To
reply or to post a new topic:
Please TITLE your email to reflect the content of your message.
When replying, highlight the text that is pertinent to your response, then hit
reply.
"For
where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." --
Jesus
Scroll down
the page to view articles.
1) Newspaper Armor Created by Kids
2) Holy Land Experience
3) Science Experiments
4) Laus Deo - History Lesson
5) Just for Laughs:
Child's Bible
6) Successful Idea for Ministry
7) Shorter Catechism & Activity Sheets?
8) Easter Bunny & Real Easter Meaning?
My husband and I just came back from Orlando, FL. A friend told us about
"The Holy Land Experience". We did not see any flyers about it. We
found it just off I-4 exit 78. (there is a web site) Oh, my goodness...what an
absolute delight and awesome experience it was. Go early and enjoy the whole
day...lots of enactments, talks, exhibits, and people playing the parts so
well you would believe you are actually in the Holy lands...a little expensive
but souvenirs and the time spent truly makes up for it...I would go back in a
heartbeat if I lived closer...Dianne, Somerville, AL
--from SSTN: I'm three hours from there and haven't been yet!
Sarah K.
3) Science Experiments
Hi Nancy,
I did a science experiment years ago for VBS. It was an object lesson to teach the children that no matter how much we sin, Jesus can make our black sins as white as snow if we confess them!
For this experiment you will need two large clear jars. (A large pickle jar or similar)
Clorox bleach
1 package of GRAPE KOOL AID unsweetened.
Use equal parts of Clorox and water in one jar. Fill the jar about half way up with the equal parts of water and bleach. In the other jar use the package of Kool Aid, and add water. Make sure that the Kool Aid is dark ( almost black).
Then give examples of sin: Lying, stealing, etc.
Each time you talk about the sin, pour a small amount of the Kool Aid mixture into the bleach water. You will see the sins disappear. I bet if I talked to the children about that today....they would still remember it.
One tip: Try this out at home first, and don't let the children get near your jars....if they smell the bleach and the kool aid, the impact will be lessened.
This has been several years and I am still in awe myself.
God Bless,
Barb Wallace
Ferry Street Ministries
Fall River, MA
4) Laus Deo - History Lesson
Sorry, but your story (#3 - Laus Deo - History Lesson) is not quite the facts... you can check it out at: http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/monument.asp
It is true that the words "Laus Deo" are inscribed on one face of the point, but actually, all four sides bear inscriptions that can't be seen.
The original plan of the designer, Pierre Charles l'Enfant, did not include the Washington Momument as he intended there be an equestrian statue of George Washington. The monument was a decision made by Congress, and 64 years later.
While L'Enfant's plans did eventually create a "cross" in a literal sense, that shape was a byproduct of a symmetrical design laid out along two major north-south and east-west axes; there's no evidence that L'Enfant had any religious significance in mind. Moreover, the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials were not conceived until the 20th century, and decisions about where to locate them were not reached without some debate.
Even after the completion of the Lincoln Memorial, the choice of location for the Jefferson Memorial was by no means obvious as plans and designs for that memorial did not even begin until 1934.
Since the political divisions that ultimately led to the Civil War were looming as the Monument was completed, the inscription contributed by the city of Baltimore was entreting Heaven to preserve the Union. It reads: "May Heaven to this Union continue its beneficience. May brotherly affection with Union be perpetual, May the free constitution which is the work of our ancestors be sacredly maintained and its administration be stamped with wisdom and virtue.
The stone from Chinese Christians is not even a prayer but a eulogy for George Washington.
The letter from which the "prayer" passage was taken was written not by George Washington, but by his aide de camp, David Cobb, nor was it a prayer. They were not "Washington's prayer for America" but taken from addressed to the governors of the 13 states upon Washington's disbanding of the COntinental Army. No where in George Washington's extent writings did he ever refer to Jesus Christ by name.
Sounds good but just not a good history lesson unless the whole truth is taught.
Have a blessed day,
Darnell Moonda Fugate
5) Just For Laughs: Child's Bible
The following " Children's Bible in a Nutshell"
was submitted to SSTN
for a bit of levity. I don't know if it's true, but thought you might enjoy the
laugh! ysic, Sarah Keith <><
A child was told to write a book report on the entire Bible. This is amazing. I wonder how often we take for granted that children understand what we are teaching??? Through the eyes of a child.
In the beginning, which occurred near the start, there was nothing but God, darkness, and some gas. The Bible says, 'The Lord thy God is one, but I think He must be a lot older than that. Anyway, God said, 'Give me a light!' and someone did. Then God made the world.
He split the Adam and made Eve. Adam and Eve were naked, but they weren't embarrassed because mirrors hadn't been invented yet. Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating one bad apple, so they were driven from the Garden of Eden. Not sure what they were driven in though, because they didn't have cars.
Adam and Eve had a son, Cain, who hated his brother as long as he was Abel. Pretty soon all of the early people died off, except for Methuselah, who lived to be like a million or something.
One of the next important people was Noah, who was a good guy, but one of his kids was kind of a Ham. Noah built a large boat and put his family and some animals on it. He asked some other people to join him, but they said they would have to take a rain check.
