TGP01V07P Unit21 Session5 LeaderGuide Preschool(1)

With the encouragement of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, God’s people resumed the work of rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. Approximately 15 years had passed without progress. At this time, Darius was king of Persia. The Persian Empire was vast, so Darius appointed governors over the provinces. A man named Tattenai watched over the province that included the land of Judah.

Tattenai noticed the work of God’s people, and he was concerned. He sent a letter to King Darius. “Is this allowed?” he asked. “The people say that King Cyrus said they could rebuild the temple and the city. Please investigate this matter.”

King Darius did investigate, and Cyrus’s decree was located in the Babylonian records. Darius instructed Tattenai to allow the people to rebuild the temple and the city. “In fact,” Darius wrote, “give them whatever they need from the royal treasury. And if anyone gives them any trouble, he will be punished.”

God had turned the heart of the king for His people’s favor. (See Prov. 21:1; Ezra 6:22.) The people completed the temple. They dedicated it joyfully and observed the Passover.

God declared in Haggai 2:9 that the glory of this second temple would be greater than the first. This prophecy was fulfilled by the presence of the Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus said that He is greater than the temple. (Matt. 12:6) Charles Haddon Spurgeon explained, “He who dwells in the house is greater than the house in which he dwells.”

In Christ, we find the substance of which the temple was a shadow. The Lord was not confined to a building, yet God lives fully in Christ. (See Col. 2:9.) Jesus is our high priest. He entered the most holy place for us. (Heb. 6:19-20) The priest offered the blood of animals, but Christ offered His own blood once and for all. (Heb. 9:25-26) He gives us access to the throne of grace. (Heb. 10:19-22)

Leader BIBLE STUDY

Unit 21 • Session 5

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Use Week of:

Preschool Bible Study Leader GuideUnit 21 • Session 5

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Session Title: The Temple Was CompletedBible Passage: Ezra 4:24–6:22Big Picture Question: Why did the people rebuild the temple? The people

rebuilt the temple to worship God.Key Passage: Zechariah 9:9Unit Christ Connection: God saved His people who were in physical

captivity as He would one day send Jesus to save and restore His people who are in spiritual captivity.

Small Group Opening (15–20 minutes)

Large Group Bible Study (10–15 minutes)

Small Group Activities (20–25 minutes)

Snack and Transition(20 minutes)

Preschool BIBLE STUDY OVERVIEW

UNI T

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The Exiles Returned 2

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The Temple Was CompletedEzra 4:24–6:22

God’s people were rebuilding the temple. They built the bottom of the temple. But their enemies did not want them to rebuild the temple. God’s people were upset. They stopped building.

Did God want His people to stop building? No! God wanted them to finish the temple. God sent two messengers—Haggai and Zechariah—to talk to the people. They said, “Keep building. God is with you.” So God’s people started to work on the temple again.

The land where God’s people lived was ruled by a king—the king of Persia. His name was Darius (duh RIGH uhs), and he was in control of a lot of land. He had so much land that he put people in charge of small parts of the land. A man named Tattenai (TAT ih nigh) was in charge of the land where God’s people lived.

Tattenai saw God’s people working. He asked their leader Zerubbabel, “Do you have permission to rebuild this temple?”

“Yes,” Zerubbabel said. Tattenai sent a letter to King Darius to find out if Zerubbabel was telling the truth. He waited for the king to reply. While he waited, God’s people kept building.

Tattenai’s letter to the king said this: “Dear King Darius, I wanted to tell you that the people here are building the temple to their God. They are working very hard. I asked if they had permission to build, and they said King Cyrus said they could build. Please find out if this is true.”

King Cyrus had been king before Darius. When a king made an important decision, someone wrote it down. So Darius looked for the record. His servants found it! The scroll said, “Let God’s people rebuild the temple.” God’s people had told the truth!

King Cyrus had also said, “Help God’s people pay for the temple. Give them money from the royal bank to buy supplies.”

