The Life of Abraham

In the words of Abraham as he met Melchizedek, "Hi." Thank you for your service in teaching children this week. I hope you find this collection of 7 Abraham Sunday School lessons useful.

I've tried to provide everything you'll need here to teach a series on the patriarch of our faith.

You'll find a lesson on all of the following stories.

• God leading Abram to a new country
• Abram lying to Pharaoh in Egypt
• Abram making peace with Lot
• God helping Abram defeat a large army
• Abram's missteps in having Ishmael
• God's destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
• The birth and near sacrifice of Isaac

Each of the 7 lessons has a mix of games, crafts, interactive storytelling, or dramas. Enjoy reading through the lessons and teaching life-giving wisdom to your students.

Recommended Extras

Here are a few inexpensive or free items I've used to round out my teaching on Abraham. I'm sure you'll find them useful.

Paid Resources

The Animated Kid's Bible – This series on Genesis does a superb job of showing the life of Abraham. I recommend showing the clips as a review of the previous week's lesson and then showing the entire episodes as a wrap-up of your series on Abraham.

The Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible – This set of episodes has one dedicated to the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. It can be a useful tool to give kids another perspective on God's justice and the circumstances that required His wrath.

Bible Fun Factory: Genesis 1-24 –Mary Kate Warner has two complete lessons on Abraham in her book. I would recommend using her ideas as a way to fill out the lessons below or substitute some of the games and activities for those that would appeal more to your class.

Free Resources

Ministry-to-Children had a good idea to use Wait and Go (Red Light, Green Light) as a game for God calling Abram to go to a new country. If you don't know the game, all the kids start on a line. When you call Go, they race toward the finish line, but randomly, you'll call Wait. When you do, the students have to freeze in place. If they don't, they're out. The first one to cross the finish line wins. Remind students that God told Abram when to move and when to stay.

They also have a print out for the songs Father Abraham and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. It's a good tie-in because God told Abraham that he would have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky.

Free Sunday School Curriculum has a coloring page and activity pages for the story of Abram and Lot separating and for Abram rescuing Lot.

God Leads Abram to a New Country Children's Sunday School Lesson

Purpose: Use this Abraham children's Sunday School lesson to teach kids that God is always with us, guiding where we should go in life.

Needed: a copy of a road map for each student, pencils or crayons, blindfolds, drawing paper

Intro Game: Map Quest – Give each student or pair of students a road map. Help them find your city or state and then point out a location close by. Ask, If I asked you how to get from where we are to this other location, what would you tell me? Draw the way using the roads on your maps.

(Do the exercise a couple of more times, choosing different locations. Then, take the maps away.) Now, without looking, if I asked you how to get from here to (another location), what would you tell me?

It's a little harder to tell directions if you don't have the map, isn't it?

But when you're riding in a car, you don't need to know how to get somewhere, do you? When you're riding in a car, who knows how to get where you're going?

Your parents or grandparents or someone else a little older than you knows where to go. Sometimes, a GPS helps them know where to go.

That's kind of how it was for Abraham in our story today.

Lesson: (Note: Always allow students enough time to think about and to give their answers to the questions before clarifying the teaching.)

Ask students, Can any of you think of a hard thing that God might ask you to do? Use your imaginations.

What if God told you to leave your family and all your friends and go live in another country? Would you do it? How would you feel about it?

Well, God told the person in our Bible story today to do exactly that.

Summarize Genesis 12 with this Bible story, asking the included questions as you read.

God said to Abram, "Leave your country and your people and your father's family and go to the land I will show you."

Do you think Abram was scared to go to a new place?

Do you think he was sad to have to leave his family?

Do you think maybe he was a little bit excited, too, to see the place where God was taking him?

Did Abraham know where he was going?

No. God just told Abraham to leave his country and go somewhere God would show him. Abraham didn't have a map of where he was going. He didn't know how to get there. But who did know how to get there?

God knew where He was taking Abraham and He made sure Abraham and his family arrived there safely.

It's kind of like God was the driver in the car and Abraham and his family were the passengers. They didn't know how to get where they were going, but God did.

It's the same way for us in life. We don't everything that's going to happen to us or all the places we'll go, but God does. And as long as we keep trusting in God like Abraham and his family did, God will be right beside us, taking us where we need to go in life. God will be like our driver if we keep trusting in Him.

God told Abraham, "I will bless you and I will be with you and will make you into a great nation."

What is God promising to do for Abram? (To bless him, or reward him.)

Do you think God can bless and reward us if we listen to Him and do what He tells us? (Yes.)

So Abram left, as God had told him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left his own country and he took his wife, Sarai, his nephew, Lot, and everything that they had and moved to the country of Canaan.

When they arrived in Canaan, God promised Abram, "I will give this whole country to your children and their children forever." So Abram built an altar there and made sacrifices to God on it to thank God for everything God had done for him.

Do you think it's important to thank God when He does something good for us? (Yes.)

