Teaching Daniel 7

3-5s

Theme: God is in charge over everything

Aim: That they trust God when they're scared

Intro:

Who's in charge - colouring / painting pictures of teachers, policemen, parents, kings

            Talk about how you know they're in charge

Teaching:

Recap - pictures of the first 6 chapters and ask simple questions

Today Daniel has a dream. And its a really scary dream. Have you ever had a scary dream? [share some scary dreams and how they felt]

Well Daniel dreams of 4 kings. But they don't look like kings in his dream. They look like scary animals!

Do you remember King Nebuchadnezzar from our stories? Well Daniel dreamt of King Neb, but instead of looking like King Neb, he looked like a lion with wings [have a picture with a crown on one side and a lion with wings on the other].

Then he dreams of another king, except this king looked like a bear chewing on some ribs! [have a crown with '2' and a bear on the reverse].

Then there was a third king, except this king looked like a leopard with 4 heads and wings! [have a crown with '3' and the picture on the reverse].

Then the 4th king we're told was just like a beast [have same picture idea]. And that King was the most scary. Daniel was told that this king would be really horrible to God's people.

Now Daniel was really scared! Wouldn't you be. Not only were these Kings scary in his dream, but also the last one would do horrible things to God's people. Daniel 'went white with fear' (v28).

BUT - I haven't told you all of Daniel's dream yet. Because if that was all he dreamt then it would be very scary. But Daniel saw more than that.

Daniel also sees something very wonderful in his dream. He sees God, and this is what he says, (read v9-10). Wow! That's someone who is very, very strong! No matter how strong these kings seemed, God was stronger. No matter how big these kings seemed, God is bigger. No matter how important these kings were, God was in control!

Here is what Daniel sees (read v26-27). God is in total charge of all the kings, no matter how powerful they seem. God is in charge of all these people we coloured in earlier (hold up pictures). God is in charge of mummies and daddies. God is in charge of teachers and of policemen, too.

[if possible do this next bit]

And God has sent an even more wonderful King, who is more powerful than all these other kings, but He is very good. And God the Father gives Him a kingdom that will last forever. Read v13-14. Who do you think this King is, from Daniel's dream?

Pray

Craft:

• Scary animal masks - could then use for a game
• Decorate memory verse (Daniel 6:26)

Songs:

• My God is so Big
• Our God is a great Big God
• Jesus is the mighty, mighty, King

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5-11s

Theme: God has control over all rulers, even bad ones, and gives a forever Kingdom to His Son

Aim: Trust, even when you are afraid

Intro:

Share dreams - what's the weirdest, scariest dream you've had?

Teaching:

Recap - use pictures to show structure of Daniel - dream; rescue; judgement; judgement; rescue; dream. Like a mountain. [particularly recap Dan 2]

Daniel has a dream, this time much scarier than King Neb's. He dreamed of 4 animals, which were really kings. [have one older child reading; give others paper, they need to guess what each animal is]

1. Read v4 and have one child in a lion mask. How might this be like King Neb?

2. Read v5 and have one child in a bear mask. We don't know who this was, maybe Darius.

3. Read v6 and have a child in a leopard mask. Again, not sure, maybe Greece, Alexander the Great.

4. Read v7-8 and have a child in a 'beast' mask. Not sure who this is again. Maybe the Roman kings.

[or could keep the suspense as the chapter does, question the children as to what the animals are, then read v15-17]

It doesn't matter too much who they are. But they are scary. Read v19-22. What are they going to do? Even scarier, read v23-25.

Game - run away from the 4 animals/kings (essentially tig/tag)

So, is that all Daniel learns; there are scary kings? No, of course not.

Daniel sees something else in his dream. Read v9-12. What does Daniel see? How is that helpful to know?

God is far more powerful than any of these scary kings, in fact He has these kings under His control! He decides how long they're on the throne for and when their time is up. God is in control of all history and everything in the world. Read v26.

And Daniel sees a better King, read v13-14. Who is this King? What will his Kingdom be like?

When Jesus rose again and ascended to be with His Father in heaven, God gave Him the kingdom; and one day Jesus will return and defeat all these bad kings once and for all. Read v27. We will rule with Jesus forever.

Table time:

Knowledge

• What four animals did Daniel see and what were they?

• What else did Daniel see in his dream?

Understanding

• Why do you think God showed Daniel these things?

• How did God reassure and encourage Daniel?

• When will/do we see Jesus' forever kingdom?

