Saturday, October 10, 2015

October 11: Jesus Restores God's Place

Read "Jesus Restores God's Place," part 16 of The Big Picture Story Bible.

For this lesson we focus on how God did not go back on his promises to Abraham after the Old Testament.

Review God's promises to Abraham: 1. Abraham's family would become a great nation, 2. God would give His people a special place, and 3. God will bring His blessings to other people on the earth.

Ask kiddos if Abraham's family became a great nation {Yes! In fact, their country, Israel, is still a country today! They've had lots of struggles due to their disobedience (sometimes even getting their "country" privilege taken away {When Jesus was born, the area was ruled by the Roman Empire}, but they were, and still are, a great nation.}

Ask students if God gave His people a special place {Yes! He gave them the land of Israel, and even though it was overtaken many times by many other rulers, it was still there waiting for them to obey and make better choices.}

Before Jesus came, God's special place was a land called Israel. Abraham's descendants lived there and God's word was followed for many years in this place. At the end of the Old Testament, however, we read a lot about disobedience. Solomon, and those after him, did not make good choices for God, and they were punished by losing their land. In some wars they were kicked off it, in other wars they were held as slaves, when Jesus came along they had to pay heavy taxes to Caesar Augustus, who was the ruler of the Roman Empire, a huge kingdom that had overtaken Israel. Jesus came to change that.

A lot of people thought that Jesus would come as a superhero, ready to fight the Romans and take back the land that the Israelites felt was theirs. God had another plan, though. Many people were surprised- and didn't believe- that God's Forever King came to earth as a baby. As Jesus grew up and preached His message, a lot of people didn't understand. They were still pretending to obey God, but making bad choices and sinning in secret. And sometimes it wasn't even a secret. The day Jesus went into the temple and saw people selling sacrifices for much more money than they should have, he went berserk!

He told His followers, and the people standing nearby, that the stone temple wasn't God's special place anymore. Instead, HE was God's special place. That sounds crazy, right? How can a person be a place!?

Many people were confused, so Jesus explained it like this: His body was now God's Holy Temple, and instead of people sacrificing animals to get the blood they needed to pay for their sins, Jesus would use HIS blood. Of course He hadn't died on the cross yet, so nobody knew what He was talking about.

Jesus told everyone that HE was the new place people should go to to worship. Instead of visiting a temple, we can pray through Jesus. Instead of a temple being so important, from now on the church is anyone who gets together to glorify God. Our bodies are kind of like a temple, too. Jesus is in our hearts and it's our job to keep our temple clean. Not just healthy-clean and physically-clean, but spiritually-clean as well.

For our activity, I chose one student to trace on bulletin board paper. We then took turns writing inside the body outline ways that we can take care of our bodies to worship Jesus. Ideas include eating healthy, not getting tattoos or piercings, not saying bad words or having mean thoughts in our heads, smiling instead of frowning, etc. I really had the kiddos think hard before they added to our word collage, and I think it gave them a better idea of how we can worship God when we're not necessarily at church or praying. I also didn't sway them one way or another (like over the tattoos, since some kids said they didn't see it as sinful), I let them go with what they felt comfortable saying.

Saturday, October 3, 2015

October 4: God's New People are Called

Read "God's New People are Called," part 15 of The Big Picture Story Bible.

Give each child a coffee filter and blue marker. Show examples, and have them decorate their coffee filter anyway they want- zigzags, stripes, polka-dots, etc. Then place a paper towel under and gently spritz with water.

{I use these bottles for all of our water needs, but I noticed they're discontinued.}

As the filters are drying {We swapped out for dry paper towels and it only took about 15 minutes} each kiddo chose a bird feather and eyeball to glue on a dove pattern (I drew it by hand so I don't have a copy, basically a big circle for the body, a small circle for the head, add a beak and a rectangle tail.)

Then glue the bird onto the coffee filter and have students retell the story of the dove landing on Jesus after John baptized Him to tell everyone that Jesus was, indeed, His Son. Remind everyone that just like Jesus had followers back then, we are His followers, too!

Saturday, September 19, 2015

September 20: God's Promised One is Born

Last week the kids played a game to learn about the purpose of the census and why Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem. This week is the actual "Christmas Story" of Christ's birth, but since it's only September I desperately wracked my brain trying to think of what would bring everything we've learned up to the point where we FINALLY learn who God's Forever King is.

I decided to focus on the genealogy of Jesus. BORING! You say. TOO HARD! You agree with yourself. THERE IS NO WAY TO TEACH KIDS THE GENEALOGY OF JESUS! You scream in your head.

Wrong.

