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Tuesday, November 24, 2020

How to teach kids to Memorize Bible Verses? & Psalm - 23 (Memorization Portion), Kinder - I, Lesson - 10

KINDER

AGE: 4 - 5 YEARS

CLASS (GRADE): LKG & UKG

Permission is granted only for free distribution among Sunday School children.

No part of this document can be modified, sold or used for any commercial purpose.

LESSON – 10

PSALM – 23 (TO MEMORISE) & MEMORIZATION TECHNIQUES

      How to teach kids to memorize Bible verses?

Select the Bible Portion for memorization according to the age of the child.
 
Young children can learn while they are playing also, So you can teach them as they are playing or engaged in other activities. You don't have to create a formal desk-chair environment to teach Bible verses to young children.

The learning capacity of children varies. Some children will learn the entire Psalm or Bible portion in a day, others may take a week or two. Hence parents and teachers should avoid comparison and encourage any effort the child takes to memorize the verse.
Teach one or two verses only per day.
Do not force or pressurize the child to memorize by threats or punishment. That would make the child associate memorization of Bible verses with painful and unpleasant feelings and memories.
Help the child to memorize verses by providing Positive reinforcements only. Positive reinforcements include verbal rewards like praise words or tangible rewards like stickers, gifts or treats that motivate the child to try and achieve the desired results.
There are many different memorization techniques that can be used to learn memory verses. The following memorization techniques could be used with young children, toddlers and children with learning difficulties. 
(1) Memorization through Colourful Scripture Memory cards
Introducing children to colourful Scripture memory cards with short and simple Bible verses is a great way to start children in the memorization of Scriptures. These cards are small and handy and can be carried easily by the child. 
(2) Memorization through Colouring Scripture Illustrations
This technique is very interesting and useful for junior children.
(3) Signing the Verse
Teach the kids signs or actions to go along with the verse. You can go through a sign language dictionary to learn many new signa and actions. This is a very fun way to learn memory verses especially for young children.

(4) Singing the Verse
In this method kids are taught to sing the verse with interesting tune and actions. This is a very effective method to teach verses. Many such verse songs like "Cast your burden, Rejoice in the Lord" stays in our memory.

(5) Word Matching Activity
In this activity, words from a verse are written in pieces of paper and children are encouraged to match the words written in the pieces of paper to the correct words printed on the sheet. The children have to say the word as they match the words.

(6) Verse Shuffle
In this method each word from a verse is written on a card. Then the cards are shuffled and placed on the table. The children have to take turns putting the verse together.

(7) Memorization by Association
Memorization by association is the method by which children are encouraged to memorize the verses by associating words / phrases / sentences in the verse with visual prompts (pictures for each verses or phrases), object models or actions for words / phrases. This method is particularly helpful for memorization of large portions of scripture.
Example of Picture prompt: Psalm 23 - Verse 2 (He makes me to lie down in green pastures)
Method
Select the Bible portion you want the child to learn. 
Choose colourful and attractive pictures that explains the Bible verses taught (Sample pictures that describe Psalm - 23 are given below)
Start teaching the verses one by one by showing the pictures and making the child understand the verse first.
Split the verses into sentences.
Make the child repeat the first sentence after you 2 - 3 times. Then ask the child to recollect the sentence without your assistance.
If the child forgets any part of the sentence you can gently remind the word, or prompt them to correctly recollect the sentence by showing the pictures.
If the sentence is long or the child is having difficulty repeating the entire sentence, you can split the sentence into phrases and teach them.
       Example:
       Entire verse (Psalm 23:1) - The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
       Sentence - The Lord is my Shepherd;
       Phrase - The Lord is
When the child is thorough with one sentence, move onto the next sentence. 
When the child is thorough with the next sentence too, ask the child to say both the sentences together. This process is continued until the child recollects the entire verse.
If the child is having difficulty in recollecting any verse or phrase, show the picture once again and encourage the child to remember the word or phrase.
If the child has difficulty in any particular word or phrase provide prompts or additional clues and do not overdo the technique or cause frustration.
Add verses one by one to the already memorized verses like a building block.
This method could be modified with word prompts instead of picture prompts and used with senior children also.

Memorizing Large Portions of Scripture
If you are interested in learning large portions of scripture, systematic and disciplined study is needed.
Allocate 15 - 20 minutes each day for memorization each day. Keep a target of 5 - 15 verses depending on the age and capability.
Make sure to revise the verses memorized the previous days before starting to learn the particular day's verses.

PSALM - 23 (NKJV)

Memorize

1.   The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2.    He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.

3.    He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.


4.Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. 

5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. 

6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever. 

                                                                

Notes:

    - The children could be encouraged to memorize the verses in other commonly memorized versions such as KJV as well

  Visual Prompts Using Pictures

Verse 1

The Lord is my shepherd

I shall not want
Verse 2
He makes me to lie down in green pastures

He leads me beside the still waters

Verse 3
He restores my soul

He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 

Verse 4
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil

For You are with me

 Your rod and Your staff

they comfort me

Verse 5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies

You anoint my head with oil

My cup runs over
              
Verse 6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life
www.lambsongs.co.nz.