Application

• What can you remember when you are afraid?

• What can you remember when people laugh at you for being a Christian?

Pray - altogether pray in detail for some of the places in the world where they have rulers who attack Christians

Memory verse - Daniel 6:26

Spares:

• Weird animal masks
• Draw their own animal

Harvest Talk - Psalm 19v1-6

Intro:

Name that crazy fruit - very quick quiz

Autumn is a beautiful time - but what do we do with that beauty? As we walk around and see beautiful colours on the trees and fields ready to be harvested, what is our reaction?

Throughout history people have got this wrong, as they still do today. Often people have worshipped what they see. So long ago people would worship the sun, moon and stars as if they were gods. That may sound silly to us, but many people still read their horoscopes as if the stars can tell us what's going to happen in the future.

Others say, nature is all there is and we're bound to it. So atheists would often say  this: if its in your genes then that's who you are! I was born like this.

But the Bible tells us something very different about nature. Let's hear about it.

Read Psalm 19:1-6 together with the following actions:

v1 - move arm in an ark

v2 - hands from mouth like speech

v3 - hands over ears

v4 - circle with hands

v4b-5 - make a tent with hands

v6 - arm in an ark again

Do you see what this is saying? God is speaking to us through nature. Not audible words as such but He's communicating with us.

God shouts at us in everything we see, eat and touch, saying, 'I made this and gave this to you: Worship me!'

[Give a child a chocolate bar, sweet, apple, etc. Then use the megaphone to shout, 'This is God! Worship me!']

It doesn't tell us about Jesus, we need the Bible for that, but it tells us that there is a God who is much bigger and more powerful than us and therefore we should worship and acknowledge Him. We should find out more about who He is.

This was my experience. I grew up in a non-Christian home. But I remember clearly one afternoon in the beautiful Scottish hills and seeing the sun suddenly come out from behind the clouds. And I remember distinctly thinking: there is someone bigger than me and I'd better find out who He is.

Every meal we have - God is shouting at us: 'I gave you this: Worship me' [through megaphone]

Every time we go for a walk, God is shouting at us 'I gave you this: Worship me'

Every time we enjoy playing a sport, God is shouting at us 'I gave you this: Worship me'

Every time we have a cup of tea, God is shouting at us 'I gave you this: Worship me'

You get the idea!

So when we eat together, our response should be: 'We'd better worship God.' 'We'd better trust Jesus!'

But God is also shouting not just at us but at the whole world. That means when we meet Him we will have no excuse for not worshipping and acknowledging Him (Rom 1:19). Without Jesus, we all stand condemned. If at every meal God is saying, 'I'm here, worship me!' then we cannot say we never knew. Nor can the man on the desert island or in some far away country. 

That means Harvest is really about mission - we need to speak to them about Jesus, because what they've already seen leaves them without excuse.

Teaching Daniel 6

3-5s

Theme: God is a rescuing God

Aim: They trust Him by putting Him first

Intros:

• Lion masks
• Make happy/sad face sticks for the story
• Safe animals - have pictures of all sorts of animals. Ask them which ones are 'safe' and which aren't. Put lions into the 'den' (see below)

Teaching:

Recap - long time ago, God's people were in a far off land living under a King who didn't love and trust God.

[have a box with door cut out and a hole in the top. Place some lion's inside and have 'stone' to roll across the entrance. Also have a cut out of Daniel and the King]

There was a new king called Darius. Daniel became very important in Darius' kingdom. In fact, he became one of the top three leaders in the country.

But the other leaders became jealous. They didn't like that King Darius thought Daniel was so brilliant so they made a horrible plan to get rid of Daniel.

Daniel didn't do anything wrong so they couldn't tell on him to the King. So they convinced the King to pass a new rule: everyone had to pray to the King, and only to the king. Anyone who didn't would be thrown into the lion's den. What do you think? Was that good? [get them to use sticks to answer] No, we should only pray to God and no-one else.

Daniel knew this. And as soon as he heard about this new law he went into his room, opened the window and prayed. All the people who were trying to get him into trouble were watching him. Ah-hah! They've got him now. Daniel's in big trouble. Is this good news for Daniel? [use sticks to answer]

And so they return to the king and tell him, 'Daniel's praying to his God, not to you!'

King Darius tried to get Daniel out of trouble, but there was nothing he could do. A rule is a rule after all. And so Daniel is thrown into the lion's den. 'May your God rescue you.' Darius shouts as he's thrown in. Huge ferocious lions. Daniel didn't stand a chance, did he?

