Jonah Pouts but the LORD God Prepares a Gourd

Jonah pouts before the LORD

When we last left Jonah, he had emerged as one of the world’s most successful evangelists. He had a very simple message…”In 40 days, Nineveh shall be overthrown…So the people of Nineveh believed God, proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth from the greatest to the least of them.” This passage in Jonah 3:5  is one of the most miraculous  scriptures in the Bible, in my opinion.  Now Jonah knew God’s character from the passage in Exodus 34, yet he was really ticked off that the LORD was being merciful.   After indulging in a pity party he asks the LORD to take his life but is gently questioned by his Sovereign who asks him,”Is it right for you to be angry?  Now the same LORD God who had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, now prepares a plant to grow up quickly and shade Jonah who has trudged out of the city, built a shelter, and sat watching to see what God would do.  “Jonah was very grateful for the plant.” Next, God prepares a worm to damage the plant so that it withers and offers no protection from the hot sun and wind.  He again pouts and wishes to die.  Jonah’s anger is due to selfishness and he continues to justify his rebellious attitude.  Jonah’s mixed-up values of putting more importance on his reputation and comfort are challenged by the LORD , who reminds the whining prophet that His character extends to all of His creation.  I think Jonah finally learned his lesson and  the story of Jonah  can encourage kids and teachers  to “put off” pouting when we don’t get our way.

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering…and above all these things put on charity…and let the peace of God rule in your hearts…and be thankful.” Colossians 3: 12-15

Color and separate the worksheet on the solid line above Jonah’s head. Cut out Jonah and  the leaves and glue them as in the sample above.  If you have access to vine tendrils, they can be glued on before the leaves.  Color the worm brightly so he stands out!  For younger children you may want to add some magnification to the worksheet when printing, so the leaves are easier to cut out.  They will have fun giving Jonah some shade!

Jonah pouts

Jonah Pouts – worksheet w/ text

Text is from Jonah 4:5-8 – “So Jonah went out of the city…there he made a shelter…And the LORD God prepared a gourd and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be shade for his head to deliver him from his misery… But as morning dawned the next day… God prepared a worm… and it so damaged the gourd that it withered… God prepared a vehement east wind; and the sun beat on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint…”

“Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock”

A Royal Invitation

Answering His knock

Jesus gave John seven messages to give His church in the book of Revelation.  They were individual messages to actual churches.  They also have personal application to all of His children (“He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”) Some bible scholars teach that these messages portray a prophetic profile of church history but I do not want to focus this lesson on this debatable point.  Rather, I would like to point out that the church with one of the worst reputations is offered the most eminent of all of the promises if they repent and overcome…”Therefore be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne…” Notice the great love and intense affection Jesus has for the members of this church…”As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten…” 

I think it is remarkable that the Lord wants to spare them shame…lest their nakedness be revealed!  He counsels them to buy from Him gold refined in the fire so they will have true riches, instead of just worldly wealth, and He also wants to give them spiritual sight and white robes.  Do you think this wealthy church who said  “I am rich and have need of nothing”, will realize their true condition of being wretched, miserable, poor blind and naked?

I hope they answer His knock and invite Him in to  dine and fellowship .  This is not fast food, people! To ignore this request invites the LORD’s displeasure…”so then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.” Rev. 3:16

Behold, I stand at the Door – wkst

Separate the worksheet between the floor and the door with text.  Cut out the door and write the rest of Revelation 3:20 on the back.  Have the kids choose a figure to color and cut out,  to represent themselves answering the door…or use both figures! When gluing figure do not glue hand.  That is what will “open” the door  and prevents it from “flapping” open! Color the top portion and apply glue to the  right edge of the doorframe around the figure of Jesus.  Only glue one edge as you want the door to swing open ! Optional: add glitter to Jesus’ hair…”His head and His hair were white like white wool, as white as snow…and His face  was like the sun shining in full power at midday.” Revelation 1: 14-16 (you might read the description of Jesus  from this passage while the kids are coloring Him.)

