The Jesus Story Book Bible

Do you have this book yet???

Run, don't walk, to your nearest LifeWay Christian Store (Or I suppose you could go somewhere else!) and purchase this book for your children, children's ministry, or for yourself!

Not just for preschoolers, this book tells the Bible stories we love in the sweetest way, with the most precious illustrations, and every story points to Jesus.  What's not to love???

The Jesus Story Book Bible - Home

Doers of The Word

It's that time of year to begin packing shoe boxes for Samaritan's Purse's Operation Christmas Child.
Plan your lesson around these verses:


James 1:22
James 1:27
1 Thessalonians 5:11


Put into practice what you just learned by packing boxes for orphans and those in need. Encourage children to include a note or drawing to encourage the recipient. 


For more info on what to collect for boxes, visit Samaritan's Purse's website
 <a href="http://www.samaritanspurse.org">Samaritan's Purse</a>


Be sure to pay attention to drop-off deadlines and places in your area.
Also be sure to have children pray over boxes before sending them on their way that the child who receives it gets so much more than a few material objects, but that each one encounters the love of Jesus!

Light, Life, & Love

Following is a previous post about shining our lights during Halloween, followed by some new thoughts on the subject...

Shine Your Light in the darkness of Halloween!

Halloween is about celebrating darkness and death, but as Christ followers, we are about light and life.  For a number of years my family's way of shining our lights in the darkness during this time of year is to attach scriptures about light and life to the candy we pass out to trick or treaters.  This year we decided to get our church family involved.  We asked the children to bring in bags of candy and they taped verses to the candy to pass out to those who ring their doorbells Halloween night.  We weren't sure how long this would keep their attention, but surprisingly they all got really into it!  I guess there's just something fun about doing an activity with their friends.  Either print out the verses using clip art or have kids put cute fall stickers on them, or have them draw cute fall pictures.  Another option would be to put candy and scripture cards in small snack size zipper baggies.

As we seek God about ways we can shine our lights in the darkness, let's be sure we are doing it out of love for Him and love for those to whom He calls us to shine. In scripture we read over and over again of the power of blessing someone. How about adding some scripture cards about God's love for His children?  Since candy is sweet, How about making up cards that say, "I bless you in Jesus' Name with sweetness from His heart to yours!" or make the blessing specific to the type of candy you give out..."I bless you in Jesus' Name with with kisses & hugs from your heavenly Father Who loves you so much!"...or "I bless you in Jesus' Name with More & More of His goodness!"...etc!  Get creative!


And so I bless YOU in Jesus Name with creativity and boldness as you share His Light, Life, and Love with those He puts in your path!

Exercise The Sword of The Spirit

Lead the class in doing some simple stretching exercises, such as reaching as high as they can over their heads, reaching as far forward as they can, bending down and touching their toes, pulling one leg up and back as far as they can, etc...

Say, “Exercise is important to do if we want to be healthy and strong. Before we can exercise, we need to stretch our muscles to prepare our bodies. Before studying God’s Word, it is important to prepare our hearts by inviting Holy Spirit to come and speak to us, so we are doing much more than simply reading words on a page. Let’s stretch our heart muscles and ask God to  strengthen us through His Word, so we can defeat the enemy when he comes along." 

Younger Students: If desired, students may play dress-up with knight costumes and (with lots of supervision!) play with plastic or foam swords. If weather permits, this would be a good activity to do outside. CLEARLY GIVE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE PLACING SWORDS IN HANDS!!!  

Ahead of time, blow up several balloons labeled with various things the enemy might use to try to trip us up. Think of scenarios relevant to kids their ages. Remind students that they can defeat the enemy by exercising the sword of the spirit, which is  truth from God’s Word. It might be less chaotic for students to go one at a time. Show a balloon and ask student what Bible truth would apply in that situation. As they share a verse or truth, they may swing their sword and hit the balloon.

