Begin: Guide reads the background, scripture & prays for the class

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Begin: Guide reads the background, scripture & prays for the class

Learn by doing

Unwrap-Opening Activity

Music (1st, 2nd & 3rd) or Art (2nd & 3rd)(check weekly Sunday School Email for times)

10:00-10:10 AM

Investigate: Tell & Wonder about the Story 10:10-10:25 AM

10:30-10:45 AM

-OR-

Dismiss

10:55 AM

Learn how God keeps promises even when we think they are impossible.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless. 2And I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous.’ 3Then Abram fell on his face; and God said to him, 4‘As for me, this is my covenant with you: You shall be the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 5No longer shall your name be Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you the ancestor of a multitude of nations. 6I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. 7I will establish my covenant between me and you, and your offspring after you throughout their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you. 8And I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are now an alien, all the land of Canaan, for a perpetual holding; and I will be their God.’ 15 God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. 16

I will bless her, and moreover I will give you a son by

her. I will bless her, and she shall give rise to nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.’ 17Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said to himself, ‘Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?’18And Abraham said to God, ‘O that Ishmael might live in your sight!’ 19 God said, ‘No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son, and you shall name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him.

Abram hears God’s call to leave his country and he obeys God without question. When God calls Abram, he also invites Abram to join in a covenant (a binding agreement). God promises to make Abram into a great nation and to bless him. The members of the great family will be as many as there are stars in the sky and grains of sand in the desert.

and Sarai will be the mother. Abram finds himself laughing – what is God thinking?! Both Abram and Sarai were too old to have children. One night three strangers came out of the desert. Abraham invited them in and offered them dinner. The strangers told him they would have a son. Again, Abraham laughed. Sarai overheard the conversation and began laughing as well.

We know very little about Abram’s call – we don’t know if it was in a dream or a vision or a soft whisper but what we do know is that it must have been a powerful experience because he was willing to give up everything and set out to discover what God had in mind for him.

God then changes Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name to Sarah. A person’s name was very special in ancient times. It was supposed to summarize that persons’ destiny. Changing one’s name gave them a whole new direction in life.

In today’s story, Abram and Sarai are quite old, so having a family seemed impossible to them. Outside of their tent, Abram has another encounter with God and God again promises to make him the father of a great family

But it happened just as God promised. Abraham and Sarah did have a son. They named their son Isaac, which means laughter.

Sand Count Challenge place a pinch of sand on black construction paper at each chair (or use colored sand on yellow or white paper). Ask children to count the sand. There is colored sand and construction paper in the resource room. Can you do it?!

Coloring Page, or Maze, Word Search, etc. Drape a sheet or blanket over a table, two chairs, or a suspended rope to form a tent. As the children arrive, invite them to sit in the tent and wonder what it would be like to live in one. When everyone has arrived, gather the group and say:

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PRESENT THE BIBLE STORY Note to Guides: Primary-age children tend to see obedience as doing what grown-ups tell them to do. They probably will understand God as the supreme authority to be obeyed. In discussing Abraham and Sarah's obedience to God, emphasize that Abraham and Sarah willingly did what God wanted them to do because they trusted God. They listened to God.

a great nation; and 3) the promise of blessing. These promises form the basis for what will later be called the Abrahamic Covenant . “By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, listened, trusted and went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8) and Abraham TRUSTED God and willingly listened to God.  God made several promises during this story-- can

you name some? Begin by having the children look up the story in the Bible. Have them help find the verse by asking…. What is the first book of the Bible? Genesis Which part of the Bible is Genesis in? Old Testament What does the number 22 mean in the “address” of this scripture?

 What did God promise when he created the rain-

bow?  What was the name God told Abraham and Sarah

to name the son he promised to them?  How would it be difficult leave behind everything

that is familiar to us and just go without knowing our destination?

What do the numbers 1-3 tell us? Read Genesis 22:1-3 aloud (or have a child in the class read it).

Begin the Story: Abraham’s story really turns interesting at the start of Genesis 12. In the first three verses, we see the call of Abraham by God: “The LORD had said to Abram, ‘Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you’" (Genesis 12:1-3). God calls Abraham out from his home in Haran and tells him to go to a land that He will show to him. God also makes three promises to Abraham: 1) The promise of a land of his own; 2) the promise to be made into

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Let’s Laugh Together! The name “Isaac” means ‘laughter’. Who do you know who has a laugh that you love to hear? What does your own laugh sound like? Let’s find out with these jokes I have for you: JOKES: What do you call an old snowman? WATER Want to hear a joke about pizza?

IT’S REALLY CHEESY! What do you call cheese that’s not yours? NACHO CHEESE

It’s fun to tell jokes and to laugh, isn’t it? Maybe you will share one of these jokes with a sibling or friend this week and be reminded of Isaac and to be thankful to God that he gave us LAUGHTER as a way to share good times with people we love. More Wonders for Older Classes: I wonder what you think about God choosing the name Isaac/Laughter for Abraham’s special son? As we learned two weeks ago, God created EVERYTHING, including laughter and our emotions. I wonder what the world would be like without laughter? Can you imagine that?

What musical instrument is by your bath sink at home? a TUBA TOOTHPASTE Why do bananas have to put on sunscreen before they go to the beach? BECAUSE THEY MIGHT PEEL

Knock, knock. Who's there? Little old lady. Little old lady who? Wow, I didn't know that our class could yodel!” Invite the class to tell their own jokes. Help them see that God gave us the gift of laughter and that laughter can remind us of God’s promises.

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Magic Stars crafts: have the children use a white or clear crayon to draw stars on white paper. Then, have them paint over it with dark blue or black tempera paint and watch the stars magically appear in the night sky.

Aside from Moses, no Old Testament character is mentioned more in the New Testament than Abraham.

It will help is you water down the tempera paint a bit in small bowls for the students to use. Help them paint over the paper and watch the stars magically appear in the night sky!

Stars & My Name: Draw stars on the chalk board and have each child write their name on/near it. The group can use small star stickers (or draw them) on paper and write all the members of their family that they can think of (cousins, aunts, grandparents, etc.) as a reminder that we are all connected to Abraham as part of God’s family.

The “Handshake Promise” game - as an example of one of our symbols of a promise (a handshake), we remember God’s promises to Abraham. Start in teams of two. Each pair creates a handshake with two parts. Each pair joins up with another and adds their handshake patterns into one. Teams continue building handshakes by joining with new people and adding their handshake moves to create a longer pattern.

Abraham is the only person in the Bible described as “God’s friend.” For thousands of years, people who follow God have been called the “children of Abraham.”

Say: Today we learned that God wants us to trust and follow God. Laughter is a gift to us to remember God’s promises and how fun it is to laugh with friends. Call: The Lord be with you. Response: And Also with you.

Let us pray: Thank you, God, for all of creation and especially for the Sabbath. Help us to learn to rest, even when we aren’t sleeping. Amen

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