Unfrozen Sunday School Lesson

Unfrozen Sunday School Lesson
Take a look at our FREE Unfrozen Sunday School Lesson! Teach kids that the prophets told of the coming King to give people hope. By the end of this lesson, kids will learn that Jesus' birth was foretold by prophets hundreds of years before that first Christmas. This lesson is great for every Children's Ministry, Kids Church, and Sunday School! The once great Kingdom of Israel is divided and in shambles, and the people of God are discouraged and without hope. In the midst of this, God speaks through prophets – men and women like Isaiah – to remind them of God's love. Isaiah tells the people that one day God will establish a new kingdom that has no end. He will bring them a new king that will save the people: not only from their enemies but also from their own sin. And, if you like this lesson we have over 100 more free Sunday School Lessons for Kids! Check out our awesome  Unfrozen 4-Week Children's Ministry Curriculum.

Unfrozen Sunday School Lesson for Kids:

BOTTOM LINE:

The prophets told of the coming King to give the people hope.

 OBJECTIVE:

Kids will learn that birth of Jesus was foretold by prophets hundreds of years before that first Christmas.

 KEY PASSAGE:

Isaiah 9:2-7. Isaiah tells of the coming King.

 MEMORY VERSE:

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)

 SUMMARY:

The once great Kingdom of Israel is divided and in shambles, and the people of God are discouraged and without hope. In the midst of this, God speaks through prophets – men and women like Isaiah – to remind them of God's love. Isaiah tells the people that one day God will establish a new kingdom that has no end. He will bring them a new king that will save the people: not only from their enemies but also from their own sin.

 SIMPLE PRAYER:

Dear God,

Thank you for sending people into our lives that tell us about Jesus. May the message of Christmas give us hope and peace.

In Jesus' name,

Amen

MEMORY VERSE:

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)

 “The people who are now living in darkness will see a great light. They are now living in a very dark land. But a light will shine on them.” Isaiah 9:2 (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.

I am not sure what Bayer’s instructions were.  Clearly, he copied and pasted the format and layout from one of John’s lessons, which is great for consistency’s sake.  However, these memory verse activities are ones John uses often. I am hoping to see some of Bayer’s own ideas and creativity come through these lessons, not just copies of what has already been done.  However, if his instructions were to be consistent with John’s lessons then that is consistent with what I am seeing so far.

I see three possibilities with a new writer:

1) Mimic what John does as closely as possible.  This includes format/layout and style of writing and types of activities.

2) Bayer works within the same format/layout we are used to, but has creative liberty within that structure

3) Bayer is given free reign to include whatever components of a curriculum he wants.  For example, John is a strong skit writer but maybe Bayer is not? In which case, Bayer may not choose to write skits but he may add another component we haven’t seen yet.

SKIT:

UNFROZEN, Part 1: The Kingdom of Frozen Hearts

 ITEMS NEEDED:

Large storybook

Temporary wall (this can also be pantomimed, if needed)

 CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:

1M, 2F

 CHARACTERS:

Narrator

Olga

Inga

Narrator enters with storybook. He opens it, and pretends to read from it.

Narrator: Once upon a time, there were two young girls.

Olga and Inga enter and face the audience.

Narrator: One was named Inga.

INGA: (to audience) Hi.

Narrator: And the other was named Olga.

OLGA: (to audience) Hello there.

Narrator: Inga and Olga were both princesses. They also happened to be sisters.

Inga and Olga hold hands as they continue to face the audience. Then Inga realizes:

INGA: Oh, we're princesses and sisters. Just like in that movie F-.

Narrator: Stop! No, it's not like anything. (Back to the book) Anyway, Inga and Olga loved each other very much. But unfortunately, Olga had special powers. Special powers that she couldn't control.

INGA: Are you sure this isn't like that movie?

OLGA: It does sound a lot like it.

Narrator: No! Now be quiet and let me continue with the story.

INGA: (To Olga) I bet mom and dad separate us because of your powers.

Narrator: The girls' parents grew afraid of Olga's powers. In order to protect both of their daughters, they separated them.

Olga and Inga release their hands. Olga moves to behind the wall. Inga and Olga stand on opposite ends of the wall. The wall stands perpendicular to the audience, so both sisters can still be seen.

Narrator: Olga was shut up in her room. She never saw Inga anymore. And no one ever told Inga about Olga's special powers or why she couldn't see her sister.

INGA: Do you want to bu-.

Narrator: No, you can't ask her that.

INGA: Fine! Would you like to go grab a burger?

OLGA: No, thanks. I can't.

