Session Titles: Ezra Read God’s Word
Life Point: Reading the Bible is a way to worship God
Unit Bible Verse: “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.” Psalm 119:105
Weekly Bible Verses: “All scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness” 2 Timothy 3:16
Bible Passage: Nehemiah 8:1-12
Extras from LifeWay (GREAT Ideas Here): http://blog.lifeway.com/biblestudiesforlife/leaderextras/by-age-group/
Craft: Scroll Memory Verses
Just like the bible was written on scrolls back in Jeremiah’s time have students write the memory verse on a scroll. You would need to get tan or brown paper and then maybe tear and wrinkle it some. You can use dowel rods or any other kind of rod to help roll the scroll up. You will also want something to tie the two ends together.
Game: Bible Tag
Group kids into 2 teams. Invite the students to play “bible tag” and explain that the game is similar to “freeze tag”. When a player is tagged by someone from the other team, the player must freeze in place. Kids must tag their frozen teammate to free him, he must say “The Bible is God’s Word”. Tell the students that the team with the fewest frozen players when you call time is the winner for that round. You can play many rounds.
Source: Super, Duper Fun and Exciting Absolutely Thought Igniting Bible Activities for Kids
Game: God Preserves His Word!
We will learn in our lesson today that God’s Word can never be destroyed. People over the years have tried to get rid of God’s Word, but they will never succeed. Play this fun game to remember that God will always preserve His Word. The only supply needed is a Bible.
Have children stand in a large circle, holding their hands behind their backs. Choose someone to stand in the center of the circle. Explain to the children that you will be giving one of the persons in the circle the Bible. The object is for the chosen child to pass the Bible to the child next to them and that child onto the next, etc., all behind their backs. After 30 seconds, the child in the middle will have to guess which child is holding the Bible. Make sure to let the children know in the circle that they all can pretend to be receiving the Bible to try to throw off the child in the middle.
The children should continue passing the Bible for 30 seconds. Say, “stop” and allow the child in the middle to guess who has the Bible. If the guess is correct, the person holding the Bible becomes the next center person. If the guess is incorrect, have the kids continue passing the Bible. Play a few rounds to give other children opportunity to play. As you begin your lesson time you can share about how that in some countries it is illegal to have a Bible and many people try to get rid of God’s Word. But God’s Word will always stand. And just like it was hard for the person in the middle of the circle to find the Bible, the enemies of God will never be able to completely rid the world of God’s Word. That’s what we will learn from Jeremiah and Baruch today.
http://www.ccstpete.com/cm/guide/CUROT179.pdf
Craft: Scripture Valentine Wreath
The instructions are on the website for this great Valentine’s decoration. Please note this comes from a catholic website.
http://familyatthefootofthecross.blogspot.com/2011/02/st-valentine-scripture-wreath.html
Craft: God’s Conversation Hearts
This is something you could make to give your kids or they could make to give to someone else.
http://www.juliabettencourt.com/crafts/conversationheartscraft.html
Craft: John 3:16 Valentine
A cute craft using John 3:16 to make a valentine. Note this is coming from a catholic website.
http://www.catholicicing.com/john-316-valentine-craft/