Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Top Secret Tuesday, Advent Week 4

Greetings! Your mission is to complete one of the following:


Advent Week 4

Light all 4 of your candles on your advent candleholder and read about the coming of the Magi from Matthew 2:1-12.  Answer the following questions, and complete one activity below:
How did the Magi find Jesus?
What gifts did they bring him?
Why did they come to Jesus?
Option #1 (older kids):  Check out some neat info about the 3 gifts that the Magi gave Jesus:

Pictures of Myrrh and Frankincese (scroll down for pictures)
Picture of Frankincese Tree (and crazy botanical info too)
Very Cool Frankincense Tree
















Option #2 (young ones): Complete the Magi Maze worksheet.


Have fun!!

Signature of completion ____________________________________________

Bring this signed paper to Sunday school to claim your Bible Bucks.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Top Secret Tuesday, Advent Week 3

Greetings! Your mission is to complete one of the following:

Advent Week3

Light 3 of your candles on your advent candleholder and read about the birth of Jesus from Luke 2:1-20.  Now, your task is to complete a game of “Guess who I am?” 
Take turns acting out the characters and settings from this sheet, while other members of the family try to guess who you are, and which part of the story you are trying to tell. 

Have fun!!

Signature of completion ____________________________________________
Bring this signed paper to Sunday school to claim your Bible Bucks.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

ABC #13

Action:
From Prisoner to Prominence

Bible Verse:
Genesis 50:19-20 But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in
the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for
good to accomplish what is now being done,
the saving of many lives.”

Character:
Joseph and Pharaoh

Younger kids can just learn verse 19.

Top Secret Tuesday, Advent Week 2

Greetings! Your mission is to complete one of the following:

Advent Week 2
Light 2 of your candles on your advent candleholder and read from Luke 1:26-37 and From Matt. 1:18-24.  Answer the following questions, then choose one of the following activities:

How did God tell Mary the Good News about Jesus?
How did God tell Joseph?
What are some things that were promised about Jesus?

Option 1 (older kids):  Use and NIV (or NAS) Bible to complete the "Mary's Song of Praise" crossword.

Option 2 (youngin’s):Using stuffed animals, puppets, dolls, or nativity figures act out Gabriel's conversation with Mary, and Joseph's dream from God.

Signature of completion ____________________________________________
Bring this signed paper to Sunday school to claim your Bible Bucks.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Top Secret Tuesday, Advent Week 1



Greetings!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to complete one of the following tasks:


Advent Week 1

You will be making an advent candleholder to help celebrate the coming of Christmas.  To make your holder, use ½ of a paper towel roll, cut lengthwise.  Poke 4 holes into the top for the candles.  Before placing the candles in, feel free to decorate any way you like (stickers, glue/glitter, markers, etc.).  Place the candles in, light the 1st one and read about the birth of Jesus’ cousin, John from Luke 1:5-25. 

Have a parent cut out (and mix up!) the eight different pictures on this page.  Then your task is to sort out the order of  these events.  Have fun!!





Remember to bring your signed TST paper to Sunday School to claim your Bible Bucks!

Monday, November 30, 2009

ABC's #11 and 12

For this week:
Action: Sold into Slavery

Bible Verse: Genesis 39:2 “The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered,
and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master.”

Character: Joseph and His Brothers


Last week #11

Action: Jacob Becomes Israel

Bible Verse: Genesis 35:10 God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob, but you
will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.’ So He named
him Israel.”

Character: Jacob

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Map Challenge!!

Greetings! Your mission is to complete a Map Challenge from Map 1 and Map 2 (click on the links to view maps):

Map Challenge #1
(for younger kids)
Find the following places we’ve been hearing about in the bible:
1. Israel 2. Edom 3. Dead Sea 4. How many tribes are shown here?
Use the links on the blog to check out some pictures of these places now!

Do you remember what Israel means? _____________________

Map Challenge #2
(for older kids)
Using the maps shown on the TST blog, locate the answer to each question, and write it down below:
The country that Esau founded (what is it part of now?)
What is one city in this country? (It looks really cool!)
The country Jacob founded (What is its name?)
The sea that is closest to Sodom and Gomorrah (What is it called?)
Which sons are represented in the map shown? (#tribes on the map)

After completing one of the challenges, look at the attached sites to see some cool pics of the following places:
Petra, Edom, Dead Sea, and the tribe of Dan

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

ABC #10

Action:
Jacob Marries

Bible Verse:
Review Memory Verses for lessons 6-9 (see below)

Character:
Jacob, Leah, Rachel, and Laban

This is a great week to learn any verses that you may have missed
or simply to review what you’ve learned.


week 9-
Genesis 26:4 "I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed."


or for yongers-
Through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed Me.
Genesis 26:4

week 8
Hebrews 11:17 “By faith, Abraham when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son.”

week 7
2 Peter 2:6
“He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly.”

