Major Prophets. A prophet, simply stated, is one who: Knew God s Word Concerned about the sins of the people Spoke for God about events in the future

Transcription

1 Major Prophets A prophet, simply stated, is one who: Knew God s Word Concerned about the sins of the people Spoke for God about events in the future The term major prophet is often used to group the books of the Bible from Isaiah to Daniel. The term major does not indicate importance as much as it indicates that the book is of great length and covers a lot of subject matter. We have already met several prophets during our study of the Books of Law and History Moses and Samuel. Now we are going to meet several more in the next 5 books of the Bible and read how God warned His people about the consequences of disobedience Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel. 1

2 Isaiah Setup Print and make 2 signs Groan and Glory Bible Study/WTTB Sheet ( I-Say-Ah)/ Groan & Glory Where are we in our journey? - The Promised Land (Judah) before the exile Find Isaiah the Bible How many chapters in the book of Isaiah? How many books in the Bible? Isaiah The book of Isaiah starts with groans and ends with glory. [As you read the following verses, hold up the appropriate sign and let the kids make groan or glory sounds.] Isaiah 1:4, Isaiah 59:2, [then the exile] Isaiah 45:22, Isaiah 66:13 The greatest glory story Jesus Christ! Isaiah 7:14 Matthew 1:23 Isaiah 61:1-2a Luke 4:16-19 Isaiah 60:19 Revelation 21:21-23 Isaiah was a prophet. Lived during the time of the Book of 2 Kings. Card 1 of 4 Card 2 of 4 Isaiah Isaiah Activity Closing/Prayer [Included as part of the Bible Study] Read Isa.59:2...does this verse make you groan? Does this describe you? Read Isa 6:8...Are you willing to do whatever God asks of you to bring Him glory? Does this describe you? Card 3 of 4 Card 4 of 4 2

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4 Jeremiah Jeremiah Setup Read Jer. 13:1 then tie the clean sash piece around your waist. Cut 2 equal strips of a bright cloth (long enough to be tied as a sash) Read Jer. 13:3-4 then take off the sash and hide completely under the rocks. Fill a bucket with dirt and cover with large rocks. Hide one of the sash pieces Read Jer. 13:6 then reach in the bucket and pull out the sash that you hid before in the dirt, out of sight. Water the dirt thoroughly, several hours before class. class. It should be really dirty by now. Read Jer. 13:8-10. The dirty sash is a picture of what we look like when we Bible Study/WTTB Sheet ( Jury-miah )/ Rotten Sash Where are we in our journey? - The Promised Land (Judah) before the exile Find Jeremiah in the Bible Jeremiah was a prophet. Card 1 of 4 disobey God. Read Jer. 18:11. God would use an enemy to clean them if they didn t obey. Read Jer. 18:12. They didn't obey so God sent them into exile for 70 yrs. Read Jer. 18:18. The people ignored Jeremiah s words from God. Card 2 of 4 Jeremiah Jeremiah Read Jer. 29:11, Jer. 31:34b Jeremiah also gave the people a promise from God. Closing/Prayer God loved them - and us so much. He didn t want to punish His people Re-read Jer. 29:11...what was this plan, this hope that God was talking about? but He cannot allow sin. Read John 3:16 Jesus!!! How can we be cleaned and be useful for God? Read Acts 22:16 Activity Do people make fun of you because you read your Bible? Or go to church? Or don t laugh at mean jokes? Or don t fit in with the crowd? [Included as part of the Bible Study] Card 3 of 4 Card 4 of 4 4

5 Step 1 Fill bucket with dirt Step 2 Hide 1st sash in dirt Step 3 Cover dirt with rocks Step 4 Water thoroughly Step 5 Put 2nd sash aside 5

6 Lamentations Setup Supplies to make Tissue Flowers Bible Study/WTTB Sheet ( Lamb-entations )/ Tears Lamentations Read Lam. 1:5b. A great destruction had been promised by God if the people did not stop disobeying. There would be many killed, cities destroyed by fire, families separated, and people starving. Read Lam 3:48. This made the prophet Jeremiah very sad. [hence tissue flowers] Read Lam 3: But God is faithful. [hence verse of faithfulness on stems] Where are we in our journey? - The Promised Land (Judah) before the exile Find Lamentations in the Bible Lamentations is a book of sad thoughts written by the prophet Jeremiah. Card 1 of 4 Card 2 of 4 Lamentations Lamentations Activity Closing/Prayer Make tissue flowers. Reflect on Lam. 3:22b.how has God been faithful to you? Card 3 of 4 Card 4 of 4 6

7 What you'll need: Pastel colored tissue paper or colored Kleenex Chenille stem/pipe cleaner Leaves with Scripture Tape How to make it: 1. Stack several pieces of tissue paper. Use the same color or different colors. The more pieces, the fuller the flower. 2. Accordion pleat the tissue paper working from the long side. 3. Wind one end of the chenille stem around the middle of the accordion pleated tissue paper. 1. Gently separate each layer pulling upwards toward the middle of the flower. Do second side. 1. Tape a set of leaves to each flower. 2. Let the children make a couple of flowers to give to someone special. 7

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9 Ezekiel Setup Print and cut the bones to put in the center of the table. Bible Study/WTTB Sheet ( E-Z-iel )/ Dry Bones Where are we in our journey? - During the exile. Find Ezekiel in the Bible Ezekiel was a prophet. Ezekiel Read Ezekiel 37:1-14. The kids will be intrigued by the visual of bones coming to life...and having them read the verses in the Bible helps reinforce that this is what God really said...not just some story. God used the idea of dry bones to teach a lesson. Dry bones mean that something has died their love for God had died! Instead of being spiritually alive they were spiritually dead. But the good news is that God would one day put all the bones back together. God meant that He would bring His people back home from exile. He would forgive them and they would love God again. Card 1 of 4 Card 2 of 4 Ezekiel Ezekiel Activity Closing/Prayer Game Sticks and Stones Read Eze. 6:10a...Reflect on how good God is.how He gives us a 2nd chance. Two teams ( Sticks and Stones ) form and stand in two lines facing each other, only a few feet apart. Behind each team about 30 giant steps is a safe line. The ref yells Sticks - and the Sticks take off after the Stones who hightail it for their safe line. Any that get caught have to switch sides. Then they reform their lines and do it again Have the ref randomly calls Sticks or Stones so the teams have to be ready. Yell Bones when they catch someone to reinforce the Dry Bones imagery. Card 3 of 4 Card 4 of 4 9

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11 Daniel Daniel Setup Daniel was a young man when his people were taken into exile. Pictures depicting OT Jerusalem and OT Babylon How would you feel if you taken from home to a strange place? (show pictures) Continuing the fact of God s faithfulness, look at the stories we know of Daniel over his lifetime. Divide the class into 3 groups, have them read Bible Study/WTTB Sheet ( Daniel )/ Dreams Where are we in our journey? - In exile Find Daniel in the Bible Daniel was a prophet. the selected Bible passages, and then share the story with the class. 1. (Daniel 2) - Fire in the Furnace 2. (Daniel 3) - Strange Writing on the Wall 3. (Daniel 6) - In the Lions Den Daniel died in exile, never to return home to the Promised Land. Card 1 of 4 Card 2 of 4 Daniel Daniel Activity Closing/Prayer Included in Bible Study What do you remember most about Daniel? Read Dan. 3:17-18, Dan. 1:8 Daniel worshipped only God not matter what! How about you? Card 3 of 4 Card 4 of 4 11

12 Jerusalem Gate Babylonian Gate 12