Stephen Stoned

Welcome--Have kids share about their week
Prayer Requests/Prayer
Worship
Review previous weeks lesson
Lesson: Stephen Stoned Acts 6:2-8:2
There was a man named Stephen and he loved the Lord Jesus with all his heart.  So much so, that he wanted to tell EVERYONE about him.  About how Yeshua died for us and rose again and we MUST know Him as our Savior.  He told others about the love of Yeshua and how He cares for us.  This information made some men very angry, they did not believe the words of Stephen and thought he was telling lies.  So these angry men sought to hurt Stephen.  They yelled at him and told him to stop.  When Stephen continued to tell the praises of Yeshua, they gathered around Stephen and beat him up and even threw stones at him.  I can't imagine how Stephen felt!  He just wanted them to know Yeshua's love and all he got was hate.  There will be times when people or kids will hurt your feelings or push you around because you believe in Yeshua.  When you choose to do the right thing and follow God's commands instead of others, they may lash out at you, call you names or they might not want to be your friend any more.  Because when you choose to right, they realize they are doing wrong and they don't want to feel like they are doing wrong, they want to continue in their sin.  But in order to continue to do what they want, they need to get rid of you.  But always remember that God gave us His Holy Spirit to give us comfort when others hurt us.  Just as He comforted Stephen. 

When we go thru trials and hard times, we will come out stronger and a better person. Here I have a block of wood. But it sure is rough, ouch! (allow kids to feel it)  But I have some sand paper here, feel how rough it is, looks like it could hurt if you were to rub it on your skin(allow kids to feel and rub on their arm).  But as I use this sand paper over the wood, the wood is changing a little. Wow, feel how smooth and much better it feels.  Sometimes, sand paper may come along in our lives, but even tho it may hurt for a time, in the end you will be a better person.

Be a Soldier--Anyone here have family in the Army??  It is so important for them to learn that when they are given an order, they MUST follow it.  Even tho it makes them uncomfortable or may even be painful, they have to obey.  So we need to be God's lil' soldiers!  We need to follow God's commands and tell others about Yeshua, even tho it might make you uncomfortable or painful when you get made fun of.

Memory Verse:  "You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."  2 Tim. 2:3
(Play the game Hang Man, however, I have turned it into the Flower Game.  If they don't get a correct letter, I add the center flower, flower petals, stem and leaves.  If I complete my flower, they loose)

Craft:  God's soldier.  click here http://www.dltk-bible.com/crafts/armor/mpaperarmor.htm
use the one with armor but without the words

coloring page: http://www.calvary-kids-pages.com/pdf/sunday_school/Stephen_250.pdf  Page 2

Word find: http://www.calvary-kids-pages.com/pdf/sunday_school/Stephen_250.pdf   Page 4

Saul Transformed

Welcome--allow kids to tell you about their week
Prayer requests/prayer
Worship
Review last weeks message
Lesson: Saul of Tarsus
Saul was a man who thought he was doing good by persecuting the Christians, which means he would have them beat up and/or thrown in jail just because they believed in Jesus.   We know that God would never want us to treat others that way.  But God did an amazing thing in Saul's life, even a sinner like Saul.
-Watch a few minutes of the Bible story on youtube http://youtu.be/8wPQSll8MbM.  (I started it at 6:20 to skip over the stoning of Stephen.)

Allow kids to retell the contents of the story.
God "transformed" Saul after that meeting on the road.  Do you think God can change someone like Saul??  Even after all the mean things he did to others??  He certainly can!!   Saul came to know Yeshua as his Savior and did wonderful things for the Lord.  What other animals can you think of that "changes"?  (Butterfly, frogs, ect)
You can read the Hungry Caterpillar Book for demonstration.

God can change you into a wonderful creation when you come to know Him as your Savior.  Look at this lego, it doesn't look like much.  No design or structure.  But when given a plan or instructions we can turn it into an awesome design.(make a structure)  God can do the same thing with us, make us into a new creation. (need:  legos)

When God transformed Saul into a new creation, He also changed Saul's name into Paul.   He was completely changed.  --Now take names of the kids and give them a new name by switching their letters around.  Need: whiteboard and markers

Memory Verse:  "And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."  Romans 12:2  (divide verse into 6 phrases and tape to 6 boxes, put into pyramid shape and have kids knock them down and put back in order.  Hint: put verse on different colored paper to help those who can not read.)

Craft:  Butterfly 
click here for intructions: http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/insects/m-eggcarton-butterfly.htm

Coloring page for younger kids:  http://www.calvarywilliamsport.com/5a74a1.html

Decoder Puzzle for older kids:  http://www.sermons4kids.com/transformer_decoder.htm

Pregnancy Photoshoot!!

I was a little nervous on having a photoshoot of my BIG belly on pregnancy #4.  Face it, the belly doesn't get prettier the more pregnancies you have and I am certainly the heaviest I have ever been !  But, my friend talked me into it and with her editing skills, I am very glad I did it.  Don't miss out on getting priceless pics of your preggo belly over hang-ups on our flaws(or what we THINK are flaws).  Let me share my wonderful experience :)

Thank You, Heather Dorney Photography for preserving my precious memories of my precious little one!

https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Heather-Dorney-Photography/200842693301307

Back to Jerusalem VBS Day 1

*2 hr. program

Check-in: Have kids get costumes on

Arrival activity--Eastern Tribes Flag craft- Judah, Issachar, Zebulun

Welcome-  Have kids come sit on rugs.  Explain VBS, go over Hebrew words they may hear like Yeshua(Jesus), Torah(first 5 books of Bible), Shalom(greeting).  Go over memory challenges and go thru the rules--I made a "tablet" out of posterboard with Jerusalem's City Laws on it.