What are some ways that we can thank God?

We can thank God by praying to Him. We can do something special for God. We can give God an extra offering out of the money that we get, etc.

Prayer: Father God, You know everything about us. You know everything that will happen to us. You know what we should do and where we should go in life. We pray that You will help us to always trust in You to lead us, just like Abraham did. Help us to be like Your passengers and to trust You as our driver. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Game: Blindfold Challenge – This a classic game to teach kids what it was like for Abraham to trust God even though he didn't know where God was leading him.

Have the students pair up in a safe area. One of the students will put on a blindfold. The other will give them verbal directions of where to go. When I used this game, I had the children lead each other to another room in the church. You could also take the kids outside to walk a path around your property, or set up a course for them to follow in your classroom.

Once they get to the ending location, have them switch. The one giving directions will now take their blindfolded partner to a third location or back to the classroom via a different route.

When the second student reaches their location, remind them that Abraham didn't know where he was going. He had to trust God to lead him. We have to trust God to lead us in our lives too because we don't know what will happen in the future.

Craft: Drawing Your Life's Roadmap – Have students draw a road map for the events in their lives. Some locations could include their house, their school, their friends' houses, their church, a relative's house, or the home of a parent they don't normally live with. Encourage the students to add any location that they visit often or that is meaningful to them.

Then, on their map, have them draw themselves in a car but with an empty driver's seat. Explain that God is in the driver's seat and that He is with us wherever we go.

Abram Lies to Pharaoh Children's Sunday School Lesson

Purpose: Use this children's Sunday School lesson on Abraham to teach kids how to trust in God instead of trying to get themselves out of trouble.

Needed: nothing

Intro Game #1: Lie Detector – This game is similar to Two Truths and a Lie. Tell students that you're going to tell them a story about what happened to you. Most of it will be true, but someone of it won't be. It's their job to call out whenever they think you're saying something that isn't true.

Intro Game #2: Bad Interview – Have students pair up. One will interview the other. They can ask the person questions about themselves or to tell them a story about something they did. The one rule is that the person answering the questions can only tell lies. Give them a couple of minutes and then have them switch roles.

Lesson: Ask students, Is it ever okay to lie about something?

When do you think it would be okay to lie? (Affirm that God always wants us to tell the truth unless we're playing a game and people know we're lying. We should never try to trick someone.)

Last time, we learned about a man named Abram. Does anyone remember what God told Abram to do?

God told Abram to leave his country and his friends and his family and go to a new country.

Did Abram listen to God and go to that new country? (Yes. Abram went to the country of Canaan.)

(Summarize Genesis 12:10-20 with this Bible story asking the included questions as you read.)

But soon, the country of Canaan started to run out of food. It hadn't rained for a long time and all the plants and animals were dying. So Abram left Canaan and went to Egypt to live there for a while. On their way to Egypt, Abram told his wife, Sarai, "Pretend that you are my sister and not my wife while we are in Egypt. You are such a beautiful woman that someone will want to kill me if they think I'm your husband so that they can take you for themselves."

And sure enough, when they got to Egypt, one of the men saw how beautiful Sarai was and told Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, all about her. So Pharaoh came and took Sarai to be his wife!

What do you think about that? Can Pharaoh come and take Sarai to be his wife if she's already married to Abram? (No, he can't.)

So God made Pharaoh and everyone in his palace sick because he had taken Sarai to be his wife. Then, Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What have you done to me? You've made everyone in my palace sick! You should have told me Sarai was your wife! Take her back and leave my palace right now."

Do you remember why Abram lied about Sarai not being his wife? (Because he was afraid that someone would kill him and take Sarai away from him.)

Do you think Abram should have lied? (No, he shouldn't have lied.)

What do you think Abram should have done instead? (He should have known that God was always with him and would protect him from being killed if he told the truth about Sarai.)

And we don't have to be afraid of anything, either, because we know that God is always with us and can protect us. All we have to do is trust in God.

(Tell students about a time you lied because you were afraid of getting in trouble. Explain the positive result of what would have happened if you had told the truth.)

Game: Alex and Alicia – Help students apply the lesson by giving advice to two fictitious students.

Story #1: Alex's Accident. One day, Alex was playing with his friend Arthur. They were running around the house, chasing each other. Suddenly, Alex tripped and fell. As he was falling, he knocked over a picture of his grandma. As he heard the glass break, he knew he was going to get in trouble. He wasn't supposed to run in the house to begin with and now he had broken something. He thought about lying about it and saying that he didn't know how the picture broke. He even thought about telling his parents that his friend, Arthur, knocked the picture over.

What should Alex do in this situation?

(Alex should tell the truth even though he might get in trouble. God will be happy with Alex for not lying.)

