Monthly Archives: May 2009

Drama Ideas

Resource for Puppets and Drama Skits

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skitsforfunandlearning.jpg

Through a partnership with Christian Counseling and Education Service (CCES) I am now able to offer you a wonderful resources for your drama or puppet ministry that will help your children to Learn, Love and Live the Word of God!

In many churches, puppets are wonderful tools to teach children, youth, and adults the truths of God’s Word! But finding scripts that are suitable for puppets can be difficult.

But there is help. CCES (Christian Counseling and education service) has published a book that contains 15 scripts/skits that can be acted out by children or performed by puppets.

Click here to order your puppet / skit resource today.

Here’s a bonus script (not in the book) to give you an idea of what you will be getting:

NEW GLASSES FOR BRADY
By Ann Shorb

Script may be performed by puppets or by children.

AIM: To encourage children to develop a thankful heart.
CHARACTERS: Two children–one grumpy, one cheerful.
PROPS: A pair of glasses; books or backpacks, optional.

(Both puppets enter from left while talking–may be carrying books, or wearing backpacks. Sally is wearing the glasses.)

Brady: School was terrible today!

Sally: Why?

Brady: (Very upset.) There were peas in the soup at lunch; the teacher gave us tons of homework; and even the basketball was flat at recess!

Sally: (Shakes head.) You had a pretty rough day!

Brady: And tonight it’s my turn to help with dishes. (Sigh.)

Sally: It won’t take long. (Pause. Look straight at him.) Brady, you haven’t noticed my new glasses yet.

(Both puppets stop walking and he looks at her carefully.)

Brady: I noticed, but I think glasses look dumb.

Sally: (Proudly.) They make me look sophisticated, and I think they’re wonderful!

Brady: How come you’re always happy about everything?

Sally: Because I try to be thankful for everything.

Brady: But everything always goes wrong for me! There’s nothing to be thankful for.

Sally: There’s always something to be thankful. You just have to look for it.

Brady: How about homework?

Sally: It helps us learn more.

Brady: Washing dishes?

Sally: Well, I’m thankful we have food to put on the plates, which is what makes them need washing . . . and that Mom cooks it for us . . . and for water to wash the dishes . . .

Brady: O.K, O.K., I get it.

Sally: It’s all in the way you see things. You can complain, or you can be thankful.

Brady: How could I be thankful when the ball was flat today?

Sally: You fixed it with that little pump, didn’t you?

Brady: Yeah.

Sally: Then, be thankful you didn’t have to use your mouth!

Brady: Oh, Sally!

Sally: Brady, I think you need a pair of new glasses, too.

Brady: But my eyes are perfect!

Sally: Oh, these should go on the inside–on your heart.

Brady: Glasses on your heart? That’s crazy!

Sally: All you ever see are things to complain about. I wish you had a special pair of glasses that would make you see things to be thankful for.

Brady: I guess I could try to see things like you do.

Sally: It would be like having that special pair of glasses, and things would look better to you.

Brady: (Looks carefully at her.) You know, Sally, you’re new glassed don’t really look dumb. I think I actually like you in those glasses.

Sally: And I’m going to like you in your new glasses, too!

(Both they nod to each other in agreement and exit to right.)

THE END

Teacher, follow the puppet show with the reading of I Thessalonians 5:18, Colossians 3:15, Psalm 107:1. Let the class name things for which it is hard to be thankful. Close in prayer asking God to help each one develop a thankful heart.

©Copyright, Ann Shorb, Ph.D. Christian Counseling & Educational Services
239 York Street , Hanover , PA 17331 www.ccesonline.com


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…

Teaching Illustrations

Can I Borrow $25?

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A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his young son waiting for him at the door.

‘Daddy, may I ask you a question?’

‘Yeah sure, what it is?’ replied the man.

‘Daddy, how much do you make an hour?’

‘That’s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?’ the man said angrily.

‘I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?’

‘If you must know, I make $50 an hour.’

‘Oh,’ the little boy replied, with his head down.

‘Daddy, may I please borrow $25?’

The father was furious, ‘If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don’t work hard everyday for such childish frivolities.’

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy’s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down , and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $25.00 and he really didn’t ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.

‘Are you asleep, son?’ He asked.

‘No daddy, I’m awake,’ replied the boy.

‘I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier’ said the man. ‘It’s been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here’s the $25 you asked for.’ The little boy sat straight up, smiling. ‘Oh, thank you daddy!’ he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father.

‘Why do you want more money if you already have some?’ the father grumbled.

‘Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,’ the little boy replied.

‘Daddy, I have $50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.’

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness..

