Exodus

Explore Exodus

The Book of Exodus is the second book of the Bible. Starting with the deliverance of Moses by Pharaoh's daughter, it recounts the revelation at the Burning bush where he was called by Yahweh to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.

Moses

Moses is the most important Jewish prophet. He's traditionally credited with writing the Torah and with leading the Israelites out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. In the book of Exodus, he's born during a time when the Pharaoh of Egypt has ordered every male Hebrew to be drowned.

Activities

Baby Moses Printable Craft (Sabbath School Crafts)
Baby Moses Game Ideas (Sermons for Kids)
Baby Moses Floating in a Bottle Craft (Catholic Icing)

Plague of Flies Straw Rocket (Crafting the Word of God)
Printable Plagues Wheel Craft (Crafting the Word of God)
Plague Puppets (Tori Avey)
Pop-up Frog (Art for Kids Hub)
Fly-catcher Frog Toy Craft (One Perfect Day)
Disease Plague Fruit Scabs (Craft Invaders)
Sand Play (Grace and Wondering)

Toddler Devotions (Baby Devotions)
Red Sea Printable Scene (Jesus Without Language)
Red Sea Science Experiment (Juggling with Kids)
Edible Parting the Red Sea (Sitting Eating Bonbons all Day)
Printable Scene (Jesus Without Language)

Media

Baby Moses - Exodus 1-2

Moses, God's Servant : Exodus-Deuteronomy

Moses and the Burning Bush - Exodus 2-3

Moses and the Exodus - Exodus 4-14

Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-15)

All-age service plan

Youth and Children's Work have an All-age plan for Moses and the burning bush, written by Lynn Alexander.

You can find the plan here

Discussion questions

Is it possible that God could do something unusual and strange to catch our attention like that in this day and age?
Does anyone have any stories of God appearing to people in unusual ways?
I wonder why the bush was on fire but did not burn up?
I wonder why Moses took his shoes off and hid his face when God spoke to him?
I wonder what this story means to people who are not part of our church family?
How can I help explain what God is like because of what I hear, see and feel through this story?

Source: Lynn Alexander, on the Youth and Children's Work

All-age talk: explore together

The Purple edition of Explore Together, available at Scripture Union New Zealand, has a session on Moses and the burning bush. Contact your diocesan office to see if they have a copy, or order one from SUNZ.

Moses and the burning bush craft

A craft activity from Easy Breezy Sunday School

Craft - fire slime

How to make 'Fire Slime' by Everyday chaos and calm

Media

An animated story of Moses and the Burning Bush by Saddleback Kids. You can watch on YouTube

The Prince of Egypt (PG, 1998) is a beautiful animated film about the life of Moses. You could also encourage families to watch the film at home, if suitable for the ages of the children. You can read the Commonsense Media review here.

Above is a clip from the film that shows this part of the story.

The Passover (Exodus 12:1-14)

In this week's Old Testament reading, we hear about the story of the Passover. It might also be a week where you talk about why God wanted to rescue the Israelites from Egypt or how these stories show how far God will go to care for his people. For younger kids, you may like to recap the story of Moses as a whole, which can be seen in this video from Saddleback Kids

Moses song

Here is a song about Moses from Saddleback Kids

Lyrics:
Let’s meet Moses who lived in the palace of Pharaoh,
Moses did something bad and it was a big uh-oh!

So Moses ran far, far away
The people of Israel were stuck working all day

Moses was tending his sheep when he heard his name
God spoke to him through a bush that was burning up in flames!

God had a great plan
But Moses said, “No way, you’ve got the wrong man!”

God let Moses’ brother speak on his behalf
And the two went to the Pharaoh, each carrying a staff

Aaron told Pharaoh to “Let God’s people go!”
But the Pharaoh told them, “No! No! No!”

God sent plagues to the land and to the skies.
Frogs and bugs and hail and even some pesky flies.

After many days of this the Egyptians were sad
Pharaoh said, “Get out of here!” and the Israelites were glad.

Moses and the Israelites left Egypt behind
But then the Pharaoh just up and changed his mind

The Pharaoh chased the Israelites and they were as scared as could be
But Moses raised his staff and God parted the Red Sea!

All of God’s people walked on dry land,
And the Israelites went free just as God had planned.
Source: Saddleback Kids

Manna and quail (Exodus 16:2-15)

God provides for his children

Children's ministry lesson plan

Ministry to Children have a good 'Sunday School Lesson Plan' for Exodus 16-17. It includes a retelling of the story, interesting discussion questions, a craft and learning activity.
You can find their lesson plan on their website

Water, manna and quail lesson

An engaging message from Kids on the Move about today's bible passage.

Game - cloudy with a chance of cornflakes

A cornflake team game to play from Bible Games Central -- However, this game may need modifying in our current Covid situation, and if you would not like to waste food, you can substitute with small beads or raw beans.

Craft - honey crackles

What did manna taste like? The bible says that manna was like a fine, flake-like substance, like frost on the ground. Raw manna tasted like wafers that had been made of honey. An activity you could try at home or at church could be to make some 'Honey Crackles'. A recipe can be found here

Manna and quail images

There are some free images to download for this story, illustrated by Richard Gunther.
You can download a one page story here, and separate images here

Song - all through history

Nick and Becky Drake have an all-age song that helps locate the story of Moses within the other bible stories, and how it shows how all through history God is faithful.

Making flatbreads

Using simply equal parts yoghurt and self raising flour (and a little oil) you can make your own flatbreads, which may be similar to manna.
Have a look at a recipe here