That's what I thought, too, until I figured out a way to do it. And I was blown away by the awesomeness my kiddos remembered from the last 3 months as we went over it. It was a PERFECT review! (Not many lessons make me as pleased as this one did).

Basically, we reviewed last week and read the story this week from The Big Picture Study Bible. We talked a little about Mary and Joseph, and then I mentioned that all of the stories we learned from the Old Testament have led up to this moment, and I gave them this paper I created:


I gave them a minute or so to read over it and asked if they recognized any of the names. Surprising themselves, they did. I explained that this was a list from the first man, Adam, to Jesus, following through dads {except in one or two cases where there were no males and it used the female that married back into her own tribe. I also mentioned also that this is Joseph's genealogy, but Mary's is available, too. Since we talked about Jesus being born in Bethlehem because of his dad-Joseph, I decided to take the "legal" way.}

Then I gave each student a highlighter and we reviewed, beginning with Adam, all of the names that we read about. As we read, we discussed that character and what he did... "Even though Adam disobeyed God, he still got to be part of Jesus' family line... God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many- can you believe his family line traces all the way to Jesus!?... Remember David, who killed Goliath and eventually became King?! Jesus had the royal line for a bit!" The kids were SO excited and loved highlighting the people they remembered that we've read about. Some even noticed a couple others we didn't talk about... "Hey, is that the Boaz from the Ruth lady?" I was really pleased to see how much the kids remembered as we reviewed Jesus' line.

After we finished highlighting, they cut out their book and glued it onto a piece of construction paper. Then we cut around it to make a book cover, and some chose to fold it to make their own part of the Bible.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

September 13: Many Silent Years

We went outside for a big-area activity with this lesson. 

Set up a cone labeling each area (You may want to use a map of Israel during Jesus' time to get an accurate-ish idea of where to set the areas in relation to each other)
-Nazareth
-Jericho
 -Bethlehem
-Jerusalem
-Capernaum
-Bethany

Read part 12 of The Big Picture Story Bible, "Many Silent Years" and explain how the census works today and how it worked back then.

Take the kiddos outside and set up cones labeling different areas of Israel. I have about 25 kids, so I had 6 cities. You can always set up more if necessary.

I color-coded each one of my cities to help the younger ones out, so blue=Nazareth, green= Jerusalem, etc. Have students go to a city of their choice to begin the activity. 

We are in the ancient city of Israel and the city you're in now is where you live. Our country was taken over many years ago and we're now part of the Roman Empire. Our government leader, Caesar Augustus, has declared that everyone must go to their home city to be counted for the census.

Hand out cards {mine were actually colored balls} that list what city each person must return to. Give students about 30 seconds to reach their destination. Mix the cards up and repeat, giving only 10 seconds. {My kiddos didn't need an actual challenge, they really enjoyed traveling, but read below if you're up for more adventure.}

If you want to make the game into a challenge, lay out hula hoops at each "city." Only the first 3 citizens to reach their home city are allowed to stay, the others must leave the game. Continue playing, only allowing 2 to stay, and then once more with only the 1st person. Lastly, have the remaining players all rush from their current location to Bethlehem. The first person will be the winner. 

Describe how Mary and Joseph had to travel from Nazareth, where they lived, to Bethlehem, where Joseph's family was from. Talk about the distance and how with other travelers on the road it was a very long and at-times-confusing journey for many people.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

September 6: God's Promise Remains

Last week the students destroyed their beautiful artwork to symbolize God destroying the temple Solomon built for Him before turning his heart away. We kept the pieces in a ziploc bag for today.

Read part 11 of The Big Picture Story Bible "God's Promise Remains."


Have multiple copies of enlarged cards for each character- Ezekiel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel- and also a poster for each action- "raise the Temple and give the people new hearts," "a forever King would come from David's family," "the people would return home in 70 years," and "prayed for God's promise to come true."

Students will work in small groups to match each prophet with what they said. Then go over together.

After many years and God's people finally were able to come back to God's special place, they were very sorry for disobeying Him for so long. The city and the temple had been destroyed and they had to work hard at repairing their mess.

Hand out puzzle pieces from last week along with a slightly larger sheet of construction paper and glue. 

Just as God's people rebuilt Solomon's temple, you are going to rebuild your artwork today. It will take some hard work and a lot of time, but when you are done it will be cause for celebration!

After giving students time to work, have them review their final project. Does it look like it did before? How is it different? Is it better or worse? Why?

The pictures will look similar, but not identical, to their picture from last week. Students may note that their are missing pieces, open spaces, torn edges or rough spots. I had a quick mini-lesson about how this is similar to when we sin, also. Even though we say we're sorry and we try to fix our mistakes, we can't take away hurt or pain we've caused someone else. Saying hurtful things to someone can't be undone, just as the temple couldn't go back to it's original condition. Only God can fix what's been broken and make it like new, we can apologize for our mistakes and try to fix our problems, but our relationships with those we've hurt will never be "like new."

