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Oriental Trading

A Relationship, Not An Acquaintance

A Relationship, Not An Acquaintance

by | Aug 26, 2019 | Contains affiliate links, I may receive commission., Devotional, Teaching, Teaching Resources

Johnny, a very bright 5 year old, told his daddy he’d like to have a baby brother and, along with his request, offered to do whatever he could to help. His dad, a very bright 35 year old, paused for a moment and then replied, ” I’ll tell you what, Johnny, if you pray every day for two months for a baby brother, I guarantee that God will give you one!” 
       
      Johnny responded eagerly to his dad’s challenge and went to his bedroom early that night to start praying for a baby brother. 
       
      He prayed every night for a whole month, but after that time, he began to get skeptical. He checked around the neighborhood and found out that what he thought was going to happen, had never occurred in the history of the neighborhood. You just don’t pray for two months and then, whammo- a new baby brother. So, Johnny quit praying. After another month, Johnny’s mother went to the hospital. When she came back home, Johnny’s parents called him into the bedroom. He cautiously walked into the room, not expecting to find anything, and there was a little bundle lying right next to his mother. His dad pulled back the blanket and there was — not one baby brother, but two!! His mother had twins! 
       
      Johnny’s dad looked down at him and said, “Now aren’t you glad you prayed?” 
       
      Johnny hesitated a little and then looked up at his dad and said, “Yes, but aren’t you glad I quit when I did?” (http://jokes.christiansunite.com )

This was too funny not to share. My mind has been on prayer a lot lately. Last week I released “My Prayer Journal” for children and youth, a guided prayer journal to download, print and start praying. I want so much for kids to understand that God is always here and wants a relationship with each one of us. He doesn’t want us sitting on the sidelines just waving now and again. It’s easy for all of us to put God on the back burner and forget he’s there. When you can’t see Him and get an immediate answer to our questions or troubles, we sometimes turn to other people instead of our Heavenly Father. No one has the power or wisdom that God has. He will always choose to do what is best for us. Now… we just have to get this message across to the kids in way it sinks in. We will need a lot of repetition for sure.

There are so many examples of prayer in the bible. Our we teaching our children how to pray, how often and what for? Our we teaching them who we are praying to and what our attitudes should be? In scriptures, talking to God is not some flippant conversation. And when anyone was in the presence of God, they were full of fear and reverence. Our children need taught to truly respect God while understanding that he truly cares for us.

If you’re interested, I created a Play Dough Mat to teach The Lord’s Prayer. Download a copy here. It keeps things simple, in a way they understand while they have fun so they want to do it again and again. I love it when kids enjoy learning about God!

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Cleaning Up the Classroom

Cleaning Up the Classroom

by | Aug 19, 2019 | Teaching Resources, This site contains affiliate links. If clicked, I may receive a commission. Thank you for your support.

I walked down the hallways and into the classrooms as an overwhelming feeling came over me. It all needs so much attention! The artwork down the hallway is pictures of students, which I like except that the pictures are of students that moved on to middle school a few years ago! The bulletin boards are falling down. The supplies on the shelves are in disarray. One classroom has a broken lamp while another has a vacuum in a corner. This isn’t good for anyone; not the kids that come every week or the visitors here for the first time. We need a classroom clean up and organization overhaul soon.

Yep! It is definitely time for a thorough cleaning and some updating! Being back to school season works out great since everything’s on sale. I may not be able to paint the rooms right this second and do a major complete overhaul, but I can certainly clean up, get organized and give the rooms a fresh look with some simple decorating. I made a checklist for myself that you may find helpful too. Click here to download and print for free.

Start downloading and cutting coupons, find the sales and go shopping! Your classrooms probably need fresh crayons (use the old ones in a melting project down the road to make shaped multi-color crayons), pencils, glue and more. For mine, we do hands on lessons every week so I noticed my Play-Doh drying out and Play Foam was not sticking together so well anymore. Add some colorful organizers for take home papers, folder games and more. This is a FUN part of the job; it’s just a matter of making the time (which I find myself running out of these days). When you do this, please send me pictures! I want to see the before and after’s!!

If you found this helpful, subscribe to stay in the loop! When you subscribe, you immediately receive an email with a link to download printable “Cootie Catchers” to use in your bible classes. Each week, you’ll receive an email with articles and resources to help Raise Kids For Christ.

