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This week in Sunday School we learned about King Solomon building a temple for God, he wanted a place for people to go where God would be. The kids built their own temples with Legos. The younger kids made a temple with big blocks and had fun knocking it down. We also remembered that God isn't just in holy places but he always dwells in our midst.
Today we learned about the story from Luke 24:13-35 about a time when two Disciples were walking to Emmaus and the risen Jesus was walking alongside them, but they didn't even know it! Once they got near Emmaus, the asked the stranger to stay with them. During the meal, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them, and all of a sudden they recognized him. They immediately went back to Jerusalem and told everyone what they had seen - Jesus is alive!
The younger grades made crafts to help them remember the story, then they came down to the Grade 3-5 classroom where those students performed a puppet show for them about the story. To see a video of this puppet show, click here.
Today we watched a movie called "He is Risen" in the theater. Last time we were in Sunday School we saw a movie about Holy Week, but we turned it off just as Jesus was crucified. We told the kids, "You'll just have to wait until Easter to see what happens next." So this time we were able to see the rest of the story!
Today during worship we acknowledged and celebrated the fact that it is the 50th year of Peter Pebbles. The ministry that started in 1976 is still going strong today! Perhaps inspired by this and the display in the Narthex, seven kids earned their Peter Pebbles during Sunday School today!
Peter Pebble memory work was handed out in March, and is also available on the St. James website here. The kids have until May to earn their Pebbles, so there is still plenty of time!
On Palm Sunday, the kids sang their song during the worship service! They have been practicing so much, and did such a great job. They got many nice comments from members of the congregation after the worship service.
The children were released early from the worship service to go down to the theater to watch an animated movie about the events of Holy Week. After the movie we went to the classrooms to hear the Palm Sunday story from Chapter 21 of Matthew, and made palm crafts.
REMINDER: there is no Sunday School next week on Easter Sunday, April 5. We will resume Sunday School on April 12.
Today we heard the "Lost" parables from Luke 15:1-11 - The Lost Sheep and The Lost Coin. We learned that God loves every single person and never gives up on them, just like the shepherd and the woman searched for what was lost. We also learned that God is full of joy when someone comes back to Him.
To help reinforce the lesson we did crafts - the youngest kids made cotton ball sheep and the oldest kids made coin rubbings and decorated small cloth drawstring coin bags. We also played a game in which we had one minute to look at a group of items, then walk away. One of the items was then taken away and hidden. We had to guess which one was missing and then find it somewhere in our classroom.
We also practiced our Palm Sunday song today, this time in the Sanctuary with Jan accompanying us on the piano.
We started off today with Kari Owens coming to Music Time to teach us a song that we will be singing in worship on Palm Sunday. The kids did great and we'll continue to practice for the next few weeks.
Our Bible Story today was the parable of The Good Samaritan from Luke 10:25-37. The older grades used our Spark Bibles to look up a map showing where Samaria is to illustrate how people used to take a longer route between Galilee and Judea just to avoid going through Samaria. The Jews did not like Samaritans, which is exactly why Jesus chose a Samaritan to be the "good guy" in His parable.
After hearing about how the Samaritan was the neighbor who showed mercy to the man who was robbed and beaten, we made first aid kits to symbolize how we too can be helpers to our neighbors. The younger grades also made a pair of hands with a heart that opens to show a summary of the Good Samaritan story.
Also today during class the students who will be taking their First Communion in April took the first steps in the process today by making their keepsake clay chalices. They will air dry for a couple of weeks and we will glaze them soon, then fire them so they'll be ready by April.
Our story this week was from Luke 17:11-19 about the time when Jesus encountered 10 lepers on the road to Jerusalem. He healed all 10 lepers, but only one took the time to say "Thank you." We talked about how God loves a grateful heart and how we can be thankful in our lives. For our craft, the older students made a Gratitude Journal, in which they recorded things they are thankful for. The younger grades made handcrafted thank you cards.
This week we watched an animated movie about the story of The Prodigal Son on the big screen in the theater! Of course there was popcorn, and we took the quiz at the end of the movie as usual.
We learned from this movie that even when we make bad choices, God still loves us and wants us to come back to Him. Forgiveness is always possible, and God celebrates when we choose to do what's right again.
This morning we continued our annual tradition of making valentines for the residents of the Senior Living Homes that Pastor Nancy visits. The kids just love creating cards and pictures and writing messages of love. As we made them they talked about their own grandparents and it helped put into perspective the people who will be receiving their creations. The made a total of 80 valentines! We hope that the residents will feel loved after Pastor Nancy delivers them later this week.
Our story today was from Daniel 6:10-28, in which Daniel is thrown into a lion's den because he broke a law stating that this would be the punishment for anyone who prays to someone other than King Darius. David trusted God and was protected by Him overnight by an angel who shut the mouths of the lions. In the morning, King Darius was happy to see that Daniel survived, and from that day on, King Darius believed in God.
