Jacob's Ladder
Genesis 28
Embedded Files
Energy Release!
Energy Release!
Introduction
Introduction
Have you ever heard of Jacob's ladder? What do you think it means? This story from the Bible is about Jacob. If you don't remember he had a twin brother named Esau who he tricked out of his blessing from his father Isaac. Even though they were twins, Esau was born first so he should've received the special blessing from his father, not Jacob.
Jacob and his mother Rebekah tricked Isaac by making Jacob seem hairy like his brother Esau. Since Isaac could barely see he wasn't able to tell who was who. In the end Esau was very upset that he didn't receive the special blessing so he decided he would kill Jacob as soon as their father died.
It may seem very wrong that Jacob took Esau's blessing but it was supposed to happen this way. The Lord told Rebekah when she was pregnant that she had two nations inside of her, one would be stronger than the other and the older will serve the younger.
So even though Jacob wasn't originally supposed to receive the blessing, this is the way God wanted it to be.
Rebekah knew about Esau's plan to kill Jacob so she told him to get out of town until Esau wasn't so mad anymore.
So Jacob left. I'm thinking Jacob either walked or was riding a horse and at the end of a long day of travelling he decided to stop for the night.
It must have been a warm evening because Jacob just slept under the stars. He didn't have a pillow with him (which even if he had, I'm not sure they would be anything like the pillows we have now), so he found a good size stone to lay his head on.
He must have been tired because he fell into a deep sleep and began to dream. First he saw a long stairway that touched the ground, with the very top of it reaching heaven. Maybe in his dream heaven was where the clouds were, it doesn't say.
Next he saw angels of God moving up and down the stairway. I imagine they were floating just above the stairs almost like one escalator going up and the other down.
Above the stairway or even close to Jacob stood the Lord. The Lord then spoke to Jacob saying, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and Isaac. I will give you and all your family to come, the land on which you are lying. Your family will continue to grow through each generation, as much as the dust of the earth" (which is LOTS!).
"All of your family will spread out all over and you will bless those around you. I will always be with you, watching over you and will return you to this land until I have done everything I have promised you."
When Jacob woke up he realized that the Lord had been with him there. He was afraid because of the power and presence of God and said, "How awesome is this place! This is the house of God, this is the gate of heaven."
Before he left, Jacob used the stone that he rested his head on and set up a pillar and poured oil on it. This is like a marker for Jacob to remember the dream he had from God and to remember and thank God for the promise He made to him.
He called the place Bethel which means House of God.
Then Jacob made a promise to God, "If God will be with and watch over me on my journey and provide me with clothes and food, and bring me back home safe; then the Lord will be my God and the pillar that I have made will be God's house, and all that you give me I will give one tenth in return."
Jacob had an amazing experience. I'm sure no one would be able to convince him that his dream wasn't a special message from God just for him. God can speak to us in many ways: through other believers, our conscience, through his creation, and through dreams as well.
Of course we all have bad or crazy dreams but I think if God really had something important he needed us to know he could speak to you in a wonderful dream and you would know without a doubt that it was a special message just for you from God.
Activities
Activities
Activity 1 "Father Abraham Song"
Activity 1 "Father Abraham Song"
Time: 5-10 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
Video with motions
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions: Do this with the kids as many times as you want! You can talk about what the words in the song mean and how it relates to what we have learned about Abraham, Isaac, and now Jacob/Esau.
Activity 2 "Edible Jacob's Ladder"
Activity 2 "Edible Jacob's Ladder"
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
Marshmallows
Pretzel Sticks
Plastic bags
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions:
Give the kids 6 marshmallows and 7 pretzel sticks
Have them build Jacob's ladder and put it in their plastic bags
Activity 3 "Jacob's Ladder Necklace"
Activity 3 "Jacob's Ladder Necklace"
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
Beads
String
Paper angels
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions:
Lay out the tray of beads and pieces of string
Have the kids get a piece of string
Have the kids start creating a ladder (Here is a video on how to do the ladder rails) The only difference from the video is that in between each rail you put about 3-5 beads on each side before looping both strings through.
Activity 4 "Minute to win it game"
Activity 4 "Minute to win it game"
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
Cups
Cut up poster board strips
Get the details by clicking here!
Directions:
Give each player 5 pieces of poster board and a stack of cups.
Each team/or child builds a ladder with the poster board for rungs.
The team/or child with the tallest ladder wins.
Activity 5 "Genesis Review Game"
Activity 5 "Genesis Review Game"
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials needed from the cart:
Review questions in the drop down menu
Game of your choice! (or I will provide you with a few ideas!)
