Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

Passage:

Familiarize yourself with the following passage: 

Daniel 2:1-48
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had a troubling dream. He called all his wise men to him and asked them to explain his dream, but so that he knew that they were telling him the truth about the explanation, he also required that they tell him what he saw in his dream first. If the wise men could not do this, he would kill all of them. The wise men said this was impossible to do, but the king insisted. When Daniel and his friends heard that the king was going to kill all the wise men, he came before the king and asked for time so that he may tell the king his dream and give its meaning. The king agreed, and Daniel and his friends prayed to God for mercy and revelation. God granted this request to Daniel. When Daniel returned to the king, he told him that his dream was a vision of a statue made from different metals. The golden head was Nebuchadnezzar, because he was the greatest. Every metal after this was less precious and more fragile, and each respectfully represented a lesser kingdom that would follow Nebuchadnezzar. Finally a rock was cut, but not by human hands. It was thrown at the statue and the statue was destroyed. Only the rock remained, and it represented a Kingdom that would come and will never be destroyed. When Nebuchadnezzar heard his dream and its explanation, he bowed down and declared that God is the only true God. Daniel and his friends were placed in high positions of honor.

Object Lesson:

Supplies Needed:
• Several picture of various scenes
o People talking
o Someone walking a dog
o Other simple scenes
o Some scenes that are not so easy to understand
Directions:
1. Show the children the pictures one at a time, beginning with the simple scenes. Ask the children to describe what they see in the pictures.
2. Everyone should be able to figure out the simple scenes. Ask the children if anyone can figure out what is going on in the more difficult scenes. If necessary, explain the pictures.
3. Explain to the children that today’s story will talk about a king who had a difficult dream and needed someone to explain it.

Memory Verse:

Daniel 2:47
The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery”

Jesus Connection:

We know that the different parts of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue represent different kingdoms that have already passed. The cut stone is often believed to represent Jesus. There are several scriptures in the New Testament that show us that Jesus is the Rock (1 Corinthians 10:3) and the corner stone (Acts 4:11, Ephesians 2:20) Revelation 11:15 shows us that these kingdoms will pass away with the return of Jesus and the establishment of his eternal kingdom.  When Jesus returns, everyone will be witness to the fulfillment of this prophetic dream. All the kingdoms of the earth will shatter with the coming of Jesus!

Songs:

Dare to be a Daniel

http://www.childrenssonglyrics.com/b/86-bible-songs/359-dare-to-be-a-daniel-lyrics.html
Dare to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone;
Dare to have a purpose firm,
Dare to make it known!

Standing by a purpose true,
Heading God’s command,
Honor them, the faithful few! All hail to Daniel’s Band!
Chorus
Many mighty men are lost
Daring not to stand,
Who for God had been a host
By joining Daniel’s Band!
Chorus
Many giants, great and tall,
Stalking through the land,
Headlong to the earth would fall
If met by Daniel’s Band
Chorus
Hold the Gospel banner high!
On to vict’ry grand;
Satan and his hosts defy,
And shout for Daniel’s Band!
Chourus

Games/Activities:

Knock it Down

Supplies Needed:
• 5 or 6 different types of items (sponges, wood blocks, mega blocks, Lincoln logs, rocks, etc…)
• A soft ball
Directions:
1. Ask the children to work together to build as strong of a tower as they can. (You may divide into two teams if you have enough building materials.
2. Give the children a few minutes to build.
3. Using your soft ball, knock down the towers.
4. Explain that no matter how strong our towers are, they can be knocked down, just like the strong statue in the story was destroyed.

Crafts:

Foil Statue

Supplies Needed:
• Aluminum foil (about 3 feet per child)
• Tape
• Paint (gold, bronze black and brown, or similar colors)
• Paint brushes
• Dish soap
Directions:
1. Give each child about 3 feet of aluminum foil.
2. Crumple the foil and shape it to form a person. If additional pieces of foil are used, join the pieces with tape. The person will look best, however, if made from only one piece of foil.
3. Mix the pain colors with a few drops of dish soap to help the paint stick to the foil. Paint the statues as follows:
a. Head – gold
b. Chest and Arms – leave silver (do not paint)
c. Legs - black
d. Feet - brown

Coloring Page: