4 th -6 th Grade Kids Bible Study Guide Unit 2, Session 1: God’s Covenant with Abraham 2012 LifeWay Christian Resources 1 TEACHER BIBLE STUDY To understand today’s story, it is important to know that Abram, a descendant of Noah’s son Shem (Gen. 11:10-26), came from a family who were pagans. Unlike Noah, they worshiped other gods. (See Josh. 24:2.) God communicated with Abram, who became the next person to take a very prominent role in God’s plan of human redemption. In Genesis 12, God spoke to Abram, calling him to leave behind his family and his lands to go to a place God would show him. God promised to make Abram into a great nation and to make his name great. By faith, Abram obeyed. Genesis 15 starts with God’s promising a great reward to Abram. Notice Abram’s response: “What can You give me, since I am childless?” That’s when God made a great promise to Abram: Your offspring will be as numerous as the stars. God also promised to give Abram land, and God gave specific instructions to Abram for confirming the covenant. In Abram’s time, when a covenant was made between two people, the animals would be split and both parties would walk through them as to say, “If I do not hold up my end of the covenant, may I be like these dead animals.” What is different about this covenant? Only the smoking fire pot and flaming torch passed through, symbolizing that God alone would be responsible for upholding the covenant. Years passed and Abram still had no children. God was serious about the covenant. In fact, He changed Abram’s name, which means “The Father Is Exalted,” to Abraham, which means “Father of a Multitude.” Show kids how Jesus fulfilled God’s promise to Abraham. Jesus would bless all people by causing them to turn away from their sins. (See Acts 3:25-26.) LESSON OVERVIEW/SCHEDULE Session Title: God’s Covenant with Abraham Bible Passage: Genesis 12:2-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-9 Big Picture Question: Why did God choose Abraham? God chose Abraham to be part of His covenant plan to send Jesus to earth to bring us salvation. Key Passage: Genesis 17:7 Unit Christ Connection: Jesus is the true Son of promise whom God provided as the ultimate sacrifice for sin. Transition Time Welcome time Activity sheet/Table Centers Session starter (10 minutes)
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4th-6th Grade Kids Bible Study Guide Unit 2, Session 1: God’s Covenant with Abraham
2012 LifeWay Christian Resources 1
TEACHER BIBLE STUDY To understand today’s story, it is important to know that Abram, a descendant of Noah’s son
Shem (Gen. 11:10-26), came from a family who were pagans. Unlike Noah, they worshiped other
gods. (See Josh. 24:2.) God communicated with Abram, who became the next person to take a
very prominent role in God’s plan of human redemption.
In Genesis 12, God spoke to Abram, calling him to leave behind his family and his lands to go to
a place God would show him. God promised to make Abram into a great nation and to make his
name great. By faith, Abram obeyed.
Genesis 15 starts with God’s promising a great reward to Abram. Notice Abram’s response:
“What can You give me, since I am childless?” That’s when God made a great promise to Abram:
Your offspring will be as numerous as the stars.
God also promised to give Abram land, and God gave specific instructions to Abram for
confirming the covenant. In Abram’s time, when a covenant was made between two people, the
animals would be split and both parties would walk through them as to say, “If I do not hold up
my end of the covenant, may I be like these dead animals.” What is different about this covenant?
Only the smoking fire pot and flaming torch passed through, symbolizing that God alone would
be responsible for upholding the covenant.
Years passed and Abram still had no children. God was serious about the covenant. In fact, He
changed Abram’s name, which means “The Father Is Exalted,” to Abraham, which means “Father
of a Multitude.”
Show kids how Jesus fulfilled God’s promise to Abraham. Jesus would bless all people by
causing them to turn away from their sins. (See Acts 3:25-26.)
LESSON OVERVIEW/SCHEDULE Session Title: God’s Covenant with Abraham
Bible Passage: Genesis 12:2-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-9
Big Picture Question: Why did God choose Abraham? God chose Abraham to be part of His covenant
plan to send Jesus to earth to bring us salvation.
Key Passage: Genesis 17:7
Unit Christ Connection: Jesus is the true Son of promise whom God provided as the ultimate sacrifice for
sin.
