New Website Up

Hello All!

I have a new site up at www.iheartchildren.com  and that will be the blog that is updated. Please change any bookmarks to the new site! I know you will love it over there :)

Peace,

Brittany Sky

Seasons of Faith Book Review

Last Thursday I wrote a post about Symbols of Faith by Marcia Joslin Stoner and this week I would like to talk about the counterpart of that book Seasons of Faith. This book is a great resource for teaching the Christian Church Year. I use it a lot when I am planning my Children's Church lessons so I can add Christian Traditions and History components to each lesson. It is a great resources for all ages and was written for intergeneration use. The information is not written on a young child's comprehension level but it is easy to take and make it something for that age level, as well as other age levels. It's a wonderful resource and I definitely recommend it for any Christian Education worker.   

Web Wednesday

I have been looking for other children's ministry blogs the last few days and this one is a must see. The Scripture Lady  is a blog devoted to "get the kids you minister to excited about the Word of God!" She has lots of fun games that help kids learn about the stories in the Bible and how to use their Bibles. It's a great resource to turn to for a Bible retreat after Bible Sunday. Go check the Scripture Lady out!

And then Jesus Changed Water into Gatorade: A Children's Sermon

Hold up a pitcher of water, and ask the children if they think it is good to drink water after they have been running hard in a game such as basketball. Yes! Then ask them if there is something even better than water after they have been playing hard. Explain that some people recommend a sports drink such as Gatorade, because it helps the body to recover from the stress of exercise. Pour a packet of powdered Gatorade into the pitcher of water, and stir it up so that the water changes color. Tell the children the story of Jesus at the wedding of Cana, and how he felt that the people needed more than water in order to have a good celebration. Ask the children if Jesus turned the water into Gatorade ... then tell them, “No, he turned the water into wine!” Point out that Jesus always wants to make everything better — including us! Stress that Jesus doesn’t want any of us to stay the same, but he wants to change us and transform us so that we can do God’s work in the world. Suggest that Jesus has the power to make us more loving, more forgiving and more faithful to God, and he uses this power to change anyone who follows him. Pour each child a cup of Gatorade, and let them know that the changes they can experience are much more amazing than simply changing water into a sports drink.  


Dear Loving God, thank you for wanting the best for us all. Amen. 

Lent: Lesson 4

Lent: Lesson 4

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 senses to learn more about Jesus and his experiences.

Exploring

Favorite Hymn	Mark 14:26 They sang a hymn and then went directly to Mount Olives.	They sang a song and went out. Remember familiar Lenten and Easter Songs. Ashes to Ashes Ashes to ashes, Dust to dust- This flesh is not forever. Spirit to Spirit, Life to Life- All that You are Is all I will be; Soon, Lord, in You forever. Survey the Wondrous Cross When I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died; my richest gain I count but loss, and pour contempt on all my pride. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, save in the death of Christ, my God; all the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to his blood. See, from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown. Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small; love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.
Strip of Leather	John 18:12-14 Then the Roman soldiers under their commander, joined by the Jewish police, seized Jesus and tied him up. They took him first to Annas, father-in-law of Caiaphas. Caiaphas was the Chief Priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it was to their advantage that one man die for the people.	Wrap leather around wrists and imagine how it must have felt.
Rough wood	Luke 23:26 As they led him off, they made Simon, a man from Cyrene who happened to be coming in from the countryside, carry the cross behind Jesus.	Feel the bark and remember the man who carried the cross for Jesus, Simon of Cyrene. Consider how he felt with that responsibility.
Small bag of spices	Mark 16: 1-8 The Resurrection  1-3 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could embalm him. Very early on Sunday morning, as the sun rose, they went to the tomb. They worried out loud to each other, "Who will roll back the stone from the tomb for us?"  4-5Then they looked up, saw that it had been rolled back—it was a huge stone—and walked right in. They saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed all in white. They were completely taken aback, astonished.  6-7He said, "Don't be afraid. I know you're looking for Jesus the Nazarene, the One they nailed on the cross. He's been raised up; he's here no longer. You can see for yourselves that the place is empty. Now—on your way. Tell his disciples and Peter that he is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You'll see him there, exactly as he said."  8They got out as fast as they could, beside themselves, their heads swimming. Stunned, they said nothing to anyone.	As you smell the spices remember how the women took spices to the tomb to cover the smell of the decaying body they expected to find.
Candle	2 Corinthians 4:4 If our Message is obscure to anyone, it's not because we're holding back in any way. No, it's because these other people are looking or going the wrong way and refuse to give it serious attention. All they have eyes for is the fashionable god of darkness. They think he can give them what they want, and that they won't have to bother believing a Truth they can't see. They're stone-blind to the dayspring brightness of the Message that shines with Christ, who gives us the best picture of God we'll ever get.	The candle brings light to darkness, as Christ brought eternal light into a dark world.

 

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
Have the children draw about one of the things they learned.