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Sermon Notes Pages to Engage Children in the Pulpit Lesson

Sermon Notes Pages to Engage Children in the Pulpit Lesson

by | Aug 12, 2019 | Role of church, Teaching, Teaching Resources

It’s a new school year and a great time to develop new good habits. At my congregation, everyone is together for the first half of services. We sing and pray together, then take communion. Following this, our K-3rd graders are dismissed to Children’s Church. But what about my fourth and fifth graders, or even the middle school kids? I looked around the auditorium disappointed. Kids galore were playing on digital devices, some wearing headphones and others simply had the volume muted. They were not learning about God nor were they learning how to behave properly in a worship service during a sermon. Granted, the sermon is above their little heads, but it still a great time to learn how to listen. What to do about it…

Not everyone is on board yet, but I will keep working on it with both the kids and their parents. I saw a number of “sermon notes” options for kids but none that hit all the areas I really wanted to zoom in on. I want kids to listen for scriptures, for things they don’t understand and things they think are interesting. I developed sermon notes pages just for them that I’m happy to share with you. Each week I print out new copies for them to pick up before services. I’ve even got a 3-hole punch next to the forms in case they would like to keep these notes in a binder. I plan on asking our preacher to remind them to pull these out when it’s time to pay attention. By directly talking to them from the pulpit, they are included and will feel important. I’m hoping this helps get them involved.

Now for the part that is required to get participating in something they really don’t want to- incentive! Honestly, I don’t like this part, but it’s important. Think about it. You are starting a new diet. You want to lose weight or get fit but it’s never easy in the beginning. By incentivizing yourself with a small treat at certain points, you work hard to meet that goal. It’s part of being human… we will chase the carrot if we want it badly enough. Back to the kids. After the sermon, we have an invitation song. During that song, kids who have completed their sermon notes form can be the first to exit to the foyer where they find me with prizes. They can choose from pencils, trinkets, gum and more. I keep these things very inexpensive. (Another thought is playground time. They would have 5 minutes on the playground with friends while services wrapped up and parents pick them up.)

I would love to hear ideas of how you get kids listening and learning how to worship. Comment hear or feel free to send me an email at courtney@raisekidsforchrist.com

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Arm Kids with God As They Go Back to School

Arm Kids with God As They Go Back to School

by | Jul 29, 2019 | Contains affiliate links, I may receive commission., Crafts & Activities, Teaching Resources

It’s that time of year again! Some kids are excited, others nervous and some are definitely not looking forward to the end of summer vacation. As a parent, I always have mixed emotions. This year, take some time to set the focus of on Christ with this simple back-to-school “Armor of God” activity.

Download and print the “Armor of God” play-dough mat, then read Ephesians 6:14-18 as you discuss and create the armor of God. Your kids will be prepared for whatever comes their way this year! Remind them that with God, they can do great things! God will be with them.

14 So stand strong with the belt of truth tied around your waist, and on your chest wear the protection of right living. 15 On your feet wear the Good News of peace to help you stand strong. 16 And also use the shield of faith with which you can stop all the burning arrows that come from the Evil One. 17 Accept God’s salvation as your helmet. And take the sword of the Spirit—that sword is the teaching of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all of God’s people.

Sign up to download now! Print and use as many copies as you like; there’s no limit! Combine with a party sized play-doh to send home for families to study together. 

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Dry Erase Stories On a Budget

Dry Erase Stories On a Budget

by | Jul 9, 2019 | Contains affiliate links, I may receive commission., Crafts & Activities, Teaching, Teaching Resources

If you’ve been following me long, you know how much I use hands on throughout a story to teach kids God’s story. I stumbled across these dry erase flash cards and voilà, dry erase stories on a budget! The kids loved them and they are inexpensive and reusable. (Assuming kids don’t bend them and toss them around like paper airplanes.)

I bought a pack of 48 4×6 dry erase cards for $6.99 (July/2019) and the dry erase markers with erasers on top were less than $10 for a set of 24. As kids gathered in the room, they all saw these items in their packages on my table. Nearly every one of them asked what they were for and would they get to use them. Of course!

Lesson time! Each child receives one dry erase flash card and one marker. Now, these are multi colored markers so if you are afraid of fighting for the blue one, search for a set of black. Break your bible story into small chunks, about eight to ten is a good number to cover a 30 minute time period. I often read straight out of the easy reader children’s bible. Read your first chunk, typically two to four sentences. It should be just long enough to make a point but not lose their attention. After reading, either instruct them on what to draw or let them be creative and draw something simple from what you just read. Remind them it doesn’t have to look perfect. If you can’t come up with anything, go with a letter (name of person reading about, city, etc). I like to set a timer for 30 seconds to keep things moving and add some fun. Kids do fantastic and love this.