Transition Time
Welcome time
Activity sheet/Table Centers
Session starter (10 minutes)
4th-6th Grade Kids Bible Study Guide Unit 2, Session 1: God’s Covenant with Abraham
2012 LifeWay Christian Resources 2
Lesson
Countdown
Introduce the session (2 minutes)
Timeline map (3 minutes)
Big picture question (1 minute)
Tell the Bible story (9 minutes)
Key passage (4 minutes)
Discussion starter video (5 minutes)
Sing (5 minutes)
Prayer (1 minute)
Table Time
Bible story review & Bible skills (10 minutes)
Key passage activity (5 minutes)
Activity choice (10 minutes)
Prayer (5 minutes)
THE BIBLE STORY/OVERVIEW
God’s Covenant with Abraham
Genesis 12:2-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-9
There was a man named Abram who lived with his wife, Sarai. Abraham was a descendant of
Noah, and he and his family had spread out in the earth. God chose Abram and promised Abram
three things: He would make his name great, Abram would have a big family, and he would be
blessed. God visited Abram in a vision and said, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield; your
reward will be very great.”
This was a good promise, but Abram was sad. He didn’t have any children to inherit his
blessing. “One of my slaves will be my heir,” Abram said. But God had a better plan. He took
Abram outside. “Look at the sky and count the stars, if you can,” God said. Abram couldn’t count
the stars. There were too many! “Your offspring will be that numerous,” God promised. Abram
believed God, and God was pleased.
God also promised that Abram’s family would keep the land they were living in. Abram asked,
“How can I be sure?” So God confirmed His covenant with Abram. He gave Abram very special
instructions to bring a cow, a goat, a ram, a turtledove, and a pigeon. Abram did as God asked,
and a deep sleep came over him. While Abram was sleeping, God told him what would happen in
the future. He said that Abram’s family would be slaves in another country for 400 years before
God would judge the nation and bless Abram’s family. Despite this, Abram would live a long,
peaceful life.
When it got dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch representing God passed between the
animals. This showed that God would be responsible for keeping His promise.
Many years passed and Abram still didn’t have the promised son. God hadn’t forgotten, though.
He appeared to Abram again and reminded him, “I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and
be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly.”
God was so serious about His promise that He changed Abram’s name to Abraham, which
means “Father of a Great Multitude.” God told Abraham that he would be the father of nations,
4th-6th Grade Kids Bible Study Guide Unit 2, Session 1: God’s Covenant with Abraham
2012 LifeWay Christian Resources 3
and even kings! “I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your future offspring
throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant to be your God and the God of your
offspring after you,” God said.
And God promised to give Abraham and his offspring all of the land of Canaan where they
were residing. “I will be their God,” He said.
Christ Connection: God chose Abraham to be the father of the nation in which Jesus would be
born. In this way, Abraham would bless all nations, as God had promised. God also saw
Abraham’s faith in God’s promises and counted it as righteousness. It is our faith in Jesus’
perfect righteousness that brings salvation to God’s people.
TRANSITION TIME Session Title: God’s Covenant with Abraham
Bible Passage: Genesis 12:2-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-9
Big Picture Question: Why did God choose Abraham? God chose Abraham to be part of His covenant
plan to send Jesus to earth to bring us salvation.
Key Passage: Genesis 17:7
Unit Christ Connection: Jesus is the true Son of promise whom God provided as the ultimate sacrifice for
sin.
Welcome time As kids arrive this is a great time to collect the offering, fill out attendance sheets, and help new
kids connect to your group. Continue getting to know the kids in your group by asking them if
• “Key Passage Maze”/”Stars in the Sky” activity sheet, 1 per kid
• pencils
• Bibles
Lead boys and girls to complete the maze on the “Key Passage Maze” and the stars on the “Stars
in the Sky” activity sheet.
Say • Our key passage is a promise God made to Abraham. God’s promise to Abraham was an
everlasting covenant.
• A generation is a group of people who were born and lived at about the same time. All of you
are a part of a generation of people. Your parents are a part of another generation. Your
grandparents are another generation.
• In our world today, people will give each generation a special name to help everyone
understand which generation they are talking about.
• God told Abraham that the covenant would last through many generations.
