Jacob and Esau and the Very Young

Yesterday was my turn to lead Bible Improv, our multigenerational approach to Sunday School, which, realistically, is mostly composed of pre-schoolers and elementary school kids. Some of these Old Testament stories are pretty brutal. Yesterday, I got to narrow down the story of Jacob and Esau.

I decided to focus on the sibling relationship, the trickery. We talked about and acted out Esau selling his birthright for a pottage of lentils. Then we had a cooking portion. I had brought a pot of cooked lentils, which we all tasted and asked ourselves: "Would I give away all my past, present, and future Christmas presents for what's in this pot?" We decided that we wouldn't. Then we doctored up the lentils with a can of tomatoes, herbs, a splash of vinegar, and a bit of brown sugar.

Then we returned to a later part of the story, the story of how Jacob tricked his father and got Esau's blessing. Later, we witnessed the reunion of the brothers.

I closed by stressing that we don't need to trick God this way. God has enough blessings for us all. And then we talked about our Christmas shoe box initiative, the one that many churches are probably adopting this time of year, the Samaritan's Purse group's idea. We talked about how important it is to share since we have been so blessed.

Overall, I think it went well. My only sadness is that we had such a small crowd. Ah well.

Now on to plan our next Sunday School presentation in mid-November: notable women of the Old Testament who aren't Ruth and Esther. Any suggestions?