Scripture: Daniel 2,4
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn that God sometimes sent prophecies in dreams.
- Students will learn God’s prophecies are often in great detail and always come true.
- Students will learn God does not want us to put ourselves in the position in our lives meant for God.
- Students will learn how to cope with nightmares.
Guiding Question: How can students use coping strategies to deal with nightmares?
Materials: None needed
Procedure: Review the stories of Nebuchadnezzar’s two dreams. Point out that in the first dream, Daniel explained about four great world kingdoms. The symbols represented real kingdoms that eventually ruled the world. The first was Babylonia (which probably made Nebuchadnezzar very happy.) The other three were prophecies of future kingdoms – Persia, Greece and most people believe Rome is the fourth. It took seven years for Nebuchadnezzar to learn his lesson. In the end, he realized God deserves all of the glory. Anything man has is merely a gift from God – including power, position and wealth.
Talk to the students about what causes nightmares (https://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/nightmares). Talk with the students about some strategies for stopping nightmares: routine, reassurance, talking about bad dreams, rewriting the ending of the dream, dealing with things that are stressful, using comfort items, nightlights, rehearsing a new way for a recurring nightmare to progress so it will not be as scary. Encourage them to use those changes as soon as they realize they are dreaming.
Additional Questions: How can students understand reasons behind nightmares?
Supplemental Activity: Have students keep a 2-3 week long journal and record any nightmares they have. Have them also record any stress or things going on that led to the nightmare – allowing students to see what changes they can make to get better sleep.