Lesson 4: A Big Promise From a Big God

Distribute name tags and snacks. Choose one of the following activities to do together while children eat their snack.

Collect prayer requests from the students. The leader or a student can pray for the entire group, or a leader can pair up students and invite them to pray for one another.

• “Has there ever been a time when you had to follow directions without knowing exactly what would happen?
• “How did you feel when you didn’t know what it would be like?”
• “Did you find it easy or hard to trust the person giving the directions? Why?”

“Today, we’re going to learn about someone named Abraham who went on a big journey because God asked him to, and he trusted God to take care of him along the way. To help us learn more about how that was for Abraham, we will do an activity.”

Objective: To introduce the idea of trusting God’s promises even when we can’t see the outcome.

Materials: Blindfolds

Instructions: Clear a path across the room. Choose a volunteer and tie the blindfold to cover their eyes.

Give verbal instructions (or choose a partner) to guide the blindfolded student across the room safely.

Once they finish, discuss:

• “How did you feel when you couldn’t see where you were going?”
• “What helped you trust your guide?”

“Just like you had to trust your guide, Abraham trusted God even when he didn’t know where he was going. Let’s find out what God promised him and how Abraham trusted God’s plan.”

Welcome the students to Crossroads and tell them you are glad they came this week.

Set expectations for students using the 3 R’s of Respect:

To help engage the kids from the start, there are a few optional ways to kick things off. Feel free to choose one, two, or even all of these ideas—it is completely up to you!

(Consider asking students to pray for something God created that they are thankful for like pets, trees, mountains, lakes or oceans, sky, etc.).

Tell kids that closing their eyes and folding their hands together can help keep them focused and not distract those around them.

• “Have you ever made a promise to someone?”
• “Was it hard to keep? Why or why not?” (Allow a few kids to respond).

“Today, we’re learning about a man named Abraham. He lived in a city called Ur and had a comfortable life with his family. But one day, God made Abraham a big promise—and asked him to do something hard. Let’s learn about that promise together.”

“You’re going to follow me as we imagine what it might have been like for Abraham to leave everything and follow God. When I move, you move. When I stop, you stop. Let’s go!”

(Begin walking slowly around the room, stopping occasionally to make the journey feel longer and more meaningful. As you go, narrate like this:)

“Abraham didn’t know where he was going… but he obeyed.
He left his home, his friends, and everything he knew.
The journey was long… dusty… and full of unknowns.
But he trusted that God had a plan.”

(After a few turns or laps, return to the front and have everyone sit.)

Read Genesis 12:1–4 aloud:
“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation… All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”

Ask:

• “How do you think Abraham felt about leaving his home?”
• “Would it be easy for you to leave everything behind without knowing where you’re going?”

(Optional: Show the map and describe the long journey from Ur to Canaan—about 1,000 miles!)

“Later, God made the promise even bigger. He said Abraham would have a huge family—more than he could count!”

Read Genesis 15:4–6 aloud.

“Then the Lord said to him, ‘No, your servant will not be your heir, for you will have a son of your own who will be your heir.’ Then the Lord took Abram outside and said to him, “Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have!”
And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.”

“Even though Abraham didn’t have any kids yet, he believed God. That’s called faith—trusting God, even when you don’t see the full picture.”

Invite a student to come up and give them the small prize.

Say: “I wanted to bless you with something special today.”

Ask:

• “Do you trust me?”
• “Would you be willing to give me back that prize for something else—even though you don’t know what it is?”
• “Encourage the student to trust you. If they decide to trade, take back the small prize and reveal the hidden, better prize.”

“It’s not easy to give up something we can see for something unknown. But sometimes, trusting means letting go of what’s familiar, even when we don’t know what’s ahead.

God asked Abraham to leave his home and family to go to a place he had never seen before. Abraham didn’t know exactly where God was leading him, but he trusted and obeyed.

Abraham trusted that God had a plan—even though he didn’t understand it.

Trusting God often means letting go of what we can see and stepping out in faith. When we obey him, we discover that his plan is always better than what we could have imagined.”

“Dear God, thank you for keeping your promises, just like you did for Abraham. Help us trust you even when we don’t see the whole picture.”

How to Play:

• Before the game, hide stars throughout the room.
• Set a timer and let students search for as many stars as they can.
• Count the stars at the end and see how many each person or team collected.

Connection to the Lesson: Just like Abraham looked at the stars in the sky, this game helps kids understand how big God’s promise really was—that his descendants would be as countless as the stars.

How to Play:

• Create a simple obstacle course.
• One student wears a blindfold while their partner gives verbal instructions to guide them through the course safely.
• Switch roles and repeat.

Connection to the Lesson: Just like Abraham trusted God to guide him to a new land, this game helps kids experience the challenge—and the importance—of trusting someone to lead them step by step.

How to Play:

• Choose one child to be the “Promise Keeper.”
• The Promise Keeper tags other players, who then freeze.
• To be unfrozen, another player must run by and say a promise of God (e.g., “God is with us,” “God forgives us”).
• Rotate roles after a few rounds.

Connection to the Lesson: This game reminds kids that God’s promises are active and freeing—just as His promises helped Abraham move forward in faith, they help us too.

How to Play:

• Divide kids into teams.
• Place a bucket full of stars at one end of the room and an empty one at the other.
• Players take turns using a spoon or cup to carry stars from the full bucket to the empty one.
• After a set time, count the transferred stars.

Connection to the Lesson: Just like Abraham was told to count the stars, this game helps kids see how overwhelming and amazing God’s promises can be—more than we can count!

Show the students the jar of sand.

Ask:

• “Can you count how many grains of sand are in this jar?”

Encourage students to take a minute and let the students try to count the grains of sand in the jar.

Say: “We can’t count the grains of sand in the jar and we also can’t count the stars in the sky. God gave a great promise to Abraham that he would give him a big family, as many as stars were in the sky.”

Give the students star stickers to place on Printout 1, while sharing how God promised Abraham’s family would be as numerous as the stars.

• Draw a picture of Abraham looking at the stars.
• Encourage them to take this home and share the story with their family.

• Write down one promise from the Bible they want to remember this week.
• Encourage them to share what they learned about God’s promises with a friend.

“God promised Abraham a big family, but the biggest blessing was Jesus, who came from Abraham’s family to bless the whole world.

God’s promise to Abraham wasn’t just about having a big family—it was part of God’s big plan to bless the world.”

“Today we learned that God made a big promise to Abraham and kept it. God promised to bless him, give him a big family, and bless the whole world through him. And he did!

Just like Abraham trusted God’s promises even when he didn’t have all the answers, we can trust God too. He always keeps his promises!

This week, think about how you can trust God in your own life. Maybe it’s trusting him when you feel scared, lonely, or unsure. You can pray and remember God is always with you and will never leave you.”

• “What is one promise from God you can remember and share with someone this week?”

Close with prayer: Thank God for keeping his promises. Ask God to help the kids trust his promises in their lives.

Say: “If there’s something you need to trust God with this week, take a moment to silently ask him for help now.”