Zechariah meets the angel Gabriel · 2020. 11. 17. · Zechariah wants to know if this is really...

© Copyright - Matthijs & Lindsey Vlaardingerbroek – www.creativekidswork.com

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Zechariah meets the angel Gabriel

- a complete Sunday School lesson -

In this booklet we offer you ten creative ideas that you can use in your Sunday school, kids ministry,

children's church or youth work on the Zechariah meeting the angel Gabriel.

Ten ideas for your Sunday school lesson:

* Discarded or valuable? - a children's moment

* What number did you throw? - an icebreaker

* Watch the video One day - YouTube video and discussion

* The impossible sum - a fun science experiment

* No nice gift for Zechariah? - a creative activity

* Who is the angel Gabriel? - a creative activity

* Who can you trust? - a creative activity

* What did you say? - a Bible game

* I think God is really special because… - a Bible game

* Keep that straw under your nose! - a Bible game

https://www.creativekidswork.com/all-ideas/699-578-who-can-you-trust-a-creative-activity

https://www.creativekidswork.com/all-ideas/699-578-who-can-you-trust-a-creative-activity


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The Bible story in this lesson:

Zechariah is an elderly priest. He and his wife Elizabeth are

childless, because they have never been able to have children.

One day while going to sacrifice in the temple, he sees an angel.

The angel says: "Don't be afraid. God has heard your prayer. Your

wife Elisabeth is going to have a son and you will call him John.

He will be an important servant of God and the Holy Spirit will be

in him from before his birth. Because of John many Israelites will

start to obey God again. He will come before the Lord comes.

John will see to it that parents and children get on well with each other again. He will teach bad

people to live well. He will prepare the people of Israel for the coming of the Lord.”

Zechariah wants to know if this is really true. The angel tells him that he is called Gabriel and has

been sent by God. Because he does not believe, he will not be able to talk until John is born. When

Zechariah comes out of the temple, the people who have come to pray see that he cannot talk. He

goes home and Elisabeth becomes pregnant. She is so happy. At first people didn't think she was

worth anything. But now God has taken care of her. That's how good He is.

(Luke 1: 5 - 25)


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Children’s moment / introduction – Discarded or

valuable?

You can use this as a children’s moment or an introduction to the

story of the priest Zechariah meeting the angel Gabriel in the temple

What do you need:

- an old fashioned rotary telephone - a modern mobile Phone

What do you do:

Show the children the old telephone: ‘I haven’t seen one of these for ages, I thought they had all been thrown away. Do you know what it is? Everyone use to have these at home, but now they have all been discarded.

Show the children the new mobile phone: ‘So, that’s better! At least with this phone you can use WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, internet etc.

But do you know which is the best phone to make a phone call with? The new mobile or the old fashioned telephone? Actually it doesn’t matter at all. You can use both to make a phone call. And still we have discarded the old telephones. New is better!

Today our Bible story is about Zechariah. Zechariah feels old and discarded. For years and years he has prayed and hoped for the most special moment in his life. But it hasn’t happened. He may well feel discarded, just like this old telephone, but in this story Zechariah discovers that he is still very valuable!


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Icebreaker - What number did you throw?

A fun introduction to today’s story

What do you need:

- a big dice - an A4 with the name ‘Zechariah’ on it.

What do you do:

The children take it in turns to throw the dice. They are going to tell some things about themselves, and the number they throw on the dice will determine how many things they tell about themselves. For example if they throw a four: -my name is Lucy - I am ten years old - I like to play football - I have a dog called Sammy As leader you can be the one to start the ball rolling, and then make sure that all the children have had a turn. End by showing the children the A4 with ‘Zechariah’ on it, and roll the dice as it were for him, and tell the children a few things about Zechariah: -I am very old - My wife is called Elisabeth - My greatest wish was to have a child - Elisabeth can’t have children - I am a priest - Soon it will be my turn to sacrifice in the temple


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YouTube video and discussion - One Day

Using this secular YouTube film you can talk with the children about

losing hope and go deeper into the meaning of the Bible story of

Zechariah meeting the angel Gabriel

An old man lives a lonely life. Sitting on a park bench he thinks back on his youth and his wife. He ends the day watching television. He wants to tell his wife something but realizes she isn’t there any more. Sadly he strokes the arm of her chair.

Why does this film go with today’s Bible story?

This film is about sadness, loneliness and lost hope. The man in the video has lost his wife. Zechariah is also a very old man who has lost his dream. He’ll never have a son, the son for which he has waited so long and prayed so hard. Or will he? Is there still hope? But surely that’s not possible?

Important questions:

It’s important to always watch the film yourself beforehand and to ask yourself:

- do I want to show this to the children? - does this film work in the context and age-range of the children I am working with?

