Teen Discussion Questions: Lamb of God (Isaac and the Ram) (Updated, 2013)

Tuesday:	Lamb of God (Isaac and the Ram)
Story Passages:	Genesis 22
Other Passages:	Hebrews 11:19
Objectives:	Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, so that we don't have to.
Memory Verse:	Romans 4:25

1. Why did God ask the Israelites to perform animal sacrifices?
2. God clearly knew about Ishmael (Gen 17:17-21), so why did he call Isaac your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love (Genesis 22:2)? What is God talking about? What is so unique about Isaac?
3. Hebrews tells us that Abraham believed God could raise Isaac from the dead. How could he have reached that conclusion?
4. Isaac himself carried the wood. (Does this remind you of anything?) How old must Isaac have been?
5. Abraham was an old man, but he was able to bind Isaac and lay him on the altar. What must their relationship have been like?
6. Why is it important that Jesus not only died but also rose from the dead?

If you need hints to answer some of the questions, look up the listed scripture passages.

Teen Discussion Questions: Going Astray (Moses and the Rock) (Updated, 2013)

Monday:	Going Astray: Moses and the Rock
Story Passages:	Numbers 20:1-13
Other Passages:	Isaiah 53, Romans 3:23, 6:23, Exodus 17:1-7
Objectives:	Everyone has sinned. Sin has a penalty.
Memory Verse:	Isaiah 53:6

1. What was wrong with the people's reaction? After all, it was true that there was no water for the community. People do need water to live, so what was the problem with their attitude?
2. Why did God give Moses different instructions this time than the first time?
3. The memory verse is from Isaiah 53. Who is this passage talking about?
4. Moses mostly did what God said. Why was the punishment for his deviation so severe, when much greater sins have been forgiven others?
5. Moses was a uniquely great man of God. (See Numbers 12:4-8) Yet, even he went astray. What hope is there for us? How can we hope to follow God if Moses failed?
6. How does the church protect against false teaching? How does it help to bring us back when we wander astray?

If you need hints to answer some of the questions, look up the listed scripture passages.

Snacks for God's Sheep, Improved: Day Five

Friday:	Snack
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Shepherded Sheep (Leading and Following)
Memory Verse:	Ephesians 2:10
Preschool Bible Lesson:	God Loves Us (The 99 and the 1)

Key Item: Salad

The salad should be made of stuff that both human children and sheep will willingly eat: lettuce, carrot, maybe cucumber, ...

Explain to the children that while sheep mostly eat grass, they can also eat other vegetables, like lettuce or carrots – whatever the shepherd finds for them. If we are God's sheep, we need to be fed too. What does it mean to feed God's sheep? That's what tonight's lesson is about.

Snack Lesson:

Real sheep mostly eat grass, but they can also eat salad (lettuce, carrots, etc.) – whatever the shepherd finds for them.

If we are God's sheep, we need to be fed too. That's what our Bible lesson tonight is about.

Additional Snack Items:

To make the snack more substantial, we served macaroni and cheese and ice cream floats, alongside the salad. We also provided Kool-Aid to drink.

Snacks for God's Sheep, Improved: Day Four

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Thursday:	Snack
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Sheep Security: The Good Shepherd
Memory Verse:	John 10:28
Preschool Bible Lesson:	Jesus Loves Children (Let the Children Come)

Key Item: Jello-O Jigglers

Serve thick, jiggly gelatin dessert (recipe available from Kraft) in the shape of shepherd crooks (like a candy-cane shape) and sheep. The shepherd's crook should remind the children that Jesus is the good shepherd who takes care of his sheep.

Snack Lesson:

What's our theme this week? [Hold up a shepherd's crook Jiggler.] What does this shape remind us of? What does that have to do with sheep? How might a shepherd use something like this?

In our Bible lesson we're going to learn about the Good Shepherd, who always takes care of his sheep.

Additional Snack Items:

To make the snack more substantial, we served pizza and cupcakes, alongside the Jell-O. We also provided Kool-Aid to drink.

Snacks for God's Sheep, Improved: Day Three

Wednesday:	Snack
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Stolen Sheep (Saul and the Spoils) (See also: skit.)
Memory Verse:	1st Samuel 15:22
Preschool Bible Lesson:	Baa, baa, baa! (Saul and the Sheep)

Key Item: Donuts

Serve traditional O-shaped donuts. Tell the children that the O stands for Obey, because we should obey God's instruction. Today's Bible lesson is about a time when King Saul didn't obey – and that didn't turn out so well for him.

Snack Lesson:

Donuts are shaped like an O. Do you know any words that start with O?

I know an important word that starts with O, that has to do with our Bible lesson tonight. The O stands for Obey. We are supposed to obey God.

Tonight we're going to learn about a King named Saul who didn't obey God, and we'll find out how that worked out for him.

Additional Snack Items:

To make the snack more substantial, we served hot dogs and fruit alongside the donuts. We also provided Kool-Aid to drink.

Snacks for God's Sheep, Improved: Day Two

Tuesday:	Snack
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Lamb of God (Isaac and the Ram)
Memory Verse:	Romans 4:25
Preschool Bible Lesson:	Praising God (David the Shepherd)

Key Item: Cutout Cookies

Serve homemade cutout cookies in the shape of crosses (frosted red or brown) and sheep (frosted white, optionally with black detail, e.g. hooves and an eye). Explain that today's Bible lesson is about a time when a sheep took Isaac's place. Also, Jesus died on a cross to take our place.