Alpha and Omega

Behold – worksheet – no text

“Assembling” Together

Hebrews 10:25

“…making the most of your time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:16

“…knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”              Romans 13: 11

We are busy serving the LORD… getting lessons together and teaching kids. But I would like to exhort you to  make sure you prioritize your  time for  corporate worship,  and  are getting refreshed and nourished in your spirit with good teaching. We also need to be sensitive to opportunities for encouraging and exhorting the “adult” members of the body of Christ.  As I heard in a sermon this past  Sunday, is not enough to just “gather together” like the watches in the photo

“it’s time”

we must not be”…forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is: but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as we SEE the DAY approaching.” The previous verse says that we need to “consider one another to provoke unto love and good works…”  Hebrews 10:24

…but “assembling together”

When the body is functioning properly it is just like the workings of a timepiece.  Each part does its own special work and like Ephesians 4:16 teaches, we should be maturing in a healthy manner, growing in love.  Jesus is our example here.  Not only did he regularly attend the synagogue “…and as his custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day…” (Luke 4:16) , He was in constant communion with His disciples; teaching, exhorting, encouraging… and showing them perfect compassion, patience, fearlessness and joy.  I can be very patient with a child because I do not expect maturity from them… but rubbing shoulders with a Christian brother or sister is very revealing .  The Holy Spirit has a perfect chance to open our eyes to our true spiritual needs as we see how difficult it is to truly “consider others”.

assembling together – worksheet #4

As always, you might have to play around with “shrinking to fit” the parts of the worksheet.  Worksheet #4 is what you will measure all your other pieces to and works well with  this smaller dimension.  Try to get the image to print about 6 &1/4 inches across and 4 & 1/8  tall and  you will be able to get 2 images per page. That will put the “faces” of the timepiece at aprox. 5 inches across…this also means you will be able to print the other worksheets with 2 images per page. I punched “holes”  using the nut can seals (we used them for Leah’s veil)…rubbing off the texture with a pencil erasure and creasing the middle with a pencil… by just drawing a line you can simulate a little watch screw. You will need 13 “holes” for each timepiece, and a few “rubies”.(these can just be colored in)  Color  and assemble as in samples above using a thin line of tacky glue connecting wkst #2 (the timepiece face) to wkst #4 after you have glued the verse from worksheet #3 to the back of the timepiece face..This may seem like an extra piece of paper but I do not like the words of the verse to show through on the timepiece…if you do not mind this, worksheet #3 can be eliminated but the kids will have to write the  verse from Ephesians 4:16.  Worksheet #4 is the bottom layer  and the glue goes applied in the space provided to the left of the dotted line…this will make your project 3 layers after you glue the  edge of the gold watch cover (wkst #1) to the edge of the timepiece face (wkst#2). If you want to keep the front cover from flapping open, magic tape is your friend…just roll a little piece  “stickie-side” out, and place it on the backside, near the outer edge…..press to close. Optional:  the kids can copy a verse on the back of the golden cover (#1)  Ephesians 5:16 or Romans 13:11 are good choices for this. If you want to  emphasize  the contract between “just meeting” together and assembling…you may want to cut out  and glue  the pieces of  a watch in a little collage.  If this is the case, you can glue your collage onto worksheet #4…just leave space  to do so.   To make the spring, cut out a circle the size of a quarter from a nut can seal.  Rub out the texture, and cut as thin as possible in a continuous circle.  Cut 2 sizes of wheels out of grey paper, or use the foil …(or white paper colored grey or with pencil!)  You might cut some circles out of gold paper  also…then you will have to patiently scallop the edges or use the scissors that have that sort of edge.  The watches are easy to piece together out of black card stock.  Copy the basic design from the photo above.  You will be surprised how the Holy Spirit can give you a burst of creativity.

