Bible Stories: "She's Not Dead; She's Sleeping"

    

This story is called "Day 248: 'She's Not Dead; She's Sleeping'" from 365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories by Daniel Partner.

Bible Stories: "Who Touched Me?"

    

This story is called "Day 247: 'Who Touched Me?'" from 365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories by Daniel Partner.

Bible Stories: The Man of Unclean Spirits

    

This story is called "Day 246: The Man of Unclean Spirits" from 365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories by Daniel Partner.

Bible Stories: The Wind and the Sea Obey Him

    

This story is called "Day 245: The Wind and the Sea Obey Him" from 365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories by Daniel Partner.

Bible Stories: Jesus Ignores the Sabbath part two

   

This story is called "Day 238: Jesus Ignores the Sabbath part two" from 365 Read-Aloud Bedtime Bible Stories by Daniel Partner.

Mark

Here is our lesson about Mark. The left half tells about the book of Mark. The right half tells about Mark.

November 29: God's New Kingdom Spreads

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.

March 15: The Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-27, Mark 10:17-30)

March 15: The Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18-27, Mark 10:17-30)

            A man asked Jesus, “What must I do to go to Heaven?” Jesus told him, “You know the 10 commandments.” The man answered, “Yes, I have followed them since I was a boy.” Jesus said, “You still need to do one more thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor. Then you will have treasure in Heaven. Come and follow me.” The man became very sad, because he was rich.

            Jesus looked at him and said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” The man asked, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

Is it impossible to be rich and still go to heaven? What was the young man supposed to do with all of his wealth? How do you think God feels when we turn to money instead of to Him to provide for us? If Jesus loved the man, why was He so hard on him? Why do you think Jesus told the man to give away the money to the poor instead of telling him to give it to the church?

This story kind of reminds me of Zacchaeus. Remember him from a few weeks ago? He was selfish and took more money than he was supposed to as a tax collector. I think the difference in this story is that when Jesus told Zacchaeus that he needed to ask for forgiveness for his sins, Zacchaeus immediately did that! He felt very sorry that he stole money and said he would donate half of his possessions to the poor and give back four times the amount of money he took from the people in Jericho. 

This story ends a little differently, though. Did the rich man ruler apologize for being selfish? Did he ask Jesus to forgive him for putting money above his love for God? No, it says the man became very sad, because he was rich. This man didn't want to give up everything He had for Jesus. 

I think when we are young it is easy to give our life to Jesus. We know that He will always take care of us and we want to make Him happy. Unfortunately, as people get older sometimes they forget to put God first. This man wasn't old, but he was old enough to have a lot of money. His money made him forget how much God loved him and how we can trust God to take care of all of our needs. 

For this activity, the kids each had a strip of non-glossy poster board. Using pencils, we first drew a bird at the top of our page. Then we drew long legs. Along the leg part, with a black crayon, we wrote "God Will Meet Your Needs." Older kids added "Phillipians 4:19" at the bottom. Then the kids traced their bird with old crayons, pressing down pretty hard. Then we painted the bird a cool color (blue, purple, green) and the background a warm color (red, orange, yellow). 

The idea for this project came from this awesome blog about Dali style artwork. 

August 2014

August: Jesus Taught Us with Stories

August 3: Rotten Fruit ( A Tree and Fruit parable Luke 6:43-45)
August 10: Sturdy as a Rock (The House on a Rock parable Matt 7:24-29)
August 17: What Kind of Farmer Are You? (The Farmer parable Luke 8:1-18)
August 24: Where the Seed Falls (Growing Seeds parable Matt 13:24-30)
August 31: A Tiny Difference (The Mustard Seed Mark 4:30-34)

Week 23: June 8

Our theme for June is "Jesus Heals" 

Week 23- Jesus Heals a Paralytic (Mark 2:1-12) 

This week we read about how Jesus healed a man who was paralyzed. We first talked about what it means to be paralyzed, and how sad it was that He couldn't visit Jesus.


When Jesus came to Capernaum, everyone wanted to see Him. People filled the house- every room- to the point where nobody could even get through the door. In fact, people stood outside of the doorway waiting to hear Jesus speak.

There was one man, though, that could not go visit Jesus. He was paralyzed, which means he was not able to move his body. He couldn't walk to Jesus. He couldn't push through the crowds. He knew that Jesus could heal him, but how? He wasn't able to get there on his own.

