Colored Sand in a Bottle

Friday:	Colored Sand in a Bottle
Bible Lesson:	The Finish Line: Heaven (John on Patmos)
Memory Verse:	2nd Timothy 4:7-8

Age Groups:

• elementary
• preschool
• teens

Supplies Needed:

• small (clear) glass containers with lids or corks
• colored sand

Preparation:

You can actually dye sand, but the colors come out fairly muted in my experience. Brighter colors can be achieved by rubbing colored chalk into the sand so that chalk dust mixes with the grains. You can also use salt instead of sand.

Instructions:

Give each teen one glass container (skinny jar, cork-lidded vase, etc). Allow them to pour in different colors of the colored sand, in layers, to make a design. Tilting the container when inserting some of the layers may result in a more interesting design. When the design is complete, fill the remainder of the container with plain sand and attach the lid.

Posterboard Crowns

Friday:	Crowns
Bible Lesson:	Fishing All Night
Shape Lesson:	The Crown: Heaven

Age Groups:

• preschool

Supplies Needed:

• yellow posterboard
• gold glitter
• gemstones (can be construction paper)

Preparation:

Pre-cut the posterboard into bands (strips) with decorative protrusions along one edge, so that when the ends are brought together a crown shape results.

Instructions:

Give each child one of the posterboard crown shapes. Allow them to decorate the crown by glueing gemstones and stuff on it it, maybe beads or gold glitter. When they finish, fit the crown to their head and staple it together. Let the teacher hold onto the crowns until time to go upstairs.

Potato Painting

Friday:	Potato Painting
Bible Lesson:	The Finish Line: Heaven (John on Patmos)
Memory Verse:	2nd Timothy 4:7-8

Age Groups:

• elementary

Supplies Needed:

• raw potatoes, cut in pieces
• paint, paper, damp paper towels

Instructions:

Each child gets a hunk of paper. Put several pieces of potato with each color of paint – each piece should stay in the same color. Children dip the potato pieces in the paint and stamp it onto the paper, picking it up and down like a stamp, to create a scene depicting heaven.

You should provide them with a list of things the Bible says about heaven. For example:

• pure gold as pure as glass
• streets of gold
• river flowing from the throne through the middle of the city
• tree of life on the banks of the river
• many homes (John 14)
• great, high wall
• twelve gates, three on each side, always open
• each gate is a giant pearl
• the city is a square, as long as it is wide
• the foundations are decorated with gemstones (rubies, emeralds, and so on)
• no night, the glory of God gives it light

Felt Pennant (Elementary and Teen Version)

Thursday:	Felt Pennant
Bible Lesson (elementary and teen):	The Rich Young Man: throw off things that entangle.
Memory Verse (elementary and teen):	Matthew 19:29
Bible Lesson (preschool):	The Paralytic Man

Age Groups:

• elementary
• teens

Supplies Needed:

• felt

Preparation:

Depending on age group and time considerations, you may want to pre-cut the felt into pennant shapes. Leave scraps for them to cut out the shapes for on the pennant.

Instructions:

Make pennants out of felt, by cutting out shapes and gluing them on. Each child or teen gets an oblong isosceles triangle of the stuff (solid color), plus little bits to cut out letters and shapes and stuff, to glue on. The pennant should display a Christian battle cry (such as “Jesus”, “Victory”) or symbol (e.g., a cross or ΙΧΘΥΣ) or a runner or something from the Bible lesson. Once it is decorated, attach it to a length of dowel rod, and they can take it home afterward and hang it on a wall.

Lion Faces

Wednesday:	Lion Faces
Bible Lesson:	Josiah and the Bible

Age Groups:

• preschool

Supplies Needed:

• paper plates
• construction paper
• yarn (yellow, orange, or brown)
• glue and cotton swabs

Preparation:

Cut out the needed pieces (see image) from the construction paper ahead of time. Cut short pieces (2-4 inches each) of yarn for the manes.

Instructions:

Give each child a large paper plate and construction paper eye, nose, and mouth pieces. Let them glue these in place. (Put some glue on a small paper plate and let the children use cotton swabs to brush the glue on – no bottles of glue.) Show them where to glue them. Give them pieces of yarn about three inches long to glue around the edge for a mane.