The older grades played a game today in which we named scary things, like spiders in the basement or riding a roller coaster. Then we stood on a piece of tape on the ground, where one end had been marked "most scary" and the other end was "least scary." Where we stood on the line depended on how we felt about the particular circumstance being described. We talked about how Daniel was probably scared to be in the den of lions, but he trusted God to be with him, and so can we.
We also made a craft, adding manes to drawings of lions using paint and forks instead of brushes.
Today's story from Luke 5:17-26 was called "Four Friends." It was about the time when a paralyzed man wanted to hear Jesus, so his friends carried him to the place where Jesus was speaking on a "bed," like a stretcher. The crowd prevented them from going through the door of the house, so they climbed on the roof and lowered him down so he could be near Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, he forgave the man, and then healed him, saying, "Get up, take your mat, and go home." The man left completely healed, both physically and spiritually, which caused the crowd to glorify God.
We made fun crafts today featuring the man on his bed. And the older grades took turns carrying each other on a blanket, to demonstrate how it must have felt for the men to carry their friend to see Jesus that day.
This week we heard the story from Luke 5:1-11 about the time when Jesus called his first Disciples. They had been fishing and did not catch any fish, so he told Simon to put his net in the water one more time, and then they caught so many fish that their nets began to break! To help us remember the story the younger grades made crafts and the older grades played a game with real fish nets and balloons that represented fish. We had fun trying to catch the "fish" in nets just like the disciples!
On our first Sunday after the holiday break we learned about the story of John the Baptist from Matthew 3:1-17. The kids in older grades learned and performed a puppet show and at the end of the hour the kids in younger grades came to watch it!. They did a fantastic job!
You can watch a video of the puppet show here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1klNAtYUXy1WUr7qKhG3zIMPIeHkRHVVm/view?usp=drive_link
Today we watched a movie in the theater called, "The King is Born." We enjoyed popcorn while we learned about the Christmas story. It was one of the animated movies that has a quiz at the end, so we took all three levels of the quiz and crushed it!
This week was the Children’s Christmas Program! Before worship, we gathered in one of the Sunday School classrooms to color pictures and do Christmas crafts. Then it was time for the kids to come into the Sanctuary to tell the Christmas story through the songs they have been practicing. They did such a great job! Afterwards we did have a regular Sunday School class where we heard from Luke 1:39-45 about the time when Mary visited Elizabeth. We then did more Christmas crafts and ate some of the many treats that were served during the coffee hour. Later, the kids in Grades 3-5 worked together to assemble a 3-D foam nativity for our classroom. It was a very fun day!
This week we heard the story from Luke 1:26-38 about how the Angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her she was going to have a baby who was to be the Son of God, and she was to name him Jesus. Grades 1-2 made a story strip with drawings and verses from the story. And the older grades solved a couple of puzzle sheets then made accordion-fold angel ornaments.
On the first Sunday of Advent, our lesson was all about Advent - the symbols we see at church, how it's a time of waiting, and the Advent Wreath. We talked about the different colors and meanings of the candles on the wreath, and then for our craft we made a version of an Advent Wreath. The youngest grades made a paper plate version and the older grades had a choice: a "stained glass" candle with a handprint wreath, or a wreath made of pipe cleaners. We also practiced music for the Christmas program this morning - it's coming along nicely!
Today we had some
pre-Thanksgiving fun. The youngest grades played a "Find the Turkey Feathers" game. Grades 1 and 2 made Pumpkin Pie Spinners to highlight what they are thankful for. And Grades 3-5 played a giant Thanksgiving-themed matching game, made Thanksgiving cards and did Thanksgiving puzzle sheets. We had a lot of fun and were able to talk about what we are thankful for!
It was a busy day today! We began by meeting in the sanctuary to start learning the songs for the Christmas Program with Kari Owens. We then watched a video about a woman born in India who received a shoebox from Operation Christmas Child when she was a kid 20 years ago, and now she packs shoeboxes herself! Then we got to pack shoeboxes and write notes to the kids who will receive them. And most importantly, we prayed over the shoeboxes, asking God to help get them safely to their destinations and to bless the children who will receive them.
We don't know where our boxes will be going - we will find out in January! The kids were so excited to pack the shoeboxes and did a fantastic job.
Our story this week was from 1Samuel chapter 3, in which Samuel hears a voice while he is sleeping. After waking up Eli several times, he finally realizes it is not Eli but God who is calling him. When he says, "Speak, for your servant is listening," God speaks to him. We learned that we can listen for God's voice too, through reading the Bible, or by praying. And God has a plan for us and knows each of our names.
For our craft, the older grades made a "matchbox" bed for Samuel, with a two-sided Samuel picture inside - sleeping and awake. The quilt folds down when Samuel is awake to show the message that Samuel said in verse 10.
