Free Bible lessons for kids · 4 lessons
Daniel: Bible lessons for kids
Daniel purposed in his heart to honour God far from home. He kept praying when it was against the law, and God shut the lions’ mouths.
Here are 4 free lessons that help children learn the life of Daniel from the Bible itself. Every lesson has a story film, a coloring page, a class sheet, a teacher guide, questions with answers and a game, ready to teach.
“My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.”Daniel 6:22 (KJV)
- Lessons
- 4
- Passages
- Daniel 1:1–21, Daniel 3:1–30, Daniel 5:1–31, Daniel 6:1–28
- Ages
- Preschool to preteen (3 to 12), with tips for each age
- Each lesson
- Story film (KJV), coloring page, class sheet, teacher guide, questions and answers, a game
- Cost
- Free: no subscription, no cost per child, no sign-up to teach
The lessons: 4 stories about the life of Daniel
Daniel Purposes in His Heart
Daniel 1:1–21 · story film
King Nebuchadnezzar took young men from Jerusalem to Babylon, among them Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, to be trained for his palace on the king’s meat and wine. Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself, and he politely asked for ten days of pulse and water instead. At the end of ten days the four looked healthier than all the rest, and God gave them knowledge and wisdom, so the king found them ten times better than all his magicians and astrologers.
Big idea: Even when we are young and far from home, we can choose to honour God.
Memory verse:
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
1 Timothy 4:12 (KJV)Ask: What did Daniel purpose in his heart? That he would not defile himself with the king’s meat or the wine which he drank (Daniel 1:8).
Game: Veggie Taste Test (about 10 minutes)
The Fiery Furnace
Daniel 3:1–30 · story film
King Nebuchadnezzar set up a golden image and commanded everyone to bow down to it or be cast into a burning fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego would not bow, and they told the king their God was able to deliver them, “But if not,” they still would not serve his gods. The king saw four men walking loose in the fire, and the three came out without even a hair of their heads singed.
Big idea: We can trust God and obey Him, and He is with us even in the fire.
Memory verse:
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
Daniel 3:17 (KJV)Ask: What did the king command everyone to do when the music played? Fall down and worship the golden image (Daniel 3:5).
Game: We Will Not Bow (about 8 minutes)
The Writing on the Wall
Daniel 5:1–31 · story film
King Belshazzar made a great feast for a thousand lords and drank from the golden vessels taken from God’s temple in Jerusalem, praising gods of gold and silver. Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand wrote on the wall, and none of the king’s wise men could read it. Daniel read MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN: the proud king had been weighed in the balances and found wanting, and that very night the kingdom passed to Darius the Median.
Big idea: God sees everything, so we should honour Him instead of being proud.
Memory verse:
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.
Proverbs 16:18 (KJV)Ask: What did Belshazzar and his lords drink from at the feast? The golden and silver vessels taken out of the temple in Jerusalem (Daniel 5:2–3).
Game: Secret Writing (about 15 minutes)
Daniel in the Lions’ Den
Daniel 6:1–28 · story film
Daniel served King Darius so faithfully that the jealous princes could find no fault in him, so they had the king sign a law that for thirty days no one could ask a petition of any god or man except the king. Daniel still knelt at his open window three times a day to pray and give thanks, and he was cast into the den of lions. God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and in the morning Daniel was taken up unhurt, because he believed in his God.
Big idea: We can keep praying and trusting God, and He is able to deliver us.
Memory verse:
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
Psalm 55:17 (KJV)Ask: How often did Daniel pray? Three times a day, kneeling at his open window toward Jerusalem (Daniel 6:10).
Game: Sleeping Lions (about 8 minutes)
4 weeks of lessons on the life of Daniel
| Week 1 | Daniel Purposes in His Heart (Daniel 1:1–21). Even when we are young and far from home, we can choose to honour God. |
|---|---|
| Week 2 | The Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3:1–30). We can trust God and obey Him, and He is with us even in the fire. |
| Week 3 | The Writing on the Wall (Daniel 5:1–31). God sees everything, so we should honour Him instead of being proud. |
| Week 4 | Daniel in the Lions’ Den (Daniel 6:1–28). We can keep praying and trusting God, and He is able to deliver us. |
Each week: welcome and pray, show the story film, talk through the questions, learn the memory verse, then color the page or do the class sheet.
Memory verses about the life of Daniel (KJV)
“Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”
1 Timothy 4:12 · Daniel Purposes in His Heart
“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.”
Daniel 3:17 · The Fiery Furnace
“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”
Proverbs 16:18 · The Writing on the Wall
“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.”
Psalm 55:17 · Daniel in the Lions’ Den
Questions people ask
Who was Daniel in the Bible?
Daniel purposed in his heart to honour God far from home. He kept praying when it was against the law, and God shut the lions’ mouths.
Which Bible stories teach the life of Daniel?
Daniel Purposes in His Heart (Daniel 1:1–21), The Fiery Furnace (Daniel 3:1–30), The Writing on the Wall (Daniel 5:1–31), Daniel in the Lions’ Den (Daniel 6:1–28).
Are these lessons free?
Yes. Every lesson, film, coloring page, class sheet and game is free for churches, families and schools, with no subscription, no cost per child and no sign-up needed to teach.
Which Bible translation is used?
The films and memory verses show the King James Version word for word. In the lessons you can switch the verses to the Berean Standard Bible, the ESV or dozens of other English Bibles, every verse is labelled with its translation, and tapping a verse on the film opens its whole chapter.
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