The birth of Isaac
key words
biblical reference
Genesis 21:1-8
lesson objective
To help children understand that God has the power to keep His promises.
memory verse
“[Abraham was] fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised (Romans 4:21, NIV*).
prepare yourself to teach
Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born; and Sarah, his wife, was also an old woman. Although Abraham’s faith was tested after a long period of waiting, God kept his promise.
The fulfillment of God’s promise made Sarah’s incredulous laugh turn into gratefulness. When Isaac was weaned, they had a great party in which they celebrated. Think of a time in your life when God fulfilled one of His promises, and thank him for that. Remember and relate the joy you felt while teaching this lesson to your children.
Children need the confidence that God keeps his promises. It is sad to know that perhaps some in your class live in homes where promises are made, but they are never fulfilled. It may be difficult for those children to understand that God does keep his promises.
Some preschoolers have parents who strive to deliver on what they promise. However, circumstances may prevent these promises from being fulfilled. It is important for children to learn that God keeps his promises and that God has sufficient power to do so.
Preschoolers often say what their prayer requests are to others. Does the faith of children grow through requests for prayer? Do you see growth in their confidence that God is with them in every situation? In this lesson, we see the fulfillment of the promise that God made to Abraham, through the birth of Isaac. Preschoolers enjoy listening to stories about God. It is easy for children to believe and treasure Bible stories. As children begin to discover the wonder of this story, help them recognize that God is fulfilling what he promises. Reinforce the concept that God promised Abraham a son, and emphasize the joy that Abraham and Sarah felt when God allowed them to have Isaac.
introduce the lesson
A baby!
Get pictures, clippings or illustrations of babies. Start a conversation with your children about what babies are like. Let them talk about their experiences with babies if they have younger siblings.
Let the children know that when a couple has a child, they feel very happy and want to give their child everything the baby needs.
Give the children a half piece of white paper, and have them draw a picture of a baby, perhaps of themselves when they were babies. As they work, tell them that in today’s story, they will learn about a baby that God promised to Abraham and Sarah.
When the drawings are ready, stick them up around the room to decorate.
teach the lesson
Baby Isaac
If possible before class find a toy doll and a blanket. Wrap the doll in the blanket, and place the doll inside a box.
Gather the children in the story area. Show the box. Ask the children to guess what is inside the box. Then show the children the baby doll. Say, “We will learn about a real baby in our Bible story today.”
The birth of Isaac
The friends of Abraham and Sarah were delighted to hear Sarah was going to have a baby. Sarah was a very old woman, and Abraham was a hundred years old. They were too old to have a baby!
“God has been very good!” said Sarah.
“Yes, Sarah, God has kept His promise,” replied Abraham, “This baby is a gift from God to us.”
“It is what God promised you,” concluded Sarah.
“That’s right,” said Abraham.
Time passed, and the long-awaited baby was born. Abraham smiled as he looked at his beautiful, healthy son. Everyone was very excited. Sarah held the baby in her arms, and she thanked God for the opportunity to be a mother.
“God has made me smile, and everyone who knows will be happy with me,” Sarah said.
“Our son will be called Isaac, which means laughter,” Abraham said.
“That will be so,” said Sarah.
They were happy as they watched their son grow.
When Isaac was two or three years old, Abraham and Sarah had a great feast, and everyone celebrated with them.
They were very happy because they knew that God kept His promise.
connect the lesson
The birth of Isaac
Before class, prepare Student Activity Sheet #25-A and #25-B. You may need to cut out some copies of the figure of baby Isaac from Student Activity Sheet #25-B. Have available the glue for the children to attach the figures. Give each child SAS #25-A. Then, help them cut out the figure of baby Isaac in SAS #25-B and glue it in the arms of Abraham and Sarah in SAS #25-A. Have the children point to Abraham and Sarah. Ask the children to write their name on the sheet, and tell them: “Isaac is the son of Abraham and Sarah. When Isaac was born, Sarah said that God brought her laughter. The name Isaac means laugh or laughter. Can you guess what is missing in the drawing?” (The smile on the face of Sarah and Abraham).
Let the children color the picture and draw smiles on the faces of the people.
Have the children trace the dotted Word of Faith (Promises). Remind them that God has the power to keep his promises (Romans 4:21).
Encourage the children to take home their activity sheets and share the activityies with their families and friends.
practice the memory verse
Hip, hip, hooray!
Gather the children into a circle. Say the words for Romans 4:21 in phrases. Explain the meaning of “fully persuaded” for any new children in the class. Remind the children the phrase means to know something is true or to believe something.
Tell the children you will give them a ball to pass around the circle. As the child receives the ball, the child should say one word of the verse and pass the ball to the next child. After saying all the words and reference of the verse, the children will yell out a celebration cheer. This could be: “Hip, hip, hooray,” “Praise God,” or “Yes, we did it!”
wrap-up
Pray
Let the children express their prayer requests. After praying for these requests, end with this prayer: “Thank you, God, for your love. Thank you for always keeping your promises. You have the power to do what you promise. We love you. We pray in the name of Jesus, amen.”
Encourage
Just as God kept his promise to Abraham, God will keep his promises to us. In the Bible, in Deuteronomy 1:21, God said, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Invite
There is one more lesson about Abraham and Isaac. Invite the children to come again to hear that Bible story.
* Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™