4th-6th Grade Kids Bible Study Guide Unit 2, Session 1: God’s Covenant with Abraham
2012 LifeWay Christian Resources 4
Session starter (10 minutes) Option 1: Family tree • paper
• pencils
• crayons or markers
Guide kids to draw their family trees. Instruct each kid to list her name and the names of her
siblings, parents, grandparents, and any other family members (people, not pets). Encourage boys
and girls to draw a tree around the names of the people in their families.
Say • Today we will hear about a man, Abraham, whom God promised would be the father of
many nations of people.
• His family would become so large that we could never fit the names of all of them on our
papers.
• Abraham’s family would even include Jesus.
Option 2: Knot game • 10-foot length of rope, 1 per team
Tie five knots in each rope. Instruct each team to work together to untie the knots in its rope.
Each team member may only use one hand to play the game.
Say • When God makes a covenant, He is always faithful to His covenant.
• We can untie the knots in this rope, but we cannot untie God from a covenant He makes.
Because God cannot lie, He will always keep His covenant (Numbers 23:19; Psalm 12:6).
• Today we are going to hear about a special covenant God made with a man named Abraham.
• His covenant was fulfilled when Jesus came to earth to live and die to rescue us from sin.
Transition to large group
LESSON Session Title: God’s Covenant with Abraham
Bible Passage: Genesis 12:2-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-9
Big Picture Question: Why did God choose Abraham? God chose Abraham to be part of His covenant
plan to send Jesus to earth to bring us salvation.
Key Passage: Genesis 17:7
Unit Christ Connection: Jesus is the true Son of promise whom God provided as the ultimate sacrifice for
sin.
Suggested Theme Decorating Ideas: Use sleeping bags to create an area on which your class can sit as
you teach. Build a campfire site with wood logs. If you have space, set up a small tent on one side of your
teaching area. Set up a folding table and chairs or a picnic table and place a cooler on the table. Create a
sign that says “Campsites 1–12” and an arrow pointing one way. Create another sign that says “Campsites
13–25” with an arrow pointing the opposite direction from the cabins sign. Post a sign that warns “Beware
of bears,” or “Please do not feed the bears.”
4th-6th Grade Kids Bible Study Guide Unit 2, Session 1: God’s Covenant with Abraham
2012 LifeWay Christian Resources 5
Countdown • countdown video (Insert provided DVD with Lesson Videos and Worship)
Show the countdown video as you clean-up table centers, set up classroom chairs for lesson, and
set it to end as large group time begins.
Introduce the session (2 minutes)
[Dress in camping appropriate attire. Wear a flannel shirt and hiking boots or athletic shoes.
Carry a backpack or a hiking pole as you greet campers.] Tip: Wear what is comfortable for you to teach in that also supports the theme. Kids will not accept a camping theme
if you are wearing a Sunday suit and tie.
Leader • Hello, campers! Are you all ready for our very first campfire Bible story? We are going
to have such an adventure camping for the next few weeks. How many of you have been
camping before? Did you sleep in a tent or a cabin? Did you see any bears? As long as we obey
the rules about keeping our food secure so the bears can’t get into it, and if we don’t try to offer
food to the bears, we should be OK. I hope you packed enough socks to keep your feet warm
on the cold nights up here at Covenant Campground. This is one of my favorite places to camp
in the great outdoors. Just think, only a few weeks ago we were learning about how God
created the world, and now we are camping in the middle of His beautiful creation. Let’s
review all the Bible stories we have learned so far on our adventure into God’s story.
Timeline map (3 minutes) • timeline map (Posted on wall in classroom. Additional copies provided for Table Time Review)
Leader • Does anyone remember where our journey started? Our journey started at Big Picture
Airlines. We learned all about how God created the world. Do you remember what happened
after God created the world and gave Adam and Eve one rule to follow? Yeah, they broke the
rule. They sinned and now, we all sin. But God promised to send Jesus to pay the price for our
sin, and that is exactly what He did. Who else did we learn about at Big Picture Airlines? Cain
and Abel, Noah, the people at Babel, and Job. We learned a lot about the consequences of sin
and the importance of knowing and loving God.
