This is the story of Daniel and the Lion's Den. 

Key Concepts:
1. Only worship God.
2. Prayer is important. 
3. God is faithful. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Old Testament Books
Three Young Men Lived Very Long Ago
This Little Light of Mine
I'm in the Lord's Army
Do Lord
Above All Else
Stand Up and Shout It
​You're the One

Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time
 
Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1.Ask younger children what noises that various animals make. Finally ask them what sound a lion makes. Once they have given you some good roars then tell them that some lions sound like this: mmmm (hold your lips together and try to roar). That’s how the lions in today’s story sounded. (idea from Mission Bible Class) 

2. Sleeping Lions-Everyone except two lion tamers lies down on the floor or with their head on the table. Once the game starts, the lions are not allowed to move. The lion tamer must walk around the room, trying to spot a moving lion. They can make jokes, funny noises, or actions to try to make a lion laugh. If a lion moves, they also become a lion tamer. The last lion sleeping wins! 

3. Prayer Bucket-Better for older children. Put a bucket in the front of the room along with slips of paper. Let the children fill out prayer requests. At the end of class, pray over the requests in the bucket. 
 
READ Daniel 5 or tell the story of  The Fiery Furnace
EMPHASIZE that:

• God is the one true God. 
• We must obey God even when everyone around us is not. 
• God will never leave us or forsake us. 
• We should always respect God (his name, his church, etc.) 

Trueway Kids Printable Book 

Daniel and the Lion's Den by Saddleback Kids

Daniel and the Lion's Den by Veggie Tales

1. Why did King Darius trust Daniel? Because Daniel was a hard worker and did his best. Daniel never cheated.
2. What did Daniel do three times every day? Prayed to God
3. What kind of law did the king’s other helpers get King Darius to write? If anyone in the kingdom prays to anyone other than the king for a month then they would be thrown in a lion’s den.
4. Why did Daniel not die in the lion’s den? God sent an angel to shut the lions’ mouths.

Connect the story back to God and his character. Explain how this story fits into God's overall story of God.

Lion Mask by Trueway 

Daniel and the Window Craft by Trueway

Simple Handprint Lion Craft

This is the story of Daniel and the Writing on the Wall. 
Key Concepts:
1. Only worship God.
2. God's words are always true. 

​"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Old Testament Books
Three Young Men Lived Very Long Ago
This Little Light of Mine
I'm in the Lord's Army
Do Lord
Above All Else
Stand Up and Shout It
​You're the One

​Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time
 
Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. Bring some item to class that appears to be very “precious”. Usually glitzy or sparkly things seem very expensive to young children. You may even wish to bring an item that truly is special to you (use careful judgement). Tell the children that this item is a very special item for class today. You want them to treat it in a very special way. Show them how you are holding it carefully and let them touch and hold it and pass it around. “In today’s story we are going to learn about some cups that were very special cups. They were special because they had been used in the temple of the Lord. They were made from pure gold and silver. God wanted the cups to always be handled very carefully.”
 
READ Daniel 5 or tell the story of  The Fiery Furnace
EMPHASIZE that:

• God is the one true God. 
• We must obey God even when everyone around us is not. 
• God will never leave us or forsake us. 
• We should always respect God (his name, his church, etc.) 

1. Name two dreams that Daniel interpreted for King Nebuchadnezzar. The dream about the crumbling statue and the dream about the huge tree.
2. What special things did King Belshazzar use in his banquet? Gold and silver cups stolen from the temple of God
3. What wrote the words on the wall? A giant hand
4. What happened later on the night of King Belshazzar’s banquet? The Medes and Persians took over the kingdom of Babylon

Connect the story back to God and his character. Explain how this story fits into God's overall story of God.

Writing on the Wall Activity Ideas

Secret Messages
Use this template and write a secret message in white crayon. Then, allow the kids to use watercolor paint to uncover the message. Use the template below. 

Writing on the Wall Craft Ideas by Crafting the Word of God

This is the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and how God rescued them from a fiery furnace when they refused to worship King Nebuchadnezzar's idol. 