So King Darius wrote a letter to Tattenai. He said, “Stay away from the workers at the temple. Don’t bother them, and don’t try to stop

The BIBLE STORY


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them. Give them anything they need. Anyone who tries to stop them from building the temple will be punished.”

Tattenai obeyed King Darius’s order. God’s people kept building. They worked very hard, and soon the temple was finished! What a happy time! The people celebrated and thanked God.

Then God’s people celebrated the Passover. They killed the Passover lamb and ate the Passover meal. God’s people were so happy. God’s temple was finished!

Christ Connection: God’s people rebuilt the temple so they would have a place to worship God. Years later, God sent His Son, Jesus, to be with His people on earth. People don’t need to go to a temple anymore to meet with God. Jesus is with us wherever we go.


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Small Group OPENING

Welcome and Session Starter (15-20 minutes)Play “I Was Glad” in the background as you welcome preschoolers. Set an offering basket near the door and collect the offering at an appropriate time. Post an allergy alert, if necessary. Set out a few favorite toys such as puzzles and blocks.

Activity Page: What’s Different?On the activity page several items are missing or different from the second picture. Help kids figure out what is different.Say • God asked His people to build His temple again

so they could have a place to worship Him. It took the people a long time and a lot of hard work to rebuild it. When the temple was finished, do you think the people were sad or happy? (happy) All the people celebrated together with a great feast and worshiped God.

Note for leaders: God brought His people to their homeland of Judah after 70 years of exile in Babylon. Judah’s capital city, Jerusalem, had been destroyed along with God’s temple. God told His people to rebuild the temple and the

• “I Was Glad” song • offering basket • Allergy Alert • favorite toys

PREPLOW

• “What’s Different?” activity page, 1 per kid

• pencils or crayons





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city. After the people neglected the temple for 16 years, God sent prophets to remind them of their duty. Encouraged by God’s message, the people went back to work. Finally, the temple was finished!

Create a class muralTape a long sheet of paper to a table or on a wall at a height that is easy for preschoolers to reach. Work together to color or paint a class mural. Ask each child to perform a specific task. For instance, you can ask one child to color grass and trees, another child to create birds and clouds, and a third child to add buildings or people.Say • All of God’s people had to work together to finish

building the temple. Everybody had a different task to do. In the end, God helped His people construct the temple, a beautiful work of art. We worked together to create a mural, another kind of beautiful artwork.

Work togetherBlow up one or two balloons. Work together as a team to keep them in the air. To make sure everybody touches the balloon, you can use a three-touch rule. Each kid may only touch the balloon three times in a row before someone else must help. Play the song “Look” as kids work together.Say • All of God’s people had to work together to finish

building the temple. Great job working together to keep this balloon from touching the ground!

Transition to Bible study

• long sheet of paper• crayons or paint• tape

• balloon(s)• “Look” song

Transition cue: Ring the bell, show the countdown video, flip the lights, or clap a simple rhythm for children to copy to gain attention.


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Large Group Bible Study (10–15 minutes)

Introduce the Bible StoryTalk about celebrations. Display a party noise maker or paper confetti popper to help kids associate celebrations with parties.Say • Why do we celebrate? Why do we throw parties?

Because we are happy about something and thankful to God. Today we are going to talk about a party that all the people of Judah enjoyed after they finally completed the temple.

Watch or tell the Bible storyPoint to the story in your Bible in the Book of Ezra. If possible, use the timeline map to review the lessons from the last few weeks by asking questions. Prompt children to think back to the return of the exiles and to important people like Zerubbabel, Haggai, and Zechariah. Read the key passage, reminding the children that Zechariah wrote down this special message a long time before Jesus came.

Watch the video “The Temple Was Completed,” or tell the story with your Bible open. Instruct the class to say

• noise maker or confetti popper

• Bible• Timeline Map• Key Passage Slide or

Poster• “The Temple Was

Completed” video




Large Group BIBLE STUDY


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“Hooray!” every time something good happens in the story. Or practice doing “the wave” together for each of these occasions.

