Free Bible School Materials

2nd John 1:6

Thursday:	2^nd John 1:6
Bible Lesson:	Following God

Introduction: Love

Who remembers what the Bible means when it uses the word "love"? (Love is an action, something you do for another person.) Who is the person we are to love in this verse? (It is God.)

Explanation: 2^nd John 1:6

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to God's commands. (from 2 John 1:6)

[Show the verse and read it aloud.]

In this verse, how are we to show love for God? What does it mean to walk in obedience to his commands? (It means, we do what he commands.) Where do we find God's commands? (In the Bible.) What commands is it talking about? Is it just the ten commands in the Old Testament? (No, it means all the commands in the Bible.) Who can give some examples of God's commands from the Bible? (Accept answers from the children. e.g., Love the Lord your God, obey your parents, pray continually, preach the gospel, make disciples, etc.)

Game: Faster & Slower

Read the verse through twice together at normal speed. Then, "Let's read it a little bit faster." Go faster, faster, faster until the words are indistinct and the speed absurd. Then, "Let's see how slooooowly we can say it." Read the verse through more and more slowly until this becomes absurd as well. Then take away the posterboard of the verse and say it through at normal speed together.

Announcement: Verse Points

Read announcement about saying the verse the next day:

Tomorrow, when you come to Bible School, if you can say your memory verse without looking, you can earn 100 points for your team's score. Each person who can say the verse can earn 100 points. So, if you want to help your team win more points, go home and practice your verse a few times. Don't forget the reference! On your way out the door tonight, you will be given a slip of paper with your verse on it. Don't lose it, because if you learn your verse, your team gets 100 more points!

You can say your verse for points tomorrow when you check in at the registration table. Remember, tomorrow is the last day of Bible School, so it's your last chance to score points for your team.

1st John 4:10

Wednesday:	1^st John 4:10
Bible Lesson:	Raised from the Dead

Introduction: Love

Today's verse talks about an act of love. In the Bible, love is an action, something you do for another person. Love in the Bible isn't just nice feelings, though you may have nice feelings also. But Love is more than that: it's a promise that you don't break, that doesn't go away, something you do because you have decided to show love for someone.

Explanation: Reference

In this act is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son, a payment for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

[Show the verse and read it aloud.]

Who in the verse showed love? Was it us? No. It was God. How did God show love for us? He sent his Son. Who's that? Jesus, the Christ. Why did he send Jesus? Because he loved us, yes, but why did Jesus have to come? To pay for our sins, so that we could go to heaven and be with God forever.

Why did we need someone to pay for our sins, so that we could go to heaven? Because the wage of sin is death, and sin and death cannot enter heaven. How did Jesus pay for our sins? He had to die. Wow, that's really a strong love. Have you ever loved someone enough to die for them? God did.

Game: Covered Words

Show the posterboard of the verse. Read the verse together twice, then begin covering words, one at a time, and read the verse after each, filling in the covered words. Cover unimportant words first, saving nouns and verbs for last. When all the words are covered, cover the reference and have the children say the whole thing a couple more times.

Announcement: Verse Points

Read announcement about saying the verse the next day:

You can say your verse for points tomorrow when you check in at the registration table.

Romans 6:23

Tuesday:	Romans 6:23
Bible Lesson:	The Sign of Jonah: Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin.

Introduction: Wages

Today's verse talks about wages. What are wages? Wages are what you earn for doing something, like if you have a job, and your boss gives you a paycheck.

Explanation: Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23: For the wage of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Christ Jesus our Lord.

[Show the verse and read it aloud.]

How do you earn the wages in this verse? By sinning. What is sin? Sin is something you do that God doesn't like. How do we know what God doesn't like? He tells us in the Bible.

What do you earn, when you sin? Death. Death is separation. If your body dies, you are separated from your body, and from the people still here on Earth. If you die spiritually, you are separated from God, forever. Who wants to earn death, and be separated from God forever?

