We all experience fiery trials in our lives. As you do these activities with your preschoolers this week, tell them about a time when Jesus was present with you in the midst of a difficult season or experience (with age appropriate details of course.)
HIGHLIGHTS from the Weekend…
This week your child learned that only God should be worshipped. King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold. The king commanded that at the sound of the horn, all the people would fall down and worship the idol. Whoever did not do so would be thrown into a blazing furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were Jewish men serving the king. They loved the Lord and wanted to follow His commands. King Nebuchadnezzar was angry at them because they told him they would not worship the idol because it was against God’s commands. The king was furious. He heated the furnace seven times hotter and had the men thrown in. The fire was so hot that it killed the soldiers that threw the men in. When the king looked in the furnace, he was surprised to see the men walking around in the fire with what looked like an angel. King Nebuchadnezzar brought the men out and praised the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He also ordered that no one could speak anything against their God. (Daniel 3)
Teaching Truth:
- Only God should be worshipped.
Memory Verse
"Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3 (NASB)
3 Activities that Help Us Learn This Week's Teaching Truth:
1. Act It Out
Help your child make some scenery and props to use for acting out this story. Make an “idol” by covering a stuffed animal or doll in aluminum foil. Use other stuffed animals and action figures as the masses that bowed to the statue. Turn a closet into a furnace - make sure it is large enough for your child to walk around a bit. For added reality have your child use red and orange balloons or crumpled tissue paper in this furnace to make flames. As you act it out, talk about what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said to the king and why, and talk about what they might have felt right before going into the furnace. Have your child walk around in the “flames” until the angel rescues him from the fire.
2. Rack, Shack & Benny
Veggie Tales has a video based on this story called Rack, Shack & Benny. Watch it with your child and then talk about Shadrach, Meshach and Adednego using these questions.
- Was it wrong for Nebuchadnezzar to command the people to worship his idol?
- Why did the king decide to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace?
- Why did they not bow down to the king’s statue?
- What made the three men so unafraid even though they were about to be thrown into the furnace?
- Can we trust God to hear us when we pray?
3. Fiery Furnace
Using a large cardboard box (like a large diaper box), have your child decorate the outside with red, orange or yellow crayons or paper so it looks like a furnace. Have your child pretend to be inside a furnace by crawling inside the box. Tell your child that God is always with him, even in a fiery furnace.
Pray
Pray to the Lord thanking Him that He is a good Father who is worthy of being praised. Thank Him for being sovereign in our lives and for sending Jesus to rescue us.