The Sunday School Teacher's Network Newsletter - Great ideas for children's ministry!


The Place for Christian Education Communication Children need the Lord...teach them about Jesus!
Issue #24 - July 14, 2009 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. ~ Jesus
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In this issue of the SSTN Newsletter: Scroll down the page to view articles. 1) Sunday School Christmas Play? 2) Creativity or lying 3) Unanswered Prayer? 4) Creativity or lying 5) Being transformed, renewing mind Your participation makes SSTN a success! 6) Open My Eyes Prayer 7) Curriculum For Boys? 8) God's Power or Life Changing Songs? 9) Renewing or losing your mind?	*Quick Summer Lessons!* *Quick Summer Lessons...just $2.99!*

1) Sunday School Christmas Play? Hi there I am looking for a musical Christmas play that I can do with my Sunday School children this year. If you have any of those could you please send it to me. Thank you and God bless Allison Allison Petersen Department of Social Development --from SSTN: Two suggestions, 1) check out our skits by clicking the link in the bright, green box above. 2) Go to our affiliate bookstore and type, "Instant Christmas Pageants" into the search box at: http://www.sundayschoolnetwork.com/bookstore.html
2) Creativity or lying Hi Monica! It is important to help the children understand God's principles of life. God is very good at communicating what is important and relevant for the message that He wants to get across. That is one reason why adding or subtracting from what is in the Word only detracts from the message. There are often passages in the Bible that directly relate to the particular verse or story and these need to be found in order to get the full picture. When you look at the full picture of Joseph you will discover he showed pride through that through what he told about his brothers and said to them. He put his brothers down which caused them to want to rid themselves of him. It is conjecture to say that Joseph was joyful about the coat and that is not the message that the Lord points out to us. If you have the Online Bible you can search for "Joseph" and gather texts together for a better idea of Joseph's life. You can be creative in other ways without missing or confusing God's message. Take something nice that your children would like to have and ask them how they would feel if you gave it to one of them. Would the others be jealous, feel left out, think you have favorites or not love them as much? Now the Bible story has become a Bible lesson through which the Gospel of salvation and a treasure trove of God's principles for life can be applied to help the children get on HIS track in life. Mark Bryan, missionary in Austria since 1972 --from SSTN: to learn more about the Bryan's ministry, scroll up to our Missions For Kids link, in the bright, green box, above.
3) Unanswered Prayer? I’m currently doing a study with our kids (ages 8-12) on prayer. I would like to do a lesson on why God chooses not to heal, even after we’ve prayed and prayed. It’s a hard subject. Do you have any suggestions? Beth Morgan --from SSTN: Yes, a difficult subject and not easily answered. Ultimately I think the answer is in the Lords' prayer: "...thy kingdom come, thy will be done..." God's ways are not man's ways. I know in my own life that a seemingly unanswered prayer was actually answered prayer, not my will, but God's will was done. God knows the beginning and the end of every situation--our sight and understanding is limited. Two recommendations before you embark to teach your children, a study of the book of Job, and read the book, "Prayer-Does it Make Any Difference?" by Phillip Yancy. (You can find the book in our affiliate bookstore: http://www.sundayschoolnetwork.com/bookstore.html I just finished reading it. It's a very honest and beneficial book concerning unanswered prayer.) God's blessings as you seek God's answers! Sarah Keith <><
4) Creativity or lying In reply to the CREATIVITY VS LYING question, I think it is a lot in the way you word it. Like your example of Joseph, you could say something like, "When Joseph's father gave him a coat of many colors, he must've been filled with joy! We can feel joy like Joseph must have felt. Sometimes when we are filled with joy we want to jump and sing. Let's sing, "I have the joy, joy, joy, down in my heart".... Hope this helps. Tammy
5) Being transformed, renewing mind > Kindly tell me how to go about teaching children Romans 12:2 > "And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, > that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God " You didn't say the age group of your kids, but if it's elementary, you could begin by asking if they know what it means to be transformed? Then take out a... to get the rest of this lesson, go to our lessons page and click on "Are You A Transformer?: http://www.sundayschoolnetwork.com/lessons-Bible.html
6) Open My Eyes Prayer Open my eyes to see, Open my ears to hear, Open my hands to receive-- all that you have for me. Closed hands cannot receive, Closed ears cannot hear, Closed eyes cannot see-- what God can accomplish through thee. Lord--here I am--use me! -- Copyright 2009 S.A. Keith -- http://www.SundaySchoolNetwork.com -- (please retain copyright when sharing this prayer)
7) Curriculum For Boys? I teach Children’s Church, ages 4-12, and my class now has a majority of boys in it. Can anyone recommend a curriculum with lessons written specifically for boys? Thanks. Cathy Bodell New Hope Church Of Christ Benzonia, Michigan --from SSTN: check out "Skate Park Swap: And Other Story Devotions for Guys" in our affiliate bookstore. Just type the title into the search box at: http://www.sundayschoolnetwork.com/bookstore.html
8) God's Power or Life Changing Songs? Hello Everyone, I am looking for children's songs about how God changes peoples lives or on the power of God. We are doing a VBS called the "Amazing Bible" for pre-school to 5th grade. I would appreciate any help that people can give me on finding songs. Thank you in advance, Connie G.
9) Renewing or losing your mind? "And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2 You know how you have to tell your grandparents over and over again something they wanted to know just so they will remember it? Well, that is how you renew their mind of the information you want them to remember. If you really want them to remember it you'll write it down for them. (Like an easy how-to list to use the new cell phone or putting your phone number right next to the phone.) God did this for us when He divinely inspired or told people what to write in His Word (Bible). He wrote all the "stuff" He wants us to remember to do and think there. Since there is a lot of "stuff" for us to remember in there we need to read it every day to remind or renew our memory/mind of what He has said/written down for us. This is also the way we can be transformed (changed) from the way we used to be and become (over time, more and more) like Christ (a Christian). We can also learn about God's character (how he thinks) by how he handles situations in the lives of the Bible characters. Pretty soon we'll be more like God wants us and a lot less like the world thinks we should be. And, that's pretty awesome! Look up Jeremiah 29:11-12 and Philippians 4:8-9 and you will get a little taste of what I mean. Blessings, Pastor Sheila Bush Children's Pastor/C.E. Director Tecumseh Assembly of God
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