Painted Silhouette

Wednesday:	Painted Silhouette
Bible Lesson:	Josiah and the Book: we should study God's word and apply it to our lives.
Memory Verse:	John 3:14-15

Age Groups:

• elementary
• teens

Supplies Needed:

• squares of white cloth
• black paint, brushes, and pencils
• stencil of a boy reading the Bible
• stencil of a girl reading the Bible
• lengths of dowel rod

Preparation:

Find silhouettes of a boy reading and of a girl reading. (It should be possible to find these with an image search on the web.) Trace each silhouette onto posterboard and cut them out, creating the stencils. Depending on the number of children you have, you may need multiple copies of each stencil, so that several children can trace them at once.

Instructions:

Children place the stencil on their cloth and trace around the edge with a pencil, mount a dowel across the top (for hanging), and paint inside the lines.

Watercolor Painting

Tuesday:	Watercolor Painting
Bible Lesson:	Daniel and the Lions

Age Groups:

• preschool

Supplies Needed:

• Paper suitable for painting on, with a coloring page copied onto it (depicting a scene from the Bible lesson).
• Watercolor paints and brushes

Instructions:

Give each child a copy of the picture from the lesson, on a somewhat heavier grade of paper. Let them paint it.

Suncatchers

Tuesday:	Suncatchers
Bible Lesson:	Daniel and the Satraps: God Expects Faithfulness
Memory Verse:	1st Thessalonians 2:13

Age Groups:

• elementary
• teens

Supplies Needed:

• overhead transparencies OR transparent report covers
• photocopied scenes (from the lesson, or runners)
• permanent markers, various colors
• yarn or decorative string
• posterboard (for frames)
• transparent tape

Preparation:

Cut out posterboard frames ahead of time. Each frame consists of a matching pair (front and back) of posterboard rectangles, larger than the transparent sheets by a couple of inches in each dimension, with a hole in the middle just smaller than the transparent sheets. Pair them up and punch the holes for the yarn through both the front and the back together.

Instructions:

Each child or teen gets a transparency sheet and chooses a photocopied scene, such as a runner, Daniel praying, or cetera. Have them each tape their transparency to the photocopied scene paper (to hold them still) and color the scene onto the transparency with the permanent markers. They should use a black marker last to trace the outlines, then remove the paper and tape, and use the yarn to weave through the pre-punched holes to attach the frame to the front and back of the suncatcher in a decorative fashion. A length of yarn can be left at the top for hanging in a window. The front and back parts of the posterboard frames may be glued together where they hang out beyond the transparency.

Baked Rock

Monday:	Baked Rock
Bible Lesson:	Daniel and the Satraps: God Expects Faithfulness
Memory Verse:	1st Corinthians 15:58

Age Groups:

• teens

Supplies Needed:

• rocks (at least as large as a fist)
• old crayons
• aluminum foil
• you also need the use of an oven

Instructions:

Preheat oven. Each teen gets a two-pound rock (approximately). They color the rock (except the underside) with crayons; they color designs on it (depicting something from the Bible lesson, ideally) and also fill in the background, so it's all colored, except the underside. Then place the rocks on a foil-covered cookie sheet or pan, and bake them just until the crayon melts together into a smooth design. Let it cool, and afterward they can take it home and use it as a doorstop, paper weight, or conversation piece.

Felt Pennant (Preschool Version)

Monday:	Felt Pennant
Bible Lesson:	David and Saul: God is in Charge
Shape Lesson:	Ball: God made the world.

Age Groups:

• preschool

Supplies Needed:

• black felt
• scraps of felt in other colors
• dowel rods (short)

Preparation:

Pre-cut the pennant shapes out of black felt, and shapes of things that God created out of other colors of felt, e.g., yellow sun, white moon and stars, green plants, etc.

Instructions:

Each child gets an oblong isosceles triangle of black felt, plus small pieces representing things God created. Help the children glue the things God made onto their pennant. Remind them that God made everything, and these things they are gluing onto their pennant are just examples. Attach the finished pennant to a dowel rod. After Bible School, they can take their pennant home and hang it on a wall.

