Ezra

Ezra by Jennifer Tolbert

This is the story of Ezra's return to Jerusalem. 

Key  Concepts: 
1. God calls us to repent. 
2. God can use us in blessing others. 
3. Be faithful to God. 

Memory Verse

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."
​1 John 4:7

Songs

Old Testament Books
Building Up the Temple
My God is So Big
This Little Light of Mine
I'm in the Lord's Army
The Castle of My Heart

Story

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

Introducing the Story Ideas
1. Before class wrap some yummy snacks in a colorful package. Bring a stopwatch or a timepiece with a second hand to class. Tell the children that you promise to let them open it in seventy seconds. As they wait, talk about the fact that God promised the Jews that they would have to wait seventy years before they were allowed to go back to their own land. “Do you think God kept his promise? Yes, God kept his promise! God always keeps his promises!” A countdown for the last ten seconds would make this activity even more fun. (Idea from Mission Bible Class). 

2. Show the kids a feelings chart. Discuss how they feel when they get good news and how they feel when they get bad news. Discuss the different feelings of:
-living in captivity
-finding you could go home again
​-making the long journey home
-finding the people had sinned when you arrived
-realizing you had sinned
-repenting of your sin
 
READ Ezra 7-10 or tell the story of  Ezra and the repentance of the people of Jerusalem. 
EMPHASIZE that:

• God is always at work even when we don't see Him.
• God calls us to repent when we sin. 
• God never gives up on us. 
  
• We need faith to speak out for God when He asks us. 
  

Visual Aids

ezra.pdf
File Size:	8289 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Review Questions

1. What was Ezra's job? 
2. What did the king allow Ezra to do? 
3. Who did Ezra take with him? 
4. When Ezra returned, he found the Jews living in Jerusalem were living in sin. What had the done?
5. How did the Jews feel when they realized they displeased God?
6. What did Ezra do to make things right?

God is...

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

Activities

Skittles, Water, and Ezra Object Lesson
​Materials: dinner plate, 15-20 Skittles, warm water [I used hot tap water.]
Place the Skittles around the plate creating a large circle. Pour the warm water in the middle of the Skittles, enough so the liquid just about covers the candy. Watch what happens!

Comparing the Two Temples
​Find pictures of Solomon’s temple and the temple that was rebuilt. Compare the two.

Love One Another Card
Create a card to send or give to a friend or family member. Just like Ezra pointed the people back to God, we can also point others back to God and his love. 

love_one_another_card.pdf
File Size:	26 kb
File Type:	pdf

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