Worship and Israeli Dance(Hora)

Temple Time:  Lesson--Yeshua visits the temple as a little baby(8 days for name ceremony and 40 days old for dedication)
How many of you were once a baby??  Really!! All of you! How amazing!  I was a baby once too!!(show baby picture of yourself)  I was pretty cute.  Did you know that Yeshua came to Earth as a little baby too! Just like you and me!  However, He was a very special baby.  He was fully human, but fully God at the same time!  He grew up here, just like you, so He understands everything you go thru.  He grew in God's word, obeyed His parents and went to Synagogue.(get growing capsules, and start it before the lesson, it takes time to grow)  Just like this little capsule, it started out super small, but over time, it grows and grows and grows.
How can YOU grow! Eat your veggies, get sleep, drink water, exercise...How can you grow spiritually??  Read Bible, pray, go to church, ect....
What kind of job's do you have?? (allow kids to answer)  Do you go to work and make dinner and mow the yard??  Yeshua was born and sent to this Earth for a reason.  God sent Him here a BIG job to do... to go about His Father's business...saving the world (use a globe for visial)

Memory Verse:  "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."  Matthew 1:21
Write phrases of verse on 8-10 balloons and pin to a board.  Go over the verse, start popping the balloons until whole verse is memorized.

***For craft time: we divided the kids up and had half at one craft tent and the other half doing the other craft and then switched.**
Craft: Pottery (purchased at local craft store.  1/2 lb of clay per child. let dry overnight, may need to use oven to dry faster.)
Craft: Basket weaving (kits purchased at S&S Worldwide http://www.ssww.com/  24/$37.99

Bubbe's Kitchen-Snack time--Challah Bread with butter or honey

Synagogue School- Practice writing Hebrew letters: Aleph, Bet, Vet, Gimel, Dalet, Hey

Ending Song: Shalom Havarim

(Have kids clip costumes back onto clothes line)

Back To Jerusalem VBS 2012 Overview

 Praise the Lord!! We just finished our best VBS yet, "Back to Jerusalem".  This post will describe the overall scene and things we did. Stay tuned for daily details.
We wanted to bring the kids back to Jerusalem.  The market place, synagogue school and the temple!
We planned our lessons around the times Yeshua visited the temple at important times in His life. 
Set the scene:
We made backdrops of Jerusalem type building on large sheets bought from Goodwill.

We made signs for each station as seen above(Jaffa Gate Check In)  Written in a Hebrew Font.  The signs were purchased at Oriental Trading.

Station Signs:  Carpentry Shop

Jewelry Bazaar

Pottery Shop

Music Shop

Cloak Room

Bubbe's Kitchen

Synagogue School

We had a "Cloak Room" where the kids were able to dress up for their evening in Jerusalem.

Everyone got a tunic(pillow cases from Goodwill with holes cut for head and arms) and a sash made from scraps from Goodwill.

Girls got scarves (.80 each)

Boys got kippas ($1 each)

We strung up twine and hung up their outfits with clothes pins!

They also had their name tag with their outfit so they knew which was theirs.  These were made of a Torah scroll clip art that I added their names to in the Hebrew font. Hole punched and strung twine thru.  I recommend laminating them so they last the week.

I also made a Jerusalem sign to hang over the doorway as they entered.  This was made of burlap fabric and felt letters hand cut of the Hebrew font.

We wanted the kids to learn the 12 tribes of Israel, so we bought these beautiful tribal posters from www.grouppublishing.com left over from another VBS.

I also had the kids do an arrival activity.  They worked on 3 tribes a day. The Eastern Tribes(Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun) The Western Tribes(Levi, Benjamin and Joseph) The Southern Tribes(Reuben, Simeon and Gad) The Northern Tribes(Dan, Asher and Naphtali)

They colored 3 flags a day of a certainl group and glued them on a posterboard. You can add small stir sticks as a flag pole if desired.

We made tents for the kids to do their crafts in by sewing several sheets(from Goodwill) together and making a large covering and hang by rope fixed to hooks or Command Hooks on the walls.

We had several quilted blankets, rugs, pillows, cushions for seating(no chairs)

For synagogue school, we wanted the kids to have "tablets".  Make home-made play-doh, press a lump into a medium sized plate, place into a gallon size zip-lock bag with their name on it.  Add a large feather for a "quill" for a writing tool.(I picked up a bag at a craft store)

Every day for Synagogue school they got their tablet and we practiced our Hebrew.

We had an Israeli Dance time.  We taught the kids the Hora, which a super easy dance to learn.

This is the beginning and I will share the lessons next :)

Thanks for stopping by.....

Feelin' Crafty!!

I am throwing a bridal shower for my sister-in-law -to-be this weekend!  I was going to make cupcakes with these really pretty cupcake liners with her colors on them.  However, I was feeling too lazy to actually make the cupcakes, but wanted to do something with the pretty cupcake liners.  This is the result :)

For step by step instructions and more fab ideas go to http://karaspartyideas.com/2011/01/cupcake-liner-pom-poms-tutorial-vintage.html


I also make "cakes" for special occasions.  It's full of practical things and made up to look exceptional :)  I make them for Graduates, Bridal Showers and Baby Showers!  This one is a simple one for my Sister-in-laws Bridal Shower.  It's a "towel cake" made up of things she listed on her registery!