Site Under Construction

I am in the process of redesigning my website (yay!) so my site will be done for the next few days. I will be leaving up my blog at www.aheartafterchildren.blogspot.com if you need access to it for resources. I will not be posting anything new for the next week so if you need help with something please email me: Brittany Sky.

It's Been One Year

Happy Anniversary! Yesterday marked the very first blog post of this blog. It has been a great experience thus far for me and I hope that it has been a helpful tool for many.

I remember telling Andrew (my fiancé at the time) that I wanted to start a blog. I had a Professor who had been talking lots about integrating our life's calling into the tech savvy lives we already led. With a blog I could put up anything I wanted: curriculum, thoughts, children sermons, class notes, etc, and people could use that information in their own ministries.

Andrew said ok, and here we are. One year later and I have my own web domain, my own website, and I'm reaching people in 67 different countries. It's amazing to me. It's amazing how God is working through this random thought I had about a blog. God is so amazing.

The upcoming year should be a great one too! I am fixing to redesign my blog and website and I am so excited! I hope everyone is having a great winter! Happy Anniversary!

Symbols of Faith Book Review

Check out this great book any time you want to include more Christian history and tradition. If you are talking about Easter, for example,  this book can add more to your lesson. It has lots of reproducibles as visuals and for crafts. It has explanations for each symbol and where the symbol came from. It is written on level with children but an adult can learn just as much from this book. It is a great resource for added components of history and tradition.

Web Wednesday

I have another website for you all to check out! Go to http://www.childrensministry.net/ for a directory of Children Ministries websites. It has quite a few to check out and will give you a base of online resources to check for ideas on programming, spiritual development, Sunday School, leadership training and so on.

We're Like a Puzzle: Children's Semon

Say: (Hold up a puzzle) How many of you like to play with puzzles? (yes, or raise their hands) I love puzzles too!  (Take two or three pieces out of the picture) Is this how a puzzle is supposed to look? (No!) Are you sure? Is it supposed to have holes? (No, it's supposed to be put together!) Oh they are supposed to all be there and put together? (Yes!) (Put the puzzle back together.) We are all like puzzle pieces. If we look at puzzle pieces they are all connected to each other. If one piece is gone the puzzle isn't complete. Without one of us, the world would not be complete. If one of you weren't here at church, the church would not be complete. We are are so important to God and to our church and to our world. The next time you play with a puzzle, remember how we are like puzzle pieces and say thank you for all of the people in God's world. 

Let's pray. Dear God, thank you so much for all of Your people. Amen.

Lent: Lesson 3

Lent: Lesson 3

Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)

Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,

With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,

Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!

Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns. 

Sharing
Say: Does anyone remember anything about what we learned Lent last Sunday? (It’s 40 days, we grow closer to God, we have symbols that teach us, etc.)

Listening
  Say: Last week we learned that Lent is a forty day period before Easter when we prepare ourselves. During that time we remember Christ and the changes that he made in our world, and we try to better ourselves as followers of Christ. Many people follow the custom of giving up something during lent to remind them of Christ’s suffering. Some people decide to make some sort of change in their lives during this time in order to be a better follower of Christ. Lent gives us time to learn about prayer, sacrifice and showing kindness to others. During Lent we grow closer to God and better understand the Love that God has for everyone. We then use the Love God gives us to love others.

This week we will use our sense of taste to learn the color of Lent! Can anyone guess what color we use to remind us of Lent? The color is PURPLE! We use the color purple to remind us that Christ is the King of Kings. It also reminds us to repent and turn to God to be closer to God.

Exploring
Have the children sit down at the table and pass out plates and napkins. They will be eating grapes, purple jello, and drinking grape soda. While they are eating ask what symbols they remember from last week, or how their Lent Pledges and Calendars are going.

The Bread and Cup Symbol: Helps us remember the meal that Jesus shared with his friends. We have this same meal with Him when we share Communion.

The Butterfly: When the butterfly is in its cocoon it is like Jesus in the tomb, and when the butterfly emerges it is like Jesus being resurrected.

The Cross: Represents the resurrection of Jesus on Easter

The Donkey: The donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

The Easter Lily: the bulb of this flower looks dead but then it comes to life and blooms a beautiful flower. This reminds us of the new life that we have when we are renewed in God.

The Fish: This reminds us of Jesus and he asking us to make fishermen of all people.

The Lamb: Lambs were used for sacrifices and Jesus sacrificed his life for us.

Light: Jesus’ triumph over the dark of death

Palms: Remind us of Palm Sunday and the day Jesus entered into Jerusalem for his last week.

