This lesson is targeted for older preschool children, age 4 and age 5 years old. It would serve well as a preschool Sunday School lesson. You could also adapted this lesson plan for other ministry settings. We also have a series of Bible lessons about God targeted for older children.
Bible Passage: Isaiah 40:13-14
Bible Lesson Title: Our God of Wisdom
Target Age Group: 4-5 years old (U.S. preschool & Kindergarten)
Target Time Frame: 30 minutes
Original Teaching Context: Preschool Sunday School
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Knowing God through Isaiah 40: Lesson Four (37 minutes)
Scripture: Isaiah 40:13-14
Exegetical Idea: The Israelites can trust in God’s perfect wisdom in their captivity and deliverance.
Pedagogical Idea: God’s wisdom goes from eternity past to eternity future. No one has ever instructed Him and never shall. We can trust Him to lead us in His perfect wisdom.
Cognitive Aim: Preschoolers will know God has perfect wisdom.
Affective Aim: Preschoolers will trust in God’s wisdom as He carries out His plans in their lives.
Behavioral Aim: Preschoolers will memorize Romans 11:33a.
Memory Verse: Romans 11:33a, “Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God…”
**Before the children arrive, hide the playdough recipe in a simple hiding place. Make sure it is obvious that it is the recipe by drawing or printing a picture of playdough on the top of the paper.
Lesson Overview
- Kindle Curiosity (5 minutes) Description: Begin to help preschoolers understand our lack of perfect wisdom as humans; Supplies: Flour, water, salt, oil, measuring cup, teaspoon, stirring utensil and mxing bowl
- God Revealed (7 minutes) Description: Preschoolers will hear Isaiah 40:13-14 and learn of God’s perfect wisdom; Supplies: Bible
- Personal Pursuit (15 minutes) Description: After making playdough (recipe can be found at the bottom of this lesson), help the preschoolers understand how our knowledge of God’s perfect wisdom allows us to trust Him; Supplies: Playdough recipe, ingredients from Kindle Curiosity
- Daily Knowing (10 minutes) Description: Pray to God together; Review memory verses and memorize Romans 33:11a; Supplies: Soft blanket, notecards
1. Kindle Curiosity (5 minutes)
Gather the children around a table. Have out everything you need to make playdough.
- I have a very important question for each of you…do you know everything? (if they say yes, get specific until they have to say ‘no.’ For example, do you know how to tie your shoe? Do you know how to work a remote control? Do you know how many hairs are on your head?) Continue on to the following question.
- Who here knows the best way to make playdough? Okay, how much flour do we need? How much water? How much salt? You don’t know??? I don’t know either…how can we find out the best way to make some playdough? We could look for a playdough recipe in a book or on the computer…or we could ask someone who has made playdough before.
- There are a lot of things we do not know or know how to do. We have to ask others for help or we have to read books to learn. There are some things you will probably never learn how to do! Did you know that God never has to ask anyone how to do anything? He made this whole world without any help! He knows what to do and how to do it perfectly!
2. God Revealed (7 minutes)
- State: We will be reading Isaiah 40 verses 13 and 14 (show them the numbers, let them see exactly where you will be reading). This is the Bible. It is God’s word. He wrote it, so we know everything in it is true. Can we say that together? (Repeat). Isaiah is going to ask some questions to help the people hearing him understand more about who God is. Let’s turn on our listening ears and turn off our mouths so we can hear something very important about God! Everyone gather close so you can listen really well!
- Read (from your Bible, stated here) Isaiah 40:13-14: “Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord or as His counselor has informed Him? With whom did He consult and who gave Him understanding? And who taught Him knowledge, and informed Him of the way of understanding?” (NASB)
- State: These three questions asked by Isaiah reveal to us that our God has perfect wisdom. Does anyone know what the word wisdom means? (time for answers). When we say that God has perfect wisdom, it means He makes perfect plans and carries out those plans perfectly. He never has to guess at what decision to make or ask anyone what He should do. He always knows what to do, and what He does is always right. Everything God does is done in perfect wisdom.
3. Personal Pursuit (15 minutes)
- State: Let’s see if we can find a playdough recipe. I think there is one hidden somewhere in our room…(Allow everyone to get up and search for the playdough recipe. After finding it, return to the table and begin making the playdough. Allow each child to participate in making it). We had to find this recipe in order to make this playdough. We do not know everything or how to do everything. But God in His perfect wisdom never has to ask for help or learn anything new. He already knows everything! He has always known everything and He always will.
- As they are playing with their playdough, state: Just as we are forming things out of this playdough, God formed us in His perfect wisdom. Just as He formed us in His perfect wisdom, God also has planned out our entire lives in His perfect wisdom (Psalm 139:16). This means that God knows everything that is going to happen in your life tomorrow (name specific kids in the class). In fact, He knows everything that has happened in your life and everything that is going to happen, from the time that you were a little baby until you are as old as your grandmas and grandpas!
- State: The knowledge of God’s perfect wisdom should allow us to put our faith in Him completely for our present and our future. He has planned everyday of our lives in His perfect wisdom. We learned a couple of weeks ago that God is our Shepherd. What are some things a Shepherd does for his sheep? (time for answers) Do you think God takes good care of His sheep? How? (time for answers and thoughts).
- State: We do not have to worry about what is going to happen, because we know that God our good Shepherd who loves us sees and has planned everything that is happening in our lives. So even when bad things happen to us, we can know that our Good Shepherd sees it and in His perfect wisdom has planned it out! We can trust in Him and His wisdom. (Begin cleaning up the playdough and transition to next section).
4. Daily Knowing (10 minutes)
- Lead them all to sit in a circle on the soft blanket. State: We can pray everyday thanking God for what we know about Him. Today we learned that God has perfect wisdom and we do not. God will help us to have wisdom if we ask Him, though His will always be greater than ours. Let’s pray to Him now, praising Him for His perfect wisdom and asking Him to help us be wise. (Allow children to express their prayers to God creatively, wondrously, and however they would like!)
- Review Isaiah 40:8, Psalm 23:1, and Isaiah 40:10a with the children using hand motion prompts.
- State: Remember, it is important for us to learn God’s word because that is how we come to know Him more. Today we have come to know God has perfect wisdom. Let’s see if we can come up with hand motions for Romans 11:33, “Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and the knowledge of God…”
- Make sure you review with them the next week or when you have encounters during the week one-on-one.
- Encourage them to share this verse with their parents when they pick them up so their parents will be able to help them practice at home. Provide each parent with a notecard that has Isaiah 40:10a written on it*.
*If some children do not have parents who are believers, make a special effort to encourage them in every time you see them in their scripture memorization and pursuit of God.
No-Cooking-Involved Play-doh
- 2 c. flour
- 1 c. salt
- 1 c. water
- 1 tsp. oil
Add water and oil to dry ingredients. Mix well. Note: This play dough will harden when air dried.