Use this lesson to teach kids that God provides. And get access to 7 more lessons like it here!
PREPARE AHEAD
Gather some Bibles for you and your children or have a Bible app ready on your phones.
You can download the Worship Music Files using this link.
Print off several sheets of the Star Cutouts and have scissors and coloring supplies available for your family.
Print the Remember Verse cards in the Resources folder for your family to cut out and hang around your house.
Download the TruWorship songs and have the videos or MP3s ready to play for your family. Lyric sheets are available to help you sing along.
REMEMBER VERSE
Use the Remember Verse Cards to help your family memorize this verse. You can also play the Orderly Words game in Bonus Anytime Activities to help memorize this verse.
CONNECT AS A FAMILY
Find some baby pictures of your children. Look through the pictures together and tell them a little about the day they were born. Tell them about the excitement and anticipation that came with their arrival and the love you felt for them before they were born.
Then tell them about how you will be learning about Abraham, Sarah, and their son Isaac, and how special Isaac was to his parents. And how God provided for them in a very unexpected way.
INVESTIGATE TOGETHER
God provided for Abraham many times in his life. God provided Abraham with a son when he and his wife were well past their childbearing years. Then He provided a replacement offering when Abraham showed his willingness to sacrifice his son.
If they’re old enough, ask your child to read each Scripture passage aloud as you follow along.
Read Psalm 111:4–5
Abraham’s sacrifice points to the sacrifice God made when He gave up His only Son Jesus so we could have eternal life.
Read 1 John 4:10
Read Romans 8:32.
Discuss these questions together:
WORSHIP
Play the videos for “Celebrate” from Sincerely Yours and “I Trust You” from Your Love and sing along as a family. Download from this link.
BLESS
Invite your children to stand and take part in a call-and-response as you read the blessing from Psalm 23:1–4. Let them know that after every line you read, they should respond by saying, “God is our Provider.”
Parent: The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
Children: God is our Provider.
Parent: He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He refreshes my soul.
Children: God is our Provider.
Parent: He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake.
Children: God is our Provider.
Parent: Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.
Children: God is our Provider.
Now go to each child individually and pray a blessing over her:
May you know that God is your Provider. May you trust in His provision and follow Him wherever He leads you.
BONUS ANYTIME ACTIVITIES
Here are some optional activities you could do with your family anytime during the week to help you all remember and celebrate the promises of God from the God Is Faithful lesson.
Find the ones that look like they would work best from your family and try them out. You might just find a fun new way to build your faith together!
ORDERLY WORDS
SUPPLIES
PREPARE AHEAD
Cut each sheet of paper in half and write one word from the Remember Verse and the verse reference on a half sheet.
REMEMBER VERSE
Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
Psalm 90:2
RELATE
Invite children to learn the Remember Verse by putting the words of the verse together in order. To play, read the Remember Verse a few times and have your child recite it back to you. Then give a piece of paper with a word from the Remember Verse on it to each child.
If it’s just you and your child, divide the words between you. Then work together to put the verse in order. When the verse is correctly assembled, recite it together.
INVISIBLE BALLOON
SUPPLIES
RELATE
What was God’s covenant with Abraham? Allow answers. Yes. God promised Abraham (whose name was first Abram) that his descendants— or all the people in his family—would be so many that counting them would be like trying to count the stars in the sky. God kept His promise. After many years of waiting, Sarah gave birth to a son named Isaac.
Sometime later, God commanded Abraham to take his son somewhere. Read Genesis 22:2. What did God ask Abraham to do? Allow answers. Yes. God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son. After waiting so many years for a child, God was asking him to give up that child.
Abraham followed God’s command. And then, just as Abraham was about to sacrifice his son, what happened? Allow answers. Read Genesis 22:11. The angel of the lord called to Abraham and stopped him. And God miraculously provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice.
Today, invite your kids to do an experiment that does the impossible: makes something appear out of nothing. Invite a child to help you mix one tablespoon of yeast with a teaspoon of sugar and one cup of warm water inside the jar. (Be sure water is between 105º and 115º Fahrenheit so the yeast will bloom properly, and the experiment will work.) Then, carefully insert a funnel into a glass bottle and pour the mixture inside. Next, stretch the opening of the balloon over the neck of the bottle. After a few minutes, different gases inside the bottle will release and cause the balloon to magically inflate. Note: The balloon will not inflate to its full size.
ALTAR OF THE LORD’S PROVISION
SUPPLIES
PREPARE AHEAD
Print the Stone cutouts onto gray and light brown paper and cut out the stones. Make several stones for each child.
RELATE
Through God’s work in Abraham and Isaac’s lives, we can see that God will provide for our needs, even though He may work in ways we might not expect. What are some other examples of ways God provided for His people throughout The Big God Story? Allow responses. Great thoughts.
