Showing posts with label helpwanted. Show all posts
Showing posts with label helpwanted. Show all posts

Garden Stone Craft

Friday: Garden Stones
Bible Lesson: The church was begun in order to witness for God in all parts of the earth.
Memory Verse: Acts 2:32
Preschool Lesson: The church is made up of people (Acts 16)
Age Groups:
  • elementary
  • preschool
  • teens
Supplies Needed:
  • cement mix
  • sand
  • disposable open-topped containers (e.g., you can use the bottoms of old milk jugs)
  • decorative objects (colored stones, shells, large glass beads, etc.)
Preparation:
Experiment ahead of time to determine the ideal ratio of cement mix to sand. Premix them.
When it's almost time, start adding water a little at a time, stirring, until the mixture is wet through but still thick. (A hand placed in the mixture and removed should leave a visible print and not fill in immediately.)
Spray each milk jug with Pam or other cooking spray before putting the mixture in, it will keep it from sticking when the kids try to remove it. Have the mixture ready in the bottoms of milk jugs when the kids come. Do not do it so early that it begins to dry. Timing is everything. Station a helper at the sink (or hose) to assist with hand washing.

Instructions:
Assist them in putting their hand print or (bare) foot print into the crete and then allow them to push decorative objects (colored glass beads, stones, sea shells, tiles) into the surface before it dries. Give each child a limited supply of decorations so that you have enough reserved for all age groups. Tell them they have to dry for 2 or 3 days in the milk jug and that they can cut the jug off or slide the stone out after that time.
Lesson Tie-In:
The stone itself does not correlate with the lesson, but you can ask them questions about the Bible lesson while they do the craft. There should be some time available while they are waiting for the cement to set firmly enough that they can remove their hands and feet.

Running the Race Snacks

Monday: Animal Crackers
Each person gets a small cup of animal crackers, and punch to drink.
Lesson Tie-In:
The animal crackers go with the preschool shape lesson on creation. We were unable to devise a snack to go with the elementary or teen Bible lesson (suggestions welcome), but you can ask them questions about the lesson while they eat.

Tuesday: Lion Cookies
Using a lion-shaped cookie cutter, prepare lion-shaped cutout cookies. Frost them in yellow or orange. Optionally, some of them can have manes made of licorice or coconut (but be sure to have some available without, too: a lot of children don't like licorice or coconut). Preschool should get one cookie each, and punch to drink. Older children will be able to eat two cookies.
Lesson Tie-In:
The lion cookies correlate with the story about Daniel, prayer, and God's care for us. Ask the children to tell you about the Daniel lesson while they eat.

Wednesday: Cupcakes
Each person gets a cupcake, and punch.
Lesson Tie-In:
This one unfortunately does not correlate with the lesson. (If you can figure out a way to make scrolls out of some kind of food, that would correlate with the Josiah lesson, but we were unable to work out a good way to do this. Suggestions welcome.) However, you can ask the children questions about the lesson while they eat.

Thursday: Chocolate Coins and Fruit
Each person gets one (foil-wrapped) chocolate coin and a cup of fruit.
Lesson Tie-In:
The coin goes with the lesson about the rich young man. Ask them questions about the lesson while they eat. (The fruit cup is just there to make the snack more substantial, so they have something to eat besides a piece of chocolate.)

Friday: Crown Cookies
Make cut-out cookies in the shape of crowns, frosted bright yellow. If desired, they can also be decorated with gumdrop "gemstones". Preschool children should get one crown cookie each, and punch to drink. Older children will be able to eat more.
Lesson Tie-In:
The crown goes with the elementary and teen Bible lessons (on heaven) and with the preschool shapes lesson (also on heaven). Ask the children to tell you about the lesson while they eat.

