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Ecclesiastes

Summary of Workshops:

  • Music – Compare/Contrast Songs & Compose Your Own
  • Computer Power Point Slide Show
  • Cooking  Vanity Cakes
  • Movie – Pixar’s Cars


Scripture Reference:

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 “Fear God and keep His commandments.”

Rotation Objectives: At the end of the Rotation, kids should be able to…

  • Understand the main theme of Ecclesiastes.
  • Recognize that hope and joy are found only in God.
  • Realize that “things” cannot make us happy.

References:


 

A lesson set written by Deborah Ward from: Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene
Waterford, MI 

Copyright 2009 Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene, Waterford, MI
Permission to copy materials granted for non-commercial use provided credit is given and all cited references remain with this material.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Last edited by Luanne Payne
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Ecclesiastes

Music Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Compare/Contrast Secular and Christian views of Ecclesiastes & Compose a New Song

Scripture Reference:

Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 and Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.


Supplies List:

  • Find a copy of the Bryds' song “Turn Turn Turn”
  • Rebecca St. James song “That’s What Matters” from her CD, God.

Leader Preparation:

  • You may want to make copies or type out the words to each of the songs if you have readers.
  • You may also want to look up some background information on the two groups.


Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet the children and introduction yourself.

Open with a prayer.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Begin by giving some background on Ecclesiastes.

SAY:  It was written by a man who had everything anyone could ever want – wealth, power, houses, land, money, etc. But all this stuff did not make him happy. The book tells how he tried lots of different ways to make himself happy, but none of them worked. In the end he concluded that the only point of life was to “fear God and keep his commandments.”

We are going to listen to two different songs based on the book of Ecclesiastes. The first is by the Bryds, called “Turn Turn Turn.”

Play the song.

  • How does this song make you feel? 

Next we are going to listen to a song by Rebecca St. James called “That’s What Matters.”

Play the song.

  • How does this song make you feel?
  • How are the songs the same?
  • How are the songs different?

The Bryds were not Christians, but they were very popular and by the end of their careers, very wealthy musicians.

Rebecca St. James is a Christian musician.

  • How do you think these facts affected the songs that they sang?

Questions for discussion:

  • What kinds of things do people think will make them happy?
  • Does trying to get stuff make us happy? Why or why not?
  • How does having God in your life change the way that we live our lives?
  • How does God give us hope?

Now that you have listened to two songs based on Ecclesiastes, you have a chance to write your own.

Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

Then have the kids write lyrics of their own based on the scripture.

Pick a simple tune like "Row, row, row Your Boat" or "Jesus Loves Me."

Closing:

End with a prayer.


 

A lesson written by Deborah Ward from: Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene
Waterford, MI 

Copyright 2009 Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene, Waterford, MI
Permission to copy materials granted for non-commercial use provided credit is given and all cited references remain with this material.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Last edited by Luanne Payne

Ecclesiastes

Computer Workshop – PowerPoint Presentation

Volunteer Moderator suggests using Kid Pix 4 or the newer "3D" version Software (as it already has a great selection of backgrounds, pictures, stickers, and you can create slideshows).  The program also will read aloud their text.

Scripture Reference:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-14


Leader Preparation:

  • Read the scripture ahead of time.
  • Gather the materials.

Supplies List:



Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

Open with a prayer.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-14.

Activity: The kids will create a PowerPoint presentation illustrating these verses.

You can have them do it one of two ways.

Either you can download a collection of pictures for them to choose from or you can allow them to go online and find their own pictures.

You can also choose whether or not they will have music playing as the slide show progresses. If you want music, you will need to find an appropriate sound clip to play.

You can probably use a different program if it allows you to create a slide show.

Lesson:

  1. Begin by reading Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 to the kids.
  2. Then explain that we are going to make a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate the verses.
  3. You may need to give the kids a basic PP lesson on how to insert pictures and text.
  4. Then let the kids work, either using the collection of pictures that you have downloaded onto their computers or by finding pictures that they like on the internet.
  5. When they have finished, allow the kids to show off their work.

