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The King of Kings Rules!
In the book of Daniel, we see over and over God proving Himself to be the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He proved it to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, patiently working on him until the king finally understood who is the true King of kings. This time we look at King Belshazzar, who was not given a second chance by God.
The story is found in Daniel chapter 5.
QUICK PRESENTATION OUTLINE:
How to Start the Lesson: Simply hold up the object (a marker pen) and say something like this: "When you were a little kid, did you ever draw on the wall? How'd that go over with the adults? Did you know that in the Bible, somebody wrote on a wall and wow, did it cause a lot of trouble! But guess what? Right now I'm going to let YOU write on the wall!"
The Game: The purpose of the game is to get the kids charged up and ready to stick their noses in the Bible. Explain and play the game as demonstrated in the video. In short, the kids each have a turn lettering their first name on painters paper taped to the wall. The paper is taped along the base of the wall; kids lie on their backs while attempting to write their names with a marker between their toes. A real challenge! To add to the fun, make this a two-team relay race. Thick paint-proof paper is sold in rolls at home supply stores. But double the paper over end-for-end to be extra safe. You've been warned!
The Bible Story: Read or paraphrase Daniel chapter 5, the story of the writing on the wall. The story is included in the downloadable Lesson Plan.
The Activity Pages: Finally, pick any or all of the activity pages to fill out the lesson time.
POWER-USER TIPS:
Your kids might find this interesting:
After Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon, deposing Belshazzar, he allowed the Jewish captives to return to their homeland, Israel. The unique thing about this is that God had predicted this through the prophet Isaiah, saying, "I am the Lord....who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be laid.”’ Isaiah 44:24,28 NIV. This was written almost 150 years before Cyrus came along and did those things!
Later historians held that Cyrus had read the prophecy of his actions and was convinced by it.
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The painters paper mentioned in the video is good for cheap disposable table cloths for typical rectangular Sunday School tables. Fold over the edges and tape along the bottom of a table; instant table-sized drawing pad for the kids. Will last quite awhile.
By using the Activity Pages included with each Object Lesson you can almost fill a complete Sunday School hour! Throw in some time for snacks and socializing and you're nearly there.
Get in the habit of making a master copy of the Activity Pages included with all our Object Lesson downloads, to keep for a rainy day. Just the coloring pages alone will add up to more than eighty before we finish going through the Bible!
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The Lesson Plan
This time our Object Lesson is a very challenging activity that will get the kids immersed in the idea of writing on a wall; because that's what they're gonna do!
Once the challenge is complete, the story of a disembodied hand writing on a wall in a large room crowded with drunken partygoers gives Daniel the chance to declare the truth: God rules!
God made it clear that He alone is the King of kings who calls the shots over all kings and rulers.
Thought for Today: On His robe and on His thigh He has this name written: KING OF KINGS and LORD OF LORDS. Revelation 19:16.
The Object Lesson Presentation • Marker
The object used is simply an attention-grabbing visual aid. The real lesson comes from the Bible story, discussion, and the Activity Pages. Here's an except from the Lesson Plan...
Purpose: To encourage kids to fully commit to the leadership of God, who rules over all.
Prep: The object lesson activity, if done to “top craziness level,” requires a long sheet of marker-proof paper taped to a wall and at least one marker. A blanket for kids to comfortably lie on is recommended. Marker-proof paper can be purchased from the paint departments of big box stores. Be sure to double the paper over to be safe.
Object Lesson: One of the funniest, silliest ever! This time, an activity serves as the object lesson. Do this before telling the Bible story. Because the story is about a disembodied hand writing on a wall, the kids write their first names on a wall—by holding a marker in between their toes! Each kid is given a chance to lie down and struggle to sign a sheet of marker-proof paper that runs along the wall, taped from the base of the wall up. To make this extra fun, turn it into a two-team race to get everyone signed. When finished, tell the Bible story followed by the Wrap Up.
Bible Story: Daniel chapter 5.
Wrap Up: Take a few moments to impress upon the kids that not only does the story of the writing on the wall prove that God is the true ruler of the universe, it demands that we ourselves commit to the Kingship of God in our own lives—not just for today but forever.
Activity Pages: The Do It Yourself Comic and the Mug Shots activity serve to make the Bible story even more memorable to the kids. The Coloring Page reinforces the idea the Jesus is our Ruler.
The Student Activity Pages
After telling the story of the Writing on the Wall, you have your choice of two Bible story review games plus a coloring page that reminds kids the Lord is King of everything...
Do It Yourself Comic. Most kids are happy to sit down and color away with a friend or two. That's why we invented what we call DIY comics. We draw most of the illustrations to tell in this case the story of the Writing on the Wall, leaving faces blank for kids to express their artistic talents. A pleasant way to review the Bible story.
Mug Shots. By recombining parts of King Belshazzar's cartoon face, kids come up with their interpretation of the emotions the king likely felt as he watched the disembodied hand scrawl its message across the wall. A good way to start a discussion on the impact when God steps into a person's life.
The Coloring Page. It's not only little kids that like to color. We've often seen older kids sitting with friends as they color away. This one makes a good replacement for the DIY Comic activity.
The Time Element
Those of us that teach Sunday School always try to keep an eye on the clock. We don't want to spend too much time on one activity and not enough on another.
Well, that's the nice thing about object lessons with activity pages: the time they take to present can range from quick to lengthy, all under your control.
In today's lesson, you can just hold up the pen as you begin the story of King Belshazzar's arrogant, insulting behavior, dispensing with the game and activities altogether. You're done in five minutes, ready to start something different. But playing the game and using as many as all three Activity Pages will easily fill another half hour, even more.
So calculate how much time you want to invest, then choose the combination that best fills that time.
No matter what you end up with, the kids will enjoy it and learn a good lesson about honoring and respecting the Father, Son and Holy Spirit above all else.