"The old men cried because they remembered Solomon's beautiful temple and knew that Israel could never completely rebuild God's place. They cried because they still longed for God's forever king to come."

Saturday, August 29, 2015

August 30: Another Very Sad Day

Hand out temple pictures from last week (have copies of a fancy temple available for students who weren't here) and review the story of Solomon building a special temple to honor God. Review how God was keeping all of His promises to Abraham; He made him into a great nation, he gave Israel the land, and now He was bringing God's blessing to other people on the earth.

Unfortunately, though, this story doesn't have a happy ending. Read part 10 of The Big Picture Story Bible, "Another Very Sad Day."

Even though Solomon loved God, he wasn't happy with obeying Him. Just like many others we've learned about, Solomon wanted to be happy on earth, even if it meant not listening to God's word.

Hand out scissors. (At this point some of my older kids were getting a little antsy.)

God told Solomon that his kingdom would be torn apart because they didn't obey Him. (At this point, my kids who figured it out started shaking their heads and saying, "No!" "Don't make me do what we're about to do!")

Solomon worked very hard on his temple. But he turned away from God. God's people turned away from God. They disobeyed God's word and rejected God as their king. God no longer wanted a huge temple for people to worship at if they weren't worshipping Him.... so He had it destroyed.

Last week we made beautiful temples to remind us of the beautiful temple Solomon built to honor God. But because His people did not honor Him, it was destroyed. Using your scissors, cut up your temple and destroy the beautiful artwork you created last week. (At this point my kiddos are like "WHAT!!!! I WORKED SO HARD ON THIS!!!" One of my boys even refused to do it- He said he honored God all week long and didn't think his deserved to be destroyed!)



We put the pieces in a ziploc bag to save for another week.

Review with the kiddos why God's temple was destroyed. Be sure to go over each of these points:
-God will punish sin. He punished His people back then, and there are still consequences for sinful behaviors today.
-God's people need a Savior. We cannot save ourselves. We're too weak on our own and fall into the same trap as Solomon; we're selfish and don't want to live for God.
-Only God is the true God, idols are worthless. Just like King Ahab trying to make his fake god light a fire on an altar, when we put our faith into things of this world it's not going to work!
-God blesses those who follow His word. God answered Elijah's prayer, even though He was upset with the people as a whole. Sometimes it may seem easier to go along with what others are doing, even if it's wrong, but God knows! God knew exactly who was following Him and who was not.


Saturday, August 22, 2015

August 23: God's Blessings Grow

Ask students to describe a really fancy house- keep notes on chart paper for reference. Encourage ideas of grandeur, shiny, gold-encrusted things; things they've seen on TV or movies but likely don't have at their houses.

Review with kiddos that God had promised Abraham three basic things: 1. His family would become a great nation 2. God would give them a special place to live and 3. God would make them a blessing to all the people on the earth.

A few weeks ago God began giving Abraham his great nation. Last week God gave them a special place to live. This week we're talking about how God continued to bless His people.

Read Part 9 of The Big Picture Story Bible "God's Blessings Grow." Discuss how King David {remind them of the kid-David we've talked about previously and explain this is him all grown up!} wanted to build God a special house, but God wanted David's son, Solomon, to build it instead.

Go back to your brainstorm list and explain that students will be drawing the temple Solomon built for God. Read over a few specifics and have kids discuss why he made it so fancy. Encourage students to take their time and use the whole sheet of paper to show details.

Make sure students put their names on their temples- we'll need them next week!




Saturday, August 1, 2015

August 2: God's People Become Great

Last week we learned that Joseph, who was sold into slavery by his brothers, actually saved Abraham's entire family. Joseph was in charge of the food during a great famine, when there was no food available for those who hadn't saved up.

Joseph invited his brothers and their families to live with him in Egypt. Let's read what happens next.

Read part 6 of The Big Picture Story Bible about Jacob's family of 70 moving to Egypt, and how over the course of 400 years the Egyptians began hating them.

Why did the promised family go down to Egypt?

What does this story add to what we know about God's promise? (God had promised Abraham that his family would be God's People and they would live in God's place. God wants to bless all the people).

While part of the promise is being held up, that God's people keep growing bigger and bigger, they did not yet have their own land. They became slaves in Egypt and were forced to work for the evil Pharaoh.

How did God take care of His people? What job did He give Moses? Did the Pharaoh listen?

What did God do to make Pharaoh listen to His word?