Questions for discussion:

  • What do you think the verses are trying to tell us?
  • Read Ecclesiastes 3:9-14 out loud. According to these verses, why does God make a time for everything?
  • God makes time for us. Do we make time for Him? Why or why not?

Closing:

End with a prayer.




A lesson written by Deborah Ward from: Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene
Waterford, MI

Copyright 2009 Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene, Waterford, MI
Permission to copy materials granted for non-commercial use provided credit is given and all cited references remain with this material.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Last edited by Luanne Payne

Ecclesiastes

Cooking

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Making Vanity Cakes.

Scripture Reference:

Ecclesiastes 6: 7-9 and 12: 13-14


Leader Preparation:

  • Read Ecclesiastes 6:7-9 and 12:13-14.
  • Gather the ingredients and supplies for the vanity cakes and make a test batch.


Presentation

Opening- Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

Open with a prayer.

Dig- Main Content and Reflection:

Lesson:

The writer of Ecclesiastes tried many things to make himself happy, but none of them worked. One of the things he tried was food. In the end he concluded that food is meaningless because after we eat we will just get hungry again. Today we are going to make Vanity Cakes to illustrate what he meant.

Recipe for Vanity Cakes (Cream Puffs without filling)
I used a modified recipe from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cream-Puffs/Detail.aspx
Our vanity cakes were simply cream puffs without the filling.

Help the kids make the cakes. While they are baking, discuss Ecclesiastes.

Questions for discussion:

  • Does food make us happy? (only for a little while)
  • What other things to people try to use to make themselves happy? (toys, money, jobs, houses, etc)
  • Read Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. What does this Scripture tell us is the solution to the problem of happiness?
  • The writer of Ecclesiastes tried everything to make himself happy, but in the end, only serving God could give him joy. How does serving God give us joy?

Once the treats are baked, let everyone have one to snack on. Discuss how the vanity cakes are light and airy - they look filling from the outside, but they really aren't. They are like people who try to fill themselves up with stuff. It looks good, but it does not give them joy.

Closing:

End with a prayer.


 

A lesson set written by Deborah Ward from: Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene
Waterford, MI 

Copyright 2009 Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene, Waterford, MI
Permission to copy materials granted for non-commercial use provided credit is given and all cited references remain with this material.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Last edited by Luanne Payne

Ecclesiastes
Video Workshop

 Summary of Lesson Activities: Uses Pixar’s Cars.

 Scripture Reference:  Ecclesiastes 2:17-26


Leader Preparation:

  • Read the scripture ahead of time.
  • Gather the materials.

Supplies List:

  • Cars DVD 


 Presentation

 Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Greet the children and introduce yourself.

 Open with a prayer.

 Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Lesson: The book of Ecclesiastes talks about all the different ways that people try to make themselves happy. In the end it concludes that happiness is not found in things, but in serving God. We are going to watch the movie Cars, in which a racecar named Lightening McQueen learns that money, fame, and stuff will not make him happy.

Show the movie.

Time Constraints Options:
#1 - Skip scenes: 3 (Rust-eze), 7 & 8 (Where’s McQueen? & The Impound), 10 & 11 (Bessie & Customers!), 16 (Tractor tipping), 20 (Breakfast at Flo’s) and 31 & 32 (Back on the Map & Epilogue).
#2 - If you cannot show the entire movie, you can summarize the plot and show only Chapters 21-23 (Drive with Sally – ‘Our Town').


Questions for Discussion:

  • What did Sally teach Lightening about living life “in the fast lane”?
  • What did else Lightening learn in this movie?
  • Why doesn’t stuff like money and fame make you happy?
  • Read Ecclesiastes 2:17-26. What did the man in the bible learn?
  • Who is the only person who can truly make us happy and give us meaning in our life?


Closing:

End with a prayer.


 

A lesson set written by Deborah Ward from: Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene
Waterford, MI 

Copyright 2009 Williams Lake Church of the Nazarene, Waterford, MI
Permission to copy materials granted for non-commercial use provided credit is given and all cited references remain with this material.

A representative of Rotation.org reformatted this post to improve readability.

Last edited by Luanne Payne

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