Hall of Faith Lesson #1: Cain and Abel

Faith Lessons: Cain and Abel

Lesson for Life: We must rule our anger or it will destroy:  Genesis 4:7 – You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.

Faith Lesson:  Faith is treating the invisible/unexperienced  as seen.  Hebrews 11:1 – Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.

Whole Group Opening Activity - Ginger Ale & Candle (10 mins):

Supplies: Ginger Ale, 2 cups, 2 straws, 2 candles with wax guards and 1 lighter per table.

Intro: Cain was jealous of Abel, so Cain took his anger out on Abel. Have you ever been going along doing the right thing but someone keeps coming along and tripping you up? It’s hard to get anything done that way, isn’t it? God wants us to encourage each other to do what is right, not keep people from doing what is right. This game is all about choices.

Rules:

·         Choose two people from your table to compete and a monitor to be the judge.

·         Competitors will sit very closely (knee to knee) in chairs facing each other. The goal is to see who can drink a full cup of Ginger Ale first. The cup of ginger ale will be in your right hand.

·         Competitors will also each have a small candle which they can never let go of in their left hand resting on their left knee. If they move the candle off their left knee, they lose!

·         The Ginger Ale may only be drunk when the candle is lit!! Competitors must stop drinking the instant the Judge calls out that a candle has been blown out.  The Judge will have a lighter ready to re-light a candle if it goes out.

·         Competitors may blow out the other person's candle, but they CANNOT touch any of the other person's supplies.  If a person's candle, cup or straw is touched, the other person loses!

·         The winner is the person who can finish their Ginger Ale first while their candle is lit.

Debrief Questions:

·          Did you chose to blow out the other person’s candle or did you choose to let him do the right thing and drink his ginger ale while you drank yours?

·         Which way was faster, when you helped each other or interfered with each other? 

Scripture Intro (5 mins):  God set up a system from the very beginning. He said they could come to Him if they first sacrificed a lamb. Why did God want them to sacrifice (kill) a lamb?

Everything in the Bible points us to Jesus, even when Jesus was born people sacrificed lambs to God. God required the sacrifice of a lamb because it pointed to the future sacrifice of Jesus for our sins - the only way for us to come to God. What sacrifice did God require? (A lamb) No one sacrifices a lamb anymore because Jesus’ sacrifice was for all people for all time. Now we come to God through Jesus only and HIs perfect sacrifice.

(You may choose to read Genesis 4:1-5 as a whole group or have the tables read the scripture as a small group)

Game Time (20 minutes):  The following activity is based on Genesis 4:1-5.  Groups can be broken up into families with children in the home and those without.  Tables may then work on the corresponding activities below.  Click here for the Flow Free printout for children and here  for teen version.  Click here for the discussion sheet.

Kids in the house Each table will play the Flow Free game provided.  Different scripture verses will be read to support answers.  These will take them thru Cain and Abel’s story.  Families with kids under 1st grade we will provide age appropriate activity.

No kids in the house Each table will go thru a discussion sheet aimed to guide them through Cain and Abel’s story and how it applies to their life.

Whole Group - God’s Sacrifice vs Our Sacrifice (10 minutes):

                Supplies:  Each table needs a cotton ball and a piece of bread for each person.  In the center of the table will be a clear bowl with pink finger nail polish remover and red pens. 

            Leader Script:  In our story today Cain was a farmer. He worked hard in his fields to grow grain.  The bread at our table represents Cain’s bread.  Now it’s not that God was displeased with Cain’s bread, but why did He help Cain’s crops grow?  What are we to do with the bread and things we grow in our gardens?

            We also saw that Abel took care of the sheep and animals of the family.  What were some of the things the family used the sheep for?

            We all sin, just as Cain and Abel did.  Let’s write “SIN” on the top of our right hand.  What happens when I try to rub the ink off my hand with the bread?  What happens when I try to rub the ink off with the cotton ball?

            You see each of these items that God gave Cain and Abel had their purpose, but in order to take away our sins, God required the sacrifice of a Lamb so that the blood would take away our sin.  Let’s try dipping our cotton in the pink “blood” in the middle of our tables.  What happens when I try to wipe away my sin with that?

            *Cain wanted to do things his own way. It made sense to him that offering his best, his grain, would please God.  He didn’t have faith that God’s way was the best.  Then when God became angry with him, he took it out on Abel and ignored God’s warning.

            Remember God’s words:  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?”  All we have to do is believe in God and have faith in him.

Bulletin Insert:  Each lesson has an accompanying bulletin insert to use. Click  here to view this week’s insert.