Moses and the Burning Bush, by Harry Anderson

March 21–27

Exodus 1–6

“I Have Remembered My Covenant”

Start your preparation to teach by reading Exodus 1–6. This week’s outline in Come, Follow Me—For Individuals and Families can help you understand these chapters, and this outline can give you teaching ideas.

Record Your Impressions

Invite Sharing

Show several objects that relate to the accounts in these chapters—for example, a large basket or a baby doll. Invite the children to use these objects to share their favorite parts of Moses’s story.

Teach the Doctrine: Younger Children

Exodus 1–2

God can work through me to fulfill His purposes.

Moses had a major role in freeing Israel from bondage. But he wouldn’t have been able to accomplish this if his mother, his sister, Pharaoh’s daughter, and other faithful women hadn’t protected and cared for him.

Possible Activities

• Use this week’s activity page and “Baby Moses” (in Old Testament Stories) to tell the children how Jochebed (Moses’s mother), Miriam (his sister), and Pharaoh’s daughter cared for Moses. Emphasize that because of these and other faithful women, Moses was kept safe and would one day lead the children of Israel to safety. Invite the children to draw a picture of people who care for them.

  

  Moses in the Bulrushes, © Providence Collection/licensed from goodsalt.com

• Sing together a song about service, such as “‘Give,’ Said the Little Stream” (Children’s Songbook, 236). Help the children think of simple things they can do to help others at home, at church, and at school.

Exodus 3

Jesus will help me do good things.

Moses worried about whether he could deliver the Israelites from Egypt. But the Lord promised that He would help Moses. Help the children gain faith that the Savior will help them too.

Possible Activities

• Tell the children about how the Lord gave Moses an important job to do. Read selected verses from Exodus 3, or read “Moses the Prophet” (in Old Testament Stories). Share how Moses felt (see Exodus 3:6, 11) and what the Lord told him (see verses 12 and 14). Invite the children to repeat with you the phrase “Certainly I will be with thee,” and share a time when the Lord was with you when you had something important to do for Him.

• Help the children think of situations when they might be asked to do something that seems hard. Explain that just as Jesus helped Moses, Jesus will also help them. Sing a song about how Jesus helps us, such as “I Will Walk with Jesus” (ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Testify that the Savior will help us when we are worried or scared.

• Cut out paper hearts and write on them ways the Lord helps the children. Place the hearts facedown on the floor. Invite children to take turns choosing hearts, and help them read what is written on them.

Exodus 3:1–5

I can be reverent in holy places.

Use the story of Moses and the burning bush to help the children understand why we treat sacred things with reverence.

Possible Activities

• Read Exodus 3:1–5, and explain that Moses showed reverence by removing his shoes. What do we do to show reverence at church? Sing a song about reverence, such as “Reverence Is Love” (Children’s Songbook, 31). Help the children identify words in the song that teach us how we show reverence. Why does the Lord want us to be reverent?

• Show some pictures of situations where we should be reverent and some where we don’t need to be reverent, such as a sacrament meeting, a prayer, a park, and a birthday party. Ask the children to sort the pictures to show where we should be reverent.

• Invite the children to draw pictures of themselves, and point to their pictures as you discuss ways they can be reverent with different parts of their bodies, such as with their eyes, ears, mouths, hands, and feet.

Teach the Doctrine: Older Children

Exodus 1–2

God works through each of us to fulfill His purposes.

Many people helped fulfill God’s purposes by preserving the life of young Moses. How can you help the children you teach understand the vital role we all play in fulfilling God’s will?

Possible Activities

• Invite the children to share what they know about Moses when he was a baby. Use this week’s activity page and Exodus 1:22; 2:1–10 to summarize the story of Moses’s childhood. Read the scripture references on the activity page, and ask the children what each of the women did to preserve Moses’s life.

• Tell the children about people you admire because of their faithfulness in serving God and those around them, even when they serve in small ways. Invite the children to talk about people they know who have faithfully served God and others. What is our part in God’s work?

Exodus 3–4

The Lord will help me accomplish His will.

Moses felt inadequate for his calling, but the Lord promised He would be with Moses and help him. How might this account inspire the children you teach?

Possible Activities

• Using the account in Exodus 3; 4:1–17, let the children take turns pretending to be Moses. If possible, bring props for them to use, such as a flashlight and a plant to represent the burning bush.

• Ask the children to read Exodus 3:11; 4:1, 10 and find out how Moses felt about asking Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. When have they had similar feelings? What advice would the children share with Moses to help him? Help them discover how the Lord encouraged Moses (see Exodus 3:12; 4:2–9, 11–12).

• Share an experience when you felt God was helping you fulfill a calling or serve Him in some way. Invite the children to share a time when the Lord helped them.

Exodus 3:1–5

I can be reverent in holy places.

The Lord asked Moses to remove his shoes at the burning bush as a sign of respect and reverence. How can you use this account to teach the children about reverence?

Possible Activities

• Read Exodus 3:1–5, and ask the children to summarize these verses in their own words. What can we do to show reverence in holy places, such as at church or in the temple? Help the children create “reverence bags” to take home that contain strips of paper with ideas about how to be reverent. Invite them to share these ideas with their families.

• Sing together a song about reverence, such as “Reverence Is Love” (Children’s Songbook, 31), and ask each child to write and share a definition of reverence based on the lyrics.

• Use the picture Jesus Cleansing the Temple (Gospel Art Book, no. 51) to tell the story in Matthew 21:12–13. How was Moses’s attitude in Exodus 3:1–5 different from the moneychangers’ attitude? Why does the Savior want us to treat sacred things with reverence?

Encourage Learning at Home

To help the children share what they learned from Exodus 1–6, encourage them to draw a picture of one of the people they learned about in class to share with their family.

Improving Our Teaching

Children benefit from repetition. Don’t be afraid to repeat activities multiple times, especially with younger children. This will help the children remember what you teach.