Here is a Sunday school Bible lesson to teach the book of Ruth. Since this is one of the longer lessons in the Bible, I am offering this simplified version for you to use with your 6-8 year olds. The discussions and activities are well received by them and reinforce the message.
Bible Story:
Tell the story of Ruth in a simplified version that the students will understand. It is an entire book of the Bible, a simplified version of the book of Ruth is as follows:
Once upon a time a mother named Naomi and her daughter-in-law named Ruth, moved together back to Naomi’s home town of Bethlehem to be near family. They had to walk a long way to get there because they lived in the country of Moab. Ruth had never been there before so she wanted to stay with her mother-in-law because she loved her. They didn’t have their husbands anymore and they needed to gather their own food. Ruth asked Naomi if she could work in the fields to gather barley. Naomi said yes and Ruth continued to work everyday. The fields grew wheat and she learned to pick that too. She was a good worker and the owner of the fields was a good man who loved God. (Who knows what you can make to eat out of wheat and barely?) The man who owned the fields was named Boaz. He took care of Ruth and grew to love her. They got married and had a baby. Naomi became a happy grandma. The baby boy was named Obed. God showed Naomi and Ruth how much he loved them and blessed them with a new family to live with and love. Lots of years later, baby Jesus was born from that same family line. God was very happy that Ruth was a good daughter.
(Ruth 1:16b is the focus verse) “Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.”
Discussion: being a good daughter/son
Ruth was a good daughter because she followed Naomi and worked hard. How are you a good daughter/son? Why does that make God happy? You are a child of God too. When you make your mom and dad happy, you are being a good child of God too!
Activity:
Make a tree with empty branches and several leaves for each child. On the trunk, write the words Thank you God for . . . Have the children fill in leaves with names of their family members and glue to the branches. Have the students share how special their family is and how they are a good member of the family.
Game:
Pick a leader to be Naomi and lead the class over, under, and around the classroom. They can pretend to travel to Bethlehem from Moab. If time allows, take turns as Naomi.
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