Story #2: Alicia's Good Hair Day. One morning, Alicia was on her way to school. She was riding the bus with her friend, Ally. "Your hair looks so nice today, Alicia!" Ally exclaimed. "Thank you," Alicia replied. "My mom braided my hair this morning." "Oh, I'm going to braid my hair!" Ally said, and she started to braid her own hair. When Ally was finished, she asked, Alicia, "What do you think?" Alicia looked at Ally's hair. Ally's braids did not look very good at all, but she didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings.

What should Alicia do in this situation?

(Alicia should tell the truth. If Ally's braids don't look very good because she tried to braid her hair herself, then the other students might laugh at her when they get to school. God will be happy with Alicia if she tells Ally the truth to keep her from being embarrassed.)

Closing Prayer: Father, we thank You that You are always with us. Help us to always trust in You and tell the truth so that You will be happy with us. Amen.

Abram Lets Lot Have His Way Children's Sunday School Lesson

Purpose: Use this children's Abraham Sunday School to teach kids how to be generous and peaceful.

Needed: soft balls or paper wads, a snack or other prize

Intro Game: Snatch Ball – Mark a line down either side of your play area. Place soft play balls on the line. If you don't have play balls, you can wad up waste paper to play with. Form two teams and tell the students to stand a certain number of steps away from the line. On "Go!" the students race toward the line to snatch the balls. They then throw the balls at the other team. When a student is hit with a ball, they're out for the round.

Play as many rounds as you like, and then point out that the kids had to snatch the balls to make sure the other team didn't get them.

Lesson: Ask students, Have you ever gotten into a fight with someone? Maybe a brother or sister? Or a friend? Or even a teacher or parent? Do you remember what you were fighting about?

What do you think would have happened if you just stopped fighting and let the other person have their way? Would that have been so bad?

Well, we've been learning about Abram. Does anyone remember what God told Abram to do? (God told Abram to leave his country and his friends and his family and go to a new country.)

So Abram went to the country of Canaan, but after he got there, there was a drought. All the animals and plants were dying and there wasn't enough food for everyone to eat. So Abram went and lived in Egypt for a while. Does anyone remember what bad thing Abram did in Egypt?

He was afraid that someone would kill him and take his wife, Sarai, away from him because she was so beautiful, so he lied and said that Sarai was his sister. Then Pharaoh did take her to be his wife, but God made Pharaoh and everyone in his palace sick and made Pharaoh give Sarai back to Abram.

Now, in our story, we're going to learn about what happened to Abram and his family after they went back to Canaan.

Summarize Genesis 13 with this Bible story, asking the included questions as you read.

When the drought in Canaan was over, Abram and his wife, Sarai, and his nephew, Lot, left Egypt and returned to the country of Canaan. But Abram and Lot had both become so rich and had so many animals that they couldn't live in the same place anymore. Their servants were always fighting with each other about whose sheep got to eat the best grass.

So Abram said to Lot, "Lot, let's not fight about whose sheep gets to eat the best grass. Let's move away from each other. You pick which direction you want to go and I'll go the other direction."

Then, Lot looked all around him and decided to take the best land for himself. "I'll go move over by Sodom and Gomorrah," he said, "because that land is the best."

Do you think Abram should have let Lot take the best land?

Abram agreed to let Lot have the land that he wanted because Abram was generous and didn't want to fight about it. Then, God rewarded Abram and said, "Abram, look around you. I am going to give this whole country of Canaan to your children and to your grandchildren forever." And Abram went and built an altar to God to thank Him for everything God had done for him.

Why do you think God rewarded Abram by giving him the whole country like that? (Because Abram was generous and didn't fight with Lot about who got the best land.)

Do you think maybe we could let other people have the best sometimes and trust God to reward us as He did for Abram?

Remember, God wants us to be generous and not fight with people if we can help it.

Game: Snatch Ball with a Twist – Set up to play Snatch Ball again. But instead of putting all the balls on the line, only put one ball on the line. Keep the rest with you. On "Go!" the students will run for that one ball. Give the rest of the balls to whichever side doesn't get the one in the middle, and continue playing normally.

After the round, remind students that when we let others have their way, God will reward us, just like you rewarded the team that didn't get the ball in the middle.

Set all the balls in the middle again. Tell students that you want them all to be generous and let the other team have their way this time. See what happens when you say, "Go!"

Keep dropping hints that you actually don't want the teams to run forward to get the balls. Once they understand and don't immediately run for the balls, give them a snack or a prize. Tell them that because they were generous and were willing to let the other team have their way, you're going to reward them.

Closing Prayer: Lord, You are generous with us and You want us to be generous with other people. Help us not to be selfish or to fight with other people, but to let them have their way sometimes. In Jesus' name, amen.

Abram Rescues Lot Children's Sunday School Lesson

Purpose: Use this children's Sunday School lesson on Abraham to teach kids about relying on God's power.

Needed: drawing paper, pencils or crayons

Intro Game: Power Up Freeze Tag – Divide the students into two teams. One team is It and tries to tag the members of the other team. When a student is tagged, they freeze in place. Every minute or so, a designated Power Up leader runs through the play area. If someone on the team being chased tags the Power Up leader, the leader shouts, "Power Up!" and the frozen students are back in the game. The roles also reverse, so that now they are It and the other team is running from them.

