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Cooking Lessons, Ideas, Activities, Recipes, and Resources for Teaching "Isaiah Foretells the Messiah" in Sunday School.

Post your Sunday School cooking and food lessons, ideas, activities, and resources for teaching about Isaiah's prophecies of the Messiah here, including lessons teaching children about the names of Jesus. (Photos are appreciated!)

In addition to all our public lesson ideas, the Rotation.org Writing Team has written a wonderful Isaiah Promised ~ Jesus Fulfilled lesson set that includes a neat Cooking Workshop lesson plan where children make and take home rock-candy using a fun cooking lesson that makes the meaning of Emmanuel "crystal clear" and illustrates the reward of faithful waiting. - free for our Supporting Members. Join today!

Last edited by Amy Crane
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An Isaiah "Fortune" Cookie Workshop

Summary of Lesson and Activity Objective:

Children will make jumbo fortune cookies out of tortillas to remember what Isaiah said about the coming of the Messiah, and consider our response to his Advent!

Scripture Reference:

Isaiah 9:6 (wonderful counselor...) and Acts 1:3-7 (you are my witnesses...to the ends of the earth)

Advent-Isaiah-Fortune-Cookies

Materials List:

  • Toothpicks
  • Strips of Paper
  • See recipe below for ingredients!

Advanced Preparation Requirements:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
  • Cut strips of paper for the fortunes


LESSON PLAN

Adapted from the cookie workshop here at Rotation.org

Opening

Have everyone wash their hands before entering Loaves & Fishes Cooking Company. Hand out aprons and gather everyone around the tables.  Introduce yourself and any other adults. Explain what they'll be doing today and what you hope they will learn.



Say: We are going to be baking cookies today. We will save our prayer time for while the cookies are baking. Before we do any baking, let’s talk about what we’re learning.

Ask: Who can tell me what season of the year it is? (Advent)
What is Advent? (allow a few responses)

Say: Advent is also a time of preparing our hearts and our minds for the celebration of Jesus’ birth.  Advent is the time where we wait to celebrate the coming of Christ and we prepare ourselves for Christmas day.

Ask: I know that there are preparations to do for Christmas like shopping and wrapping gifts, but what do we need to do to get ready to celebrate Jesus' birthday?

Bible Study:

Say: Christmas is something we plan for way in advance isn’t it? We get our decorations up, shop for Christmas presents, hang lights, and we light Advent candles for four Sundays before Christmas.

Today we will learn how Jesus’ birth was actually something God planned for a very long time. God told the world about the coming birth way before it happened! Seven hundred years before Jesus was born God told prophets to tell the people about the coming Savior.  And very importantly, what God's Savior was going to do and act like.

Ask: What is a prophet? (allow any answers)
A prophet is God’s special messenger. A prophet tells people that they need to change their behavior and look for God.

Ask: If we were to read about something that a prophet reported, something that happened way before Jesus was born, where in the Bible would we read about it? (in OT)

Point out how the Books of the Prophets starts with Isaiah and includes a whole list of prophets. Name a few.

Say: The message that a prophet brings is called a “prophecy.”  Do you know what a prophecy is?  A prophecy is a message telling us what to look for, what to watch out for, and how to get ready for God's action in our lives and world.   For example, the prophet John the Baptist told the people to "get ready, prepare the way of the Lord" and he was speaking of Jesus.

Do: Have students grade three and above find Isaiah in their Bibles.

Say: Let’s look up one of the prophecies of Isaiah that told about Jesus coming. Remember these words were said 700 years before Jesus was born.

Have students find Isaiah 9:6. Read it aloud.

Ask: Who is the child referred to in this verse: “For to us a child is born”? (Jesus)  We call this "child" that God is sending, the "Messiah, "the "Savior" of the world.

Ask: What does Isaiah say that the Messiah will be like? (ask students to define the words in Is 9:6)

Ask: How are we to respond to such a great event? (Accept answers then have everyone look up an answer in Acts 1:3-7.)   

Ask:  Jesus told the disciples, "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”     

Personalize this by saying the verse to each student one at a time using their name and changing the name places. For example:  "Hannah, you will be my witness in Toronto, and in all Canada and the U.S., and to the ends of the earth.”   You may also go around in the circle letting each student issues Jesus' words to the person on their left, letting the student come up with the name places.

Cookie Time:

Has anyone ever eaten a fortune cookie before?  Fortune cookies are a fun snack and inside of them you can find a little message that tells about your future.  These little messages are fun to read but they definitely aren’t true!  Only God knows our future!

Today we are going to make Jumbo fortune cookies with a message in it that reminds us of God’s promises/prophecies for our future!