I sometimes think of Bezaleel from Exodus 35-36…”whom the  LORD had filled with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and understanding, and in all manner of workmanship; and to devise curious works, and to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in the cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of wood, to make any manner of cunning work…”I mean the list goes on and on..engraving, teaching, embroidering, weaving…all for the glory of God .  As he was giving himself to the construction of the tabernacle, what joy must have overwhelmed his heart as he realized the LORD was using him and gifting him with these abilities.    *             *                *             *              *

assembling together – worksheet #2

gathered together collage

back cover of timepiece #3

golden timepiece cover- wkst#1

Under the Shadow of Your Wings (Psalm 36:7)

“For You have been my help.  I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 63:7

“Keep me as the apple of your eye; Hide me under the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 17:8

“I will dwell in Your tent forever.  I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”  Psalm 61:4

*          *          *          *          *          *           *           *           *          *           *           *           *           *

Before David reigned as King of Israel, he had experienced God’s protection over and over again.  Saul was seeking him everyday but God did not deliver David into his hand.  Jonathan even came to him in the woods “to strengthen his hand in God” , but afterwards members of his own tribe revealed David’s stronghold  to Saul.  At one point “…Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David was on the other side of the mountain.  So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to take them.  But a messenger came to Saul, saying ‘Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!’ Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David…” ( 1 Samuel 23: 14-29) Truly he had been taking refuge “under the shelter of His wings.”

Part of teaching the Bible to kids is going over proper methods of interpretation such as (1) knowing what  life was like in the culture and times the passage was written, (2)  that they can not take a verse out of context ,(3)  and that they must know the meaning of the words used.  (4) The interpretation of a specific passage must not contradict the total teaching of scripture on a specific point….in other words – scripture interprets scripture, (5)  and they must know the correct “genre” of the passage whether history, parable, prophecy or poetry.   When going over verses like the one above from Psalms, be sure and explain to kids that David was using  poetry  to describe God’s care and protection .  God does not really have wings !

worksheet

If you would like to try this project, you will need color tissue paper and scissors, thinned white glue and brushes. I added a real feather to the back…just cover up where it is attached with some “tissue” feathers.  Choose any verse from above and have the kids write this first.  Have fun cutting the tissue paper and layering the colors to look like feathers. They can glue right on top of  the worksheet like a collage.  You can’t goof-up a colored-tissue project!

Man of the Tombs – alternate worksheet

Man of the Tombs – worksheet

Because I am so inspired by the compassion of  our Savior  in this story,  I decided to make a less complicated, alternate project . Color the page  and write an appropriate verse.  Again, I used the thick foil seal from a nut can to make the “fetters” but regular foil is o.k. too.  Cut three, shape a slight curve  over a pencil before gluing these on where indicated with a thick blop of tacky glue. You will also need one of those small novelty chains… (the kind that a rabbit’s foot is attached to)  This chain can also be purchased by the spool… Look for “ball chain”. Poke a tiny hole with a pencil by the man’s leg to insert the end of the chain.  Now make another tiny hole to inset the  other end of the chain in. Tape the ends on the back. (Don’t forget to check out the video mentioned in yesterday’s post)

Man of the Tombs…Let Your Light Shine

For this lesson I combined a passage from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 14-16)  “let your light shine before men” so the Father in heaven is glorified, with a practical application  from  the story of the man of the tombs in Mark 5: 1-20. I can highly recommend the You-tube music video entitled “Man of the Tombs”  by Bob Bennett uploaded by SC Watchman (5:47 minutes) to help you prepare for this lesson.

This story is also told in Luke 8: 26- 38 and Matthew( who would have been an eyewitness) 9: 18-2, and Matthew’s version mentions  two men.  All of the commentaries I have read say that only one man was possessed by the “Legion”  of demons, so that is why only one man is mentioned in Mark and Luke .  This fierce man had been driven from society and lived  in hopeless self-destuction and despair until he met  the Master.  Note that the demons were not confused as to who Jesus was and cried out through the man “You Son of the Most High God” .  Sensing their fate, they begged to be cast into a nearby herd of swine and not  into the Abyss. Jesus permitted this.  Leaving the man,  they rushed into the pigs and then  drowned  themselves in the Sea of Galilee, showing all who would  later read this account the destructive nature of evil.  The Gadarenes asked Jesus to depart, being “seized with great fear.” (and perhaps a little miffed at their financial loss, but that is speculation.)  The man begged to able to go with Jesus when he got ready to depart but the answer to this worthy prayer was “no”… “Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.’ And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis ” the great things Jesus had done for him: and all men marveled  as he let his light shine.  Aren’t you thankful that His “compassions fail not ” (Lamentations 3:22) and He is still seeking and saving those who are lost?  (Luke 19:10)

