DAY 4

Christ died for us, but we must be willing to accept the gift of grace Christ’s death offered.  Matthew Poole states the truth of this in his commentary on John 6:35 in his “Matthew Poole’s Commentary”: 
I am the bread of life; the bread that giveth spiritual and eternal life, and the bread that upholdeth and maintains spiritual life; the Messiah, whom God hath sent into the world, to quicken those that are dead in trespasses and sins, Ephesians 2:1; and to give eternal life to as many as the Father hath given me. But those that have this life, must come unto me; which he interprets in the next phrase by believing in him. Thus he taketh them off all gross and carnal conceptions of eating and drinking in a carnal manner; and minds them to think of getting and maintaining another kind of life than they dreamed of. By believing in him, we have formerly showed is to be understood a receiving of him as the Mediator and Saviour of men, and closing with him, and committing their souls in all their spiritual concerns unto him; and he that doth so (saith he) shall never hunger nor thirst; that is, shall never want any thing necessary for him for life and eternal happiness. And for things of this life, he shall have food convenient for him; he shall be fed, Psalm 37:3. See such a promise, Isaiah 49:10.

It is our responsibility to acknowledge our sin and our need to be saved from the death that sin costs us.  It is our responsibility to turn to and accept the gift of the perfect sacrifice in Jesus Christ.  When we do, we are cleaned and will see salvation in the eternal and a transformed life in the present.
 
But what does repentence mean? 
A Change Of The Mind. It means you now see God as holy and yourself as sinful and condemned.  Before you thought that you weren’t that bad of a person. Now you see God as holy, yourself as sinful and deserving of death.
A Change Of Heart. It means you have sorrow because of your sin. Before you loved to sin. Now you hate your sin.
A Change Of Way. It means you willingly turn your back on your sin and walk in the direction towards God. Before you sinned as often as you could and took every opportunity to sin. Now you make the conscious choice to turn from sin and no longer continually practice it.

Scripture references for today's topic:
Romans 6:23b - 10:9-10
John 6:35
Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-13

PRE-SERVICE ACTIVITY

While we waited for our friends to join us, we made our "Jesus is the Food and Water Life" flap-picture.

Discussion

Jesus is the Bread of Life and Water of Life flows from Him. “I am the bread that gives life. He who comes to me will never be hungry. He who believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35

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TODAY'S SERVICE

Then we sang praises to God with Bullfrogs and Butterflies songs: 
Good Morning
This is the Day
My Hands Belong to You

And Worship Lyrics song
​Trust and Obey

We heard about the Parable of the Lost Sheep from the Gospel of Luke.
We watched a video too.
Fr. Steven gave us a little sermon.
​And we prayed.

• Craft Station
• Food Station
• Bible Training Station
• Music & Games Station
• Tabletop Games Station

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Paid in Full

Discussion With Miss Shelley

God loves us so much he wants us to be with him.  But the only way that could happen was if a perfect person died for our sins.  Do you know anyone who is perfect?  Is your mommy or daddy perfect? How about your teacher?  What does perfect even mean?  It means without sin.  Someone who has never ever sinned.  Are you perfect?

What we did

We glued brown strips of paper in the shape of a cross onto a black page.  Then we dipped our hand in white paint and smooshed it over the cross. After that, we used our thumb, dipped in red paint, onto the palm of our handprint.  

Jesus is My Life Saver

Discussion With Miss Shelley

So in John 3:16 we are told that God loved us so much he sent his only son to die for us so that we could have life forever with God.  Jesus when he died, paid our debt in full–took all our sins away.  He is our life-saver.

What we did

We used red paint to create a cross across the paper plate.  Then we glued our picture to the middle of our "life preserver".  We wrote "Jesus is my life saver. John 3:16.  {child's name]."

What we did

We mixed blue food colored water with red colored water to make purple!  Then we put it all in the lemonade punch bowl to drink.

Talk to God and Tell Him You Love Him Punch

Discussion With Miss Sandi

Did you know that purple is considered a very royal color? It’s the color that kings and queens wear! They like purple clothes and purple drinks and purple punch and purple crowns. Today, we’re going to show how when we beleive in Jesus and talk to God makes you his royal child!

