Jacob & Esau - Part 1 - The Birthright

Hi Friends!

Today I am sharing a lesson that focuses on Jacob wheeling and dealing with Esau to get the birthright. This can be read about in Genesis 25.

The idea for the introduction comes from HERE.

Introduction:

Activity #1 → Valuables Trading Cards. These can be printed out on slips of paper and distributed among your group. 

• Students are given 3 minutes to trade cards
• Have students rank what they have in order of importance → discuss

Activity #2 → My Most Valuable Things

I also had on display a few items that are worth something to me - either monetarily or for memory's sake: I had a blanket that one of my grandmas had made when I was a young girl, the full collection of F.R.I.E.N.D.S., my wedding album, and a sample of my Hard Rock bear collection.

• Which of these items is most likely worth the most money?
• Which of these items would you think is the least valuable to me? Why? Which is the most valuable to me? Why?
• How do you think I would feel if our car was broken into at lunch today and everything was taken?

The WHAT:

Read Genesis 25:19-34 and ask

• What are your observations?
• What does this make you think?
• Help students to connect with the fact that Esau didn’t value/respect his birthright, and that’s why he was so eager to trade it away to his brother Jacob.

The SO WHAT:

Provide students with list of virtues and definitions

• In partners, have them come up with examples of how these are NOT valued by the world
• Discuss responses
• Help students to connect that as God’s children we are to value what He values, not what the world says about it.

The NOW WHAT:

• What are some ways that you can be ready to make difficult choices?

Close:

• Share with students the Key Verse: 1 Peter 3:14 - But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”
• Remind students that sometimes they will have to make hard choices, but they can be encouraged knowing that ultimately they are making the choice to please their heavenly Father.
• Pray with your students

Isaac Gets a Wife!

Hello Friends!

Today I am sharing my lesson plan for Genesis 24:1-27, where we read about Isaac marrying Rebekah.

Introduction:

Remember that elementary school game, MASH? It was a game played for fun to predict who you were going to marry, how many children you would have, what kind of car you'd drive, and the type of home you'd live in (mansion, apartment, shack, or house). If you've never played the game for yourself, or it's been a while and you'd like something to jog your memory, here are the rules that we played by:

1. Write MASH at the top of your page
2. Draw a large box in the center of your page
3. On the left write 4 names of "potential" mates (as a kid, this was a fun way to tell your friends who you had a crush on at school...)
4. On the right side of the box, list 4 forms of transportation
5. Under the box write 4 numbers. In our lesson I had a pair of die and each rolled 4 times. This would tell how many children we were predicted to have.
6. The participants are instructed to draw a spiral in the box until the leader tells them to stop (I silently counted to 5).
7. Participants then counted the number of lines from the top of the spiral to the bottom of the spiral. This is the number to which you counted off. For example, if the number of lines in my spiral equaled 8, I would start counting with the first name on my list and go in order counterclockwise and cross off the 8th name/number/car/living space. I would then start counting off again and continue around. Once I had eliminated 3 of the 4 options for any given side, I would "know" what I would end up with. Here's a quick video (with some slight variations to the rules described above), in case my attempt to write out the rules completely failed you. 

After we had fun sharing what MASH predicted our futures to look like, students were introduced to main idea of our study and how the culture back in the day had a completely different way of matching husbands and wives. 

If time allows and if you're married yourself, you may share a quick version of the story of how you and your spouse met. And just between you and me...my husband and I are an actual eHarmony success story! :)

THE WHAT:

Read with your group Genesis 24:1-27.

1. What are your observations?
2. What does this make you think?

THE SO WHAT:

1. Why do you think it was so important that Abraham's servant find a wife for Isaac from among his own people and not from a different people group, the Canaanites? Why did Abraham insist that the woman be brought back rather than letting Isaac move to her neck of the woods?
2. What character qualities of Rebekah can we figure out by the description written in verses 15-19? What kind of young woman was she?
3. How did prayer make a difference in this passage of scripture?

THE NOW WHAT:

1. 2 Corinthians 6:16 tells us to not be unequally yoked with nonbelievers. How does this relate to what we read in Genesis? Why is that important to us today?
2. Look at the image below...how does this represent an ideal marriage relationship? (Please note that I understand this graphic may have flaws that could be interpreted, but for this lesson, it makes the point that as two believers are continuously growing in their faith, they are not only growing closer to God, but to one another.)
   
