Shipwreck in Malta, Teaching Apostle Paul to Preschool, Romans 8:28

Bible Verse Romans 8:28: 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Alam natin na ang lahat ng mga bagay ay magkakalakip-lakip na gumagawa para sa kabutihan nila na mga umiibig sa Diyos, sa kanila na mga tinawag ng Diyos ayon sa kaniyang layunin.

Message:

To learn what happened to Paul as a result of talking to others about God.

To know that we are called to encourage others.

Lesson Introduction:

Introduce Paul to kids:

- Apostle of Paul who wrote most of the New Testament

- Friend and follower of Jesus

- A disciple

Lesson Time:

Let’s open our Bibles to Acts 27.  

Finally it is time for Paul to travel to Rome.  (Show map)

Paul sailed for Italy under the guard of a centurion named Julius. At the first stop Julius was kind enough to Paul to let him get off the ship and go visit his friends. They provided for his needs.

They sailed again and at the next port, they changed ships. The wind was blowing so hard it was difficult for them to stay on course. Paul told them the trip was becoming dangerous, but the centurion decided to continue.

Hurricane force winds began to blow. They dropped anchor and the waves started battering the ship. In order to lighten the load, they began to throw the cargo overboard.

By the third day of the storm, they were throwing away the ship's sailing gear. The storm went on and on for days. Paul stood up and in effect said, "I told you this was going to happen". He encouraged them by telling them about an angel who had appeared to him in the night. The angel told him the lives of all the people on the ship would be saved.

They had endured the storm for two weeks and were now getting close to land. They measured the depth of the water again and again. It was obvious they were getting in shallow water closer to land. They dropped four anchors to prevent them from being dashed against the rocks at the shore.

Paul urged the men to eat to gain some strength. They hadn't eaten for fourteen days. He took some bread, gave thanks, and began to eat. The other men ate also. Then they threw the grain in the cargo overboard to further lighten the ship.

When dawn came, they saw land. They lifted the anchors and ran the ship to the shore. It stuck fast in a sandbar and the ship began to break into pieces.

The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to keep them from escaping, but Julius, the centurion in charge of Paul, convinced them to spare everyone. He ordered them to jump overboard. Those who could swim swam to shore. Those who couldn't swim grabbed pieces of wood and floated in. Everyone was saved, just as Paul had predicted.

They were told the island was called Malta. The people there were kind to them. It was cold and raining. They started to gather wood for a fire. Paul picked up some wood and put it on the fire.

A viper crawled out of the wood and fastened itself to his hand. The people, when they saw the snake, thought justice was being done. They figured Paul was a murderer and even though he had escaped the sea, he was going to die of a snakebite. (Or so they thought.) They kept watching him to see what would happen. Then when nothing happened, they decided he must be a god.

They were invited to stay at the home of Publius (pub LEEus) the official on the island. The father of Publius was sick and Paul healed him. When the islanders heard of the miracle, they too brought their sick folk and all were healed. The people provided for all their needs and after three months they set sail again.

If you visit Malta today you can see the ancient fortifications of the city.

Crafts/Game Time:

Out in the sea sailing, navigators use the stars as guide. For crafts activity, we will make our very own star mobile.

Jesus Makes Hearts Clean

Bible Verse: God has given us his Spirit... [and] sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John 4:13a, 14a

Message: Jesus is my Savior.

Lesson Time:
Inspired by a story-telling session I witnessed in Fully Booked with my kids, this week's will be that. I will be using this version of the Prodigal Son from Mow Cop Church.

Lesson Introduction:
Mention phrases or actions and make them stand up if it's a good choice, and sit down if it's a bad choice.

• Eating vegetables
• Telling lies
• Respecting older people
• Cleaning up
• Waking up early
• Not sharing toys
• Exercising
• Crossing the street
• Washing hands with soap
• Playing with food

Noteworthy
Since the story is popular, I had to explain to them what prodigal means. I also changed the scenario to make the story more close to home. Like the prodigal son went to Timezone and lots of chocolates he bought, then bought all the toys in Toys 'R Us, etc.

Crafts
The kids made their own pigs using used tissue paper rolls covered in pink paper with printouts of the face and the tail glued at both ends.

Jesus the Son of God

Bible Verse: Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. John 15:13


Message: Jesus is the Son of God and we can be sure that God loves us because Jesus loves all.


Lesson Time:
This Sunday was special, the kids are treated to a video time about Jesus the Son of God. Through a laptop's CD player projected to a white screen, the kids saw Jesus' life summarized - as a baby born in a manger, as a young boy found by his parents inside the temple teaching older people about God, as a grown up man about to be hung on a tree to die.

Teacher Tip: There were some scenes when the kids would ask questions. These times, I press the player pause and explain to them the main point.


Game: In order to prepare the preschoolers to the video time, I let them jump up several times - to exhaust their energies. I let them shout at the top of their lungs too, with the room as soundproof as it could be.

