1st-3rd Small Group Lesson - Life Bible Kids

Big Picture Question: How does God deal with sin?
God is gracious and patient, but He will punish sin.
Bible Passage: Amos 1-9
Christ Connection: Through these prophets we see a
picture of salvation provided through Jesus Christ.
Amos, Prophet to Israel
September 22nd
1st-3rd grade
TEACHER BIBLE STUDY
The prophet Amos was a common, working man. He raised sheep and tended fruit in the Southern Kingdom of
Judah. Then God called him, saying, “Go, prophesy to My people Israel” (Amos 7:15).
By all appearances, the nation of Israel was doing well. They were prospering economically, their borders were
expanding, and sure, King Jeroboam was an evil and ungodly man, but he could have been worse.
But God was not pleased with His people. Their hearts were far from Him. They ignored God’s laws, worshiped
idols, and mistreated the poor. They were greedy, hypocritical, and prideful. So God called Amos to tell Israel that
God was going to judge them for their sin.
The name Amos means “burden” or “burden bearer.” Amos was certainly a man with a burden. Taking God’s
message to the people of Israel was no easy task. The Israelites expected the day their enemies would be judged.
(Deut. 30:7) But when Amos told Israel through three sermons that God’s judgment would also fall on them, they
told him to go away.
Amos’s call to repent seemingly fell on deaf ears. The Israelites’ refusal to turn back to God eventually led to their
exile and brought an end to their time of prosperity and optimism.
The Book of Amos ends with a good promise. Notice some of the words God used to describe the future of His
nation: “I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob” (Amos 9:8); “I will restore ... repair ... rebuild” (Amos 9:11).
As you teach, help kids understand that a holy God is perfectly just in judging sin. Highlight the anticipation of
God’s unfolding plan to graciously restore His people once and for all through the righteous life, wrath-absorbing
death, and life-giving resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

THE BIBLE STORY
Amos, Prophet to Israel
Amos 1–9
God’s people had been divided into two kingdoms for many years: the Kingdom of Judah in the south, and the
Kingdom of Israel in the north. Amos lived in Judah. He raised sheep and grew fruit. One day, God called Amos. God
said, “Go, prophesy to My people Israel.” Amos had never been a prophet. He was a farmer! Amos obeyed God. He went
to Israel to tell the people God’s message.
Everything seemed to be going well for the people of Israel. They were successful and powerful. They were ruled by King
Jeroboam. Jeroboam was an evil, ungodly king, but the people knew he could have been worse.
God could see what no one else could see. God could see His people’s hearts. The people did not love God. They were
greedy and unfair. They sinned a lot.
God is holy, and He punishes sin. God was planning to punish the people of Israel for their sins. Amos’s job was to
warn the people. Amos told them how God was going to punish them.
First, Amos said that God was going to punish the countries around Israel because they had done terrible things.
But God’s judgment didn’t stop there. When Amos announced that God was going to judge Judah and Israel, too, that
was news God’s people did not want to hear!
It made sense that God was going to punish Israel’s enemies; they did not know and love God. But God’s own people
were not that different from the people around them. They mistreated the poor and worshiped idols. The people of Israel knew
that God had been faithful to them and that He had saved His people from slavery in Egypt, but they rejected Him anyway.
Amos told Israel what God was planning to do: “An enemy will come and take away your power and steal
everything you have.” Amos reminded the people of what they did wrong and of all the times they turned away from God.
“Seek God and live!” Amos said. “Don’t you know where you are? God is in control of everything! God put the stars in
the sky. He tells the sun when to rise and when to set, and He brings the rain. God created all of this, and He can
destroy it too!”
Amos told Israel it was time to wake up! God didn’t want people to just pretend they loved God. He didn’t want them to
make offerings or sing songs to Him if they didn’t mean it. God wanted His people to be righteous. He handed down their
punishment: “I will send you into exile.” God’s people would be forced to leave their country.
God showed Amos visions of what Israel’s punishment would be like. A vision is like a dream, except Amos wasn’t
sleeping. He was awake. First, God showed that He was going to send locusts. The locusts ate up all the crops. Amos
prayed and asked God not to send the locusts. God agreed.
Then God showed Amos a fire. The fire burned up the land. Amos said, “God, please stop!” So God agreed not to
send the fire. Then God showed Amos a plumb line. A plumb line is a tool used to measure how upright, or straight,
something is. God would use the plumb line to measure the righteousness of Israel. “I will punish them for their sins,”
God said.
A priest named Amaziah told King Jeroboam about the things Amos said. Amaziah went to Amos. “Go away!”
Amaziah said. “We don’t want you here! Go back to Judah.” Amos told Amaziah, “God will do what He said, and the people
will be taken far from home.”
God showed Amos another vision. Amos saw a basket of ripe summer fruit. God compared the fruit to Israel. Ripe
fruit would soon be rotten. God would soon throw Israel out. Then in the last vision, Amos saw God standing beside
the altar.
The message to Israel ended with a reminder: God is merciful and loving. God’s plan wouldn’t end with Israel’s
punishment. When the time of punishment was over, God would rebuild the family of King David. God promised to bless
Israel and make the people successful again. Then God promised that His people would never again be taken from their
land.
Christ Connection: God is holy and just, but He is also loving and gracious. God wanted His people to turn back to Him, but
they refused. Israel faced the punishment for their sin. God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sin. God accepts
anyone who trusts in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Our Prayer for You:
That this week we will experience the fullness of GOD’s love and grace in our lives. We
have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and we can live holy and set a part from
the world.