Fortune Cookie Supplies and Instructions:

  • Each child will have a chance to create 2 jumbo fortune cookies - one to keep and one to give away
  • Students will write their own special message on a slip of paper to insert into the cookie.

    The "fortune" is a message. It should include 2 statements, one on each side:

    1. A quote from Isaiah 9 ("Unto us a child is born...")

    2. A prophetic word encouraging others to spread the message in ___________ and ______________.  (School, work, town, state, where people are hurting, in need, to the sad, etc etc.
    Have students brainstorm the paper slips here.

  • Students can enjoy one cookie at the end of class and then take a second one to share with someone.   Encourage them to teach that person what they learned during the lesson today.
  • Young children will need lots of help to fold their tortillas.
  • Have pre-readers/writers draw pictures on their “fortune slips” instead of writing words.  They could draw pictures about Jesus being born, Jesus going back up to heaven in the clouds, Jesus coming back, etc.

Jumbo "Tortilla" Fortune Cookies

(Recipe was from littlefiggy.com, although the recipe now appears to be have been removed from that site.)

Editor's Notes:

If you have time, you can also have your kids MAKE a 'real' jumbo fortune cookie from scratch using one of a number of recipes easily found online and quickly assembled. Google "Jumbo Fortune Cookie Recipe." Here's a good one: https://www.wikihow.life/Make-Fortune-Cookies

An important idea you can add to this lesson is making MORE cookies (with Bible verses in them) to share.


Isaiah-prophecy-fortune-cookie-Bible-lesson

Ingredients for 8 "fortune cookies":

  • 8 (6 inch) Flour Tortillas
  • 2 - 3 Tbls Butter, melted
  • 1 tsp Cinnamon
  • ½ cup Sugar

Instructions:

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Fold tortilla shells as follows:

Step 1: Fold soft flour tortilla shell in half.

Step 2: Fold over again in half (open edge end).

Step 3: Place your thumb inside left fold and carefully fold left half back to center

Step 4: Repeat above fold with right side.

Step 5: Pinch to hold together

Step 6: Using wooden toothpicks or cocktail sticks, lift up top edge and insert stick through

Step 7:  Continue to insert all the way through to fasten to other side. Be careful not to poke through the top of shell. Pinch if needed to close any gap.

Tip: Make sure tortillas are as fresh and soft as possible, because if your shells are older they will tear or crack easily. You can try to soften them by warming them up in the microwave for 20 seconds or less, just until they are more pliable.

  • After folding, mix together the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl and set aside.
  • Using a pastry brush, brush all over fortune cookie with melted butter.
  • Dust over buttered fortune cookie with Cinnamon Sugar and gently tap excess off.
  • Bake in preheated oven for 8 - 10 minutes.
  • Cool and remove toothpicks/cocktail sticks.

Paper strips can be inserted only AFTER baking. Do so quickly before the tortillas completely harden.

Prayer:

Use the time while the cookies are baking to have the children join you in prayer.

Closing:

One at a time, invite students to crack open their Isaiah Advent Cookie and read their "fortune" to others. As they continue to eat their cookies, follow up with reinforcing comments and encouragements about who they might share their cookie with.

A lesson written by member ZBCC

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

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Last edited by Neil MacQueen

Jesus’ Birth through the Eyes of Isaiah

Cooking Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activity:

Learn some of the names of Jesus and what those names tell us about Jesus. Make sugar cookies in the shape of the letters of their names or a name for Jesus. [4th – 6th graders visited this workshop].

Scripture Reference:

Isaiah 9:6


Leader Preparation:

Read the scripture for this lesson.
Read and reflect on the overview material provided for this lesson.

Materials List:

  • An easel; appropriate marker
  • The book In God's Name by Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso
  • Items in kitchen: cookie sheets, spatulas, hot pads, and clean-up supplies
  • Items in refrigerator: Cookie dough
  • The cooking “cart” with:
    • Aprons, attendance
    • Purple Adventure Bibles; one with tabs (Law, History, etc.)
    • Bible tab writing kit: tabs, fine-line Sharpie pen
    • Colored sprinkles for decorating cookies
    • Parchment paper
    • White Flour
    • A pencil
    • Kitchen timer

Advance Preparation Requirements:

  • In advance make the cookie dough (see end of lesson for recipe).
  • Wash a metal table.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Turn on vent fan.
  • Cover two large cookie sheets with parchment paper. Have a pencil near by.
  • Dust work areas on the metal table with flour. Place cookie decorating supplies close at hand.
  • Write the key Bible verse on the easel in the Social Hall.
  • Distribute purple Adventure Bibles around the tables in the Social Hall.

Presentation

Opening- Welcome and Lesson Introduction

Gather everyone around the tables in the Social Hall. Greet your students warmly, welcoming them to the Cooking Workshop. Introduce yourself and any other adults.

