God calls Moses

Moses at the burning bush (image from freebibleimages.org).

Central Truth: God remembers his promises to his people.

Scriptures: Exodus 3, 4:1-22, 27-31

When Moses killed an Egyptian, he fled into the desert into the land of Midian. While he was there, he lived a quiet life as a shepherd. He married and began a family. Forty years passed and God appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai. Speaking from a bush that burned but was not consumed, God called Moses to deliver his people out of Egypt and to lead them to Canaan, a land that God promised to Abraham. Moses pleaded with God not to send him but, in the end, Moses agreed to return to Egypt.

To complement our study of the story of the burning bush, the children created these fun mini books found at www.bibletoday4kids.com.

Interactive Display

To help the story come alive for the children, I put together an interactive display for the story of Moses. Each week something new is revealed, or added, or taken away.

Interactive display.

Several weeks ago, we began in Egypt in the land of Goshen (noted with the #1 in a green circle) and followed Moses as he fled Egypt to faraway Midian. This week, Moses is in Midian when God calls him to free his people.

Destinee marks Midian on the map.

We also finished the God Talks to Moses from the Burning Bush flap by revealing the last two on Moses' call at the Burning Bush and God revealing to Moses that he is the I Am.

  

Moses Flees Egypt

Central Truth: Even when things look bad, God always makes a way of escape.

Scriptures: Exodus 2:11-25

When pharaoh’s daughter rescued Moses from the river, she raised him as her own son. For the first forty years of his life, Moses lived in the royal palaces of Egypt even though he was aware of his Hebrew origin. One day, Moses saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew. Moses intervened and killed the Egyptian. Afraid that he would die, he fled Egypt into the desert to the land of Midian.

We had some extra time at the end of our lesson today, so we colored a scripture page for John 14:15: "If you love me you will obey what I command."

John 14:15 coloring page.

There were some smaller children in class today, and they enjoyed coloring and puzzle pages from Moses: the Brave Leader.

Dillyn and Aiden working on a maze in Moses: the Brave Leader.

Interactive Display

Interactive display of the story of Moses.

To help the story come alive for the children, I put together an interactive display for the story of Moses. Last week we began in Egypt in the land of Goshen (noted with the #1 in a green circle). When Moses fled Egypt, he journeyed to faraway Midian.

On the map,  I showed the children how far Moses ran from Egypt to Midian.

Our second lesson in the Moses series also takes us to the second flap of the life of Moses, reinforcing how Moses fled from Egypt to Midian. While Moses was in Midian, he married Zipporah.

We revealed the second Moses flap. The children are all ready to flip the next one.

The Birth of Moses

Pharaoh's daughter discovers a baby in the river (image from freebibleimage.org).

Central Truth: God always plans a way of escape.

Scriptures: Exodus 1, 2:1-10

After Jacob's family settled in Egypt, they multiplied and increased in numbers. Many years after the death of Joseph, a new pharaoh reigned in Egypt who did not Joseph. Because of their number, the new pharaoh was afraid that the Hebrews would overthrow them. The Egyptians enslaved the Hebrews and forced them to build cities. When the number of Hebrews continued to grow, the pharaoh issued a decree that every male child was to be thrown into the river.

One family courageously hid their newborn son and, when they could no longer hide him, his mother placed him in a basket and into the river where the daughter of pharaoh found him. She named the baby Moses, which means "to draw out" because she had withdrawn him from the Nile, not knowing that God intended Moses to draw his people out of Egypt. The Egyptian princess raised Moses as her own son.

Interactive Display

Front of the display with the poster behind the Tabernacle.

Over the next few months, the children will go on a journey through the story of Exodus. To guide us along, I set up a trifold poster with visuals (some interactive). The visuals include a map of Egypt, descriptions of the plagues, a paper model of the Ark of the Covenant, a paper model of the Tabernacle among other items that will be described in greater detail as the narrative progress.

Free bookmarks, puzzle book, and brochure along with a paper model
of the Ark of the Covenant and a video from YouTube of the story.

Using the map, I show the children where the story takes place. The map came with a short summary of events - each event has its own number. With the birth of Moses, we begin in the land of Goshen located in the Nile Delta of ancient Egypt. After each lesson, we will mark on the map where the events take place. Today's story is marked with a number 1 in a fluorescent green circle.

Map It Life of Moses (Lesson 1).

Here is the video we began watching today I found on YouTube:

Jacob Moves to Egypt

Joseph and Jacob are reunited in Egypt (image from freebibleimages.org)

Central Truth: God holds the future.

Scriptures: Genesis 46:1-7, 27-34; 47:27-31; 50

After Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, he instructed them to return to Canaan and bring their father and their family back to Egypt because there was still five more years of famine. The pharaoh sent wagons to transport the family and their possessions to Egypt in an area called Goshen. 

Throughout the story of Joseph, his character is revealed as someone who is trustworthy. He demonstrated humility when interpreting dreams and used his wisdom as second-in-command of Egypt. His forgiving spirit and compassion for his brothers exemplified his a person with a true heart.  Throughout Joseph's life, he relied on his faith in God and his patience preserved the future of many people, including those who will found the nation of Israel. His nobility of character is truly something to aspire to.

Joseph: the Incredible Dreamer was also used as a supplement to this week's lesson. It contains activities, puzzles, and coloring pages based on the Joseph story.