March 6, 2022: Freed from Captivity (Ezra 1:1-8, 11)

To begin the session:

Distribute copies of the “Famous Projects” exercise from the activity page, which you can download here. Have learners work individually or in pairs to complete as indicated in less than one minute.

After the activity, lead into Bible study by saying, “Today’s lesson from the Old Testament repeats itself in the New Testament in certain ways. See if you can remember passages as we go.”

To engage the learners in a study of the Scripture text:

Distribute copies of Parts A and B of the “Construction Proposal” exercise from the activity page. Depending on the size and nature of your group, the questions can be discussed in small groups or as a whole class.

• If all your learners are online, consider using Zoom Breakouts (which you can learn about here).
• If some of your learners are online and others are in the classroom with you, consider breaking the in-person learners into groups together and using Zoom Breakouts for the online learners.

Note: Whenever you distribute copies of anything, use hard-copy (paper) handouts for those physically present and e-copies for those joining online via Zoom, etc.

Tip: For a tutorial on how to use Zoom breakouts, go here. For many other Zoom tutorials, see here. A key to using Zoom effectively without fumbling is to practice ahead of time!