Plagues of Egypt Sunday School Lesson
Plagues of Egypt Sunday School Lesson For Kid:
BOTTOM LINE:
Our God is powerful.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will learn that God has the power to do strange and wonderful things.
KEY PASSAGE:
Exodus 8:1-19. The Plague of Frogs and the Plague of Gnats.
MEMORY VERSE:
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” - 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)
SUMMARY:
The Bible is filled with strange occurrences and odd events. The people of God were enslaved in Egypt, so God brought ten plagues upon the land. Through these plagues – like frogs filling the country and gnats rising from the dust – God displayed his power, showed his love for his people, and proved that he is the one true God.
SIMPLE PRAYER:
Dear God,
Thank you for the Bible which tells us all about your power and might. Let us see your power at work in our own lives.
In Jesus' name,
Amen
MEMORY VERSE
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” - 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)
“It is written, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has known what God has prepared for those who love Him.'” - 1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIrV)
LARGE GROUP:
Put the verse on the big screen and read it aloud several times with the kids.
SMALL GROUP:
Ask the kids what they think the writer was trying to say when he wrote these words. Then ask them how this verse is connected to today’s story.
SKIT
WEIRD NEWS: PLAGUES
ITEMS NEEDED:
Table, to serve as a news anchor's desk
Microphone
Bible costume
Music
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
2M, 1F
CHARACTERS:
Chad Chatterly – News Anchor
Veronica Happily – Reporter
Kevin – Egyptian Businessman
Chad sits behind his anchor desk, stage right. Veronica stands holding her microphone, stage left. Chad and Veronica never look at each other – when they speak to each other, they look out into the audience. If possible, use light to indicate that these people are in two separate locations.
News-y music plays us into the scene.
CHAD: Welcome back. You're watching W.E.R.D, channel 13. This is the 7 o'clock evening news of the weird. We bring you stories of the strange, the odd, the downright “huh?” from all over the world, past and present. I'm Chad Chatterly. For our next story, we take you now to ancient Egypt where some truly weird things have been taking place. Our reporter on the scene is Veronica Happily. Veronica, are you there?
VERONICA: I'm here, Chad.
CHAD: Veronica, can you tell me, what is the atmosphere like in Egypt today?
VERONICA: It stinks.
CHAD: That sounds promising. Are you referring to political corruption? Or moral impropriety?
VERONICA: I'm referring to the air. It stinks.
CHAD: I know the situation is tense, but-.
VERONICA: No, Chad. You don't understand. It literally stinks around here. The smell is so bad, I'm about to cry.
CHAD: What's causing the stink, Veronica?
VERONICA: Frogs.
CHAD: Frogs?
Kevin enters and stands next to Veronica.
VERONICA: Frogs. It's the second plague to hit the scene in Egypt recently. I'm joined now by an Egyptian businessman to tell us more. Sir, what is your name?
KEVIN: Kevin.
VERONICA: Kevin the Egyptian?
KEVIN: Yes, that's right.
VERONICA: Can you explain a little bit about what's been going on here?
KEVIN: It's those instigators, Moses and his brother, Aaron. First they turned the water in the Nile River into blood.
VERONICA: Blood? How did they do that?
KEVIN: Well, they struck the water with one of their staffs and it just, you know, turned into blood. Then came the frogs. Once again, Aaron waved that staff of his and all these frogs rose up from the Nile River. It's been absolutely terrible for business.
VERONICA: What is your business exactly?
KEVIN: I give guided tours of the Nile River.
VERONICA: Oh dear.
KEVIN: Yeah, turns out, people from out of town don't want to sail on a river of blood while a frog sneaks in under their tunic. But I could live with that if those frogs had stayed by the river.
VERONICA: They didn't?
KEVIN: No they went everywhere. They got into our yards, into our houses, in our kitchens. I found one in my son's bed, even. It's disgusting.
VERONICA: Then what happened, Kevin?
KEVIN: Well, Pharaoh begged Moses to pray to his God to take the frogs away. And he did, and now the air sticks.
CHAD: Veronica, I'd like to step in for a second if I could.
VERONICA: Yes, Chad.
CHAD: If the frogs all disappeared, why does it stink?
VERONICA: The frogs didn't disappear. They all died. I don't know if you've ever smelled a million dead frogs before, Chad, but it's not great.
KEVIN: I hear there are more plagues on the way, too.
VERONICA: Can you tell us where you got that information?
KEVIN: It's just a rumor I heard, but they say there are going to be a total of ten plagues. I can't even imagine what this is going to do to my family. My son nearly had a panic attack when we found that frog in his bed. Ten plagues is just going to kill him.
VERONICA: Do you know why all this is happening, Kevin?
KEVIN: The Israelites.
VERONICA: The Israelites? That's the group of people currently in slavery here in Egypt.
