Boy was today fun!
In our Cuddle Zone, the children heard the story of Jesus healing a Deaf man. We realized that Jesus will help us no matter what! We got to play with some musical instruments and had fun "helping" with the Tennis ball game!
In our Discovery Zone, we discussed a difficult topic - Heaven.
We found out that Jesus told his disciples about a house at the Last Supper. After he broke the bread and drank the wine, he told the disciples about his Father's house. When he was talking about his Father's house, he was not talking about Joseph's house that he grew up in, but he was talking about God's House. He told his disciples how God's House had many rooms and had space for everyone who believes. He also instructed his disciples that the only way to God's House was through Jesus. Finally we discussed how God is a part of Jesus and Jesus is a part of God.
After the story, we said a prayer and then played a game where we tried to jump to Heaven. Well not Heaven actually, but a picture on the floor. It was too far for anyone to jump to on one jump, but we soon found out that if we placed rocks on the way, we could get there. Those rocks (going to church, following rules, doing good things) all helped us get to Heaven. It was difficult, but then we learned that if we just ask Jesus to be our savior, then he will make a bridge for us. Just by asking, Jesus will show us the way to Heaven.
Then we moved onto the activity, and what an activity we had! We got to create our picture of Heaven and God's House on paper. We had glitter glue, markers and crayons, pieces of construction paper, foam stickers and many other items to make a spectacular picture. As we made our pictures, we talked about the items that we put on our pictures and why we choose them.
Finally our time came to an end so we blew out our candles and said goodbye until next week!
Monday, March 23, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
March 15th - Third day of HOPE
Today we had a wonderful day at the South Campus. After singing some wonderful songs with the Praise band we were invited on stage for our special Kids Connection momment. Erin didn't have the hat on today as her mystery item was too big, so she brought up the Mystery Bag. We started by lighting our candle, and then we started talking about the word HOPE. We discussed how it really doesn't mean "wish" or "want", but for people who follow Jesus, it means a lot more. It means that we believe that God has a plan for us and even though we may not understand what is happening, we place our trust in Him. That placing our trust is HOPE.
After discussing HOPE, we remembered the previous weeks stories of Paul's Shipwreck and Lazarus being raised from the Dead. Next we took turns guessing whay Erin had in her Mystery Bag. Afer several guesses, she showed us...a paper plate and silverware. We were stumped as to what they had to do with HOPE, but we knew that we would know in a few minutes once we marched down the long hallway to our classroom. Once there, we lit the second candle to remember those who were not in class with us today. We then reviewed our virtue word for March - HOPE.
HOPE is believing that something good can come out of something bad.
Memory Verse: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” Romans 8:28, NIV/NIrV
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember what Jesus did for you.
Our Bible Story is The Last Supper (Jesus’ Last Supper with the disciples) • Luke 22:7-23; John 13:33-38
We had a very important story today, the story of Jesus and the last supper. We re-enacted the Passover meal, talking about what Jesus meant when he said "This is my body" and "This is my blood". We then learned the great instruction that Jesus left for all of us, which is "Love one another."
Then we moved to our craft. We made placemats that reminded us of things that give us hope. We colored the items on the paper and then cut them out and glued them to the construction paper. We had a great time!
Our time was coming to an end, so we said our prayer and blew out our candle, remembering that we are the light. Next week, we will hear the story about the promise Jesus made to us of Heaven. We will discuss that whatever happens, we need to remember what Jesus promised.
After discussing HOPE, we remembered the previous weeks stories of Paul's Shipwreck and Lazarus being raised from the Dead. Next we took turns guessing whay Erin had in her Mystery Bag. Afer several guesses, she showed us...a paper plate and silverware. We were stumped as to what they had to do with HOPE, but we knew that we would know in a few minutes once we marched down the long hallway to our classroom. Once there, we lit the second candle to remember those who were not in class with us today. We then reviewed our virtue word for March - HOPE.
HOPE is believing that something good can come out of something bad.
Memory Verse: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” Romans 8:28, NIV/NIrV
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember what Jesus did for you.
Our Bible Story is The Last Supper (Jesus’ Last Supper with the disciples) • Luke 22:7-23; John 13:33-38
We had a very important story today, the story of Jesus and the last supper. We re-enacted the Passover meal, talking about what Jesus meant when he said "This is my body" and "This is my blood". We then learned the great instruction that Jesus left for all of us, which is "Love one another."
Then we moved to our craft. We made placemats that reminded us of things that give us hope. We colored the items on the paper and then cut them out and glued them to the construction paper. We had a great time!
