Effective Children's Ministry

Posts Tagged ‘Bible’

One sure way to help kids memorize bible verses is to say them out loud. An article on the Psychology Today website confirms what we have probably known all along!

They looked at people’s memory for items like a list of words. They found that if people studied the list by reading half of the words silently and the other half by saying the words out loud, that he words spoken aloud were remembered much better than those that were read silently.

There are lots of games and strategies to make out-loud repetitive learning fun. Speaking out the Word of God is a proven help to remembering.

Kathy Vincent (aka Scripture Lady) has some great ideas from making out-loud learning fun for kids.  Here is a great one. Check it out and see if you would like to use it this week with your class or club

CRAZY STAND UPs  Bible memorization from Scripture Lady

Do you have a child in your family or group that has special needs? I have  been very impressed at the regularity and quality of posts on
Our Out of Sync Life.

The author, Momma C. sums up her site like this:

God has blessed us with three beautiful children – one with Sensory Processing Disorder, a very Strong Willed middle child, and a Spirited Little Man. Follow us as we learn to train up our children to love the Lord with all of their heart, soul, and mind.

Even if right now there are no children in your care with special needs, you will still find this blog very uplifting and illuminating. There are heaps of ideas for crafts, and other learning opportunities.

Momma C is a trained educator  and she also runs a companion site , ABC Jesus Loves Me.   This is a pre-school Bible curriculum, free for use in the home. It is especially helpful for children with developmental delays.

I’d encourage you to check out these wonderful sites.

This free printable game is ideal to help your kids review the story of Joseph and the harvests he stored. Surprise bonus scores are on the back of the sacks – but watch out for the mice! They might destroy what you have gathered in!

This game can be played in a way similar to the Treasure Chest game featured in an earlier post. It is an exciting game which “isn’t over till it’s over” and can sometimes have a surprising outcome!

To download the file, Right-Click on the link below and save to your hard drive

Download the Sacks in the Store review game (PDF)

There is no better way to help kids memorize Scripture than to set it to music. Someone who has this ministry is Scripture Lady, Kathy Vincent.

Not only does she get children excited about the stories and adventures in the Bible, but with singing and actions she helps them fix the truths in their minds and hearts. You can see Kathy in action in a demo video on her site. If you are like us, you will find yourself singing the songs all week! After one viewing of this video Catherine and I were singing: “He came to SEEK!  He came to SAVE!  He came to seek and to save that which was lost!” And it lived with us for days after.

But Kathy isn’t keeping all the tricks-of-the-trade to herself!  She wants   to get us all singing the Bible with our children!

If you would like to learn how you can set Scripture to music visit her blog post. And while you are there, sign up for  Scripture Lady’s free email newsletter. It’s packed full of great ideas to help you get creative in your teaching and reviewing of the Bible.

If you think that making music is not for you, check our our post for the unmusical among us!

What do running shoes and a warning bell have in common? They both feature in this free visual presentation.

The download is a PDF containing full instructions and images to print out and laminate. It is what we call an Adaptable Application, because although it was first intended to illustrate practical teaching from the life of Moses, it is adaptable for any Bible lesson where temptation features.

The simple outline gives children and others a four-step strategy, so that they can cope better when they are tempted. Piece by piece, as you open out the teaching and apply it to real life, the visuals help the kids to retain the teaching.

Here is an outline for How to Cope with Temptation.

REMEMBER what you have been told.
Our teachers and the folk who look after us at home tell us right and wrong.

REALIZE the danger.
Every action has a result. We need to think things through; think ahead to what might happen to us, or to others, as a result of our actions.

RUN AWAY from the situation.
It is not cowardly, when you are tempted, to go off do something else. It takes courage to run away from doing wrong!

RELY on God.
Christians believe he has the power to help us do right, and follow God’s plan for life.

…………………………………………………………

Would you prefer this Adaptable Application as a PowerPoint presentation? let us know, by clicking the contact tab and emailing us at the address given. We’ll be happy to try to help you with that.

To download the printable version, Right-Click the link below and save the file to your computer.

Download  the Adaptable Application – How to Cope with Temptation (PDF)

 

Scripture Lady (aka Kathy Vincent) has a wonderfully vibrant ministry to children.

Her goal is to get kids excited about the Bible – and judging by the videos on her site, God is helping her to do just that, through Bible memory work, song and activities.

Hers is definitely a site worth visiting. And once you are there, why not sign up for Kathy’s free email newsletter. She sends out tips and ideas that don’t appear on the web site, and every one is a tried and tested winner!

With Kathy’s permission we are sharing one of her email goodies with you today. She has entitled this one…

Sail on Sailor – A Fun Scripture Activity for Your Elementary Kids

Scripture Lady writes:

“There is something thrilling about being on a boat.  Whether in a little canoe out on a quiet lake or on a sailboat out in the middle of the ocean, boating is a beautiful way to enjoy God’s creation. 

The Bible has some interesting ship stories.  Here is a list of 9 Bible passages about boats.  You will use them for the following activity:  Genesis 7:1, Exodus 2:3, Jonah 1:3, Luke 5:3, Matthew 13:2, Matthew 8:24, John 6:21, Acts 27:41 and Matthew 4:21-22.