Older Students: Have students role play situations where the enemy tries to trip them up and they defeat him by exercising the sword of the spirit, God’s Word. Have students take turns going two at a time. One will draw a slip of paper, which has the enemy’s words on it and read it aloud (it might be fun to read in an evil sounding voice!).  The other student will speak a scripture or Bible truth aloud. As he/she does, student portraying enemy should do something to show defeat, such as falling to the ground or running out the room, crying, etc!  Of course, kids would get a huge kick out of it if teachers provide an example for them!

Scripture Reference:  

Ephesians 6:14-17 

God's Word is the Standard

Ask if anyone knows exactly how long several objects are, such as table, door frame, book, paper, pencil, fingers, floor mats, CD case, etc...

• Ask, “How can we find out for sure how long these items are without just guessing?”  We can measure with a ruler or tape measure.  
• Say, “Yes, in order to measure the items, we need the right EQUIPMENT, in this case a ruler or tape measure.”  
• Have students measure items to see how close their guesses were.  
• Say, “Compare your rulers.  Are the inch marks on all of them exactly the same size?  Yes!  That’s because the inch is a STANDARD unit of measurement.  An inch will always be the same size.  It is the STANDARD. We measure items against it to see how many inches they are.  God’s Word is sort of like a ruler. It is the STANDARD.  It is the TRUTH.  Just like the ruler EQUIPPED us to do the work of measuring the items, God’s Word EQUIPS us for every good work He calls us to do!”  (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Eat The Word!

I ran across this recipe at http://www.poofcat.com/inspir41.html  and had fun making it with our kids at church to kick off a new year of Sunday School.  One note: It says to bake for an hour and a half, but this was waaayyy too long!  I cut it down to an hour and it still overbaked, so if I try it again, I will cut it down even more.  Since we wouldn't have had time to bake the cake, I pre-baked one for us to eat and had the kids take turns reading scriptures and adding ingredients to the bowl, then we ate the pre-baked one.  One more note:  I didn't think kids would eat it if it had big clumps of figs and dates in it, so I pulverized everything in a food processor.

Enjoy!

EXTRA FRUITY SCRIPTURE CAKE GOOD WHENEVER YOU WISH TO ENJOY The Bible often likens the Word of God to food. Job had an "appetite for God's Word more than his necessary food." (Job 23:12.) The Psalmist regarded the Word as "sweeter than honey from the honeycomb" (Psalms 19:10). In the Book of Revelation, John was instructed to take God's Word and "eat the book" (Rev. 10:9). This fun recipe is another way of eating God's Word. The children of the house will have a great time in helping make this cake. Have the older children look up the scriptures to find the ingredients. 1 Cup golden raisins (1 Samuel 25:18..."a hundred clusters of raisins") 1 Cup figs, chopped (Isaiah 34:4..."fig from the fig tree") 1 Cup almonds, finely chopped (Numbers 17:23..."bore ripe almonds" 1 Cup dates, chopped (Exodus 15:27..."there were seventy palms") 11/2 Cups flour (Leviticus 2:5..."fine flour, unleavened) 1 pinch salt (Leviticus 2:13..."season with salt" 1 tsp. cinnamon (Exodus 30:23..."of sweet cinnamon) 1 dash ginger and allspice (Song of Solomon 4:10..."all manner of spices) 1 tsp. baking powder (Amos 4:5..."of that which is leavened" 3 large eggs (Isaiah 10:14..."one gathereth eggs") 1 Cup sugar (Jeremiah 6:20..."and the sweet cane") 1/2 Cup vegetable oil (Numbers 11:8..."cake baked with oil") 1 Tblsp. honey (Judges 14:18..."what is sweeter than honey?) Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F) or 165 degrees (C). In a medium bowl combine raisins, dates, figs, and almonds. Set aside. In a large bowl beat eggs until light. Gradually add sugar and continue beating for 5 minutes. Add oil and honey slowly and continue beating another 5 minutes. Add flour, salt, baking powder, and spices, a little at a time. Stir until well blended. Finally, fold in the fruit and nuts. Pour into well-greased 5"x9" loaf pan or two smaller pans. Bake about 11/2 hours for large loaf, 45 minutes to 1 hour for smaller loaves. Let cool for a few hours then slice with a sharp knife. Keeps well in refrigerator.