3. What do you think of having a list of character qualities for a potential mate? Could it be helpful? Could it be limiting? How do you think you figure out "deal breakers"? What might be 2 or 3 things on your list?
4. What role should prayer play in your relationships? (This might be a good place to remind students that prayer is not meant to get God to align with our desires, but rather, to get our desires in alignment with God.)

Close:

• Share with students this week's key verse, Psalm 119:10: I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.

1. How does this verse relate to what we've been talking?

• Remind students that God desires for his children to be in healthy faith-filled relationships. While some of his "rules" for Christian living go against our modern culture, it is for our best interest that we live within the boundaries that He has set out of love and for our protection.

SIDE NOTE: 

Some of your students may have already crossed that line in their dating relationships. Be sensitive to the way that they take in this message. If needed, have a more private conversation reassuring them that God is in the forgiveness business and He does love them and only wants what's best for each of us.

Thanks for taking the time to read my ideas on how to present this portion of scripture. Have a blessed day!

-bethany.

Let's Make a Deal!

Hello Friends!

Today's lesson idea is based off of the difficult decision that Abraham had to make regarding following God's directions to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22. 

Introduction:

To get the conversation going, I prepared 6 "gifts":

• a shirt box that had a dollar store musical recorder inside
• a small pretty red gift box that had an apple inside
• a small Christmas gift bag that had a roll of dental floss & a bar of soap
• two brown paper bag that each had a dollar store game inside
• a store bag with a package of oatmeal

Depending on the size of your group, you'll need to adjust and prepare gag gifts accordingly. All of the items were things that I had laying around the house for random times such as this.

To begin, I had half of the gifts out on the counter top. I let the youngest student have first choice of the gifts and the rest of the students followed with their choices. They could not look inside.

After everyone had a gift, I brought out the other gifts and this time started with the oldest student. I had only him look inside his gift without showing it to the others. He could either keep what he had originally chosen, "steal" from another student, or choose a new gift - he could NOT look at what it was. We continued this process for each student. (We have a small group, so it didn't take very long. If you have a larger group, you'll want to modify the procedure.)

Once all had settled on their final gift choice, they were allowed to look inside and see what they had "won".

To debrief this activity I asked:

1. What choices were involved in the process?
2. What decisions went into choosing the first gift and then deciding what to do with the second chance?
3. What choices do you make on a daily basis that are pretty easy? Which ones are more difficult to make?
4. How do you handle the times when you know what you should do, but really want to do something else?
5. Who are the authorities in your lives to whom you are obedient?
6. Have you had to be obedient at a time when it didn’t make any sense? How did you handle that situation?
7. How often are you tempted to do your own thing rather than following someone else’s directions?

THE WHAT:

Read Genesis 22:1-19

1. What are your observations?
2. What does this make you think?

THE SO WHAT:

1. What do you think it must have been like for Abraham to choose to be obedient to God when he was directed to sacrifice his only son?
2. How tempting do you think it was for Abraham to consider not sacrificing Isaac?
3. How was Abraham able to make that tough choice and go through with the sacrificing of his son up until God stopped him at the last minute?
4. What lesson is there in this for us?
5. Why is it best to avoid making a tempting choice and instead follow God’s path for our life?

THE NOW WHAT:

1. Think about the choices you will most likely have to make this upcoming week. How will you know what is the right thing to do? If it’s a tough choice, how will you decide what to do?
2. What are the benefits of making Godly decisions on a daily basis? What might be some of the consequences of making poor choices?

Close:

• Share with students the key verse of the week:
• Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Galatians 6:7
• Remind students that even when we are tempted to make choices that are more appealing to us, it is always best to be obedient to God. We will be blessed because we do so.

Thanks for taking the time to read about how we studied the time in Abraham's life and how it applies to our daily living.

Abram's Call Obstacle Course

Hello Friends! 

Today I'm sharing a youth Bible lesson and activity that I used while teaching about Abram's call and promise from God. 

Introduction:

Prior to class beginning, I had set out approximately 15 large plastic cups in our lawn. This was hidden from view as students walked into the youth room. The cups were arranged into a make-shift obstacle course. 

Before we exited the room, I asked the students who felt like going on an adventure? Once the student was selected, he was blind folded and led by another student out to the course. 

