Pray n’ Play: The Old Testament

November I always feel is a big gear-up for Christmas. The stores have decked the halls…toy catalogs have landed in our mail box…yet it’s still almost two months until Christmas Day…though the anticipation is undeniable. As the community begins to plants seeds of anticipation for presents and merriment, why don’t we start planting seeds of faith in our littles?

Pray n’ Play: The Old Testament is just that. It’s the planting of seeds in our littles hearts as we gear-up to celebrate Jesus.

What is it?

Some of you may be asking, why start this in November, couldn’t we just play through the Old Testament in December? And I will affirm that is a valid approach. Many LOVE to celebrate the anticipation of the Old Testament in December. However, I really love to spend December just focused on the Christmas story. This is how many church communities spend Advent (especially kids programs) and the small snippets of Christianity found within the secular marketplace focus on the Christ Child, so I’ve found it beneficial to spend December exploring the actual birth of Christ to reinforce what they ready may natural ponder.

Pray n’ Play: The Old Testament will lay the foundation to see the Old Testament as one giant narrative that points to Jesus. It doesn’t dig into every Old Testament Stories, but hits the highlights. The main focus of this study is:

-For preschoolers: explore God’s faithfulness, power, and sovereignty.

-For big kids: gain an understanding of the giant narrative that points to a need for the Messiah (Rescuer King).

This study will prep families for Pray n’ Play: Christmas, where we explore the prophecies fulfilled through the birth of Jesus.

How to use this study:

Pick and choose what works for you. The goal of this study is to help our littles understand that the Bible is a big story that points to Jesus. You may choose to read all the stories leading up to Advent. Or you may just pick a few. You could Just pick the stories of people in the Geneaology of Jesus (those are noted). Or pick a few that show your toddler how faithful God is to his people. Whichever lane you choose, the goal is to read them chronologically so that the pinnacle of the story is Christ’s birth. As you read the stories, mark them on your timeline so your child can see where they fall in the great Big timeline of the Bible, and see how they lead up to Jesus. Having a visual can be huge for littles (and grown-ups) for gaining an understanding of the narrative.

What’s included?

A Story Map of Old Testament Stories, helping give a visual of when each story took place in the narrative (Available in both English and Spanish).
Ages and Stages Guide for parents to help disciple their littles in age appropriate ways.
Scripture reference and summaries for each story, with color-coded references to themes.
Recommended resources for English-speaking littles, Spanish-speaking littles, and parents.
Scripture coloring pages in both Spanish and English.