Fall Freshness!

Most of us are back in the full swing of things as a new school year has begun!  

I am back to writing Sunday School curriculum for my local church kids 

and we kicked things off with a new series called "Celebrate The Word!". 

I will be posting some ideas related to this series in future posts, so stay tuned...

Meanwhile, Happy Fall to you!  

May each of you experience a freshness of revelation 

as you plan lessons, teach, and love children in His Name.

I'd love to hear your ideas for fall!  Feel free to comment below.

Sum Sum Summertime!

It's been awhile since I've posted an idea, but hopefully summertime will get those creative juices flowing once again and will allow time to post them before they are forgotten!  I'd like to remind you that the purpose of this blog is for ALL OF US to SWAP ideas, so please comment if you have any fun summer activities you'd like to share.  Ideas for ALL ages are welcome...toddlers through high school, and I'd especially love to see ideas for those who fall into the kids and tweens category.

C'mon, folks!  Let's do some Summertime SWAPping!!!

Easter Basket Craft

There are numerous ideas on the web for creating Easter baskets.  One of my favorites was taking berry baskets and weaving ribbons or fabric strips through the openings.  Line with straw or tissue paper and fill with any number of things...candy, slips of paper with scriptures, sample size toiletries, etc.  Give as a gift to someone special.

These can also be made when learning about baby Moses' mother hiding him in the basket or when learning about missionaries to Africa, where basket-weaving is popular.

What's your favorite Easter craft idea?

Faith Heroes

When teaching Hebrews 11 (AKA Hall of Faith), kids can make "comic books" to resemble superhero comic books.  Take a presentation folder with brads and several sheets of blank paper, and have kids decorate cover.  Take several weeks to teach through the various heroes mentioned in these verses and have kids illustrate them comic book style.
Next read stories of  more modern day faith heroes, such as Amy Carmichael or David Livingstone and have them illustrate the stories.
Finally, ask kids how they too can be faith heroes and have them illustrate what God shows them.

Walk With Jesus

Supplies:
paper
washable paint
paper towels

Instructions:
Either go outdoors and make actual footprints by dipping foot in paint and stepping on paper or make tiny footprints by using finger to apply paint to pinky side of fist, then press onto paper.  Use fingertips to make "toes".  So cute!

This is a great craft for learning about Enoch, who is described in the Bible as someone who walked with God.

Ask students how they can walk with God.

Rainbow Relay

When learning about God's promises or Noah, this is a silly relay race to kick things off!

Materials needed:
2 bags Skittles candy (1 per team)
2 buckets or other containers

Remind students of the rainbow God placed in the sky as a reminder that He will never again flood the whole earth.  Ask if they can think of a popular candy with a famous commercial that involves a rainbow...Skittles!  Have relay races where each person has to tilt their head back and put a skittle on their nose. Then they have to walk forward until they reach a bucket and lean their head forward to get their skittle in the bucket.  Once that person’s Skittle goes into the bucket, the next person goes.  Of course, there will be extra Skittles to eat for a special treat!

Trust Obstacle Course

Supplies:

chairs, boxes, cushions, anything that would be good for creating an obstacle course

Trust Obstacle Course - Prior to students’ arrival, set up an obstacle course using chairs, cushions, boxes, etc.  If weather permits, you may want to do this outdoors where there’s more room.  Tell students that you love and care for each one of them.  Tell them that it is your desire to be there for them and to teach them God’s Word.  Ask students if they believe that you have their best interest at heart. Ask if they trust you.  Ask if they would trust you even if you asked them to do something hard.  Ask for a volunteer.  Blindfold volunteer and guide them through the obstacles from one end of area to other.  Ask volunteer if he/she believed what you said.  Talk about the importance of believing God and trusting that He will always keep His promises even if what He asks us to do seems hard or even impossible.

This is a good lead-in to the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac.  Abe had to believe God's promise that his son would have children, then trust Him to either raise Isaac from the dead or provide a substitute in order for the promise to be fulfilled.

I CAN!