Then, I reminded them that when they are watching, they should be quiet and mindful of their classmates' needs.


Crafts/Arts Time: Coloring Contest
With templates of Jesus hanging on the cross to die, I asked the kids to color the picture while giving their best. They are to share crayons too. Afterwards, I asked them to line up their finished work, properly labeled with their names written on them by them, near the wall for the 'judges' to choose from.

Those with the most number of votes will win.

Jesus enters Jerusalem

Bible Verse: Your king is coming to you... He is on the colt of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9

Message: Jesus offers a different kingdom, He rode a donkey when other kings ride on horses and chariots. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the people welcomed Him and we can welcome Him too as our Lord.

Lesson Time:
I asked the kids what they know about parades:

1. What can you see on a parade?
2. Why people go have parades?
3. Do you need to be scared of parades?
4. What parades have they joined?

Then, I told them that a long time ago, a parade happened and that same parade is still done up to this day, once a year. They were interested to know what it was. Careful not to associate the Palm Sunday rituals, I focused more on the donkey, the coats being laid down, and the words the people exclaimed.

Separating the girls from the boys, I assigned line leaders from the two groups. I told them we will have a parade and we will shout Hosanna, which means 'welcome, Jesus!'

It was fortunate that we have a huge place to roam around. We went around the hall shouting hosanna. The kids were marching and shouting, the other older classes were looking at us perhaps figuring, why the noise? :)

Game: Charades
Afterwards, the kids went to their spots. I showed them a book of how to praise Jesus, explaining that when Jesus entered Jerusalem, all the people were praising Him as their king. The book showed a little girl listening to her Sunday school teacher, praying, singing, reading the Bible with her parents.

Then I asked for volunteers. The kids in front will act out the word I will whisper in her ear, no word should be used. Girls vs. boys have to guess the answer. The preschoolers acted out the following ways to praise Jesus:

• praying
• reading the Bible
• singing
• listening to teacher

The girls team won. I asked the boys to say congratulations to them, while the girls had to say thank you.

Crafts time: Maracas

Now I told the class that we will make another parade, but this time we will be prepared. We will welcome Jesus using maracas which we will make ourselves.

I have prepared before hand cylinders from used cardboards. Then I gave them square pieces of paper to be the topper and the bottom part. They are to put grains of rice or mongo inside.

Voila, we have our very own maracas.

I even asked them to write the word Hosanna Jesus in their maracas.

Our sample maracas - made by a 3-year old boy

Extra time: Palm Leaf samples
Since we still had time, I was able to use what Teacher Tez, the other preschool teacher gave me. However, the materials were not enough for every one so I only got to ask the girls and allowed the boys to play. They were eager to run around.

The craft was palm leaf with the sticker of the memory verse. An ice cream stick served as the branch.

Jesus heals ten lepers

Bible Verse: God I will give you thanks forever. Psalm 30:12

Message: God does not need our thanks, yet He delights in hearing them from us. Let us develop the habit of thankfulness at an early age.  To understand that Jesus heals both physical ailments and spiritual conditions of the heart.

Lesson Time:
 With a doctor’s props - a stethoscope, I asked the kids about what they know about being sick and  how to get well.

I also passed around a sheet of paper  containing clip art images of different things. They are to encircle all the things that will help them get well when they are sick. Also including among the choices are images of praying hands, Bible among others. Then when all are done, one by one the children briefly explained their answers.

Afterwards, I asked them watch a video wonderfully developed by GraceLink.net, based on Luke 17:11-19


Here's a sticker and memory verse related to this too:

Jesus Feeds 5000 - People Chain and CD Fish, how to spot a used CD/DVD

Bible Verse: Jesus is the Son of God... and [we] are sure that God loves us. 1 John 4:15a, 16

Message: Jesus did miracles because He is the Son of God. As His children, we can also experience and start miracles by sharing what we have with others!

Message Time:
As an ice breaker, I made the children paste around 100 pcs of paper people in a big paper posted on a sturdy wall. I asked the kids to race.

The paper people were made from paper chain cut outs I did beforehand, but were cut out to appear individually.

After sticking them all, I asked them to guess how many were all the paper people they pasted. Once they guessed correctly, I told them that Jesus was able to feed 100 x 50 = 5000 with just five loaves of bread and two fish.

Some of the older preschoolers were really in disbelief. They were saying that can't be done. So I asked again if Jesus can do that and though I heard a majority of 'yes' there were still the doubting Thomas.

I then showed them the paper chain trick, wherein using just a single piece of paper folded many times over, you may cut out a chain of people. Then, I reinforced the thought that since Jesus is God, He can do all these things and more.

With their wondering mind, I then asked for volunteers to hold up puppets. The puppets were the same puppets I used the previous lesson. However, instead of showing the kids, I have revised the puppet to show just a boy.

Narrator: People from all over would come to hear Jesus speak. They would follow Him wherever He went. One day, they followed Him far out of town. They listened to Him all day, and late in the day they were getting pretty hungry!