​Discuss that purple is considered a royal color and that, as a child of God, you are royalty.
• What are other symbols of royalty?
• Name some things that are purple? How many can you name?

Related Bible Verse:
• So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. (Galatians 3:26 NIV)

Butterflies of Change

Discussion With Miss Sandi

The way the caterpillar transforms into something else entirely is a wonderful example of how our hearts are changed when Jesus becomes a part of our lives. 

What we did

1. Place apple slices into the shape of butterfly wings. Each butterfly will have eight slices. 
2. Have the kids spread peanut butter onto four of the slices and sandwich them with the other apples. 
3. Then have them arrange the apples to look like a butterfly with the long carrot sticks at the center serving as the body.
4. Eat and enjoy!

What we did

We watched a puppet show about the first part of the Parable of the Lost Sheep.

Beat 14: Finale: Summary Jesus carries Lamby over his shoulders toward
safety and the lamb flock

Beat 15: Final image Lamby happily rubs head against Jesus’ leg

Theater

Discussion With Miss Darcien

Who saved Lamby? Did Lamby save himself?  No.  Lamby cried out to Jesus and Jesus pulled him to safety then carried Lamby back to safety.  He didn’t walk beside Lamby because Lamby couldn’t save himself.  Jesus carried Lamby because only Jesus can save us amd give us life.

[Have the kids turn to John 6:35 and place Blue sticky note with the scripture reference in that place. Have a child, if possible, read the scripture outloud.]

Lamby realized he needed Jesus and that he didn’t want to be away from Jesus because of sin, so he was saved. 

[Have the kids turn to Romans 6:23b and Romans 10:9-10 and place Blue sticky note with the scripture reference in that place. Have a child, if possible, read the scripture outloud.]

When we do this–when we confess our sins and accept Jesus as our savior, all of heaven rejoices!  God rejoices and Jesus rejoices.

[have the kids turn to Luke 15:6 in their bibles and place a Blue sticky note with the scripture reference in that place. Have a child, if possible, read the scripture outloud.]

We made our puppets so we could do our own theater.

Do You Believe?

Discussion with Miss Darcien

First, give each child a copy of the handout. Have the children read the questions next to the picture of the sun and give reasons why they believe. Do the same for the North Pole and the brain. If you like, you can have the children jot down their reasons.

Once the children understand that they believe in things that they cannot see, read the paragraph at the bottom of the handout to them (repeated below).

There are so many things we believe even if we can’t see them.  We believe the sun burns gas even though we can’t go to the sun to see it for ourselves.  We believe that it’s cold at the North Pole even though we have never been there.  We believe there is a brain that is all our own in our head and has wonderful thoughts even though we haven’t seen or feel it.  

We cannot see God, but we believe He is real and that He loves us. He loves us so much God gave his Son so that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Believing is the first step to real salvation. Do you believe? 

Jesus Cleanses

Discussion With Miss Darcien

{Show the 4 bowls.}
The Bible tells us that we have all sinned. We were born into sin. Our parents sin, so when we are born, we have sin.
{Put your hand into the bowl of paint.}
As we grow and learn, we do wrong things. We make selfish decisions. Sometimes we are mean to other people. We disobey our parents. We think bad things in our minds.
{Put your hand in the chocolate syrup.}
Sin is messy. And it clings to us. And it grows.
{Put your hand in the crushed crackers or cereal.}
Can my hand clean itself? [No]
{Carefully shake your hand, or slide it across the top of a bowl. DON’T use the water bowl.}
There is nothing my hand can do to clean off all the yucky stuff. There is nothing you or I can do to cleanse ourselves of sin.
The Bible tells us that is we confess Jesus with our mouth, then we will be saved.
Saved from what? [Our sins. The Bible also tells us that if we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us, or cleanse us, from all unrighteousness.]
What is unrighteousness? [Anything we say, think, or do that goes against God’s law]
What does it mean to confess? [Be honest about the wrong done and tell God, and sometimes others, about it.]

