Click below to download the Cornerstone Connections leader’s guide and student lesson. This week’s resources also include two lesson plans and a discussion starter video which offer different ways of looking at the topic. Each lesson plan includes opening activities, scripture passages, discussion questions, and real-life applications.
Some people take more risks than others. And some thoughtfully consider the odds. For example, flip a coin and you have a 50-50 chance of guessing right between heads or tails. If you flip a coin 10 times, half of the time it will land heads (theoretically), and half of the time it will land tails.
Try it.
If you have two or more people in your Youth Sabbath School, do 10 coin flips and have them pick heads or tails before each flip. As the leader, maintain the same choice for all 10 flips and see who comes out with the most correct guesses. (Hint: Just because theoretically it will land half of the time as heads doesn’t mean it will actually do it when you try it. The larger the number of flips, the closer the 50-50 split will be. Are you really wanting to flip the coin 100 or even 1,000 times? We didn’t think so.
For a different option, have people guess a number between 1-10. This time the odds are much less—one chance out of 10, or a 10-90 split. We usually adjust this to be “whoever is closest to the number wins.” Depending on how many you have in your Youth Sabbath School, feel free to vary the options—get it exactly correct or who’s the closest? That changes the strategy to someplace in the middle (5), and a second person chooses either one above or one below to cover the other half of the options. But as soon as you add a third player, the strategy changes again.
If you want to add wit to strategy, play the game of tic tac toe. One youth reach high school, most games will end in a tie unless one person isn’t paying attention. You can try an online version based on grade level at https://playtictactoe.org where you can play against a computer or play two people against each other.
Today’s lesson is about the Israelite slaves being freed from Egyptian bondage after the 10th plague. With this plague, the angel of death passed over the houses where occupants applied the lamb’s blood to their doorpost. Those without the blood suffered the death of their first-born son—the symbol of the family’s continuity.
With blood on the doorpost, it’s easy to know who to pass over. But what if you didn’t have that clear sign? What if you had to memorize which houses were clear and which weren’t?
Test your memory with the Passover Tray by taking a cookie sheet and filling it with lots of small items. Cover the tray and its contents with a towel. At the given signal, let participants take in the sight with their eyes (not their smart phones) for a given amount of time—maybe 15 or 30 seconds. Then cover the tray. At that moment, have them individually list the items they remember.
Use this example to either give you some ideas or use this visual as your Passover Tray and just show it on the screen for the given amount of time. We have provided a blank sheet for these 30 items, plus the answer key. (Or you can create your own.
TRANSITION: As we consider today’s lesson, remember that while we’ve played a game to start, the topic becomes very, very serious. In fact, it was a matter of life and death when it happened. And the symbolism is even more serious—the difference between eternal life or eternal death. That’s serious!
This is a short video clip and an idea to help you create your own video on this week’s topic, plus a few follow-up questions to spark discussion afterwards.
Create a video clip that illustrates how Christ’s blood saves us. This can be a challenge to understand, and an even greater challenge to communicate by video. The process itself can be helpful to deepen one’s comprehension and appreciation for Jesus. Ask someone in advance to create follow-up questions based on these video clips.
Watch this short clip below from the 1998 animated movie The Prince of Egypt (watch the entire video Friday or Saturday night). This clip presents the 10th plague—the death of the firstborn son in houses where residents failed to apply the blood of the Lamb on their doorposts.
Another approach to the same topic as the Teacher’s Guide, but just a different way of looking at it. Expect activities to illustrate the topic, followed by some questions.
LOSING GODS
Based on Exodus 5:1-12:32
Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, was considered a god. He also had access to many other gods. When Moses returned to Egypt and demanded the free work force be released to go to the wilderness to worship a foreign God by the name of “Yahweh,” it’s not surprising that Pharaoh refused. (Most Bibles use all capital letters for God’s name “Yahweh” and spell it LORD.)
According to Exodus 4:22-23, Yahweh gave Moses this challenge to Pharaoh: “This is what Yahweh says: Israel is my firstborn son. I commanded you, ‘Let my son go, so he can worship me.’ But since you have refused, I will now kill your firstborn son!”
With this challenge, we have a showdown between the leaders and between their gods. In essence, the question becomes: Whose god is more powerful?
Pharaoh’s response shouldn’t surprise us, especially since he was ruling Egypt, not rallying a group of people who had been enslaved for literally hundreds of years. Imagine the tone of voice Pharaoh might have used.