Mosaic

Monday:	Mosaic
Bible Lesson:	David and the Lord's Anointed
Memory Verse:	1st John 2:3

Age Groups:

• elementary

Supplies Needed:

• lightweight dried beans, corn, plastic beads, airsoft beebees, or similar items, in various colors
• posterboard
• photocopied outline pictures (scenes from the Bible lesson and/or runners)

Instructions:

Each child selects one of the available scenes and glues a copy to their posterboard. Then they fill in each area with a color of beans or whatever, in a paint-by-number fashion (e.g., an object that should be yellow could be filled in with corn) to assemble the mosaic. They can also put a solid-color frame around the edge, if time permits, with another color of beans.

Lesson Visuals for Running the Race

We are pleased once again this year to be able to offer a complete set of visuals for all the elementary Bible lessons, courtesy of Mary Beth Frey. There are five images for each of the first two lessons and four visuals for each of the three remaining lessons.

Unfortunately, due to the size of these images (7204 x 5408 pixels each, with file sizes ranging from 3.6MB to 5.5MB, for a total of nearly 100 megabytes altogether) they are too large to post here. (I tried. Blogger chokes on images that large. It's really designed to handle web-resolution images, and these are print-quality images, suitable for printing on a full page each.)

However, I have put together the following thumbnail image, showing what the pictures basically look like:

1. First row, visuals for lesson one: Saul and David; Saul Chasing David into the Hills; David and His Men Hiding in the Cave; David Cutting off the Corner of Saul's Robe; David Taking the Spear and Water Jug While Saul Sleeps
2. Second row, visuals for lesson two: Daniel Praying; Satraps Scheming; Signing the Proclamation; Daniel with the Lions; Paul in Prison
3. Third row, visuals for lesson three: Idolatry; Hilkiah Finding the Scroll; Josiah Reading; Destroying the Idols
4. Fourth row, visuals for lesson four: Runners; Jesus and the Rich Man; Going Away Sad; Sunday Morning Video Games
5. Fifth row, visuals for lesson five: John on Patmos; The City Coming Down; Gate of the City; Inside the City

For Galion, we took them to Staples and got them printed on overhead transparencies. Another option would be to print them on large paper (perhaps 11"x17"). Or, if you have a computer projector, you could use presentation software (like PowerPoint or OpenOffice.org Impress) to show them, which would save on printing costs. In any case, if anyone knows of some server space where they could be hosted, I'd be interested in hearing about it. Meanwhile, they are available upon request: contact me, and I can send them to you by email. (Please allow several days for me to get around to it. Thanks.)

Do be aware that these images are large (nearly one hundred megabytes altogether), so check your email service to be sure it can receive them. The largest individual image is 5717166 bytes; add some overhead to that for MIME and RFC-822, and the message that bears it will necessarily be very nearly 5.5MB. If you only need certain ones (e.g., if you're only doing some of the lessons), it would be good to specify which ones you want.

Who Can Be a Missionary?

Monday:	Who Can Be a Missionary?
Bible Lesson:	The Finish Line: Rewards in heaven await believers who finish the race. (John on Patmos)
Memory Verse:	2nd Timothy 4:7-8
Missions Concepts:	Foreign missionaries are sent out by the church, but any believer can do the work of a missionary locally.
Missions Examples:	[personal, from the group]
Bible Passages:	Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 13

Introduction: Missions Marathon

[Perform the Missions Marathon Skit by way of introduction.]

In the skit, Earnest was confused about who could be a missionary. He wasn't sure if just anybody could be. Kristina helped him to realize that part of following God for every Christian is to teach other people about how to follow Jesus.

Explanation: Full-Time Missions versus Everyday Missions

While some people are missionaries full-time: it's their job, and they travel to far-away places and spend all day doing just missions, all of us are responsible to help share God's teachings with other people who don't know.

Application: Being Sent

For people who want to be missionaries all the time and move far away, they probably have to be sent by a church, or sometimes by a group of churches. If the churches are going to send offering money to help pay for the work that they're doing, then they definitely have to be sent by the churches.

However, all of us can do a little missions work right where we are: telling people about how to follow Jesus. Nobody has to tell us to go tell our neighbors and our friends. Jesus already told us to do that.

[As time allows, let some of the kids give examples from their own lives, of people that they have shared with or would like to share with about Jesus.]

Invitation: Missions

Invite any children who want to do missions work to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.

Where Does a Missionary Go?