What is a gift? A gift is a present. Do you have to earn a gift? No, somebody gives it to you. Who gives the gift in the verse? God. What does he give you? Eternal life. What does eternal mean? Forever. So if you have eternal life, do you get the death that you earned? No, you get to be with Jesus (and other Christians) forever.

How does God give us this gift? Through Jesus our LORD. When Jesus died on the cross, he paid the wage of our sin, so that we don't have to receive it. What does it mean for Jesus to be our LORD? It means he is our master, and we follow him.

Game: Every Other Word

Display the posterboard of the verse. Read through the verse together. Explain to the children that you will take turns reading with them: you will say one word, and they will say the next, all the way through the verse. Do this several times, switching who goes first. Select a child to come and take your place, taking turns with the other children. Rotate through several children this way. If you have two children up front at once, each will read every third word. Now, take away the posterboard and continue until everyone knows the verse pretty well.

Announcement: Verse Points

Read announcement about saying the verse the next day:

You can say your verse for points tomorrow when you check in at the registration table.

Matthew 16:16

Monday:	Matthew 16:16
Bible Lesson:	The Fish with the Coin: Jesus is God

Introduction:

[needed]

Explanation: Matthew 16:16

Matthew 16:16: Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

[Show the verse and read it aloud.]

In today's Bible verse, we find Peter talking to Jesus, and he says, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. What does it mean for Jesus to be the Christ? It means he was the one God sent to save the people. What does it mean to be the Son of the living God? What does it mean to be the Son of someone? That means he is the same as that person. So Jesus was the same as God -- he is God. Who is the living God? The living God is the one and only true God, who really is, not like a fake, made-up idol god.

So, Peter is saying that Jesus is the one true God, come to save the people. In the passage, Jesus answers Peter, saying that Peter is blessed, because he did not get this idea from men, but from God. So if Peter got the idea from God, then it's true. Jesus really is the Son of the Living God, the Christ come to save the people.

Game: Louder

Display the posterboard of the verse. Have the children read through it together twice.

Divide the children according to their red and blue teams. Have the teams sit together. Announce a contest to see which team can read the verse louder. Have the teams take turns reading the verse, until they are loud enough. Then take away the poster, and announce a contest to see which team can say the verse loudest without looking at it, for 50 points. Have them take turns until they are all horse, or you run low on time (save time for the announcement). Award the points to the team that is clearly louder, or if it's unclear, award it to both teams.

Announcement: Verse Points

Read announcement about saying the verse the next day:

You can say your verse for points tomorrow when you check in at the registration table.

Fishing for Christ lessons complete

Okay, that was the last set of discussion questions I just put up, so I believe the bible lessons for all three age groups, for the Fishing for Christ theme, are now more or less complete and online. More materials (crafts, games, and so forth) will hopefully follow soon.

Raised from the Dead, discussion questions

Wednesday:	Raised from the Dead
Main Passage:	Luke 24:36-49
Other Passages:	Mark 16:9-11,14; Luke 24:13-32; Matthew 28:16-20; John 10:11-33, 19:31-42, 20:11-25; 1^st Cor. 15:1-7, 12-22
Memory Verse:	1^st John 4:10

Have you ever been around when someone had died? What was done with the body? What would have happened, if nothing was done? Why?
In John 20, the disciples had the door locked, for fear of the Jews (v.19). How did Jesus get into the room?
Why did he ask them for something to eat?
Why is the fact that Jesus raised from the dead important to our faith?
Who does Jesus give eternal life to? Does he give it to the Pharisees, who tried to stone him for blasphemy? Then who?

If you need hints to answer some of the questions, look up the listed scripture passages.

Fishers of Men discussion questions

Friday:	Fishers of Men
Main Passages:	Matthew 4:18-22, Matthew 28, Acts 1:6-11
Other Passages:	John 14:1-4, 2^nd Peter 3:9, Mark 16:15
Memory Verse:	Matthew 4:19

What did Jesus mean when he told Peter and Andrew he would make them fishers of men?
If Jesus is our Lord, what implications does that have in our lives?
How long does it take to teach someone everything Jesus taught us?
If we are going to teach others to follow Christ, is there anything we have to do first?
How can we ever finish?
1.The church still needs pastors today, but how do they know that's what God wants of them, if Jesus doesn't stand physically in front of them and say, Feed my sheep?

