LESSON OVERVIEW FOR ADULTS
In Exodus 31:18-34:35, we find Moses on Mount Sinai receiving detailed instructions from God, including the Ten Commandments written on stone tablets. While Moses was away for forty days, the Israelites grew impatient and anxious. They approached Aaron, Moses’ brother, demanding that he create a god they could see and worship. Aaron collected gold jewelry from the people and fashioned it into the shape of a calf, an idol similar to those worshiped in Egypt. The people then celebrated around this golden calf, completely disregarding the covenant they had just made with God.
When God informed Moses of the people’s disobedience, Moses pleaded with God on their behalf. Upon returning to the camp and witnessing the revelry, Moses was so angry that he threw down the stone tablets, shattering them. He destroyed the golden calf by burning it, grinding it to powder, and mixing it with water for the people to drink. After severe consequences for those who refused to repent, Moses returned to the mountain to intercede for Israel. God showed mercy and renewed His covenant with them. When Moses came down from this second encounter, his face radiated with a glow from being in God’s presence, showing everyone that he had truly been with the Lord.
OPENING ACTIVITY 6:00-6:15 | Magical PlayDoh Animals
Items Needed:
- PlayDoh (various colors)
- One pre-made PlayDoh animal (made by teacher before class)
As children arrive, give each child PlayDoh. Invite them to make any animal they want. While they create, the teacher holds up their own pre-made PlayDoh animal (a silly-looking cow or calf works great!) and dramatically pretends to talk to it:
- “Oh Mr. PlayDoh Cow, can you hear me?” [Hold ear to the PlayDoh. Wait.] “Hmm, he didn’t answer.”
- “Mr. PlayDoh Cow, can you give me a hug?” [Wait.] “He’s not hugging me back!”
- “Mr. PlayDoh Cow, do you love me?” [Wait.] “Nothing! He can’t love me!”
Ask the children:
- “Can YOUR PlayDoh animal hear you? Try talking to it!” [Let kids try and giggle when it doesn’t respond.]
- “Can your PlayDoh animal help you when you’re scared?” [Let kids respond—NO!]
Conclude by saying: “You know what? PlayDoh animals and statues CAN’T hear us, help us, or love us—because they’re not REAL. But do you know who CAN hear us, help us, and love us? GOD! He’s the only REAL God! Today we’re going to learn about some people who forgot that and made a very silly mistake.”
BIBLE STORY 6:15-6:25
Question 1: Where is this story found in the Bible? (Exodus)
Question 2: Is this in the Old Testament or New Testament? (Old Testament)
Today’s story is about a man named Moses. Can you say “Moses”? [Let kids respond: “Moses!”]
Good job! Moses was a leader who helped God’s people. One day, God called Moses to come UP a big tall mountain! [Reach your arms up high] Can you reach up high like a mountain? [Let kids reach up]
Moses climbed up that mountain to talk to God. [Make climbing motions] Let’s pretend to climb! Climb, climb, climb! [Do climbing motions together]
When Moses got to the top, God gave him something VERY special. Big stone tablets with God’s rules on them! These rules helped people know how to be kind and love God.
But Moses was gone for a LONG time.
The people down at the bottom of the mountain worried.
The people said, “Where is Moses? We want something we can SEE to worship!”
Aaron, Moses’ brother, said, “Okay, bring me all your gold earrings!”
Then Aaron did something very wrong. He melted all that gold and made it into the shape of a baby cow, a calf! [Make horns on your head with fingers] Can you make little cow horns? [Let kids make horns]
The people started dancing around that golden calf! [Do silly dancing] They were worshipping a STATUE instead of the REAL God!
Was that a good choice or a bad choice? [Let kids respond] A VERY bad choice!
[Whisper] But guess what? God saw EVERYTHING. [Point to eyes] God always sees. Can you point to your eyes? [Let kids point]
God told Moses, “Your people are being very disobedient! Go down to them!”
Moses hurried down that mountain.
When Moses saw the golden calf and all the people dancing, he was SO upset!
Moses was sad. God was sad. The golden calf was NOT a real god. It couldn’t love them. It couldn’t help them. It was just… metal.
Moses told the people, “You did a very wrong thing! God is the ONLY God! We worship HIM!”
The people knew they had made a bad choice.
But here’s the WONDERFUL news! God FORGAVE His people! God loved them SO much! He gave them another chance!
Moses went back up the mountain, and God wrote His rules on NEW stone tablets! Let’s climb again! Climb, climb, climb!
And when Moses came back down, guess what? His FACE was GLOWING!
Moses had been SO close to God that his face was shiny and bright!
The people learned something very important that day. There is only ONE true God. We don’t worship statues or toys or anything else. We worship GOD because He is REAL and He LOVES us!
