The Beginning
The Tower of Babel
Our journey together this year is exploring God’s Big Story in the Old Testament!
It is encouraged that families watch the videos, read the texts, reflect on the summaries, respond to the questions and pray together. However, Club 56 participants can also do this on their own- you might need a journal for journaling some thoughts!
Connect Video
Get a taste of this week’s theme by watching this video!
Connect is a curriculum from SPARK that is specifically designed for 5th and 6th graders.
Read, Reflect & Respond
Take some time to dig in deep to the Bible! Watch the video if you would like a deeper explanation of the following texts.
Need a Bible? Contact Leah M!
Read the Text: Genesis 11:1-9
After you read, draw some bricks by the text so you can remember that this story is about the Tower of Babel.
Reflect on the Summary:
“The Tower of Babel story happens post-flood, after many descendants were born to Noah’s family. This story is often offered as an explanation for the diversity of languages within humanity, but it’s a symbol for much more. The Tower of Babel was a monument to human self-centeredness. In a move to literally elevate themselves, humanity wanted to be elevated figuratively, building a tower to “make a name for [them]selves” (Genesis 11:4). There’s another layer of self-centeredness in this story: self-reliance. The people built the Tower of Babel after a destructive flood. God promised to never flood the whole world again, but to a human’s eyes, a strong, tall tower might have seemed like a good way to avoid a flood. Perhaps the Tower of Babel was an insurance policy against God’s post-flood promise. Regardless, the Tower stands as a symbol for how the people of God continued to behave, acting as though they didn’t need God. Not only were the builders of the tower trying to lift themselves up literally as they built higher and higher, they were also trying to build up their own importance. They were trying to build a tower and name for themselves—a great and important name for themselves that completely left God out of the picture.”
Respond to the Questions:
- How did God react to the tower being built?
- How do you think the people expected God to react?
- What do you think of God’s reaction?
Want to explore more texts? Pick one (or both) of the texts below!
Read the Text #2: Genesis 12:1-3
After you read, draw a heart and write God’s love next to this text to help us remember that God nurtures and takes care of God’s people!
Reflect on the Summary:
“This passage, Genesis 12, comes right after the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11. Just after scattering people from the Tower of Babel, God set a plan in motion to bless all of humanity. Abram was told he would become a great nation that would be a blessing to others. The self-reliant and self-centered attitude of the people at Babel had its consequences, but God quickly began nurturing God’s people into living a better way.“
Respond to the Questions:
- What has someone done for you this week that was a blessing and reminded you of God’s love?
- How can you bless someone else?
Read the Text #3: Luke 12:15-21
As you read, underline spots where you think humans were more interested in themselves than God.
Reflect on the Summary:
“If ever Jesus had a carpe diem (“seize the day”) moment, it’s in this story. In this parable about a rich fool, Jesus revealed that it’s easy to get wrapped up in our desire to be self-reliant—missing sight of how important it is to be faithful to God in the moment. In these scriptures, God is asking for a role in our plans and, more importantly, in our lives right now.”
Respond to the Questions:
- What parts of this story make you think that the man was more interested in himself than God?
Remember (Club 56 Binder)
Our Club 56 Binders are for taking notes and helping us remember details in God’s Big Story!
Need a binder? Contact Leah M.
Get out your Club 56 Binder and find the green page with the bricks (labeled Tower of Babel). Read about why we are using the bricks as a symbol to remember this story in the bottom right of the paper.
On the bricks, write important key words, people, events or notes that you want to remember about the Tower of Babel story.
Need help? Revisit the texts we explored today or read the paragraph at the bottom of the paper.
Prayer
“All loving God,
Thank you for always being there and reminding us that we are never alone. Help us break down the walls of the Tower of Babel and continue to put you first in our lives.
Amen”
Quoted texts are revised from:
Connect Leader Guide. Unit 1—Beginnings: Tower of Babel. wearesparkhouse.org © 2013 sparkhouse. All rights reserved.
May be reproduced for local use only provided each copy carries this notice.