We read today about 9 of the plagues God sent on the people of Egypt: God made the river turn to blood, the entire land swarmed with frogs, the dust turned into gnats, God made the houses full of flies, the animals of Egypt got sick and died, and the people got painful sores on their bodies. Then, God made hail fall from the sky, locusts covered the ground, and then darkness spread out over the land.

Students will make a booklet outlining the plagues, then predict what will finally happen to help His people escape.

Can you imagine watching those things happen!? Would you rather be an Egyptian, or one of God's people?

Many people respect Moses for listening to God. Sometimes God calls us to do things and we might feel nervous or afraid, but if we trust in Him like God's people trusted in Him back then, we can be sure everything will turn out favorably. God loves us and wants to bless us, just like He wanted to bless His people long ago. We are all God's people!

Saturday, July 25, 2015

July 26: God's People Grow

After reviewing the last 4 weeks, read "part 5" of The Big Picture Story Bible. I started out by giving each child a coloring page of Joseph. I explained that the this story begins when his dad, Jacob, gave him a coat of many colors. I encouraged the kids to color the picture while I listed several reasons Joseph's brothers hated him, before beginning the story.



After reading, we discussed what happened.

What did Joseph's brothers do to him? Why? Was Joseph alone in Egypt? Who was with him?

How did God take care of Joseph? Why do you think God made Joseph a helper to the Egyptians?

When Joseph's brothers came for food, how did he respond?

What parts of God's promise to Abraham can we see in this story?

If Joseph had chosen to be spiteful to his brothers and turn away their request, God's promise to Abraham could have ended right there. He would've had his revenge on his brothers, but would have (unknowingly) lost God's blessing for the family to become great. God's people kept growing!

Do you think Egypt will be the promised land for Abraham's family?

Saturday, July 18, 2015

July 19: God's Big Promise

We reviewed how so far God had created humans and they chose to disobey Him. Over time, people continued to disobey so He sent a great flood and save the only obedient family: Noah's. After some time, people began to disobey God again and He wanted to honor Abraham, who had chosen to obey Him when so many others chose not to. He had a big blessing promised for Abraham and his wife, Sarah. 

How many stars are there in the sky? After reading the story, we discussed that God told Abraham that he would have many descendants (kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, etc.) The kids estimated about how many descendants they thought he might have. Many thought that 2-3 kids, 5-10 grandkids, and about 20 great-grandkids would be adequate for God's blessing.

We discussed how God told Abraham to look at the stars in the sky- he would have as many relatives as there are stars! Most of the kids guessed 10-1,000,000 stars, so we created our own starry nights to see about how many stars there might be.




We did this by going outside and flicking white paint from dollar-store toothbrushes onto blue or black construction paper. The older kids had a blast using the toothbrushes for "play" instead of work (haha!) and although some of the little ones used it more as a paintbrush, everyone agreed their artwork looked like a night sky.

Then week came back inside and had snack as our paintings quickly dried. After eating, I asked the kiddos how many stars were in their skies. Many started (and tried miserably!) to count but everyone decided there were just too many to count.

And that's the whole point, I told them! God wanted to bless Abraham, just like he wants to give us blessings today. We are okay with little things in our lives, just like Abraham would be happy with an extended family of 50, but God wants SO MUCH MORE for us. If we love and obey God He wants to give us His blessings. They might not come in the way of money or fame, but He gives us mercy, grace, patience, love, the list goes on. And the more we honor God, the more He will bless us by giving us the things we really need while we're on this earth.

Saturday, July 11, 2015

July 12: Life Outside the Garden

I promised the kiddos time outside on our recently refurbished playground, so we simply read the story, answered questions, and had rice-krispie treats outside today!

Saturday, July 4, 2015

July 5: A Very Sad Day

Last week we talked about how God created everything. He spoke the words and the heavens and earth were created. He spoke the words and the sun and the moon appeared. He spoke the words and made every thing come alive- even us! Last week we learned that God created Adam and Eve in His image. He created you and I in His image, too!

God put Adam and Eve in a place called the Garden of Eden. Some people think that its where the Middle East is, now. It was not a desert then, though, it was the most wonderful place on earth! God told Adam and Eve that they were in charge of all of the plants and animals- they got to pick out names for them, and everyone there lived peacefully. There was a big tree that God put in the center of the garden. Their only rule was that they could not eat the fruit from that tree. As long as they obeyed God's rule, then they were in charge of everything

{Read the story from The Big Picture Story Bible.}

Some people say, "Oh, I would never have eaten the fruit from the tree!" but honestly, we likely would. Have any of you ever done something you shouldn't have? Our hearts want to follow God's rules, but sometimes we still mess up and sin. Even though we know something is wrong, we choose to do it anyway.

