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?

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.

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!

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.