The background for this project is a home-made basket similar to Moses’ basket from an earlier post.  Two full sheets of paper  are needed, one page is cut into strips and the other one needs to be cut with an x-acto blade as shown in photo #1. (You will need to cut these ahead of time and if you have access to a paper cutter, you can cut the strips swiftly… approx. 1/2 wide ). Weave your strips and glue your ends, trimming any pieces that hang over. Crease sides as shown in #2 , then un-crease and write your verses on the front and back .  The sides will be stapled so it will be easier to write the verses with the woven part lying flat. If you have younger kids I have added a pdf file below(*)  with the verses printed that can just be cut out and glued on the baskets. Card stock is recommended  in one or two colors but not necessary. If your kids are older, you can also weave a basket out of strips of  brown grocery bags.  The strips are folded so no raw edges show and this also hides any writing.  One large grocery bag makes 12- 1  inch strips which are 19 inches long , or 6 longer strips.  Figure out which size basket you want to determine how many strips you will need and their length. Verses can be written with a black felt pen and shortened…see  sample of finished basket.  The verse on the back was shortened to say,” …Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket…”(Matthew 5:15) To finish off the basket,  make a “rim” by cutting  one long strip  at least 3 inches wide.  Fold this strip in half and then fold up  both edges 1/2  inch.  Center along the top of your basket, glue the front, fold over and then glue the back. ( I hope the picture help!)

side view

Another purpose of this strip is to add structure and  support  to the sides and hide the staples. These  baskets can also be painted ( I have used a white, water-based house paint for a nice antique effect) and are really quite sturdy! There are other  weaving methods available on the internet so use what works for you.  Be sure you make up one first so you can work out the kinks!   My kids asked me which direction to write the verses.  I think that depends on if they are going to use the baskets in a functional way…or just as a background for the verse.

#1 – weaving the cardstock

weaving basket of brown grocery bags

#3 – staple sides

#2 – crease side

Let your light shine *

weaving – verses Mark 5: 19*

Leah – A Mother of Israel

The wedding veil is an ancient symbol of modesty. The first we read of a veil in the Bible was when Rebekah covered herself with a veil before she was introduced to her future husband ,Isaac, in Gen. 24.   Commentators speculate that it was also used to play a trick on Jacob during his marriage to who he thought was his beloved Rachel.( Remember when he played a trick on his “dim-eyed” father , pretending to be Esau?)  Leah’s identity was not  ascertained until the morning.  A belligerent groom  was quick to confront his father-in-law and  Rachel was promised  to Jacob after Leah’s bridal week was fulfilled at the cost of seven more years of labor.  The Lord blessed Leah with six sons and we see a progression of her faith with the naming of these boys: Reuben[See, a son!]; “because the Lord has seen my humiliation; now my husband will love me.” Simeon [God hears];”because the Lord heard that I am despised”. Levi [companion]; “now this time my husband will be a companion to me”. Judah [praise]; “now I will praise the Lord”. Issachar [hired]; “God has given me my hire.  And Leah became pregnant again and bore Jacob her sixth son.  Then Leah said, ‘God has endowed me with a good marriage gift; now he will dwell with me because I have borne him six sons’; and she named him Zebulun[dwelling].”   Faithful Leah was buried  by Jacob in the cave  of Machpelah  along with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah … a space reserved beside her when he too would “be gathered to his people”.

While we do not go around in long veils today, modesty is still required by women of God. If the LORD has commanded men to “treat older women as mothers and younger women as sisters, in all purity”, (1 Timothy 5:2) we should make every effort to not put temptation before their eyes.  Let’s teach modesty by word and example to the girls in our sphere of influence.  You might consider a special evening class or “sleep-over” to really go into depth with this vital teaching.