We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts. Do remember to share that $50 worth of your time with someone you love. If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of hours. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

Source: Circulating through email


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…

Humor

Hillbilly Computing

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LOG ON: Making the woodstove hotter
LOG OFF: Don’t add no more wood
MONITOR: Keepin an eye on that woodstove
DOWNLOAD: Gettin the farwood off the truk
MEGA HERTZ: When yer not keerful gettin that farwood downloaded
FLOPPY DISK: Whutcha git from tryin to carry too much farwood
RAM: That thar thang whut splits th farwood
HARD DRIVE: Gettin home in th winter tym
PROMPT: Whut the mail ain’t in the winter tym
WINDOWS: Whut to shut when its cold outside
SCREEN: Whut to shut when its blak fly season
BYTE: Whut them dang flys do
CHIP: Munchies fer the TV
MICRO CHIP: Whuts left in the munchie bag
INFRARED: Whur the left over munchies go, Fred eats em
MODEM: Whatcha did to the hay fields
DOT MATRIX: Ol Dan Matrix’s wife
LAP TOP: Whur the kitty sleeps
KEYBOARD: Whur ya hang the dang keys
SOFTWARE: Them dang plastik forks and nifes
MOUSE: What eats th grain in th barn
MAIN FRAME: Holds up th barn ruuf
PORT: Fancy Flatlander Wine
ENTER: Northern fer c’mon in y’all
RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY: When ya caint member whut ya paid for yer new rifle when yore wife ask

Get Icebreakers ebookIcebreakers Ahead: Take It To the Next Level

This 170 page resource not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities and games, but also includes lesson ideas and discussion questions to smoothly transition into conversations about the issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out how to get your hands on this incredible resource!

Teaching Illustrations

What are grandmas for?

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Grandmas are for stories about things of long ago.
Grandmas are for caring about all the things you know…
Grandmas are for rocking you and singing you to sleep.
Grandmas are for giving you nice memories to keep…
Grandmas are for knowing all the things you’re dreaming of…
But, most importantly of all, Grandmas are for love.

Author Unknown

Humor

The Easiest Part Of Being A Mother Is Giving Birth

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For the first four or five years after I had children, I considered motherhood a temporary condition – not a calling. It was a time of my life set aside for exhaustion and long hours. It would pass. Then one afternoon with three kids in tow, I came out of the supermarket pushing a cart (with four wheels that went in opposite directions) when my toddler son got away from me.

Just outside the door, he ran toward a machine holding bubble gum in a glass dome. In a voice that shattered glass, he shouted, “Gimme! Gimme!” I told him I would gimme him what-for if he didn’t stop shouting and get in the car. As I physically tried to pry his body from around the bubble gum machine, he pulled the entire thing over. Glass and balls of bubble gum went all over the parking lot. We had now attracted a crowd. Donna Reed would have brushed away his tears and granted him absolution on the spot. I wasn’t Donna Reed. I told him he would never see another cartoon as long as he lived, and if he didn’t control his temper he was going to be making license plates for the state. He tried to stifle his sobs as he looked around at the staring crowd. Then he did something that I was to remember the rest of my life. In his helpless quest for comfort, he turned to the only one he trusted his emotions with – me. He threw his arms around my knees and held on for dear life. I had humiliated him, chastised him and berated him, but I was still all he had. That single incident defined my role. I was a major force in this child’s life. Sometimes we forget how important stability is to a child. I’ve always told mine, “The easiest part of being a mother is giving birth. The hardest part is showing up for it each day.”

This is traditionally the day when children give something back to their mothers for all the spit they produced to wash dirty faces, all the old gum their mothers held in their hands, all the noses and fannies that were wiped, and all the bloody knees that were ” made well” with a kiss. This is the day mothers are rewarded for washing all those sheets in the middle of the night, driving kids to school when they missed the bus and enduring all the football games in the rain. It’s appreciation day for making them finish something, not believing them when they said, “I hate you,” and for sharing their good times and their bad times. Their cards probably won’t reflect it, but what they are trying to say is “Thank you for showing up.”

Erma Bombeck, BEING A MOM MEANS YOU HAVE TO SHOW UP. , St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 05-09-1993, pp 12C.