“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is Yahweh? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know Yahweh, and I will not let Israel go.” Invite several of the youth to speak it with the tone of voice they envision.
Throughout history, humans have worshiped what they recognized was greater than themselves. Many civilizations believed their gods and goddesses were represented in the sun, moon, animal entities, and flood cycles, to name a few. The sun is a common object of worship. Farmers have invented or imagined gods of various crops or a god of rain in addition to a sun god. Couples experiencing infertility have called out to an imaginary god of fertility. Perhaps the more specific the god, the more that god can do for you. But such a perspective results in some surprising gods—even a fly god and a gnat god.
Christians may memorize all 10 plagues that Yahweh brought on Egypt, but many see these as God’s manipulation of the natural world to demonstrate His power and to bring Pharaoh to his knees. Indeed that happened, but a key reason for this has to do with the gods of Egypt. Would you be surprised to discover that each plague corresponded to one of the Egyptian gods? This showdown wasn’t just between Yahweh and Pharaoh, but between Egypt’s gods, ending with their highest god, Pharaoh; and the one supreme God: Yahweh.
Here are the 10 plagues Yahweh sent to Egypt, and the corresponding Egyptian gods that fell, one by one. Note that each time Yahweh had Moses give Pharaoh the opportunity to follow Yahweh’s directive rather than suffer the next calamity. And each time Pharaoh declined—trusting his Egyptian god rather than Yahweh. Compare the plagues with the action that rendered the various Egyptian gods impotent.
The Scripture passage for this week is long—eight chapters in Exodus 5-11; 12:1-32! Depending on how many people you have in your Youth Sabbath School, you may choose to divide it in different ways. If you have eight people, assign each person one of the chapters. If you have fewer, either cover fewer chapters or assign more than one chapter per person. You may want to contact your participants in advance and ask them to read their chapters prior to Sabbath School.
Here are questions they can address in advance on their own, and then have each person lead the discussion for their passage(s).
Set up 10 bowling pins (which can be made of plastic or something else). Take turns trying to knock down the pins, first using ping pong balls, building up with small wiffle balls, then larger foam or squish balls, and even up to a volleyball, soccer ball, or basketball, and maybe even a bowling ball. The purpose is to see what a small ball can do to 10 bowling pins (not much). It’s like the gods of Egypt—they can’t do much. If Yahweh (the LORD) is King of kings and Lord of lords, He indeed is the one and only. And others don’t amount to anything.
The Egyptians had multiple gods, like most people at that time. The children of Israel were unique in having only one God—the super and only God: Yahweh. Today, most Christians think of themselves as having only one God, but many other things compete for first place. This could include distracting things like material possessions, popularity, and ego. This could even be things considered positive, such as family, friends, church, and/or education. But if God isn’t number one, without question, He isn’t God to you.
From Passover to Communion
BASED ON EXODUS 12:1-32; LUKE 22:7-20
When God led His people out of Egyptian slavery, He told them to repeat the Passover celebration each year. Read the details in Exodus 12:1-13 (NIV).
1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat.
5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. 7 Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.
8 That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. 10 Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it.
11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.
12 “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
Note the very next verse, Exodus 12:14 (NIV): 14 “This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.”
So, members of the Jewish faith continue to celebrate the Passover each year. This liberation is remembered each year. You can imagine the types of traditions that different families added to it. For example, there might have been certain dishes that one family always used, and that became part of their family Passover tradition. Another family might have sat in a certain order, or worn specific clothes. Maybe extra candles got added. Just think of the kinds of traditions your family has for special holidays.
If a person or family failed to practice the Passover commemoration, it would create all sorts of consternation. Their identity, obedience, community, faithfulness, and religion could all be called into question. It’s no wonder that when Jesus was on earth, about 1,500 years after the first Passover, that He still kept the Passover. You can read about it in Matthew 26:17-30, Mark 14:12-26, and Luke 22:7-20.
John doesn’t describe the Passover celebration, but he’s the only one who recorded the foot-washing that Jesus did for all of His disciples, as recorded in John 13:1-17. This practice is something Jesus told His disciples to continue (note verses 13-15). It is Paul who later wrote that Christ’s followers should continue this practice (see 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
To continue the Passover practice would mean going through the killing of a lamb to symbolize that one day an innocent lamb would die in place of you. But to do so now would be a form of denying that Jesus and His death fulfilled that anticipation of the Passover lamb (see 1 Corinthians 5:7).