Say: We are going to be baking cookies today. We will save our prayer time for while the cookies are baking. Before we do any baking, let’s talk about what we’re learning.

Ask: Who can tell me what season of the year it is? (answer looking for: Advent)

What is Advent? (allow a few responses)

Say: Advent is also a time of preparing our hearts and our minds for the celebration of Jesus’ birth.

Ask: I know that there are preparations to do for Christmas like shopping and wrapping gifts but why do you suppose we need to prepare our hearts for Christmas? (allow a few responses)


Dig- Main Content and Reflection

Say: Christmas is something we plan for way in advance isn’t it? We get our decorations up and we light Advent candles for four Sundays before Christmas. Today we will learn how Jesus’ birth was actually something God planned for a very long time. God told the world about the coming birth – way before it happened! Seven hundred years before Jesus was born God told prophets to tell the people about the coming Savior.

Ask: What is a prophet? (allow any answers)

Say: A prophet is God’s special messenger. A prophet brings God’s message to the people.

Ask: If we were to read about something that a prophet reported, something that happened way before Jesus was born, where in the Bible would we read about it? (in OT)

Make sure that everyone has access to an Adventure Bible. Have everyone open to the page “About the Old Testament Books” (first page after the title page). Point out how the “Prophecy collection” starts with Isaiah and includes a whole list of prophets.

Say: The message that a prophet brings is called a “prophecy.” All these Bible books listed here are names of prophets - messengers of God. If you have your own Bible today, be sure you receive the tab for the prophecy section of your Bible. [Show the purple Adventure Bible with tabs. Have the Shepherd do a prophecy tab for students who bring their Bibles. Use the classroom Bible with tabs as an example.]

Have everyone flip forward three pages to the Table of Contents and find Isaiah. Have them go to the introductory page about the book of Isaiah.

Say: In these Bibles, every book starts with an introduction page. Let’s look at the fourth question: “What is special about this book?”

Ask someone to read the answer. (“Isaiah gives many wonderful prophecies about Jesus, the coming Savior.").

Say: Let’s look up one of the prophecies of Isaiah that told about Jesus coming. Remember these words were said 700 years before Jesus was born.

Have students find Isaiah 9:6. Read it aloud.

Ask: Who is the child referred to in this verse: “For to us a child is born”? (Jesus)

Say: Isaiah was saying that Jesus would come as a baby, which years later, did happen!

Ask: Did you hear some of the names that Isaiah gave for Jesus?

Refer to the easel with the key verse written on it.

Say: With these names, Isaiah gave clues as to who Jesus would be: a Wonderful Counselor, a Mighty God, an Everlasting Father, a Prince of Peace.

Ask: What is a counselor? (someone who listens to you and helps you)

What does mighty mean to you?

What other names do you know of for Jesus? (there are many: Messiah, Christ, Emmanuel, Shepherd, Holy One, Lamb of God, Son of Man, Light of the World, King of kings).

Say: These names all tell us something about who Jesus is. Today we have sugar cookie dough that we can shape into letters. Let’s bake some cookies that are in the shape of names. You may choose to create cookies in the shape of your name or a name for Jesus. Be thinking about which you’d like to create.

In the Kitchen:

Wash your hands first and then have everyone wash their hands. Offer aprons. Gather everyone around the metal table.

Say: We have sugar cookie dough that we can shape into letters. Decide whether you’d like to make letters for your name or a name for Jesus. We can also decorate our letters with sprinkles. Let’s decide how large our letters should be. It will be important that all of the letters we create are roughly the same size so that they don’t burn when cooking. It is important that these creations be somewhat FLAT, no more than 1 /4” thick.

Supply lumps of pre-made dough. Use flour to keep things from being too sticky. Students may add decorative sprinkles to their creations prior to baking.

Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes. Place the Shepherd in charge of taking them out when done and allowing them to cool for a few minutes before bringing them into the Social Hall.

Wash hands and return to the Social Hall.

Back to the Social Hall – Discussion:

Say: Isaiah gave us some names for Jesus. In the Bible we can find more than 100 different names for Jesus. Most people have only one or two names, and perhaps a nickname.

Ask: Why do you suppose there are so many different names for Jesus? (perhaps because he would have many jobs to do or would be many different things to many different people)

Which name for Jesus best describes how you feel about him at the moment?

Say: I would like to read you a portion of this book, which is about names for God. See if any of these names resonate with you.

Begin reading In God’s Name. When the cookies are served read as far as page 13 then stop and continue with prayer.