When the student was set up at the randomly selected "start" line, I began giving him instructions to move along the course. For example:

• take 3 steps forward
• turn to your left
• STOP! Whew, that was close (not really, but I wanted to emphasis the importance of listening to me...meanwhile the other students were trying really hard not to bust out laughing)
• get down and start crawling, make sure you don't hit your head on the pole (there wasn't really a pole, but he didn't know that)
• keep moving forward
• you're going to have to take a big hop to get over the next obstacle (again, there wasn't anything there)

Once he got to the "finish" line, he turned around to see the course. I should have given our friend a prize for completing the obstacle course, but I didn't think about it until much later.

As we debriefed, I asked:

• What was it like to move only following my directions?
• Did you ever want to take off the blindfold to see where you were going?
• Did you ever just want to stop and give up? 
• If I had given him a prize, I would have asked, Was the prize worth sticking it out to the very end? 

THE WHAT:

Read Genesis 12:1-8

• What are your observations?
• What does this make you think?

THE SO WHAT:

• The best that you can, describe Abram's current situation. 
• Why do you think Abram was so willing to just get up and go? What was he promised?
• How did Abram know where to go?
• What obstacles did he have to get past so that he could move on?
• It seems like Abram didn't hesitate in following God's directions. How easy is it for you to do what God is asking you to do?
• Once Abram entered the place where God wanted for him to be, he had to decide how he was going to conduct himself, was he going to live like the Canaanites or would he continue to be obedient to God. What was that like for Abram, do you think? How do you handle peer pressure? 

THE NOW WHAT:

• Think about your week that's coming up. What are you going to be involved in and how might you get prepared to do what God asks you to do?
• God promised Abram that he would be made into a great nation and that he would be blessed. Has God started to speak to you a big message? How might you use the things you enjoy doing or have a special ability for to serve God's people? 
• What obstacles might you face along the way? How are you going to remain determined to stick to the plan, even when you don't know for sure what the next step is supposed to be?

Close:

• Share with students the key verse for the week:
• I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. Genesis 12:2
• Remind students that following God in life will never be dull and boring, but rather, an adventure, with great and wonderful rewards along the way if we remain determined to stay the course. 

Around the World in 80 Minutes

Hello Friends!

I am excited to share with you a youth event that we held that was a smashing success - Around the World in 80 Minutes. Ideas for this event came from this blog post, and various other pins from Pinterest about group activities and games. One of the cool things about all of these activities is that there are great for junior and senior high students and for littles too with some adult assistance.

The winners of each challenge received raffle tickets. At the conclusion of the evening, raffle tickets were drawn for gift cards to the local yogurt shop.

As students entered the room this is what they saw. The flags from each country were hints for what was to take place. 

Our first stop was Egypt: The Mummy Wrap

In teams of two, one partner had to unravel an entire roll of toilet paper around the other partner. 

Russia: The Ice Block Stack

Teams of two work together to stack 12 ice cubes to make a single tower.

Ireland: Pass the Blarney Stone

Teams work together to carry medium sized stones on little tiny tea spoons (that I found at the Dollar Store) across the lawn and back.

England: Tea Party

Teams of two have their wrists tied together and must unwrap two Ding Dongs cakes and eat them and also drink two Capri Suns. 

France: Balloon Eiffel Tower Challenge

Teams work together to build the tallest stack of balloons (free standing) possible.

Australia: Kangaroo Hop

Individuals potato sack hop across the lawn and back. 

China: Chop Stick Pick Up

Teams of two work together using chop sticks to transfer marshmallows from one container to another.

Mexico: Tortilla Toss

Individuals toss tortillas through a hula hoop that has been strung up on a tree (just like a pinata!) 

Italy: Noodle Racer

Students race across the lawn and their partner races back balancing a pool noodle standing on its end upon their hand.

Spain: Bulls Eye

Students take turns tossing lawn darts into the ring.

Getting Serious...

We ended the evening with a call to action to pray for these countries. As a reminder, students were also given a little globe. The Prayer Challenge (CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF) also provided information from Operation World. This website invites people to take part in a 60 day prayer challenge.  

So if you've make it this far, I will confess that we took a bit longer than 80 minutes...it was more like 2 hours. So if you're wanting/needing to have a stricter time line, you'll need to skip a couple of the activities. 