KEVIN: Yes, they want to be free. They prayed to their God to be set free. God sent Moses and Aaron to free them. Pharaoh has refused to let the Israelites go, so God is bringing on these plagues through Moses and Aaron.
VERONICA: Why plagues?
KEVIN: Our Pharaoh has a bit of an ego. He likes to think of himself as a god, even. I think these plagues are God's way of showing that he's more powerful than anyone else. (looking off) Uh oh.
VERONICA: What is it, sir?
KEVIN: What is it, Veronica?
KEVIN: It's Moses and Aaron. Over there. I don't like that look in their eyes. Uh-oh, Aaron's waving that stick of his around.
VERONICA: He's struck the ground with it. And sending a cloud of dust rising up from the ground.
KEVIN: I don't think that's dust.
Suddenly Kevin and Veronica start flailing around, trying to combat the mimed swarm of gnats.
CHAD: What's happened, Veronica? What is it?
VERONICA: Gnats, Chad. There are gnats everywhere.
KEVIN: One just flew into my mouth. And now another one. And now another one. Stop opening your mouth, Kevin. And another one.
VERONICA: We'll take it back to the studio. From ancient Egypt, this is Veronica Happily reporting.
CHAD: Weird. Don't worry, folks. I'm sure she'll be fine. From all of us at W.E.R.D. Channel 13, good night and pleasant dreams.
End.
OBJECT LESSON
ITEMS NEEDED:
Bag (not clear)
Beans – from a can or cooked, so that they are softened
Select one kid to come up. Show everyone the bag, but not the beans inside of it.
(Addressing your volunteer) Now I have a question for you. This bag is filled with something. Would you be willing to stick your hand into the bag for a full 60 seconds no matter what is in the bag?
Allow him to answer, but continue without having him place his hand in.
It might be filled with cotton balls. It might be filled with creepy crawling maggots. You won't know until you put your hand in. And even as you feel around in there, you might not know what it is you're touching. Do you want to stick your hand into the bag?
At this point allow your volunteer to stick his hand in. If he refuses, find another willing soul. When the new volunteer's hand has been in the bag for a few seconds, say:
Good job. Now tell us, what do those rabbit droppings feel like?
When your volunteer removes his hand, show him and your audience that there are only beans in the bag.
Sometimes, life can be scary because we don't know what we're getting ourselves into. It's like blindly sticking your hand into a bag. It might be something good, it might be something bad. We don't know. It's a big mystery.
Those beans probably felt weird – a little bit soft, a little bit slimy – but they were nothing to be afraid of. Sometimes we read stories in the Bible that seem weird. Or we have things happen in our own lives that are just weird. But we don't need to be afraid. God loves us and God is powerful. He will take care of us and see us through, no matter how weird things get.
LARGE GROUP GAME
SWARM
ITEMS NEEDED:
Scratch/recycled paper, lots of it
Shopping bag
Goggles
INSTRUCTIONS:
Choose 8 to 10 players. One player will stand in the middle – he is the Collector. The other players form a circle around the Collector, each with a swarm of paper crumbled into balls. On your mark, the other players throw their paper balls at the Collector. It is the Collector's job to gather as many wads of paper as possible and deposit them into the bag. The other players are attempting to bombard and overwhelm the Collector so that he fails.
After 60 seconds, play stops and the paper balls in the bag are counted. If the player collects at least 20 balls, he wins. If not, the other players win.
It is a good idea to provide safety goggles for your Collector to wear during this game.
VARIATION:
For younger kids, reduce the number of throwers and decrease the number of balls needed to win.
For something a little more raucous, have one of your leaders be the Collector and invite all of your kids to throw paper balls.
WHAT’S THE POINT?
The Collector might be overwhelmed with the “swarm” of paper coming their way. This reminds us of the swarm of gnats that God sent to overwhelm Pharaoh and the Egyptians.
LARGE GROUP LESSON
BOTTOM LINE:
Our God is powerful.
OBJECTIVE:
Kids will learn that God has the power to do strange and wonderful things.
KEY PASSAGE:
Exodus 8:1-19. The Plague of Frogs and the Plague of Gnats.
INTRO
The Bible is filled with great stories. There are stories of heroes – men and women who stood up for God and accomplished great things. There are stories of lowly people that God raised up to do incredible things. There are stories of forgiveness and stories of second chances and stories of miracles happening. Taken as a whole, the Bible is the story of God's love: how he created humans that he loved, and even when we sinned against him, he loved us so much that he sent his son Jesus to die for us. There's no story greater.
There are some pretty weird stories in the Bible, too. Gross, strange, just plain odd. They may be confusing at first, but if we look deeper we'll learn some incredible things. We're going to spend the next few weeks exploring some of these weird stories and see what they can teach us about who God is.