WELCOME TIME
As the kids arrive, ask them questions that might help you get to know them better. This is the time
that makes or breaks how welcome a child feels and whether they will come back or not! Be
friendly! :)
EARLY ARRIVER ACTIVITY [9:45-10:00] (begin as soon as children enter; this activity is not
neccessary for ALL children, it just gives the early arrivers something to get started on)
Left and Right
Tape a line down the middle of the room. Remove any obstacles between the line and the walls on each side
of the line. Make sure the kids understand the difference between their left and right. Invite them to stand on
the line and face the leader. The leader will then call out “left” or “right.” The kids must race toward the wall in
the direction that was called out. Any kid who starts the wrong way must sit out a few seconds. To make the
game more interesting, the leader should try to trick the kids. For instance, say “left” while pointing to the right.
Say: “You had to listen and then obey to do the right thing. The Israelites struggled to do that too, so God
sent someone to warn them once again. We’ll talk about that in today’s Bible story.”
ENGAGE ACTIVITY [10:00-10:10] (begin @ 10:00; even if children haven’t finished the Early Arriver Activity;
this sets up the Bible Story for the day)
Kind Word Toss
Invite the kids to form a large circle or form smaller groups. Each group will need a paper wad, ball, or
beanbag. Say something that would be kind or encouraging to do or say, and toss the ball to a kid in the
circle. Invite him to say something he could do that would be kind or encouraging, and toss the ball to
someone else. After a few minutes, vary the game. Invite the kid holding the ball to say something she likes
about one of the kids in the circle, and toss him the ball. Continue playing as time allows.
Say: “God wants us to be kind to others, but the Israelites had a hard time understanding this. God warned
them, but did they listen? We’ll find out in just a few minutes.”
TRANSITION TO LARGE GROUP [10:10]
Note: Please be sure to stay with your class to help children stay focused and listen to the
lesson. Be sure to actively participate with your class. They are looking to you as the
example to follow!
LARGE GROUP BIBLE STORY & WORSHIP [10:10-10:40]
Big Picture Question: How does God deal with sin?
God is gracious and patient, but He will punish sin.