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever
 
(Images used here are from Richard Gunther (www.richardgunther.org).      



Moses & The Ten Plagues of Egypt, Senior - I, Lesson - 9

SENIOR

AGE GROUP: 14 - 15 YEARS

STANDARD (GRADE): IX & X

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LESSON – 9

MOSES & THE TEN PLAGUES OF EGYPT

Moses, the Egyptian Prince

Moses was born to Amram and Jochebed from the Levi tribe of Israel. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt when Moses was born. Pharaoh, the King of Egypt wanted to kill all the Israelite boy babies. To save baby Moses, his mother placed him in a basket made out of bulrushes, and kept him by the reeds along the Nile river. The daughter of the Pharaoh found the baby, named him as Moses and brought him up as an Egyptian prince. 

However, Moses knew that he was an Israelite and when he grew up, he became very distressed at seeing his own people suffer. When Moses was forty years old, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrew men. Moses killed the Egyptian and escaped to a desert called Midian fearing punishment from the Pharaoh. (To know more about the life of Moses, click this link, Intermediate, Lesson - 6, Moses, the son of Pharaoh's Daughter)

Moses at Midian

Moses lived in Midian for 40 years as a shepherd, until God called him to go to Egypt to deliver His people from the Egyptian slavery. God revealed Himself to Moses in a “flame of fire from the midst of a bush”. God told Moses to gather the Israelites to approach the Pharaoh, and to tell him to let the Hebrew people go into the wilderness for a three-day journey to hold a feast for their God.  But Moses told the Lord that he is not eloquent enough, and that he is too slow of speech and tongue. God told Moses to take his brother Aaron along with him to speak to Pharaoh on his behalf. Moses was 80 years old and his brother Aaron was 83 when they went to Egypt to rescue their people from the Pharaoh.   

God’s judgment on Egyptians

When Moses and Aaron first approached the Pharaoh and told him to let the Israelites go, the Pharaoh refused. So, God did two miracles in front of the Pharaoh and his court through Moses and Aaron. But Pharaoh’s magicians could also imitate these miracles, so Pharaoh’s heart was hardened and he refused to let the Israelites go. 
After that, God released a full set of 10 powerful judgments on the Egyptians. It was a judgement against the Egyptian gods. These ten Egyptian plagues not only demonstrated the power of God to Moses, the children of Israel, the Egyptians, and Pharaoh, but they were of such magnitude that they would be remembered for all generations, throughout the entire world. 

First Plague – Water turned to Blood

Egyptian God: Hapi- Egyptian God of the Nile

The first plague from God was that of turning the water to blood. Aaron touched the "rod" of the Lord to the Nile River and it immediately turned to blood, all the fish died, and the river stank. Pharaoh’s magicians could also do this miracle. So Pharaoh was unmoved by this miracle. This plague lasted for seven days. 

Second Plague – Frogs coming from the Nile River

Egyptian Goddess: Heket- Frog Goddess of Fertility, Water, Renewal

The second plague sent upon Egypt, was that of frogs. The frogs came up from the river and were in their houses, in their food, in their clothing and in every place possible. Pharaoh's magicians could also imitate this miracle and were able to bring more frogs, but they could not make them go away. Pharaoh needed Moses’ help to make the frogs go away. 

Third Plague – Lice from the Dust of the Earth

Egyptian God: Geb - Egyptian God of the Earth

The third plague was lice. When Aaron stretched forth his rod and smit the dust of the earth, the dust became lice throughout all the land. Pharaoh’s magicians could not replicate this miracle and they called it “the finger of God." This was the last plague that required Aaron's involvement, as the other plagues were brought forth by the word of Moses himself. 

Fourth Plague - Swarms of Flies

Egyptian God: Khepri – The God with head of a fly

The fourth Egyptian plague consisted of flies. It began the great miracle of separation or differentiation. From this plague onwards, only the Egyptians were affected by the judgement. Pharaoh tried to bargain with the Lord, showing his desire to maintain power and authority over God. Pharaoh told them they may sacrifice but they should not leave Egypt and make their sacrifices in Egypt itself.   

Fifth Plague – Death of Cattle and Livestock

Egyptian Goddess: Hathor - Egyptian Goddess of Love and Protection (Egyptian Goddess depicted with the head of a cow)

The fifth plague was a pestilence that fell upon their livestock causing them to die. This plague was given with an advanced warning that the plague would occur the next day, but the warning was ignored.  This plague may have affected the Egyptians by creating a huge economic disaster. 

Sixth Plague – Ashes turned to Boils and Sores

Egyptian Goddess: Sekhmet- Goddess of Epidemics

The sixth plague was ashes turned to Boils and Sores. This plague was given without prior announcement directly attacking the Egyptian people themselves. Moses took ashes from the furnace of affliction, and threw them into the air. As the dust from the ashes blew all over Egypt, it settled on man and beast alike in the form of boils and sores. Even the magicians could not stand before the Pharaoh.

