Scripture: Daniel 6:1-28
Memory Verse: "Don't ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord your God, and
I will be there to help you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 (CEV)
Offering: Peacemaking
Concepts:
Objectives:
Procedure:
Welcome and Introductions: (10:00)
1. Greet the children and introduce yourself. Wear your
name tag. Make sure the children are wearing name tags. If not, ask the
shepherd to supply a temporary badge. Remember you are interacting with a
different group of students each week who may not know you.
2.
Open with a brief
prayer (optional, as they have just prayed in Great Hall).
3. Explain the purpose of this workshop. Today we’ll hear the story of Daniel in the
lions’ den and play a game to see how well you know the story.
Scripture/Bible Story: (10:05)
1.
Grades 1-2 will
not use Bibles, but do open yours to show them where the story is. For grades
3-5, make sure everybody has a Bible. The shepherds will have extra Bibles. Help
the students to find the book of Daniel. (Get the shepherds to go around the
room and help with this.)
2.
If necessary,
review the organization of the Bible: The Bible is divided into two big parts,
the Old and New Testaments. Each part is made up of books, which are divided
into chapters and verses. Have them figure out whether Daniel is in the Old or
New Testament (it happened before Jesus so it’s in the Old Testament). Show
them that if they open their Bible in the middle, they’ll usually land in the
book of Psalms in the Old Testament. Point out that the book name is at the top
of each page. Daniel comes near the end of the Old Testament, so it’s in the
part after Psalms. (Some of the older children should know the books of the Old
Testament. Encourage everyone to learn them.)
After
they’ve found Daniel, help them find chapter 6. Some of the children will
confuse chapters and verses. Show them that chapter numbers are the big ones,
and also are at the top of every page.
3.
Read the story from
the CEV or review it using the summary below as a guide. Either way, be
dramatic! Unless this is the first Sunday of the rotation, let the children
help you tell the story. This will give you an idea of how much they already
know. Other ideas for reviewing the story in later weeks are:
Note: If you read directly from the Bible, be prepared to
define unfamiliar words. Also be prepared to comment on the brutal end of this
story if kids bring it up. Not only the bad guys but also their wives and
children are thrown into the pit of lions. You might explain that in those
times very cruel punishments were common, and it was also common to punish a
person by killing members of his family. Note that such practices would
contrast with Jewish law. “An eye for an eye”, etc. would limit the punishment
to the offender and also limit the punishment to fit the crime rather than
imposing the death penalty for a minor offense.
Story Summary
This story happened after the
army of
The other assistants were
jealous of Daniel and tried to figure out a reason to complain about him to the
king. But Daniel hadn’t done anything wrong, so his enemies set a trap for him.
They persuaded King Darius to sign an order that people could pray only to the
king. Anyone who disobeyed the order would be thrown to the lions.
But Daniel worshipped God,
not the king, and the king’s order did not stop him from praying to God. Three
times a day he went to his house, where the upstairs windows were opened to
face
The king was so upset he
stayed awake all night. The next morning he hurried to the lions’ den and
called, “Daniel, did your God save you?” And Daniel answered, “God sent an
angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me.”
The king was overjoyed.
Daniel was freed unharmed from the lions’ den and King Darius wrote a message
to all the world saying, “In all my kingdom people shall fear the God of
Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring for ever. He delivers and rescues,
he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from
the power of the lions.”
Application: (10:15)
1.
Divide the class
into several teams of three to five players. The teams will take turns spinning
the game wheel and answering questions about the scripture. Have the shepherd
keep score on the white board.
2.
Line the teams up
and let the first person in line for the team spin and answer a question. Let the
player consult his team if needed, but he is the only one who can give the
answer. If he answers correctly, award his team the number of points he spun
for. No points for a wrong answer.
Grades
1-2: Use the multiple-choice answers
provided with the questions. Especially if it is early in the rotation, call
out the questions in the order given, in order to reinforce the sequence of
events.
Grades
3-5: Give the team a chance to answer
the question, but offer multiple choices if they’re stumped. If the class seems
to already know the story well, you can mix up the order of the questions.
3. After his turn, the player
goes to the end of his team’s line. Go to the next team and continue until everyone
has had a turn.
4. Alternatives:
Reflection Time: (10:30)
Gather the class in a circle
and discuss:
When Daniel heard about the
law that required him to pray only to the king, what did he do? He went home and prayed to God as usual.
I wonder how Daniel was able
to be so brave? Accept all reasonable answers
but emphasize that Daniel trusted God to be with him no matter how bad things
got.
Did God listen to Daniel’s
prayers? Yes and God listens to our
prayers too. Sometimes God doesn’t give us the answer we want or expect, but
God always listens and answers.
I wonder what we can do to be
more like Daniel. Accept all reasonable answers
but make sure these are mentioned: pray regularly, do the right thing even when
it is hard; trust God to be with you always, even in bad times.
Recite
the Bible memory verse learned in the Great Hall. "Don't ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord your God, and
I will be there to help you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9
Journals (10:35): Pass out the journal pages and ask the shepherds to
pass out pencils/markers. Optional: Give the children a sticker or some other
memento to paste on their page as a reminder of the workshop.
Grades 3-5: Give each child
an extra slip of paper along with the journal page.
Read the prompts out loud and
offer suggestions if needed. A “lion” can be someone who upsets them, something
happening at home or at school that upsets them, an illness or health problem that
they or someone they love is having; feeling unhappy, or anything else that
makes them afraid, sad, or upset.
If they don’t know how to spell a word, write it on the white board.
Grades 3-5: In addition to writing their “lion” on the journal page,
have them write it on the slip of paper, fold it and give it to you. Don’t read
the papers, just put them in an envelope.
