Thursday, January 26, 2012

Free Confirmation Tests & Study Sheets

Look under the "Free Sola Resources" tab on the main Sola website to find a number of documents and educational resources that are available for download.  Congregations are welcome to photocopy these resources for local use.

For example, on our free Confirmation Page, we now have tests and study sheets for all four units of the Sola Confirmation Series: Apostles' Creed, Sacraments, Ten Commandments, and Lord's Prayer.

Friday, January 20, 2012

Lenten Drama Series - "Will You Betray Me?"

Will You Betray Me?   Five-Part Lenten Drama Series
“Will You Betray Me?” (Luke 22:48)  This was Jesus’ question to Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night he was arrested.  In our lives of faith as Jesus’ disciples, it is a question that could be asked of each of us as well.  
Meant to be featured as part of a mid-week worship service during the season of Lent, this five-part drama series focuses on “betrayal” as a central theme. Written in a direct and edgy style, the monologues feature biblical characters that (knowingly or unknowingly) contributed to the betrayal and death of Jesus.  
 1. SIMON, THE UPSTANDING PHARISEE
(themes: responsibility, morality, and self-righteousness)
 2. RACHEL, THE CONCERNED MOTHER
(themes: ingratitude, gossip, and the assumption of guilt)
 3. SIMON, THE INNOCENT BYSTANDER
(themes: duty, personal distance, and not getting involved)
 4. DINAH, THE FORGIVEN ADULTERESS
(themes: scorn, resentment, and suspicion of motives)
 5. JUDAS, THE GOOD DISCIPLE
(themes: disappointment, disenchantment, and failure)
Scripture texts are assigned for each of the dramas, along with notes for actors.  Discussion questions are included with each, to be used as the basis for a sermonic reflection or mini-Bible Study. Each drama is about 10-12 minutes long.  A suggested order of worship is also provided at the back of the booklet. Go HERE to order.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Errata: Correction

Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser;
teach a righteous man, and he will increase in learning. (Proverb 9:9)


Dear Colleagues using the Sola Lord's Prayer Curriculum:

One of our faithful beta-testers, Pastor Pentti Maki, found a small error on page 9 of the new Lord's Prayer Confirmation booklet, in the section regarding Jesus' parable of the two sons called to work in the vineyard (the erroneous text said "second son" where it should have noted "first son" as the obedient one).

You can download a full 11x17 corrected page online HERE for those would like to replace the entire back-to-back sheet in booklets.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Activity B3 - Lesson 7: Empty Tomb Craft

Sunday Schoolhouse Series Activity - Red Unit B3
Lesson 7: The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1 - 15)

Create an Empty Tomb - Materials Needed:
- piece of large size construction paper (not white) for each child
- a piece of paper bag (approximately 4"x4") for each child
- variety of fabric scraps including white fabric
- yarn scraps and paper fasteners for each child
- scissors, glue, and markers
- a copy of this lesson's prayer (older children can re-write it; one each for younger children)

Have each child crumple their paper bag piece repeatedly until it has a rough stone look. Flatten out the paper bag piece and cut it into a boulder shape. Lay the large construction paper piece horizontally and attach the boulder to the left bottom side with the paper fastener. The fastener should be applied to the bottom left of the boulder. This will allow the boulder to slide up on the paper. Slide up the boulder and write "He is Risen!" underneath it. Lower the boulder back so you cannot see the words until the stone is "rolled" away. Have the children cut out robes for the angel and the two Marys. Use the white cloth for the angel's robe. Use yarn for the hair and markers for the faces. Write the prayer from the lesson at the top of the paper. For younger children: pre-cut the fabric, boulder, prayer, etc. so they can simply attach the pieces to the paper.

Act out the drama: Act out the drama provided, make noise and fall down for the earthquake; have two guards fall to the ground, etc.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Sola Publishing - New Resources for 2012

Sola Publishing is working to provide trustworthy resources for LCMC, NALC, CALC, Lutheran Core, and others looking for solidly biblical and confessionally Lutheran materials. With your support, by the blessing of God, we continue to grow at an amazing rate!  We are pleased to let you know about a number of new resources that have just been released for the new year.

New Sola Titles for January 2012

1) Sola Confirmation Series: Lord’s Prayer, by Pastor Steven King, finishes out the four core curriculum books, also including: Ten Commandments, Apostles’ Creed, and Sacraments.

2) Luke, the newest in Pastor Kent Groethe’s “Old Places, New Faces” Series, is a twelve-session Bible study focusing on the Gospel of Luke.

3) VBS: The Adventures of Paul is this year’s installment in Sola’s Versatile Budget Series.  Think your church is too small for VBS?  Take a look at Sola’s all-in-one reproducible booklet, designed especially for small congregations.

4) The Drama Series: Invited to the Banquet of the King is a five-part series based on the elements of Christian worship, suitable for weekly Lenten services.

5) Sola now offers two new educational poster sets for Sunday School: Attendance Posters and Classroom Posters.  Each includes six full-color 11x17 inch posters.

6) Sola also has new Certificates for Baptism and Confirmation.  These 8.5 x 5.5 inch certificates come in a pack of 12, with 12 matching envelopes.

7) The Word of God – Weekly Lectionary Inserts can be ordered as copy-ready reproducible pdf documents, featuring Scripture texts from the ESV: English Standard Version.

For more information on these new resources, please click on the underlined links above to go directly to the Sola website.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Activity B3 - Lesson 6: Make a Board Game

Sunday Schoolhouse Series Activity - Red Unit B3
Lesson 6: The Thief Repents on the Cross (Luke 23:32 - 43)

Create a Repentance Board Game - Materials Needed:- large piece of paper for each child (from a craft paper roll)
- markers, pencil, miscellaneous decorative craft items
- miscellaneous items to use as game markers

For this project each child will create a board game around repentance. For younger children it may be best to make a class board game together. Provide the children with some reminders of common things in a board game; for example, on this square move back three spaces, or short cuts between spaces. Encourage the children to remember the theme of repentance - the game should be about God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Tell the children to take their time and be creative and have them decorate the game. Further ideas: the third to the last square could have a skull on it, the last winning square could be labeled"Jesus' Forgiveness", one square may be labeled "Big Sin - go back 10 squares" then that square could be labeled "God's Grace Return forward 10 squares".

Activity:
Take turns playing the children's games.

Monday, January 2, 2012

New Drama Series from Sola

Invited to the Banquet of the King
A Five-Part Lenten Drama Series


Jesus said: “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many…”
(Luke 14:16)

Invited to the Banquet of the King is series of dramas about Christian worship. The story follows the allegorical path of a poor mystified peasant on the way to a banquet with the King. Unworthy and unsure of why he has been invited, he meets several citizens of the Kingdom along the way who help him understand what his journey is all about.

1. THE GATEKEEPER
  Subject: Confession and Forgiveness
  Scriptural Basis: 1 John 1:5-10


2. THE POET
  Subject: Hymns of Worship
  Scriptural Basis: Ephesians 5:15-21

3. THE TEACHER
  Subject: Scripture
  Scriptural Basis: 2 Timothy 3:10-17

4. THE PAUPER
  Subject: The Prayer
  Scriptural Basis: Matthew 7:1-11

5. THE CHIEF STEWARD
  Subject: Holy Communion
  Scriptural Basis: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Scripture texts are assigned for each of the dramas, along with notes for actors.  Each drama is about 10-12 minutes long.  (40 pages, 5" x 8.5" booklet)