God does not want us to live like that. He wants us to obey Him. God had to punish Adam and Eve so they would learn an important lesson about obedience. Sometimes our parents punish us to teach us to follow the rules too!

{I also showed "Creation" from The Beginner's Bible: Volume 2 DVD that I picked up at Sam's Club this week. It has the story of Creation through the Fall. It was a little long, but all 23 kids ages 3-12 sat in their seats and watched the whole thing!}





While the kids were watching the dvd, they colored an important reminder to take home with them.



Saturday, June 27, 2015

June 28: Begin Old Testament "The Very Good Beginning"

June 28: Begin Old Testament "The Very Good Beginning"



Have several different Bibles sitting around the room and ask kids to take a look at them. How are they similar? Different? Do they have the same words? Do they look friendly to kids? Pull out the Big Picture Story Bible.

We're going to start way back at the beginning of time to see how the Bible comes together to tell the story of God's love. Even though grownup bibles are much bigger, this bible will help us understand the big picture- or what the Bible is truly about.

We're going to start today with the very first story in the Bible. No matter which of these books you go to, it's going to be at the very beginning. In fact, we can call this lesson "The Very Good Beginning." Bibles label the first stories into a book called Genesis. This story comes from the book of Genesis.

p16-19 Wow- that's pretty amazing. God made everything simply by speaking words.

p20-24 So people were made in the image of God.  p25-31

Look at the picture on page 32. Adam and Eve look really happy. They were in the Garden of Eden and everything was perfect.

p33-35 God gave the people His good words to obey. What would happen if Adam and Eve disobeyed God's words? What special instructions did God give to Adam and Eve? (Do not eat from the special tree)

Today we're going to make a marble earth picture to remind us that God created the whole world. He simply spoke the words and it was created. We were created, too, in the image of God. In the beginning, Adam and Eve lived in God's place, the Garden of Eden. They ruled God's world because they obeyed His good word.

Hand out circle cut from white construction paper or cardstock. On small trays (the circle can fit into), spray a bit of shaving foam for each child. Add a few drops of blue and green acrylic paint or food coloring. Using toothpicks, allow students to marbleize the foam. Carefully set the circle onto the foam and pull back up. Wipe the foam away and a beautiful earth design will remain. While drying, have students glue small phrase on the bottom of a piece of black construction paper. (add yellow dots for stars if you wish!) Then, kids can glue their earth into their solar system. The phrase should say "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He created Adam and Even in His image. We are special to God because we are made in His image, too!"

Marbleized Earth Project directions

Tony Kummer's Ministry to Children lesson

P.S.- My kiddos are using an earth pattern from Creative Clips to marbleize, then will be gluing them on a sheet like this (minus the earth) created using Creative Clips and KB Fonts.






Wednesday, June 24, 2015

The Big Picture Study Bible



I first used The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm beginning in August of 2010. Each week during Children's Church I would read one part of the story and we would discuss the theme and how it connected with what we had previously learned, and then complete an activity. I actually went through the entire book twice, so that by Christmas 2011 I felt that the kids who regularly attended will have heard the big-picture of Jesus. {I wish I could find those lesson plans...grrrr}

Since then, I have taught primarily New Testament (it's SO much better for the kids, I think, to know about Jesus and not just the major stories {creation, flood, King David} from the O.T.). From now until December (2015) we'll be going through the book again.

In addition to the resources here, there is an AMAZING site on Ministry-to-Children.com (scroll to the bottom) that has a lesson plan for the first 12 parts of the story. I'll be pulling in some wording from there but since I like a variety of craftiness to keep things interesting, most of my activities will be from other places {Pinterest}.

I've also created bookmarks for the kids to take home the first week to help guide parents into conversations with their kiddos about what we're learning.


Saturday, June 20, 2015

Saturday, June 6, 2015

June 7: VBS Preparations

June 7: VBS Preparations

June Lessons

June 7: VBS Preparations
June 14: Introduction to Vacation Bible School
June 21: No Children's Church (VBS Program!) Also, Father's Day
June 28: Begin Old Testament (The Big Picture Story Bible) with "The Very Good Beginning"

Saturday, May 30, 2015

May 31: Playing Favorites (Luke 14:1-14)

May 31: Playing Favorites (Luke 14:1-14)

Jesus was invited to eat at someone's house. It was a great honor, and there were many other important guests there, as well. Jesus watched everyone try to sit in the best seat, near the important leader's chair. He told them this story:

"Imagine someone invited you to a party and you sit in the very best seat. Then their very best friend comes and they ask you to move. How embarrassing! Instead, take the worst seat in all the house so that everyone else can have the best seats."