Have you ever stopped doing something because it was wrong, or it could hurt you or someone else? [Allow for answers]

Is there something you need to stop doing because it does not please God? [Lead a discussion about activities that might be ok by the world’s standards, but not ok by God’s. Examples – watching violent movies or video games, teasing children who look or act differently, wearing clothes because they are popular, reading comic books too much and not doing a quiet Bible reading time, etc.]

Once we believe in Jesus, we need to be sure that every part of our life is pleasing to Him.We need to confess our sins, our short comings to Him. Jesus is the only one who can make us right before God.
{Put your hand in the clean water and wash it.}
Jesus cleans us. We cannot do it by ourselves. We must repent. Repentance is so much more than “just being or feeling sorry.” We must have a change of heart. This means choosing to live for Jesus and NOT living for ourselves. It’s fighting against the fleshly desires. It’s desiring to do what God wants, and not what we want.

Jesus Loves Me This I Know

Jesus love me, this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
They are week, but He is strong.

Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
Yes, Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.

Jesus Loves The Little Children

Jesus loves the little children!
All the children of the world!
Red and yellow, black and white,
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world!

Hot Sheep Game

Discussion With Miss Penny

This game is played like a game of “Hot Potato.”
1. Have children spread out and form a circle.
2. Play music and have the children pass the “lost sheep” around the circle.
3. When the music stops, the child holding the sheep is out.
4. Continue this until the last child is left.
At the end of the game, the leader will pretend to be the “shepherd” and pat each
child on the head saying, “You are found in Christ.”

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I'm Sorry

Discussion with Miss Penny

What happened when you said, “I’m sorry?” The leader took the weight (book) from us, like God would.
​
Once you got rid of that heavy weight, what were you able to do? Sail back freely!

• Why does God want us to say we are sorry? 
• What is the difference between saying the words and really feeling the words? 
• Give an example of when you have said, “I’m sorry” and really meant it and another time when you said it, but didn’t really mean it.

How to Play

In our game today, we’re going to practice saying the words “I’m sorry!” The more times you say it, the easier it will become!
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1. Children should form two teams and line up at one end of the room. The leader goes to the opposite end of the room.
2. The first child from each team will do the crab walk (facing the ceiling with hands and feet on the floor) with the heavy book or books on top of their chests/stomachs to the opposite end of the room.
3. If a book falls off he has to stop, put it back on his chest and keep going.
4. When the child reaches the leader, he says, “I’m sorry!” The leader then takes the books, and the child runs back to the starting line to tag the next person in line.
5. Relay continues until one team finishes. 

What we did

Preparation
Arrange the furniture in a haphazard manner.

How to Play:

1. Ask for a volunteer to be the first person to go through the obstacle course. Blindfold that child.
2. Moses was just out tending his family’s flock of sheep when God told him that he was to complete the important task of leading the Israelites out of Egypt!
3. Have the other children direct the blindfolded child with only four words: left, right, forward and backward.
4. The blindfolded child must walk through the obstacle course, listening to the commands and trying not to bump into any of the furniture chairs. Each bump gives the child one point. The leader can call out the bumps as they happen and tally them on the board.
5. Sometimes God’s voice sounds unclear to us, like it might be in a whisper, or it might sound like many voices, and we might only be able to hear a few words clearly here and there.
6. Blindfold the next volunteer and then rearrange the chairs before he or she begins. Repeat the process.
7. The child with the least points at the end wins the game.

Following God’s Voice Game

Discussion With Mr. Nick

Sometimes God’s voice sounds unclear to us, like it might be in a whisper, or it might sound like many voices, and we might only be able to hear a few words clearly here and there.

Have you been in a situation where you had to rely on your sense of hearing rather than your sight?
Can you give an example of when you had to do something uncomfortable or scary out of obedience?

Read II John 1:6
And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it.

END OF OUR DAY

When all our fun was done.  We gathered in the sanctuary to

Re-Cap

We talked about what we learned and then we prayed for each other.

Dismissal Blessing

Father Steven blessed us and then we got our things together to wait for our family to get us.

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TAKE HOME

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Virtual Dot-to-Dot Game

References & Resources

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