Bible Activities & Games on Moses and the Burning Bush

The book of Exodus in the Bible describes how Moses, after fleeing from Egypt, encounters God in the form of a bush that is on fire but is not consumed by the flames. God calls Moses to lead the oppressed Israelites out of Egypt and into a new land. The story forms a cornerstone of both the Jewish and Christian faiths and is often told to children, especially during the Passover or Easter season.

In a game for grade-school children, an adult leader explains how when Moses appeared before the burning bush, God commanded him to take off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. The leader then divides the group in half and tells each team to place their shoes against a wall on the far side of the room. Each team lines up, and one person from each team runs to the wall, grabs his shoes and runs back. The next person follows as the two teams race to grab and put on their shoes before their opponents.

Give children in prekindergarten and kindergarten a visual depiction of what the burning bush might have looked like by making a shrub out of poster board or construction paper prior to the lesson. Provide the kids with paper of varying colors, including red, green and brown, and encourage them to cut out leaves. Help them tape the leaves onto the bush. In a variation on this craft idea, the leader might draw a bush for each child and ask them to decorate it using crayons or watercolors.

Begin this game for grade-schoolers by explaining that even though Moses fled into the desert to live a quiet, solitary life, God still knew where he was. This is encouraging because we know God can always find us, but scary because we don’t know what he might call us to do. Dim the lights and urge everyone to find a hiding place, with the exception of one player who has a flashlight. This player counts to 20 and then, when the rest of the class is hidden, shines the flashlight and tries to tag students with its beam. The first student to be tagged is handed the flashlight and takes over. After the game is over, ask players how they felt about being seen and ask them to think of situations in which they felt God was looking out for them.

In an activity for high-schoolers, explain that when God called Moses to go back to Egypt, Moses was scared because he had fled from the country after killing an Egyptian and would have to face the powerful Pharaoh. He knew that delivering the Hebrew slaves was the right thing to do but had trouble believing that God would do it through him. Invite two students to stand in front of the classroom and act out several hard situations, such as having to confess a mistake to a teacher or responding to a beggar who asks for money. As the students are acting out each scene, call a timeout and ask someone in the audience to come up and replace one of the two actors. Have this person demonstrate how she thinks God would act in that situation.