YEA Lesson Library
One God
About This Lesson
This lesson teaches that Easter is a pagan holiday that Christians should not celebrate.
Scriptures
Deuteronomy 4:2
Deuteronomy 5:6-7
Deuteronomy 12:28-32
Deuteronomy 12:30
Jeremiah 44:15-26
The Lesson
Do you remember what the First Commandment says? It says, "Do not put any other gods in place of me" (Exodus 2:3 NIrV Kids'Devotional Bible). This commandment is so important that God put it first. People in Egypt worshipped other gods. They worshipped gods made of wood and stone. Sometimes their god was a woman and sometimes it was a man. Their god couldn't answer their prayers. It couldn’t help them when they were in trouble. It couldn't give them food when they were hungry. But the True God can.
Do you remember that God gave the Israelites manna and quail to eat while they were in the wilderness? He parted the Red Sea so they could walk across on dry land. Our God is awesome!
God said, "I want you to worship me just like I tell you. There is a right way to worship me and there is a wrong way to worship me. Don't worship me like the Egyptians worshipped their gods. Don't worship me like other nations worship their gods.”
How did the Egyptians and other nations worship their gods? Instead of keeping the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, they worshipped a goddess named Easter. They baked cakes for Easter, the Queen of Heaven. That made God angry.
Just as many people do today, they hid Easter eggs in the grass for their children to find. This was fun, but it's not what God wants us to do. They told their children that bunny rabbits laid the eggs. But we know rabbits don't lay eggs. Ducks, chickens, birds, turkeys, and geese lay eggs. So what they told their children was not true. God wants us to always tell the truth. The Ninth Commandment says we are not to lie. God wants you to be honest and not worship other gods or goddesses like Easter.
Daily Devotions
Sunday - Deuteronomy 12:32
Monday - Deuteronomy 4:2
Tuesday - Deuteronomy 5:6-7
Wednesday - Deuteronomy 12:28
Thursday - Deuteronomy 12:29
Friday - Deuteronomy 12:30
Saturday - Deuteronomy 12:31
Objectives
At the end of this lesson, children will be able to:
1. Tell that the Egyptians and other nations worshipped false gods - some gods were women and some were men.
2. Explain that when someone worships another god besides the True God, it makes God very sad.
3. Tell that birds, ducks, geese, turkeys, and chickens lay eggs, but it's not true that bunny rabbits lay eggs.
4. Explain that we should keep the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, but it makes God sad if we celebrate Easter.
Topics & Themes
Days of Unleavened Bread
Easter
God, One and Only
Holidays, Easter
Idols/Idolatry
Lying
Pagan Traditions
Passover
Sin
Ten Commandments, Lying
Worship God
Materials Needed
Bible, YEA Students and Teacher's books, songbook, CD or cassette tape, music player, enough paper plates for each child to have three, construction paper, ribbon, craft sticks, glue, hole punch, stapler, pictures of animals that lay eggs
Preparation
Children want to be amused, entertained, and informed. People in marketing know that the decision to purchase the advertised product is connected to emotional feelings. Characters in commercials are created to evoke feel-good emotions that make us smile. Evoking emotions in children helps them learn and make decisions. It’s the glue that cements learning. Humor can open a child’s deeper learning.
When we tell Bible stories, we need to flesh out the characters and make them more than two-dimensional people while remaining true to the text. One way to flesh out the character is by asking questions such as “How do you think the Bible character felt? How do you think the lions' den smelled?" Help children put themselves in the character's place and see, smell, feel, and taste what the Bible character might have.
Before class, glue enough sets of two paper plates together with a craft stick between them for each student to have a set. Draw a smiley face on one side of the plates, and a sad face on the other side. Save them to use in Lesson Nine. Make enough copies of pictures of animals that lay eggs for every child to have one of each.
Review Questions
1. What kind of gods did the Egyptians worship?
2. Does it make God happy when we worship another god instead of Him?
3. Do bunny rabbits lay eggs? Then what things lay eggs?
4. What days do we celebrate instead of Easter?
5. Does it make God happy when we celebrate the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread?
Pattern Page
need
REACH Activity
Letter: G (hard G sound /guh/)
Words: God, gas, goof, gate, get, game, guess, goat, good
Sentence: NO GUESSING NEEDED! GOD’S NOT PLAYING A GAME. IT’S GOOD TO PUT HIM FIRST.
Song
"Happy All The Time" is on page 40 of the Kids Classics Collection.
Closing Prayer
Lead the children in prayer thanking God for the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread which makes Him happy when we celebrate them.
Printable Pages