**OR, for the younger crew....**

"He condemned the cities... and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly."

week 6

Genesis 15:6 “Abram believed the Lord and He credited it to
him as righteousness.”

Top Secret Tuesday, Genesis 28--31

Greetings!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to complete one of the following tasks:


Pre-School:

Scan Genesis 29:31-30:24 and 35:16-18 and figure out which mom each of Jacob's twelve son's belonged to, and draw pictures of each mom with her children next to her.  Write the name of each son on the paper.  We will be hearing about these sons later!!

School Age:

Sort the enclosed facts about Jacobs life into two groups: Blessings from God and Consequences for Sin.  Then read Romans 6:23 and identify the consequence for sin, and the blessing from God.

Facts enclosed in TST envelopes:

Jacob had to leave his home in Beersheba to get away from Esau.


Jacob easily found a lovely girl, named Rachel, from his mother’s family.


Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah, Rachel’s older sister.


Laban’s flocks grew very large under Jacob’s care.


Jacob’s wives were unhappy and competed for his love.


Jacob had many children.

Many spotted and speckled sheep were born.

Jacob’s flock grew large and strong.

Laban cheated Jacob by changing his wages ten times.


Jacob left Paddan Aram with great wealth.


Laban was warned not to say anything good or bad to Jacob.


Jacob and Laban made peace with each other.


Jacob returned safely to Canaan.


Remember to bring your signed TST paper to Sunday School to claim your Bible Bucks!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

ABC's

Action:
Stolen Blessing


Bible Verse:
Genesis 26:4 "I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed."

Character:

Isaac, Jacob & Esau

Top Secret Tuesday, Genesis 25-27

Greetings!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to complete one of the following tasks:

Pre-School:

Choose 3-4 objects and with your eyes closed guess what the objects are.  How did you figure out what they were?  Was it easy or hard with your eyes closed?  Read Genesis 27:15-25.  Isaac used his ears and hands to identify his son.  Which son did his ears hear?  Which son did his hands feel?  Why was it important for Isaac to know which son he was talking with?


School Age:

Grab a can of soup from the cupboard and have each person guess how much a can of soup costs to buy.  How much would a bowl of soup cost at a fancy restaurant?  Read Genesis 25:29-34. What price did Esau pay for his soup?  Did he make a wise purchase?  Why or why not?

Remember to bring your signed TST paper to Sunday School to claim your Bible Bucks!

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Top Secret Tuesday, Genesis 21-24

Greetings!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to complete the following task:



1.  Take turns rolling a die, or draw #s out of a hat, to review some of the main characters we’ve been studying in Genesis, using the enclosed cards.  Every time someone lands on a particular #, they must list 1 piece of information about that character.  Continue until each person has done several, or each character has been covered 3-4 times (or whatever you deem appropriate).  If you want, you can color pictures of each person on their box.

2.  Abraham was asked by God do obey by doing something very hard, sacrificing his son Isaac.   Brainstorm with your family to come up with a list of 10 things you are asked to do that are hard for you, but show your obedience to God.  Make the list on a piece of paper, and hang it on the fridge is as a reminder of ways you can obey.


Remember to bring your signed TST paper to Sunday School to claim your Bible Bucks!

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

ABC's

Action:
Abraham Tested

Bible Verse:

Hebrews 11:17 “By faith, Abraham when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had received the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son.”

Character:
Abraham & Isaac

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Top Secret Tuesday, Genesis 18-20

Greetings!

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to complete the following task:



Count out 50 beads, beans, pennies, or something small and place them on the table.  Have someone read Gen. 18:22-32, about Abraham bargaining with God, and every time you hear a new number, take away the beads to show how many are left.  Continue until the bargaining is done.

In the end, how many righteous people left Sodom?_______ (Gen. 19:23-30)
Who were they? _____________________


Remember to bring your signed TST paper to Sunday School to claim your Bible Bucks!

Monday, October 26, 2009

ABC's

A. Condemnations and Destruction

B. 2 Peter 2:6
“He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly.”

**OR, for the younger crew....**

"He condemned the cities... and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly."

OR- feel free to paraphase it how you see fit.


C. Lot

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Top Secret Tuesday, Genesis 15-18

Today's TST comes in 3 parts. Complete all 3 to receive 3 Bible Bucks!!
Hand in a piece of paper that says "We did TST this week!" with your family name for credit.