If you need hints to answer some of the questions, look up the listed scripture passages.

Fishers of Men, Preschool Lesson

Monday:	Fishers of Men
Story Passages:	Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-16
Other Passages:	Matthew 4:18-22, John 14:1-4, Acts 1:6-11, 2^nd Peter 3:9
Objective:	We should tell others about Jesus.

Introduction: Disciples

When Jesus chose his disciples, he called four fishermen. They were Peter, Andrew, James, and John. He told them, Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Jesus then spent three years teaching all 12 of the disciples about God and the things God wants us to know and do.

Story: Commission

After Jesus died for our sins and arose from the dead, but before he went back to heaven, he taught the disciples more things. He told them important things to do. He wants us to do these things too.

One thing Jesus said was, Go into all the world and preach the good news to [everyone]. Does that mean that you should go to some far away country tomorrow and tell people about Jesus? (No.) You can't do that, not tomorrow. Sometimes Jesus wants grownups to go to other countries. But you can tell your friends and family about Jesus any time, wherever you live. Jesus wants everyone to know him and be saved. Whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. But whoever does not believe in Jesus won't be. So it is really important that people know about Jesus, isn't it? Jesus also said that we should teach people to obey everything that Jesus said.

Application: Fishers of Men

Who can you tell about Jesus? You can tell your friends that you play with, your neighbors or friends at preschool. You can tell people in your family. What kind of things can you tell them? You can tell them the things that you learned about Jesus this week, like how he fed 5,000 people from one little boy's lunch. You can tell them things you learn in Sunday School or on Wednesday nights. You can tell them how much you love Jesus. And you can share the wordless book with them. Jesus wants us to share with others. That way we can be fishers of men. We can catch people for Jesus.

Copyright © 2004—2009, Jill Eady and the Galion Grace Brethren Church. See licensing for information about rights and permissions. Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Fish in the Net

Thursday:	Fish in the Net
Story Passage:	John 21
Other Passages:
Objective:	Jesus is God; Jesus rose from the dead.

Introduction: Fishing All Night

After Jesus died, some of his disciples were together. They were Peter, James, John, Nathaniel, and Thomas. Jesus wasn't with them. Maybe they didn't know what to do. Peter said, Let's go fishing. So the others said, OK, we'll go with you.

So that night they got in a boat and went out on the Sea of Galilee to fish. They had been fisherman. They knew the best places to fish on the Sea and they knew the best time was at night. But they fished all night and caught nothing. Not one fish.

Story: Throw Your Net on the Right Side

Now early in the morning as they came towards shore, Jesus was standing on the beach. But they didn't know it was him. He called out to them, Friends, have you caught any fish? No, they said.

Jesus said, Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. So they did. And right away, they caught so many fish in their net that they couldn't pull the net back into the boat.

Then John said to Peter, It's the Lord! He knew who could do miracles like that, didn't he? So they hurried to shore. They were so excited to see Jesus alive again. Peter even jumped out of the boat and hurried in ahead of the boat. When they got to shore, they found that Jesus had cooked fish and bread for them for breakfast.

Application: Jesus is God

We know that Jesus was God. Not only could he do special things like help the disciples catch a lot of fish, but he had risen from the dead. Only God could do that.

Copyright © 2004—2007, Jill Eady and the Galion Grace Brethren Church. See licensing for information about rights and permissions. Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Free Bible School Materials

Complete Themes

Almost Complete

Bits and Pieces

General Information

What's New

2nd John 1:6

1st John 4:10

Romans 6:23

Matthew 16:16

Fishing for Christ lessons complete

Raised from the Dead, discussion questions

Fishers of Men discussion questions

Fishers of Men, Preschool Lesson

Fish in the Net