During the lesson, the information for you to know is written in regular type, and what we suggest speaking or reading aloud to children is in bold. All resources for this lesson, including the Teacher Guide and Student Page, can be downloaded in a ZIP file by clicking on the following link:
In some lessons you will find "resource articles." These are articles written by experts from around the world to help equip you for your work with children and adolescents. Share them with parents or guardians if you consider it appropriate.
So do not be afraid. I am with you. Do not be terrified. I am your God. I will make you strong and help you. I will hold you safe in my hands. I always do what is right.
Isaiah 41:10
God tells us not to be afraid. We can trust Him to do what is right. He promises to keep us safe, help us, and make us strong. This does not mean that we will never experience dangerous and scary situations. This means that when we are in a scary situation, we can trust that God will be with us as we go through it.
Think for a moment about when you have been afraid. How does it help you when you remember that God always does what is right and good? It may sometimes be difficult to understand why scary things happen, but God is there to bring us through them. Breathe in deeply. Feel the safety of His hands holding you and the strength He brings to you. Trust in His love for you!
Encourage families to talk to their children about their fears. Ask them to name a few reasons why they can trust God with their fears.
Teacher Tip: If possible, email or text the Family Connection Card to the families of your students.
Welcome the students as they enter and instruct them to sit in a big circle to play a game.
Today we have a game to play. Our game is called “Rabbit, Rabbit, Hyena!” I will be the first to go around the circle. I will walk around the outside of the circle and gently touch each child’s head. Each time I touch someone’s head, I will say, “Rabbit.” Listen carefully, because I will tap 1 child and say, “Hyena.” If I tap you when I say, “Hyena,” you will stand and chase me around the circle. Whichever one of us gets back to that open space in the circle first gets to sit in the empty space where the “hyena” had been sitting. Whoever is left standing becomes the next person to walk around the circle saying, “Rabbit, Rabbit, Hyena.”
It is important to be safe and not get hurt. So please listen to and follow these rules:
Play the game for 5 minutes.
In this game, those of you who were chosen as a “hyena” had to chase the other person around the circle. If you were really being chased by a hyena, it would be scary. Sometimes things happen that make us afraid. We may be afraid that something will hurt our bodies, or we may be afraid that someone will make us sad and hurt our emotions. When this happens, we can trust God to be with us and help us through the scary times.
To trust God means you believe He can do anything because He is God. To trust God means you believe He is in control of all things. To trust God means you believe He is with you in good times and bad times. To trust God means you know He will never leave you and that He loves you. Our memory verse this week talks about trusting God. It says:
Read this verse directly from your Bible.
What the Lord says is right and true. He is faithful in everything he does.
Psalm 33:4
If you are using The Action Bible images, show them as you tell the story.
Last week we learned about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who were about to be thrown into a blazing furnace of fire because they would not bow down to a golden statue. Fire is dangerous. Fire can hurt you. Fire can even kill you. I think I would be very afraid if someone said he would throw me into a blazing furnace of fire!
Responses may include: afraid, nervous, calm because they trusted God, and other similar answers.
Today we will hear more about these 3 men who trusted God because they knew God is good, loves us, and always does what is right. They believed that no matter what happened to them in a dangerous and scary situation, God would be in control and He would be with them!
While it is not always easy to do, the Bible tells us not to be afraid. When we believe in God, He is always with us.
If possible, please read this verse directly from your Bible.
So do not be afraid. I am with you. Do not be terrified. I am your God. I will make you strong and help you. I will hold you safe in my hands. I always do what is right.
Isaiah 41:10
God tells us He is with us, He is our God, He will make us strong, He will help us, He will keep us safe, He always does what is right.
The 3 men in this true story from the Bible may have been afraid. Or they may not have been afraid at all. Either way, they trusted God! They were brave to tell the king they would not bow to the statue.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him. They said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to talk about this anymore. We might be thrown into the blazing furnace. But the God we serve is able to bring us out of it alive. He will save us from your power. But we want you to know this, Your Majesty. Even if we knew that our God wouldn’t save us, we still wouldn’t serve your gods. We wouldn’t worship the gold statue you set up.
Daniel 3:16–18
The 3 men trusted God in a scary situation.
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
What happened next sounds very scary. The king became angry! He ordered the furnace to be heated 7 times hotter than it already was!