1. Family Photo Album.


Get a piece of paper, a crayon, and a family photo album.  Talk about who you see in the pictures. Every time you see someone, draw a star on the paper and write a name.Use the pictures to explain what the words “descendants” or “offspring” mean. This will be helpful in understanding Abraham’s future family .
Tell your kids:
"In today's Bible Story, we will learn that God promises Abram a big family. Abram doesn't have any children yet, so he wonders how he can have a big family. What do you think God promised him?"


2. Read Genesis Chp 15-18:15 from the Bible or a Bible Story Book (for pre-schoolers) Or read the story straight from our curriculum **see below**

3. Discussion
1. What was the promise God gave to Abram? (A son and as many descendants as there were stars in the sky)


2. What did the three angels tell Abram when they came to his tent? (Sarah would have a baby within a year)


3. Why did Sarah laugh when she heard she would have a baby? (Sarah was too old to have a baby.)


4. Does God always keep His promises? (Yes. Nothing is too hard for God.)


Additional questions for School Age
1.. What were Abram and Sarai’s new names and what did they mean? (Abraham—Father of Many Nations; Sarah—Princess)


2. Why did God consider Abraham righteous? (Abraham believed the Lord.)

3. What are some of God's other promises to us? How has God been faithful in keeping his promise to you and your family?

**Bible Story** - from our curriculum

Last week, we learned that Lot chose the best land near Sodom and was captured by the enemy kings. Abram rescued Lot and his family and took them back to their homes.

One night after Abram came back tohis home in Hebron, he stood outside in the dark by himself. God spoke to Abram in a vision and said, “Abram, don’t be afraid. I keep My promises to you.” Abram said to God, “You have promised me a big family, but how can that happen when I don’t even have a son yet?”

God said to Abram, “Look up at the sky and count the stars. (Point to the sky and begin to count.) You can’t count them all, there are so many, but I promise to give you a family with as many people as there are stars in the sky.” Wow! That’s a lot of great-great-great-great grandchildren! Abram believed God’s promise. He knew that God was powerful and would keep His promise.

Abram waited and waited for a son, but Sarai did not have a baby. She had an idea about how to help God with His promise. It was not a good idea.  Sarai said to Abram, “God has not given me a baby. You should take another wife so that God’s promise of a big family will come true.”

Abram listened to his wife’s bad advice and married Sarai’s servant girl, Hagar.  When Hagar found out that she was going to have a baby, she became rude to Sarai. (Put your nose in the air and sing in a sing-song fashion, “I have a baby! Na-na-na-na-na!”)

Sarai was jealous and became unkind to Hagar. She was mean to Hagar. Life was not happy for Abram and his family. God had promised to bless Abram and make him into a great family, but things were not going well.

Abram and Hagar’s baby was named Ishmael. Abram thought that Ishmael would be his only son, but when Ishmael was thirteen years old (count to thirteen), God appeared to Abram and said, “Abram, I am God Almighty. I am changing your name from Abram to Abraham because you will be the father of many nations. I am changing your wife’s name from Sarai to Sarah because she will be the mother of nations.” Abraham was shocked. Sarah was too old to be a mother.

One hot day, while Abraham was sitting in the doorway to his tent by the trees at Hebron, three men came and stood near him. Abraham didn’t know it, but these three men were angels sent from God. They had a very special message from God for Abraham and Sarah.

Abraham said to the men, “Come sit in the shade while we fix your lunch.” The three angels of the Lord were glad to sit under the trees as a servant washed their dusty feet.

Abraham ran to Sarah and said, “Quick, bake some bread! We have three guests for lunch!” Then Abraham ran to his servant and said, “Quick, cook some delicious meat! We have three guests for lunch!”

When the bread was fresh out of the oven and the meat was cooked just right, Abraham served his guests. While the angels were eating their lunch, one of them (who was really the Lord Jesus) said to Abraham, “God is going to keep His promise to you. I will come back to you at this time next year and your wife Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah was listening to the angels talking. When she heard what the Lord said about a baby, she laughed to herself. She thought, “I am too old to have a baby; I am ninety years old. It is too late for me!”

The Lord said, “Why did Sarah laugh? Nothing is too hard for God. God will keep His promise. Sarah will have a baby within the year.”

Sarah was embarrassed and afraid because the angel knew that she had laughed at God’s promise. She lied and said to the angel, “I did not laugh.” The angel said to her, “Yes, you did laugh, but God will keep His promise. God always keeps His promises.”

Abraham and Sarah believed that God was powerful and would keep His promise. We will hear more about Abraham and Sarah’s special baby in two weeks.

Monday, October 19, 2009

ABC #6

Action: A Child is Promised

Bible Verse:
Genesis 15:6 “Abram believed the Lord and He credited it to
him as righteousness.”