For this idea, I suggest you obtain a kiddie pool filled with water.  Next, if you can, purchase 12 toy plastic boats (your local dollar store will probably have some) and with a permanent marker, number each one with a number from 1 to 12 and set them afloat in the pool.  Now, you will need to create 2 charts – one for your eyes only and the other for all the children to see.  The first chart should be written out as follows: 

1. Genesis 7:1 
2. Exodus 2:3
3. Ship Sunk!
4. Jonah 1:3
5. Ship Sunk!
6. Luke 5:3
7. Matthew 13:2
8. Matthew 8:24
9. John 6:21
10.  Acts 27:41
11.  Ship Sunk!
12.  Matthew 4:21-22

The second chart that the children can see, should contain these 9 different captions:

Noah’s Ark

Moses’ Basket Boat

Jonah’s Ship

James’ and John’s Boat

Peter’s Boat

Parable of the Sower was Told

Jesus calmed the Sea

Jesus Came Here after Walking on Water

Paul’s Shipwreck. 

I actually wrote my on pictures of boats I found on my computer.

To play the game, divide your children into 2 teams.  Have a child from the first team “fish” a boat out of the pool.  He will look at the number on the boat and tell it to you. 

You will look on the first chart and see whether the child will read a verse or whether his ship has sunk. 

If his ship sunk, the play goes to the next team.  If he is to read a verse, he does so from a Bible and then tries to pick the caption that matches the passage he just read.  If successful, he gets 50 points for his team.  The team with the most points wins!  Happy sailing!”

Thanks for that fun activity idea, Kathy!
If you like this idea, why not go on over to ScriptureLady.com, have a look round for more great ideas and then join her email list.

Why we can believe and trust the Bible is covered in Parts 1 and Part 2 of our free PowerPoint teaching series About the Bible.

Here is another presentation, dealing with such matters as:

• What sort of things are in the Bible?
• What are the Old and New Testaments?
• What is the difference between them?
• How did the books that are in the Bible get there?
• What are “verses” ?

The presentation gives opportunity for you to share your own real-life experience of God helping you through the Bible. Or perhaps you have a helper you would like to involve in this way.

The presentation  finishes with an open-ended challenge, which you can develop to suit your group’s age and development.

We have found that children, teens and adults alike have valued this sort of information.

Full presenter’s notes are included and you are free to adapt and develop them to suit your group. To  download these files, Right-Click on the link and save the file to your hard drive. When you open this file, the presentation will self-run.

The Bible Part 3 : PowerPoint presentation  (10 MB .pps file)

The Bible Part 3 : Presenter’s notes   (PDF)

Free children’s bible ministry lessons are always welcome.  So we thought that we would post from time to time about such resources, as we become aware of them. Have a look and see if anything is suitable for you.

Posting about these resources is not  an indication that we have read  and approved everything . We simply want you to know about them and use your own judgement concerning their suitability for your work.

After mentioning today a free 3-year curriculum plan from Kidology, we have just seen a blog post from the excellent FreeCMStuff.com site.

There you will find news of a free 13-week course outline for children’s bible lessons. Made available by Children’s Ministries University Online, the course marries principles from the book of Hebrews to lessons from the Gospels.

You can download and review the course here.

Look for “The Book of Hebrews: 13 Weeks of Children’s Church Lessons”

I just picked up a Tweet from Karl at Kidology. He says: “  

Missionaries around the world: Are you aware of this 100% FREE Complete 3 Year Bible Curricula? http://kidology.org/opensource 

The Kidology web site tells more: 

Kidology Open Source Curriculum is a collection teaching tools you download, remix, and share with others!

Kidology is excited to offer a complete 3-year children’s ministry curriculum for FREE.     

This collection consists of three 1-year programs: Old Testament Chronological Study, New Testament Chronological Study, and Value Keepers of the Bible.  We’re big fans of the collaborative power of the Internet to take something and make it better, so we’re “open sourcing” these studies written with extensive detail by Susan E. Harper, author of our popular The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe Companion Study. Whether or not you are a Kidology Member, you can download and use all the units from this series with grades 1-6.

To download the material you need to be a member of Kidology, but there is a free membership level which qualifies you for these downloads.
Sign up is quick and easy and you get instant access to this material. If you are on a budget, and would value the suggestions of this structured curriculum, with ideas for activities and games as well as Bible teaching, then check out the information page.

Can the Bible be trusted? What reason is there to believe that the Bible is inspired by God? What difference has this Book made to people in real-life situations today?

 We began answering these questions in the first part of our PowerPoint presentation About the Bible.
Now part two is ready!

In part 1 we covered three reasons why we know that the Bible is inspired by God.

• The unity of the authors
• The accuracy of its historical record, its scientific statements and its translation
• The prophecies that have been and are being fulfilled.

In the Bible Part 2, this Free PowerPoint Presentation gives three more reasons to believe that the Bible was inspired by God and can be trusted.

• All attempts to destroy the Bible have been averted
• The Bible is relevant to all ages and cultures
• Lives have been transformed by believing the Bible.

Ready for download are:
54 PowerPoint slides . These are clear, colourful and attractive slides in PowerPoint Show format. Even if you do not have PowerPoint installed on your computer, this is a self-running program which will open when you click the file on your computer, and run . You control the presentation at your own speed, by clicking the up and down arrows on your computer.

Presenter’s notes with clearly marked cues so you will know when to advance the presentation. You will need to print these out before hand, as the PowerPoint show will fill your screen.

There is enough material in today’s downloads to take several sessions with your kids or youth. But there’s no need to confine it to them! Many adults have benefitted from this series, both for their own information and also as a help in telling others why they believe what they do.

Now to the downloads.

Right-Click on the link and download to your computer.

If you have any problems whatsoever in downloading or opening these files, please get in touch with us and we’ll help you all we can.  Just hit the Contact tab on the top menu for our info.

The Bible Part 2 Powerpoint presentation

The Bible Part 2 Presenter’s notes.