COME, FOLLOW ME Activities to Make Learning Fun!
Old Testament LESSON 30
Here are Instant COME FOLLOW ME Activities for JULY (week #4) Theme: “I Am Doing a Great Work” Ezra 1; 3-7; Nehemiah 2; 4-7; 8
You’ll find our popular SCRIPTURE SCHOLARS to get them reading.
Then scroll down to find COME FOLLOW ME lesson-match activities and song visuals for this week’s lesson theme. There are tons of fun lesson plans that even KIDS CAN TEACH.
OLD TESTAMENT Ezra 1; 3-7; Nehemiah 2; 4-7; 8
JULY (week 4)
Lesson 30: JULY 18-24, 2022
“I Am Doing a Great Work”
Discussion Topics (activities below) ⇓
PRIMARY – HOME
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• The temple can bring me joy.
• The Lord will strengthen me to do “a great work.”
• I am blessed when I study the scriptures.
INDIVIDUALS & FAMILIES
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• The Lord inspires people to bring about His purposes.
• Temples bring me joy.
• I can help the work of God advance despite opposition.
• I am blessed when I study the scriptures.
TEENS
See our new SUNDAY SCHOOL interactive activities for this month RIGHT HERE
Lesson 30 Scripture Scholars
Week’s Scripture Scholars BOOKMARKS & scripture POP-UP Includes:
• BOOKMARKS with Come, Follow Me scriptures to read and discuss topics for Primary and Individuals and Families. Also, for Sunday School (teens).
• POP-UP to glue in scripture binding next to scripture you underline.
EXTRA ITEMS (not included) … THERE’S MORE:
• STAMP. Award readers with a STAMP for the week’s scripture reading. See below to find matching STAMPS.
• STAMP KEEPER. These can be placed on the STAMP KEEPER (see below) where you can collect 50 stamps for the year
Lessons 27-31 Scripture Scholars
July’s BUNDLE of BOOKMARKS, POP-UPs, and STAMPS. Glue STAMPS onto the STAMP KEEPER (to download separately, below).
JULY STAMPS $1.50
Stamps for weeks 1-5 Scripture Scholars Lessons 27-31 – Included in the BUNDLE
STAMP KEEPER (1-52 stamps) $3.00
This is included in the January BUNDLE (or, download it below)
. . . 3 LESSONS & 30 ACTIVITIES . . .
Step 1 CHOOSE LESSON
Step 2 CHOOSE ACTIVITY
Step 3 CLICK ON POSTER
Step 4 DOWNLOAD ACTIVITY
GO TO OUR BUNDLES FOR THIS MONTH TO SAVE $
SUMMARY: The Jewish people had been held captive in Babylonia for about 70 years. They had lost Jerusalem and the temple, and many had forgotten their commitment to God’s law. But God had not forgotten them. In fact, He had declared through His prophet, “I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return” (Jeremiah 29:10). True to this prophecy, the Lord did make a way for the Jews to return, and He raised up servants who accomplished “a great work” for His people (Nehemiah 6:3). These servants included a governor named Zerubbabel, who oversaw the rebuilding of the house of the Lord; Ezra, a priest and scribe who turned the hearts of the people back to the Lord’s law; and Nehemiah, a later governor of Judah who led the work of rebuilding the protective walls around Jerusalem. They met opposition, of course, but also received assistance from unexpected sources. Their experiences can inform and inspire ours, because we too are doing a great work. And like theirs, our work has much to do with the house of the Lord, the law of the Lord, and the spiritual protection we find in Him.
. . . TIME FOR TEMPLE JOY . . .
The temple can bring me joy.
The account of Zerubbabel and the Jews rebuilding the temple can help the children you teach rejoice in the blessings that come because of the house of the Lord.
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Invite the children to talk about something that makes them happy. Show a picture of someone smiling in front of a temple (such as the picture in this outline), and ask the children why the person might be so happy. Testify that the temple is the Lord’s house, and tell about a time when you felt happy because of the temple.
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Read to the children the last part of Ezra 3:12, explaining that when the Jews laid the foundation of the temple, “many shouted aloud for joy.” Invite the children to shout for joy. Help them think of reasons we can be joyful about the temple. For example, in the temple we make promises with God that allow our families to be together forever.
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Invite the children to work together to find phrases in Ezra 3:10–13 that show how the Jews felt when the temple in Jerusalem was being rebuilt. How can we show our joy at having temples on the earth today? Help the children think of ways they can prepare to go to the temple.
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Share with the children your feelings about the temple. How has the temple helped you feel closer to Heavenly Father and the Savior? Why do we celebrate when a temple is dedicated? Give the children time to write down how they feel about the temple, and encourage them to share what they wrote with their families.
Sing with the children a song about the temple, such as “I Love to See the Temple” (Children’s Songbook, 95). After each line, pause to ask a child to share something he or she loves about the temple.
DOWNLOAD I Love to See the Temple song visuals (HERE or below)OLDER CHILDREN/YOUTH
The temple gives me reason to rejoice.
