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 6^th chapter of the Old Testament book of Daniel and it took place about 2,600 years ago. When the king of Babylonia conquered Judah, many thousands of Jews were captured and taken to Babylon where other gods were worshipped. Daniel was among the captives, and he did not worship the new gods. He remained faithful to the one true God.

2. After some years, Babylonia was conquered by Persia, and a new king named Darius ruled. Daniel was now 80 years old and still a captive in this foreign land. The new king recognized that Daniel was an honest and faithful worker and gave him a very important job. When he did such a good job, the king let him govern the entire kingdom. Other men were jealous of Daniel’s power and decided to get Daniel in trouble by setting a trap. They knew that Daniel got on his knees and prayed to God three times a day. They went to the king and asked him to make a law that anyone who prayed to any god or person except the king during the next 30 days must be put in a pit with lions (the lions’ den). The king didn’t know it was a trick, so he agreed to make the new law.

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 Jerusalem. The same men who asked for the new law reported Daniel’s praying to King Darius. Darius was sad but was reminded that once a law is made, it cannot be changed. When Daniel was thrown into a pit with lions, Darius said to Daniel, “You have been faithful to your God, and I pray that he will rescue you.”

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” *

Glue sticks

Paper cups or other containers to hold chips

*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:

Reproductions of mosaics are to be returned to the office file.

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 Battle, 27 (fear), 33 (lions)