5.         THE KINGDOM OF THE MESSENGERS

Preparation.  Creative work:  Paper for each child as in Diagram 5. For the 'sun' cut out yellow/orange circles  in papers.  Print 'GOD' in the centre   For the mirrors cut rectangles, preferably in paper backed silver foil.  For the girl/boy motif cut them out in any colour paper.  Glue and brushes.

Prayers.

Song.  "God is One - Man is One"  From the yellow Bahá'í song book.

News Time and Birthdays.

Revision of previous lesson.  Use the Kingdom Chart to recap on the last lesson.

Introduction.  This week we are going to learn about the Messengers of God.  They are people but are very special.  They are chosen by God to teach us all about God.  We cannot see God and it is very difficult to find out about something we cannot see.  So from time to time God chooses a special person to tell us a little bit about what He is like and what He wants us to do.
God is like the sun.  The sun is powerful and strong and we need it to give us warmth and light and to make plants grow. God is strong and we cannot live without Him.
The sun sends its light and warmth to us in rays (or sunbeams) but we cannot see them.
We can feel them on our skin.
God sends His Love to us but we cannot see it.
We can feel it in our hearts.
God chooses a Messenger to tell us what to do to be able to live happily.  The Messengers are like mirrors.  If you point a mirror to the sun you will be able to see the reflection of the sun in the mirror.  The sun does not float down from the sky into the mirror but it looks like it has.  God does not come and visit it us on earth but when we look at His Messengers we can see a little what God is like.   These are some of the things that they tell us that God is like;

All-Knowing, All-Wise, our Helper, like a Father, the Ever-Giving.

So when we look at the Messengers we can feel God's love and see what He is like, and then we can try and become like Him ourselves!

Reading.  "Naught is seen in My temple but the Temple of God, and in My beauty but His Beauty ...."  Type or write this out, one copy for each child.  Explain the meaning and let them stick it into their books.

Creative work.  Each child has a piece of paper (Diagram 5) and the three motifs.  Ask them to fit them in the right places and then to try and explain what they represent.

Another sheet of paper can be used, if time, to stick the names of Messengers of God on a vertical line (Diagram 5a).

Music.  'Year of Sundays' by Seals and Crofts.

Closing Prayer.

Diagram 5.

Diagram 5a.

Boxes on right to be cut out in advance and mixed up. Ask the children to put the Messengers in the correct order      (sizes of boxes  will help). When you have checked that they are correct,  they can stick them on and colour the vertical line which connects them.

 Last modified: May 17, 2001

. .