After Noah came Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob was more famous than his brother, Esau, because Esau sold Jacob his birthmark in exchange for some pot roast. Jacob had a son named Joseph who wore a really loud sports coat. Another important Bible guy is Moses, whose real name was Charlton
Heston. Moses led the Israel Lights out of Egypt and away from the evil Pharaoh after God sent ten plagues on Pharaoh's people. These plagues included frogs, mice, lice, bowels, and no cable. God fed the Israel Lights every day with manicotti. Then he gave them His Top Ten Commandments. These include don't lie, cheat, smoke, dance, or covet your neighbor's stuff. Oh, yeah, I just thought of one more: Humor thy father and thy mother. One of Moses' best helpers was Joshua who was the first Bible guy to use spies. Joshua fought the battle of Geritol and the fence fell over on the town. After Joshua came David. He got to be king by killing a giant with a slingshot. He had a son named Solomon who had about 300 wives and 500 porcupines. My teacher says he was wise, but that doesn't sound very wise to me. After Solomon there were a bunch of major league prophets. One of these was Jonah, who was swallowed by a big whale and then barfed on the shore. There were also some minor league prophets, but I guess we don't have to worry about them.
After the Old Testament came the New Testament. Jesus is the star of the New Testament. He was born in Bethlehem in a barn. (I wish I had been born in a barn, too, because my mom is always saying to me, 'Close the door! Were you born in a barn?' It would be nice to say, 'As a matter of fact, I was.')
During His life, Jesus had many arguments with sinners like the Pharisees and the Republicans. Jesus also had twelve opossums. The worst one was Judas Asparagus. Judas was so evil that they named a terrible vegetable after him. Jesus was a great man. He healed many leopards and even preached to some Germans on the Mount. But the Republicans and all those guys put Jesus on trial before Pontius the Pilot. Pilot didn't stick up for Jesus. He just washed his hands instead.
Any way's, Jesus died for our sins, then came back to life again. He went up to Heaven but will be back at the end of the Aluminum. His return is foretold in the book of Revolution.
6) Successful Idea for Ministry
> "Is there one thing that you do each Sunday, or in a midweek class,
> that you consider very important and successful to your ministry?"
Every Saturday, I call all of my Sunday School class kids (ages 6, 7, and 8, boys and girls) and/or their parents, and give them a question and a scripture reference where the answer is found. The question is a trivia question that I make up related to
Sunday's lesson. The kids are to look it up with their parents help and find the answer. They should be able to privately tell me the answer (not recite the verse) in Sunday School while kids are reciting the memory verse and the order of the books of the Bible, and putting stickers for such on the attendance board. They are not to give the answer away to the other kids. I bring 2 really cool small toys or puzzles to class, different ones each week (I collect them anyway). The first one who answers, gets to choose a toy and play with it for a while. The second one to answer gets to choose between the first one's toy and the other one. Later kids get to take a toy away from one who has it. They all know the rules and I have never had any trouble with fights or arguments over the toys.
The question gives me a good excuse for contacting them during the week. It also alerts them that tomorrow is Sunday, and they need to find their Bibles and make any preparations for going to church.
God bless,
Kathy Hitzfelder
Sunday School teacher at First Independent Baptist Church, Austin, TX
7) Shorter Catechism &
Activity Sheets?
I'm looking for lessons on the shorter catechism & activity sheets for kids aged 8 - 14 years.
I'm the sole teacher for a small group in a big age range. I need one lesson for both age groups & activity sheets one for kids, one for teens.
Can you help? Or can you direct me to someone who can?
Regards, Sharon Pallett
"Training Hearts Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism"
"The Westminster Shorter Catechism: For Study Classes",
"The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Modern English",
"Understanding the Faith: A Workbook for Communicants Classes and ..."
It
would be great if everyone in the network would send in just ONE idea to coincide
with each question.
You can find them listed at: http://www.westminstershortercatechism.net.
So for the first question/answer: Question 1: What is the chief end of man? Answer: Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.
Children could create a rebus puzzle for the answer. A REBUS is a picture representation of a name, work, or
phrase.
First I'd like to say how awesome this network is! I've purchased and used some of the literature and it is very thorough and easy to teach- Thank you! Also I think it is awesome to be able to connect with God's servants that are devoted to Children's ministries all over the world! God Bless each and every one of you!
I'm wondering if any of you have used a unique way to tie in the true Easter message with the bunny? I've heard and seen correlation with the Easter egg, and Christmas & Santa, but not Easter and the bunny. I'm interested specifically in a craft idea or something to perhaps make into a book mark that ties the two together. Any ideas would be appreciated! Thanks!
Peggy in PA
--from
SSTN: Peggy, thank you for the encouragement! To answer your question (ask
and you shall receive!), check out our skits page for, "The
Easter Bunny's Story - The REAL Story" (by Diana Brown). The skits link is listed
near the
top of this newsletter.
Your donation of one dollar a month helps to provide the Christian educational resources in the website and newsletter.
To learn how you can help, go to the following webpage: http://www.SundaySchoolNetwork.com/ministry_support.html
Or, write your US check or US Money Order out to:
S.A. Keith - Creative Imaginations (d.b.a.)
Mail to:
SundaySchoolNetwork.com
438 East
Ilex Drive
Lake Park, FL 33403
USA
(In the memo section of your check write: "SSTN Subscription". Please
include your email address.)
Reproducing
in any medium, commercial or noncommercial, is strictly prohibited
without prior written permission. SSTN has contributors from all
over the world who share their ideas. If you reprint any of the
ideas from SSTN, SundaySchoolNetwork.com or ChristianCrafters.Com in
any medium (websites, magazines, newsletters, etc.), you must
contact the submitter, and website for reprint permissions. Any
materials used must also include the submitter's name and where the
ideas were gleaned from. The opinions expressed or advertisements
displayed in the SSTN e-Newsletter are not necessarily endorsed by
SundaySchoolNetwork.com or any of its affiliates. SSTN reserves the
right to edit and or exclude information from the SSTN e-Newsletter.
Help SSTN
To Continue