Thursday:	Where Does a Missionary Go?
Bible Lesson:	The Rich Young Man: We need to be dedicated to God, not other things.
Memory Verse:	Matthew 19:29
Missions Concepts:	Missionaries go wherever there are people who need to hear.
Missions Examples:	Zambo Solomon, Paul Rajan
Bible Passages:	[Needed]

Introduction: Missions Marathon

[Perform the Missions Marathon Skit by way of introduction.]

In the skit, Earnest wasn't sure how much of the world he had to go to in his Missions Marathon. So today, that's what we're going to talk about: where missionaries go.

Explanation: Where the People Are

Do missionaries go to the moon? Do they go to the north pole? Do they go to the middle of the ocean? No, missionaries don't go to any of those places. They don't need to go to those places, because there's nobody living there.

Yesterday, we said that missionaries teach people to follow Jesus. So to do that, they have to go where the people are. That's where missionaries go: wherever there are people. Missionaries don't all go to the same place. Zambo Salamon is a missionary in northwest Cameroon. He went there because he knew there were people there who needed to be taught about God. Paul Rajan is a missionary in India, because there are people there. Both Zambo Salamon and Paul Rajan were born in the country where they are missionaries. Sometimes missionaries go overseas, to a different country where they weren't born. Other times, they stay closer to home. But wherever they go, they go where there are people who need to be taught about how to follow Jesus.

Game: Naming Places

[Set up a white board or the equivalent.] Let's name some places where you could go and be a missionary. Remember, it has to be a place where there are people who need to be taught about how to follow God. [Accept answers from the kids and write them on the board. Make sure they include some that are close to home and some that are farther afield.]

[If there's time, make a separate list and have them name places where they cannot be a missionary, any place where there's nobody that needs to be taught – Antarctica, Mars, deep underground, etc.]

Invitation: Missions

Invite any children who want to do missions work to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.

What Does a Missionary Do?

Wednesday:	What Does a Missionary Do?
Bible Lesson:	Josiah and the Book: The Bible is God's word. We should study it and apply it to our lives.
Memory Verse:	1st Thessalonians 2:13
Missions Concepts:	Missionaries make disciples and start churches.
Missions Examples:	Philippi
Bible Passages:	Matthew 28:16-20, Acts 16, Philippians 2:19-30

Introduction: Missions Marathon

[Perform the Missions Marathon Skit by way of introduction.]

In the skit, Earnest wasn't totally sure what he needed to do to be a missionary. He knew that it might involve talking to people, but he wasn't sure what he needed to tell them. So that's what we're going to talk about today: what missionaries actually do.

Kristina reminded Earnest that those who follow Jesus are to go tell people what they learned in the Bible. People need to know that their sin separates them from God, but also that he loves them and sent Jesus to pay for their sins. Earnest knew that they were to go and make disciples.

The Point: Discipleship

A disciple is a learner, a follower of God. If we teach people how they can have their sins forgiven, they can choose to become disciples, to learn more about God, to follow him and obey his word.

The Bible verse Earnest was quoting from is in Matthew 28. Jesus didn't just say we should tell everybody that Jesus loves them. That's part of it, but he also said Teach them to obey everything I have commanded. That takes time. Missionaries have to make sure that they do the whole thing: it's not enough to just tell the people how to be saved and then abandon them. Missionaries have to do more than that: they have to make sure the people are taught everything Jesus commanded.

Example: Philippi

Remember, yesterday, we talked about when Paul went to Macedonia. Paul spent several days in the Macedonian town of Philippi, teaching people, but that's not all he did. Because of Paul's ministry, a church was started in Philippi.

Paul stayed in contact with the Philippian church, too. He sent them a letter, which we have in our Bible: the book of Philippians. In the letter he taught them more about how to follow Christ. With the letter he sent a Christian man named Epaphroditus, who could help them as well. He also said that he was hoping to send Timothy to them soon, because Timothy would take a real interest in how they were doing. (Timothy was a Pastor whom Paul had trained specially.) Paul also said that he wanted to visit them again himself. For Paul, it wasn't enough to tell the people in Philippi that they needed Jesus: he had to keep helping them until they learned everything they needed to know.

Application: Today

When we tell people about Jesus today, we can't just get them to pray a prayer for forgiveness and then forget about them. We have to follow it through. That's what missionaries do. So if somebody asks you what a missionary is, you should say that missionaries teach people how to follow Jesus.

Invitation: Missions

Invite any children who want to do missions work to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.