The Stone: The stone that was placed in front of Jesus’ tomb that was moved when the women discovered Jesus was missing and had been resurrected.

Benediction
Say: Wonderful God, thank you for wanting to be closer to us. Help us to grow closer to you during Lent. Amen.

More Exploring
Using the labyrinth page have the children use their fingers to “walk” around the labyrinth and say silent prayers and meditations.

Web Wednesday

I would love to recommend Ministry-To-Children today as a great resource. Tony Kummer's blog has a plethora of information ranging from free curriculum to video reviews to leader resources. He has done a great job providing lots of information for anyone interested in Children's Ministry. Whether you are conservative or liberal, you will find lots of helpful information and ideas that you can use. Check out his list of recommended blogs while you are there! :)

Lent: Lesson 2

Lent: Lesson 2

Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)

Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,

With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,

Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!

Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns. 

Sharing
Say: Does anyone remember anything about what we learned Lent last Sunday? (It’s 40 days, we grow closer to God, etc.)

Listening
  Say: Last week we learned that Lent is a forty day period before Easter when we prepare ourselves. During that time we remember Christ and the changes that he made in our world, and we try to better ourselves as followers of Christ. Many people follow the custom of giving up something during lent to remind them of Christ’s suffering. Some people decide to make some sort of change in their lives during this time in order to be a better follower of Christ. Lent gives us time to learn about prayer, sacrifice and showing kindness to others. During Lent we grow closer to God and better understand the Love that God has for everyone. We then use the Love God gives us to love others.

This week I want us to look at some of the symbols of Lent. Does anyone know what a symbol is? It is something we use to help us learn about God. We have a symbol of ashes. The ashes help us to remember to repent and be close to God. There are other symbols that we learn during Lent to help us prepare for Easter.

The Bread and Cup Symbol: Helps us remember the meal that Jesus shared with his friends. We have this same meal with Him when we share Communion.

The Butterfly: When the butterfly is in its cocoon it is like Jesus in the tomb, and when the butterfly emerges it is like Jesus being resurrected.

The Cross: Represents the resurrection of Jesus on Easter

The Donkey: The donkey that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

The Easter Lily: the bulb of this flower looks dead but then it comes to life and blooms a beautiful flower. This reminds us of the new life that we have when we are renewed in God.

The Fish: This reminds us of Jesus and he asking us to make fishermen of all people.

The Lamb: Lambs were used for sacrifices and Jesus sacrificed his life for us.

Light: Jesus’ triumph over the dark of death

Palms: Remind us of Palm Sunday and the day Jesus entered into Jerusalem for his last week.

The Stone: The stone that was placed in front of Jesus’ tomb that was moved when the women discovered Jesus was missing and had been resurrected.

Exploring
Today we will color one of the symbols that remind us of God’s stories.

Benediction
Say: Wonderful God, thank you for wanting to be closer to us. Help us to grow closer to you during Lent. Amen.

More Exploring
Symbols crossword from Children’s Activities for the Christian Year.

Lent: Lesson 1

Lent: Lesson 1

Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)

Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,

With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,

Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!

Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns. 

Sharing
Say: Do any of you remember a few months ago when we learned about the church seasons? (Yes we ate grapes, we learned about colors, etc.) Today we are in a new church season. We had Advent, Christmas time, and ordinary time. Can anyone tell me what we are in now? We are in the season of Lent. Does anyone remember anything about lent? I will tell you!

Listening
  Say:  Lent is a forty day period before Easter when we prepare ourselves. During that time we remember Christ and the changes that he made in our world, and we try to better ourselves as followers of Christ. Many people follow the custom of giving up something during lent to remind them of Christ’s suffering. Some people decide to make some sort of change in their lives during this time in order to be a better follower of Christ. Lent gives us time to learn about prayer, sacrifice and showing kindness to others. During Lent we grow closer to God and better understand the Love that God has for everyone. We then use the Love God gives us to love others.

Exploring
Today we will be handing out the Lenten Pledge papers. They are just going to put their names on these and take them home. Read the top of the sheets and explain what they will be doing with them.

Next take the painters tape and make a pathway around the room. It doesn’t have to be a circle or a line, it can be anything. Have the children follow you on the makeshift labyrinth. Explain to them that a labyrinth is a tool for meditation and prayer. There were first placed on the floors of the medieval churches in Europe, and people walked the path focusing on God. Since Lent is a time when we prayer and renew our faith, invite the children to walk the path with you and say silent prayers and then say the following closing prayer together on the path.

Benediction
Say: Wonderful God, thank you for wanting to be closer to us. Help us to grow closer to you during Lent. Amen.