Activity C2 - Lesson 2: Prayer Scrolls

Sunday Schoolhouse Series Activity - Green Unit C2
Lesson 2: Solomon Asks for Wisdom (1 Kings 3:3 - 15)

Create a Prayer Scroll - Materials Needed:
- brown paper lunch bags (one per student)
- scissors
- markers or crayons
- ribbon or yarn

Give students a brown paper lunch bag, and have them cut off the bottom of the bag. Then have them cut the bag along the side seam to make a large piece of brown paper. Tear the edges so the paper looks old. Ask kids to think about an ability or character trait they would like to have (for example: courage, strength, kindness, a happy heart, etc.). Then invite them to write a prayer on the paper, asking God to give them this gift (younger kids can draw pictures to illustrate what they'd like). Students can decorate their scrolls with little pictures, symbols, shapes, etc. When everyone is finished, go around the room and invite kids to show the class their scroll. Have them name what they asked for; then have them say how they could use this gift from god to help other people, rather then just helping themselves. (For example, someone who asked for courage might be able to stand up for another child who is being bullied at school.) Finally, roll up the scrolls and tie each with a piece of ribbon or yarn.

Activity - Wise Choices:
Prior to class, put pairs of food items in a bag, one healthy, one less healthy (e.g. apple and candy bar; carrots and chips; bottle of water and bottle of pop). When the students have gathered, go through the bag and take out one pair of items at a time asking the kids which snack they would prefer. Then, ask which ones the wiser choice would be and why. In today's lesson, King Solomon had the change to ask for anything in the world. What did he ask God for?

Activity C2 - Lesson 1: Samson's Hair

Sunday Schoolhouse Series Activity - Green Unit C2
Lesson 1: Samson Knocks Down the Walls (Judges 16:4 - 31)

Create Samson's Hair - Materials Needed:
- 1 - 2 skiens of yarn
- Construction paper
- Scissors, stapler, and masking tape
- Markers

Before class, cut six strands of yarn per student. Each strand should be 12 - 16 inches in length. When it is time to do the activity, give each student 3 strands of yarn and a piece of tape. Invite kids to tape the top of their yarn to the edge of a table or desk, to keep it secured. Demonstrate how to make a simple braid (take the left strand of yarn and fold it over the middle one, placing it between the right and middle strands; take the right strand and fold it over what is now the middle one, placing it between the left and middle strands; repeat). Tie the braid at the top and bottom with shorter pieces of yarn. Have kids do the same thing to make a second braid.
Next, cut construction paper into 1 - 2" strips, and fit them around each student's head. Staple strips together to make headbands. Using masking tape, have the student attach a braid to each side of the headband. If some finish before others, they may help younger classmates or decorate their headband with markers.
Note: If you have time and extra yarn, you could have each of the students make seven braids to represent Samson's seven locks of hair.

Activity: True Strength
Bring in two index cards for each student. Give each student one card and challenge everyone to make the card stand upright on its own without bending the card. Next, give students a second index card, and repeat the challenge (kids will succeed by leaning one card against the other). In today's lesson, students will learn about a man who thought he was strong on his own. He needed to learn that true strength comes from leaning on God.

Activity C1 - Lesson 7: River Crossing

Sunday Schoolhouse Series Activity - Green Unit C1
Lesson 7: Crossing the Jordan (Joshua 3:1 - 4:10)

Create a 3-D River Crossing - Materials Needed:
- brown and green construction paper
- sand in tub with a spoon
- glue, markers, small pebbles
- plastic wrap (clear or blue)

Take a 9x12 piece of brown construction paper and set it down horizontally. Use a pencil to mark out the banks of the Jordan River so it flows from the left side of the paper to the right with banks on the top and bottom of the page. On the bottom edge of the paper write, "The Lord does amazing things."  Tear bits of green construction paper and glue the bits to both banks of the river. Take some of the plastic wrap and glue the edges to the paper a few inches in from the left edge of the paper. Crumple up the excess plastic wrap so it looks like "heaped up" water. (It may need dabs of glue in different areas to get it to stay on the paper.) Spread glue over the surface of the marked out river area to the right of the plastic wrap and sprinkle the river bed with sand. A pile of twelves small pebbles can represent Joshua's marker in the midst of the Jordan.

Activity: Don't Forget to Remember
The key word for this lesson is remembrance. Either work together as a class or in teams and see who can remember and list various examples of miracles from the Bible. Have the students make another list to name events or special things God has done in their own lives. Remind the students most of God's miraculous wonders are not "supernatural" or strange. God often used ordinary earthly things as the means to do his work and show his glory.

Education Workshop in Nebraska

Attention: LCMC, NALC, and Lutheran CORE members in Nebraska!

This Saturday, October 6th, Trinity Lutheran of Gothenburg will be hosting a free workshop for area congregations, featuring Pastor Steven King, managing editor of Sola Publishing, who will be presenting the topic: “God’s Word in Action: A Workshop on Scripture-centered Bible Study.” 

Pastor King will be talking about what makes Bible Study more than just a book club,  support group, or self help seminar, but a real encounter with the Living Word: Jesus Christ.

The workshop will be held at the Comfort Suites Event Center, 301 Platte River Drive in Gothenburg, NE, from 10 am to 12 noon, with a full display of Sola educational products that you can take a look at after. Coffee and donuts will be provided.  The workshop is free and is open to anyone.  Call Pastor Jeff Cottingham at Trinity (308) 537-2055 for directions.