Engaging children in God’s word can be fun and simple. Just a few little supplies to use from week to week and you’re set! If this sounds like something you may try in your bible class, you may also like Play Through Bible andTeaching with play-dough mats.

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This One Event Grew Bible Class by Over 300%

This One Event Grew Bible Class by Over 300%

by | Jun 17, 2019 | Bible Science, Crafts & Activities, Devotional, Teaching Resources

Bible Science is my favorite time of the year because it is so much fun, kids beg for it and it brings children to church that might not have come otherwise. We saw an increase in mid-week attendance of over 300% on our first night! Sounds really cool when I put it like that! We typically have about a half dozen kindergarten through fifth graders on Wednesday nights during the school year. The first night of Bible Science brought in 20 kids.

Wednesday nights during the school year are hard for parents of elementary children.  By the time evening rolls around, they are worn out! Then there’s dinner to prepare. Did the kids finish their homework? Project? Did one of the kids just say they have a project due tomorrow? Then there’s bath time and bedtime. Whew! And that’s if there aren’t any sports practices or games that night too. Needless to say, getting kids to bible class during the week is not high on the list of things to do.

But that’s during the school year. Summer is a whole other story! They will come, but only if there’s something compelling them. For me, it’s Bible Science.  Every summer I host an 8-week series, one and half hours a night on Wednesday nights. We start with sugar free snow cones on the playground followed up with a hands-on science experiment, applicable bible lesson and a game. Kids beg for it all year long! This gives parents enough time to run an errand, relax, or attend a class for them.

Bible Science is easy. Just pick an age appropriate experiment; Pinterest is full of them. Make sure to test if first. Tie it to a bible lesson and you are ready to go! I have a Bible Science Creation series that I put into a course and it will be available July 1, 2019. You can download the curriculum, watch the experiments, get ideas for how to structure your program for your size and budget, and learn ways to promote your program. Run an 8-week series like me, set up a day camp, or more. Link to purchase coming soon.

This is not part of the Creation curriculum, but it’s one you can try with your kids to see what you think. I have one student that asks all the time if we can do this one again!

Sparkling Wool: “Spread the Word” (Acts 13:49; Luke 6:12-16 – 12)

NOTE: This experiment should be done outdoors on solid ground such as a parking lot or sidewalks (not grass). Also, you may want to have a fire extinguisher on hand (although we have never come close to needing it).

Supplies:  Steel Wool , Aluminum Foil, 9V Battery (Kids may share)

  • STEP 1: Make sure everyone has their supplies: Steel Wool and Foil (Don’t pass out batteries until you are ready for them to use them.)
  • STEP 2: Begin splitting apart the steel wool, loosen it up, spread it out.
  • STEP 3: Now, wrap it up into a loose ball
  • STEP 4: Place in the center of your aluminum foil. STEP 5: Now, pass out batteries. Touch the end of the battery to the steel wool in a few places. It will begin to spark. (Pass the battery to the next person for use.)
  • STEP 5: Stand back and watch the sparks spread all over the wool. What just happened? We transferred the energy from the battery to the steel wool. This created sparks that kept traveling all throughout the steel wool.

 BIBLE LESSON: In Acts 13:49, we read, “The word of the Lord spread through the whole area.” What spread? God’s word!

Now we will learn about some very special people who made it their mission to spread God’s word. We are learning from the New Testament book of Luke. Luke is one of the four gospels that teaches us about the life of Jesus.

At about that same time Jesus climbed a mountain to pray. He was there all night in prayer before God. The next day he summoned his disciples; from them he selected twelve he designated as apostles: How many did he choose as his apostles? 12

Jesus gathered his disciples together and from those, he picked 12 for a special job. After Jesus had died and risen from the dead, this was the mission he gave them (Mark 16:15-16): 15He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. What was their mission? To tell the whole world about Jesus.

The names of the first 12 apostles were: Simon, whom he named Peter, Andrew, his brother, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, son of Alphaeus, Simon, called the Zealot, Judas, son of James, Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

BIBLE APPLICATION In our experiment, the steel wool is all the people in the world around us. The battery is us. When we touch one person with the word of God, it starts a chain reaction. That spark creates another and another and another. This is just like when we share God’s love with someone. They get excited and share it with someone else and that person shares it with another and it just keeps going. Who can you share God’s love with? (Family, friends, neighbors….)

If you try this, I would love to hear how it went!

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