The worksheet  includes Leah’s wedding dress, one “modest” outfit, and one inappropriate outfit for you to discuss…(if you have boys in your class..please cut off the bottom two outfits and only give them the top portion.)  Color Leah and cut  a rectangle …from the edge 3 3/4 inches and 8 1/4 inch tall…leaving a space to write the verse from 1 Timothy. Cut out the space for Leah’s eyes to show through.  If you choose to,  you may cut more of the veil off  to show more of her face.

Leah with face showing

Color dress and cut out.  Save the heavy duty foil seals that come on coffee cans or nuts, and cut them with a hole-punch …glue above eyes after gluing the veil which is cheese cloth or other gauzey material.  Have the girls toss the  immodest outfit in the trash to further illustrate your lesson.

Leah – modesty w/text

The worksheet and instruction for Korah’s Rebellion is now posted.

The Eyes of the LORD

“The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.”

The seer Hanani was confronting King Asa of Judah with these words…don’t they sound like words of blessing???  When King Asa (great-grandson of Solomon) first started his reign he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He took away the idols and commanded Judah to seek the LORD and obey the law and  the commandments.  The land was blessed with peace for ten years…but there came a time of testing as a million man army from Ethiopia came against Judah.  Asa cried to the LORD  and said,”LORD, there is none besides You to help, and it makes no difference to you whether the one you help is mighty or powerless.  Help us , O LORD our God!  For we rely on You, and we go against this multitude in Your name.  O LORD, You are our God; let no man prevail against You!” 2 Chronicles 14:11    The LORD struck the Ethiopians and they fled before Asa and Judah.  After this great victory the Spirit of God came upon Azariah and he came out to meet Asa with a promise and a warning: “The LORD is with you while you are with Him.  If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, He will forsake you.” The prophet then encouraged Asa to be strong and not let his hands be weak, for his work would be rewarded.  Asa heeded the words of Azariah and made a renewed effort to purge the land of Judah and Benjamin of  abominable idols and he gathered the people together to renew their covenant to seek the LORD with all their heart and with all their soul.  There was a great time of rejoicing as  peace from the Lord was given again to Asa for twenty more years…but in the 36th year of Asa’s reign the Kingdom of Israel led by King Baasha, “came up against Judah”.  Asa would once again turn to the LORD for help…sorry…wrong answer.  He thought of his own solution and took silver and gold to Ben- Hadad, King of Syria, seeking an alliance.  God is now sending a rebuke to Asa for relying on the king of Syria instead of the LORD.  Hanani reminded Asa that the massive army of the Ethiopians was delivered into his hand because he had sought the LORD and relied on Him….”For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to  show Himself strong on behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.  In this (buying a favor from the king of Syria) you have done foolishly; therefore from now on you shall have wars.” 2 Chronicles 16:9

Asa now has an opportunity to confess his sin and repent but he gets mad instead and begins to oppress some of the people.  Three years later he gets diseased in his feet, and even though his malady was severe he did not seek the LORD.  He died under his physicians care two years later.  Let’s learn a lesson from King Asa and ask  ourselves if  we look for our own solutions to life’s problem, seek help from  “the world” or our awesome God !

‘Eyes of the LORD” worksheet

Cut on the line right above the eyebrow shape.  This will separate your main page from the “eyes”.  I left the verse off so your older kids can write it in. The worksheet with verse features a pale eye that can be colored! Cut out the eye shape leaving the lid. Fold this page in half and slip the eye balls behind it.  You will  glue the bottom inch down leaving a space for the eyes to slide back and forth. ( Glue or tape a tab on one side to help you move them)  I left the shape of the eyebrow for you to make a template.  Cut out two eyebrows in black paper for each lesson.  The small rectangle is the template for the eyelashes. You will need two of these as well.  Do not cut them from this page…I put everything on one page to  make it easy to match proportions.  When you fold this page in half after cutting off the top portion, the template patterns will be on the back so just ignore them.  Cut tiny lashes and curl them with a pencil.  Glue down the brows and then glue and slip the lashes under the top eyelids.  Use a glue stick for this project.

worksheet with verse

God’s Holy Convocations – part one

Mosaic dove design 

The feasts of the LORD  were designed  to call His people to “rehearse” something. They were both prophetical and commemorative of His redemptive plan. This coming Sunday will be the 50th day from Resurrection Sunday , known as Pentecost, the Greek word for fifty. Jews today still celebrate this Feast  of Weeks calling it Shavuot,  but instead of celebrating a harvest they commemorate the giving of the Law and often read the book of Ruth.

