FAITH CHALLENGE
Kings and Prophets
Josiah-Lesson 1
Scripture: 2 Kings
22-23
Memory Verse: Your word is a lamp to my feet and
a light to my path.
Psalm
119:105
· A prophet is someone who calls people back to faithful obedience to God.
· God holds us accountable for our unfaithfulness
· Scripture teaches us who God is, our relationship with God, and how we are to respond to God, as individuals and as a group.
· Students will learn the story of King Josiah and the prophet Huldah using Bible readings and a cryptograph.
· Students will learn the kings of Israel and Judah were judged on their faithfulness to God.
· Students will hear the memory verse sung.
1.
At the beginning
of each class, the Coach greets arriving students and supervises snacks.
2.
The Guide and
Coach remind students to write prayer joys and concerns on the Prayer Wall and
to place their offering in the offering jars.
3.
Have two columns
on the dry erase board or chart paper labeled “Good King” and “Bad King”. As students arrive ask them to write words or
phrases that describe these two types of kings.
All answers are acceptable at this time.
1.
After most
students have arrived and snacks are ended call the class to order and ask all
to sit down.
2.
If this is the
first lesson of this unit, briefly provide the following history: When David was king he ruled over all the
tribes of Israel. Ask in what city was
his palace? Jerusalem. Ask who was
king after David. Solomon. After Solomon
his sons became king, but people became dissatisfied. Finally the tribe of Judah (one of the 12
tribes of Israel) broke away and formed its own country to the south. Jerusalem was the capital. The rest of the tribes stayed together as the
country of Israel and their capital was Samaria. Different kings ruled over Judah and Israel. Some were good and some were bad. In this set of lessons, we will learn about
one king in Judah and one king in Israel.
3.
If students have
already been to the Elijah lessons and this is the 3rd week of the
unit, the guide should be able to ask questions about the above information and
allow students to answer, rather than providing this as background.
4.
After this
review and background, pass out Bibles and ask students to turn to 2 Kings
22. Tell them chapter 22 and 23 are the
story of one of Judah’s kings named Josiah.
5.
Take turns
reading chapter 22 aloud. Tell the
students that instead of reading chapter 23, you will read a condensed version
of the entire story from the Golden Treasury of Bible Stories. Read pages
156-157 with expression and show the pictures.
6.
Refer back to
the list students made during arrival and snack about the characteristics about
good and bad kings. Students may or may
not have mentioned a king’s relationship with God and with the false gods of
neighboring countries. If it is not
mentioned, the guide should mention that in God’s view, a good king worships
God and leads his people in worshipping God also. A bad king does not worship God and his
people worship false gods also. Ask
whether Josiah would be considered a good or bad king? Good
7.
If students have
already studied the Elijah lesson and King Ahab, ask what kind of king he
was? Bad, since he worshipped
Baal.
8.
Ask who was Huldah in the scripture today and what did she
predict? Refer students to 2 Kings 22:
14-20. Ask any students that have ideas
about Huldah, to come forward and write them on chart
paper. Some correct answers are: a prophet or prophetess, she spoke
God’s word to King Josiah’s officials, she said Judah would be destroyed, but
not during Josiah’s lifetime since he was sorry about the people rejecting God.
Application:
1.
Allow students
to choose a partner and hand out the cryptograph at the end of the lesson. Remind them that a cryptograph is a message
in code and they must solve the code.
Point out that several clues have been provided. Allow 10 minutes or more to complete the
cryptogram. Ask the class to read the
message aloud when most are completed.
2.
The correct
answer to the cryptograph is:
JOSIAH
COMMANDED THAT ALL THE ALTARS AND STATUES OF FALSE GODS BE DESTROYED. JOSIAH WAS A GOOD KING AND LOVED THE
LORD. HE MADE HIS PEOPLE PROMISE THAT
THEY WOULD OBEY GOD’S LAWS.
3.
Post the picture
of Josiah on the timeline section titled “God judges and redeems a
nation”.
Wrap-up:
1. Ask students to sit quietly as you play the Amy Grant
song titled “Thy Word”. This CD will be
provided to you. Play it a second time
so students can hear the words.
2. Conduct a brief discussion with the following points:
· This is the memory verse for this lesson (see it
written on wall)
· Ask why it is appropriate for this lesson. While Josiah was king people found
God’s laws in the temple. These taught
Josiah and the people how to live and were like a light for the correct way of
living.
· What does this verse mean to us? God’s word (the Bible) still tells us
how to live
1. The Coach conducts the closing prayer time.
2. Close/lock the door and turn off the lights.
1. Make copies of the cryptograph
2. Prepare a chart on the dry erase board or on chart paper labeled “Good kings” “Bad kings”
3. Display the memory verse.
4. Cue up the song “Thy Word” on the Amy Grant CD
· CEV Bibles
· Golden Treasury of Bible Stories,
· CD player and Amy Grant CD
· Cryptograph copies and answer sheet for guide
· Pencils, clipboards
· Timeline icon (attached)