As you review with the children the account of Zerubbabel and the Jews rebuilding the temple, find ways to testify of the joy that comes to us because we have temples today.
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Invite the children to work together to find phrases in Ezra 3:10–13 that show how the Jews felt when the temple in Jerusalem was being rebuilt. How can we show our joy at having temples on the earth today? Help the children think of ways they can prepare to go to the temple.
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Share with the children your feelings about the temple. How has the temple helped you feel closer to Heavenly Father and the Savior? Why do we celebrate when a temple is dedicated? Give the children time to write down how they feel about the temple, and encourage them to share what they wrote with their families.
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DOWNLOAD lesson-match activities and song visuals (below)
ALL AGES
AGES 1-5
AGES 4-7
AGES 8-11
TEENS
ALL AGES
ALL AGES
ALL AGES
ALL AGES
ALL AGES
. . . DOING A GREAT WORK . . .
The Lord will help me do His work.
When Nehemiah was repairing the walls surrounding Jerusalem, his enemies tried to get him to stop, but he remained faithful to his task. What are some important things the Lord wants the children to do, and how can you inspire them to be faithful to that work?
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Share with the children the story of Nehemiah (see Nehemiah 2:17–20; 6:1–9; Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “We Are Doing a Great Work and Cannot Come Down,” Ensign or Liahona, May 2009, 59–62). Tell the children what Nehemiah said when people made fun of him for wanting to fix Jerusalem’s walls: “The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build” (Nehemiah 2:20). Invite the children to stand up and pretend to help fix the walls of Jerusalem.
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Bring some blocks to class, and let the children use them to help you build a wall (or draw a wall on the board). Help the children think of some important things Heavenly Father might ask them to do, like learning how to read the scriptures. With each idea they share, invite them to add a block to the wall. Explain that when Nehemiah was doing his important work of fixing Jerusalem’s walls, people tried to stop him. Read Nehemiah 6:9, and invite the children to raise their hands when you read “strengthen my hands.” Tell the children about a time when you felt God strengthen your hands to do His work.
Nehemiah 2; 4; 6
The Lord will strengthen me to do “a great work.”
The Lord has an important work for the children you teach. What can they learn from Nehemiah about persevering in that work even when they face opposition?
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Review with the children the story about Nehemiah repairing the walls surrounding Jerusalem, including the opposition he faced. Read together Nehemiah 2:19, and ask the children to share situations in which someone might laugh at us for doing the right thing. According to Nehemiah 2:20, how did Nehemiah respond? How can we respond when people make fun of us or criticize us for doing the right thing?
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Read together Nehemiah 6:1–9. How did Nehemiah’s enemies repeatedly try to get him to stop working on the wall, and how did he respond? What work does God want us to do? (see, for example, Mosiah 18:8–10). How can we follow Nehemiah’s example in verse 9 when it’s difficult to do what God has asked us to do?
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DOWNLOAD lesson-match activities and song visuals (below)
Service
ALL AGES
AGES 1-5
AGES 4-7
Friend Peer Pressure
AGES 8-11
Prepare to do a great work
TEENS
Do the Lord’s work
ALL AGES
Friend Peer Pressure
ALL AGES
ALL AGES
ALL AGES
Do the Lord’s work
ALL AGES
. . . SCRIPTURES TEACH US THE GOSPEL OF JESUS . . .
The scriptures are a blessing.
You can use the story of Ezra reading the law to help the children think about how blessed we are to have the scriptures.
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Tell the children that Ezra read the scriptures to the people. Read aloud some phrases from Nehemiah 8:2–3, 5–6, 8–9, 12 that describe what the people did when they heard the scriptures, and invite the children to act out these phrases. Why are we grateful to have the scriptures?
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Invite the children to share with the children how reading the scriptures has brought them closer to the Savior.
I am blessed when I study the scriptures.
The people in Jerusalem hadn’t heard the words of God in a long time before Ezra read them to the people. The story of Ezra reminds us of how important the scriptures should be to us.
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Invite the children to search Nehemiah 8:1–12 for words or phrases that show how the people felt about hearing the word of God. Ask the children to share how they feel when they read the scriptures, and share your feelings as well.
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Invite a child to read Nehemiah 8:8, and ask the children what helps them understand the scriptures. Show them how to use scripture study aids such as the Guide to the Scriptures and Gospel Topics (ChurchofJesusChrist.org). Invite the children to share something they have learned about the Savior from the scriptures.
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DOWNLOAD lesson-match activities and song visuals (below)
ALL AGES
AGES 1-5
AGES 4-7
AGES 8-11
TEENS
ALL AGES
ALL AGES
ALL AGES
ALL AGES
ALL AGES
SUMMARY OF SUBJECTS FOR:
OLD TESTAMENT – Ezra; Nehemiah
JULY (week 4)
Lesson 30: July 18-24, 2022
“I Am Doing a Great Work”