Seventh Plague – Hail rained down in the form of fire

Egyptian Goddess: Nut- Goddess of the Sky

The seventh plague was “Hail raining down in the form of fire”. Hail of unspeakable size and ability to destroy, would rain down from the sky and turn to fire as it hit the ground. Only flax and barley, used for their clothing, ripening in the fields were destroyed by the hail. This destruction would make their life uncomfortable, but wheat, the main source of their food supply still survived. This gave the Egyptians another chance to turn to "the One True God of Israel". 

Eighth Plague – Locusts sent from the sky

Egyptian God: Osiris - God of crops and fertility

The eighth plague was “locusts sent from the sky”. Whatever crops were left intact by hail were now completely consumed by the swarms of locusts. This affected their food supply. Still, Pharaoh would not listen. 

Ninth Plague – Three Days of Complete Darkness

Egyptian God / Goddess: Ra- The Sun God

The ninth plague was “three days of complete darkness”.  The sun, the most worshipped God in Egypt other than Pharaoh himself, gave no light. The Lord showed that he had control over their sun god. 

Tenth Plague – Death of the Firstborn

Egyptian God: Pharaoh- The Ultimate Power of Egypt

The tenth plague was the last and the most severe of them all, the death of the firstborn. Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, was worshipped by the Egyptians because he was considered to be the greatest Egyptian God of all. It was believed that he was actually the son of Ra himself, manifest in the flesh. During the tenth and final plague, the Israelites were told to mark their doors with the blood of a lamb they’ve sacrificed. 

When At night, God passed through the land of Egypt and struck down the firstborn of every household even the firstborn of Pharaoh died, but when God saw the blood on the doorpost, he passed over the Israelite homes, so their firstborns were safe. (To know more about the Passover lamb, click this link, Senior, Lesson - 11, The Passover Lamb)

Israelites leave Egypt

This last and final judgment finally broke the Pharaoh and he agreed to let the Israelites go. This is exactly what God said would happen. Moses and all the Israelites left in a hurry. Their bread did not even rise, and this is why Jewish people today still celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, also called the feast of the Passover. The Bible says that the Israelites had been kept under Egyptian rule for 430 years. The Israelites were finally set free for good from Egypt!

Bible Reference: Exodus 2- 12; Acts 7:20-36

Memory Verse: 10. to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt; His love endures forever. 11. and brought Israel out from among them; His love endures forever. 12. with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever Psalm 136: 10-12 (NIV)


HISTORICAL EVIDENCES

Pictures of slaves making mud bricks in the Tomb of Rekhmire the Vizier (tomb TT100) in ancient Thebes (Luxor). Dated from the time of the Exodus in 1446 BC.
AMARNA TABLETS / AMARNA LETTERS

In 1988, about 400 cuneiform tablets were discovered from a place called Amarna, which were part of the royal archives of Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) who reigned about 1400 BC. They were written during the time of Moses. They provide the first evidence of the Hebrew tribes entering into the land of Canaan in ancient times. Photos: Public Domain

Nile River in the present times.

10 PLAGUES OF EGYPT /  

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GODS & GODDESSES

God released a full set of 10 powerful judgments on the Egyptians to release the Israelites from slavery. The Holy Bible says that it was a judgement against the Egyptian gods (Exodus 12:12; Numbers 33:4). We can see the list of the ten plagues and the gods of goddesses of the ancient Egypt in the following chart. 

Plague

Egyptian God

1.     Water turned to Blood

Hapi- Egyptian god of the Nile

2.    Frogs

Heket- Frog goddess of fertility, water, renewal

3.    Lice

Geb - Egyptian god of the Earth

4.    Flies

Khepri – The god with head of a fly

5.    Death of Cattle

Hathor - Egyptian goddess of Love and Protection (Egyptian goddess depicted with the head of a cow)

6.    Boils

Sekhmet- Goddess of Epidemics

7.     Hail

Nut- Goddess of the Sky

8.    Locusts

Osiris - God of crops and fertility

9.    Darkness

Ra- The Sun God

10.        Death of the Firstborn

Pharaoh- The Ultimate Supreme Power of Egypt


IMAGES OF SOME ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GODS & GODDESSES
Image of goddess Sekhmet carved in the Kom Omba Temple

Image of Sun god Ra carved in the Tomb of Ramses IV

The stone statue of one of the Pharaoh's of Egypt Ramses IV

Images of some of the gods and goddesses of Egypt

For Sunday School activities and stories in English https://jacobsladderactivity.blogspot.com/

ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY

I.           Fill in the Blanks:

1. Aaron touched the "rod" of the Lord to the Nile River and it immediately turned to …………………

2. When Aaron stretched forth his rod and smit the dust of the earth, the dust became ……………… throughout all the land.

3. In the seventh plague, ………………. and ……………….. used for their clothing, were destroyed by the hail.

4.  The Feast of Unleavened Bread is also called as the feast of the ……………………. 

II.       Give short answers:

1. What was the plague that was called the “finger of god”?

 

 

2. Which plague marked the beginning of separation?

 

 

3. How did the seventh plague gave another chance for the Egyptians to repent?

 

 

4. What was the eighth plague and how did it affect their food supply? 

 

III.          Give brief answers:

1. Write in brief about the tenth plague and how the Israelites were set free.