Tower of Babel Sunday School Lesson
Introduction to the Tower of Babel Sunday School Lesson
The story of the Tower of Babel is a fascinating and important Bible story found in Genesis 11:1-9. It teaches us about the dangers of human pride and the importance of following Godโs plans rather than our own.
This Sunday school lesson will guide your students through the events that took place in the land of Shinar, where people tried to build the tallest tower to make a name for themselves. They thought they could reach heaven, but God had different plans.
In this lesson, weโll explore how God responded by confusing their language, scattering the people across the face of the whole earth. This lesson will include a memory verse, a fun activity, and a craft project that will help younger and older students alike understand the valuable lessons from this Bible story.
Lesson Outline: The Tower of Babel
Key Learning Points From The Tower of Babel
The key learning point of the Tower of Babel Sunday school lesson is to teach children that pride can lead us away from God’s will. When we rely on our own strength and try to make ourselves look great, we forget that it is God who is worthy of worship. He has the ultimate plan for our lives, and we must trust in Him.
“For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.” โ Psalm 95:3 (NIV)
The Story of the Tower of Babel: Pride and Consequences
After the Great Flood, the whole world spoke one language of the people. They settled in the land of Shinar, where they decided to build a great tower that would reach to the heavens. Their goal was not just to create a building; they wanted to make a name for themselves and not be scattered across the earth.
The people of Babel thought they could accomplish great things by working together. However, they were motivated by human pride, believing that they didnโt need God. Building the biggest tower seemed like a good thing to them, but they were not following Godโs plans.
God saw their pride and decided to confuse their language, causing the people to speak different languages. Unable to communicate, they stopped building the tower and were scattered in different directions across the world.
This is why the place is called Babel, which means confusion. The people of Babylon learned that their efforts without God would not succeed.
Lessons from the Tower of Babel
There are several valuable lessons we can learn from the story of the Tower of Babel:
1. Pride Leads to Consequences:
The consequences of pride are serious. The people of Babel tried to make themselves great instead of glorifying God. We must remember that all glory belongs to God, who is worthy of our worship.
2. Godโs Plans Are Always Best:
The people thought their plan to build the tallest tower was good, but they forgot that Godโs plans are far greater. When we trust in God and follow His will, we will achieve great things.
3. God is in Control:
No matter how powerful or skilled we think we are, God is the one who holds all authority. Just as He scattered the people and confused their languages, He has control over all nations and peoples.
Modern Day Tower of Babel
The following story shows us how pride can present itself in modern-day society and how its consequences not only separate us from God but it can also separate us from experiencing fulfilling relationships.
Once there was a young girl named Emily, who excelled at everything she did. From a young age, she was praised for her intelligence, beauty, and talents, and as she grew older, those compliments began to shape how she saw herself.
Emily believed she was better than others, and her pride started to distance her from those around her. Instead of seeing her success as a blessing, she viewed it as something she alone had achieved. Her friendships began to crumble as she constantly compared herself to her peers and made them feel small in her presence.
At school, Emily refused to accept help from teachers or classmates, thinking she knew more than anyone. When her grades began to slip, she blamed others for her failures. At home, her pride created tension between her and her family.
She disregarded their advice, believing they didnโt understand her as well as she understood herself. Over time, Emily became more isolated, but she was too proud to see that her arrogance was the cause of her loneliness.
As the years went by, Emilyโs pride had closed many doors. Opportunities that once seemed abundant vanished because people no longer wanted to work with her or be around her. It wasnโt until she faced a major failure, one that shook her confidence deeply, that Emily began to realize how her pride had affected her life.
She had pushed away those who cared about her and had relied too much on her own abilities, forgetting the importance of humility, teamwork, and acknowledging the support of others. Only after this moment of reflection did she begin the slow journey of rebuilding her relationships and understanding that true strength comes from recognizing oneโs own weaknesses.
Fun Activity: Building the Tallest Tower
For this fun activity, youโll need plastic cups or building blocks. Divide the children into small groups and challenge them to build the biggest tower they can. Once theyโve finished, have the groups try to โcommunicateโ with each other using only gestures, as if they spoke different languages.
This activity helps illustrate how difficult it is to work together when you canโt understand one another, just like in the story of Babel. Itโs a fun activity that younger and older students will enjoy while learning an important lesson.
Discussion Questions
After reading the story and completing the activity, ask your students the following questions to reinforce the lesson:
- What did the people of Babel want to accomplish by building the tallest tower?
- Why did God confuse the language of the people?
- What happened to the people after their language was confused?
- What can we learn about human pride from this story?
- How can we follow Godโs plans in our lives instead of our own?
These questions are a great way to engage elementary students and help them understand the valuable lessons.
Craft: Stick Puppets and Towers
For the craft portion of this Sunday school lesson, students can create stick puppets of the people in the story, as well as a tower. Give each child some index cards or small pieces of paper to cut out and color into people. Use plastic cups or building blocks to represent the Great Tower.
The students can act out the Bible story using their puppets and towers, showing how the people tried to build the tallest tower but were scattered because of their pride.
Application for Younger Students
For younger students, focus on the importance of trusting Godโs plans and not relying on our own strength. Explain that just like in the story of Babel, itโs easy to forget that God knows whatโs best for us. He loves us and wants us to follow Him in everything we do.
You can also have the younger students color coloring pages of the Tower of Babel.
Application for Older Students
For older students, dive deeper into the consequences of pride and the idea that God is worthy of our worship. Discuss how pride can affect our relationships with God and others and how important it is to humble ourselves before Him.
You might also encourage older students to find modern examples of how pride can lead people away from following Godโs will, and how we can avoid those pitfalls in our own lives. By learning from the people of Babylon, we can remember that all glory and honor belong to God.
Group Activity: Exploring Different Languages
To help students understand the impact of speaking different languages, you can play a game where each group of students is given a few words in another language. You can use a translation tool like Google Translate to create index cards with basic phrases in several languages (e.g., “Hello,” “Thank you,” and “Please”).
In their small groups, the students will try to figure out what the phrases mean, just as the group of people in Babel struggled to communicate after their languages were confused. This will help them understand how confusing it must have been to suddenly speak a language they couldnโt understand.
Prayer: Thanking God for His Plan
At the end of your lesson, close with a prayer. Encourage the children to pray in Jesus’ name, thanking God for His wisdom and asking Him to help them follow His plan instead of their own.
Prayer Example
“Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for teaching us about the dangers of pride and reminding us that You are in control. Help us trust Your plan and always give You glory in everything we do. Guide us to follow You and avoid the mistakes made by the people in Babel. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.”
Conclusion: Building a Life on God’s Word
The Tower of Babel Sunday school lesson teaches that we cannot accomplish great things through pride and human effort alone. Itโs only when we follow Godโs plans that we can experience true success and purpose in life. Just as the people of Babel learned, our efforts are meaningless if they are not aligned with God’s will.
This lesson is a great way to remind children of the importance of humility and trusting Godโs wisdom. By learning to work together and relying on the Holy Spirit, we can accomplish Godโs purposes and build a life that is truly worthy of worship.
Encourage your students to take home what theyโve learned today and share it with their families, reflecting on how they can follow God’s plan in their daily lives. The story of the Tower of Babel offers a clear message: without God, we are confused and scattered. But when we follow His will, we are united in purpose and can achieve amazing things.
How has the Tower of Babel inspired you? Let us know in the comments below.
Looking for more Sunday school lessons? Try the parable of the Sower Sunday school lesson, the good Samaritan Sunday school lesson, or the 12 Apostles Sunday school lesson.
Vanessa Rooney – LDS Mum