Our time was coming to an end, so we said our prayer and blew out our candle, remembering that we are the light. Next week, we will hear the story about the promise Jesus made to us of Heaven. We will discuss that whatever happens, we need to remember what Jesus promised.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
March 1st - First day of HOPE
Today we had a wonderful day at the South Campus. After singing some wonderful songs with the acoustic Praise band (who were AWESOME by the way!)we marched down the long hallway to our classroom. Once there, we lit our candles and remembered those who were not in class with us today. We then introduced our new virtue word for March - HOPE.
HOPE is believing that something good can come out of something bad.
Memory Verse: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” Romans 8:28, NIV/NIrV
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember God has a plan.
Our Bible Story is Shipwrecked! (Paul sails for Rome) • Acts 27:1-44; 28:1-11
We started our discussions by figuring out what was in the mystery bag. After several guesses we found out that there was a cruise ship DVD in the mystery bag. Why a DVD of a cruise ship? We then heard the story about Paul's sail for Rome. While Paul was a prisoner, he was put on a ship and they set sail for Rome from Caesarea. Paul warned the crew that they shouldn't sail, but they didn't listen to him. They set sail anyway and halfway through the trip, they started to encounter some bad weather. The weather proceeds to get worse until they are facing a hurricane! Paul is then visited by an angel who tells him that they will be safe, but they need to beach the ship. Paul communicates this to the crew, who was very scared by this point. They finally find an island and beach the ship.
On this island, they are met by the local official who greets them. He finds out that his father was very ill. Paul heals him and the other sick people on the island. After several months, they set sail again. Throughout this entire time, things looked very bleak for Paul and the other passengers on this ship, but Paul never lost hope. He knew whatever happens, remember God has a plan.
Then we moved to our craft. Each child was given a folded paper boat. We decorated our boats with markers and stickers. We also were given a paper Paul that we colored as well. Once our boats and Paul was colored, we took them to a table where we had a table-top map setup and we took our boats and followed Paul's course on the map from Caesarea to Malta, re-enacting his journey.
Our time was coming to an end, so we said our prayer and blew out our candle, remembering that we are the light. We had a few extra minutes so we played a simple game. I sat in the chair, placed a happy face on the ground to my right and a sad face to my left. We then took turns choosing cards that had different situations on them and we choose whether they were happy or sad situations. We even had a situation that could be both!
Next week, we will hear the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. We will discuss that whatever happens, we need to remember how powerful God is.
HOPE is believing that something good can come out of something bad.
Memory Verse: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” Romans 8:28, NIV/NIrV
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember God has a plan.
Our Bible Story is Shipwrecked! (Paul sails for Rome) • Acts 27:1-44; 28:1-11
We started our discussions by figuring out what was in the mystery bag. After several guesses we found out that there was a cruise ship DVD in the mystery bag. Why a DVD of a cruise ship? We then heard the story about Paul's sail for Rome. While Paul was a prisoner, he was put on a ship and they set sail for Rome from Caesarea. Paul warned the crew that they shouldn't sail, but they didn't listen to him. They set sail anyway and halfway through the trip, they started to encounter some bad weather. The weather proceeds to get worse until they are facing a hurricane! Paul is then visited by an angel who tells him that they will be safe, but they need to beach the ship. Paul communicates this to the crew, who was very scared by this point. They finally find an island and beach the ship.
On this island, they are met by the local official who greets them. He finds out that his father was very ill. Paul heals him and the other sick people on the island. After several months, they set sail again. Throughout this entire time, things looked very bleak for Paul and the other passengers on this ship, but Paul never lost hope. He knew whatever happens, remember God has a plan.
Then we moved to our craft. Each child was given a folded paper boat. We decorated our boats with markers and stickers. We also were given a paper Paul that we colored as well. Once our boats and Paul was colored, we took them to a table where we had a table-top map setup and we took our boats and followed Paul's course on the map from Caesarea to Malta, re-enacting his journey.
Our time was coming to an end, so we said our prayer and blew out our candle, remembering that we are the light. We had a few extra minutes so we played a simple game. I sat in the chair, placed a happy face on the ground to my right and a sad face to my left. We then took turns choosing cards that had different situations on them and we choose whether they were happy or sad situations. We even had a situation that could be both!
Next week, we will hear the story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. We will discuss that whatever happens, we need to remember how powerful God is.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
February 22 - The last day of FAIRNESS
Today is the last Sunday that we discuss the virtue work of Fairness. We mixed it up a bit by starting our children's time on stage in the auditorium. We went over the virtue word of fairness and reviewed what we have learned the first three weeks:
Week 1 - Treat everyone fairly because everyone is important to God.