INGA: How about throw a baseball around? Or play with dolls or something? Maybe go catch a movie; the one about the two sister princesses?

OLGA: I can't.

Narrator: Year after year this went on. Inga grew more and more sad each time her sister rejected her, and Olga grew more and more hopeless as time went on and she could not control her powers.

Olga and Inga are now slumped down on the ground on either end of the wall.

OLGA: Well, this is depressing.

INGA: It really is, isn't it?

OLGA: I can't see how this will ever get any better. This is how life will be from now on.

INGA: No, things are bound to improve.

OLGA: What makes you say that?

INGA: Well, this is a fairy tale, isn't it? Don't these “once upon a time” stories always end with a “happily ever after”?

OLGA: Do they?

INGA: Sure they do!

OLGA: I wish I had your optimism; but like the narrator said, I'm without hope.

INGA: Here, I'll prove it to you.

Inga jumps up. She goes to over to the Narrator and takes the storybook from him.

Narrator: Hey, that's mine.

Inga returns to her side of the wall. She leafs through the pages of the book.

INGA: Let's see. . . guy with a reindeer. . . snow monster. . . lots of singing. Here it is. “And they lived happily ever after.” See.

Inga pulls the book around to the other side of the wall to let Olga see.

OLGA: Well, what do you know? It does turn out alright eventually.

INGA: Feel better now?

OLGA: I do. Thank you. Hey, do you want to go get that burger now?

INGA: Sounds good.

Inga and Olga walk over to the Narrator. Inga gives him back his storybook.

INGA: Here's your storybook back.

Inga and Olga exit. Narrator faces the audience, dejected.

Narrator: Too be continued.

Great skit in terms of entertainment.  The kids will like it! Curious to see how, or if, it ties into the Bible story.  Maybe it won’t connect until next week since it is in at least two parts.

OBJECT LESSON

ITEMS NEEDED

Several store-bought greeting cards

Can anybody tell me what these are?

Display the cards. Allow the kids to answer.

We call these greeting cards. A greeting is when we say something like “Hello. Hi. Nice to meet you. Welcome.” I haven't seen a lot of greeting cards that say those things though. What are some things a greeting card might say?

Allow the kids to answer. If they are having trouble, offer a few suggestions: Happy Birthday, Get Well Soon, Merry Christmas, etc.

Whatever the message, the reason we buy a card is so that we can give it to someone else. If I have a friend that's sick, I might buy him a card that says “Get Well Soon,” but if I never give him the card he'll never know I was thinking of him. If we have a message we have to make sure we deliver it.

It's also important to deliver the right message. If it's a different friend's birthday and I give her that card that says “Get Well Soon” she'll think I'm weird. It makes no sense, because I'm not giving her a message that she needs. She wants to get a card that says “Happy Birthday.”

Today, we're going to meet a man name Isaiah who had a message that he made sure to deliver to the people. And it was exactly the message that they needed to hear. Though, it wasn't written on a greeting card.

Great!

LARGE GROUP GAME

 Leading the Blind   

 ITEMS NEEDED:

2 blindfolds

11 quarters (or any odd number of coins)

 INSTRUCTIONS:

Create two teams of two. One member of each team will be the Prophet and the other will be the Israelites Place your two teams at opposite ends of the stage. Blindfold the Israelites. Scatter the quarters on throughout the stage.

Start the game. The Prophet must deliver a message, namely, where to find the quarters. Israelites must listen and try to follow the Prophets instructions. The team to retrieve the most quarters wins.

 VARIATION:

To simplify the game, have only one Prophet and one Israelite.

To complicate the game, have the entire audience serve as the Prophet, shouting out instructions to your two Israelites.

LARGE GROUP LESSON

  BOTTOM LINE:

The prophets told of the coming King to give the people hope.

 OBJECTIVE:

Kids will learn that birth of Jesus was foretold by prophets hundreds of years before that first Christmas.

 KEY PASSAGE:

Isaiah 9:2-7. Isaiah tells of the coming King.

 INTRO

Christmas is coming soon. Different things might come to your mind when you think of Christmas. Some people think of gifts under the tree. Some people think about Santa Claus and his reindeer. Some people think about singing Christmas carols or twinkling lights or getting two weeks off of school.

All of those things are great, but most of us know that the real reason for Christmas is Jesus. Christmas is where we celebrate and remember the birth of Jesus. It's a time where we can stop and think about how much God must love us if he was willing to send us his Son. That's a pretty great thing to think about.

But for a few minutes, I want you to pretend with me. We're going to pretend that we've never heard of Jesus. And it's not because we've never been to church or because no one has ever told us about him. The reason we haven't heard about Jesus is because he hasn't been born yet. Let's go back in time and pretend that we are living seven hundred years before Jesus was born.