First thing the next morning Darius rushes to the den. 'Has your God rescued you, Daniel?' [listen]

Then a voice answers!

'My God sent an angel and he shut the mouths of lions because I have done nothing wrong!'

The king was so glad and when Daniel came out there wasn't even a scratch on him.

Well, the King made sure that all of those who got Daniel into trouble were thrown into the lion's den instead. And Darius made a new rule - everyone must fear Daniel's God, because no-one is able to rescue like Him!

And do you know, our God is a rescuing God. Just as He rescued Daniel so He has rescued us through His Son Jesus. Jesus came to die on a cross and was put in a cave and a stone was rolled over the entrance so that we might be rescued. And the next day an angel was there to say, 'He's alive!'

Pray

Thank you God for rescuing Daniel.

Thank you God for rescuing us in Jesus.

Amen

Craft:

• Various lion crafts - masks, models: do a google image search for ideas

Songs:

• My God is so Big

• Super Saviour

• Jesus is the boss, I can talk to Jesus (from J is for Jesus)

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5-11s

Theme: Our God rescues

Aim: Honour Him and pray to Him and put Him first

Intros:

Application quiz - have the lion's den in the corner. Would you be prepared to go into the lion's den if... eg your teacher says you have to draw God; your friend says you have to steal...

Show lion video

Teaching:

Recap - with pictures. Point out the pattern of chapters 6 (rescue, judgement, judgement, rescue)

[set up part of the room as the den - have a large 'stone' to roll and some lion masks]

Do you remember at the end of last week's story we had a new king, Darius the Mede? [have one dressed as Darius]

He was very fond of Daniel and made him the third highest ruler in his kingdom. But the other rulers didn't like this and plotted against Daniel. But Daniel had done nothing wrong and so they couldn't tell tales on him about anything. So they had to be a bit more devious. [have one dressed as Daniel]

They passed a rule with Darius: read v7-8.

What was wrong with that rule? What would you have done?

Here's what Daniel did: he went and prayed! Opened his window towards Jerusalem and three times a day got down on his knees. [Daniel kneels and prays]

But his enemies are watching and know they can tell tales. [silly voice] 'Daniel's been praying to his God!'

Oh-oh. Daniel's in real trouble now. Well Darius is worried and tries to do something but is totally powerless to change this new law.

What do you think Darius should have done?

So he throws Daniel into the lion's den shouting, v16.

[Put Daniel in the den with some children in lion's masks and put the 'stone' over the entrance]

Darius spends all night worrying, then at break of day runs to the den and calls out, 'Has your God delivered you.'

Amazingly Daniel answers - read v22.

So Daniel was taken out of the den and there wasn't a scratch on him. Instead the trouble makers were thrown in and that was the end of them!

Darius makes a new rule - read v26-27.

What do you think this tells us about God? What did He do? - rescue

What about Daniel? How is he an example for us? - prayed, put God first, trusted God

How does it point forward to Jesus? - point out Jesus' innocence, Pilate's uselessness, the stone rolled, the angel at the tomb, and Jesus' great rescue.

This is pointing forward to God's great rescue in Jesus. So like Daniel and Jesus, we should trust God the Father with our lives, putting Him first even if that means we get into trouble.

Pray

Table time [they get to stick a lion in the den for every good answer]

Knowledge

• What was Daniel banned from doing?

• What happened to Daniel because he broke this rule?

• What happened to Daniel in the lion's den?

Understanding

• Why was Daniel prepared to disobey the King?

• Why did God rescue Daniel?

• What did Darius learn about God?

Application

• Would you be prepared to be thrown in a lion's den because you follow God?

• How do you pray?

• How is Jesus' rescue even better?

Teaching Daniel 5

3-5s

Theme: God is much bigger and more powerful than Kings

Aim: They realise that God is much bigger than them and those in charge of them

Intros:

• Draw some pictures in white crayon/candle on white paper - they have to paint over and guess what they are
• What's the biggest quiz - have pictures of items of various sizes. They have to choose which is the biggest. Then tell them God is bigger than all this.

Teaching:

Recap - Do you remember what happened to King Neb? He thought he was the boss, in charge of everything. But God showed him that he was not as big and powerful as he thought. God was much bigger than him.

Many years later there was another king called Belshazzar. And he forgot all about Daniel and all about Daniel's God.