The man's friends had a great idea. They put the paralyzed man onto a special mat. They climbed onto the roof of the house that Jesus was standing in. They lowered the man through the roof into the room Jesus was in. Jesus looked at the ceiling, and saw the men slowly lowering down the paralyzed man. He was happy that they trusted Him. He knew they believed. And He healed the man. He said, "Pick up your mat and walk. You are healed!" And the man was able to walk! Jesus also forgave the man of his sins. Jesus can heal us from our sins, too. 

We then went into a discussion about what it means to be forgiven by Jesus and how come it's important to ask Him to forgive us of our sins. 

We then water-colored our own card stock "mats" to remind us that Jesus can heal our bodies, but can also heal our souls. 

Week 16: April 20

Our theme for April is "The Easter Story"

Week 16- Up From the Grave He Arose!

Our church is always PACKED on Easter Sunday (whose isn't!?) so I like something simple that kids can do that doesn't need a lot of help. We have many kids for the first time on Easter, so I want to be able to spend the time talking with them, not helping them cut/glue/fight with pieces that don't align. 

I found a really cute cross craft on sale at orientaltrading.com (They don't appear to have them anymore) and I *ahem* accidentally bought 14 packs instead of 4 soooooo we'll definitely be doing this craft again in the future (like... future 5 years hahaha) Glad I did, now that I know they're sold out! 

The kids absolutely loved placing the foam stickers WHEREVER they wanted on the cross (makes me wonder how stressed these kids are in class about following directions if they would get so excited about a flower) but anyway, we topped them off with the verse sticker just as parents were heading down the stairs. It was a beautiful day! 

Week 5: Feb 2

Our theme for February is "Jesus Shows Us How to Love"

Week 5- Jesus Heals the Sick: What You Can Do (Matt. 4:23-25, Mark 1:29-39, Luke 4:31-44)

I plan to begin this lesson by students brainstorming anyone they know who is sick. It could be an older relative in a nursing home, a friend with a broken arm, or even a mom with the sniffles. Each person can write down someone's name on a piece of poster board. A volunteer will pray that God will be with everyone who is on the paper. 

Then I'll start asking questions:
1. What types of sicknesses are there?
2. What makes people sick?
3. Think about the last time you were sick- how did you feel?
4. What can you do for someone when they're sick?

*Just a note, because demon-possession can be EXTREMELY scary to a small child, and in my case I can't sit around to answer everyone's questions and quell everyone's fears, I leave that specific part out and just go with "sick people." If you're in a small group (or with your own child) and you feel like you can talk to your kids about it without creating the fear inside of them that the devil could crawl inside of them (trust me... this is where you even mentioning it will lead their little brains, no matter what else you say while talking), then you might wish to add that part.* 

Over the last few weeks we've explored how amazing our God is. We learned how when Jesus was a kid he learned all He could at the temple... He was proud to be a follower of God. We talked about how Jesus showed us how to be baptized so that we can show others we are proud to be followers of God, also. Last week we were reminded that Jesus wants us to go share the Good News with others. We can share the Good News of Christ Jesus with others, even if they're under the weather. Our sharing is nothing like Jesus', though. Listen to what He did!

(paraphrase) I'm going to read you guys a few verses from the book of Matthew. Chapter 4, verses 23-25: "Jesus traveled and taught all around Galilee. He healed every kind of disease and illness. People heard about this and began bringing everyone they knew that were sick. Jesus healed all of them!"

That's pretty amazing, isn't it? Jesus was able to actually heal- or fix- everyone that came to Him. In the book of Mark it says that Jesus healed Simon's mother-in-law. Do you remember Simon from last week? He left his fishing boat to follow Jesus. His wife's mom was sick with a terrible fever and Jesus healed her! Anyway, after He healed people in one area, He would go somewhere else to preach and heal people. In the book of Luke, chapter 4 it even says that Jesus told everyone, "I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God in other towns, too, because that is why I was sent." 

I'm going to give each of you a small bag and some stickers. Before you start to decorate your bag with stickers, I want you to write a message to someone that is sick. It can be simple on one side, like "Get Well Soon." 

-What would be something good to say on the other side?
-Jesus said "I must preach the Good News of the Kingdom of God." Even though we can't heal the sick people we know, what good news can we give them?
-Why do you think Jesus healed people?
-God wants us to pray for people who are sick. How come?
-What do you think is more important, healing someone's body when they are sick, or sharing the Good News of Jesus with them? Why is the Good News so important?