Character: Abraham and Sarah

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Top Secret Tuesday: Genesis 13-14

Greetings!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to complete one or more of the following tasks:



School Age:  Lot was led astray when he chose his land.  Abram made a good choice.  You have many Christian and non-Christian friends.  You should choose friends carefully, so you are not led astray.  Make a list of your Christian friends whom you can pray with, and your non-Christian friends whom you can pray for and boldly witness to.

Pre-school:
Use the pictures included in your envelope (or draw you own if you don't have your envelope...!) to make puppets of Abram and Lot.  Color both figures and form the paper strips into circles and tape onto the back of the figures. Use the puppets to recount why Abram and Lot separated (Gen.13: 1-12).  And how Lot was rescued (Gen. 14:8-16).


Remember to bring your signed TST paper to Sunday School to claim your Bible Bucks!
Oh....and Have fun!

Monday, October 12, 2009

ABC #5

A. Separated and Rescued

B. Review Memory Verses (see below)

C. Abram and Lot

**This is your week to catch up on any verses/ABC's that you may have missed, as its a review week. If you've already said them all, feel free to learn another verse.**

Past verses:
Genesis 1:1
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

Genesis 3:15
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.”

Genesis 6:9
“This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.”

Genesis 12:2
“I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.”

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

ABC #4

A. Promised Land Blessing

B. Genesis 12:2 “I will make you into a great nation and I
will bless you; I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.”

C. Abram

Top Secret Tuesday: Genesis 11-12

Greetings!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to complete the following task:


1. Use the enclosed puzzle key to determine what verse to look up in your bible:



__ __ __ __ __ __ __ 1 5 : 5

17 13 2 13 12 21 12


Read about what God compares Abraham’s offspring to in His promise


2. Check out some cool pictures of God's creation!



Try to estimate how many stars are in this picture taken by the Hubble Space Telescope!





Above is a picture of the Orion Nebula, a place where new stars are being made.

The next picture shows 1500 Galaxies in outer space. Each Galaxy holds billions of stars!



To see some more pictures, click here. Have each person in your family find their favorite picture, then spend a few minutes thanking God for keeping his promises.

Remember to bring your signed TST paper to Sunday School to claim your Bible Bucks!
Oh....and Have fun!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Top Secret Tuesday: Genesis 6-10

Greetings!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to complete one or more of the following tasks:

1.
Remember how long a cubit is? It is the distance from your elbow to fingertips. Go in your yard or driveway and measure how many cubits long it is. Then read Gen. 6:15.

How many cubits long did God tell Noah to build the ark?

2.
Click here to watch a video clip showing a scale model of the ark. It is 1/14 of the actual size that God had Noah build!

3. Click here to look at some really cool promises God made! (Gen 9:12-15)


Remember to bring your signed TST paper to Sunday School to claim your Bible Bucks!
Oh....and Have fun!

Monday, September 28, 2009

ABC Button #3

A. Noah Walked with God
B. Genesis 6:9 "This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God."
C. Noah

ABC Button #2

Week #2
A. Sin
B. Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.”
C. Adam & Eve

ABC button #1

Week #1
A. Creation
B. Genesis 1:1
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
C. God

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Top Secret Tuesday: Genesis 3-5

Greetings!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to complete the following task:

School Age:

Examine this statement: WEEDS=SIN
Do you think this is true? Why or why not?
Where to weeds grow? What did God use to make Adam?
Read Genesis 3:17-19 and Romans 6:23 and talk about how the roots of weeds and the roots of sin relate to each other.

Pre-School Age:
Object lesson!
Go outside and find 3 different types of weeds and pull them.
Is it easy or hard to pull the weeds out?
Did you pull out the roots also, or just the top? What happens if you don't pull the roots?
Why do you think God made weeds?
Read Genesis 3:17-19 and Romans 6:23. Talk about curses of sin.
Does it take work to pull the weeds out of dirt? Who does the work?
Does it take work to pull sin out of our lives? Who does the work?

Remember to bring your signed TST paper to Sunday School to claim your Bible Bucks!
Oh....and Have fun!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Top Secret Tuesday: Genesis 1-2

Greetings!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to complete the following task:

School Age:

Without peeking, draw what God created on each of the 6 days of creation, IN ORDER! Then read Genesis 1 and listen to check and see how you did.

Pre-School Age:
Have a family member read Genesis 1, listen to hear all the things God made. When you hear something God made, draw it on your paper. When you're done, you've got a whole picture!

Remember to bring your signed TST paper to Sunday School to claim your Bible Bucks!
Oh....and Have fun!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Welcome Back!

We are excited to start off a new year with a study of Genesis!
Join us Sundays at 9:15 in the music room. We are an intergenerational Sunday School, all are welcome!