Monthly Archives: March 2006

Food for Thought

Prayer of St. Patrick

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I establish myself today in:

The power of God to guide me,
The might of God to uphold me,
The wisdom of God to teach me,
The eye of God to watch over me,
The ear of God to hear me,
The word of God to speak to me,
The hand of God to protect me,
The way of God to lie before me,
The shield of God to shelter me,
The hosts of God to defend me,
Christ with me, Christ before me,
Christ behind me, Christ within me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ at my right, Christ at my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length,
Christ in height, Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who hears me.

Taken from “My Sacrifice, His Fire” by Anne Ortlund.

Game Ideas

Easter Bingo

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Materials
1. Bingo cards for each participant. Make Bingo cards using a grid of squares (5X5) and placing Easter related items in each square. Make each card different in the choice of items on it and the placement of the items. (Bingo cards are typically unique for each individual. There are also usually more items than spaces on the bingo grid so that not every card has all the items.)
2. Coins or markers to cover squares. Jelly beans work well. You can also simply allow them to mark on the cards.
3. Bingo items in bag to pull out. Write them on small peices of paper or ping pong balls.

Game Play
1. Pass out the bingo cards.
2. Give each child a supply of jelly beans for markers on the board. Ask them not to eat them until the game is over.
3. Draw one slip of paper at a time from the hat or box. Read the item aloud.
4. Ask participants to look for the item on their paper. If they find it, they should place a jelly bean over it. (Make sure each participant covers the free space.)
5. Play until someone gets five marekrs in a row either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. The first person to do so must yell out “He is Risen” and wins. Check the grid to make sure the placement of the markers agrees with those that have been called out.
6. Repeat the game a few times or keep on playing the first game until each child has covered five squares in a row.
7. Let everyone eat the candy after the game is over.

Easter Bingo items related to the Biblical account:
Gray fleece or donkey (Matthew 21:2-5), Palm branch or a coat (Matthew 21:8-11), A vial of perfume (Matthew 26:7-13), A lock of hair (Matthew 26:7-13), 30 silver coins or 3 10-cent coins (Matthew 26:14-15), A strip of terry cloth fabric or towel (John 13:4-11), A communion wafer or bread (Matthew 26:17-29), A communion cup or grape (Matthew 26:17-29), , Praying hands (Mark 14:32-42), A watch (Mark 13:37), Rooster or a feather (Luke 22:61)
, Piece of rope (John 18:12), A leather whip (John 19:1), Small piece of soap (Matthew 27:20-24), A piece of scarlet cloth (Matthew 27:28), A crown of thorns (Matthew 27:29), A cross (John 19:16-22), nails (John 19:16-22), Dice (John 19:23-24), darkness or Black circle (Luke 23:44-45), sponge with vinegar (John 19:28-30), spear (John 19:32-37), A shattered or split rock (Matthew 27:51, 54), Purple cloth (Matthew 27:51), Clean linen cloth or gauze (Matthew 27:57-61), Spices (Luke 23:55-56), A stone and wax or paraffin (Matthew 27:65-66), an empty tomb (Matthew 28:5-8), Sign reading “King of the Jews”

Easter Bingo items NOT necessarily related to Biblical account:
Basket, Bells, Bonnet, Bunny Hop, Candies, Chicks, Chocolate, Chocolate Rabbit, church, Cottontail, Daffodil, Easter Card, Easter Egg, Egg Hunt, Egg Tree, Faberge, Hard Boiled egg, Hot Cross Buns, Jelly Beans, Lamb, Lilies, Marshmellows, New Clothes, Parade, Passover, Pastel Colors, Peeps, Pretzel, Rabbit, Ribbons, Spring, Straw, Sunday, Sunrise

Variation
1. Make the bingo cards using items from the Biblical Account.
2. As you tell the easter story, youth / children must cover the appropriate square every time they hear something that matches a picture on their card. Everyone will get to bing before you finish and you will have told the Easter story.

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Food for Thought

Which Tooth?

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Two small boys walked into the dentist’s office. One of them said bravely, “I want a tooth taken out and I don’t want any gas, and I don’t want it deadened . . . because we’re in a hurry!” The dentist said, “You’re quite a brave young man. Which tooth is it?”

The boy turned to his smaller friend and said, “Show him your tooth, Albert.”

The world is full of volunteers like that. We’re anxious to have something happen — to someone else! We don’t mind God changing the world — as long as He doesn’t bring any pain into our lives.