Snack Lesson:

[Hold up a cross cookie.] What shape is this cookie? What does this shape remind you of? That's right, Jesus died on a cross, to take our place.

[Hold up a sheep cookie.] What about this other cookie? What's this shape? Right, a sheep. Did you know that a sheep once took Isaac's place, just like Jesus took our place? We're going to learn about that in our Bible lesson tonight.

Additional Snack Items:

To make the snack more substantial, we served tacos and chips alongside the cookies. We also provided Kool-Aid to drink.

Snacks for God's Sheep, Improved: Day One

Monday:	Snack
Elementary Bible Lesson:	Going Astray (Moses and the Rock)
Memory Verse:	Isaiah 53:6
Preschool Bible Lesson:	Obey God (Moses and the Rock)

Key Item: Popcorn

Air-pop the popcorn in full view of the kids and serve it warm, if possible. Butter, if desired, can be melted in a saucepan on the stove.

Popcorn is white and fluffy, like sheep, and when air-popped, sometimes a piece of popcorn comes flying out of the popper and flies across the room, like a lost sheep. Tell the children that, like sheep, we wander astray sometimes. Today's Bible lesson is about that.

Snack Lesson:

Hey, look at that popcorn as it comes flying out of the popper. Sometimes it lands in the bowl. Sometimes it gets lost. Some of the pieces of popcorn don't go where they're supposed to go.

Look at how white and fluffy it is. What else is white and fluffy and wanders off where it isn't supposed to go? Can you think of anything?

In our Bible lesson tonight we'll learn about how sheep sometimes wander off.

Additional Snack Items:

To make the snack more substantial, we served sandwiches (choice of ham and cheese or PB&J) and homemade chocolate chip cookies alongside the popcorn. We also provided Kool-Aid to drink.

Marshmallow Ram

Tuesday:	Marshmallow Ram
Bible Lesson:	Isaac and the Lamb
Memory Verse:	Romans 4:25

Age Groups:

• teens

Equipment and Materials Needed:

• buckets (one per team)
• white marshmallows (lots of these, including some of the miniature ones)

Instructions:

Divide the participants into groups of 3-6 teens each. Each group selects one of their members to be their "Ram". Each Ram must stand at one end of the playing area (which you can call the "thicket"), and at the other end of the playing area is a bucket of marshmallows. Each team must decorate their Ram, by repeatedly running down to the bucket to fetch marshmallows and returning to stick them onto the Ram. (If after a couple of minutes they haven't figured it out on their own, you can drop them a hint: marshmallows stick to skin better if they are slightly wet, e.g., because someone has licked them.) At the end of the designated time (or when the marshmallows run out), a panel of judges must decide which Ram is the best decorated.

Acts 17:24

Monday:	Acts 17:24
Bible Lesson:	The Beginning of Creation: God created the world and deserves our worship.
Memory Verse:	The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands, Acts 17:24

Introduction: Creation

Today we learned about how God made the world, and most of the story is found in Genesis, in the Old Testament. But the New Testament talks about it some too. [show card with verse and read Acts 17:24]

Explanation: Acts 17:24

[Show the verse and read it aloud.]

There is only one God, but the Bible likes to tell different things about who God is, when it tells different things that he did. When it calls him the God who made the world, it's talking about something he did – the creation story that we learned about earlier. From God's creation, we know about his power.

When the Bible calls God, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, it means that he is the one who is in charge of everything that happens – both here on earth, and also in heaven. It means he's the master.

When it says that he does not live in temples made by hands, what's it talking about? Does it mean God isn't with us when we're in church, worshiping him? (No.) Does it mean he wasn't with the people of Israel, when they worshiped him in the temple? (No.) It means that God is not just in one place, and he's not only there, just because of us. God is, like the verse says, the one who created everything, and is the master in charge of everything. He's God whether we come to church and worship him or not.

So, if God is the same powerful creator whether we worship him or not, why does he want us to worship him? Is it because God gets more power if we worship him? (No, he has all the power anyway.) God wants us to worship him, because it's good for us.

Game: Clapping

Demonstrate for the children how to clap once for each syllable while talking. Do this while saying the verse through one time, with the reference. Now have the children do it with you. Repeat two or three times, until the children can clap and say the verse more-or-less together in what passes for unison. Encourage them that they're doing well, but let's see if we can do even better at staying together and all saying each word at the same time, and all clapping at the same times. Repeat until they get it right, or time runs out. Optionally, after a few times through, divide the children into two groups, and alternate the two groups in a competition to see which group can stay together better.

Announcement: Verse Points

Tomorrow, when you come to Bible School, if you can say your memory verse without looking, you can earn points for your team's score. Each person who can say the verse can earn 200 points. So, if you want to help your team win more points, go home and practice your verse a few times. Don't forget the reference! On your way out the door tonight, you will be given a slip of paper with your verse on it. Don't lose it, because if you learn your verse, your team gets 200 more points!

You can say your verse for points tomorrow when you check in at the registration table.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.