God's people, the Israelites were living in Egypt. They had settled in that land back when Joseph was second in command in Egypt. During that time, the Israelites enjoyed peace with their Egyptian neighbors. But then the old pharaoh died. The new pharaoh did not like the Israelites and so he turned them into the slaves of the Egyptians.
The Israelites cried out to God and he heard them. He sent Moses and his brother Aaron to set the people free. In order for the Israelites to leave Egypt, Moses had to convince the Pharaoh to let them go. How do you convince the king of Egypt to give his slaves their freedom?
Here's where the story gets weird. God decided to send plagues down on the land of Egypt. In the first plague, Moses struck the water of Nile River with his staff and the whole river turned into blood. With that first plague, God showed how powerful he is, but the Pharaoh's heart was hard. He refused to let the Israelites go or to even listen to Moses.
And so God sent more plagues on the land. Let's read about what happened next.
READ Exodus 8:1-19.
MAIN POINT
This story shows us how powerful God is. It also shows us how much he loves us. God didn't create all of these plagues just because he felt like doing something weird. He did it because his chosen people cried out to him for help. They were being mistreated by the Egyptians and they had no way of getting themselves free. They needed God to intervene. They needed God to be the powerful God they knew him to be. God answered the cry of the people.
The plagues came. First was the river of blood. Then the frogs. Then gnats – those annoying little bugs that fly around your face. Again God showed how powerful he is, but still Pharaoh's heart was hard. If we read on, we learn that after this God sent a plague of flies and then a plague where all of the Egyptian's animals got sick and died. Next the people of Egypt were infested with boils – sores that covered their bodies. After this, hail storms came, followed by swarms of locusts, and then three days of total darkness. Even after all of this, Pharaoh refused to see that the Lord was the one true God. He would not let God's people go.
Then came one final plague. One night, every firstborn son in Egypt died. Every family in Egypt suffered the loss of someone they loved, even the Pharaoh's oldest son died. It was only after this plague that Pharaoh finally let the Israelites go free.
DRIVE IT HOME:
How is your heart? The Pharaoh's heart was hard. He refused to see how powerful God is. He would not accept that God was the one true God. He would not obey God or follow God. And because of that hard heart, Pharaoh and all of the Egyptian people had to suffer a great deal.
God loves you. He doesn't want your heart to be hard like Pharaoh's. He wants your heart to belong to Him. When we belong to God, he can do powerful things through us. It's like when Aaron struck the ground with his staff and the dust became a swarm of gnats. That was not something that Aaron had the power to do himself; it was something that God did through him.
Turn to God. Ask him to give you a soft heart. Let him show you how powerful he is and how much he loves you. Keep walking with him and you will grow in obedience and love. And God will do great work through you.
It may not be as weird as a plague of frogs or gnats, but it will no doubt be something where God shows just how powerful he is.
CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
Thank you for the Bible which tells us all about your power and might. Let us see your power at work in our own lives.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)
ICEBREAKER
What would you do if you saw a frog on your bed?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY
1 Corinthians 2:9
Ask the kids what they think the writer was trying to say when he wrote these words. Then ask them how this verse is connected to today’s story.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY
Play a few rounds of Leap Frog.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Read Exodus 8:1-19.
What plague occurred before the frogs came?
Where were some of the places that the frogs went?
What happened to the frogs after Moses prayed to God?
Which plague came after the frogs?
What did Pharaoh's magicians say when they saw the gnats?
SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
You are loving and you are powerful. May we have soft hearts willing to accept your love and power.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)
ICEBREAKER
What would you do if you saw a frog on your bed?
MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY
1 Corinthians 2:9
Ask the kids what they think the writer was trying to say when he wrote these words. Then ask them how this verse is connected to today’s story.
SMALL GROUP GAME/ACTIVITY
Play a few rounds of Leap Frog.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Read Exodus 8:1-19.
Where were some of the places that the frogs went?
What happened to the frogs after Moses prayed to God?
Which plague came after the frogs?
When did Pharaoh's magicians realize that these plagues were really from God?
Why do you think Pharaoh's heart remained hardened?
SIMPLE PRAYER
Dear God,
You are loving and you are powerful. May we have soft hearts willing to accept your love and power.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
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For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Plagues of Egypt Children's Ministry Lesson (just click the link).Â
Here's a video from Saddleback kids that you might find helpful to go along with your Sunday School Lesson on the Plagues of Egypt.Â
Take a look at the links below for other ideas for teaching a Plagues of Egypt Sunday School Lesson:Â
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The 9 Plagues of Egypt Sunday School Lesson - Better Bible Teachers
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Moses & The First Nine Plagues Sunday School Lesson (Exodus 7-11)
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The 10 Plagues of Egypt Sunday School Lesson | Genesis 13, 18-19
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