We live in city of Jerusalem. It's not a happy place to live. Jerusalem used to be the main city in the powerful kingdom of Israel. Israel was God's nation. But not any more. The kings of Israel and the people stopped following God, and that got them into all kinds of trouble. They started getting attacked by their enemies, like the Assyrians and the Babylonians. When they weren't fighting outsiders, they were fighting amongst themselves. Eventually, the nation broke into two: the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah.

Since we live in Jerusalem, we're a part of the Kingdom of Judah. Like I said, it's not a very happy place to live. We're sad and scared, and we feel like we're alone. It seems like God has abandoned us. But the good news is, He hasn't. God loves us.

God sends a prophet named Isaiah to us. A prophet is a man or woman who delivers a message from God. And the message Isaiah gives us is this: God loves you. And because he loves you he wants you to have hope. He wants you to turn from the bad things you've done.  And the best news of all: God will send the world his Son, a new king who will rule forever. The Savior of the world.

That's Jesus. Here are some of the words Isaiah spoke describing Jesus to the people who had never met him:

 READ Isaiah 9:2-7

 MAIN POINT

Isaiah tells us that we have been walking in darkness. It's hard to know where to go when the way is dark. But he describes meeting Jesus as “seeing a great light.” Isaiah uses many words to describe Jesus. He calls him a Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.

The people of Judah were looking for a new king. A strong and powerful King who would protect them from their enemies. God let them know through Isaiah, that Jesus would be their King (or prince), but that he would not have a kingdom of war. His would be a kingdom of peace.

In most kingdoms, the regular people can't just go up to the king anytime they want. But Isaiah tells us that Jesus is our Counselor. That means we can come to him anytime we want and talk to him, share our troubles, seek his help.

Isaiah also tells us that Jesus is our Mighty God. Jesus is a strong king who can handle any problem we bring to him and can help us through every scary time that we face. The words Everlasting Father remind us that we are God's children and Jesus' love for us will never end.

The previous 4 paragraphs would be a great place to insert graphics that would reinforce the kind of imagery that Isaiah used of Jesus.

 DRIVE IT HOME

I'd say all in all, Isaiah delivered a pretty terrific message to the people. It was a message that they really needed to hear. The people were sad and afraid. They needed hope. They needed to know that God loved them. They needed to know that Jesus was coming.

Sometimes we're sad and afraid too. We might feel hopeless. We might need reminding that God loves us. When those times come, we can always turn to Jesus for comfort, strength, love, and peace.

 CLOSE WITH A SIMPLE PRAYER

Dear God,

Thank you for sending people into our lives that tell us about Jesus. May the message of Christmas give us hope and peace.

In Jesus' name,

Amen

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (K-2ND)

 ICEBREAKER

What is something that you hope for?

 MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)

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-

Go over the list of words that Isaiah used to describe Jesus – Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. As a group create a list of your own words to describe Jesus.

 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS-

Read Isaiah 9:2-7

Why were the people in Jerusalem sad, scared, and hopeless?

What is a prophet?

What did God tell the people through Isaiah?

How do you think the people felt when they heard Isaiah's message?

 SIMPLE PRAYER-

Dear God,

Jesus reminds us that you love us and that you want us to have hope and peace. Thank you.

In Jesus' name,

Amen

All sedentary activities.

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION (3RD-5TH)

 ICEBREAKER-

What is something that you hope for?

 MEMORY VERSE ACTIVITY-

"The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned." Isaiah 9:2 (NIV)

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-

Go over the list of words that Isaiah used to describe Jesus – Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. As a group create a list of your own words to describe Jesus.

 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS-

Read Isaiah 9:2-7

Why did the people of Jerusalem feel so hopeless?

Who was Isaiah?

What does it mean to you that Jesus is a Wonderful Counselor? How about Prince of Peace?

How would you have responded to Isaiah's message?

If you were a prophet, what message from God would you tell people today?

 SIMPLE PRAYER-

Dear God,

Jesus reminds us that you love us and that you want us to have hope and peace. Thank you.

In Jesus' name,

Amen

 

For your convenience, you can also download the entire PDF version of this Unfrozen Children's Ministry Lesson (just click the link). 

Take a look at the links below for other ideas for teaching an Unfrozen Sunday School Lesson: 

 

unFrozen 4-Week Christmas Children's Ministry Curriculum

 

 

59 Best unFrozen Christmas Children's Ministry Curriculum Ideas

 

 

unFrozen 4-Week Christmas Children's Ministry Curriculum