Lead the children in counting to 7 together. They can say each number a little louder than the last number so that they are shouting the number 7.
Then the king told his strongest soldiers to tie up the 3 men and throw them into the extra-hot blazing furnace of fire.
It might seem like God did not care about what happened to the 3 men. You might think God should have stopped this bad thing from happening. Since God does what is right, the men trusted Him even though they did not understand their difficult situation. They knew that God loved them no matter what happened. They also knew that even if they died in the fire, God would be with them. The 3 men trusted God, even though what was happening to them was very scary!
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
What happened next was truly amazing! The Bible tells us that the men started walking around in the fire! They were not tied up anymore and they were not hurt. Then the king saw another person in the fire. It was an angel sent by God to help them! The 3 men trusted God, and God helped them in a dangerous and scary situation.
If possible, show The Action Bible images as you tell the story.
Do you remember what the men said to the king before they were thrown in the fire? They knew something about God that helped them trust Him even if they were hurt or died.
Allow 2–3 children to respond.
They trusted God because He is good and He loves us completely. They trusted God even if He did not rescue them. God may not always do what we want Him to do, but He always does what is right and good.
The story does not end there! Listen to what the Bible tells us the king said after seeing 4 men walking in the fire. The king said:
May the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be praised! He has sent his angel and saved his servants. They trusted in him. They refused to obey my command. They were willing to give up their lives. They would rather die than serve or worship any god except their own God.
Daniel 3:28
I will read that again, but this time I will pause after every statement. When I pause you will shout, “I can trust God!” Let’s try it.
May the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be praised!
Pause for the children to respond, “I can trust God!” With the children, say, “I can trust God!” after each of the statements below.
Celebrate the children for their statements of trust in God and let them know this activity is done.
The 3 men trusted God to be with them. Even if they had not been rescued from the fire, they would still have loved and trusted God. The king witnessed this miracle, and it changed his heart!
The king decided that no one in the kingdom could say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He also gave these 3 men high positions in the city. Remember God always does what is right and true. It is important for us to remember that the 3 men were willing to die in the fire if God had not chosen to save them. They knew that God does what is right, even when we do not understand what He is doing. We need to know that God does not always get us out of scary situations, but no matter what happens, He loves us and is with us.
In today’s true story from the Bible, the 3 men trusted God in a scary situation. Let’s play the “Rabbit, Rabbit, Hyena!” game again. Only this time, let’s change the rules a bit. When you are chosen to be the “hyena,” you will go to the middle of the circle and sit down. We will pretend this is the “blazing furnace.” To get out of the “blazing furnace,” you will say 1 reason you might choose to trust God when you are afraid.
Allow 4–5 children to respond. If the children struggle with this question, read the answers that follow.
The Bible verses we read today tell us that we can trust Him because:
Ready? Let’s play!
You will start by being the person to tap others. When you choose the first child to be the “hyena,” remind him to sit in the middle of the circle. You can sit in his place in the circle. Ask him to name a reason why we know we can trust God, even when we are afraid. If he struggles to answer, allow another child to suggest an answer. Then ask the child in the middle to walk around the outside of the circle tapping children until he taps someone to be a “hyena.” Continue playing until all the children have had the opportunity to be in the middle of the circle.
Optional: If you are using Student Pages, have the children find partners. Then allow them to tear or cut out their cards. Give the pairs 2–3 minutes to play the game.
When things go well, it is easy to trust God. When we experience scary situations, it is important to trust God. He will work it for good even though we may not understand how this could be possible. When things are dangerous or scary, just like they were for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you can trust God! Our memory verse reminds us why we can trust God.
Show the Memory Verse poster if you are using it.
What the Lord says is right and true. He is faithful in everything he does.
Psalm 33:4
Clap to the rhythm of the words in the first half of the verse. Demonstrate these motions for the second part of the verse:
Repeat the words, rhythm, and motions with the children 3 times. End class by saying this blessing, based on Isaiah 41:10, over the children.
Blessing: May you come to know the true and living God. May you know that God is with you, so you do not need to be afraid. May you trust God because He always does what is right.
Lead the students in singing this quarter’s song, if possible.
Life on Life ©2020 David C Cook. Reproducible for home or classroom use only. All other uses require written permission from David C Cook [email protected]. All rights reserved.