Those who finish their journals early can turn the page over and do the
activity on the back.
At 10:45 ask the students to close their journals and sit quietly.
Encourage the children to bring an offering next week. Remind them that
the offering from this rotation will go to Peacemaking.
Prayer: Grades
1-2: Tell the children you are going to have a moment of silence for them to
offer their problem to God in a prayer. End with a short prayer. Suggestion: Thank you, God, for listening to our prayers
and being with us when we’re afraid. Amen.
Grades 3-5: Seal the envelope
and tell the children you'll give it to one of the pastors, who will read each
prayer slip privately and offer a prayer for each. (Remember to follow up and
actually do this!) Offer the contents of the envelope to God in a prayer.
Suggestion: God, we are giving our problems and fears to
you. Help us to trust you the way Daniel did. Amen.
Tidy and Dismissal: Ask the children to help collect Bibles, pencils, etc.
When the room is tidy, dismiss the class.
Extra Activity if time
permits:
Grades 1-2: Ask
these questions and as you offer the choices of answer, point to a corner of
the room for each answer. Let the children “vote” by going to corner of their
answer.
If I had been in the den with
the lions, I would probably have:
a) been scared b) not been afraid at
all c) been afraid just a little
bit
When I heard about the new
law saying I could only pray to the king, I would have:
a) prayed to the king b) prayed to God anyway c) stopped praying
When I'm scared I:
a) hide b) talk to a parent c) pray d)
other:_____________
Of these three things, the
scariest to me is:
a) A haunted house b) Being lost in a strange place c) Being in a lot of pain
Grades 3-5: Play
a few rounds of "who can find the passage first." Call out verses for
the students to search and read when they find them -- do this in pairs if you
wish. Suggestions: Daniel 6:16; 6:21; 6:26
Teacher preparation in
advance:
1.
Read the
scripture passage and attend the Faith Quest Leaders Workshop.
2.
Read Daniel
chapter 6 to familiarize yourself with the details of the story. Be sure you
know the meaning of unusual words such as “satrap.” It’s helpful to read the
preceding 5 chapters also, for better understanding of context and of Daniel’s
history and standing in the court. The whole story of Daniel is interesting.
3. Practice telling the story.
4. Prepare opening and closing prayers.
5. Ask one of the pastors beforehand if they are
willing to read the children’s prayer slips and pray for them. Arrange to
deliver the envelope after each workshop.
6. Room set-up (must wait until after
7. Optional: Bring a CD or taped music for background music while you are
gathering, meditative music for Reflection time. A boom box is located in the
Puppet workshop cabinet.
8.
Display the
memory verse in the room.
9.
GAME WHEEL: The
game wheel is kept in the room beside Antioch Arcade.
Supply List
Extra Bibles
Dry-erase marker (in supply
bin)
Pencils (in supply bin; the
shepherds also have pencils)
Journal pages
Blank slips of paper
Envelope for prayer slips
References
Storytelling ideas:
http://www.dennisdewey.org/Dennis8.htm
Game Questions
The king’s name was:
a) Daniel
b) Satrap
c) Darius
True or False
Daniel was the king’s
favorite assistant. (true)
At the beginning of the
story, the king wanted to:
a) Put Daniel in charge of the whole kingdom
b) Make Daniel marry his
daughter
c) Throw Daniel to the lions
True or False
The king’s other assistants
liked Daniel and were happy for him to be their boss. (false)
True or False
When Daniel heard that
praying to God had been forbidden, he stopped praying because he didn’t want to
break the law. (false)
True or False
When King Darius found out
that Daniel had broken the law, he said, “No problem, I’m the king, so I’ll
just change the law.” (false)
Daniel’s enemies got the king
to sign a decree. It said:
a) That people could pray only to the king.
b) That all Jews should be
thrown to the lions.
c) That all lions should be
kept on leashes.
How often did Daniel pray?
a) Three times a week
b) Three times an hour
c) Three times a day
Where did Daniel go to pray?
a) To his house
b) To the temple
c) To the king’s palace
What was special about the place where Daniel prayed?
a) The Ark of the Covenant
was there
b) The upstairs windows were open to face
c) The walls were covered in
gold
How did the king feel when he
found out that Daniel has broken the law by praying to God?
a) Distressed and upset
b) Happy and excited
c) He didn’t care
What did the king say as
Daniel was thrown to the lions?
a) “Goodbye, Daniel, I’ll
miss you!”
b) “Forgive me Daniel, I
didn’t mean for this to happen!”
c) “May your God deliver you!”
How was the opening of the
lions’ den closed?
a) With an iron gate
b) With a stone
c) With a padlocked door
After Daniel was thrown to
the lions, King Darius :
a) went to a party
b) went home but didn’t eat or sleep all night.
c) prayed and sang hymns all
night.
After Daniel spent the night
with the lions, what did the king do the next morning ?
a) Got up and ate a big
breakfast.
b) Left for a vacation in
c) Hurried to the lions’ den to check on Daniel.
How did God protect Daniel?
a) Sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths
b) Gave Daniel a slingshot to
kill the lions
c) Sent an earthquake to open
up the den so Daniel could escape.
How did the king feel when he
found Daniel was safe?
a) Angry
b) Overjoyed
c) Puzzled
At the end of the story, what
did King Darius say about God?
a) “In the beginning God
created the heavens and the earth.”
b) “Make a joyful noise to
the Lord, all the earth.”
c) “He is the living God, enduring forever...He
delivers and rescues, he works signs and wonders...”
In what book of the Bible
does this story appear?
a)
Genesis
b)
Matthew
c) Daniel