Lesson: We've been learning about Abram. Does anyone remember what God told Abram to do? (God told Abram to leave his country and his friends and his family and go to a new country.)

So Abram went to the country of Canaan, but then he had to move to Egypt because of a drought. And he did something wrong in Egypt. Does anyone remember what it was? (Abram was afraid that someone would kill him and take his wife, Sarai, away from him since she was so beautiful, so he lied and said that Sarai was his sister. Then Pharaoh did take her to be his wife, but God made Pharaoh and everyone in his palace sick and made Pharaoh give Sarai back to Abram.)

After that, Abram moved back to Canaan, but he and Lot's shepherds kept arguing about whose flocks would get the best grass. Does anyone remember the good thing Abram did to make it so he and Lot didn't have to fight about it? (He was generous and let Lot take the best land for himself and then moved away from him.)

Now, we're going to learn about what happened next to Abram and Lot.

Summarize Genesis 14 using the following Bible story and asking the included questions as you read.

Kedorlaomer…

Everyone, say Kedorlaomer

Kedorlaomer was King of Elam. He came with his army and attacked the country of Canaan.

Everyone, pretend you're in Kedorlaomer's army and you're winning a battle.

The army of Canaan tried to fight against him, but King Kedorlaomer's army was too strong.

Everyone, pretend you're in the army of Canaan and you're losing the battle.

Kedorlaomer's army won every battle and conquered every city that they came to. When Kedorlaomer's army got to the city of Sodom, they stole everything they could find and even kidnapped the people living there so that they could make them into slaves. And since Lot had chosen to go live near Sodom, he was one of the people that Kedorlaomer kidnapped.

Everyone, pretend that you're Lot and you're being carried away by Kedorlaomer's army.

What do you think Kedorlaomer is going to do to Lot? (He's going to make him into a slave that has to work for his army.)

But one of the men from Sodom escaped and came and told Abram what had happened. When Abram heard that Lot had been kidnapped, he called all his friends and all his servants and they chased Kedorlaomer's army until nightfall.

Everyone, pretend you're Abram running to catch up with Kedorlaomer's army.

What do you think Abram's going to do when he catches up to Kedorlaomer's army?

In the middle of the night, Abram led his friends and his servants and attacked Kedorlaomer's army. And even though Kedorlaomer's army was so big and strong, Abram and the men with him defeated them.

Everyone, pretend you're Abram and you're winning the battle against Kedorlaomer's army.

Abram rescued Lot and all the people Kedorlaomer and his army had kidnapped and he took back all the things Kedorlaomer's army had stolen.

Everyone, cheer that Abram won and rescued Lot.

How do you think Abram was able to beat Kedorlaomer's army? (God helped him.)

Abram and his friends couldn't have defeated that big army on their own. But God helped them. And God can help us do things too. Remember; we might think we can't do something, but if we have God helping us, we can do anything.

(Tell a story about a time God helped you to do something you thought you couldn't do. It might be recovering from an illness or meeting a personal challenge.)

After the battle, Abram gave God one out of every ten things that he had taken back from Kedorlaomer's army.

Why do you think Abram gave God one out of every ten things he took back?

That was Abram's way of thanking God for helping him win against Kedorlaomer's army.

We should also give God some of everything we get. If you get an allowance or if someone gives you money for doing a job or as a present, think about what you can give to thank God for everything He does for you.

Craft: Catch the Vision – Have students draw a picture of God helping them do something difficult.

Game: Power Up Freeze Tag – Play the intro game again and explain that we can rely on God's power to help us in life.

Closing Prayer: Father, we thank You that You are always with us and that Your power can help us do anything. Help us to remember Your power this week. Amen.

Abram Tries to Have Children Children's Sunday School Lesson

Purpose: Use this Abraham children's Sunday School lesson to teach children about the story of Abram, Sarah, Hagar, and Ishmael.

Needed: (Optional: a copy of the drama for each of your students)

Lesson: We've been learning about Abram. Does anyone remember what God told Abram to do? (God told Abram to leave his country and his friends and his family and go to a new country.)

So Abram went to the country of Canaan. Does anyone remember what promise God made to Abram about the country of Canaan? (God promised that he would give the whole country to Abram's children and grandchildren forever.)

But does Abram have any children in our story so far? (No, he doesn't.)

And how old do you think Abram is in our story? (He's eighty-six years old and his wife, Sarai, is very old too.)

Do you think Abram and Sarai can still have kids when they're that old? (No.)

Let's read our story. (Summarize Genesis 16-17 with the following drama, asking the included questions as you read.)

Characters: Narrator, Abram, Sarai, Hagar, Angel, Ishmael, God

Narrator: Abram's wife, Sarai, had not had any children. So she said to Abram,

Sarai: Abram, take my servant, Hagar, and marry her. Maybe she can have children for you.

Teacher: Do you think Abram should marry Hagar? Is Abram allowed to have two wives? (No, he's not. But let's see what happened.)

Abram: Well, I do want to have children. So, I will marry Hagar.

Narrator: Hagar became pregnant. When Hagar knew she was going to have a baby, she started treating Sarai badly. She said,

Hagar: I'm a better wife than Sarai because Sarai couldn't have babies and I can.

Teacher: Do you think Hagar should have been mean and treated Sarai badly just because Sarai couldn't have babies? (No, she shouldn't have.)

Narrator: Hagar's attitude made Sarai very upset. She said to Abram,

Sarai: Hagar is being very mean to me. I don't want her to be your wife anymore.

Abram: Okay. Then, you can do whatever you want with Hagar.

Teacher: What would you do if you were Sarai? What would you do if someone was being mean to you?

Narrator: Sarai was mean to Hagar back and, after a while, Hagar ran away from Abram and Sarai.

Hagar: I'm leaving.

Narrator: Hagar ran away into the desert. Then an angel came and found Hagar. The angel said,

Angel: Hagar, where are you going?

Hagar: I am running away from Sarai

Angel: Go back to Abram and Sarai and stop being mean to Sarai. You will have a son and you will name him Ishmael.

Narrator: Hagar did have a son, whom she named Ishmael.

Ishmael: Wah!

Narrator: But thirteen years later, God came and talked to Abram.

God: Abram, Sarai is going to have a son for you.

Narrator: Abram fell down he was laughing so hard. He said,

Abram: I can't have any more children. I'm ninety-nine years old! And Sarai is ninety!

Narrator: But God said,

God: Sarai will have a son. And I am changing her name to Sarah, not Sarai, and your name will now be Abraham, not Abram.

Teacher: Do you think Sarah really will have a son, even though she's so old?

Remember, God can do anything. But we'll find out later.

Abram Tries to Have Children (Student Script)

Characters: Narrator, Abram, Sarai, Hagar, Angel, Ishmael, God

Narrator: Abram's wife, Sarai, had not had any children. So she said to Abram,

Sarai: Abram, take my servant, Hagar, and marry her. Maybe she can have children for you.

Abram: Well, I do want to have children. So, I will marry Hagar.

Narrator: Hagar became pregnant. When Hagar knew she was going to have a baby, she started treating Sarai badly. She said,

Hagar: I'm a better wife than Sarai because Sarai couldn't have babies and I can.

Narrator: Hagar's attitude made Sarai very upset. She said to Abram,

Sarai: Hagar is being very mean to me. I don't want her to be your wife anymore.

Abram: Okay. Then, you can do whatever you want with Hagar.

Narrator: Sarai was mean to Hagar back and, after a while, Hagar ran away from Abram and Sarai.

Hagar: I'm leaving.

Narrator: Hagar ran away into the desert. Then an angel came and found Hagar. The angel said,

Angel: Hagar, where are you going?

Hagar: I am running away from Sarai

Angel: Go back to Abram and Sarai and stop being mean to Sarai. You will have a son and you will name him Ishmael.

Narrator: Hagar did have a son, whom she named Ishmael.

Ishmael: Wah!

Narrator: But thirteen years later, God came and talked to Abram.

God: Abram, Sarai is going to have a son for you.

Narrator: Abram fell down he was laughing so hard. He said,

Abram: I can't have any more children. I'm ninety-nine years old! And Sarai is ninety!

Narrator: But God said,

God: Sarai will have a son. And I am changing her name to Sarah, not Sarai, and your name will now be Abraham, not Abram.

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah Children's Sunday School Lesson

Purpose: Use this children's Sunday School lesson on the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah to teach kids about the power, justice, and mercy of God.

Needed: Nothing

Intro Game 1: Try Not to Laugh - Make funny faces at the kids. The first one that laughs has to get up and make funny faces at the group. Keep playing until everyone has had a chance to stand up. If some are good at not laughing, call on them to make faces.

When the game is finished, tell students that laughing is fun, but we shouldn't laugh at someone when they're being serious. In the story today, there's going to be a woman who laughed at God when He said something serious.

Intro Game 2: Don't Say It – Have the students pair up. They take turns asking each other questions. The person, answering however, can't use certain letters. For the first round, they might not be able to use words with the letter "s." If they do, their partner gets a point. Continue for a couple of minutes and then change the letter they're not supposed to use. The student with the most points (caught their partner using disallowed letters the most times) wins.

Afterward, tell students that they were playing a fun game with a silly rule, but it's important to follow God's serious rules. We'll see in our story how two cities were punished because they didn't follow God's rules.

Lesson: Ask students, If you were God and you saw someone who was doing wrong things all the time, what would you do to that person?

Do you think God ever does punish people when they do wrong things?

How does God punish people? (This may be an opportune time to remind students of such stories as the Fall, the cursing of Cain, the Flood, the Tower of Babel, and the doctrine of Hell, depending on what you have studied with them thus far.)

We've been learning about Abram or Abraham. Does anyone remember what God told Abraham to do? (God told Abram to leave his country and his friends and his family and go to a new country.)

So Abram went to the country of Canaan. Does anyone remember what promise God made to Abram about the country of Canaan? (God promised that he would give the whole country to Abram's children and grandchildren forever.)

But there was a problem with Abram having children, wasn't there? Does anyone remember why Abram didn't have any children yet? (His wife, Sarai, couldn't have babies.)

So what wrong thing did Abram do to help him have a baby? (He married Sarai's servant, Hagar. Abram had two wives.)

Did Hagar have a baby? (Yes, she had a son named Ishmael.)

But then, a few years later, God talked to Abram and told Abram that Sarai would have a son, even though Sarai was ninety years old. And God named Abram Abraham and He named Sarai Sarah.

Today, we're going to learn about the time when God told Sarah she will have a son and we're going to learn about a time when God destroyed two cities.

Summarize Genesis 18-19 with the following Bible story, asking the included questions as you read.

A little while later, Abraham was sitting outside his tent. Abraham did live in a tent, by the way, not a house. He was sitting outside his tent when he saw three men walking by. When Abraham saw them, he got up and hurried over to them and invited the three men to have dinner with him because Abraham knew that the three men were really God and two of His angels and that they just looked like three men because they were in disguise.

While they were eating outside, the man who was really God asked, "Abraham, where is your wife, Sarah?"

"She is in the tent," Abraham answered.

Then the man who was really God said, "Sarah will have a son next year."

Sarah was in the tent, listening to what the man was saying – she didn't know that He was really God – and when she heard Him say that she would have a son, she started laughing because she didn't believe it.

Then the man who was really God asked Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh? Is anything too hard for the Lord? She will have a son next year."

Then Sarah came out of the tent and said, "I did not laugh."

But the man who was really God said, "Yes, you did laugh."

Do you think God can make Sarah have a baby, even though Sarah is so old and could never have a baby before? (Yes. God can do anything.)

And we can believe that if there's anything in our lives that we need help with, we can believe in God and He can help us with it, no matter what it is. There is nothing too hard for God. There is nothing He can't fix and make better.

But did you notice how Sarah laughed at God? Is it a good idea to laugh at God? (No, we need to respect God.)

And did you hear how Sarah lied to God when she told Him she didn't laugh? But God knew that she did laugh. Do you think we can ever lie to God? (No. God knows everything, so we can never trick Him or lie to Him.)

Well, after the three men were finished eating, they got up and started walking toward the city. The man who was really God told Abraham, "The people of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are so sinful – they've done so many wrong things – that I've decided to totally destroy those two cities and kill everyone who is living there."

Abraham said, "Will You really kill everyone? What if there are some good people living in Sodom and Gomorrah? Will You kill the good people too?"

God said, "If I find fifty people in those cities who believe in Me and do what is right, I will not destroy the cities."

Abraham asked, "What if there are only forty good people living there? Will You destroy the cities then?"

God answered, "If I find forty people in those cities who believe in Me and do what is right, I will not destroy the cities."

Then Abraham asked, "What if there are only twenty good people living there? Will You destroy the cities if only twenty good people are living there?"

God answered, "If I find twenty people in those cities who believe in Me and do what is right, I will not destroy the cities."

Abraham asked, "What if there are only ten good people living there? Will You destroy the cities if there are only ten good people living there?"

God answered, "If I find ten people in those cities who believe in Me and do what is right, I will not destroy the cities."

Why do you think Abraham keeps asking God if He will destroy the cities if He finds people there who believe in God? (Abraham is concerned about the people living in those two cities and doesn't them to die.)

Then Abraham went back home, and God went back up to Heaven, while the other two men, who were really angels, walked on to the two cities. The two cities were called Sodom and Gomorrah.

When the angels entered the city of Sodom, Abraham's nephew, Lot, saw them and invited them to spend the night in his house. "It's not safe to sleep outside in this city," he told them. So the angels went and stayed at Lot's house.

But in the middle of the night, all of the men of the city came and surrounded Lot's house. "We know you have two men staying in your house!" they yelled. "Send them out here so we can mistreat them!"

Lot went outside and said, "No, don't be so wicked. We must treat these men kindly." But the men of the city pushed Lot out of the way and were about to break down his door to get in his house when the two men who were really angels opened the door and used their power to make all the men go blind.

Then the angels pulled Lot back inside the house and said, "God has seen how evil the people of this city are. Take your family and run away from here because God has sent us to destroy this city and the city next to it too. You must run away from here. Don't stop, and don't look back or you will die along with everyone else."

Then, Lot and his wife and his daughters ran away from the city and fireballs fell from Heaven and completely burned up the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them.

Does anyone remember what the angels told Lot not to do when he was running away? (They told him not to stop and not to look back.)

But as they were running, Lot's wife turned around and looked back at the fireballs and the burning cities, and, immediately, she was turned into a pile of salt.

The next morning, Abraham woke up and looked over at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and saw that God had destroyed them. But Lot and his two daughters were safe.

Why did God destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah? (Because the people who lived there didn't believe in God and they were doing wrong things, so God had to punish them.)

Why did the angels save Lot from being burned up in Sodom? (Because Lot believed in God and did the right things that God wanted him to do.)

Why did Lot's wife turn into a pile of salt? (Because she disobeyed God's instructions. The angels told her not to look back, and she looked back. We have to be careful to obey God's instructions, so nothing bad happens to us.)

Where can we find God's instructions? (God has given His instruction to us in the Bible. If we follow what the Bible says, God will be happy with us.)

Prayer Exercise: Remind the students that when Abraham was talking to God and asking God if He would really destroy the towns if righteous people still lived there, he was asking because he was concerned about those righteous people. We should be concerned about other people, too, and we should pray for them.

Tell students that you want them to take a moment now to pray for everyone they're concerned about. You can prompt them as they pray silently, naming some of the following. If not at all of these apply to all of the students, tell them to keep praying for other people.

You can prompt students to pray for Mom, Dad, Brothers and Sisters, Grandparents, Uncles and Aunts, Cousins, Friends, Teachers, Parents' Friends, People at Church, Christians in other countries, etc.

Game: Try Not to Laugh (Take 2) – Hold the ultimate silly tournament. Students pair up and make funny faces at each other simultaneously. The first one to laugh is out. The other pairs up with another winner until you find the one child who is the best at not laughing.

Game: Don't Say It – Play the intro game again for as long as time permits. You can up the challenge level by naming two letters that the students aren't allowed to use, or change it so that the person asking the question isn't allowed to use those letters, either.

Closing Prayer: Father, we know that You are so powerful, You can do anything, just like You can make an old woman be able to have a baby. But You're not just powerful; You're also good. Your rules are good and You are right to punish people when they don't listen to You. Help us to follow Your rules so that we can be happy and so that You can be proud of us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Abraham Sacrifices Isaac, Almost Children's Sunday School Lesson

Purpose: Use this Abraham children's Sunday School lesson to teach kids to put God first in their lives.

Needed: Soft play balls or paper wads, soccer goals, drawing paper, crayons or colored pencils

Intro Game 1: Rotating Firsts – Divide the students into two teams and play dodge ball with soft play balls or wads of waste paper. After 30 seconds, name one of the balls as the 1st ball. That is the only ball that can get someone out. If anyone picks up any of the other balls, they're out. After 30 seconds, go back to normal play. Then, 30 seconds later, choose another ball as the 1st ball.

After the game, explain that we have to learn to put God first in our lives, just like we had to name one of the balls to be first.

Intro Game 2: Different Goals – If you have room, set up an area to play soccer. The twist is that instead of having two goals, you'll have three. Every 30 seconds, change which goal one of the teams is trying to score in. The goalie from the defending team has to run to the new goal as the offensive team turns their attention toward it.

Afterward, tell students that we have to make living for God our number 1 goal.

Lesson: Ask students, What is the one thing that you love the most in the whole world?

What would you do if God asked you to give that thing up?

We've been learning about Abram. You remember that God told Abram to leave his country and his friends and his family and go live in the country of Canaan. Does anyone remember what promise God made to Abram about the country of Canaan? (God promised that He would give the whole country to Abram's children and grandchildren forever.)

But there was a problem with Abram having children, wasn't there? Does anyone remember why Abram didn't have any children yet? (His wife, Sarai, couldn't have babies.)

So what wrong thing did Abram do to help him have a baby? (He married Sarai's servant, Hagar. Abram had two wives.)

Did Hagar have a baby? (Yes, she had a son named Ishmael.)

But then, a few years later, God talked to Abram and told Abram that his wife, Sarai, would have a son, even though Sarai was ninety years old. And God named Abram Abraham and He named Sarai Sarah. Abraham and Sarah thought it was funny that God would say Sarah would have a son and they didn't believe Him at first. But God can do anything, can't He? He's so powerful.

So now we're going to learn about the time when Sarah finally had her son and we're going to learn about a couple of times when Abraham had to make a hard decision.

Summarize Genesis 21-22 with this Bible story, asking the included questions as you read.

When Abraham was a hundred years old – that's pretty old, isn't it? – and Sarah was ninety years old, God made it so that Sarah could become pregnant and she gave birth to a son. Abraham named this son Isaac, and he was so happy that he gave a great feast to celebrate.

Everyone, cheer for Sarah having a son.

But at the feast, Abraham's other son, Ishmael, whose mother was Hagar, was making fun of the baby Isaac.