Scripture:  Philippians 4:13

Supplies:  canned food, 10 plastic or paper cups

Prepare ahead:  Label each cup with an obstacle the enemy tries to defeat us with (fear, sadness, sickness, etc...).  Label can with "Christ's Strength".

What to do: Use can to play a game like bowling.  Set up the paper cups (labeled with obstacles the enemy tries to defeat us with), then roll can (labeled with “Christ’s strength”) toward the cups to knock them down.  Students get one point for every cup they knock down.  “We don’t have to be afraid of the enemy’s schemes, because we CAN do ALL things through Christ!”

Straight Ahead

Supplies:

Crepe Paper Streamers

What to do:

If weather permits, go outside for foot races.  If weather doesn’t cooperate or if girls are dressed up, stay inside and have hopping races or crawling races, etc.  Get creative!  Mark off a finish line with crepe paper streamers.  Preferably taping ends to 2 chairs or something where it can be seen when looking straight ahead, rather than placing on the floor or ground.  After races, say, “In WHAT direction were you looking as you raced?”  straight ahead.   Race again, except this time instruct students to race while looking sideways or behind them, instead of looking straight ahead.  Ask, “WHEN was racing easier?  When you looked straight ahead at the goal or when you looked to the side or behind?  When we get distracted we tend to get tripped up or veer off course, which slows us down.  When we keep our eyes on the goal, we are more focused and run a straighter more direct path.”

Contagious Joy!

Supplies:

"surgical" mask like one wears to prevent spread of disease (most drug stores carry these).

Say:

One of the themes of the book of Philippians is joy.  Paul encouraged the Philippians to be FULL of joy!  WHY do you think Paul encouraged them so often to be full of joy?  Let’s see if we can figure it out by looking at this illustration.  Hold up the type of mask people wear when they are sick.  What are some reasons people might wear one of these?  Sometimes people wear them when mowing the grass to prevent breathing in pollen and dust.  Sometimes people who are very sick might wear one when they have to be around other people to prevent breathing in germs that might make them sicker or to prevent breathing their sick germs on other people.  When we are sick with something that other people could get if they breathe our germs, we say we have something contagious.  That type of contagious is bad, but did you know there is a type of contagious that is good...VERY good???  It’s joy!  Have you ever been around someone who is full of joy and you couldn’t help but feel joyful too just from being with them?  Think about a baby laughing.  When you hear a baby laughing, you can’t help but laugh too!  Their joy is contagious!  Paul knew that joy is like a secret weapon.  People are drawn to other people who are full of joy.  When someone asks why you are so happy, what a wonderful opportunity to share Who Jesus is to you!  What a wonderful opportunity to share what life was like before knowing Him and what life is like now!  The enemy knows about this secret weapon of joy and that’s why he wants to steal our joy.  That’s why he brings fear into our lives.  He wants us to forget about being full of joy, because he knows that the joy of the Lord is our strength.  He knows that joy is contagious and can draw others to Christ.  That’s the last thing he wants to happen!  Let’s spend some time now with the Joy Giver.  Let’s ask Him to release full joy into our hearts and to make us contagious to spread His love and joy wherever we go!  Encourage students to get alone with Jesus and allow His joy to fill them up.

Worthless Trash!

Scripture reference:  Phil. 3:8-9

Supplies: 2 trash bags, a bunch of wadded up paper pieces

To Play:

If there are enough students, divide into 2 teams.  If not, play as one team, timing each round to try to beat previous time.

Students line up.  Give each student a pile of wadded up scrap paper, distributing so each student has same amount.  They should place wads on floor in front of them.  Tell them these paper wads  represent life before coming to know Christ.  Paul says our lives before Christ are like worthless trash, because we are only living for ourselves, not for Him.  Point out the mess made by the paper wads.  Give trash bag to first student in line.  On your signal, students pass the bag down the line with each person placing one paper wad in the trash.  Last person in line runs bag back to first person in line and they again pass it down the line with each person placing a wad in the bag.  Play continues until all paper wads are in bag.  Point out how clean the area is now, just like Christ cleans up our messes!