Passover is celebrated on the 14th day of Nisan . Jews still celebrate their deliverance from Egyptian bondage but Christians pay homage to the Lamb of God and believe this feast was fulfilled when Jesus cried “It is finished” from the cross.  The following seven days were known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread . Jesus said ,”I AM the bread of Life …”(John 6:35)”…the Holy One who would not see corruption…” (Psalm 16:10) This feast is commemorative of the purity of our lives as leaven is a picture of sin.  If we do sin, we are to confess them  and “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)  During  this same time frame there was to be an offering of the first harvested barley to God.  This was the Feast of Firstfruits and it took place on the  day after the Sabbath. (Sunday)  1Corinthians 15:20 gives a clear picture of the prophetic nature of this feast which is the resurrection of Jesus…”But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”  We have come to the last spring feast we will be considering.  The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost) took place 50 days after the Feast of Firstfruits and was celebrated by bringing two loaves of bread baked with leaven to be waved before the LORD with other offerings. Historically, we find that God poured out His Spirit fifty days after the resurrection of His Son…”This was that spoken of by the Prophet Joel…”preached Peter in Acts 2. Also nicknamed the “birthday of the church” because it was the beginning of a great harvest of souls, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit was accompanied by a sound from heaven as a mighty wind, tongues as of fire  sat on the 120 saints that had gathered, and they all spoke as the Spirit gave them utterance…the multitudes exclaiming…”we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God”. Acts 2:11                         

tongues as of fire detail

For this project ( which I adapted from Dawn’s “By Sun and Candlelight” Blog), you will need ribbon, a full sheet of card stock that is not white,  (Your dove will be white and you want there to be a contrast) a hole punch and hole punch protectors, string and glue. Take your card stock, measure 7 inches and draw a line lengthwise down your paper.  Trim off the strip which will leave you a piece 7 inches  by 11 inches. Now cut your strip in two pieces.  One piece will go glued on the inside of your tube (7 inches) and the other piece will be cut into “tongues” of fire (4 inches)  Each project will require 7 pieces of ribbon, 8-10 inches long.  Color your 4 inch strip yellow and orange and glitter after cutting out 7 “flames”.  Write the verse  before you proceed. (I used a portion from Acts 2:17…”I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh…” but feel free to choose any verse that fits) Cut out your dove and get ready to glue it a little above center of what will be coaxed into a cylinder.

Pentecost doves

First we need to break down the fibers a little in the card stock to make a nice tube.  Take a ruler and place it on the edge of your paper, press firm with one hand and pull up your paper with the other. Do this a couple of times from each end of the paper. You will notice that your paper is starting to curl.  If you have young kids, you will want to do this step for them.  Glue your dove and press in place for a few minutes or leave under a heavy book while you glue a flame on each piece of ribbon.  Take your 7 inch strip and place a line of glue going down the length of each side of the strip… about a 1/4 inch from each edge.  This piece will hold your cylinder in shape so press it to the inside, holding it with your whole hand or a ruler.  You might need a little tape or even a rubber band or two to help you hold it together while it is drying. You might consider stapling the cylinders if you  have a younger class of children  Now glue your ribbons to the inside of the tube, making sure your flames are facing the correct direction.  Punch 4 holes in the top of the cylinder.  In between each of your holes, punch another making 8 holes in all. (Two holes will suffice…I added extra to add a design element which would certainly not be needed if making the mosaic dove.) Add hole protectors (they now come in foil) and  add string through 2 opposite holes on either side of the dove.

