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Naomi’s husband and two sons died while they were all living in the foreign country of Moab. She told her two daughters-in-law to go back to their own parents. Naomi wanted to return to her relatives in her original homeland of Judah. One daughter-in-law did what Naomi said, but the other (Ruth) travelled with Naomi to take care of her. Ruth worked hard in the fields to support Naomi.

Bible verses used in this episode:

Ruth 1:1-2:13

Outline:

1. Naomi returns to Bethlehem after living ten years in Moab. Her husband and sons have died, but she is accompanied by her daughter-in-law, Ruth. (Ruth 1:1-22)
2. Ruth works hard in the fields and earns the respect and protection of the owner. (Ruth 2:1-13)

Tips for teaching children:

• Many children come from non-traditional families, so use this opportunity to talk about how God understands and loves people no matter what their family situation is. Naomi and Ruth had suffered many losses and did not have support around them. Even so, they loved each other and helped each other.
• If possible, bring barley or a barley product to class for the children to experience. Malt is made from barley, so children could eat malt-flavoured candy.

Tips for teaching adults:

• I suggest using the outline above to divide up the reading. Alternatively, you can assign readers to read the following sections aloud:
  • Ruth 1:1-5
  • Ruth 1:6-18
  • Ruth 1:19-22
  • Ruth 2:1-7
  • Ruth 2:8-13
• Focus on Ruth’s character. Invite class members to call out the aspects of Ruth’s character that emerge from the story. Choose someone to write these on the whiteboard or chalkboard, as they are called out. Encourage the class members to focus on her actions, words and description.
• Follow up by writing on the white/chalkboard names of people in the class (or people they know) that have this character. For example, “loyalty” is one aspect of Ruth’s character. Ask the class, “Who do you know that is a loyal person or who demonstrates the character trait of loyalty.
• Pray and thank God for these people, who possess these godly character traits.
• Another thing we see from the story is how Boaz began caring for Naomi & Ruth, two people who were vulnerable. Commit as a class to encourage someone the class knows who is vulnerable, such as an older person in a care facility or a widow living alone. Some ideas might be:
  • Visit them regularly.
  • Pray with and for them.
  • Remember them with a gift on their birthday and holidays.
  • Collect money to pay for a bill.

Free teaching instructions are available from Mission Bible Class:

Bible Lesson: Ruth and Naomi

Scriptures quoted from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright ©1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Tommy Nelson. Used by permission.

Excerpts from Mission Bible Class used by permission.

Music: Upbeat Positive Culture (Acoustic Corporate Travel Promo Christian Rock), Individual License, Stock Media provided by HumansWin, pond5.com

For questions or comments email: mary@missionbibleclass.org

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Many Philistines gathered in a temple to celebrate and worship their God. They brought Samson out of prison, put him in front of everyone, and made fun of him. He asked a servant to lead him to a place between two pillars. By this time, Samson’s hair had grown long again. Samson used to be proud and thought he was strong by his own strength. Now he knew he had only ever had strength because God gave it to him. So, Samson asked God for strength to do one more thing. Samson pushed the pillars apart, and the whole temple collapsed, killing the Philistines and Samson.

Bible verses used in this episode:

Judges 16:21-31

Outline:

1. Over 3,000 Philistines gather in a temple to praise their god, Dagon, and force the blinded Samson to perform for them. (Judges 16:21-27)
2. Samson prays to God for strength to crash the temple down on the Philistines and himself. (Judges 16:28-31)

Tips for teaching children:

• To begin the class, let children take turns wearing a blindfold and finding their way through a simple obstacle course of chairs.
• Build a temple out of building blocks and knock it down.
• Guide the children in drawing pictures as you tell the story. Instructions for Draw and Tell here.

Tips for teaching adults:

• Bring one or two Jenga Blocks sets to the class. Divide the class into four groups and play one or two games of Jenga. How far did the winning team get before the tower fell? Applaud the winner or winning team.
• Take the Jenga Blocks and construct a ‘temple.’ Choose someone to play Samson. Read the story choosing three readers: a narrator, the crowd, and a Samson. And when verse 30 is being read, have the person playing Samson to collapse the temple. This will make the reading more dramatic and memorable.
• Samson prayed, “Lord remember me” and make me strong one more time.” Pass around some note cards and ask the class to write down what they hope their final act in life will say about their faith. Collect these and read them to the class.

Full teaching instructions free from Mission Bible Class:

Bible Lesson: The Death of Samson

Scriptures quoted from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright ©1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Tommy Nelson. Used by permission.

Excerpts from Mission Bible Class used by permission.

Music: Upbeat Positive Culture (Acoustic Corporate Travel Promo Christian Rock), Individual License, Stock Media provided by HumansWin, pond5.com

For questions or comments email: mary@missionbibleclass.org

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Although the Lord chose Samson, Samson did not always choose God! He fell in love with a Philistine woman named Delilah, who did not believe in God. The Philistine rulers paid Delilah to find the secret of Samson’s strength. Delilah begged Samson to tell her his secret and finally revealed that his strength was in his long hair. Delilah told the Philistine leaders, and they cut Samson’s hair, made him blind, and put him in prison to do hard work.

Bible verses used in this episode:

Judges 16:4-22

Outline:

1. Samson succumbs to Delilah’s begging and reveals the source of his strength. (Judges 16:4-17)
2. Delilah turns Samson over to the Philistines for silver and they capture him. (Judges 16:18-22)

Tips for teaching children:

• Use a balloon to illustrate the concept of peer pressure. Blow up the balloon, but do not tie it. Explain that this balloon is like us. We might be able to say no the first time someone pressures us, but when they pressure us repeatedly, we can’t take the pressure and give in. Example: One of your friends says a swear word (blow up the balloon a little more), then another friend swears when they lose at sport (blow it up some more), then your friends begin to swear at the park (blow it up some more). When the balloon finally bursts, explain that we can take the pressure for a while, but if we keep hanging around friends who swear, then we finally can’t stand the pressure, and we swear.
• Research online to find images of individuals with exceptionally long hair. Show them to the children.
• Invite a volunteer to have their hair cut during class.
• Roll a ball of play dough and add features to form a head. Children can roll strands of play-dough “hair strands”. They can cut it and then repeat.

Tips for teaching adults:

• Have the class read the story. You could choose four readers: one reader as narrator, one as Delilah, one as the Philistines and the fourth as Samson.
• Ask the men in the class if they have photos of themselves with long hair. Why did you have long hair? When did you cut it? Why?
• Not everyone in your life has your best interests at heart. Draw on a whiteboard/chalkboard two columns: the first column is “characteristics of a healthy relationship and 2nd column is “characteristics of unhealthy or toxic relationships. Let the class come up with characteristics for both columns, and then discuss what makes these characteristics good or bad for relationships.
• Pray that each class member will develop characteristics that lead to healthy relationships.

Full teaching instructions are free from Mission Bible Class:

Bible Lesson: Samson and Delilah

Scriptures quoted from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright ©1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Tommy Nelson. Used by permission.

Excerpts from Mission Bible Class used by permission.

Music: Upbeat Positive Culture (Acoustic Corporate Travel Promo Christian Rock), Individual License, Stock Media provided by HumansWin, pond5.com

For questions or comments email: mary@missionbibleclass.org