Isaiah's Suffering Servant

Passage:

Familiarize yourself with the following passage:

Isaiah52:13-55:13
Of all the visions and messages that God gave Isaiah, this passage contains the most famous. It is in this passage that Isaiah describes the coming Messiah, here called the Suffering Servant. Isaiah foretells in great detail the kind of suffering that the Servant would have to go through and the kind of death that he would die. He describes the lowly and non glorious life that he would live, which was contrary to what many people believed the Messiah would be like. Isaiah goes on from this description to explain the nature of the redemptive work of the Servant that is available for anyone who will just believe in Him. It is a free gift that needs no money and has no cost. This is the greatest and most important message that Isaiah receives from God.

Object Lesson:

Supplies Needed:
• A picture of Jesus hanging on the cross (This picture can be more graphic if you are teaching older children.)
Directions:
1. Show the children the picture of Jesus on the cross before you begin story time. Ask the kids who this is. (They will of course answer Jesus.) Tell the kids that today it is easy for us to recognize this as Jesus, but before Jesus came to earth, people did not know what he was going to be like.
2. Explain to the children that Isaiah wrote down a very good description of what Jesus would be like when he came to earth. Instruct the children to look very closely at the picture as you read the passage to see if they can find some of the ways that Isaiah described Jesus.
3. Read Isaiah 52:13-53:12 out loud to the children. (If you have older children, you may have them take turns reading sections out loud.)
4. After the passage has been read, ask the children what they remembered from Isaiah’s description that they can see in the picture.

Memory Verse:

Isaiah 53:6
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Jesus Connection:

This passage is one of the most accurate descriptions of Jesus in all the Old Testament. It says that Jesus would not be popular (53:2), and he was not. It said that he would be rejected by men (53:3), and he was rejected, by his own home town! (Mark 6:4) Isaiah even described the kind of death that Jesus would face (53:5), death on a cross (John 19:16-18). Isaiah 53:12 also describes the type of redemptive work that Jesus would do, saving people from their sins. (Romans 6:23) Nowhere else in all of the Old Testament does God so clearly reveal to us His Son, Jesus!

Songs:

Fifty-three Verse Six
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMZ_dTD4xCQ
Fifty-three verse six
A verse we need to hear
Fifty three verse six
Isaiah makes it clear
We all like sheep have gone astray
We’ve turned, each one to his own way
And the Lord has laid on him
The iniquity of us all.

Games/Activities:

Carrying Our Burdens

Supplies Needed:
• A pile of books/magazines
Directions:
1. Gather all the kids at one end of the class room. Have everyone get down on their hands and knees. Place one book/magazine on the back of each child.
2. When you say go, have the kids crawl on their hands and knees to the other side of the room without dropping their burdens. If anyone drops their burden, they are out of the game.
3. Line up the remaining kids and add another book/magazine to their back, increasing their burdens. Continue in this manner until you have one kid left who has carried the heaviest load.
4. Explain to the children that Jesus carried the burden of all the sin in the whole world when he died on the cross.

Crafts:

Sheep Toilet Paper Tube

Supplies Needed:
• Toilet paper tubes
• Sheep head templates
• Scissors
• Glue
• Cotton balls
• Pipe cleaners
• Masking tape
Directions:
• Place one piece of tape over one end of the toilet paper tube. This will now be the back side of the sheep.
• Cover the tube with glue. Place cotton balls on the glue until the tube is covered. (You can pull the balls apart a little to make the sheep fluffier.)
• Cut out the sheep head template. Glue the head to the cotton balls on the open end of the tube.
• Cut 4 small segments of pipe cleaners. Turn the sheep over and glue each of the pipe cleaners into the cotton balls to make legs for the sheep. Allow the sheep time to dry.

Tender Shoots

Supplies Needed:
• Small plastic zip lock bags
• Paper towels
• Seeds
• Water
• Permanent makers
Directions:
1. Read Isaiah 53:2 to the children. Explain how Jesus is referred to in this verse as a tender shoot or plant coming up out of dry ground.  As your kids are completing the craft, talk to them about how Jesus cam as a root out of a spiritually dry people.
2. Have the kids write their names on a plastic zip lock bag.
3. Give everyone a paper towel to fold into quarters. Make the paper towel wet, being sure to squeeze out most of the excess water. Place the wet paper towel inside the plastic bag.
4. Have the kids place several seeds on the wet paper towel. Seal the bag, pressing out the air. Do not place in direct sunlight.
5. ***Make one sample bag the week before so the kids can see what  a tender shoot is as you are explaining this verse to them.***

Coloring Page:

Isaiah's Vision and Call

Passage:

Familiarize yourself with the following passage:

Isaiah 1-6
Isaiah was a prophet. A prophet is a person who speaks on behalf of God, confronting people with their sins and reminding them of God’s promises. This is what Isaiah did for the people of Israel. The book of Isaha is full of his messages from God. It is a long book, 66 chapters, and covers a period in Israel’s history that leads up to the exile of the northern kingdom. At the beginning of his book, Isaiah gives the reader an overview of the sin situation in Israel, and also recounts a vision of reconciliation. The most famous verses in this section of the book is Isaiah’s vision of God and his call to be a prophet. He said he saw God high and lifted up, seated on His throne. Then, in response to God’s greatness, when asked who will go warn Israel of the things to come, Isaiah said, “Here I am, send me!” (6:8) The remaining chapters of this book will cover God’s messages to a sinful Israel as well as an amazing preview of the Suffering Servant.

Object lesson:

Talk to the children about how they describe other people. If you just saw Santa, how would you describe him? (red nose, white beard, red suit, black shoes, big and tall….) We see Santa in pictures, but no one gets to see God like that, so how would you describe God? Allow the kids to all give their input. You may have to ask them why they would describe God that way. Descriptions are very important. In this story you will learn about a man who saw God, face to face, and wrote down his description, allowing us to know more about who God is.

Memory Verse:

Isaiah 6:1b
“I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple.”

Jesus Connection:

In a vision, Isaiah saw God in all His glory. Many years later, God would send His glory to earth in His son, Jesus. When God called Isaiah to be his prophet, he responded with eager willingness. Jesus has also left us with a similar call. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus calls us all to “go and make disciples of all nations”. And just as god was with Isaiah, so Jesus will be with us to the very end of the age.

Songs:

“Where He Leads Me”

I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
I can hear my Savior calling,
Take they cross and follow, follow Me.

Where He leads me I will follow,
Where me leads me I will follow,
Where he leads me I will follow,
I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.

Games/Activities:

Throw Away Your Sins

Supplies Needed:
·         Paper, one per child
·         Masking tape
Directions:
1.       Divide the room in two with masking tape marking the center line.
2.       Divide the kids in two groups and place on group on each side of the room.
3.       Give each child a piece of paper. Have the children crumple the paper into a ball. Tell the children that this paper ball represents sin. Isaiah was warning the people of Israel that they needed to get rid of their sin, to throw it as far away from them as they could. We also need to throw sin far away from us when it comes our way.
4.       The object of this game is for the kids to throw the paper balls over the line to the other team as fast as they can, returning any paper balls that were thrown by the other team. The team with the fewest paper balls on their side of the line at the end of the time will be the winner.
5.       Repeat this game as time allows, mixing up the children onto different team each time.

Crafts:

Megaphones

Supplies Needed:
·         White disposable paper cups
·         Scissors
·         Crayons or markers
·         Hole punch
·         Yarn
Directions:
1.       Have the children cut out the bottom of their paper cup.
2.       Using the hole punch, make two holes on opposite sides of the bottom of the cup.
3.       Cut a length of yarn for each child. Thread the yarn through the holes and tie the ends together to make a neck strap.
4.       Allow the kids to decorate their megaphones.
5.       The kids can use their megaphones to share God’s messages with the world!

Coloring Page:

Ecclesiastes

Passage:

Familiarize yourself with this passage:

The book of Ecclesiastes
This book was thought to be written by King Solomon. When Solomon became king, he asked God for wisdom, and he became the wisest man in the world.  He studied, taught, judged, and wrote.  All the nations come to Jerusalem to learn from him.  But with all of his practical insight on life, Solomon failed to heed his own advice, and he began a downward spiral.  Near the end of his life, Solomon looked back with an attitude of humility and repentance.  He summed up the world as he experienced it, hoping to spare his readers the bitterness of learning through personal experience that everything apart from God is empty, hollow, and meaningless.  Solomon was not trying to leave us without hope, though.  He was trying to tell us that we can have hope and joy in this life, and that it comes from God alone.

Object Lesson:

A Meaningless Easter Egg Hunt
Supplies needed:
·         A bunch of empty Easter eggs
Directions:
1.       Gather together a bunch of empty Easter eggs.
2.       Close them and hide them around the room.  Leave them empty!
3.       When the kids come into the class room, ask them to find all the eggs, but do not open them yet.
4.       When all the eggs have been found, have the kids open the eggs and reveal their empty contents.
5.       Discussion: Ask the kids how they feel about the empty eggs.  Explain to the kids that many things we do in life are pointless, just like hunting for empty Easter eggs.  It leaves us feeling sad, frustrated and disappointed.  Let them know, however, that they are about to learn what they Bible says about these meaningless things in life.

Memory Verse:

Ecclesiastes 3:1
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

Jesus Connection:

As Solomon concludes his book, he comes to the conclusion that our responsibility in life is to have a right relationship with God (12:13). This is the only thing in life that is not meaningless.  When we look to Jesus, we see that he came into this world as one of us, and experienced the world in all its meaninglessness. We can rejoice because we know that Jesus died, once for all, and did away with the meaninglessness brought on by the curse of sin. (Romans 6:10) We are all now free to live a life full of meaning in Jesus!

Songs:

“Turn, Turn, Turn” by The Byrds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKz8OOz_UQg
To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven

A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late

Game/Activities

Odd Ball Out

Supplies needed:
·         Nothing :)
Directions:
1.       Tell the kids you are thinking of a time (a season or a holiday).  Tell them what one you are thinking of.
2.       Then tell the kids three thing.  Two of them pertain to the time you told them about, and one does not.
3.       Ask the kids to identify what does not belong to that time, and what time it does belong to.
4.       Pass the lead onto the kids after they get the hang of the game.
Example:
·         Time: Christmas
o   Presents
o   Lights
o   Sand* (sand is for the summer!)

Craft:

Time for Everything Clock

Supplies needed:
·         Paper plates with small slits in the center of each
·         Brads (paper fasteners)
·         Clock arrows print outs
·         Colors
·         Scissors
Directions:
1.       Give each child a paper plate with a small slit in the center.
2.       Explain to the children that Solomon is teaching us that there is a time for everything. Read the beginning of Ecclesiastes 3 out loud for the kids.
3.       Ask the kids to draw “times” on their clocks.  This does not mean drawing the numbers, like on a normal clock.  Rather, have the kids draw pictures of different times in their life, or of the seasons.  For example, they can draw a school, the beach, a graduation hat, a wedding dress, or they can draw the four seasons.
4.       Give each of the kids a print out of the clock arrows.  Have them cut out their arrows
5.       Fasten the arrows to the paper plates using brads.
6.       Explain to the kids that this clock is special, and it reminds them that no matter what happens, there is a time for everything, and God has always been, is now and will always be present whatever time it is.

Coloring Page: