The King Is Coming
12 Old Testament stories which point to Jesus as the coming King. Perfect for playgroups, crèches, your youngest Sunday Schoolers and even teaching the Bible at home. Each lesson includes a written story with powerpoint pictures to go with it, a craft idea, plus suggestions for songs and toys that fit with the theme of the story.
Use the ideas you need for your kids!
1. God’s King Is Needed
God’s King is Needed tells the story of the fall and shows even the littlest of us why we need God’s King to save us. Covers the story in Genesis 2 and 3.
Story: God’s King is needed
Powerpoint: God’s King is needed
Theme: Gardens
Song Suggestions:
Mary Mary quite contrary, Here we go round the Mulberry bush, Ring a ring of roses, Round and Round the Garden
Toy Ideas:
Bugs and beetles (plastic!)
Sensory boxes filled with earth/stones/sand/pine cones/conkers etc.
Craft: Vegetable and Fruit Printing
You will need:
Dry leaves,
Fruit cut in half,
Plain paper,
Paint,
Plates to put the paint on
Aprons and somewhere to wash hands!
Dip the leaf or cut fruit into the paint. Press it onto the paper. Lift it up and repeat.
2. God’s King Will Come To Us
God’s King Will Come To Us is the story of the tower of Babel. Even when we do the opposite of what God wants for us, he comes down to deal with our problems. A retelling of Genesis 11.
Story: God’s King will come to us
Powerpoint: God’s King will come to us
Theme: Words and letters
Song Suggestions:
ABC Song, Skidamarink, Frere Jacques, Hokey Cokey, When all the cows are sleeping, any counting song where you can teach them to count in another language (ask multilingual parents in your group to help).
Toy Ideas:
Set up a library with all your books.
Magnetic letters from the fridge or foam ones from the bathtub.
Pencils and a big piece of poster paper with a letter on for them to copy or colour.
Craft: MAke A Book
You will need:
Letter stickers
A5 paper folded in half (white or lined)
A5 coloured paper or card folded in half
A stapler (and an adult to manage it)
Pencils
Make a book by stapling a cover (in the colour of their choice) to some pages (or you could pre-make them). They can stick letter stickers on the front and 'write' and draw on the inside. For more able children encourage them to pick a letter and help them make a letter book ie B for bird, bee, bucket, boat etc.
3. God’s King Is Promised
In God’s King Is Promised God promises Abraham that the rescuer we need will come from his family. You can find it in Genesis 12.
Story: God’s King is Promised
Powerpoint: God’s King is Promised
Theme: Counting
Song Suggestions:
There were 10 in the bed, 1-2-3-4-5 Once I caught a fish alive, 5 little monkeys, 10 green bottles, 5 little speckled frogs, Knick-knack Paddywhack. Any song with numbers really, and there are loads!
Toy Ideas:
Treasure hunt - hide 5-10 stars around the room and have them hunt for them and tell you where they found them.
Guess how many x in the jar - lego pieces, pegs and sweeties are all a good idea (you will have to share the sweets!).
Colour by number books for older kids.
Sort and count - coloured balls, pipecleaners, bricks etc have them sort by colour and then count how many of each colour there are.
Craft: Handprint
You will need:
Paint in a flat shallow dish
Water and cloth for cleaning hands
Paper any colour (not the same as the paint though)
A pen or number stickers
Help the child put their hand or hands into the paint and then press firmly onto the paper. Clean their hands.
After the paint has dried help them add numbers with pen or stickers to each finger. If they can’t write yet, they can count and you write.
4. God’s King Is Our Sacrifice
God asks Abraham to sacrifice his only son. But in God’s King Is Our Sacrifice not only does God make sure it doesn’t happen (and you can be very clear about that), he does something much bigger for us. The original version is in Genesis 22.
Story: God’s King is our Sacrifice
Powerpoint: God’s King is our Sacrifice
Theme: Animals
Song Suggestions:
Baa baa black sheep, See the little bunnies, Old MacDonald had a farm, Hickory Dickory Dock, Incy-wincy spider
Toy Ideas:
Animals toys.
Cuddly animals.
Books with animals in; especially sheep!
Craft: FLuffy Sheep
You will need:
Cotton wool
Glue (pritstick or pva)
Black pen
Green paper
Googly eyes (optional)
Give each child a piece of green paper and help them blob on a few spots of glue. Fluff up some cotton wool a little by rubbing it and then stick it to each blob of glue. Draw on heads and legs. Help them stick on a googly eye if you already own them.
5. God’s King Is His Beloved Son
In God’s King is His Beloved Son Joseph starts out as the best loved son of his father, becomes a servant and then is punished despite being innocent before being raised up to a place of honour. Just like God’s King would be. Joseph’s story is from Genesis 37-46.
Story: God’s King is his Beloved Son
Powerpoint: God’s King is his beloved Son
Theme: Colours
Song Suggestions:
The Sailor went to Sea, Baa Baa Black Sheep, I can sing a Rainbow, Bouncing along on a big red tractor.
Toy Ideas:
Bricks and balls, (if you have different coloured tubs so they can sort them by colour that’s fun).
Big sheets of paper and crayons or chalk and an outside space.
Craft: Rainbow
You will need:
Half a paper plate
Rainbow coloured crayons or pencils
They can draw a rainbow on the rainbow shaped plate. Older kids may want to draw in the correct colour order but don’t expect that, let em design their own rainbow!
6. God’s King Will Set Us Free
The plagues and the passover show us what God is willing to do for his people. But the lamb in this story is just an indicator of how God’s King Will Set Us Free. This story comes from Exodus 3-13.