Key Concepts: 
1. Obey God. 
2. God never forsakes us, especially when we are being persecuted. 
3. God rescues us from fire, just like he rescued the men in this story. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Old Testament Books
Three Young Men Lived Very Long Ago
This Little Light of Mine
I'm in the Lord's Army
Do Lord
Above All Else
Stand Up and Shout It
​You're the One

Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time
 
Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the people to bow down and worship a gold statue.  Display a number of items, one at a time, and compare it to God.  Guide the children in considering how “things” are inanimate, can’t help us, can’t hear, man-made, etc.  We can only pray to and worship the true God.  Choose items that are age appropriate and common to the children.  For example display toys for younger children but for older children you might display a phone, video game, sports equipment, etc. (Idea from MissionBibleClass.org)


2. Musical Statues: Tell the children to move around (hop, skip, dance, act like a chicken, etc.), but when the music stops, they must freeze and not move. Introduce the idea of a statue/idol to the children how the king ordered everyone to worship the idol when the music played. Should we worship an idol? What commandment tells us that we should not worship the idol?

3. Review the 10 Commandments. Remind the children that the men who we are learning about today were taught the 10 Commandments as young boys and it was the law they had to follow, even when they were in this strange new land. 
 
READ Daniel 3 or tell the story of  The Fiery Furnace
EMPHASIZE that:

• God is the one true God. 
• We must obey God even when everyone around us is not. 
• God will never leave us or forsake us. 
• God rescues us from eternal fire, through baptism and Jesus's sacrifice. 

Saddleback Kids-The Fiery Furnace

God's Story: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

Trueway Kids: The Fiery Furnace

1. What did King Nebuchadnezzar build? 
2. What was the king's law? 
3.  What law did the Jewish boys follow? 
4. Why did they not bow down to the idol? 
5. How did the king punish them?
6. How many men could they see in the furnace? 
7. What happened when the men came out of the furnace? 

Connect the story back to God and his character. Explain how this story fits into God's overall story of God.

Oriental Trading Fiery Furnace

3D Fiery Furnace Craft from Trueway Kids

Fiery Furnace Hand Spinner by Crafting the Word of God

Fiery Furnace Sun Catcher by Crafting the Word of God

Mini Fiery Furnace: Draw four figures on a clay pot or jar and place a small candle inside to form a furnace.

Situations: Act out situations where a child might be the only one who obeys God (Example: All your friends want to watch a bad video with lots of swearing).

This is the story of how Daniel and his friends chose to follow God's laws even while living in a land of captivity. 

Key Concepts: 
1. Obey God. 
2. We should respect our bodies and take care of them. 
3. We must trust God's way is the best way. 

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future." -Jeremiah 29:11

Old Testament Books
​Good Old Daniel
Daniel Song
Shake the Devil Off
1-2-3 The Devil's After Me

Begin Class with Songs, Games, Table Activity, or Sharing Time
 
Open Class in Prayer

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. Taste Test
Bring a variety of healthy and unhealthy foods to class. For fun, you could even do a blind taste test and let the kids guess what they are sampling. Discuss the difference between healthy and unhealthy foods. Why does God care about what food we put into our bodies? 
 
READ Daniel 1:1-21 or tell the story of Daniel and His Friends in Captivity. 
EMPHASIZE that:

• We should always trust that God's way is best, even if we don't understand. 
• Never give in to peer pressure. 
• God will never forsake you. ​

1. What happened to Jerusalem after the kings all stopped obeying God? It was destroyed and the people taken captive.
2. Who were the four young men chosen to live in the palace? Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
3. What was the only kind of food and drink would the boys have? Vegetables and water
4. How did the boys do when King Nebuchadnezzar tested them with questions? They were ten times smarter than all the wise men in the kingdom.

Connect the story back to God and his character. Explain how this story fits into God's plan for salvation. 

Daniel Food Basket from Crafting the Word of God
​Supplies: Template, Paper Plates, Markers, Scissors, Glue

Fruit and Vegetable Dot Marker Pages by The Artisan Life
​Supplies: Template, Dot Markers OR circle stickers

Daniel Refuses The Kings Food