Isn’t it fun to shout “Hallelujah!”? Praising the Lord with loving abandon is a pretty wonderful experience. Preschoolers love to be loud, so why not teach them how to shout for Jesus while learning the super verse found in Isaiah 35:10 that says, “They will come into Zion with singing. Everlasting joy will crown their heads.” Joy and joy will overtake them and sorrow and groaning will flee.” This verse speaks of the future of every child of God. The word Zion is often used as an alternative term for Heaven, where songs of praise to God will abound and sorrow and groaning will be absent. That deserves a “Hallelujah!” Here is a fun Bible school activity to help your preschoolers learn this truth. I call it “Hallelujah Buttons”.
Here what you do:
For this game, you will need to prepare a “Hallelujah Button” for each child in your class. You can easily do this by taking paper plates and then writing “Hallelujah” colorfully in the center. You will also need to prepare 4 copies of each of the following objects: a musical note, a crown, a smiley face, and a crying child with a line through it. I suggest you laminate these for long term use. Shuffle the pictures and place them face down on a table or hang them on a wall with which the children will try to make matches. Finally, prepare a scripture chart that includes smaller versions of the pictures along with the words of the verse, as suggested here:
They will enter Zion with singing (Place musical note here.)
Everlasting joy will crown (place crown here) your heads
Joy and joy (place smiley face here) will overtake them
And the pain and the sigh (place the image of “not crying” here) will flee
Now you are ready to play the game.
This is how to play:
Have all of your children sit Indian-style in a circle and place a “Hallelujah Button” in front of each one. Ask a child to try to make a pair by flipping over 2 cards placed on the table. As the child does this, recite Isaiah 35:10 with all of his children while holding the scripture chart. After saying the verse, ask the class, “(Tabitha) made a couple?” If the answer is “yes”, all the children must hit their “hallelujah buttons” while shouting “Hallelujah!” If no match was made, say “Oh well, I’d better match next time.” Choose a new child to try to make another pair and play the same way each time until all the cards have been turned over.
Before playing this Bible school activity, you can introduce the lesson as follows:
On the count of three, I want everyone to yell, “Hallelujah!” (Wait for response.) Good job. Let’s say it again… and again. (Wait for response.) Hallelujah means Praise the Lord and there is much to praise God for or be thankful for. We can be especially happy and thankful that one day we will be able to live in Heaven with God forever. Heaven will be filled with songs, joy and absolutely no tears. That’s what Isaiah 35:10 says. Let’s all say it together. I’ll say a few words first and then you’ll repeat after me. (Say the verse while holding up the scripture chart.) Let’s make a fun game to help us learn more about this great Bible verse. It’s called “Hallelujah Buttons.”