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When the Kingdom of Judah turned away from God, God allowed the enemy nation of Babylon to capture the Jews and take them away to Babylon. The temple and the city walls of Jerusalem were destroyed. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon commanded that the brightest and most handsome captives be educated and taught to serve in the Babylonian courts. When Daniel and three other young Jews were told to eat the king’s food, they refused because it was food that God had forbidden Jews to eat. When the officials saw that these young men were healthier and stronger when they obeyed God’s food laws, they allowed them to continue obeying the Lord. These four young men impressed the king because they were smarter than all the men in the king’s court.

Bible verses used in this episode:

Daniel 1

Outline:

1. The King of Babylon captures Jerusalem and takes captives. (Daniel 1:1-2)
2. Daniel and three other young men honour God by refusing to eat the king’s food. (Daniel 1:3-17)
3. The king recognises that Daniel and his friends are the best of his servants. (Daniel 1:18-21)

Tips for teaching children:

• To tell the story, use this slideshow made by young men. Link to slideshow.
• Provide a large piece of paper. Have the children write the following along the bottom of the page, “I will honour God with my body. 1 Corinthians 6:20”. Then decorate the poster with drawings of body parts. Add footprints, fingerprints and handprints. Children could even glue on a lock of hair.
• Place vegetables in two small plates. One should be clean and the other should have crumbled chocolate cookie on it so it appears to be dirt. Talk about how the food God approved was clean and the king’s food was unclean. Which food would they want to eat? Be sure and let them eat the clean vegetables.

Tips for teaching adults:

• Use the same vegetable activity as for the children above.
• Read Daniel chapter one, dividing the reading up into outline provided in the show notes.
• After the reading, use some or all of the following questions to begin a discussion:
  • What are some lessons you see the text teaching?
  • How is Daniel being faithful to God by not eating the king’s food?
  • What is the point of eating only clean food, not unclean.
• Follow up with these:
  • What kinds of things sets Christians apart from the world or what marks us off as being followers of Christ?
  • Challenge the class to generate a list of boundary markers that should separate Christians from the world.

Full teaching instructions free from Mission Bible Class:

Bible Lesson: Daniel and the King’s Food

Scriptures quoted from The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas 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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Ezekiel was a Jewish priest who was captured and taken to Babylon a few years after Daniel. God chose him to prophesy about all of the things that were happening back in Jerusalem. After Jerusalem was destroyed, Ezekiel began prophesying about the hope that God would restore the Jews to their land someday. God showed Ezekiel how he could bring a bunch of old dry bones to life. In the same way, God could bring His people back to life if they would turn to Him.

Bible verses used in this episode:

Ezekiel 37:1-14

Outline:

1. In a vision, Ezekiel witnesses God bringing dry bones back to life. (Ezekiel 37:1-10)
2. God explains that, in the same way, he will bring life back to his people. (Ezekiel 37:11-14)

Tips for teaching children:

• Collect items so that children can learn about bones. These might be toy skeletons or x-rays. Make a point to have children feel their bones through their skin.
• Show pictures of bones, muscles, flesh and skin.
• Discuss hope and how it is more than a wish. It is a belief that something will happen.

Tips for teaching adults:

• Have the text read in the class. Use outline in show notes to divide up the reading.
• Ask the class to think about the following questions and then get a few people to share their responses with the class. Have you ever felt hopeless? Why? What happened to move you from hopelessness to hope?
• This story is one of the most powerful texts on hope in the OT. Another one is in Ephesians 2:1-10. Read these verses and ask class to compare this text with Ezekiel 37. How are they similar? What’s the message of hope in the Ephesians text?
• Write down some of the promises God has made to us as his people? Close in prayer by thanking God for his promises and the hope we have in Jesus.

Full teaching instructions free from Mission Bible Class:

Bible Lesson: Ezekiel & the Valley of Dry Bones

Scriptures quoted from The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas 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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Jeremiah continued to warn the people of Judah that their nation would be destroyed if they did not repent (say they were sorry and change their ways) and follow God. The Lord commanded Jeremiah to write these warnings on a scroll and read them to the people. Jeremiah dictated the words to his secretary, Baruch, and then told him to go to the temple and read it to the people. Eventually, the scroll was read to King Jehoiakim. He did not want to repent, so he cut the scroll into pieces and threw the pieces into a fire. He wanted Baruch and Jeremiah arrested, but the Lord kept them safely hidden. Jeremiah and Baruch wrote the scroll again and began preaching that the nation of Judah would be destroyed because the king and the people did not repent.

Bible verses used in this episode:

Jeremiah 36

Outline:

1. Baruch transcribes Jeremiah’s words onto a scroll and then reads it before the people. (Jeremiah 36:1-10)
2. King Jehoiakim burns the scroll. (Jeremiah 36:11-26)
3. God has Jeremiah and Baruch recreate the scroll. (Jeremiah 36:27-32)

Tips for teaching children:

• Make a scroll. Children can write “Jeremiah 36:2” on the scroll. Older children can write out part or all of the verse: ““Jeremiah, get a scroll. Write on it all the words I have spoken to you about Israel and Judah and all the nations. Write everything I have spoken to you since Josiah was king until now.”
• Research Hebrew letters and copy them onto the scroll
• Talk about the concept of repentance and turning to God. It may be helpful to use a road sign that depicts a “U-turn”.

Tips for teaching adults:

• As a teacher I would plan on using props for this story. You may use a PowerPoint slide of a fire burning in a brazier. And bring a large sheet of paper with writing on it and rolled up as a scroll, and a box-cutter knife.
• Divide the reading up into sections. You can use the outline in the show notes. Choose a few readers to read the story. When the reading gets to the place where Jehoiakim cuts the scroll, one person will cut strips from the scroll and let them fall to the floor. He can keep cutting as the text is read until the whole scroll is cut.
• Here are some questions for discussion: 1) what do you think Jehoiakim was thinking when he was cutting up the scroll and throwing the strips into the fire? 2) Why did he respond like this instead of fear?
• Read Jeremiah’s comment on King Jehoiakim in 22:13-19. What did God expect the king of Judah to be like? What would make him a good king? What can we learn about this for our lives?

Full teaching instructions free from Mission Bible Class:

Bible Lesson: Jeremiah and the Scroll

Scriptures quoted from The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas 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