FAITH QUEST
Daniel and the Lions’ Den (Revised)
October 9-November 6, 2005
Creation Station
Scripture: Daniel 6:1-28
Key Scripture Verse: Daniel 6:22a “My
God knew that I was innocent, and he sent an angel to keep the lions from
eating me.” (Contemporary English
Version)
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:
·
God is with us in
good and bad times.
·
God listens to us
when we pray.
·
Like Daniel, God
wants us to pray regularly.
·
Like Daniel, we
should trust God even when it is hard.
Objectives:
1. Understand that Daniel
regularly prayed to God and God looked favorably on Daniel.
2. Recognize that God helped Daniel
when he was in danger.
3. Learn that mosaics were
used as decoration and to picture events in Daniel’s time.
4. Children will create paper
mosaic of an event from the story of Daniel.
Procedure:
Welcome and Introductions:
1. Welcome the children and introduce
yourself. Wear your name tag. Make sure
that everyone is in the right classroom!
Children will either already have name tags on, or will get a name tag
from their shepherd. Make sure that you know everyone’s name and greet the
students individually. Remember you are interacting with a different group of
students each week that may not know you.
2. Start the lesson time with
prayer. Perhaps: Dear God, thank you for being with us at all times and for
listening to us when we pray. Amen.
Bible Lesson:
1. Today’s story
is told in the 6th chapter of the Old Testament book of Daniel and
it took place about 2,600 years ago.
When the king of Babylonia conquered
2. After some years, Babylonia was conquered by
3. Daniel heard about the law, but he wasn’t
afraid to pray to God. In fact, he was
seen praying in a window that faced
4. All night Daniel was trapped in the pit of
lions. A stone that had been rolled over
the top prevented him from escaping.
But, God sent an angel to keep the lions from killing and eating Daniel. In the morning, the king went to the pit to
learn if God had saved Daniel. Daniel
said “My God knew that I was innocent, and he sent an angel to keep the lions
from eating me.” Darius was happy to
find Daniel alive. He ordered that
Daniel be released from the pit and that the men who trapped Daniel be
punished. Then he commanded that the
people of the land worship Daniel’s God.
Application:
1. Create!
READ the Bible lesson (1-4 above) with expression.
2. Tell the children that they are going to
create a scene from the story, using the technique of mosaics. Mosaic is an art form using small pieces of
selected material (glass, ceramic, paper, etc.) to create a picture. It is an ancient technique and was used by
cultures that were settled in a permanent location. Mosaics decorated floors, walls and ceilings
in homes and public buildings. Look at
the photos of ceramic and glass mosaics.
There is even a Roman portrayal of King Darius in battle. Other mosaics show animals, plants and people
with different expressions on their faces.
Point out that there is usually an outline of dark chips around
figures. Ask them to think about what
aspect of the story they want to show – Daniel praying, lions with mouths
closed, a sad or happy king. KEEP THE
SUBJECTS SIMPLE!
3. Steps:
Pass out paper, paper chips and glue sticks. Have the children write their names on the
back of the paper. Tell them to start by
creating an outline by gluing chips near each other but leaving slight spaces
(they can draw with the glue stick rather than putting glue on the back of each
square). After the outline is created,
details can be glued in. Then fill in
the subject and background with appropriate colors, always leaving spaces
between chips.
4. Clean up!
Involve everyone in cleaning up so that you will have time to share
together in the closing. You may want to have a pre-arranged signal for clean
up and tell them at the beginning of the art project what that will be -
perhaps giving them a 5 minute warning and then the final clean up notice to
allow those who need a bit more warning that they need to complete whatever
they are working on.
5. Turn out lights and lock the classroom doors
when leaving.
Reflection Time:
1. Ask the shepherds to pass out journals pages and
pencils/markers. The children should
spend a few minutes reflecting upon the morning's lesson – How do you feel when
someone tries to get you in trouble? How
would you feel if you were in a lion’s den?
Have you ever felt that God was protecting you? When can we pray?
2. At 10:40 ask the kids to stop working and
prepare for the closing prayer.
Closing:
1. Encourage them to remember that we make
prayer to God a part of our lives.
2. Remind them where their Pennies will
be given.
3. Say the Key Memory Verse together (see
above). You may want to have this verse printed on a banner and hung in the
room, write it on the white board in the room, or have it on slips of paper
that each child can take home.
4. Pray! Ask the children if they have any
prayer requests. Perhaps: Dear God, thank you for listening to us when we
pray. Help us when we are in
trouble. Amen.
Teacher preparation in advance:
1. Read the scripture passage
and attend the Faith Quest Leaders Workshop.
2. Practice reading the Bible lesson (above)
with expression.
3. Prepare an opening prayer in case nobody
volunteers to pray.
4. Check the art room and the supply closet to
see what supplies exist.
5. Experiment with what the children will be
doing.
6. Prepare all the materials you will need for
the creation process. Have the materials
ready to go. There will be limited time
for the creation process, so do everything you can to conserve time.
7. Decide how you want to close the lesson. Prepare a prayer or ask for suggestions.
Materials:
Reproductions of mosaics
(supplied in lesson file)
9” x 12” colored construction
paper for background
Paper Mosaic Squares 3/8” *
*Note that 1” squares may be
available in some stores, or can be cut with a paper cutter.
If 1” squares are used,
increase paper size to 12” x 18” and provide scissors to trim some
corners. 1” squares may be easier for
younger children to handle.
References:
Paper Mosaic Squares (package
of 10,000) # 9710572 can be ordered from NASCO 1-800-558-9595 www.eNASCO.com or found in craft stores
Piece by Piece, Mosaics of
the Ancient World by Michael
Avi-Yonah -children’s book.
Pages: 25 (King Darius in