Jesus, just before His death, transformed a practice God set up more than 1,000 years previously, and began a new practice we continue now—2,000 years later. We call it the “Lord’s Supper” or “Communion” or the “Eucharist.” The Greek word Eucharist comes from “eu” which means good, and “charis” or “kharizesthai” which means grace. Instead of our common phrase of frustration “good grief,” the word “Eucharist” means something far more optimistic: “good grace” or the “good gift from Christ.”
But changing something that has been a tradition for so long can really upset the status quo. And who has a right to change something that God instituted? Probably the best answer is that only God can change what God instituted. If Jesus really is God, then it’s all good. If Jesus isn’t God, then He really has no right to change what God instituted.
God has told us to continue to practice the Lord’s Supper until He returns (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). So do it! Some think it can only happen during the regular church service. Many Seventh-day Adventist churches do this once a quarter, but it can certainly be done more often.
Be sure to include the foot washing before the bread and grape juice. Ask the teens to choose a partner for foot washing. If you wish to join, you could ask a teen of the same gender if you can wash their feet. Use a basin and pitcher with warm water and maybe even soap. You could also provide oil or balm for the youth to rub into their partner’s feet.
For the symbols of the body and blood of Jesus, don’t skimp by using small portions of bread and a teeny tiny glass of grape juice. Use an entire tortilla or piece of pita bread. Include some hummus for dipping. And give a full glass of grape juice that people can sip and contemplate rather than swallowing in one quick gulp. Include background music and even some visuals to aid the reflective mood.
It might be that Sabbath School is too rushed or the setting might not be conducive for this significant experience. Sometimes doing this in a more homey atmosphere is more meaningful and more like the original Lord’s Supper. This take some advance planning. Feel free to include the youth in the planning and implementing.
God instituted the Passover for His people when He took them out of Egyptian slavery. He told them to repeat this practice each year to commemorate this liberation and the Lamb’s sacrifice in place of the first-born son in the family. Just before Jesus died as the lamb who takes away the sins of the world, He transformed the Passover practice and replaced it with the Lord’s Supper. We continue to practice that to “show the Lord’s death until he comes” and to anticipate His return.
SEDER
BASED ON EXODUS 12:1-32
The Seder (Passover) service observed by members of the Jewish faith today varies in practice, but not in principle. It includes the re-telling of the Exodus from Egypt, with a combination of foods—sweet as well as bitter. It also involves drinking from the cup and multiple blessings. This explains why drinking from the cup happens both before and after the eating of the bread in Luke’s telling of the Lord’s Supper (see Luke 22:17, 19, 21).
Here is an example of one way you can incorporate elements of a Sedar service into youth Sabbath School. This is probably better when whole families or even the entire church participates. It might work better on a Friday night, or you may choose to do it specifically on the Jewish Passover date for any given year.
CHRIST IN THE PASSOVER CELEBRATION
Reader 1: Jesus and His disciples shared the Passover meal on the Thursday night before He died. Gathering His disciples in a small room in Jerusalem, He led them in a Seder. “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,” He said. (Luke 22:15) Jesus chose that last supper with His disciples to reveal to them the mystery of God’s plan of redemption. He spoke to them of His body and blood. He explained to them that He would have to die.
Reader 2: The Passover was celebrated every year in remembrance of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt and slavery 1000 years before Christ. We celebrate this Passover meal in remembrance of God’s great redemption of us. It is a feast that normally could last three or four hours! We will only take around 15 to 20 minutes this evening to remember that special supper that Jesus had, and to learn the significance of the various things they did.
Reader 3: On the table in front of you, each person has some grape juice, some parsley, charoset, horseradish, salt water, and matzo. Let’s sit quietly and meditatively as the leader takes us through the various steps. As we participate in the Passover Seder, may we experience once again God’s great redemption.
Leader: As we kindle the festival lights, we pray for the illumination of the Spirit of God to bring great personal meaning to this our Passover celebration.
Woman 1: (while lighting the candles) “Blessed are You, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who sanctifies us by Your commandments and has ordained that we light the Passover lights.”
Reader 4: We celebrate the promises of redemption and relationship by drinking from our cups four times. With each cup, let us remember the union that God desires.
Leader: (lifts the first cup and explains) “Sanctification means to be set apart. We are setting apart this ceremony as special to our Lord God who performed miraculous deeds to free Israel from Egypt. As believers in Christ Jesus, we remember the death of Jesus to free us from sin. And so let us drink this first cup.” (Everyone drinks.)
Leader: Passover is a holiday that comes in the springtime, when the earth is becoming green with life. This vegetable, called karpas, represents life, created and sustained by Almighty God.