I believe that I've shared all that I can think of that went into planning this evening. If you have questions or want to share something that you've done with your youth group, please comment below. 

Have a great day!

-bethany.

Directions for posting a comment:

1) Choose "Comment As" first. If you don't have a Google/Blogger account, you can choose Name/URL and type in your name, then place the web site that best describes you in the URL (i.e. www.ajusd.org). Or, you can choose "Anonymous".

2) You may need to press "Post Comment" more than one time.

It is always wise to copy your comment before pressing "Post Comment" just in case something happens. 

3) Type in the word verification.

4) If you did everything correctly, it will state, "Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner approval." If you do not get that message, please try again. 

5) Many thanks to Tracy Watanabe for these directions to post. 

And thank you for commenting!

Tower of Babel Tower Challenge

Hello Friends!

A few weeks ago our study in Genesis came to the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. 

To set the stage, I gave each student approximately 50 3oz Dixie cups and instructed them to build the tallest tower that they could create without any type of extra support. They were given 5 minutes.

As you can see from the photos below, they type of towers varied.

At the conclusion of the 5 minutes we had a lightening fast demolition.

After reading and discussing Genesis 11:1-9 we related the text to the building challenge. Here are some key connections:

• Whatever plans we have for ourselves, they can be easily destructed by outside forces.
• If we attempt to elevate ourselves in our own power, we'll never reach the heights that God would like for us to reach in His power.
• If we do have direction from God to go and build something (whether it be an actual building, creating a ministry, or beginning a new relationship) having a strong foundation and providing support (through prayer) will insure it lasting much longer than without those things.

For whatever reason, students of all ages never seem to get bored with building towers. I'm sure that your students will also appreciate this simple but effective object lesson.

What other connections did you students have with this lesson? With what other Bible stories would you be able to use with object lesson? Can you suggest modifications to be applied for a different lesson?

Blessing to you!

-bethany.

Directions for posting a comment:

1) Choose "Comment As" first. If you don't have a Google/Blogger account, you can choose Name/URL and type in your name, then place the web site that best describes you in the URL (i.e. www.ajusd.org). Or, you can choose "Anonymous".

2) You may need to press "Post Comment" more than one time.

It is always wise to copy your comment before pressing "Post Comment" just in case something happens. 

3) Type in the word verification.

4) If you did everything correctly, it will state, "Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner approval." If you do not get that message, please try again. 

5) Many thanks to Tracy Watanabe for these directions to post. 

And thank you for commenting!

First Post

HI!

Thanks for visiting this blog. Let me introduce myself...I'm Bethany and I find myself teaching junior and senior high school students Sunday School in a church in Arizona. I've been doing this for about nine months now and have found that I want to document some of the lessons and activities that are presented to my students. 

Right now we're slowly working our way through the book of Genesis and maybe eventually through the Old Testament. I'm using David Lynn's book Middle School Talksheets: Epic Old Testament Stories to guide which scripture passages to study each week as well as questions for discussion.

While this resource has been very helpful, I was observing that the students in the class were wanting to be a bit more active. So I began incorporating hands-on/minds-on object lessons to coincide with the big idea of the lesson. 

Either I'm a bad "googler" or there just isn't all that much out "on the line" for 13-17 year olds when it comes to having active Bible lessons. If I do come across something that might be good, I usually end up tweaking it a bit anyway to fit the groove of my students. So when the lesson finally comes together, I feel as though I've had a "Eureka!" moment. And that's how the blog was named! So I thought I would share what's going on in our class to maybe be of help to what's going on in your class. 

If you find what's being posted here to be of use, let me know and make sure to pass it along to fellow youth workers. 

Thanks for checking this out! 
Blessings!
-bethany

Directions for posting a comment:

1) Choose "Comment As" first. If you don't have a Google/Blogger account, you can choose Name/URL and type in your name, then place the web site that best describes you in the URL (i.e. www.ajusd.org). Or, you can choose "Anonymous".

2) You may need to press "Post Comment" more than one time.

It is always wise to copy your comment before pressing "Post Comment" just in case something happens. 

3) Type in the word verification.

4) If you did everything correctly, it will state, "Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner approval." If you do not get that message, please try again. 

5) Many thanks to Tracy Watanabe for these directions to post. 

And thank you for commenting!