Note: As students come back to the classroom, it is a good time to distribute snack as you
take prayer requests and praises.
PRAYER TIME [10:45-10:55]
Use the class Prayer Journal to write down any prayer requests that the kids might have, as well as any
prayer requests that have been answered! Take time for the kids to praise God in prayer and lift up the
prayer requests mentioned. Allow 1 or 2 students to pray and then pray to close out the time of prayer.
Remember, kids are learning to pray by your example. The importance and energy you put
into prayer will be directly reflected in your class!
BIBLE STORY REVIEW [10:55-11:05]
Encourage the kids to find the Book of Amos in their Bibles. Help them as needed.
Say: “Amos, like all the Minor Prophet books, is located near the end of the Old Testament. These books can
be hard to find because they are usually only a few pages long. There are 12 minor prophets. Can any of you
name some of them?” (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai,
Zechariah, Malachi)
Use the Timeline to show kids today’s Bible story. Review the Bible story provided using the bold text, or
summarize the story in your own words. Show the kids a real plumb line or make one by tying a string at the
top of the pencil. Ask one of the true or false questions below. Encourage kids who think the answer is true to
quickly run and touch any wall. If they think it is false, they must quickly trade seats. Hold the end of the string
and drop the pencil. Tell the kids they have until the pencil stops moving to either change seats or go touch a
wall. Reveal who is correct.
• Amos lived in Israel. (False, he lived in Judah.)
• Amos was a farmer. (true)
• God used Amos to warn Israel. (true)
• The people agreed to turn back to God. (False, they asked Amos to leave.)
• God gave Amos a vision about fruit. (true)
• Amos told the people God was OK with their sin. (False, he told them their sin would be punished.)
• Amos promised that even though they would be punished for their sin, God would one day bless
them again. (true)
Say: “Amos warned the people to seek God, but the people continued to worship other gods and mistreat
each other. They continued to sin. How does God deal with sin? God is gracious and patient, but He will
punish sin.”
“Through visions, God shared with Amos the punishment for their sin. An enemy would destroy their homes
and force them to move away. Many years later, God kept His promise to punish His people for their sin, but
He remained gracious and patient. He sent other prophets to warn the people too. God also left them with a
promise to one day bless His people again through the family of David. We see that blessing through Jesus,
who was part of David’s family.”
Show the Big Picture Question poster.
Say: “Does anyone remember the answer to the Big Picture Question? How does God deal with sin? God
is gracious and patient, but He will punish sin.”
Key Passage: “I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to
anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.”
Jonah 4:2

KEY PASSAGE ACTIVITY [11:05-11:10]
Make sure the Key Passage, Jonah 4:2, is visible for each child. Read the verse together.
Say: “Did God want to punish Israel? No, the verse we just read reminds us that God is loving and patient.
But the people refused to listen to warnings from prophets like Amos. How does God deal with sin? God is
gracious and patient, but He will punish sin. Let’s work on our “warning” voices as we learn the Key
Passage.”
Encourage the kids to say the Key Passage together. Invite them to pretend that they are trying to get
someone’s attention to warn them. Demonstrate how they should start the verse in a soft whisper and slowly
get louder to make sure everyone can hear. Repeat a few times. Then, go from loud to soft.
SINK IN ACTIVITY [11:10-11:20]
Stars
Provide six wooden craft sticks for each kid. Demonstrate how to use three of the sticks to make a triangle.
Overlap the ends and glue them together. Make a second triangle. Explain how to stack and glue the two
completed triangles to form a six-pointed star. Allow the kids to color or paint the stars and tie a piece of yarn
or string through one of the points of the star to hang it.
Say: “You can hang this as a reminder that the same God who created the stars created you to know and
love Him.”
EXTRA ACTIVITY (can be sent home as a fun activity for families to work together if you do not get around to
doing it) There is a Coloring Sheet if you need it, depending on the length of the service.
***THE HANDOFF***
As children are picked up, briefly state one of the things that were talked about in
class today. You can do this by asking the child a question in front of their parent, or
remind them of something they learned. Also, direct parents and kids to the website
for the Family Journal page- a way for parents to lead their kids to know
Christ at home!
Supplies Needed: masking tape, bean bag, plumb line (string at top of pencil), craft sticks, glue,
string