Reader 5: We dip one sprig of parsley in the saltwater to remember the tears shed in slavery by the Israelites. (Eat it.)
Reader 6: We dip another sprig of parsley to remember the drowning of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea and the miraculous deliverance of the nation of Israel as a result.
Leader: The answers to the following four questions explain the major features of the Seder: We were once slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD our God brought us out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. If the Holy One, blessed be He, had not brought our ancestors out from Egypt, then we, our children, and their children would still be slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt. Therefore, we recount the Exodus from Egypt.
Reader 7: (asks question 1) Why is this night different from all other nights? On all other nights we eat leavened or unleavened bread. Why on this night only matzoh—the unleavened bread?
Adult 1: On this night we eat only matzoh to remind us of the swiftness of God’s salvation, which came so quickly there was no time for dough to rise. Further, the purging of leaven from our houses reminds us to purge our lives of sinful thoughts and actions.
Reader 8: (asks question 2) On all other nights we eat any kind of vegetable. Why on this night only maror—the bitter herbs?
Adult 2: On this night we eat maror to remind us of the bitterness of bondage in Egypt. Similarly, as believers in Jesus the Messiah we remember the bitterness of bondage to sin and death from which He has freed us.
Reader 9: (asks question 3) On all other nights we are not required to dip our vegetables even once. Why on this night two times?
Adult 3: On this night we dip the greens into salt water to remind us of the tears shed in bondage. Similarly, as believers in Jesus the Messiah we remember how he turned our tears of sadness into joy. We praise Him for the abundant life into which He has brought us.
Reader 10: (asks question 4) On all other nights we eat sitting upright or reclining. Why on this night do all recline?
Adult 4: On this night we recline because in ancient times that was the posture of free people at meals. Those whom God liberated in the Exodus were no longer slaves. Similarly, as believers in Jesus the Messiah we have been made new creations. We are freed from our past sin and pain, freed from bondage to sin, freed to live with joy in the present and freed to live and reign with God forever!
Leader: The Lord told Moses and Aaron to tell the Israelites what they were to do on the tenth day of the first month. They were to kill a lamb, and spread its blood on the doorposts of the house to protect the home from the 10th plague—the slaying of the first-born. God said He would PASS OVER the house when He saw the blood. They were to eat unleavened bread because they could not take time to wait for dough to rise. They had to be ready to leave quickly. Even more than that, scripture teaches us that leaven (yeast) is a symbol of sin. During this celebration of Passover, let us break our old habits of sin and selfishness and begin a fresh, new, and holy life.
Leader: The song “Dayenu” answers the question, “For how many favors do we owe praise to God?” The answer is unending! If the LORD had done any one of the mighty acts of the Exodus, that would have been enough for us or, in Hebrew, “Dayenu.” However, the LORD does much more! He continually saves and provides!
All sing “Dayenu.”
Leader: God poured out 10 plagues on Egypt, the last of which, the slaying of the firstborn, convinced Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave the land. Now let us lift our cups and drink, thanking God that He not only delivered the nation of Israel from the plagues, but that, through Jesus, He delivered us from the plague of sin, which brings death that we all deserve. (All drink.)
Leader: On other nights we eat all kinds of vegetables, but on Passover we eat only maror, bitter herbs. As sweet as our lives are today, let us still remember how bitter life was for the children of Israel in the land of Egypt. Now take the horseradish and place it on a matzo and eat it, remembering the bitterness of Israel’s slavery.
Leader: The children of Israel toiled to make treasure cities for Pharaoh, working in brick and clay. We remember this task in a mixture called charoset, made from chopped apples, honey, nuts, and juice.
Now place charoset on a matzo. Remember the mortar that was used to make bricks by the Israelites and also remind ourselves that even the most bitter of circumstances can be sweetened by the hope we have in God.
Leader: Redemption means to buy out of slavery. The lamb offered on Passover was the price to deliver the nation of Israel. This third cup is what Jesus drank with His disciples as a symbol of His blood, the price He paid for our redemption. When we have communion in church, this is the cup we are drinking. (Drink cup.)
Leader: The fourth cup is the last one and it is the cup of praise. Let us give thanks to God our Great Redeemer.
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.
All: His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords.
All: His love endures forever.
To him who alone does great wonders,
All: His love endures forever.
Who by his understanding made the heavens,
All: His love endures forever.
Who spread out the earth upon the waters,
All: His love endures forever.
Who made the great lights—
All: His love endures forever.