For a more challenging design, cut out the dove and cut it into strips as shown in the photo at the bottom of this lesson.  Tape up the space from where you cut out your dove and attach a piece of black card stock to it …apply glue stick to the “space”  and then remove the card stock … now… keeping the  strips in order, apply them carefully to area you have “glued”…leaving a tiny space between them  (middle photo).  After the  glue has dried, cut dove as shown in *sample*…these will then be glued to another piece of black card stock, leaving a space which will give you a mosaic style of dove.  Be careful that you don’t get your strips mixed up.  Add flames and glitter if desired.  This can then be made into a cylinder  after writing the verse with a white or silver gel pen .  This dove can also be adapted to the story of Noah after the flood.  An olive branch will be need to be glued to her mouth.  To see a sample of this check out  my other blog at “kidsbible.wordpress.com.. “A New Beginning” posted on 10/3/2012.

*sample* showing last cuts

Dove ready to cut again

glueing strips

I hope you have time to share  why Jesus told His followers to wait  for the promise of the Spirit in Acts 1:8… for power to be His witnesses and as a “Helper” to remind them of His teachings .(John 14:26)  Here is a quick review of the Spirit  working in Old Testament saints. Exodus 31 tells us how the Spirit filled Bezalel with wisdom, ability, understanding, intelligence, knowledge and craftsmanship in order to make the articles for the tabernacle.  The Spirit was given to Moses and Joshua to lead the Israelites.  Gideon and Othniel were given the Spirit to judge Israel and  Samson was given super strength.   In 1 Samuel 10:6 , the Spirit turned Saul “into another man”… “God gave him another heart”. 1 Chronicles 12:18 relates that the Spirit came upon Amasa to encourage him to choose and support David as king.  1 Chronicles 28:15 we read the Spirit gave the pattern of the temple to David.  The Spirit came upon prophets to give them words to speak to kings.(Daniel, Elijah, Zedekiah, and Azariah to name a few)  The Spirit was promised in Ezekiel 36″…and I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and you will keep my judgments…” Ezekiel had many great encounters with the Spirit of God…”the hand of the LORD was upon me and carried me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones…”( Eze. 37) and my favorite…”He stretched out the form of a hand, and took me by a lock of my hair, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem…” Eze.8

“Let the Redeemed of the LORD Say So”

Do you remember  where we last left Elisha?  He had counseled the king of Israel to treat the Syrian raiders mercifully , after they had been struck with blindness according to his word, and led into Samaria. ( 2 Kings 6). These  mercenary raiders came no more to the land of Israel after being given a feast, but  later we find Ben- Hadad, king of Syria, brought  his army to besiege Samaria.  The people  of Samaria were being starved and  King Jehoram blamed Elisha and wanted to kill him. But Elisha had good news for the king”…hear the word of the LORD”…tomorrow there would  be plenty of food!  Now there were four lepers at the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and they said to one another, “Why do we sit here until we die?” They reasoned that since there was no food in the city, why not go to the Syrian camp.  These hungry  men discovered an empty camp  because the LORD had caused the Syrian hosts to hear the sound of a great army…do you think it was the same angelic army that Elisha’s servant was blessed to see? Every soldier had fled in the night for their lives, leaving  behind all their belongings. These four must have been ecstatic, and after having satisfied their own appetites, and stashing provisions in hiding places, they became convicted .  They rushed to the starving city to share their good news.  ( We are also recipients of “life-saving” good news…are we sharing it?)

Four lepers – worksheet

Color and cut out the figures and shield. They should measure  approx. 4 1/2 inches tall.  Using plain cheesecloth, and keeping it double thickness…or even quadruple  thickness… cut a piece to fit within the dotted lines and shaded area of the “tent” worksheet and glue down with a glue stick.  I suggest you cut  a little more than you think you will need as the excess can be folded under easily…an 8 inch by 9 inch rectangle should be plenty.  Glue figures and shield as shown in the sample after coloring inside of the tent. Optional: add spears which are made with twigs and silver-colored paper.   For a bit of fun you might dye the cheesecloth .

Let the redeemed wkst- background

plain white cheesecloth

I would like to thank my son, Aaron Ernst, for sharing his talent with me by drawing the figures.