Elisha and the Shunammite

Friday:Elisha and the Shunammite
Story Passage: 2nd Kings 4:8-13
Other Passages: [NEEDED]
Objective: God is pleased when we help other people
Visuals Available (updated 2016)
Introduction:
[Needed]
Story: Elisha and the Shunammite
Elisha was a prophet of God. (Show picture of Elisha walking to a town.) He traveled to lots of places telling people what God wanted them to know and to do. One day he went to a town called Shunem. (Show picture of lady's house.) A lady there invited him to stay at her house for a meal. So after that, whenever he was in Shunem, he would stop and eat with her and her husband.
One day the lady said to her husband, I know that this man who often comes here is a man of God. Let's make a small room up on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay here whenever he comes. (Show picture with added room on roof.) So that's what they did. They built a nice room for him on the top of their house. The next time Elisha came to town he had a nice surprise. (Show interior of the room.) The people were very kind to him, weren't they?
Application: Helping
We have been learning this week about "following the footsteps." That means to do what someone else did that was a good thing to do. The Shunammite woman and her husband built a special room for Elisha when he came to visit. Do you think God wants you to build a special room for Elisha? (NO) Well then, what can you do that they did? There are other ways to be kind and to be a helper. (Show pictures). Look at these boys. They are sharing their toys. Do you think God likes us to share? Here's a girl setting the table. She is helping her mom. That's a good thing to do, isn't it. What are some other ways you can be a helper? (Let kids come up with ideas, or suggest picking up toys, watching your baby brother, or whatever.) Another way to make God happy is just by being nice to people, any way that you can. We can all share and be nice helpers.
Invitation: Helping Others
Invite any children who want to be good helpers to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.

Now What? Discussion Questions

Friday:Now What?
Missions Concepts: Missionaries disciple new believers, plant churches, and train pastors.
Missions Examples: Project Timothy (Uberlandia, Brazil)
Bible Passages: [needed]
  1. In the skit, what did the fisherman need to do?
  2. What do people need after they come to know Jesus Christ as savior? Why?
  3. What do the missionaries in Brazil do once people accept Jesus?
  4. What can we do here?

The Right Bait Discussion Questions

Wednesday:The Right Bait
Missions Concepts: Missionaries look for opportunities to interest people in the good news.
Missions Examples: Peter Bejenke (Germany), Paul Rajan (India)
Bible Passages: [needed]
  1. In the skit, why wasn't Bob catching any fish?
  2. What was Peter Bejenke doing in Germany to create opportunities to talk to people?
  3. What kinds of bait are Paul Rajan and his fellow workers using in India?
  4. What kinds of things can we do here in Galion?

Fishin' Gear Discussion Questions

Tuesday:Fishin' Gear
Missions Concepts: Missionaries must be properly equipped for missions.
Missions Examples: Vermont (Tom Ricker)
Bible Passages: [needed]
  1. In the skit, what was Sally's problem? What did she need to do differently? Why?
  2. What did Tom and Janelle Ricker do to prepare for God's work in Vermont?
  3. Why was that preparation important?
  4. How can a church help people prepare to do missions work?

Goin' Fishin' Discussion Questions

Monday:Goin' Fishin'
Missions Concepts: Missionaries go where the people are, but they need consent to come.
Missions Examples: India (no missionary visas)
Bible Passages: [needed]
  1. Why was the character in the skit dangling a line in the water? Was he being effective? Why?
  2. How is fishing for men similar to fishing for fish?
  3. What kinds of missions work can a missionary do on a tourist visa? What kinds of work require a longer stay?
  4. Do you know of some places where there are people who need to hear the good news? Where?

Now What?

Friday:Now What?
Bible Lesson: Fishers of Men
Memory Verse: Matthew 4:19
Missions Concepts: Missionaries disciple new believers, plant churches, and train pastors.
Missions Examples: Project Timothy (Uberlandia, Brazil)
Bible Passages: [needed]
[Start with the skit, Unprepared Fishermen V.]
Introduction: Fishing
In the skit, what did Bob need to do with the fish, after it was out of the water? That's right, he needed to put it in the bucket, with the other fish.
Did you know, after people come to know Jesus, they need something similar? Do we put them in a bucket? No. But they do need to be with a group of other believers, who are learning about God. What do we call a group like that? (A church.)
Example: Project Timothy
In Uberlandia, Brazil, Pastor Sebastian is Fishing for Christ. But now, he's not doing it alone, because he has other men working with him – men who are trained in the Bible, and are planting churches. Do you know where these men came from? They came from Pastor Sebastian's church. When these men heard the good news about Jesus, he didn't just send them on their way. He continued to teach them, everything that they needed to know, about Jesus, about God, and about the Bible. Now, some of these men are ready to go fishing themselves, and they are planting more churches.
The Point: Discipleship
[needed]
Application: Now What?
This week here at Bible School, some of you may have received Jesus, or maybe some of your friends heard the good news about how to be saved. Should you quit coming once that happens? Should you quit bringing that friend who got saved? No! Once we're a part of the body of Christ, we still need to be learning, everything God wants us to know, so that we can grow in our faith and be able to share with others.
Invitation: Missions
Invite any children who want to do missions work to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.