The sun to govern the day,
All: His love endures forever.
The moon and stars to govern the nights:
All: His love endures forever.
To him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
All: His love endures forever.
And brought Israel out from among them
All: His love endures forever.
With a mighty hand and outstretched arm:
All: His love endures forever.
To him who divided the Red Sea asunder
All: His love endures forever.
And brought Israel through the midst of it,
All: His love endures forever.
But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
All: His love endures forever.
To him who led His people through the desert,
All: His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of heaven.
All: His love endures forever.
Leader: Let us lift our cups to bless the Name of the Lord! The Jewish nation looks forward to a golden age where everyone will be at peace. We, as believers in the Lord Jesus, eagerly wait for His return when He will take us home to heaven.
All: Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus. (Drink fourth cup.)
Leader: Our Passover Seder is now complete, just as our redemption is forever complete. Blessed are You, O Lord our God, Ruler of the Universe.
The Seder service is the continued practice of the Passover by Jewish people today. There’s no need to sacrifice a Passover lamb since Christ’s death has already fulfilled that symbol. But we can meaningfully practice the tradition that includes the sense of smell, taste, and texture of food and drink. We can acknowledge that life on earth includes the sweet and the bitter, the constructive as well as the blessings. And we can do it in community.
Let these spark ideas for ways you can move from talk to action and live out the lesson in a practical way this week. The following applications relate to the corresponding Bible study guide options for this lesson above.
Reflect on the potential gods in your life, even if you don’t have literal idols where you bow down and worship. As you reflect, name the top three things that take your time, then the top three things that take your money, and the top three things that influence you. It can be helpful to write this down so you can refer to it later. Do this with a partner with whom you can be straight-forward and brutally honest. Give feedback to each other and pray through your responses.
The foot washing service demonstrated a servant’s heart and actions on the part of Jesus, the leader of the disciples. Who is somebody that you lead? Hint: It’s likely someone younger than you. Find a way to serve someone who follows you. For example, a younger sibling—do one of their chores this week for them, without them asking you to do it. Find someone at school who looks up to you and do something to serve them. This might put you in a more equal relationship, which means you might have greater “communion”!
After experiencing a Seder service, look for an opportunity this week when you are eating a meal with somebody else to combine your drinking with the saying of blessing. Try doing this four or five times with the same cup/glass at different times of the meal. These could be blessings on the person with whom you’re eating, the community you share together, your families, your friends, and God.
This is a bonus just for the youth leader—a quick tip and an illustration to enhance your youth leadership. You may already know this idea, have learned it through trial and error, or just need a quick reminder.
Some people think that keeping people busy will keep them out of trouble, so they seek constant activity for the youth ministry they lead. Young people prefer purpose to busyness. While they enjoy doing things and discover what is new to them, when it comes to church-related involvement, their expectation is that it should connect them to God. Doing icebreakers and playing games is fine, but only as a starter. They want God and expect avenues to experience God when they come to your church.
Here are a few resources to add to your collection as a Youth Sabbath School leader. The fourth week of each month will have a few resources for a variety of purposes.
Here’s a collection of 52 relational Bible studies. Instead of seeking one correct answer, these studies take Bible passages and depend on an active Holy Spirit to be present and to communicate to any and all of the participants. This takes Scripture and places it into the world in which you live right now. The prompts come from several options to open-ended questions. The collection ends with 10 different prayer exercises you can use. These are ideal for a Youth Sabbath School or other youth ministry setting. It’s available in hard copy or a PDF download through AdventSource.
Last month we featured the book Growing Young in the Resources section. This follow-up book focuses on parenting teens and 20-somethings. Instead of expecting the term “adolescent” to cover the expanding time period between childhood and adulthood, this book suggests three segments within adolescence, and how parents need to continue to grow themselves as well as change how they relate to their children in the process of their children’s development. Helpful labels describe the roles for young people in their transitions: Learner, Explorer, and Focuser. The corresponding roles for parents during these stages are: Teacher, Guide, and Resourcer. In the first phase, the parent takes the lead with the young person following. For the second phase, it’s more of a side-by-side experience. And the final phase places the young person (probably in their 20s) in the lead with the parent following in a support role. This can be an immensely helpful model for parents during the expanded adolescent time period.
A collection of 5-7 minute liturgies are available at https://www.seandayton.com/liturgies for $5 each or $30 for the collection. These combine a video for a visual background with music, prayers, and reflective singing. Sean Dayton has collected a group of artists and musicians and has collected this series over time.