Scripture: Exodus 11: 4 – 9, 12:1 – 13, 12:24 – 42 or pages 117 – 119 in The Golden Children’s Bible
Target Age Group: 1st through 6th grade
Welcome the children to the classroom and chat with them about their week as they gather around the table.
Pray and ask God to teach the children not just head knowledge, but also heart knowledge.
Have the children open their Bibles to Exodus 11 or pages 117-119 in The Golden Children’s Bible.
(Read the story to the children because at this age some of the children do not read smoothly, which hinders comprehension for the whole class.)
- What was the 10th plague? At midnight every firstborn son in Egypt would die.
- What were the two qualifications for the lamb? A year old male that had no defects.
- What were they to do with the blood of the lamb? They were to paint the doorposts of their houses with it.
- Do you ever decorate your doorpost? Christmas wreaths at Christmas, welcome sign, “Gone Fishing”, “Do Not Disturb”, “Open”, “Closed”, etc.
- What we put on our doorpost tells people on the outside a lot about those of us inside, doesn’t it? When the people put the blood of the lamb on their doorposts, what were they telling God? That they trusted Him to save them.
- That night they were to eat the lamb. How were they to prepare it? Roasted over a fire with bitter herbs and with bread made without yeast. If any was left over, they were to burn it.
- What were they to wear when they ate it? Their traveling clothes and with staffs in their hands.
- Why were they to eat in these clothes? Because they were to be ready to leave.
- Why was the bread made without yeast? Because they had to leave in a hurry and didn’t have time to let the bread rise.
- What would God do that night? God would pass through Egypt and kill all the firstborn of people and animals.
- Which houses would escape this plague? Those that had the blood on the doorposts. Those houses would be passed over.
- Can you think of another time in the Bible when a Lamb was sacrificed? Jesus was the Lamb of God who was crucified on the cross.
- Which ones of us will escape from the consequences of our sins? Those of us who are covered with the blood of Jesus.
- How do we obey and become covered with Jesus’ blood? We pray and ask him to forgive our sins.
- Have you done that? (Don’t force anyone to answer. Give the children a little time to ponder this.)
- What did Pharaoh do when the firstborn were found to be dead? He called for Moses in the middle of the night, and he told him to take the people and go and worship the Lord as he had asked.
- How long had the people lived in Egypt? 430 years.
- Let’s pray and ask Jesus to cover us with His blood to save us from the slavery of sin…
During the remaining class time do activities that help to reinforce what the children have learned. Here are some suggestions…
Memorize the verse.
Exodus 12: 13b “when I see the blood, I will pass over you.”
Have the children use colors or pastels to draw their own vision of the story on a sketch pad page. Or have them color a color page related to the story. Color page #1 from Messianic Trust. An excellent color page book is “Through-the-Bible Coloring Pages For Ages 4-8” by Janet Skiles. The pages are reproducible.
Share the story “God to the Rescue” from “The Jesus Story Book Bible”. (Make sure that you order the collector’s edition, which has the DVD with the stories animated and narrated. It’s wonderful.)
Have the children act out this little skit from Kid’s Sunday School.
Make the “Two Houses at the Passover” craft or do the worksheet from Gospel Hall. Go to the activities index and search for lesson 211. (The teachers guide is very helpful with the worksheet.)
Sing “Plagues” and “What Seems Impossible” by Mary Rice Hopkins from the Dancing in the Desert album.
Play the “Moses Says” game. Make sure that Moses says, “Paint your doorpost with the blood of the lamb.”
Print out Passover Paper Dolls from Messianic Trust, and have the children use them to tell the story.
Buy or bake matzah bread and have the children have a piece to taste. Talk about how Jesus body was like the un-leaven bread in a Seder.
There are more ideas here at The Last Supper lesson.
Evaluate what the children have learned. While they are coloring or crafting ask each one what they learned today.
Send each child’s parent an e-mail (or a hard copy) of the Parents’ Page.