. As they were leaving the city, the angels commanding Lot’s family not to look back. God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah by raining fire and brimstone down on the cities. Lot’s wife could not help herself and looked back. As she looked back she turned into a pillar of salt. Lot and his daughters escaped to the safety of the caves in the hills. Thus, God saved Abraham’s nephew from destruction.

Object Lesson:

Supplies needed:
• 50 of any small object (beads, pennies, marbles, etc…)
Directions:
When you start your story, spread your 50 items out on the floor in front of the kids. (Remind them not to touch, just watch.) Explain to them that last week we saw how Abraham asked God if he would destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for 50 people, all the way down to 10 people. God was willing to save Sodom and Gomorrah if he found only 10 good people there. Separate 10 items from the pile of 50. When God’s angels showed up in Sodom and Gomorrah, they found Lot, Lot’s wife, and Lot’s two daughters. That is only 4 people! Separate 4 items from the pile. Explain how four is a lot less than 10, so God destroyed the cities.

Memory Verse:

John 10:28
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Jesus Connection:

All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Just like the men of Sodom and Gomorrah, we are all full of sin. Fortunately for us, Jesus has reach down into our lives and is leading us, by the hand, out of that lifestyle of sin. And we should not look back! He wants us to keep our eyes fixed on him, the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2).

Songs:

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

I Will Sing of the Mercies of the Lord
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever
I will sing, I will sing.
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever.
I will sing of the mercies of the Lord.

Games and Activities:

Erase the Verse (This game is best suited for confident readers)

Supplies needed:
• Dry erase board or chalk board
• Dry erase marker or chalk
• Paper towel or other eraser
Directions:
1. Write the memory verse on the board.
2. Reading it off the board, have the kids recite their memory verse together.
3. After you have read the verse through completely, erase on word. Repeat the verse, remembering to say the missing word.
4. Each time you complete the verse, erase another word and say the verse again. Do this until you have erased the entire verse and the kids have it memorized!

Follow the Leader

Directions:
1. Have the kids stand in one line. The person at the front of the line is the leader.
2. As the children walk around the room, following the leader, the leader can make motions/actions (clapping hands, hopping on one foot, waving hands in the air….). Whatever actions the leader makes, the other children in the line must also make.
3. After a short time, rotate the leader to give each child a chance to be the leader.

Crafts:

A Pillar of Salt

Supplies Needed:
• Toilet paper tubes
• Glue
• Cotton swabs
• Salt
• Googly eyes (the sticker ones will work best here!)
• Black, brown, red, and yellow pipe cleaners
• Push pins
Directions:
1. Poke holes in the top of toilet paper roll with push pins. (You may want to have this part pre done for younger kids.
2. Allow the kids to choose a color pipe cleaner. Push some pipe cleaners through the holes and twirl them to make curls for hair.
3. Add googly eyes.
4. Smear glue all over the toilet paper roll using a cotton swab.
5. Holing the toilet paper roll over a piece of paper, pour salt all over the glue.

Coloring Page:

Cain and Abel

Passage

Familiarize yourself with this passage:

Genesis 4:1-26

After they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve began to have children. Their oldest was a boy named Cain. After Cain they had another boy named Abel. Cain grew crops and Able raised livestock. One day Cain and Abel brought a sacrifice to the God. Cain brought some of his crops. Abel brought the very best of his animals. God liked Abel’s sacrifice, but he did not like Cain’s, so Cain was angry with God and with Abel. God asked Cain why he was mad. God told him if he did what was right that his sacrifice would be accepted also. God also warned him that if he did not do what was right, it would be easier for him to fall into sin. Cain did not listen to God’s words. Instead, Cain took his brother Abel out into a field and killed him. God punished Cain by sending him away from his family and his land to wander the earth. After this, God gave Adam and Eve another son named Seth.

Object Lesson (optional):

Supplies Needed:

• Cake pan

• Water

• Two strands of hair

Directions:

1. Put water in a cake pan so that the bottom is completely covered.

2. Ask one girl and one boy to give you a strand of their hair. Tell them that they are going to see the hairs fight each other and that they will have to watch the hairs very closely.

3. Place the two hairs in the water and begin telling the story. Stay crouched over the pan as you tell the story.

4. When you get to the part of the story where God told Cain that sin is crouching at the door and it desires to have him, then slap the water in the pan so that the children get a little wet. 

5. When you finish telling the story, tell the kids that we never expect sin to happen, just like they did not expect you to slap the water in the pan. It can  surprise us and can catch us off guard. This is why God warned Cain. We should also try to do what is right because sin can surprise us, too!

Memory Verse:

Genesis 4:7
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.

Jesus Connection:

Hebrews 11:6 tells us that without faith in Jesus it is impossible to please God. If we have faith in Jesus, then he will always be standing alongside us to help us overcome the temptation of sin (1 Corinthians 10:13) We must be aware of that “sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you”, and without the help of Jesus we are not be able to rule over it, as God has told us to do.