Reel 'em In

Thursday:Reel 'em In
Bible Lesson: Following God (Fishing All Night)
Memory Verse: 2nd John 1:6
Missions Concepts: Missionaries must present the gospel to unbelievers.
Missions Examples: [needed]
Bible Passages: Romans 2:12-13, 3:20-24, 5:15-18, 6:10-18, 7:22-8:11, 10:10-15, 12:1-8.
[Start with the skit, Unprepared Fishermen IV.]
Introduction: Fishing
In the skit, Bob reeled in the fish using his rod and line. When we're fishing for Christ, how do we reel people in for salvation? The Bible asks a question: how can people believe in Jesus if they've not heard of him, and how can they hear if nobody tells them?
So, after we use our bait and start talking to people, to our friends, how do we reel them in? What do we tell them about Jesus?
Example:
[needed]
The Point: Share the Good News
Once you have someone's interest, and they want to know about God, what can you tell them? What do they need to know to be saved? [Accept some answers.]
First, they need to know that they need to be saved! Why do we need a savior? Why do we need Jesus? [Accept answers.] Our sin separates us from God. Because God is perfect, the bad things we do make us unacceptable to him. He can't take us in, if we're like that! Can we change, and be good on our own? No, we can't. Our sin traps us, and keeps us from God.
So after our friends know that they need to be saved from their sin, what else do they need to know? Don't they need to know where salvation comes from? So, what do you tell them? How can our sins be forgiven? [Because Jesus paid the penalty for us.]
Application: Reeling in Your Friends wiht the Wordless Bracelet
[Explain how the wordless bracelet (which they will be making in crafts the next night) can be used to share the good news. Talk about the meaning of each of the five colors and how these five things add up to make a gospel presentation.]
Invitation: Evangelism
Invite any children who want to share the good news with their friends to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.

Memory Verse on Heart

Thursday: Memory Verse on Heart
Bible Lesson:
Memory Verse: reference
Age Groups:
  • teens
Supplies Needed:
  • cardboard
  • construction paper
  • spongy-foam shapes
  • glitter (optional)
  • gellpens or markers
Instructions:
Make a heart shape out of cardboard. Cover it with construction paper. Make a border by gluing spongy-foam shapes around the edge. Write the verse in the middle with a marker, gellpen, or cetera. Try to make it look like calligraphy. Add glitter as desired.

Fishing for Christ Snacks

Okay, a couple of these don't correlate with the elementary and teen lessons (suggestions welcome), but here are the snacks we are using for the Fishing for Christ theme.
Monday: Fish Cookies
Elementary Bible Lesson: The Fish with the Coin: Jesus is God
Memory Verse: Matthew 16:16
Preschool Bible Lesson: The Coin in the Fish's Mouth
Snack: Fish Cookies
Make cutout cookies using a fish-shaped cookie cutter. Frost if desired. Serve with punch.
Lesson Tie-In:
The first fish Peter caught had a coin in its mouth, just like Jesus said.

Tuesday: Cross Cookies
Elementary Bible Lesson: Sign of Jonah
Memory Verse: Romans 6:23
Preschool Bible Lesson: Jonah: Obey God
Snack:
Make cutout cookies using a fish-shaped cookie cutter. Frost if desired. Serve with punch. For preschool, use red punch.
Lesson Tie-In:
Elementary/Teen: Jesus died on a cross to pay the penalty for our sin.
Preschool: The cross shape and the red punch fit with the wordless book lesson (red page): Jesus died on a cross so that we could be forgiven.

