This lesson teaches children that when people try to distract us from doing what God asked, we can keep our eyes on the job and trust God to help us. It suits children ages 5 to 11 and takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
Big Idea
When people try to stop the good work God gave us, we keep going and we ask God to make us strong.
Memory Verse
Nehemiah 6:9
For they all would have made us afraid, saying, “Their hands will be weakened from the work, that it not be done.” But now, strengthen my hands.
(WEB)
Teach the children to hold both fists up in front of their chests, then slowly push them apart as if making their arms strong. Say the verse together while you push, and repeat it three times so the motion sticks.
The Story: Nehemiah 6 for Kids
Nehemiah was a man who loved God and cared about Jerusalem. The city walls had been broken down, and the people were not safe. God helped Nehemiah lead the people in building the wall again, and the work was going well. Soon the wall was almost finished, with only the gates still to be hung.
Some men did not like what was happening. Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem wanted to stop the work. They sent Nehemiah a message: “Come meet us in the plain of Ono.” But they really wanted to hurt him. Nehemiah sent back a simple answer: “I am doing a great work. I cannot come down.”
The men sent their message again, and again, four times in all. Each time Nehemiah gave the same answer. The fifth time, Sanballat sent a letter that said bad things about Nehemiah, trying to make the king think he was a traitor. Nehemiah wrote back that these were lies that came from the enemies’ own hearts.
Then someone tried to trick Nehemiah into hiding in the temple because he said God had sent a warning. Nehemiah knew better. He said, “Should a man like me run away?” He would not be scared into doing something wrong. Instead, he prayed and asked God to make his hands strong.
The wall was finished in fifty-two days. When the enemies heard about it, they were afraid, because they could see that God had helped the people do this work. The people of Jerusalem learned that God was with them, even when others tried to scare them.
Read It Together
Nehemiah 6:3
I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work, so that I can’t come down. Why should the work cease, while I leave it, and come down to you?”
(WEB)
Point out that Nehemiah had a clear answer and did not change his plans just because others asked him to stop. Ask the children what important job they have right now, like helping at home or finishing homework.
Nehemiah 6:10-11
10 I went to the house of Shemaiah the son of Delaiah the son of Mehetabel, who was shut in at his home; and he said, “Let us meet together in God’s house, within the temple, and let us shut the doors of the temple; for they will come to kill you. Yes, in the night will they come to kill you.” 11 I said, “Should a man like me flee? Who is there that, being such as I, would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.”
(WEB)
Show the children that Nehemiah refused to hide, even when someone told him it was a warning from God. Explain that a real message from God never asks us to do wrong, so we can test every idea by asking what God’s Word says.
Nehemiah 6:15-16
15 So the wall was finished in the twenty-fifth day of Elul, in fifty-two days. 16 When all our enemies heard of it, all the nations that were around us were afraid, and they lost their confidence; for they perceived that this work was done by our God.
(WEB)
Point to the finished wall and the enemies who were afraid. Remind the children that the wall was finished because God helped the people, and that God’s help is bigger than anything that tries to stop us.
Talk About It
- What kind of job did Nehemiah have to finish, and why was it important to the people?
- How did Nehemiah answer the men who wanted him to stop working?
- What did Nehemiah do when someone tried to scare him into hiding?
- When have you felt like someone was trying to make you stop doing something good?
- How can you ask God to help you keep going when things get hard?
Activity Ideas
Build a Paper Wall
You will need construction paper, tape, markers, and a few cardboard tubes or small boxes. Have each child decorate paper bricks with their name and draw a picture of something they want to protect or build. Tape the bricks together to make a wall, and talk about how each person’s work helps finish the wall.
Stand Firm Game
Choose one child to be Nehemiah and the others to be the people calling out distractions, like “Come down and meet us!” Nehemiah keeps walking toward a line on the floor and answers, “I am doing a great work.” Switch roles so every child gets a turn, and practice saying the answer clearly.
Take-Home Reminder Card
Give each child an index card and a pencil. Ask them to write or draw one good job they are working on this week and one way they can ask God for strength. Encourage them to tape the card to their bedroom door or refrigerator so they see it each day.
Teacher Notes
For adults, this chapter shows that faithful work often faces opposition, and that opposition can come in many forms, including flattery, pressure, false warnings, and lies. Nehemiah’s response models steady focus, honest answers, and prayer rather than fear or compromise. The passage also reminds us that the success of the work is ultimately credited to God.
Be careful not to suggest to children that God will always make every project easy or succeed in the way we expect. Nehemiah’s story shows God’s help in a specific moment, and it is wise to focus on faithfulness and trust rather than promising guaranteed outcomes.
A Prayer to Close
Lord, thank you for the good work you give us to do. When others try to stop us or scare us, help us keep our eyes on you and keep going. Make our hands strong and our hearts brave, just like Nehemiah. Amen.
