September 29, 2015 -- Issue #32

In today's newsletter:

1) Bible Craft: Mini Lava-Light

2) Bible Skit: Endless Oil

3) Bible Skit: Christmas Caravan 

4) Lesson: Forgive One Another

1) Bible Craft: Mini Lava-Light 

YOU WILL NEED
A glass jar (such as a tall, thin, spice jar, olive jar, etc.) 
Vegetable oil (Represents our sin)
Salt (Represents a Christian, the salt of the earth - Matthew 5:13)
Water (Represents Jesus, The Living Water - John 4:13-14)

DIRECTIONS
Fill the jar with water about 2/3 full. 
Fill remainder of the jar a little less than 1/3 full with the vegetable oil.
Shake salt on top of the oil, slowly. Add more salt to keep the lava action going for as long as you want. The salt moves through the oil and into the water.

BIBLE POINT
Oil and water are two substances that cannot mix. Today's Bible craft serves to remind us that God's holy presence cannot mix with our sin either; we are separated from God because of it. But, when Jesus died on the cross he washed away our sin; we were cleansed and made right with God. We can now . . . 
Get the rest of this Christian Craft

2) Bible Skit: The Endless Oil

(Based on 2 Kings 4) 

Characters
Narrator, reads from the script, stands in back to the left. Widow, drape a cloth over her head and give her a small jar or pitcher (even a paper cup). She stands in the middle; Widow’s two Children, they stand close to their mother; Elisha, a prophet of God, give him a Bible to carry. He stands to the right; Lender, a Loan Shark, give him/her a notebook and pen or a money bag. S/He starts on the left.

Other props
Five jars or cups (more if available). The children will bring these to their mother. Set them to the left.

Narrator: There once was a woman whose husband was a prophet. He was a partner of the great prophet Elisha in the old days of Israel before Jesus was born. He was a good man, but times were hard for those who loved God and he had to borrow some money. He was working on paying it back when he died. So one day the Lender came to . . . get this Bible Skit. 

3) Bible Skit: Christmas Caravan 

The camels that carried the Magi to Bethlehem for the first Noel, have come together to celebrate the 25th anniversary of that event. This heartwarmingly humorous drama retells the Christmas story from their perspective. 

Read this Christmas Skit for Children's Ministry and see if it fits your holiday plans!

4) Lesson: Forgive One Another

Bible story: Joseph forgives His brothers (Genesis37;39;41-45).

Memory Verse: " Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians4:32)

Teaching objectives: To help children understand that forgiveness is a command of God. Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we might not be punished. Through his sacrifice God forgave our sins and made us His sons and daughters.

Dramatized Lesson: Forgiving others

Materials: Three strips of paper
Preparation: Write a different situation on each piece of paper, such as:
1) A child is caught stealing a piece of candy from a store. He must return the candy and ask for forgiveness.
2) A sister must forgive her younger brother who has lost her favorite toy.
3) Children pray and ask God to help them forgive their father, who has left their family.

Presentation

We have been talking about how we should treat each other and how to forgive one another. Now let us see how you would do it practically in tough situations. (hold up the papers) I would like some volunteers to act out these situations. You have to show us what you would do in such a situation. (choose as many children as you need and divide them into three groups. Then give each group a piece of paper and let them act out their particular situation for the class.) Forgiving others can be . . . 

Get the rest of this Bible Lesson on Forgiving others.

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