You've probably heard the story. There were serpents throughout the land that were biting and killing the people of Israel. Things got pretty bad. Moses was commanded to make a brass serpent and to fasten it to a pole. If the Israelites would look at the brass serpent they would be saved from the real and very poisonous serpents. What a simple act, to look and live. Yet many refused and perished! It seems silly but apply the spirit of this story to our day, and we can be guilty of the same foolishness. How can we have soft hearts ready to obey, even when it seems way to simple for the complexity of our issues. This week's lesson invites your family to study this story and it's meaning in our lives today!
LESSON BUNDLE DOWNLOADS:
➤ L E S S O N
Open the lesson with a song and a prayer.
🎶 O P E N I N G S O N G : "Come Unto Jesus"
➤ P R E P A R A T I O N
You will need an empty toilet paper roll or a rolled up sheet of paper to use as a “telescope,” and an image of Jesus Christ.
➤ I N T R O D U C T I O N A C T I V I T Y
Invite a volunteer to take the “telescope” and leave the room while someone else displays the image of Jesus Christ somewhere in the room. Bring the volunteer back into the room, and have them try to find the image of Jesus Christ while only looking through the telescope. Allow each child to take a turn looking for Christ with the telescope, placing the image in a new surprise location each time.
Once you have completed the activity, explain the following: Today we are going to learn about looking to Jesus Christ for our salvation. Jesus Christ has overcome the world, and He has conquered sin and death. He has the power to save us and redeem us! And we can have eternal life if we are willing to look to Him!
🎥 V I D E O : "Moses and the Brass Serpent | Animated Scripture Lesson for Kids"
Say: “Now we are going to watch a video called ‘Moses and the Brass Serpent.’ The Israelites were being bitten by poisonous snakes! God commanded Moses to make a snake out of brass and put it on a pole. Let’s watch and see why God told Moses to do this!”
Discuss the following questions after watching the video:
1) Why did God tell Moses to make the brass serpent? (God told the Israelites that if they looked at the brass serpent, they would live! And, God was also teaching them about Jesus Christ!)
2) What did the snake represent? (The snake was a symbol for Jesus Christ.)
3) What happened to the people if they were willing to look at the snake? (They lived!)
4) What has God promised for us if we are willing to look to Jesus Christ? (Eternal life!)
➤ S C R I P T U R E
Read the scriptures below and discuss the questions that follow.
[Read Numbers 21:9]
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
1) What did the Israelites need to do to be healed from the snake bites and live? (They needed to look at the brass serpent that Moses made.)
2) What is the brass serpent a symbol of? (It is a symbol of Jesus Christ.)
3) What do you think the poisonous snake bites could represent? (Physical and spiritual death.)
[Read the first part of Alma 37:46]
O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us.
1) What does it mean to be “slothful?” (It means being lazy, or taking a long time to obey.)
2) Why do you think some of the people were tempted to be slothful? (Since it was so easy to do, maybe they thought it wasn’t that important.)
3) What are some easy things that the Lord has asked us to do? (Discuss some simple things that we have been asked to do in the scriptures and by the Lord’s modern day prophets.)
[Read Helaman 8:15]
And as many as should look upon that serpent should live, even so as many as should look upon the Son of God with faith, having a contrite spirit, might live, even unto that life which is eternal.
1) This scripture is teaching us about the brass serpent. What was the serpent a symbol of? (Was a symbol of Jesus Christ!)
2) What does it mean to have faith in Christ? (It means trusting Him and trying to follow Him.)
➤ A C T I V I T Y
Pass out the coloring pages. Invite the children to color the scene from the video. Use this time to discuss some small and simple things we can do to “look to Jesus Christ.”
➤ T E S T I M O N Y
Bear testimony of the truths found in the scriptures.
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