Songs

“He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”

He's got the whole world in His hands, He's got the whole world in His hands,
He's got the whole world in His hands, He's got the whole world in His hands!

He's got the itty, bitty, baby in His hands, He's got the itty, bitty, baby in His hands,
He's got the itty, bitty, baby in His hands, He’s got the whole world in His hands!

He's got momma and papa, He's got momma and papa,
He's got momma and papa, He’s got the whole world in His hands!

He's got you and me, sister/brother, in His hands, He's got you and me, sister/brother, in His hands,
He's got you and me, sister/brother, in His hands, He’s got the whole world in His hands!

Games/Activities

Tick-Tack-Toe Review Game:

Supplies Needed:

• Masking tape
• Two colors of Bean bags, 3-4 bags of each color (or two sets of x and o cards)
• Review questions
Directions:
1. Before class, use the masking tape to make a tick-tack-toe board on the floor. Also place a piece of tape on the floor where the children should stand when tossing the bean bags.
2. Divide the children into two teams. Give each team a set of bags.
3. Take turns asking each team questions from the lesson. If a team gets the question correct, a team member gets to throw the bean bag at the tick-tack-toe board.
4. The first team to get three in a row wins.
5. *To make this more challenging for older children, if there is already a bag in a space and their team gets into that same space as well, you can either say the first bag in the space stays, or the most recent bag in the space stays.

Review Questions:

• What were the names of Adam and Eve’s first two sons? (Cain and Abel)
• What did Cain do for a living? (He worked with plants; he was a farmer.)
• What did Able do for a living? (He worked with animals; he was a shepherd.)
• What did Cain and Abel do for God? (They both brought God a sacrifice.)
• What sacrifice did Cain bring to God? (Some of the produce from his plants.)
• What sacrifice did Abel bring to God? (The very best lamb from all his animals.)
• Whose sacrifice did God like more? (Abel’s.)
• Why did God like Abel’s sacrifice more than Cain’s? (Abel brought God the best, but Cain did not bring the best.)
• What warning did God give to Cain? (Genesis 4:7; If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.)
• What did Cain do to his brother Abel? (He killed him.)
• What punishment did God give Cain for killing Abel? (God sent him away from his family.)
• Who is always there to help us when we feel tempted to sin? (Jesus!)

Crafts/Projects

Fluffy Sheep

Supplies Needed:

• White and black construction paper
• Cotton balls
• Glue
• Scissors
• White crayon
• 2 googly eyes (optional)
• Red yarn (optional)

Directions:

1. Out of white paper, cut an oval shaped cloud. This will be the sheep’s body.
2. Out of black paper, draw with a white crayon: 4 small rectangles (the legs), a medium sized circle (the head), and two ‘bean’ shapes (the ears). Cut out these shapes.
3. Cover the sheep’s body with glue.
4. Stick the 4 legs onto the bottom of the body.
5. Cover the rest of the sheep with cotton balls.
6. Glue the sheep ears to the head, and then glue the head onto the body (on top of the cotton balls).
7. Glue the googly eyes on the head. Glue the red yarn on the sheep’s face to make a smiling mouth. (If you do not have the eyes or string, use a white crayon.)
8. Cut a small triangle out of black construction paper and glue it to the face as a nose.

Coloring Page:

Adam, Eve and Sin

Passage

Familiarize yourself with this passage:
Genesis 2:4-3:24
Out of all of God’s creation, the creation of man was the most special.  When God created man in His image, He said it was “very good” (1:31). There was only one thing that was not good to God, and that was that man was all alone. There was no suitable helper for him out of all the other things that God created. So, God made a woman out of a rib from the man. He named the man and woman, Adam and Eve, and told them to live in the Garden of Eden. There was word of caution to them. God told them not to eat of the tree of knowledge in the middle of the garden, but everything else was good for them.
Some time later, Satan came to Adam and Eve in the form of a snake and tricked Eve into eating from the tree in the middle of the garden. When Eve ate it, so did Adam.  As a result, sin entered the world. God had to punish their sin. For man, his work would be hard and eventually his body would die. For woman, having babies would be much harder. For Satan (the snake), there would soon come a Man that would crush him. After God announced their punishments, he threw them out of the Garden of Eden.

Object Lesson (optional):
The Bowl of Temptation
Supplies needed:
• One bowl
• Cut up fruit
• Candy
Directions:
1. Have the children sit in a circle and prepare for story time. Before you begin the story, set a bowl of cut fruit in the middle of the circle. Tell the children that they are not supposed to eat the fruit, that there are consequences. Do not say anything else about the bowl of fruit. As you tell the story, the children may start to reach for the fruit. Let them take it and eat it. At the end of your story, take out the candy and give a piece of candy to those who did not eat the fruit from the bowl. (You can do two different kinds of candy, instead of fruit, one ok kind and one really good kind.)
2. Explain to the children that Adam and Eve were also tempted. The fruit that as in the middle of the garden looked like good food to eat. When they ate it, it tasted good, too! But there were consequences for eating that fruit, just like there were consequences for taking the fruit from the bowl. God wanted what was best for Adam and Eve. He had something better planned for them; to live a life forever with God in the Garden of Eden. You also had something better planned for the kids; yummy candy!