Author: James Cammack, Snyder Memorial Baptist Church, Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Source: Parables From Outside Paradise

Children's Sermon

A Beautiful Tune

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Materials
1. Eight (8) glasses of the same shape and size to be placed on a large table. Glass dinner glasses or wine glasses work best.
2. Source of water. (Can be a bucket or large jug)
3. Bowl with small peices of shredded paper
4. Pencil
5. towel
6. Permanent Marker or marker that can write on glass (for preparation)

Preparation
1. Before the talk, number the glasses from 1-8 for easy reference.
2. Fill the eight glasses with water so that they produce a musical scale of a single octave. Use a piano, guitar or another instrument to tune the glasses (Add or remove water until you have got them right all at thge right pitch). Chck the pitch by lightly tapping each glass with a wooden pencil
3. Mark of a line on each of the glasses where the water level should be so that later all you need to do is fill them to the line
4. Set the materials out for the talk.

Activity
1. Allow eight of the children each to fill a glass with water from the container right up to the mark on the glass.
2. Help them to adjust the water level if it is too little or too much
3. After the glasses are filled, tell the class that the way to find out if the group had done a good job is to play a simple tune (such as “Doe A Deer A Female Deer” or “Mary had a little lamb”) by striking the glasses lightly with the pencil.
4. After playing the tune, praise the children for a job well done.
5. Now empty the glasses into the water container and repeat the whole process with another group of 8 children. 6. Again test the results by playing a tune.
7. You can repeat several times with different children, but for the last group you will do something different. When the last team comes on, plant a volunteer within it, whose job is to fill his/her cup not with water but with pieces of paper from the bowl.
8. Now, try to play a tune from the glasses. The tune will be missing one of the notes. One glass will be out of tune.

Application
1. Ask the class what was wrong with the music in the the last team (it did not sound right, something was wrong with it, etc.).
2. Ask the children to identify the cause of the problem and listen to their answers. Someone will likely answer that one of the glasses was filled not with water but with paper.
3. Affirm their answers and say, “You know, our God is big and wonderful, ready to give us all kinds of blessings; but we often feel empty, alone, and sad like those empty glasses. ”
4. “God is like this water. If we invite God to come into our lives, He can make a great difference in us. It’s like filling those empty glasses with water. When God is in our lives, he can use our lives to bring music and joy to others. ”
5. “But if we fill our lives with things other than God, such as toys, television, playing with friends, school that become more important to us than God, we will not bring music and joy to others. Instead we will bring dischord and noise. It’s like trying to play a tune from a glass filled only with paper. It’s no wonder we don’t feel much of God’s love and joy and wisdom in us. Watch carefully what you are filled with — God or the things of this world.”


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Teaching Illustrations

Church Bells

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Massena, one of Napoleon’s generals, suddenly appeared with 18,000 soldiers before an Austrian town which had no means of defending itself. The town council met, certain that capitulation was the only answer. The old dean of the church reminded the council that it was Easter, and begged them to hold services as usual and to leave the trouble in God’s hands. They followed his advice. The dean went to the church and rang the bells to announce the service. The French soldiers heard the church bells ring and concluded that the Austrian army had come to rescue the town. They broke camp, and before the bells had ceased ringing, vanished.

Source: Unknown

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Inspiration

Butterfly, Botanist, or Bee?

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Contemplating life, a wise teacher gazed at a beautiful garden.

As he breathed in the wonderful fragrances and beheld the beauty of the garden, he saw a butterfly flitting from flower to flower. It spent a few seconds on the edge of a rose, then a daisy, and then a sunflower. The garden was a rainbow of fragrance and color, but the butterfly gained no particular benefit from any of the flowers there.

Next the teacher saw a botanist with a large notebook and an equally large magnifying glass in his hand. As the botanist carefully observed each flower, he filled a great number of pages with his notes. But after hours of meticulous study, most of what he learned was shut up in his notebook and forgotten.

Then the wise teacher observed a small bee. The bee enthusiastically entered a flower, was gone from view for a brief moment, and then emerged laden with pollen. It had left the hive that morning empty, but would return full, and in doing so would share his abundance. With that pollen, sweet honey would be made to sustain, not only himself, but the entire hive for the future.

The wise teacher pondered.

Some people are like butterflies, going from teacher to teacher, seminar to seminar, book to book. They are so very busy, and expend so much energy, but have little to show for their efforts. They remain unchanged in any significant way because they never really delve into things wholeheartedly. They’re content to simply flutter around the edges.

Others, like the botanist, may study in great depth but never apply what is learnt to their lives. Content to study, they know much, but receive little benefit. Striving for knowledge alone, they are unaffected by the knowledge they gain.

Our lives would be very different if we could only learn from the bee — visiting each flower with purpose and passion. To whole-heartedly dive in — to lose ourselves, to go into every opportunity with an open mind, determined to emerge fuller than when we began, to do more than simply flutter, to do more than simply take notes, but to take action. To joyfully give of our abundance so that others can make something sweeter, something that will sustain not only ourselves, but bless others as well.