While the kids are decorating their bags with stickers and messages of God's love, I'm going to set up stations. Each station will have something that students can add to their Get Well Bags. I'll introduce everyone to each station and tell them what to do, and we'll rotate in small groups so that everyone will reach each station in an organized manner.

My stations:
1. Band-aids- Put 2 bandaids in your Get Well bag.
2. Tissues- Put 1 small pack of tissues in your bag.
3. Gum- Put 1 pack of gum in the bag. You choose the flavor.
4. Hand Sanitizer- Put a small bottle in your bag.
5. Candy- Choose 3 pieces of candy to put in the bag. You choose the flavor.
6. Chapstick- Put 1 tube of chapstick in the bag. You choose the flavor.
7. Card- Write your name on the card and put in the bag.

Once the bags are finished, we will fold the tops over and hole punch a spot to tie a ribbon. Staples would work fine, too. 

Now the most important instructions- Find someone who is sick to give your Get Well Bag to! Maybe you can ask a parent to take you to a nursing home. Perhaps your grandmother has been feeling under the weather. The main thing is that we're being disciples by sharing the Good News of Jesus with others, while also providing them small comforts. Be sure to tell them that no matter what, the bag is only to be opened by someone who is TRULY  sick... not just them trading with a friend ;-). 

Week 3: Jan 19

Our theme for January is "Who is Jesus and Why Does it Matter?" 

*Since we got off track this is actually Week 3

Week 2- John the Baptist: Who is He and Why Did He Baptize Jesus? (Mark 1:1-11)

Our church practices baptizing by submersion, so this is something students already know a bit about. The goal for this lesson is for kids to see Jesus' friend/cousin, John, to baptize Jesus and let them see that Jesus sometimes did things as an example of what we should do, and baptizing is one of them. If we love Jesus, we should be proud to stand in front of our family and friends and let them know. 

For this lesson, I'll start by asking kids what is a baptism, and try to pull out a basic definition from their responses. It should be something like, "It's when the pastor dips you in the water to show everyone that you have Jesus in your heart." I like to keep the words simple, so kids will have a basic knowledge to grow on when they get older. Sometimes the kids have specific questions about it, but I don't go into too much detail. 

Then, I'm going to read the text (paraphrased and stuck in my Bible):
John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin. He lived in the wilderness and preached that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. Everyone wanted to see John. He wore clothes made of camel hair and he ate locusts and wild honey. When they came to him and listened to him speak, they realized that what he said was true: if you have God in your heart, you should show everyone! Lots of people confessed their sins, and John baptized them in the Jordan River. 

Who was John? (Jesus' cousin)
Why did people want to see him? (He lived in the wild and wore weird things.)
When people listened to John, what did they do? (Understand the need of baptism; many were baptized)

One day Jesus came to visit John, and told him that He wanted to be baptized, to be an example for others. When John brought Jesus' head out of the water, he saw the heavens opening and the Holy Spirit came to Jesus, like a dove. And Jesus heard a voice from heaven. It said, "You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy." 

What did Jesus ask John to do? (baptize Him)
Did Jesus need to be baptized? (No, He had no sins to repent)
Why do you think Jesus asked to be baptized? (to be an example for us)
What happened when Jesus was baptized? (The heavens opened and the Holy Spirit came down on Jesus like a dove)

Jesus was first beginning His ministry at this point. He hadn't even picked out His apostles. 

Did John make the right choice by baptizing Jesus? 
Why do you think God wanted the Holy Spirit to be with Jesus?

As a craftivity, I'm going to have my kids make a 3-D dove. I'll start by letting them draw the outline of a bird on half-sheet of white card stock. Then they'll cut them out, and also cut a little slit horizontal on the birds back. Then we'll take a sheet of white copy paper and fold it like a fan. I'll show them how to stick the fan through the slit and their bird will have wings. Then they can draw an eye on each side.

I'll tell my students that this bird should remind them that God is always watching us, and just like He was proud of Jesus for being baptized, He wants us to repent of our sins and ask Him into our hearts. 

*Edit to Add- After thinking about this, I think I'm just going to have students watercolor the bottom half of a sheet of card stock, then draw John and Jesus standing in the water. Students can add a dove above Jesus' head if desired. This puts the emphasis back on Jesus, where it should be! 

Here are some of the results: (I did go back and write "Jesus was Baptized by John" at the top of each child's paper with a black marker after taking pictures. I thought the plain white needed a little something)