He thought he would throw a party [could set a party scene with balloons and plates and empty cups - but this might be too disruptive]. At this party he decided to use the special cups which King Neb had taken from God's temple in Jerusalem.

So the special cups were brought to him and he started using these cups to praise his made up gods! How horrible and awful! Do you think God liked that? Not one bit.

Suddenly a hand appeared from nowhere. Just a hand, nothing else. [have a stiff cardboard hand with a pen attached and a large piece of paper on the wall]

The hand wrote some words on the wall but King Belshazzar couldn't understand them and he became very scared. He went very pale and his knees started knocking and his teeth started chattering.

Eventually someone remembered that Daniel was good at understanding strange things like frightening dreams and so they called in Daniel.

Daniel looked at the words and immediately understood the message from God.

'The first word,' he said, 'is "Mene" which means counting. God has counted the number of days for you to be king and that's it. Finished. [drop coins]

The second word is "Tekel" which means weighing something. God has tested you and found you're not good enough! [mime weighing]

The third word is "Parsin" which means split up, divided. God is tearing up your kingdom and giving it to someone else. [tear up a crown]

And sure enough, that night God took the Kingdom away from Belshazzar and he died.

Lots of people think that they are really important and powerful. But, compared to God, they have no power at all. God is so much bigger and more powerful than any person could ever be. God is so much bigger and more powerful than we are. And so God is in charge of us. We're living in His world and so we should live with His King, Jesus, as our King.

Craft:

• Wall picture with words 'Mene...' in white crayon. The paint over the top to reveal the words
• Make golden goblets
• Magic picture craft - http://kidfrugal.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/writing-on-wall-magic-window.html?spref=pi
• Hand craft

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5-11s

Theme: God will humble the proud and lift up the humble - Just as He did with Jesus

Aim: the proud should be afraid and the humble should be hopeful

Intro:

• Riddles - they have to complete the riddle
• Pictures from the previous 4 chapters - they have to find and put in order
• Pin 'Mene...' to the wall. They have to hit with a ball/dart/fake hand in order to turn them round. Then ask if they know what they mean.

Teaching:

Recap - what have we seen of Daniel so far? And Daniel 4 - a proud King who humbles himself and is restored.

Many years pass and Daniel and his God are forgotten. King Neb's son (maybe grandson), Belshazzar, becomes King and he decides to throw a party.

[set out party with blackcurrant juice in plastic wine glasses]

Then Belshazzar has a real brain wave! There are some lovely golden wine goblets that my Dad took from the Jerusalem temple. Let's drink out of them!

So the golden cups from the Jerusalem temple are brought to Belshazzar and all his party guests. And so they drink more and more wine out of these special cups.

What you need to understand is how awful this must have been for God's people: these were holy, special, set apart for worship of God. Not for a foreign king to use to get drunk.

And then they start using these cups to worship their made up gods of stone and wood and gold!

But, as they are doing so, suddenly a hand appears from nowhere. And the hand starts writing something on the wall. [use a powerpoint slide to have a hand writing the words].

The King turns very white, his knees start knocking [overdo his reaction]

None of his wise men can help - just like before

But thankfully King Neb's wife remembers Daniel and tells Belshazzar to ask him.

So Daniel is brought before King Bel. Bel promises to make Daniel 3rd highest in the kingdom. Daniel must have been about 80 by this point.

And he begins by explaining why this is happening. Read v18-23.

And then he explains what the writing means (this is the bit we've been waiting a long time for!)

Read v25-28 - slowly explain. The kingdom, the empire, would be taken away from Belshazzar as he did not bow humbly before the Lord God, as he should have.

So what happens? read v30.

How does this point us forward to Jesus? - we have a king who wasn't proud but, because He humbled Himself God raised Him up (Phil 2).

God is in charge of Kings and nations, Rulers and empires - He has such enormous power, so we should bow before Him and recognise how small and weak we are.

If you think you're great like King Bel, then you should be afraid!

But if you realise how much bigger God is than you, then you should be hopeful and encouraged.

Table time: (have a big piece of paper with 'Mene...' in white crayon/candle - gradually paint over the top)

Knowledge

• What did King Bel do wrong?
• What message did God send?
• What happened to King Bel in the end?

Understanding

• Why did God take the kingdom from King Bel?
• What did you learn about God from this story?
• How does it point to Jesus?

Application

• Read v23 - Could God say this of you?
• What does it mean to be humble? Would people describe you this way?
• What should our world leaders do?

Memory verse - Daniel 6:26

Pray