Daniel's Training in Babylon

Cooking Workshop 

Summary of Lesson Activities:
In this workshop the learners will make a special treat called Daniel's Veggies.

Scriptures:

Daniel’s Training in Babylon (Daniel 1)

Supplies List:

• The Children's Bible in 365 Stories
• supplies for veggie treats (serves 1)
  • corn tortilla chips
  • cherry tomato
  • lettuce leaves
  • grated cheddar cheese
  • plastic knife
  • plastic fork
  • paper plate
  • mild salsa or salad dressing (optional)
• recipe card with recipe (recipe is printed in the referenced book by Nanette Goings)
• pencils

Teacher preparation:

• Read the Bible passage.
• Read over the background material included in your teacher packet as you review the lesson plan.
• Gather the materials.

Presentation

Opening-Welcome and introductions:
Greet the children and introduce yourself. Remember that you are interacting with a different group of students each week—some may not know you. Wear your name tag and make sure that the children are wearing theirs if there are new students or visitors.

Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Lesson Plan:

1. Have the children sit or stand where you would like them to during the reading of the story from the Bible. Give some background to the story and set the stage: Daniel and his friends were living in the king's palace. The rich food they were served was the same food the king ate. Daniel knew that this food was not what they should eat. (Have the learners who were present for the viewing of the video recall the background for the story.)
2. Read the story, number 202, from The Children's Bible in 365 Stories, p.(232) to find out what Daniel and his friends did to remain loyal to God.
3. Set out the tortilla chips, clean lettuce leaves, cherry tomatoes, plastic knives and forks, grated cheese, paper plates, salsa or salad dressing.
4. Have the children wash their hands. Help the children follow the directions on the recipe card to make a special treat called Daniel's Veggies.
5. While everyone is munching on the special treat, talk about these questions:

• How do you think Daniel and his friends felt when they asked for a different kind of food to eat?
  
  
• Why was it important for them not to eat the food that the king provided?
  
  
• How did Daniel's choice of the right food to eat show loyalty to God?
  
  
• Why is being loyal to God important even if it means being different from others?

Closing:
Stop the eating of snacks in time to have the children help clean up the food area. Decide what to do with any leftover food. Talk about not being wasteful with food.
Remind the children that Daniel and his friends loved God. They only wanted to serve and worship God, not the idols of the king. One way they could do this was to eat only vegetables and drink water, and not eat the king's rich food. They stayed healthy and loyal to God. Talk with the children about making good choices to keep their bodies healthy.

Closing prayer:
Close the class with a prayer of your own, or use the following:
Loving God, thank you for helping Daniel and his friends make the right choices. Help us to do what is right and make good choices, too. Amen.

References:

• Goings, Nanette, Incredible Edible, Bible Fun, Group Publishing, copyright 1997.

A lesson posted by Jan Marshall from: Brenthaven Cumberland Pres.
Brentwood, TN

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