Let’s all say together: “God is the only God!” [Let kids repeat: “God is the only God!”]
One more time, LOUDER: “GOD IS THE ONLY GOD!” [Kids repeat loudly]
Theological Questions:
- Who is the ONLY true God we should worship? (God/the Lord)
- Can a statue or toy love us back like God can? (No!)
Life Application Questions:
- What are some ways we can show God we love Him? (Pray, sing, obey, be kind)
- If your friend wanted you to think a toy was more important than God, what would you say? (No, God is the only God!)
Closing Prayer:
“Dear God, thank You for being the only true God. Help us to always worship YOU and no one else. We love You because You love us first! Amen!”
WORSHIP IN SONG 6:25-6:35
PRAYER 6:35-6:45 p.m.
Transition kids to the floor for prayer time. Pray for God to help us always remember that He is the only God and to keep Him first in our hearts. Pray that we would worship God and not other things like toys, TV, or treats.
BIBLE STORY GAME 6:45-6:55 | Gold Jewelry Collection Relay
Items Needed:
- Two baskets
- Plastic gold bead necklaces or rings
- Two buckets on opposite side of room
Divide children into two teams. Each team has a basket full of gold jewelry. One at a time, children grab ONE piece of jewelry, run to the bucket across the room, drop it in, and run back to tag the next friend.
After the relay, gather everyone and say: “Great job collecting gold!What did the people do with their gold in our story?” [Let kids answer—made a calf!] “Was that a good idea?” [NO!]
BIBLE CRAFT 6:55-7:10 | Golden Cow Puppet
Items Needed:
- Brown paper lunch bags
- Pre-printed cow pieces
- Gold crayons
- Black crayons for eyes and nostrils (optional)
- Glue sticks
Print and cut out the cow pieces for each child. Give each child their cow pieces and a gold crayon. Have children color ALL the pieces gold to represent the golden calf from the story. As they color, say: “The people used their shiny gold jewelry to make this calf. Let’s color ours gold too!” Once the pieces are colored, help children glue the pieces onto the lunch bag. Then flip the bag over and paste the memory verse. Finally, show children how to slip their hand inside the bag and move the flap up and down to make the cow’s mouth talk.
As children finish their puppets, have them try to make their cow puppet talk. Ask: “Can your cow puppet really talk to you? Can it hear you? Can it love you?” [Let kids respond—NO!] “That’s right! This is just paper and crayons. The golden calf the people made couldn’t hear them or love them either. It was just metal! But who CAN hear us and love us?” [GOD!] “Yes! God is the ONLY real God. We worship Him and not statues or things we make!” Children can take their puppets home to retell the story to their families.
SNACK TIME & BIBLE STORY VIDEO 7:10-7:25
Pass out snacks and allow kids time to eat snacks while watching the Bible Story Video.
BONUS ACTIVITY | MELTING GOLD EXPERIMENT
Items Needed:
- Yellow ice cubes (water with yellow food coloring, frozen)
- Small bowls
- Salt
- Spoons
Give each child a yellow ice cube in a bowl. Explain that the people melted their gold to make the calf. Have children sprinkle salt on the ice and watch it “melt” faster. As it melts, talk about how the golden calf was destroyed. Only GOD lasts forever!
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV)
Exodus 32:1-8
“When the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, ‘Up, make us gods who shall go before us. As for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ So Aaron said to them, ‘Take off the rings of gold that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.’ So all the people took off the rings of gold that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’ When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, ‘Tomorrow shall be a feast to the Lord.’ And they rose up early the next day and offered burnt offerings and brought peace offerings. And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”‘”
COLORING PAGE
PARENT TAKE HOME SHEET
Today’s Key Takeaway: God is the Only God
What I Learned Today: Today we learned that while Moses was on a mountain talking to God, the people made a very bad choice. They used their gold jewelry to make a golden calf statue and worshiped it instead of God. Moses was sad, and God was sad because God is the ONLY true God and He wants us to worship only Him!
Questions to Ask Me:
Theological Questions:
- Who is the only true God? (God/the Lord)
- What did the people make out of gold? (A golden calf/statue)
- Can a statue hear us or love us? (No)
- What did Moses do when he saw the golden calf? (He was angry and broke the stone tablets)
- Did God forgive the people when they were sorry? (Yes)
Life Application Questions:
- What are some things people might think are more important than God? (Toys, TV, games, treats)
- How can we worship God? (Pray, sing, read the Bible, obey, be kind)
- What should we do if we make a wrong choice? (Say sorry to God; He forgives us)
- How do you know God loves you? (He takes care of us, He sent Jesus, He forgives us)
- Who should be the most important in our heart? (God)