Visit our Bible Games Resource Forum at Rotation.org.
It has many ideas, "how-to," links, and a manual for teaching with Bible games.
Replies sorted oldest to newest
Editor's Note:
This first post is a re-posting of the link to Neil MacQueen's creative, Rotation-inspired "Camp Bible Wahoo! Summer Sunday School" curriculum.
It has two Daniel Lessons in it (computer and video), as well as 3 lessons for the Good Samaritan, and 3 for Paul's Journeys.
The workshops are all "locations at a Bible Camp".
The Daniel Lessons in Camp Bible Wahoo!:
Some brief Bible background from Neil...
Daniel and The Lion's Den Rotation Lesson Ideas
(revised)
Scripture:
Daniel 6...King Darius is tricked into outlawing prayer to anyone but himself, not realizing Daniel, his favorite advisor, will be forced to break the law and thus be punished in the Lion's Den. Daniel decides his belief in God is more important than his life. God miraculously saves Daniel and the King abolishes the law.
Background:
Daniel grew up in Babylon, in the King's house and has faithfully served as an advisor to both King Darius and his predecessor -Nebuchadnezzar. Jealous of his stature, other advisors fool Darius into outlawing prayer to anyone but the King, -knowing Daniel, an Israelite, is a worshipper of the one true God! It's a test of faith for Daniel and an opportunity to show his faith as well. Daniel's people had been conquered and taken to captivity during the 6th Century B.C.
The story's meaning is multi-faceted: Daniel faces a First Commandment issue of worshipping only the Lord his God. There's also the freedom to pray issue. Daniel's prayer relationship with his God is important enough to Daniel to risk losing his life over. There is the story's miraculous ending which leans towards God's rescue of people from injustice. Then there's the general sense that being faithful isn't always easy! The older your students, the more of these facet's they will be able to see.
The Life Application for Kids:
It takes strength and guts to believe in God and obey God's commands and be a role model to others. Believing one thing and doing another is wrong. Being two-faced or hypocritical is wrong. Saying you love God but not obeying God is wrong.
I'm sure Daniel thought about giving-in and hiding the fact that he was a follower of God. But Daniel decided to stand up for his belief in God, even if it meant death. There are times when even a kid has to stand up for their beliefs. When they see someone treating another badly. When they hear gossip. When they have the tough choice of sleeping in or going to church. When it's time to pray and they'd rather play. When others say speak negatively about church. When there are things distracting them away from worshipping God. Distractions and Lion's come in all shapes and sizes !
"Adventures with Daniel" software program is now free to the supporting members of Rotation.org, learn how!
1. Greet students and discuss the plan for the class and how you expect them to share the computers.
2. Tell them exactly what parts of the Daniel CD you will be visiting today:
The Main Story, The two video clips in the Bible Time Theater, and the Discover the Bible section where you’ll read several of the study notes found among the Daniel 6 scriptures.
3. Begin by posing these questions in a short discussion:
If someone said, “stop praying and worshiping your God or I’ll throw you in prison,” would you stop praying? Would you ‘fake it’ to save your skin? Or would you stand up and be a role model to others?
4. Begin with the Main Story in the CD and follow up with the two video clips in the Bible Time Theater.
Ask: Is prayer worth it to end up in prison or be killed? Can you be faithful to God without praying to God? (Possible answer: How can you say you love God and believe in God’s commandments but not follow them or ever talk to God? Can you love someone and never talk to them? Can you love a boy or girlfriend but go around in public saying you love another girl/boy?)
5. View the two video clips in the Bible Time Theater.
Ask: Why didn’t Daniel ‘fake it’ and act like he was praying to King Darius ?? What’s so important about praying only to God? (Possible answers: Daniel knew he was an example, a leader to others. Daniel felt his faith in God was too important to lie about it.)
How did Daniel’s faith become an example to others?
6. Browse through the ‘Kids Application Study Notes’ associated with Daniel 6 in the Discover the Bible section. Read and talk about the one where the boy is asked to do something wrong to join a club. **The study note tucked away in Daniel 12 about the reasons for Daniel’s bravery is GREAT discussion fodder.
Note: Younger children will probably not be able to get through all the notes and they are not read-aloud on the CD. Some first graders should be able to read them and will take great pride in trying! If your class time is really short, zero in on the one or two notes of your choice.
Save time to finish with the ideas found in the CHART associated with Daniel Chapter 12:9. This chart is a great list of ‘answers to important questions which helped Daniel be brave.
An IceBreaker Game posted by Gail Smith
Game Idea - “Ask the King, Please!”
Before your workshop begins, set up a two-sided obstacle course with a crooked path and equal obstacles on each side, and a “lions’ den” behind the “beginning” line.
Procedure:
Divide the group into two equal teams, and pick one person to be “King”. The groups line up, one on each side of the “beginning” line, with a bowl of dry Cheerios or other similar cereal (or popcorn?) and a supply of spoons for each team. The “King” calls out to each team member how to move through the obstacle course, saying something like, “Hop through the obstacle course”. Crawl, walk backwards.
Before the first person on each team can begin, he/she must ask, “May I have permission, O King?” Then the person scoops up dry cereal in their spoon and races in the prescribed manner through the obstacle course to deposit their cereal in another bowl at the far end.
If the person forgets to ask the King’s permission, he/she must go to the lions’ den until the next person on their team succeeds in completing the course and tags them to release them from the den. The king can change the kind of movement for each new person up.
The first team to finish ends the game. Compare how much cereal is in each team’s bowl, and declare a “winner”, or play it again. Everybody gets treats at the end.
The SunScool Bible App for Kids has many Daniel stories in it, including Daniel in the Den of Lions.
Below is a comprehensive listing of all the stories and their various titles from all four age levels available in the app. Some stories have different titles depending on the age level you are in. Level 3 is approximately grades 2/3 thru 5th. Story length, narration, and activities age-adjust depending on the level you select.
The App is free, ecumenical, and can be downloaded for use on tablets, smartphones, Windows, and Mac! 
Get the download link and look up the story you need in our Outline of all 170+ stories in SunScool. That page also includes app helps.
Access to this requires a Supporting Membership.
If you are not yet a Supporting Member, or if your Supporting Membership has expired, you will see a PURCHASE option below. You can also update your CC info using the link below.
Premium "Supporting Member" benefits include:Annual Supporting Memberships are $45. If you would prefer to send a check or would like to make an additional contribution, look here.
We are a 501(3)c non-profit ministry of sharing supported entirely by individuals and churches.
• Independent