Are you all ready to hear whom we will learn about now? He is a special guy. The Bible talks
about him in the Old Testament and the New Testament. He is known for being faithful to
God’s plan. He is also called the father of many nations. Any guesses? Abram or Abraham is
the right answer. Abram and Abraham are both names for the same person. We’ll hear today
why sometimes we call him “Abram” and sometimes we call him “Abraham.”
Big picture question (1 minute) • 11x17 poster provided
Leader • I just told you that Abraham was faithful to God’s plan. Do you want to know what part
of God’s plan Abraham was a part of? Well, that’s our question today at Covenant
Campground. Why did God choose Abraham? I think God must have chosen Abraham for
something super special. Today we are talking about why God chose Abraham for His special
plan. I think it’s time to open your Bibles and join me around the campfire to find the true
answer to our big picture question. Today’s campfire circle Bible story starts in Genesis 15. Is
Genesis in the Old Testament or New Testament? Right, Genesis is in the Old Testament part
of the Bible.
4th-6th Grade Kids Bible Study Guide Unit 2, Session 1: God’s Covenant with Abraham
2012 LifeWay Christian Resources 6
Tell the Bible story (9 minutes) • “God’s Covenant with Abraham” video
• Bibles
• big picture question : Why did God choose Abraham? – 11x17 poster provided
• Bible story picture – 11x17 poster provided
Tip: During the rest of the unit, you may need to continue reminding kids that Abram and Abraham are the same
person.
Tip: Remember to pause and allow kids to share the answer to the big picture question.
Open your Bible to Genesis 15. Choose to tell the Bible story in your own words, or show the
Bible story video “God’s Covenant with Abraham.”
Leader • Our question was Why did God choose Abraham? Do you all know the answer? Tell me
why you think God chose Abraham. Are you ready for the answer? God chose Abraham to be
part of His covenant plan to send Jesus to earth to bring us salvation.
The Bible says Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. That
means that Abraham was seen by God as being right and good because of his faith. The New
Testament Book of Romans says that “He [Abraham] did not waver in unbelief at God’s
promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, because he was fully
convinced that what He had promised He [God] was also able to perform” (Romans 4:20-21).
Abraham believed that God could do anything that He promised to do. Even though Abraham
and Sarai were old and did not have any children, Abraham believed God’s promise that his
family would be as numerous as the stars in the sky.
One day, a long time after Abraham lived, God would send His Son Jesus to be a part of
Abraham’s family here on earth. Jesus was one of the numerous offspring God promised
Abraham. It is because of Jesus that all people would be blessed through Abraham. Does
anyone remember why Jesus came to earth? Jesus came to earth to live a perfect life and to die
for our sins. All people who trust in Christ are blessed because Jesus provided salvation from
sin. Why did God choose Abraham? God chose Abraham to be part of His covenant plan to
send Jesus to earth to bring us salvation.
As time allows review how to become a Christian:
• God rules. God created and is in charge of everything. (Gen. 1:1; Rev. 4:11; Col. 1:16-17)
• We sinned. Since Adam and Eve, everyone has chosen to disobey God. (Rom. 3:23; 6:23)
• God provided. God sent His Son Jesus to rescue us from the punishment we deserve. (John
3:16; Eph. 2:8-9)
• Jesus gives. Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, and rose again so we can
be welcomed into God’s family. (Rom. 5:8; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 3:18)
• We respond. Believe that Jesus alone saves you. Repent. Tell God that your faith is in Jesus.
(Rom. 10:9-10,13) Tip: Anytime you share how to become a Christian in a large group environment, try to have teachers available to
meet one-on-one with kids. Make sure kids know who they can talk to and when they can talk.
God’s Covenant with PeopleSession Title: God’s Covenant with Abraham
Bible Passage: Genesis 12:2-3; 15:1-21; 17:1-9
Big Picture Question for preschoolers: Why did God
choose Abraham? God chose Abraham to be part of His
plan.
Big Picture Question for kids: Why did God
choose Abraham? God chose Abraham to be part of
His covenant plan to send Jesus to earth to bring us
salvation.
Key Passage: Genesis 17:7
Christ Connection: God chose Abraham to be the father of the nation in which Jesus would be born. In this way, Abraham would bless all nations, as God had promised. God also saw Abraham’s faith in God’s promises and counted it as righteousness. It is faith in Jesus’ perfect righteousness that brings salvation to God’s people.