If you choose to show this YouTube video, we suggest you use the following steps:

Step 1 – The ideal present (5 minutes)

What do you need: – a beautifully wrapped present

What do you do: Show the children the present. Ask them – if this present would contain the one thing you really really want, the thing that would make you happiest, what would be in it? Have the children hold the present in turn and answer the question.

Step 2: Watch the video ‘One Day’ with each other (5 minutes)

Step 3: Clouds of emotions (5 minutes)

What do you need: - pens and paper clouds (you can print out the download a few times: Cloud.pdf ).

https://www.creativekidswork.com/images/creatiefkinderwerk/engels/Pinterest/Cloud.pdf

https://www.creativekidswork.com/images/creatiefkinderwerk/engels/Pinterest/Cloud.pdf


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What do you do:

Ask: What did you feel when you were watching the film?

Do: Write the emotions on the clouds (lonely, hopeless, sad, sorry etc). Ask: Which one of these clouds did Zechariah have hanging over his head do you think? Why? Do: Show the present once again and ask which gift Zechariah wanted most of all (a son).

Tell: Imagine that you’re an athlete who really wants to take part in the Olympic games. You’ve trained really hard, but every time your trainer says ‘You’re not good enough yet’. Now you’re eighty years old and use a walking aid, and suddenly the trainer says ‘Now you can take part in the Olympic games. What would you think? Zechariah felt just like the Olympic athlete. He had given up his dream of having a son a long time ago. It was much too late!

Ask: How would you react if you were Zechariah? Would you believe the angel, or would you also ask for proof?


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Fun science experiment - The impossible sum

Zechariah has added everything up, and he knows – he is too old to have a baby. But the angel has good news for him. God has heard his prayer, and even though he and his wife are very old, it’s going to happen! Zechariah can’t believe it.

Can you believe it when you add it all up?

What do you need:

- an empty A4 to cover the numbers up. - a worksheet with The Impossible Sum

What do you do:

Do: Ask the children to help you add up the following numbers. Show them the worksheet with all the numbers covered up except for the 1000.

Slowly move the A4 down the worksheet as the children add up the numbers in turn. At the end you get to 4080 plus 20. Because the children have mostly been counting in 1000s , most children will answer 5000 (lots of adults do this too!).

Ask: Are you sure that the answer is 5000?

Show them the real answer: 4100.

Tell: Today I have deceived your minds a bit. Because we were adding up thousands, our minds

made the mistake of going straight from 4080 to 5000.

Ask: Do you think that Zechariah made a mistake? Perhaps by only thinking about how old he was

and not believing what the angel said?


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1000

20

30

1000

1030

1000

20

4100


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Creative activity – No nice gift for Zechariah?

Zechariah and his wife Elisabeth had prayed for a son. But nothing happened and now it’s too late. Now they’re too old to have children.

What do you need:

- a beautifully wrapped present

What do you do:

Do: Show the children the present.

Ask: If this present would contain the one thing you really really want, the thing that would make you happiest, what would be in it?

Do: Show the present once again and ask the children which gift Zechariah wanted most of all (a son). How do you think he felt?

Tell: Imagine that you’re an athlete who really wants to take part in the Olympic games. You’ve trained really hard, but every time your trainer says ‘You’re not good enough yet’. Now you’re eighty years old and use a walking aid, and suddenly the trainer says ‘Now you can take part in the Olympic games. What would you think? Zechariah felt just like the Olympic athlete. He had given up his dream of having a son a long time ago. It was much too late!

Ask: How would you react if you were Zechariah? Would you believe the angel, or would you also ask for proof?


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Creative activity - Who is the angel Gabriel?

In the temple in Jerusalem Zechariah is visited by the angel Gabriel. But who is he?

What do you need:

- worksheet with the various illustrations of angels - pens

What do you do:

Tell: Zechariah is visited in the temple by the angel Gabriel. What would he have looked like?

Do: Show the children the six images of angels and ask them which one they think looks most like the angel Gabriel?

Tell: The angel Gabriel appears four times in the Bible. He visits Daniel two times – do you remember the lions den and the hand that wrote on the wall? He visits Mary to tell her that she is going to have a baby, and today he visits Zechariah. Who knows what the name Gabriel means? It means ‘the power of God’. Gabriel’s messages come with the power of God. That’s why he was also able to say that Gabriel would not be able to talk until the baby was born. You have to be really powerful to make someone not speak for nine months.

Ask: Why are Zechariah and Mary afraid when they see Gabriel? - Would you be afraid if you were suddenly to see an angel? - What do you think about the fact that Gabriel punished Zechariah by saying that he wasn’t allowed to talk any more?