Week 2 - Treat everyone fairly...even those who are different. (The parable of the Good Samaritan)
Week 3 - Treat everyone fairly...even your enemies. (Saul/Paul and Ananais)
This week, we didn't have a mystery bag. Instead we had a mystery HAT! After multiple guesses (my favorite being a rabbit!)I pulled an instruction sheet out from under the purple fuzzy hat! We had to wait until we got back to our room to find out what an instruction sheet has to do with Jesus.
Once we got back to our room, we heard the story of Jesus' instructions for his disciples. We learned that Jesus told his disciples to go EVERYWHERE and tell EVERYONE about Jesus. We then discussed how the instructions weren't just for the disciples, but they were for us as well. We need to show God's love to everyone because he wants everyone to know him.
After discussing the story, we decorated paper plates with pictures of seven people who are different from us. We also wrote the name of someone that we could tell about Jesus. We created snack bags with M&M's and placed cards telling them about God's love for them on the bag. Each child took a bag to give to the person they wrote on the plate. After a prayer and blowing out the candles, we wrapped up by sitting on our carpet dots in a circle on the floor and played telephone. We found it interesting and funny how a simple instruction sentence changed as it passed around the group.
Next Sunday we start a new month and that means a new virtue word - HOPE.
Week 1 - Treat everyone fairly because everyone is important to God.
Week 2 - Treat everyone fairly...even those who are different. (The parable of the Good Samaritan)
Week 3 - Treat everyone fairly...even your enemies. (Saul/Paul and Ananais)
This week, we didn't have a mystery bag. Instead we had a mystery HAT! After multiple guesses (my favorite being a rabbit!)I pulled an instruction sheet out from under the purple fuzzy hat! We had to wait until we got back to our room to find out what an instruction sheet has to do with Jesus.
Once we got back to our room, we heard the story of Jesus' instructions for his disciples. We learned that Jesus told his disciples to go EVERYWHERE and tell EVERYONE about Jesus. We then discussed how the instructions weren't just for the disciples, but they were for us as well. We need to show God's love to everyone because he wants everyone to know him.
After discussing the story, we decorated paper plates with pictures of seven people who are different from us. We also wrote the name of someone that we could tell about Jesus. We created snack bags with M&M's and placed cards telling them about God's love for them on the bag. Each child took a bag to give to the person they wrote on the plate. After a prayer and blowing out the candles, we wrapped up by sitting on our carpet dots in a circle on the floor and played telephone. We found it interesting and funny how a simple instruction sentence changed as it passed around the group.
Next Sunday we start a new month and that means a new virtue word - HOPE.
Friday, February 20, 2009
The Need to Belong
I am attaching a link to a WONDERFUL story about how sportsmanship is not dead. This demonstrates how our young people are more than just the negative images that are shown on the news. But I am attaching it for another reason. At our Children's Ministry Lead Team meeting last night, I was shown a video put together by the secular community. In this video, they discussed the primary need to belong and have a purpose. The most interesting part was that they came around to stating the the Church community is one of the most important places for these children to get that sense of belonging. So, you may be asking how that video applies to sportsmanship? The link is that even dealing with the loss of his mother just hours before, Johntel Franklin NEEDED to play basketball with his teammates that night. He NEEDED his team and the community. We all need our teams, or groups, or classmates, or any other number of communities. Remember that the community extends past your inner circle to include the young person bagging your groceries each week. If you see them several weeks, say hi and introduce yourself. Ask them how school is going. Identify them by NAME. Little gestures like this make a big difference in their sense of belonging to the community at large. It may not be the person bagging your groceries, it may be your paper boy, your favorite restaraunt server, or a familliar face at the drive-thru. Anywhere you see people, take the time to call them by name and ask them how they are doing. I think you will be surprised at the results!
Please check out this story! It is great!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday February 15th - Fairness
Welcome to my blog. My name is Erin Arnold and I am Children's Ministry Team Lead for the South Campus of Christ United Methodist Church. The nursery room enjoyed the addition of a couple of new children...and finally a baby for all to love on! The children in the nursery were well cared for by Lindsey and Jessica. The elementary room had it's third week on the virtue word - FAIRNESS. The memory verse for Fairness is treating everyone the same...even your enemies. This week we heard the story of Paul's conversion. We discussed how Saul came to be Paul, and especially Ananias's role in his conversion. We talked about how difficult it was for Ananias to go to Saul, who was his enemy to help him, but that is what God wanted him to do so he did it. We all need to look at the people around us and love ALL of them, even our enemies. Our activity was to make light switch covers that we could put at home to remind us to "Treat Everyone Fairly" and of Saul's conversion into Paul.
Next week will be the final week of the virtue word for February which is Fairness. In March we will start with that month's virtue word of Hope.
Next week will be the final week of the virtue word for February which is Fairness. In March we will start with that month's virtue word of Hope.
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