Jesus explained to the people that when we are on this earth, our purpose is not to make ourselves look good in front of others. Especially if it means we have to put someone down in order to get the best spot. Instead, we should serve others. Service is more important to God than status.

He then added on, "And when you invite people to your house, don't play favorites. Don't invite people that you know will invite you back to their house. Don't invite only important people that you can brag about. Instead, invite the people that can't pay you back. God will reward you."

This was His way of saying that we should not only be nice to people who we like. We should not only talk about Jesus to people who are already Christians. God welcomes everyone into His kingdom, so we should welcome everyone into our church, too.

Saturday, May 23, 2015

May 24: He's Coming Back! (Luke 12:35-48)

May 24: He's Coming Back! (Luke 12:35-48)

Activity Before Story:
            Has your mom or dad ever caught you doing something you weren’t supposed to do? Sometimes we think that because no one else is around that we won’t get caught for misbehaving. In our story today, Jesus tells us why we should always choose to do the right thing!

Story:
            There once was a very rich man. He had a large house and could afford to have people cook his food and clean up after him. He had to go on a business trip, and told his servants that he would be gone at least a few days, but it might be several weeks before he came home.
            While he was gone, the servants could do whatever they wanted at the house. They could eat all of the food and swim in his pool. They could lay around and not work all the time. The servants respected and loved the rich man, however. They did not waste their time. They cleaned the house and made sure everything was ready in case he came home at any moment. They waited many days for their master to return.
            Finally, after a long time, the rich man returned home. It was late at night, so he was surprised to see his light on waiting for him. Several of his servants ran out to meet him. They quickly carried his bags inside and cooked him up a nice meal. The rich man was so happy. He did not think the servants loved him enough to stay up at night waiting for his return. The master was so pleased that they had cleaned the house and not wasted time while he was gone; he served them all a really nice meal to show his appreciation.
            Just like in the story, Jesus is our master and we are his servants. Although Jesus went to heaven, He promised us that He would come back for us one day. We don’t know when it will be—it could be tomorrow or it might be 2,000 years from now—but we must always be prepared and ready, just in case He decides to come back soon!

Summary & Questions:
            Jesus promised to come soon. But He did not say when He would return. He encouraged His followers, to watch and be ready. Does Jesus want us to watch and be ready, just like His friends so many years ago? When we gather to hear God’s Word together, we’re waiting for Him. We hope to see Him soon, face to face. We must watch and be ready. We don’t know when or how He will come, but He will come! If you knew Jesus would come to your house tomorrow, how would you prepare? How do you think you would feel if you were doing something bad when Jesus came back? How can we prepare to get ready for Jesus’ return?


Saturday, May 16, 2015

May 17: Let Your Light Shine (Luke 11:33-36)

May 17: Let Your Light Shine (Luke 11:33-36)

Supplies:
Candlestick pattern copied on cardstock for each child
Scissors
Glue
Tissue paper in red, yellow, and orange
Old crayons
Crayon sharpeners
Wax Paper
Iron/Ironing Board

Activity Before Story:
            Ask students to sing, “This little light of mine.” Talk about what the song means.

Story:
            Jesus told His disciples, “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where its light can be seen by everyone.”
            Jesus explained how we are like lamps. “When you see and do good things, your whole body is filled with light. But when you see and do bad things, your body is filled with darkness.” If we are filled with light, then we are a shining example of Christ’s love for us. Everyone can see whether we are lit-up with Jesus inside of us or not.

Summary & Questions:
            When you turn on a lamp or your mom or dad burns a candle, do you cover up the light? Of course you don’t! The purpose is to show off light so people can see. Jesus said we are like lamps. What happens we see and do good things? Is there a light when we see and do bad things? This story is just like the song that goes, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.” We are like bright lamps, shining for Jesus!
Activity After Story:
            Have students use old crayons to make shavings to put on their candlestick. Allow them to decorate then cover with wax paper to iron onto the cardstock. Show students how to cut out orange, yellow, and red pieces of tissue paper for the flame. Encourage them to make the flame 3-d for effect.


Saturday, May 2, 2015

May 3: Do You Believe? (John 12:37-50)

May 3: Do You Believe? (John 12:37-50)

Supplies:
Index cards
Large graph (on bulletin board or on the floor with two columns: “Believe” and “Don’t Believe”
List of things to write on cards
“I believe” pattern copied on cardstock for each child
1 craft needle for each child
Various colors of yarn

Activity Before Story:
            Have kids arrange index cards on the large graph based on whether or not they believe the object/creature on the card exists. Discuss how some things are hard to know, some things we’ve never heard of, and still others are easy to figure out.

