Zechariah & Elizabeth
This story is about God answering prayer.
The child will learn that:-
- God answers prayer.
- Prayers are answered in God’s time, not ours.
Bible Story Reference: Luke 1: 5-25
Memory Verse:
Luke 1: 37 (NIV)
“For no word from God will ever fail.”
Opening Activity
- Ask the child about their families. Discuss with them about babies in their families or extended families. A new baby always brings joy into a family.
- Ask the child to think of something they would really like. Can they explain why they would like it? The couple in today’s story felt a little bit like that; they wanted a baby!
Bible Story
- Zechariah and Elizabeth really would have loved to have a child. As they grew older many of their friends had little families but they were still alone. How do you think they felt? What would Zechariah and Elizabeth have missed about not having children? Let the child make suggestions based on their own context/culture) (Luke 1: 5-7)
- They decided to pray to God about it. They knew that God could answer prayer! (Luke 1: 13) Mention that we can pray about any problem we may have.
- God heard their prayer and sent an angel to meet with Zechariah when he was working in the Temple. How do you think Zechariah felt when the angel appeared? The angel told him not to be afraid and then shared the good news that Elizabeth was going to have a son and his name had to be John. (Luke 1: 8-11)
- Zechariah could not believe the news that had been told him. He thought that he and Elizabeth were far too old to have a baby. The angel told him that because he didn’t believe the message from God, he would be unable to speak until their baby son was born. (Luke 1: 18-20)
- We can learn an important lesson from Zechariah … when we pray we must believe that God will answer our prayers.
Questions
Ask the child the following questions as a means of revising the story.
- Who was Zechariah married to?
- What did they really want?
- Who did Zechariah and Elizabeth pray to?
- Who came to meet Zechariah in the Temple?
- How did Zechariah feel when the angel appeared to him?
- What was the message from the angel?
- What happened to Zechariah because he didn’t believe the message?
- When we pray, what important thing should we do?
Prayer
Thank You God for always answering my prayers.
Songs
Crafts
Angel
This is to remind us of the angel that spoke to Zechariah while he was in the temple.
What You Need
- Paper plate/Circular hard paper e.g. Manilla or Carton
- Scissors
- Paper punch/pen
- Thread or Yarn
- Glue or tape
- Markers
Steps
- Cut the circular paper into four even sections as shown.
- Cut a circle out of the top section to make the angel’s head. Then, trim the bottom section a little at each end for the body. The remaining pieces will be the Angel’s wings.
- Make holes along the outer edges, and make one hole at each center point using the sharp point of a pen or paper punch.
- Thread the yarn through the top hole and into one of the bottom holes and then back through the top. Continue this pattern until you’ve completed the Angel’s dress. Tie the loose ends together at the back.
- Arrange the pieces so that the wings are on each sides of the body and then use a small piece of yarn to thread through the top hole of each piece and secure them together.
- To finish up the craft, draw a cute face and hair onto the circle piece for the Angel’s head. Attach it to the body using glue or tape to complete the craft.