When the cookies are served:

Say: Let’s have our prayer time. Ask for any prayer requests. Ask if anyone would like to lead the group in prayer. Use the Lord’s Prayer as the ending. [You may ask one or two students to lead the Lord’s Prayer.]. A suggestion: “Wonderful Counselor, you are so many things to each of us –Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…[add other names that have been mentioned.] We praise you as our God. We love you. Bring peace to our world and our hearts. Please bless our cookies as we share them. (End with the Lord’s Prayer) Amen.”

Enjoy eating cookies. (If time allows read more of the book. You may wish to paraphrase portions.)

Closing:

Say: This week, remember to think of Christmas as preparing to welcome a coming Savior, a Wonderful Counselor, a Mighty God, a Prince of Peace.

If you have extra time:

Say: Let’s practice the verse we read from Isaiah. It is good to have Bible verses stored in our hearts for when we are feeling the need to remember God and how much he loves us.

Teach the students the verse with movements so that their bodies will help their minds remember the words; accompanying movements are in italics.

Isaiah 9:6 (hold up 9 fingers, then 6)

For to us a child is born, (rock a baby)

to us a son is given, (hold out both hands palms up as if giving something)

and the government will be on his shoulders. (pat both of your shoulders)

And he will be called (sign your ‘John Hancock’ on your hands)

Wonderful Counselor, (put both hands at your ears, as if to hear better)

Mighty God, (hold both arms up to show muscles)

Everlasting Father, (both hands start at heart, reach and point out to sides showing eternity)

Prince of Peace. (hold two fingers up in a peace sign)


Resources:

  • McIntyre, Judy. “River Community Church…Advent/Christmas through the eyes of Isaiah.” Rotation.org. 2003.
  • The NIV Adventure Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zonderkidz, 2000.
  • Sasso, Sandy Eisenberg. In God’s Name. Woodstock, VT: Jewish Lights Publishing, 1994.
  • Trimboli, Kim. Writing Team “The Birth Of Jesus Through The Eyes Of Isaiah: Cooking Lesson.” Rotation.org. 2002. Site Editor Note: During the WT Improvement project 2015-2018, Kim's lesson was retired and her cookie recipe is now found below.

A lesson written by Carol Hulbert from: First UMC
Ann Arbor, MI

Copyright First United Methodist Church, Ann Arbor, 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.

------------
If you use this material, even in a modified form, please include the following reference: Hulbert, Carol. Jesus’ Birth through the Eyes of Isaiah: Cooking Workshop." Dec. 2009. Place URL where lesson found inside angle brackets<>.

Ingredients for cookie recipe
Member Kim Trimboli, 2002

(Note: This recipe was chosen and slightly edited because it is easy to manipulate -- not too sticky or too crumbly.)
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 1 cup shortening (NOT butter or margarine)
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 6 cups all-purpose flour

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl, wet in another, then combine.
Note: This dough is good to mix by hand.
Editor adds: You can store cookie dough in the refrigerator for two days. Place the cookie dough in an airtight container, such as a plastic snap-top container or a plastic bag.


Adaptation
  • Edible Cookie Dough adaptation by suggested by a member who didn't have a place to bake, "so we used edible dough made with peanut butter, honey, and non-fat dry milk."
  • Editor adds: here is a website with additional recipes for Edible Cookie Dough https://www.cookingclassy.com/edible-cookie-dough/
Last edited by Amy Crane

Quickie Food Project for "people who have walked in darkness, have seen a great light"

Bake chocolate cupcakes ahead of time, then kids fill center with white or yellow "light" icing/fluff.

Here is a video with several easy techniques for filling cupcakes:

And there are many more videos and recipes online for cupcakes and fillings.

You could  remove the cupcake liner and insert the filling from the bottom to conceal the hole. It's a common way to create filled cupcakes. Then you would not have to put frosting on the top to "hide" the hole.

filled-cupcake-Isaiah-cooking-lesson

I would use a 'dark' chocolate cupcake, and fill with white icing to illustrate the verse.

Then...kids could insert "people" (gummies) through the bottom to see the light.


Regarding the Gummy Bears inside the cupcakes...

You could bake the "people" into the dark cupcakes. I saw a recipe that said this:

  • Freeze the gummy bears.
  • Fill the cupcake paper half full with batter
  • Add gummy bear
  • Finish filling the cupcake paper and bake.


Also, I really like the Fortune Cookie ideas above, too...because it contains a message. Jesus is that message.

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Last edited by Amy Crane

I must be missing something... (it wouldn't be the first time)... but sticking gummy people through the bottom of a cupcake?? Poor gummy people. Stuffed up into the darkness of a cupcake!

Perhaps instead the students could be cutting the cupcakes in half (to expose the "light") in the middle and then sticking a gummy person as though "walking" in this "light" ??

Carry on.

Last edited by Amy Crane

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