Talk about the Bible storyInstruct boys and girls to raise their hands if they want to answer a review question. Select a volunteer. The volunteer will choose the person to answer the question. Once someone answers correctly, he selects someone to answer the next question. Tell the class that Tattenai didn’t know if God’s people could rebuild the temple, so he asked someone else to find the answer.

• What were God’s people building? (the temple) • Did God want His people to stop building the temple? (No!)

• What did the people say when Tattenai asked if they had permission to build the temple? (King Cyrus gave them permission.)

• Did King Darius say that they had permission to build the temple? (Yes, he found King Cyrus’s law.)

• What else did the king tell Tattenai to do for God’s people? (Give them whatever they needed.)

• Why did the people rebuild the temple? The people rebuilt the temple to worship God.

Say • God’s people rebuilt the temple so they would have a place to worship God. Years later, God sent His Son, Jesus, to be with His people on earth. People don’t need to go to a temple anymore to meet with God. Jesus is with us wherever we go.

Transition to small groups

• Big Picture Question Slide or Poster

Tip: Do activities one of these ways:

• as a group, all at the same time

• in small groups that rotate through each activity

• set up as centers, allowing preschoolers to browse and choose


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Small Group ACTIVITIES

Small Group Activities (20–25 minutes)Mention the big picture question and Christ connection in each activity. As kids work together in the activities, reinforce details from the Bible story.

Clap and singSing a song together about worshiping and celebrating. Using the tune “She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain,” sing:

I will clap my hands and sing a song to God,I will clap my hands and sing a song to God.I will clap my hands and sing,I will clap my hands and sing,I will clap my hands and sing a song to God.

With each new verse, replace “clap my hands” with other actions like “tap my feet” or “reach up high.”Say • Why did the people rebuild the temple? The people

rebuilt the temple to worship God. We can worship God anywhere. We can worship God in church right now. We sang about some fun ways to worship.

PREPLOW





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Play a welcome gamePlace hula hoops on the floor around the room. Play music and encourage children to walk around the room. When the music stops, everyone must step inside the closest hoop. At the start of each round, remove one of the hoops. Unlike “musical chairs,” no one is kept out of the hoops. Instead, more children are getting into the remaining hoops. In the end, only one or two hoops will remain—with all the class fitting snugly inside! Children must welcome everyone who approaches a hoop and make room for them. Say • God told His people to rebuild the temple so that all

people would have a place to come and worship Him. God wanted His people to be welcoming. Let’s see how well we can welcome others into our hoops! Why did the people rebuild the temple? The people rebuilt the temple to worship God.

Build a templePrint a copy of the temple template for each child and tape the templates to the table. Place a piece of clear contact plastic over each template, sticky side up, so the template is still visible beneath the contact paper. Give each child squares of cloth or other materials. Invite kids to work together by sharing the different decorating items. When kids have finished their temples, place another sheet of contact plastic over their designs to seal them.Say • God’s temple was a beautiful place. He gave people

talent in building, carving, woodworking, and more so that His temple could be beautiful. Can you imagine what the temple looked like? Why did the people rebuild the temple? The people rebuilt the temple to worship God.

Hammer foam blocksProvide children with foam floral blocks, a handful of golf

• hula hoops• music

• “Temple Template,” 1 per kid

• tape• clear contact plastic• squares of cloth• art supplies

• foam floral blocks• golf tees• toy hammers


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tees, and toy hammers. Guide children as they hammer the golf tees into the foam blocks as though they were working on a construction project.Say • Building God’s temple was hard work. Imagine how

many nails people had to hammer or how much heavy wood and stones were moved from place to place! But it was worth every bit of effort. Why did the people rebuild the temple? The people rebuilt the temple to worship God.

Make temple puzzlesAsk children to draw a picture of the temple and color it. You may want to show kids the Bible story picture as a reference. When they are finished, cut the pictures into puzzle pieces and let kids put the puzzles together. Give each kid a ziplock bag so he can take his puzzle home.Say • We “built” a temple, cut it up, and then rebuilt it.