Do: Show the children the six pictures of angels once more. - Which of these pictures can we cross out, because they absolutely don’t look like Gabriel?

Do: Cross out the pictures that the children indicate. Are there any left, or is it actually true that we really don’t know what angels look like?

https://www.creativekidswork.com/images/creatiefkinderwerk/engels/Pinterest/Angels-worksheet.pdf


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Creative activity - Who can you trust? Zechariah is in the temple. Suddenly the angel Gabriel appears and tells him that he and his wife are going to have a baby. But wait a minute! That’s not possible! They’re both much too old! Can we trust what the angel Gabriel says? What do you need:

- an bottle of medicine or a pot of pills What do you do:

Tell: Zechariah is in the temple. Suddenly the angel Gabriel appears and tells him that he and his wife are going to have a baby. But wait a minute! That’s not possible! They’re both much too old! Can we trust what the angel Gabriel says?

Do: Show the children the medicine bottle or pot.

Tell: If you are ill you go to the doctor and they write a prescription out for you. You then take the prescription to the chemists – there a lady in a white coat prepares the medication for you and gives it to you.

Ask: Would you take this medicine?

Why do you trust the doctor and the chemist?

Tell: Imagine you’re shopping with your parents. Suddenly someone comes up to you and gives you the bottle of medicine and tells you that you all have to drink it up that evening.

Ask: Would you do it? Why not? Why wouldn’t you trust that person?

Tell: Zechariah wanted nothing more than to have a son, but he had given up his dream. It’s never going to happen. And suddenly an angel appears who tells him that it is going to happen.

Ask: Do you think that Zechariah should have trusted the angel? Is the angel more like the chemist or the person with the medicine that you meet while you are out shopping? What would you do?


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Game - What did you say? Zechariah is unable to speak, at least for the next few months. How is he going to communicate and let people know what he means? We’re going to practice saying things without speaking… What do you do: For children up to the age of 7: Give the children easy tasks that they have to mime to the rest of the group. For example: I’m angry I’m happy I’m sad I want an ice cream I want to go to sleep I want to show you something I’m scared For children from the age of 8: Give the children harder things to act out. Tell them that they are Zechariah and can’t talk, but have to tell the following things using just mime and their facial expressions : “You’ll never guess what just happened”….. “I’ve just seen an angel!”….. “He told me that you’re going to have a baby”….. “The child will be really special”….. “He is going to prepare people for the coming of the Lord”….. “He is going to help parents and children to get on better with each other”….. “He’s going to teach bad people to become good again”….. “I didn’t believe the angel and that’s why I can’t talk any more”…..


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Game - I think God is really special because….. Elisabeth had been given the cold shoulder for years because she was unable to have children. People thought that she wasn’t worth anything anymore. But she is so thankful! ‘The Lord has helped me to become pregnant. He is so good to me.’ Elisabeth thought that God was really special because he had helped her to become pregnant even when she was old. Why do you think God is really special? What do you need: - A4 paper - pens - music What do you do: Tell: Elisabeth had been given the cold shoulder for years because she was unable to have

children. People thought that she wasn’t worth anything anymore. But she is so thankful! ‘The Lord has helped me to become pregnant. He is so good to me.’ Elisabeth thought that God was really special because he had helped her to become pregnant even when she was old.

Ask: Why do you think God is really special?

Do: Write all the answers on separate pieces of paper and spread them on the floor in the room. Play some music and tell the children to walk round the room. When the music stops they have to pick up one of the pieces of paper and read out what is written on it. Then you repeat this, but each time remove one of the pieces of paper – the child who doesn’t pick one up when the music stops is out. By young children you could read the text aloud for them. At the end of the game give each child one of the texts, and finish with a time of group prayer, asking the children to thank God for what is written on their piece of paper.


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Game - Keep that straw under your nose! In our story today the angel Gabriel told Zechariah that he would have to remain silent for nine months. It’s really hard for us to keep silent isn’t it? Today we’re going to play a game to see who can keep quiet the longest by holding a straw between your top lip and your nose. What do you need: - straws What do you do: Do: Tell the children that In our story today the angel Gabriel

told Zechariah that he would have to remain silent for nine months.

Tell: It’s really hard for us to keep silent isn’t it? Today we’re going to play a game to see who can keep quiet the longest by holding a straw between your top lip and your nose.

Do: Give each child a straw and ask them to hold it between their upper lip and their nose.

Ask: Who can keep it there the longest? Do: For older children you could use a pencil or a pen, and make it harder by setting up an

obstacle course for them to get round.

Zechariah meets the angel Gabriel · 2020. 11. 17. · Zechariah wants to know if this is really...

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