Story:
Although Jesus performed many miracles, many people did not believe in Him. Other people believed that He was God’s Son, but they would not admit it because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Jesus told the people that if they believed in Him, then they believe in God.
He said, “I have come as a light to shine in this dark world. Everyone who trusts Me will no longer remain in the darkness.”
            Jesus did not come to earth to be angry and force everyone to believe. God wants us to have a choice. He said, “If anyone hears Me and does not obey, you will one day be judged by God.” 

Summary & Questions:
            Jesus said that if the people believed in Him, then they believed in God. Not everyone believed in Him, and some did but wouldn’t admit it. What did he say that He was like? By “shining” in this dark world, Jesus said that we would no longer be in the darkness. Darkness is like sin and unbelief. Would you rather be on God’s “good” side or “bad”? Did Jesus come to be angry and force everyone to believe in Him? God wants us to have a choice. What will happen to the people that hear Him and don’t believe? What about the people who wouldn’t admit they believed?

Activity After Story:
            Allow students to use craft needles and yarn to sew “I believe” onto the cardstock pattern. Allow students to color their pictures when finished.


Here are some suggestions:
Yes, they exist or did at one time
Mummies (Ancient Egypt and other civilizations mummified dead bodies)
Tyrannosaurus Rex
Buffalo (Animals once hunted in the wild-west, they are now endangered but can sometimes be found in zoos or in the plains states.)
Quagga (an African zebra-hybid which became extinct in the 1880s)
Vegetarians (the word for people who do not eat meat)
Thylacine (Another name for the Tazmanian Tiger which became extinct in the early 20th century)
Wooly Mammoth
Smilodon (Also called a Sabre-Toothed Tiger)
Dodo Bird
Samoyed (A breed of dogs with big white fluffy coats)

No such thing exists           
Leprechauns
Vampires
Hefalumps (As seen on Winnie the Pooh)
BigFoot
Unicorns
Pokemon
Yeti
Sasquatch
El Chupacabra (A pretend animal in Mexico that eats goats)
Trolls
Mermaids
Elves
Cat-in-the-Hat
Godzilla
Frankenstein
Fairies
Klingons (From the tv show Star Trek)
Loch-Ness Monster























May Lessons

May 3: Do You Believe? (John 12:37-50)
May 10: Mother's Day
May 17: Let Your Light Shine (Luke 11:33-36)
May 24: He's Coming Back! (Luke 12:35-48)
May 31: Playing Favorites (Luke 14:1-14)

Saturday, April 25, 2015

April 26: A Story of Investing (Luke 19:11-27)

April 26: A Story of Investing (Luke 19:11-27)

Supplies:
1 copy of coloring sheet for each child
Crayons

Activity Before Story:
            Allow students to color picture while reading the story.

Story:
            Jesus liked to tell stories that taught lessons. He told a story about a king going out of town. Before he left, he gave his servants some money to invest. The first and second servant put their money into the bank to draw interest. The third servant was scared. He did not want to lose the money, so he dug a hole in the ground and kept the money hidden.
            After a few months, the king came back. He asked the servants to show how much money they had. The first servant said he made ten times what he started out with. The king was so impressed he put the servant in charge of 10 cities. The second servant showed the king that he made five times what he started out with. The king put him in charge of 5 cities. The third servant was nervous. He told the king that he didn’t want to lose any money, so he put his in a hole. The third servant had the same amount of money as when he started. The king was very angry. He took the money from him and gave it to the first servant.
            Jesus explained this story. Because the first two servants invested the money like the king told them to, they were given rewards. The third servant did not do anything with the money, so was not allowed any rewards. The first servant worked the hardest, so he was given ten cities, plus the third servant’s money. When we do what God wants us to, we are rewarded. The better we do, the better our rewards. We might not see the rewards right away, but God knows. He keeps tracks of our good deeds!


Summary & Questions:
            If I were to give each of you $20, what would you do with it? What if you only had $20 to last an entire month, would you spend it differently? You would soon realize that money is only useful if you keep getting more to spend. Sometimes your mom or dad, or a family member may give you money, but without them, you soon would not have any. It is the same with the gifts that god gives us. The gift of caring, understanding, sharing, building… even doing homework. These are gifts designed to help us live our lives, but they are also designed to help others. What are things you do well? These are your gifts. Even though it’s not money, like in the story, they are still things you use to help others, like your friends and family. What does God want us to do with the gifts He has given us?
           
Activity After Story:
            Decorate the dollar-bill coloring sheet to show different ways kids can use their gifts to help others.