Wednesday: Banana Bread
Elementary Bible Lesson: Raised from the Dead
Memory Verse: 1st John 4:10
Preschool Bible Lesson: Feeding the Big Crowd
Snack:
Serve banana bread and punch. (It is best to use a banana bread recipe that does not involve nuts. A large percentage of young children don't like them, and then you have the risk someone will be allergic.)
Lesson Tie-In:
Elementary/Teen: The snack itself does not correlate with the lesson, but review the lesson or the memory verse while they eat.
Preschool: Jesus fed thousands of people from the five little bread loaves (and two small fish), and there was more bread left over after they all ate than when he started!

Thursday: Goldfish Crackers
Elementary Bible Lesson: Following God (Fishing All Night)
Memory Verse: 2nd John 1:6
Preschool Bible Lesson: Fish in the Net
Snack:
Serve fish-shaped crackers, and punch.
Lesson Tie-In:
How many fish were there in the disciples' net when they counted them? 153 large fish!

Friday: Cupcakes
Elementary Bible Lesson: Cupcakes
Memory Verse: Matthew 4:19
Preschool Bible Lesson: Fishers of Men
Snack:
Serve cupcakes and punch. The preschool cupcakes should have green icing. For the older groups, the color doesn't matter.
Lesson Tie-In:
Elementary/Teen: The snack itself does not correlate with the lesson, but review the lesson or the memory verse while they eat.
Preschool: The green icing goes with the wordless book lesson (green page): we grow in Jesus when we come to church, pray, listen to the Bible, etc.

Matthew 4:19

Friday:Matthew 4:19
Bible Lesson: Fishers of Men: We should tell others about Christ.
Introduction:
[Needed]
Explanation: Matthew 4:19
Matthew 4:19: Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will make you fishers of men.
[Show the verse and read it aloud.]
How can we follow Jesus when we can't see him? (We see his life in the Bible, and we see his commands and obey him.) What does Jesus mean when he tells the disciples he will make them fishers of men? (It means, they will teach other people to obey and love Jesus; instead of catching fish, they will catch men.) How can we catch people? (We tell them about Jesus, and about the Bible.
One way to tell people about Jesus is by using the wordless bracelet, like this one [show one]. You'll be making wordless bracelets for your craft today.
Game: Sign Gestures
Display posterboard of verse. Read through the verse together.
Teach the children the sign motions together with the words, and have them say the verse and perform the motions at the same time. Either use a real sign language (e.g., ASL), or an improvised set of gestures and motions, like below:
ComeHand beckons toward self.
FollowFingers walk along other hand.
MePoint to self.
JesusMiddle fingers point out nail marks in hands.
SaidHand moves out from mouth.
IPoint to self.
will makeSet left fist on right, then right on top of left, as if building.
youPoint away from self, toward your audience.
fishersCast like with a fishing pole.
of menPoint to several persons as if counting.

2nd John 1:6

Thursday:2nd 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: 2nd 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.

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:
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.

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:
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.

The Fish and the Coin teen lesson

Monday:The Fish and the Coin
Main Passage: Matthew 17:24-27
Other Passages: Matthew 12:1-8, Matthew 22:15-22, John 5:18, John 1:1-4, John 1:9-14, Hebrews 1:8, Isaiah 9:6, John 5:17-23
Objective: Deity of Christ
Memory Verse: Matthew 16:16-17, Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
Introduction: The Fish and the Coin
[Read Matthew 17:24-27]
Discussion: Who is Taxed
Why didn't Jesus have to pay the temple tax? (Because he was God's son.) What does it mean that Jesus was God's son? (It means he was equal with God.) Turn to John 5. [Have volunteers read v.17-23]
Story: Lord of the Sabbath
Another time, Jesus and his disciples were walking through a grainfield. His disciples were hungry and began to pick and eat some of the grain. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Jesus, Look! Your disciples are picking grain. They're working on the Sabbath. The Pharisees had many strict rules of things they could and could not do on the Sabbath. They were busy watching everyone to make sure they followed these rules. They included things like not cooking, because that would be too much work, and counting your steps to make sure you don't walk too much. (But even the Pharisees made exceptions to these rules when it suited them, see for instance Luke 14:1-5.) Jesus said, Haven't you read in the law that the priests in the temple work on the Sabbath, but are innocent? I tell you that one greater than the temple is here... For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.
Main Point: Lordship
What does it mean to be Lord of something? What does it mean for Jesus to be Lord of the Sabbath? Only God could be Lord of that. Who could be greater than the temple? (Only God.)
What did Jesus tell Peter to do about the tax? Catch a fish, open its mouth, take out a coin, and pay it. How likely is it that when you go fishing, you're going to find a gold coin in the fish's mouth? What are the odds? One in a million? One in a billion? Has it ever happened to anyone else besides Peter? There are a lot of more likely ways to get a coin. Jesus could have sent Peter to work for a few hours. Why did he do a miracle? (Same reason he did most miracles: to demonstrate that he is God.)
Closing Point: Who is the Son of Man?
[Read Matthew 16:13-17. If there's loads of spare time, also look at John's testimony about Jesus (John 1:29-34).]
Invitation: Lordship
Invite any teens who want to acknowledge Jesus as God and as Lord of their lives to stay after and discuss it further.