Memory Verse:
Genesis 3:15
And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. (NLT)

Jesus Connection:
Genesis 3:15 talks about the offspring of the woman.  That offspring is Jesus! One day, Jesus would come to take care of the sin problem that Adam and Eve started in the garden. When that time would come, Satan would cause Jesus a blow by killing him in the flesh, but Jesus would ultimately crush Satan by rising from the dead and cleansing us from all our sins. (1 Peter 2:24)

Songs

“My God Is So Great!”
My God is so great, so strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my God cannot do.
My God is so great, so strong and so might
There’s nothing my God cannot do.
The mountains are his
The valleys are his
The stars are his handy work too.
My God is so great, so strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my God cannot do
For you!

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my God cannot do
My God is so big, so strong and so might
There’s nothing my God cannot do
He made the tress
He made the seas
He made the elephants too
My God is so big, so strong and so mighty
There’s nothing my God cannot do
For you!

Games/Activities

Picture Board review from creation story
Supplies needed:
• Pictures that correspond with each day of creation
• Tape or sticky tack
• A board or blank wall
Directions:
*This activity is designed as a review from the Creation story. If you are doing these lessons in Biblical order, then this is a good reinforcer activity from your previous lesson.
1. Pass out the pictures to the children.
2. Ask the kids what was made on the first day of creation. When they respond, have the children with those pictures place them on the board. Continue this through the remaining days of creation, until you have completed the creation collage.

Simon Says 
Supplies needed:
• Nothing!
Directions:
*Before beginning this game, talk to the children about the importance of obeying. When our parents ask us to do something, they expect us to obey. If we do not obey, there are consequences. Ask the kids what are some things that their parents ask them to do. (Make their bed. Set the table. Take out the trash….) God also asks us to obey him. When we do not obey it is called sin. When we sin, there are consequences. Ask the kids what are some things that God asks us to do. (Love our neighbor. Obey mom and dad. Do not lie…..) This game will remind the children that not obeying has consequences.
1. Have all the children stand facing you. You are “Simon”.
2. Call out instructions like this, “Simon says touch your nose.” The children should respond by touching their nose.
3. If you call out an instruction without saying “Simon says” first, then the children should ignore the instruction.
4. If you call out an instruction and start by saying “Simon says” and the children do not obey, they are out. If they follow an instruction that does not have “Simon says” on it they are also out.
5. The person who wins the game can be the next Simon.

Create Clothes for Adam and Eve
Supplies needed:
• Two dolls or stuffed animals (One to be Adam and one to be Eve)
• Branches, leaves, grasses OR different colored paper
• Tape
• Scissors
Directions:
*This entire activity can be done outside, particularly if you are using the branches and leaves (in which case the kids can find the supplies themselves!)
1. Divide the class into two teams. Give Adam to one team and Eve to the other.
2. Tell the kids that they will have 10 mins to create clothes for their doll the best they can.
3. Whichever team has their doll best dressed at the end of the time wins.

Crafts/Projects

Apple Snake Craft
Supplies Needed:
• Popsicle sticks
• Red tissue paper
• Black pipe cleaners
• Small googly eyes
• Watered down glue
• Paint brushes
• Green leafs made from construction paper
Directions:
*Discuss with the children how the apple is beautiful but God sees the whole picture (the hidden snake) and knows what is best for us.
1. Wad up a piece of red tissue paper around a popsicle stick. Make sure that the top of the stick is still showing. (If you do not have tissue paper, use construction paper, but have them crumple and uncrumple several times to get the paper to soften a bit.
2. Add googly eyes to one end of the pipe cleaner. Mostly hide the pipe cleaner in the apple.
3. With watered down glue, paint the tissue paper to hold together around the stick and pipe cleaner.
4. Add a green leaf to the top of the stick that is coming out of the apple.
http://www.abcjesuslovesme.com/bible-craft-and-activities/901-adam-and-eve-disobey

Paper Chain Snake
Supplies Needed:
• Construction paper (2 or three colors)
• Small scraps of red construction paper
• Scissors
• Tape or glue
• Googly eyes (optional)
• Black marker
Directions:
1. Cut about 16 strips of construction paper 2 inches wide and 10 inches long.
2. Decide what type of pattern you want to make (ex: green, green, yellow, green, green yellow…)
3. Make your first strip of paper into a ring and tape or glue it together.
4. Slide your next strip of paper through the ring and tape or glue it into a ring.
5. Repeat the process until you have a long chain of paper rings.
6. For the tongue, cut a tongue shape from red paper. Fold a small tab at the end and glue it onto the head (the front of the paper ring)
7. For the eyes:
a. Glue on googly eyes
b. Cut red eyes out of paper and draw a slit in the middle of each with a black marker.

Coloring Page:
This coloring page can be used as is, or you can insert the memory verse on the bottom of the page.