Story: God’s King will set us Free
Pwerpoint: God’s King will set us Free
Theme: Rescue
Song Suggestions:
Miss Polly had a dolly, London Bridge, Humpty Dumpty, 5 Little Monkeys, London’s Burning. Songs with doctors, firefighters, police or other emergency responders fit the theme well if you know them.
Toy Ideas:
Vehicles of any sort
Dressing up if you have superhero and emergancy services costumes.
Big soft play blocks can be fun for recreating falling bridges.
Craft: EmergEncy Vehicle
You will need:
Background Paper (A4/Letter)
Vehicle paper: Red for Fire Engines, White for Ambulances (A5/Half Letter)
Blue paper (small rectangle)
Black paper circles or bottle lids and split pins
Crayons
Glue the paper together as in the picture to make an emergency vehicle. Use crayons to draw on ladders or a red cross etc. Poke a hole in a bottle lid and attach with a split pin to have more exciting moving wheels.
7. God’s King Will Keep His Rules
In the 10 Commandments we see the high standards God has for his people, and his love for us. But no-one can keep all of those laws… except God’s King Will Keep His Rules. Taken from Exodus 19-40
Story: God’s King will keep his Rules
Powerpoint: God’s King will keep his Rules
Theme: Love
Song Suggestions:
He's got the whole world in his hands, If I go climbing, Skidamarink. Today is a good day to ask kids for songs they love (although that can make having words available tricky).
Toy Ideas: Games with rules; jigsaws, parachute games, sorting objecgs by shape or colour. Or the toys they love!
Craft: Decorated Heart
You will need
Coloured paper cut into a heart shape
Or (for older childre)
Coloured paper folded in half with half a heart drawn on it and scissors
Stickers
Colour or paints
Cut out the heart shape and then decorate it.
8. God’s King will Fight for Us
Joshua’s name means God saves - so you know God’s saviour would have to be like him. [Joshua 3 and 6]
Story: God’s King will fight for us
Powerpoint: God’s King will Fight for us
Theme: Counting
Song Suggestions:
Here is the Beehive, Five Little Speckled Frogs, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Once I saw a fish alive, 5 Little monkeys
Toy Ideas: Any number puzzles, and any building bricks or blocks.
Craft: Colouring in Number
You will need
Number sheets
or Colour by Number Activities
(Pintrest is a good place to look for both)
Crayons or colouring pencils
Let them them choose a sheet and colour it in
9. God’s King is Not like our Kings
David and Goliath is a very well known story - but what does it tell us about the king God would choose to be his forever king? [1 Samuel 16]
Story: God’s king is the best king
Powerpoint: God’s king is the best king
Theme: Bodies
Song Suggestions:
Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, 1 finger 1 thumb, Hokey-Cokey, If you're happy and you know it, This is the way we brush our hair.
Toy Ideas: People or dolls, mirrors and dressing up, a big piece of paper and a flat dish of paint for hand or foot printing.
Craft Paper plate masks
You will need:
Paper plates cut in half and holes cut out for the eyes
Sticks or string and sellotape
Crayons
Cut out animal ears and glue or tape
Optional: short cut wool for fur or a mane
Allow the children to choose an animal and decorate the mask as they want - remind them about noses and whiskers as necessary. help them attach a stick or some string with tap to the back of the mask so that they can wear or hold it.
10. God’s King will heal our hearts
In the story of Naaman we see that our biggest problem is in our hearts not something we can see and that God can deal with it. [2 Kings 5]
Story: God’s king can heal our hearts
Powerpoint: God’s King can heal our hearts
Theme: Water
Song suggestions:
5 Little ducks, A sailor went to sea sea sea, 5 little speckled frogs, 1-2-3-4-5 once I caught a fish alive
Toy Suggestions: Fill some shallow boxes with water and bath toys, have some towels ready for the floor and the kids! For a less wet option: any fish or boat toys, bottles filled with water, oil and floating toys - tape the lids down and superglue them on.
Craft: waterdrop colage
You will need:
Paper with a waterdrop shape on it
Glue (liquid or glue stick)
Small pieces of blue paper - from magazines, adverts, coloured paper, tissue paper etc.
The children can take a piece of paper from the stash at a time put some glue on it and stick it anywhere in the drop.
11. God’s King is Coming
Taken from Isaiah for the fullest Old Testament picture of who God would send to be his forever king. [Isaiah 9, 11, 40, 50, 53, 55, 60]
Story: God’s King is Coming
Powerpoint: God’s King is Coming
Theme: Royalty
Song Suggestions: The grand old duke of york, 5 little princes jumping on the bed, If you want to be a princess clap your hands, Crowns shoulders knees and toes, Humpty Dumpty
Toy Ideas: Dressing up clothes, bricks and blocks for building palaces and castles, any books with kings and pricesses.
Craft: Crowns
You will need:
Strips of card (10cm by 40cm) - you can cut into the top for shapes or you can leave them plain
Sticky on jewels or sparkly paper
A stapler
Allow the child to decorate the crown with jewels and designs. Then wrap it round their head and not where the join is. Away from their head; staple it together.
12. God’s King is my King
Instead of a Bible Text have a mother or a leader tell their testimony of how they came to believe that Jesus was their king. This guide to writing a testimony will help and for a powerpoint you can use photos of the testimony giver at appropriate ages or bring in props for instance if there was a book that particular changed the way they thought about God.
Theme and Songs and Toys: Choose ones that are favourites with your group.
Craft: Get out all the left over bits you cut for older crafts and encourage each child to choose one they enjoyed or weren’t around for.