Everyone, laugh and point like you're Ishmael making fun of Isaac.

But it isn't nice to make fun of people, is it?

Sarah saw Ishmael making fun of Isaac and went to complain to Abraham. "Send Hagar and Ishmael away from us," she said. "Isaac and I are your family, not them."

Do you think Abraham should send Hagar and Ishmael away? (Remember that Abraham shouldn't have married Hagar in the first place since he was already married to Sarah.)

Abraham didn't want to send Hagar and Ishmael away because he cared about them too. But then God talked to Abraham and said, "Don't worry about Hagar and Ishmael, Abraham. Send them away like Sarah said."

So, the next morning, Abraham gave Hagar and Ishmael some food and a bottle of water and sent them away to live somewhere else. Hagar and Ishmael walked through the desert all day. When their water ran out, Hagar took Ishmael and put him under a bush so he would be shaded from the sun. Then, she went a little way further and sat down and cried. She thought they were going to die it was so hot in that desert.

Do you think God will let Hagar and Ishmael die?

Then, God sent His angel and the angel came and said, "What is the matter, Hagar? You and Ishmael will not die. God will make Ishmael to grow up and have many children, and they will become a great nation of people."

Then, God showed Hagar a well of water a little further away, and she went and filled her water bottle and gave it to Ishmael. And God did what He had said for Ishmael. Ishmael grew up big and strong and got married and had his own kids.

A few years later, though, God came and tested Abraham. "Abraham," He said, "I want you to take your son, Isaac, and go up the mountain and sacrifice him to me as a burnt offering. I want you to kill Isaac."

Do you think Abraham will do it? Will Abraham kill his son, Isaac, because God asked him to?

How do you think it made Abraham feel for God to ask him to kill his son?

Why do you think God would tell Abraham to kill Isaac?

The next morning, Abraham took Isaac, some wood, and a knife and went up the mountain. As they walked, Isaac asked his father, Abraham, "Father, we have the wood and the knife, but where is the sacrifice? Where is the thing we are going to kill and burn up for God?"

"God will provide the sacrifice," Abraham answered.

When they got to the top of the mountain, Abraham took Isaac and tied him down with a rope. Then, he lifted the knife and was about to kill Isaac when an angel suddenly yelled, "Abraham! Abraham!"

"I'm here!" Abraham answered.

"Do not kill the boy," the angel answered. "You have done the right thing. You were willing to even give up your son if God asked you to. Now, God knows that God is first in your life. God will bless you for this and give you many children and grandchildren, and God will give this whole country to them forever."

Why did God tell Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? (God wanted to see if Abraham would listen to Him.)

God asks us to do hard things sometimes. He might even ask us to stop doing something that we like to do, but we have to be willing to do whatever God asks us. We have to make sure that God is always first in our lives. He has to be number one, the most important thing. And if we will do what God tells us to and make Him first in our lives, then He will reward us, just like He rewarded Abraham.

Game: Alex and Alicia – Use these fictional stories to help students learn how to put God first in their lives.

Story #1: Alicia's Big Decision. (Change the example if any of your students are deaf.) There's a girl in Alicia's class who's a little different. Her name is Audrey. Audrey is deaf, and when she talks, her words sound strange. One day, Alicia heard her friend, Ally, making fun of Audrey. Alicia thinks it would be funny if she made fun of Audrey too.

What should Alicia do to put God first in her life in this situation?

(Alicia can put God first in her life by not making fun of Audrey and telling Ally to stop. God doesn't want us to make fun of other people.)

Story #2: Delayed Gratification. It's Saturday at Alex's house and it is beautiful outside. One of his friends, Arthur, is at the door, asking him to come outside and play. Alex wants to, but he was just about to spend some time reading his Bible and praying.

What should Alex do to put God first in his life in this situation?

(Alex can put God first in his life by telling Arthur that he'll come outside when he's finished reading his Bible and praying. God is more important than our friends or playing outside.)

Craft: God's on Top – Have students draw a tower of the different things that they like or are important to them. They might draw their family, cartoon characters that they like, hobbies they enjoy, friends, certain places that are special to them, prized possessions, etc. Have them draw a cross or a throne at the top to represent God. Remind them that God has to be first in their life. He is the most important thing.

Game: Rotating Firsts or Different Goals – Play the intro games again as time allows. Remind students of the lessons we can learn from each game.

Closing Prayer: God, You are the one who created us. You are the one who sent Jesus to die for us so that we could be forgiven of our sins. Help us to put You first in our lives and make You the most important thing. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Get these children's Sunday School lessons for your Kindle app or as a print book in Father Abraham: Children Sunday School Lessons on Genesis 12-50 and Omnibus: 99 Children Sunday School Lessons for the Old Testament .

Visit my page for Genesis children's sermons for help in using these and other lessons during your worship time.

Find your next lesson on my children's ministry resource page .

I hope you've enjoyed and been edified by these lessons. May God's Spirit be with your spirit! - Steve