God is Provider, and The Big God Story gives us many different examples of how God provides for His people. But the greatest example of God providing for His people was when He sent His Son Jesus.
Read John 3:16. How did God provide the way for us to spend eternity with Him? Allow responses.
Right. God sent Jesus, His only Son, to die for our sins so we could be with Him forever. What Abraham and Isaac experienced shows us what it must have been like for God to sacrifice His only Son for us.
God provides for us in many ways each day. Invite your kids to spend some time pondering some of the ways God provides for them in their lives. Then have each child take a few paper stones and write down some of these ways. Maybe God provided a home for your family, or maybe God provided friends when your child changed schools.
Once each child finishes writing, she can glue her stones to a disposable cup to make an altar. This altar can remind her of how God is Provider. (Also give each child several paper stones to place inside the cup altar. This way, kids can continue writing ways God provides for them throughout the week.)
POWERFUL PROMISES
SUPPLIES
PREPARE AHEAD
Have your children find a box and color it blue or wrap blue paper around it. Cut out two stars for everyone.
RELATE
Ask your family to join you in a circle. Pass out the stars, two per person. Ask children to hold onto the stars until they receive further instruction.
In the very beginning God made a promise that He would make the way for us to be with Him forever. The Big God Story is all about how God has been keeping that promise.
God made a promise to Abraham, and then Isaac was born. Abraham’s family grew and grew, and then Jesus, the promised Savior, was born!
Because God is powerful and kept His promise to send Jesus to be our Savior, we can be a part of God’s family and be friends with Him forever.
Think about who God is, and what you’d like to tell Him today. You might be thinking about the promises God has made to us, or what it means to be a part of God’s family.
I’m going to pass this balloon (or box), around the circle, and when it gets to you, you can share out loud or just talk to God in your heart. Then, if you’d like, you can tape your star to the balloon (or box), and the other star on your own hand. Our balloon (or box) will be a collection of all of our thoughts and prayers about God and His promises.
The sticker on your hand will remind you of what we’ve learned today. I’ll start.
As you pass the balloon or box, invite children to share or reflect quietly and then place their stars on the balloon or box. Make sure everyone has a chance to add their stars if they so desire, even if they didn’t talk out loud.
THAT’S WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT
RELATE
Encourage your family to stand in a circle for this game. You will move about and dance to the tune of “The Hokey Pokey.”
God has the power to do all that He promises. I think that’s a reason to dance! Join me as we dance and celebrate!
Begin by talking through and acting out the motions and lyrics. Once everyone is familiar with the song, lead children in several rounds.
Put your right hand in (right hand forward)
Put your right hand out (right hand back)
Put your trust in God and then turn yourself around (spin in circles)
God keeps His promises to me and to you (thumbs to chest on “me” and index fingers to others on “you”)
And that’s what it’s all about.
Put your left hand in (left hand forward)
Put your left hand out (left hand back)
Put your trust in God and then jump up and down (jump up and down in place)
God keeps His promises to me and to you (thumbs to chest on “me” and index fingers to others on “you”)
And that’s what it’s all about.
Put your right foot in (right foot forward)
Put your right foot out (right foot back)
Put your trust in God and then turn yourself around (spin in circles)
God keeps His promises to me and to you (thumbs to chest on “me” and index fingers to others on “you”)
And that’s what it’s all about.
Put your left foot in (left foot forward)
Put your left foot out (left foot back)
Put your trust in God and then jump up and down (jump up and down in place)
God keeps His promises to me and to you (thumbs to chest on “me” and index fingers to others on “you”)
And that’s what it’s all about.
Invite everyone to take turns as the leader. Let them choose a new motion or be prepared to prompt them. Play as many rounds as time allows or as long as children are engaged.
TOSSING AND TURNING, TRUSTING AND LEARNING
SUPPLIES
RELATE
Encourage children to find a partner, and then give each pair a beanbag. The partners should stand facing each other, about three feet apart. Be sure to clear plenty of space around each pair.
I’m so thankful that God is powerful. We can trust that He’ll never let us down and He’ll always be with us. I’m also thankful that He has given us each other. Together we can learn about God and help each other remember His promises.
Explain that the children will get to play a game with their partner that celebrates what they’ve heard about God today.
Begin by simply tossing and catching the beanbag with each other. After a few practice rounds, increase the challenge: Partners should each toss and catch the beanbag, then take one step apart and begin again.
To add to the game, explain that the child who is tossing the beanbag should say, “God is …” as he tosses. The child who is catching should say, “… powerful!”
You can vary the game by asking children to say the phrase, turn in a complete circle, and then toss the beanbag. Partners would catch the beanbag, say the phrase, and then end with a turn. Play as many variations as children enjoy with clapping, jumping, etc.
Also, check out these pages on Abraham and Isaac from The Action Bible.
More Lessons
Check out this post for more free lessons!
8 At-Home Lessons for Families
8 At-Home Lessons for Families