Disciple 1: Jesus look at all these people!

Disciple 2: They look very hungry!

Narrator: The crowd was saying, “I am so hungry!” (make the crowd say, “I am so hungry” and if they don’t do it loud enough, make them do it again!)



Jesus: We need to feed them!



Disciple 3: But Jesus, we don’t have any food!

Jesus: No food at all?

Disciple 4: There is a little boy with a little bit of food

Boy: I have 5 little loaves of bread and 2 fish

Disciple 1: I was really hoping for a hamburger

Disciple 2: And a milkshake

Disciple 3: And some French-fries

Disciple 4: What about a nice healthy salad?

Boy: All I have is 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread.

Disciple 1: That’s not enough to feed all these people

Disciple 2: There are 5000 people Jesus!

Narrator: The crowd was saying, “I am so hungry!” (make the crowd say, “I am so hungry” and if they don’t do it loud enough, make them do it again!)



Jesus: (says to the boy) Will you share your lunch with me?

Boy: OK…but it’s only a little lunch!

Narrator: The crowd was saying, “I am so hungry!” (make the crowd say, “I am so hungry” and if they don’t do it loud enough, make them do it again!)

The Boy comes and brings his lunch bag to Jesus

Jesus: (prays) Thank you Father-God for this food. Now…go hand out the food to the people.

Narrator: Then the most amazing thing happened. Jesus prayed over the food and a miracle happened…those 2 fish and 5 pieces of bread became more and more and more…and there were soon basketfuls of bread to feed everyone! No one was hungry at all…they all thanked Jesus for the food!

Thanks to Teresa Klassen for the above script.

Craft activity time:
Recycled CD fish from DLTK-Bible

Step 1
Using the patterns from the above link, pre-cut the various fish parts to be pasted onto the CD.

Step 2
Decorate the shiny part of the CD with permanent marker to give the fish scales.

Step 3 (Optional)
Put string if desired. 

Tip on how to check if a CD/DVD has been used
Used CDs and the likes have a different-shaded ring that may be found on the innermost part. Usually that's darker than the rest of the CD. 

Lesson on Jesus Loves Children - Placemat and Recycled Bracelet Crafts

Bible Verse: "When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Mark 10:14

Message: Jesus loves children.


Message Time: To illustrate the bible verse, kids will watch a puppet show of the story of Mark 10:14. I got this story from Mission Arlington and will be bringing them to life through puppets.

        It was a normal day for the children in the village. They would be at home spending time with their family and friends. The children had been playing together when their mother came rushing into the house.
      “Hurry children, hurry! Jesus is here!” Mother said.
      The children jumped to their feet when they heard this. They had heard other people talk about Jesus. He sounded like a very special and important person.
      “I want Jesus to touch you and bless you. He has done many amazing things for the other children that have been sick.” She said.
     They rushed out the door. They saw many other children with their mothers rushing in the same di- rection. As they turned the corner they saw Him. Many people were all around Him. They started to make their way up to Jesus.
     Suddenly some of the men around Jesus started to turn people away. “Go away, Jesus is too busy to see the children. Go away!” They said.
     Jesus looked at those men and said, “Let the little children come to me and DO NOT stop them!” Then as if a door had been opened, all the children made their way up to Jesus. He wrapped His arms around them and prayed for them. It was a very exciting day for the children. They were able to see how much Jesus loved them. They got to see that Jesus wanted to spend time with them.
      Jesus loves you boys and girls, too. He loves everyone so much that He died and came back to life so that you could spend forever with Him. He really wants to be able to spend time with us. One way to spend time with Him is to talk to Him. Another is reading the Bible. And another way we are doing right now, going to Bible Study. 

Crafts Time: I wanted to make something with the kids that will be used again and again. Then I thought of place mats. Printed out this image which I designed. This will serve as place mats, which will be covered in plastic. Will be using colored scotch tape and ask the kids to put stickers or drawings as extra designs. Suitable for kids 4 below.

Mark 10:14 as place mat centerpiece

Extra Time - Recommended for kids 5 yo and above
A reserved craft activity just in case there was still time was bracelet making using recycled papers. Thanks to Family Fun for this craft.

Step 1
Cut out old paper - magazine pages did well for this activity - into strips. If you have paper cutter or shredder, this is a perfect tool for this craft.

Step 2
With any rounded tool, could be a pencil or pen, though in this case I used a balloon stick, roll a strip of paper with the end sealed by glue or paste. It could also be scotch tape.

Step 3
Make several paper beads for the kids to use and to prepare a sample for the kids to model.

Step 4
With a pre-cut string measured just about the size of the wearer's wrist - don't forget the allowance for the  knot, start stringing the beads.

Step 5 - Optional
This final part may be modified as you see fit. Once string is full of beads, tie the bracelet into a knot. In this case, I used a small print out 'Jesus Loves Me - I Love Jesus' to serve as the lock.