Abraham and Sarah
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Story Workshop
TEACHER INFORMATION BOX
(All of the following information will be taught in the opening time, but can be repeated in workshops)
Topic: Abraham and Sarah
Goals:
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Identify Abraham and Sarah as Jewish/Old Testament stories
Identify the promises God made to Abraham and Sarah: land and many descendants
Identify how Abraham and Sarah showed their faith in God
Identify Israel as the descendants of Abraham
Articulate the meaning of hospitality and identify it as a Christian value
Articulate ways they can show hospitality in the church, home and school
Main Idea: God makes a covenant (promise) with Abram, promising to make Abram’s descendants into a great nation
but he will have to leave his home in Ur and move to Canaan. Abram agrees to leave his home with his wife, Sarai, and
his nephew, Lot, to the land of Canaan that God has promised to give to Abram’s descendants. Abram’s descendants,
God promises, will be as numerous as the stars in the sky and as numerous as the grains of sand. God renames Abram
“Abraham,” meaning “father of many,” and gives Sarai a new name, “Sarah.” However, there was a problem-Sarah
cannot become pregnant. Even though God promised Abraham a son, many years pass without a son. One day, God
appears to Abraham in the form of three men. Abraham and Sarah welcome the three strangers into their home with
warm hospitality. The three men say that Sarah will have a son, but Sarah, who is now ninety years old, laughs. A year
later, Sarah did have a son. She and Abraham named him Isaac, which means "he laughs."
Bible Story: Genesis 12: 1-9; 15: 1-12, 17-18; 17: 1-7, 15-16; 18:1-15; 21:1-7
Memory Verse: “I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is
on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of their enemies.” Genesis 22:17
---LESSON STARTS HERE--All materials are located in the classroom. Time limits are suggestions.
Just get through as much as you can!
Activity #1: Room on the Broom (10 min) All Ages
**Materials needed: Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson
1. As kids enter, ask each their name, and introduce yourself. Ask, “What did you do in in the opening time today?
(Allow time for answers)
2. Say, “We have been learning that Abraham and Sarah were welcoming and kind to strangers. What is the
word that starts with “H” that means to be opening and welcome? (Hospitality!) Today we are going to read
the story, Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson to think more about the power of hospitality. Based on
the cover, do you think this witch is a good witch or a bad witch and why? Let them answer and encourage
all answers)
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3. Read slowly, changing voices for each animal. Point to each word as it is said. Make sure each child can see the
pictures
4. Ask: (Let them answer and encourage all answers)
a. Someone summarize the story for us.
b. Was the witch in the story good or bad? Tell me why.
c. What was your favorite part of the story?
d. What was your least favorite part of the story?
e. Tell me about a character in the book you remember.
f. What do you imagine happened after the book ends?
g. Where do you see hospitality in this story?
h. How did Abraham and Sarah show hospitality? (They shared a meal with strangers)
Activity #2: Make an Audio Book! (15 min) All Ages
**Materials needed: technology item that can record voices and connect to internet (laptop, tablet, cell phone, etc.)
1. Say, “When Abraham and Sarah were alive, they did not learn stories the way we do today. People did not
write anything down, rather they told each other stories. This is called Oral Tradition. Today, stories are still
told by people telling them. Let’s listen to an audiobook version of Room on the Broom. Close your eyes as
we listen to the story and imagine you are on the broom. Pay close attention to how this sounds, because
we will make an audiobook of our own!”
2. Listen to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FttAmTFbNtw
3. Say, “Now we are going to record our own version of the story. Let’s work together to figure out how to
make this sound great! We will only have one take, so we need to be a team that works together!”
Encourage creativity with voices and sound effects!
a. Older Children: Divide the book either by page or by character depending on class size. Hit Record on
device and go for it! When done, save clip on device.
b. Younger Children: Depending on reading ability you can have the kids do sound effects as you read the
story or you could assign each child a page, and they can make up the words the pictures make them
imagine! When done, save clip on device.
4. Say, “This is so wonderful! We will send this clip to your parents and you can listen to the story together!”
Activity #3: Character Feelings (5 min) All Ages
**Materials needed: Copies of Cat, Witch, and My Feelings Handout, coloring utensils
1. Say, “When we listen to stories, our feelings change. This is same for any story. Feelings are really
important to all of us. Everyone has feelings and they are all important! This story made me have many
different feelings. I am curious what you felt. Let’s look at these sheets to describe the cat, the witch, and
our feelings. You can pick which one you would like to work on.”
2. Depending on time, children may do more than one.
3. Say, “In the story of Abraham and Sarah they had many different emotions throughout their journey. What
do you imagine Abraham and Sarah felt when…
a. God told them they had to move away from their home
b. God told them they would have a baby
c. They welcomed people to their home.
Activity #4: Closing Prayer (5 min) All Ages – PRAY BEFORE PARENT PICKUP
1. After cleaning up, have the kids hold hands to pray together. Ask for a volunteer to close our time in prayer. If no
one volunteers say: “Dear God, thank you for our time together today at church. We are very thankful to have
Abraham and Sarah
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technology to help us learn. We are also thankful for all the different feelings we have. Be with us this week
as we try to show hospitality like Abraham and Sarah.
2. PLEASE NOTE: On September 7th, you will be dismissed from class by a CE person at around 10:45am for
communion. Please try to be finished up by then!
Extra Time: Story Cubes (10 min) All Ages
**Materials needed: Story cube game
1. After praying, get Story Cubes. Say, “With our extra time, let’s play Story Cubes. This game reminds me about
Oral Tradition, which is how stories were passed on during the time of Abraham and Sarah. Everyone will
roll a dice. Use the picture to start or continue a story.” Additional rules are in game bag.
2. Also see Extra Activities Printout in Binder front cover!