Following God

Thursday:Following God
Story Passage: John 21
Other Passages: John 15:10, 1st John 5:3
Objective: Children should learn stuff.
Memory Verse: 2nd John 1:6, And this is love: that we walk in obedience to God's commands.
Visuals:Available
Introduction: ???
[Needed]
Story: Fish in the Morning
After Jesus raised from the dead, he appeared again to his disciples by the sea of Galilee. [Show map.] The disciples were sitting by the sea, and decided to go fishing, since several of them were fishermen. They fished all night and caught nothing. [Show visual.] In the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but they didn't recognise him. He called out, Friends, haven't you caught any fish? No. Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some. They did, and the net got so full [show visual] that they were unable to haul it in. John said, It is the Lord! Peter jumped in to swim to shore [show visual], and they followed in the boat. They landed, and Jesus said, Bring some of the fish you have just caught. He had a fire they had fish and bread for breakfast.
Then Jesus talked with them. He talked with Peter and said, Follow me. But Peter saw John and said, What about him? Jesus said, What is that to you? You must follow me.
First Point: Lordship
How could Jesus have known that 153 fish would be on the right side of the boat? (He was God.) When the net was full of fish, John and Peter recognised who Jesus was. What did John say? (It is the Lord.) What does it mean that Jesus is the Lord? (He is our master.)
Second Point: Resurrection
Why were they surprised that Jesus was there? Why didn't they recognise him at first? (Because he had died.) How could Jesus be there, if he had died? (He raised from the dead.)
Application: Following God
Why did Jesus tell Peter to follow him? Why should we follow Jesus? (He is the Lord.) Why did Peter ask about John? What did Jesus tell Peter when he asked about John? (What is that to you? You must follow me.) So, if other people we know don't follow God, is that an excuse for us? (No.)
Invitation: Following God
How do you follow God? (obey him: John 15:10, 1st John 5:3)
How do you know how to follow God? (from the Bible and from God)
The memory verse for today is from Colossians 1:10, Live a life worthy of the calling you have received and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.
[Invite any children who would like to talk about how they can follow God to stay after the lesson and discuss it further.]

God Loves Us

Friday: God Loves Us
Story: The 99 and the 1 lost sheep
Objective: God loves each one of us.
Main Passage: Luke 15:3-7
Other Passages:
Jesus told a story about sheep. Would you like to hear it? Jesus said that a shepherd had 100 sheep. One day he noticed that one sheep was missing. That means he still had 99. That's a lot. So, do you think he just said, Oh well, i still have a lot. No. He didn't say that. He left the 99 sheep and went out and looked and looked until he found the lost sheep. He was so happy when he found the lost sheep. He picked it up, put in on his shoulder, and happily carried it home. When he got home, he told his friends and neighbors, Be happy with me! I found my lost sheep! The shepherd loves every one of his sheep, doesn't he. Jesus loves every one of us too.