Get the details by clicking here!
Questions:
How many years old is Lifeline Church Christiansburg? (6)
What is Lifeline Church's motto? (Love God, Love Others, Serve God, Serve Others... or "We exist to meet the needs of people")
What is the first book of the bible? (Genesis)
What day did God make the sun? (Day 4)
What day did God make land? (Day 3)
What day did God make the sky? (Day 2)
What day did God make animals? (Day 6)
What day did God rest? (Day 7)
What day did God make the dark/light? (Day 1)
What day did God make the stars? (Day 4)
What day did God make man? (Day 6)
What day did God make the plants? (Day 3)
What day did God make the moon? (Day 4)
What day did God make the water separate from the sky? (Day 2)
What day did God make the fish? (Day 5)
What day did God make trees? (Day 3)
What day did God make the birds? (Day 5)
Who was Adam? (the first man, was in the garden of eden, etc...)
Who was Eve? (the first woman, etc..)
What did Adam and Eve do that got them kicked out of the Garden of Eden? (ate the apple)
What did Adam and Eve do when they realized they had done wrong? (Ran and hid)
Who told Eve to take a bite of the apple? (The serpent)
Who was Cain and Abel's parents? (Adam and Eve)
What did Cain do as a job? (farmer)
What did Abel do as a job? (shepard)
Who was born first Cain or Abel? (Cain)
Who was a murderer Cain or Abel? Cain
Why was Cain jealous of Abel? (because God liked his offering better than Cain's, unlike Cain, Abel gave his best to God)
Who was Noah? (the man that built the ark)
How many of each animal boarded the boat? (2 of a kind)
What animal did Noah send to see if it was ok to look for land? (a dove)
What did the dove bring Noah back? (an olive branch)
What did Abram change his name to? (Abraham)
Who was Sarah? (Abraham's wife)
What did God promise Abraham and Sarah? (A child and many blessings)
Was Abraham and Sara old or young when they had a child? (old)
What did Abraham and Sarah name their child? (Isaac)
What did Abraham build for God? (An alter)
What did God provide for Abraham to sacrifice instead of Isaac? (A ram)
Who did Isaac marry? (Rebekah)
How did Isaac meet Rebekah? (he sent his servant and the servant ran into Rebekah at a watering well)
How did Isaac's servant know that Rebekah was a good person? (she gave water to the men and their camels)
What did Isaac and Rebekah name their twin boys? (Jacob and Esau)
What did Jacob and Esau look like? (Esau was hairy all over his body like a sheep and Jacob wasn't hair.)
Who was the first one born, Jacob or Esau? Esau
What did Jacob do for a job? (farm, cook)
What did Esau do for a job? (hunt)
Who was Isaac's favorite son, Jacob or Esau? (Esau)
Who was Rebekah's favorite son, Jacob or Esau? (Jacob)
Why did Jacob want to trick his father Isaac? (because he wanted God's blessing and Esau's birth right)
How did Jacob trick Isaac? (Isaac couldn't see so Jacob put sheep's wool/fur on his arms and made Isaac a good meal while Esau was away hunting)
Did Jacob get God's blessing even though he tricked Isaac? (yes)
Wrap It Up!
Wrap It Up!
**Snacks can be given at this time, if needed**
**Snacks can be given at this time, if needed**
-Come together and sit in a circle to talk about what they learned today. Ask them the same questions that you asked at the beginning of the day. How are their answers different now that they know more about Jacob's Ladder? Talk about what they can go home and tell their family about Jacob's Ladder. This is also a time they can update their journals (big kids only).
-Come together and sit in a circle to talk about what they learned today. Ask them the same questions that you asked at the beginning of the day. How are their answers different now that they know more about Jacob's Ladder? Talk about what they can go home and tell their family about Jacob's Ladder. This is also a time they can update their journals (big kids only).
-Ask if anyone has a prayer request/praise report. Pray over requests.
-Ask if anyone has a prayer request/praise report. Pray over requests.
-Worship time- Have the kids go find a spot to themselves and have some time with God (play the song below for around 3/5 minutes).
-Worship time- Have the kids go find a spot to themselves and have some time with God (play the song below for around 3/5 minutes).
Worship
Worship
Last Minute Filler Ideas
Last Minute Filler Ideas
-Have them gather around the table and draw a picture or write a letter to their families about what they learned today.
-Play a game of some sort. (If you have the hula hoops, have them join hands in a circle and pass the hula hoop around the circle without breaking their hands)
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