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next Mother’s Day celebration of youth event honoring mothers. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do with the youth for various common holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Teaching Illustrations

Images of Mother

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4 years old: My Mommy can do anything!
8 years old: My Mom knows a lot! A whole lot!
12 years old: My Mother doesn’t really know quite everything.
14 years old: Naturally, Mother doesn’t know that, either.
16 years old: Mother? She’s hopelessly old-fashioned.
18 years old: That old woman? She’s way out of date!
25 years old: Well, she might know a little bit about it.
35 years old: Before we decide, let’s get Mom’s opinion.
45 years old: Wonder what Mom would have thought about it?
65 years old: Wish I could talk it over with Mom

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next Mother’s Day Celebration or event honoring mothers. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for the various common holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Parents Ministry, Teaching Illustrations

Love Passed By

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“A small child waits with impatience the arrival home of a parent. She wishes to relate some sandbox experience. She is excited to share the thrill that she has known that day. The time comes; the parent arrives. Beaten down by the stresses of the workplace the parent often replies: “Not now, honey, I’m busy, go watch television.” The most often spoken words in the American household today are the words: go watch television. If not now, when? Later. But later never comes for many and the parent fails to communicate at the very earliest of ages. We give her designer clothes and computer toys, but we do not give her what she wants the most, which is our time. Now, she is fifteen and has a glassy look in her eyes. Honey, do we need to sit down and talk? Too late. Love has passed by.”

Author: Robert Keeshan, better known to America as Captain Kangaroo.


Get "Creative Sermon Ideas" eBook

Get Help on Your Youth Sermons

Creative Sermon Ideas
This 100 Page e-Book Includes All The Help You Need To Prepare Powerful, Life-Changing Youth Sermons That Will Turn Your Preaching Around And Make Your Youth Sit Up And Listen! Includes 7 Complete Sermons.
–> I want More Youth Sermon Ideas…

Announcements, Parents Ministry

Mother’s Day Ideas

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Mother’s Day is around the corner and Creative Youth Ideas has lots of ideas for your special mother’s day activity or event.

There are ideas for a Children’s Sermon on Mothers Day and illustrations and stories for a sermon to mothers or youth talk. There are also some great Mother’s Day games and other ideas for that Special Mother’s Day event.

Mother’s Day Games and activities for youth

  • Are You My Mother? – This game can be a fun filled activity for Mother’s Day
  • Baby Animals – In this Mother’s Day game idea, Children or Youth will look at mothers in the animal kingdom as an illustration of the caring relationships between mother and child.
  • Famous Biblical Mothers – Use these youth games as icebreakers which revolve around famous Biblical mothers
  • Guess the Mother? or Child? – Use this activity as an icebreaker for your youth or children’s Mother’s Day event.
  • Mother Child Trivia – This Mother’s Day Game idea for youth makes a great activity to encourage mother-child communication, especially among teens.
  • Mother of Who? – Play a game of charades using the names of Biblical Mothers.
  • Mother Says – Use these games on Mother’s Day for a Mother’s Day children’s sermon.
  • Mother’s Day Games – Use these three games for a Mother’s Day youth Activity.
  • Sayings of Mothers – This Mother’s Day teaching activity can be a Children’s sermon or a reminder that mothers look after us just as the Heavenly Father does.
  • Sock Guess – This game for Mother’s Day reminds children and youth of the numerous roles that mothers play in our lives

 

Mother’s Day Stories and Sermon Illustrations for Youth

 

Mother’s Day Humor

 

icebreaker_book_cover_md.jpgFor Icebreakers and games for any occasion check out….

Icebreakers Ahead: Take it to the next Level”
not only provides 52 of the world’s most popular group icebreaker activities, but also includes lesson ideas and questions to smoothly transition into discussions about issues common to most groups.

Click here to find out more!

 

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Parents Ministry, Teaching Illustrations

The Red Rose

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A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away. As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing.

He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents and a rose costs two dollars.”

The man smiled and said, “Come on in with me. I’ll buy you a rose.” He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother’s flowers.

As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, “Yes, please! You can take me to my mother.”

She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.

The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother’s home.

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of Common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you not only to plan your Valentine’s Day, but also to plan events for other common holidays. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for the various common holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection

Teaching Illustrations

Giving Blood

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A little boy was told by his doctor that he could save his sister’s life by giving her some blood. The six-year-old girl was near death, a victim of disease from which the boy had made a marvelous recovery two years earlier.

Her only chance for restoration was a blood transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the illness. Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor.

“Johnny, would you like to give your blood for Mary?” the doctor asked.

The boy hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled, and said, “Sure, Doc. I’ll give my blood for my sister.”

Soon the two children were wheeled into the operating room – Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and the picture of health. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned. As his blood siphoned into Mary’s veins, one could almost see new life come into her tired body.

The ordeal was almost over when Johnny’s brave little voice broke the silence, “Say Doc, when do I die?” It was only then that the doctor realized what the moment of hesitation, the trembling of the lip, had meant earlier.

Little Johnny actually thought that in giving his blood to his sister he was giving up his life! And in that brief moment, the final decision that he had made was the greatest love of all… the unconditional sacrificing love..


MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”

200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.

Learn More…