Why did the people rebuild the temple? The people rebuilt the temple to worship God.

• Bible Story Picture Slide or Poster (optional)

• paper• art supplies• scissors• ziplock bags


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Snack and Transition (20 minutes)Play the countdown video to signal the end of activities time and gather for snack time. Take a bathroom break and wash hands or use hand sanitizer. Choose volunteers to help set up for the snack; remind kids during snack time to say please and thank you. Thank God for the snack.

Butter and crackers might be a good snack to serve today. These can be stacked like bricks.

TransitionWhen a child finishes his snack and throws away the trash, he may select a puzzle or book to examine, play quietly with play dough or a favorite toy, or color the Bible story coloring page. Offer the journal page for drawing something related to the Bible story. Encourage boys and girls to draw a picture of your church building.

Talk about ways preschoolers can help take care of your church building, a place where people come to worship God. If possible, act out some of these ideas. You can even have boys and girls help you as you clean up the classroom.

If parents are picking up their children at this time, tell them something positive about their child’s day. Inform incoming leaders if there is something they need to know about a particular child.

• countdown video (optional)

• Allergy Alert • snack food• paper cups and

napkins

• Journal Page • Bible Story Coloring

Page• books and puzzles• crayons


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Journal Page

The Exiles ReturnedKey Passage: Zechariah 9:9

Session 1: Obadiah the Prophet Obadiah 1-21

Session 2: Zerubbabel Led the Captives Home Ezra 1:1–2:2; 2:64–3:13

Session 3: Haggai, Prophet to Judah Haggai 1–2

Session 4: Zechariah, Prophet to Judah Zechariah 1–14

Session 5: The Temple Was Completed Ezra 4:24–6:22

Session 6: Esther Saved Her People Esther 1–10

OK TO PRINT

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Behold, your King is coming to you; He

is just and having salvation, Lowly and riding on a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9

Unit 21 • Key Passage Poster (NKJV)OK TO PRINT The Exiles Returned

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See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9

Unit 21 • Key Passage Poster (NIV)OK TO PRINT The Exiles Returned

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Behold, thy King cometh unto thee:

he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass.

Zechariah 9:9

Unit 21 • Key Passage Poster (KJV)OK TO PRINT The Exiles Returned

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Look, your King is coming to you;

He is righteous and victorious, humble

and riding on a donkey.Zechariah 9:9

Unit 21 • Key Passage Poster (HCSB)OK TO PRINT The Exiles Returned

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Behold, your king is coming to you;

righteous and having salvation is he,

humble and mounted on a donkey.

Zechariah 9:9

Unit 21 • Key Passage Poster (ESV)OK TO PRINT The Exiles Returned

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Why did the people rebuild the temple?

The people rebuilt the temple to worship God.

Unit 21 • Session 5 • Big Picture QuestionOK TO PRINT The Exiles Returned

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Unit 21 • Session 5 • The Temple Was CompletedOK TO PRINT The Exiles Returned

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Unit 21 • Session 5 • Temple TemplateOK TO PRINT The Exiles Returned

Temple Template

rmyrick

Cross-Out

The Exiles ReturnedUNIT 21 • Session 5 • Preschool Activity Pages

Instructions: Find what is missing or different in the second picture.

What’s Different?

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© 2013 LifeWay Christian Resources.

The Temple Was CompletedEzra 4:24–6:22

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The Exiles ReturnedOK TO PRINTUnit 21 • Allergy Alert

Instructions: Print this poster, or laminate it and reuse it throughout the quarter. Use a dry erase marker to fill in the necessary information when bringing food,

animals, things to smell, or nature items that might cause allergic reactions. Display the poster where parents can see it when they arrive with their children.

Today your child will betasting/touching/sniffing_____________________________________________________________________

Please notify a teacher if your child should not participate in this activity.

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Documents

TGP01V07P Unit21 Session5 LeaderGuide Preschool(1)