How would the wise teacher see your life?
As butterfly, a botanist, or a bee?

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.
– James 1:22-25

Copyright 2003 by Ken Sapp
Based on a story by H.P. Barker (Original Source Unknown)


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Creative Teaching Ideas

Walk the Rope Relay

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rope.jpg
Materials
Static rope, two shorter ropes tied into loops (slings) – two rock climbing carabiners (not required).

Setup
1. A length of static rope should be set up between two fixed points such as trees, or columns.
2. The rope should be tautly suspended about 1 foot off the ground.
3. You need to have a couple people as spotters… though the rope is not high, it is better to be safe than sorry. We don’t want any injuries.

Objective
1. The group must make their way across the “swamp of sin” using only the rope.
2. If they touch the sin (ground) they die.
3. The team to get the greatest number of group members safely across in the quickest time wins. [No one may touch the ground between the two fixed points or they are disqualified and removed from game play–i.e. dead]
4. Rope slings and carabiners are available for those who need assistance and have the prerequisite imagination.

Application
1. With sin, one small step is all it takes to merit it’s wages- death.
2. How is living according to spiritual standards like walking the line? (e.g. it takes concentration, effort)
3. What did you do to stay walking the line?
4. What scriptural standards do you find most difficult to walk? Why? How can we walk these lines? (Awareness of where the lines are located, perseverance, patience, commitment to keep to standards


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Teaching Illustrations

The Empty Egg

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eastereggs.jpgSpring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. “Now,” she said to them “I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?” “Yes, Miss Miller!” the children responded enthusiastically – all except for Jeremy. He just listened intently, his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus’ death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.

That evening, Doris’ kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy’s parents.

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller’s desk. After they completed their Math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. “Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life,” she said. “When plants peek through the ground we know that spring is here.” A small girl in the first row waved her arms. “That’s my egg, Miss Miller,” she called out. The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Doris held it up. “We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes that is new life, too” Little Judy smiled proudly and said, “Miss Miller, that one is mine.” Next Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that the moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom. “My Daddy helped me!” he beamed.

Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty! Surely it must be Jeremy’s, she thought, and, of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another. Suddenly Jeremy spoke up. “Miss Miller, aren’t you going to talk about my egg?” Flustered, Doris replied, “but Jeremy – your egg is empty!” He looked into her eyes and said softly, “Yes, but Jesus’ tomb was empty, too!”

Time stopped. When she could speak again. Doris asked him, ” Do you know why the tomb was empty?” “Oh yes!” Jeremy exclaimed. “Jesus was killed and put in there. Then his Father raised him up!” The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the school yard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.

Three months later Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket, all of them empty.

Source: Unknown

 

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Humor

Life Restorer

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A man was blissfully driving along the highway, when he saw the Easter Bunny hopping across the middle of the road. He swerved to avoid hitting the bunny, but unfortunately the rabbit jumped in front of his car and was hit. The basket of eggs went flying all over the place. Candy, too.

The driver, being a sensitive man as well as an animal lover, pulled over to the side of the road, and got out to see what had become of the bunny carrying the basket. Much to his dismay, the colorful bunny was dead. The driver felt guilty and began to cry.

A woman driving down the same highway saw the man crying on the side of the road and pulled over. She stepped out of her car and asked the man what was wrong.

“I feel terrible,” he explained. “I accidentally hit the Easter Bunny and killed him. There may not be an Easter because of me. What should I do?”

The woman told the man not to worry. She know exactly what to do. She went to her car trunk, and pulled out a spray can. She walked over to the limp dead bunny, and sprayed the entire contents of the can onto the little
furry animal. Miraculously the Easter Bunny came back to life, jumped up, picked up the spilled eggs and candy, waved its paw at the two humans and hopped on down the road. 50 yards away the Easter Bunny stopped, turned around, waved and hoped on down the road another 50 yards, turned waved, hopped another 50 yards and waved again!

The man was astonished. He said to the woman, “What in heaven’s name is in your spray can?”

The woman turned the can around so that the man could read the label. It said: “Hair Spray. Restores life to dead hair. Adds permanent wave.”

While Easter is not about the Easter bunny, it is about restoring the dead. Jesus was resurrected and because of his work on the cross we also will be resurrected.

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Devotional

A Quiet Place

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“There is a quiet place far from the rapid pace
Where God can soothe my troubled mind.
Sheltered by tree and flow’r there in my quiet hour
With Him my cares are left behind.
Whether a garden small or on a mountain tall,
New strength and courage there I find.
Then from this quiet place I go prepared to face
A new day with love for all mankind.”

Author: Ralph Carmichael


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

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