Daniel 3

Lesson Aim

To understand that God will rescue his people.

Hook 1: Musical instruments

Give each child some form of musical instrument. Improvise if you do not have any with pans and wooden spoons,  margarine tubs filled with rice or trumpet cones made from rolled up paper. Have three children dress up as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and when they are to bow down have the children make ‘music’ with their instruments.

Hook 2: Barbeque,  chimerea or outdoor fire

Bring in a portable barbeque / outdoor fire and a bag of charcoals. The children will be able to explain how hot the charcoals get and relate this to the furnace in the story which was many, many times hotter. It is not necessary to light the barbeque.

Make four models of men from pipe cleaners or 4 small dolls, one of which should have white clothing. Place the models on the barbeque to represent the men in the fiery furnace.

Hook 3: Shadow puppets

Cut out shapes of three men, a statue, lions, a king and another man. Attach each one to a short stick. Using a digital projector hold the shapes up so that a shadow is projected on to the screen. As a background the projector could show images of flames. Alternatively you might have the use of an overhead projector, in which case you will not need to attach the shapes to sticks.

Hook 4: Questions

When your parents have lit a barbeque have you ever wanted to play with the fire? It’s dangerous but it looks like fun to prod the charcoal and make flames jump up. Today’s Bible story has a fire much, much hotter than a barbeque.

Application

God rescued Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego by sending his Son into the fiery furnace. In the same way God sent his Son to rescue us from the fires of hell. Jesus died to save us from the penalty of our sins, that is eternal punishment.