In this post we share some great Moses Sunday School Games. Moses is one of the most popular figures in the Bible and so he makes quite a crucial individual feature in your kids ministry curriculum! We want our children to know who Moses was, what he did, and what we can learn from his life. This post will offer some Moses Sunday school games and activities that will help you teach about this significant Bible figure.
Overview of major events in the life of Moses for Sunday school teachers
Throughout the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, we find the fascinating story of Moses. Moses did many amazing things – countless in fact, like getting water from a rock and bread from the sky…
But there are six major events in Moses’ life that the kids in your church or community definitely need to know about!
Moses was adopted by Egyptian royalty and grew up with them. You might vaguely remember a story about a baby in a reed basket, found in the river by a princess – that’s Moses!
God called Moses by speaking from a burning bush. God commanded him to take off his shoes because they were on holy ground. Then, God told Moses about His purposes for him
Moses responds to God’s call and goes to the Pharoah, telling him to free God’s people. When the Pharoah does not listen, plagues ensue that are all kinds of terrible for all the people.
The Pharoah decides to let the people go. But after setting them free, he still sends his army after them. Moses and God’s people get to the Red Sea, which God opens for them.
God’s people didn’t know how to live. They kept dishonoring God. At Mount Sinai, Moses has a unique encounter where God gives him instructions for life to write down.
God promised the people to bring them to a new land with milk and honey. Moses leads the people through the wilderness to this promised place, but he does not get to enter it himself.
photographer_tim_wildsmith_unsplash
Now that we’ve refreshed our memory, let’s get right into the activities and games that you can use at Sunday School or church to teach kids about Moses. Here are some good Old Testament Sunday School lesson plans that will make your life easier.
Memory verse: Exodus 2:10 “She named him Moses because she had pulled him from the water.“
Activity/game for Sunday school:
Read the Bible story of Moses referenced above to the group. Divide the kids into small groups. Let each group perform a skit with the characters: pharaoh’s daughter, moses’ mother, hebrew girl, and the king.
You can make this Bible lesson funny by adding costume props our sound effects.
Decide if you will be the narrator or if the kids will tell the story while they act it out.
Another way to engage with this story is by simply doing a coloring picture or craft related to the story of baby Moses in the basket on the river.
The punch line: God always makes a way!
2: The burning bush and Moses
Scripture to reference: Exodus 3
Memory verse: Exodus 3:5 “Don’t come any closer. Take off your sandals. You are standing on holy ground.”
Activity/game for Sunday school:
Get something in class to be the burning bush for these engaging activities – like the trashcan or a chair. All the kids will run towards the burning bush, quickly take off their shoes, and then run back.
A teacher or volunteer will go and shuffle the shoes so that they are all mixed up. When you say “Go!” or blow a whistle again, the kids need to run forward, find, and put on their shoes as fast as they can.
You might need to prepare younger kids with exactly how this game will work, otherwise they might burst into tears when they cannot find their shoes!
The punch line: God’s presence is holy!
3: The Egyptian pharaoh, Moses and the plagues
Scripture to reference: Exodus 7:1 – 12:30
Memory verse: Exodus 7:3 “I will do many miracles in Egypt to prove who I am.”
Activity/game for Sunday school:
*Since the plagues are quite yucky and even gruesome, for younger children I’d suggest using one of the other Moses bible lessons here…
So, for older kids… Play something similar to Plagues Bible bingo – You are going to prepare cards with pictures and words for each of the plagues. For example: a photo of a frog and the word ‘frogs’. The cards are handed out randomly. There’s a limited amount of time to find the person with the card that matches theirs. When they find each other, they have to yell “Bingo!”.
The punch line: God is great and powerful!
photographer_yannis_h_unsplash
4: The Red Sea and Moses
Scripture to reference: Exodus 14:5-18
Memory verse: Exodus 14:13 “You will not have to do anything but stay calm. The Lord will do the fighting for you.”
Activity/game for Sunday school:
A fun game for the red sea is having all the kids huddle together. One gets to be Moses and say “split”, then the sea needs to open. That’s very simple, but young kids might enjoy just that.
For older kids (middle school) one group can be the Israelites that passes through successfully and another can be the Pharaoh’s army that then gets caught in the Red Sea. The kids playing the sea will close in on them again and wrestle (gently) a bit.
Another option is going outside to a sandpit or something similar. Throw a bottle of water out so that a puddle forms and ask them to find a way for the Israelites to cross on dry ground. They can use more sand, wood, leaves, etc.
The punch line: God will protect us!
5: The Ten Commandments given to Moses
Scripture to reference: Exodus 20:1-17
Memory verse: Exodus 20:20 “Don’t be afraid! God has come to test you. He wants you to respect him so that you will not sin.“
Activity/game for Sunday school:
Do a relay race where the team has the objective of putting the 10 commandments in the correct order. You can print photos (png files) or word cards depending on the age group you’re working with.
For younger kids, you can start with 2 and add a new item whenever they get it right. This is a Christian kids activity that can be lots of fun.
Separate games ideas: For high school students or family game nights, the 10 commandments can be acted out using charades or even dictionary!
The punch line: God teaches us how to live!
6: The Promised Land and Moses
Scripture to reference: Deuteronomy 3:23-28
Memory verse: Exodus 3:12 “You can do it because I will be with you.”
Activity/game for Sunday school:
A fun Bible crafts idea here is to hand out pieces of paper and have the kids create a family tree. They can add a title: My promised land. Their homework is to go home and find out any promises that God has spoken to their family.
(Tip: If there aren’t clear promises, find out the dreams your family members had, the good things they did, or the meaning of their names…).
You can also do a digital download of a family tree outline and have the kids write names into the allocated spaces. For this game activity, you can check in with them the following week.
*It’s actually a great way to gain insight into kids’ home situations without being nosy – which enables you to guide their spiritual journey better.
The punch line: God keeps His promises!
Final note for the teacher or Sunday school facilitator
photographer_chris_liu_unsplash
In the process of faith formation, it is important to develop critical thinking in the children we are discipling. They don’t need to hear the Bible like ancient history or just parrot it like vocabulary words – for the optimal experience so that the Word might take root in their hearts, they need to see the Bible come to life.
The Bible story of baby Moses has little significance if it misses the punch line: God’s love. For each of the six Bible stories above, we’ve included a punch line. That is the one thing we want kids to remember when they go home.
In the end, ministry with young hearts is not about fun games or cool activities, it is about the spiritual growth that happens along the way.
Eljoh Hartzer is combining theology and art to nurture faith journeys across generations. She is a Masters-level Practical Theologian with the University of Stellenbosch. She is also a writer and editor in the niche of Christianity and children's content and she illustrates children's books. Eljoh resides in the Swartland area in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
You can follow Eljoh on LinkedIn or Instagram.
