Happy with Christ

Look at THIS! We could have a story to go with these directions (like Thee Lonely Boy story). The end could be how you are happy when you believe in Christ because he is in control.

Idea- the coin, the sheep, and YOU!

When we had an actual egg hunt in our church building one of our teachers taught a lesson about the lost coins and the lost son.

I think, this could eventually be worked into a lesson for our large group to rotate through stations. I am concerned about the story of salvation being there for the children.

We still need to pray and think about this lesson more. Our current lesson is salvation. I would like a clear way to represent how God wants you. You must say you are sorry for what you have done wrong so you can go home to him in heaven.




The following is a list of Bible Truths in Luke 15:1-32, the story of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son.

1. Jesus taught His followers to search for people separated from the family of God and to lead those who are separated back into God's family. Luke 15:4-6, 8-9.
2. God rejoices when a person stops doing wrong and returns to God. Luke 15:7, 10.
3. God loves, welcomes, and accepts any sinner who asks for forgiveness and wants to return to God. Luke 15:20-22.
4. All members of God's family should be happy when a person returns to God. Luke 15:28-32.
5. To God each and every soul is valuable and worth the effort. Every individual is special to God. Luke 15:4.

Heart Necklace

This image inspired me to think of a different way to do our lesson. I would love to have a wooden heart and draw the sin on with permanent marker. Then somehow cover the sin with paint to show how Jesus covers our sins.

I have tried all kinds of paint to cover the marker but nothing has worked for me yet. When I get this to work I would like to do this for the lesson or a supplemental activity.


THIS is a simpler idea from Family Fun.

Origami Story

Thee Lonely Boy

There once was a lonely boy who owned a square plot of land. He lived in a house on the far end of the plot by the forest. His only friends were Vince and Vinnon, the cat and dog. His parents had died in WWII.

One he decided to go out in search of friends after he had finished his house keeping and the land needed no work. There was a mountain on the south edge of the land; he had always wanted to climb it. He would climb to the top to see if there were any houses nearby.

As he approached the mountain, he saw it was the shape of an isosceles right triangle. He climbed up the very steep mountain. When he reached the top he could see little specks of people outside a cottage on the other side of the mountain. He looked back at his house to see if his pets had followed him; they had. He told them to stay put on the top of the mountain, so they would not scare the new people. Then he turned right around and raced down the mountain to meet these new people.

He came upon the little cottage but the people had just gone inside. So the boy walked up to the door and it opened. A red bushy haired boy was standing at the door with a smile upon his face. He said, “Hello! Who are you? Would you care to join us for some pastries?” The boy was tired and hungry from his walk; he decided to join them.

Just as they were sitting down, a terrible earthquake shook the house. The table shook and their beautiful lemon pie fell to the floor and part of the roof fell on top of it. They raced out of the house just before the other section of the roof collapsed. The looked up to the mountain and it not longer had a peek. The lonely boy was now really worried about his pets. He started running up the now trapezoid mountain and his new friends follow him to help.

They found the animals along the way hidden in a burrow. They ran down the mountain to find the boy’s house was still standing. The boy invited his new friends to stay with him until they build a new house. His new friends choose to build a house right next to him so they can visit for an afternoon snack everyday.

The lonely boy was never lonely again.

THEE END


I had a first grade student write this story to go with the folding of an origami paper cup. I like the idea of this being an activity or a lesson about the Easter story. What could we fold to represent the Easter story?

Jesus Cleans Your Heart

THE LESSON

This lesson was the stepping stone to our lesson.

This is why we hold an Easter Event. We want to tell children Jesus loves them and He is the way to heaven!


Introduction


"Hello, welcome to our Easter party. We're so glad you came because we're going to talk about how much God loves you. We have a fun story in there and we need to get ready for it. Do you know that God created you? ("yes") And when He made you, He gave you a heart, kind of like this one only we can't see them, can we? (give hearts. Make sure the iodine has just been placed on the heart. If the iodine sits on the white felt heart for too long it is difficult to get out.) What are our hearts for? ("love") That's right, love. God gave us a heart so we could love Him and love people. Can you go show your heart to Ms. --- and Ms. ---?"

Dirty Heart


What do you have there? ("a heart") Do you know who gave you your heart? ("God") That's right. Did you know that God has a big, beautiful heart? (shows heart) His heart is perfectly clean because God is always good. But our hearts look different. Ever since we were babies we haven't always made good choices. Do you always do what's good? ("no") Do we always make the right choice? ("no") Sometimes we might fight with our siblings or our friends. Sometimes we don't listen very well to our moms or teachers sometimes. ("yeah") Those bad choices are called sins and sins make our hearts unclean. Our hearts aren't pure and beautiful like God's heart. (put drops of iodine on hearts during discussion) After we make a bad choice, can we take it away? ("no") Can we rub that yucky stuff off of our heart? (try rubbing - "no") Looks like we have a problem. Head over to Ms. --- and Ms. --- to hear what you can do about your problem.


At the Cross


Hi guys, what do you have there? ("hearts with yucky stuff") So you and I have hearts that aren't clean like God's heart. Those bad choices make our hearts unclean and keep us from God. But God created us and He loves us very much. So He sent Jesus to earth as a baby at Christmas. Have you seen a Nativity scene like this before? (show scene to them) Christmas is when we celebrate how God sent Jesus to us as a baby. Then Jesus grew up and taught people all about God AND Jesus never made a bad choice. At just the right time Jesus died on a cross because of our sins so that our hearts can be washed clean from our bad choices. Should we take your hearts to the cross and try washing all that yucky stuff off? (wash the hearts using tongue depressors, careful of clothes!) All of our bad choices, our sin in our hearts, can be forgiven by Jesus if we believe in Jesus and ask Him to forgive us. That is why we celebrate Easter - we can have our hearts washed clean by Jesus! You can take your heart over to Ms. --- and Ms. ---.


Eggs & Review


How did your heart get washed clean? ("I washed it at the cross") Do you remember who died on the cross to wash your heart clean? Jesus died on the cross so that your heart could be washed clean if you believe in Him and ask Him to forgive you. (kids leave hearts and you give them a coloring book) Here's a coloring book to remind you of the story of Easter and here's something for your parent to read about Easter, too (a track). Here are your eggs (10 of them) and they have lots of fun stuff for you to do in the next room (activities). Have fun!