            

Saturday, April 18, 2015

April 19: Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52)

April 19: Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46-52)

Supplies:
Scraps of fabric to make a blindfold for each child
12 Popsicle sticks for each child
1 cardstock pattern for each child
Band-aids and stickers
Glue
Yarn
First-Aid Kit

Activity Before Story:
            Open the first aid kit and one by one take the supplies out and talk with the kids about what they are and what we use them for and why. Ask students, “Have you ever been sick, or gotten hurt? Who took care of you? Doctors—doctors are smart people, and they are smart because God gives them the knowledge to heal people. God helps the doctors learn about making sick people well again. Read the story of Jesus healing the blind man.

Story:
            Jesus and his followers were leaving Jericho one day. There was a very large crowd of people with them. As they walked out of town, a blind man named Bartimaeus was sitting beside the road. When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was near, he began to shout.
“Jesus, have mercy on me,” he cried out. Some of the people yelled at blind Bartimaeus. “Be quiet!” they shouted. But Bartimaeus called out to Jesus even louder. “Have mercy on me!” he begged. “Please be kind and help me.”
“Jesus heard blind Bartimaeus. “Tell him to come here to me,” jesus said. “Jesus wants you to come to him,” some people told Bartimaeus. So Bartimaeus threw his coat to one side and felt his way over to Jesus. “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked. “Help me to see,” Bartimaeus answered.
“You may go now,” Jesus said. “Because you believed in me, your eyes are healed.”
As soon as Jesus said that, Bartimaeus could see. He was healed! Then Bartimaeus followed Jesus as he went on down the road.
What was the blind man’s name? What did he ask Jesus to do? How did Jesus help him? Why do you think Bartimaeus followed Jesus after he was healed?

Summary & Questions:
What was the blind man’s name? What did he ask Jesus to do? How did Jesus help him? Why do you think Bartimaeus followed Jesus after he was healed? Can Jesus heal us when we are sick? How can we ask Jesus to help us feel better when we are hurt or sick?

Activity After Story:
            Blindfold each child and play a short game of Simon Says while they are blindfolded. Then put them all in a line, have them hold onto each other’s waists and walk around the room (you leading the way). After a couple of minutes, sit down on the floor again. Then they may take the blindfolds off. Ask children, “Could you see anything with the blindfolds on? What was it like walking around the room when you could see where you were going? Would you want to be blind all the time? How did you know you weren’t going to bump into anything while you were walking around? You knew I was leading you—that’s called faith, when you trust someone to lead you and not let you get hurt. The blind man had faith in Jesus that He would heal him, and make him see again. That’s why Jesus was able to heal him. Jesus can only help us if we believe that He can. Do you believe that Jesus can make you well when you are sick or hurt? Let’s make something to help us remember that Jesus can heal us when we are sick or hurt. Pass out cardstock. Have students cut out squares and decorate with band-aids and stickers. Use glue to attach 12 Popsicle sticks (log-cabin style) to the sheet of cardstock. Be sure kids keep the picture frames flat on the table. When they are finished, glue yarn to the top corners on the back of the frame as a hanger.


Saturday, April 11, 2015

April 12: The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)

April 12: The Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31)

Activity Before Story:
            Hand out two sheets of paper to each child. Have them right their name on the back of both sheets. Tell them to draw a picture with crayons about what they think Heaven will be like. Then draw a picture with crayons about what Hell might be like.

Story:
            Jesus told this story. “There was a rich man who dressed nice and lived in a big house. At his gate, a man named Lazarus was very poor. He did not have anything to eat and was very sick. He begged for food but the rich man ignored him. The time came when the beggar died and went to heaven. He stayed beside Abraham. The rich man died and was buried. He did not go to heaven. He looked up from Hell and saw Lazarus. He asked Abraham to have a drink of water. But Abraham told him, “Remember that in your life on earth you received good things, and Lazarus received bad things. Now he is comforted in Heaven and you are not.
            The rich man said, “The please, send Lazarus to my father’s house. Let him tell my five brothers to not be like me. Tell them to do the right thing on earth.”
            Abraham replied, “They have others on earth to listen to.” The man knew that his brothers would not listen to people on earth telling them to be generous and kind. He knew that if they would not listen to the people on earth telling them to be nice, they would not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead to tell them.”

Summary & Questions:
            Who was telling this lesson? What was Lazarus’ life on earth like? How did the rich man feel when he died? How did Lazarus feel? Have we been warned about what will happen to us when we die? What should we do to prepare? What hadn’t the rich man done on earth? If we act like the rich man, will we get another chance?

Activity After Story:
            After students have depicted their ideas of what they think heaven and hell may be like, paint over the crayons with watercolors. Ask students how they would feel in heaven. Ask students how they would feel in hell. Ask kids how to get to heaven. Ask kids how to get to hell. Did the rich man go to heaven?