What is Needed

Generalities:
As a rule, the thing we need the most help with is creating artwork. Besides visuals to go with the lessons, we also need line-art that can be traced on overhead transparencies, projected and traced onto posterboard, and painted for decorations. We can find some artwork on the internet, but we cannot redistribute most of that due to copyright, so we need artwork that can be distributed with our materials, either because we have the author's permission to do so, or because the license of the artwork allows this. (For instance, artwork from the public domain or that is distributed under a BSD-like attribution license can be used, but artwork distributed under the GPL cannot be used, because that license is incompatible with ours.)
None of us at Galion are artists, and it really shows. I had one semester of art in college, so even the visuals we already have are really stretching the limits of my skill. In some cases I can use components from a public-domain source, such as the Open Clip Art Library, but that only goes so far. Also we have used in our own church a number of visuals that came with various purchased materials, which we have collected over the years, but this has two major problems: first, and worst for us, these visuals were not designed to go with our lessons, or with one another, and in many cases are not ideally suited. Second, and worst for everyone else, we cannot distribute visuals for which we do not have the copyright, so those visuals are not included here. We really need original artwork.
With that said, there may be other things we can use help with as well. If you look at the summary pages of each section (lessons, crafts, games, etc), you may find things that are marked as [Needed]. Beyond that, here are some additional things I have noticed that need to be done...
  • Most of the lessons currently use a boilerplate copyright acknowledgement for scriptures taken from the NIV translation. For some lessons, this may be exactly what is needed, but for others it may be that many of the scriptures are not verbatim from the NIV, and in that case either an except as noted clause should be added to the boilerplate and the exceptions noted, or if there are fewer excerpts from the NIV they should be noted individually with the short (NIV) acknowledgement and the boilerplate removed. Someone should go through all the lessons and check all the scripture passages to see whether they are indeed taken from the NIV, and make the appropriate adjustments. This is a tedious and largely thankless task, but it ought to be done to be in full compliance with Zondervan's policy.
  • The Fish with the Coin lesson needs to have the formatting and presentation cleaned up so that it is more obvious which portions are lines of drama and which are narration or commentary.(done in 2009)
  • The teen lessons for several of the years are almost entirely absent at this point. If nobody else takes this on, we will probably get to it eventually, but it would probably not be until the next time around the rotation, i.e., several years.
  • For the first several years, we did not script out any presentation for the preschool memory verse. This needs to be done.
  • Some of our music selections may come from albums that are no longer generally available. In such cases, it would be good to replace them with recommendations from readily available albums. (The unavailablity of older materials is perhaps the single most annoying feature of the way copyright law works...) (Alternately, if a larger church has the facilities and people to produce and record quality original music, that could, if done well, be even better, but realistically I think recommending selections from existing available albums is more feasible.) In particular, the Sing & Shout Songs albums have unfortunately become rather difficult to obtain of late, and the CEF Celebrate Life in Christ album was probably never available separately. Fortunately, the Hip Hop Hymns album still seems to be readily purchasable, may it always remain so. Bear in mind that when making recommendations we prefer to keep the total number of albums to a minimum, so if possible try to find albums with multiple usable songs. Also bear in mind that we have two very important criteria for music selection:
    • The music must have good solid lyrical content. Extra bonus points if it goes with the theme or, especially, the lessons. We have a limited tolerance for Praise songs — one of them every now and again is fine, but it is not okay for every song to be just that.
    • The music must have a tempo that moves. Children are not interested in singing music that drags like Brahms, turning quarter notes into whole notes and whole notes into multi-measure marathons of interminable note-holding. They will roll their eyes and start talking amongst themselves to relieve the boredom. Therefore, tempo is required.
  • Most of the pre-school lessons, and some of the elementary lessons, could use at least minor copy-editing.
  • Someone should get a statement from CEF regarding what they view the copyright status of the Wordless Book to be. We've been using it for the secondary preschool lesson every-other year (alternating with our own shapes lessons), but although the wordless book as an idea is older than CEF's involvement with it, and early versions of it are certainly out of copyright and in the public domain, CEF is responsible for the general form in which we have it today, and the use of the color green originated with them, and so I am not comfortable reproducing or distributing our wordless book lessons without checking with CEF. For now I have just linked to their own presentation of it, but that only works for an online presentation — in particular, it would not work for anyone who wants to reproduce the materials in written form. For this reason we should clarify this issue and, if necessary, write an alternative set of five simple lessons, along the lines of what we have done with shapes, but with something else than shapes or colors for the symbols. To work for preschool, it should not rely on the ability of the audience to read.
  • Some lessons may be missing some of the references under Bible Passages (or Other Passages). One such example is the Isaac and the Lamb lesson, which does not have any of the references for the last part of the lesson. Also, the Preschool Little Lamb lessons for God's Sheep are missing their references. Someone should track these all down so that they can be listed, or the lessons should be rewritten complete with references.