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.

Give the Gift of Scripture Memory this Christmas!!

I love the Seeds CD's for helping kids hide God's Word in their hearts!  Check out this great deal for their latest project, Seeds of Character!  These CD's make great gifts and stocking stuffers!!

http://www.seedsfamilyworship.net/character/

Freedom From Fear Scripture Boxes

Supplies Needed:

index card holders (1 per child)

index cards (depends on how many verses each child will write)

stickers 

markers, pens, pencils

Prepare ahead:

Select several scriptures that combat fear (or whatever theme you are doing).  Older students will copy these verses from their Bibles.  For younger students, you will write out the verses on the lined side of the cards, leaving a blank every now and then for them to write the word in or draw a picture representing the word.  

Decorate “Freedom From Fear” scripture boxes using markers and stickers.  

Say, “These boxes are for you to keep beside your bed.  Throughout this series, we will add cards with scripture prayers that help us battle fear.”  

Read Eph. 6:10-17.  “What did it say the sword of the spirit is?  The Word of God.  Out of all our armor, that is the only offensive weapon we have.  When we pray God’s Word out loud, it is like taking our sword and thrusting it at the enemy. Fear must leave when we tell it to leave in Jesus’ Name!  No matter how small or gentle a person is, we are all warriors who carry a mighty sword!  Don’t be shy about using that sword!”  

Older students will write out  scriptures on the lined side of their cards.  Younger students will either fill in the blank with the appropriate word or with a picture.  Students may also draw pictures on unlined side of card to represent verses if desired.

Variation:  We made these when in a series on gaining freedom from fear, but they would be appropriate for other topics as well, such as The Word, the armor of God, authority over the enemy, etc.  Another option is to use dividers to categorize areas of struggle, such as fear, disobedience, sadness, etc. and make scripture cards relevant to each.  

What are your ideas for using the sword of the spirit?

Bible Book Bonanza!

When teaching children the names of the Bible books in order, repetition is the name of the game!  Remember to incorporate different activities for different learning styles.  Having the Bible books posted in the classroom helps visual learners, putting them to music helps audio learners, and games help kinesthetic learners.

There are Bible book songs available or if you are musical, make up your own and record it.  Play the song over and over until they are familiar with it, then play the song, pausing occasionally and having students sing the next book.

Supplies as simple as index cards and markers can create an endless possibility for games.  Write a Bible book name on each card.  Line them up on the floor, leaving one out every few cards.  Students then put the remaining cards in their correct locations.  Once they are familiar with the order, give them all the cards and time them to see how quickly they can put them in order.  Make a second set of cards and have teams compete against each other to see who can put them in order the fastest!

Have students sit in a circle and pass around a beanbag or other small object (perhaps something related to the lesson, such as an apple when learning about the fruit of the spirit or a key when learning about the keys to the Kingdom).  First child holds the object and says "Genesis" then passes it to the next child who says "Exodus", etc.  Try to get faster each time.

Remind children of the purpose of memorizing the books of the Bible.  It's not to earn a material reward, but as a tool for helping them study God's Word.

What fun activities do you have for teaching the books of the Bible?