Angels

God’s powerful angels command respect and fear.

Joshua 5:14 Joshua has crossed the Jordan river and entered the promised land. He meets an angel of the Lord. “Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence.”


Luke 2:9 An angel of the Lord appeared to {the shepherds}, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified…but the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.”


Luke 1:29 Mary was greatly troubled at {the angel’s} words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid.”


Luke 1:11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to {Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father}…When Zechariah was him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid.”

• Large picture of powerful angel (click here to print out)
• Sheet with 10 small angel images (click here to print out)
• Picture or figurine of “cute” angel i.e. Precious Moments image
(not included)
• Markers, crayons, tape

Words that are written in bold are when you, the parent, are speaking. Feel free to use your own words.

A.  Describe the picture that comes to your mind when you think about angels? In stores, books and even at church we see images of angels. Often, these images are very different from the angels described in the Bible.

In the Old Testament, Joshua crosses over the Jordan river into the promise land. As he prepares to attack the city of Jericho he meets an angel of the Lord. What does Joshua do? He falls down on his face out of respect for the angel.

In the New Testament, Zechariah the father of John the Baptist, is visited in the temple by an angel. The Bible says Zechariah was gripped with fear. The first thing the angel says is “Do not be afraid.”

At the birth of Jesus, an angel appears to the shepherds. The Bible says that the shepherds were terrified at the sight of the angel. The first thing the angel says is “Do not be afraid.”

When an angel came to Mary to tell her she was going to have the baby Jesus, the Bible says she was troubled by the angel’s message. The first thing the angel says is “Do not be afraid.”

Tell me two common things about angels from these Bible stories:

1. The first impression of an angel is one of fear, terror or respect.
2. The first thing the angel says is “Do not be afraid.” It’s like the angel says “Don’t worry, I’m one of the good guys.”
   

B.  ACTIVITY #1: (Tongue in cheek.) I’m going to show you a picture of an angel. I want to warn you that you may feel fear, terror, awe and respect when you see this picture but do not be afraid, this angel is one of the good guys.

From a hiding place bring out the picture of a “cute” Precious-Moments-type angel. Are you afraid? No. Why? Listen to their answers. Although this is a common picture of an angel that we will see in books and stores, it does not represent the type of angel we read about in the Bible.

Angels in the Bible primarily serve two purposes:

1. They are messengers delivering messages from God to people.
   
2. They are warriors fighting spiritual battles against the evil one.

There is a spiritual battle taking place between good and evil. (Hold up the picture again.) Do you think this is the type of angel God has sent to protect us in the spiritual battle?

I have never seen an angel although I believe they are around us. Here is a picture of an angel who looks more like a warrior who will protect us. This is an angel who might generate feelings of respect, power, fear and awe. (Show the picture of the powerful angel.) If this angel were standing here, bright as a light and ten feet tall, how do you think that would make you feel?

C.  ACTIVITY #2: We are going to play a game. Here are the rules: 
 

1. The first one to 50 points wins.

2.  I am going to show you either a picture of the “cute” angel or a picture of the powerful angel. If I show you the picture of a powerful angel then the first one to drop to the floor gets five points. If I show you the picture of a “cute” angel and you drop to the floor then you lose five points. Like Joshua we are going to show respect for the powerful angel by dropping to the floor.

3.  Have the players stand side by side, with some space in between. Turn your back to the players. Arrange to show one of the two angel pictures then turn around quickly. If it is the powerful angel then give five points to the first player to drop to the floor. If it is the cute angel then take away five points from any player whose hands touch the floor.

4.  Players may want to repeat the game.

D.  ACTIVITY #4:  Give each child a copy of the large angel. Talk about what they have learned about angels in the Bible as they color their picture.

Give each adult a page of 10 smaller angels to color.

You may not know this but sometimes at night when you are sleeping I come into your room and say a prayer over you. I ask God to keep you safe, healthy and to draw you closer to Him. You do not see when I come in and pray for you, we do not see the angels that are around us. God sends his angels to protect us. This next week, when I come in and pray for you at night, I am going to tape an angel somewhere in your room. It will remind you that I am praying for you and that God’s angels are all around us.

We fall down to the ground,
When God’s angels are around.