Newsletter 26

Newsletter 26.



CONTENTS.

Helping children cope with acts of terrorism.
Teaching tip 14. What's in a name?
Object Lesson 53. Using your Fingers as a prayer reminder.
Elimination Bible quiz. 1. - General.
Fundamental Beliefs 7. The Work of Jesus Christ. 1. Jesus died for our sins.
Christian one liners.
A job funny.

"God opened my mind and heart to rank Ministry to Children at the TOP of the Church's priority list."
George Barna.

I am delighted to announce that all my Newsletters will soon be available to view on line. Mycala, one of my subscribers, has kindly offered to host my material on her web site. The link is :-http://user.pa.net/~mycala/msmain.html .The early Newsletters are already on site, and the remainder will be available shortly.

I still intend to continue to send out future Newsletters direct to subscribers, but their availability on site will of course mean that you will not have to be too concerned about printing them out, or saving them on your own computers.

As always, my prayer is that you will find something in the present Newsletter to enhance your ministry to children.

Maurice Sweetsur.


HELPING CHILDREN COPE WITH ACTS OF TERRORISM.

We were all devastated by the horrifying acts of terrorism in Russia recently. We have all seen the awful pictures of mindless death and destruction of many innocent children. That these pictures were real life made them even more unbelievable.

The people watching these dreadful acts of terrorism live and in full colour will have included many children.

What is difficult for us as adults to comprehend, must surely be impossible for children. Many children’s pastors and parents will want to know how we talk these things over with our children. I therefore thought it appropriate to reproduce an article which appeared in a Kidsreach Bulletin ( www.kidsreach.co.nz ) shortly after the "9/11" terrorist attacks on America.

These notes are designed to help parents and children’s pastors talk about what has happened.

1. Children need to be able to talk and ask questions about what happened.

If children have a question and do not feel they can talk about it, the problems become really scary for them. This is true even if there are no real solutions to the problem. Children need to be able to ask questions and talk about what worries them. Not being able to ask a question or talk about an issue makes problems far worse for children. Bringing things out into the open is the very best thing you can do.

So even you say to your child: "I don't know", that is 100 times better than the child feeling they cannot talk about it or ask the question.

2. Reassure your children they are safe.

This week children have seen violent and horrifying things happen. They need you to reassure them that they (and you) are safe." You do this by taking time to talk about what happened and listening to their thoughts and feelings.

Children may have questions, fears right away. You must be aware, however, that often with children, questions and fears will arise several days later.

Listen to them carefully. More than anything, they need to know you are listening to them and they need your reassurance them that they are okay.

3. Children understand more than you realise

Children have more insight than you may realise. Issues that children are thinking about as regards this act of terrorism include:

The terrorists deliberately set out to kill many people, including themselves.

At the moment of impact, many people lost their lives, both in the planes and in the buildings.

Inside the rubble that was a building are still many people alive but cannot get out.

The interviews that have shown children waiting for their parent(s) to return or wives, husbands, mothers, fathers waiting for their loved ones.

The issues of religion and beliefs that people have that cause them to do such things.

What repercussions will follow. Will there be a war?

4. Keep doing regular things.

Children find security in doing regular and planned events. To cancel an outing or pull children out of school can hurt a child’s sense of security – especially for younger children.

Symptoms

Often children appear to perform very well at the time of a crisis, but will inevitably experience some symptoms. These include:

Anxiety,
Fear,
Panic
Anger,
Difficulty sleeping,
Waking throughout the night,
Nightmares or daydreaming.
You can see these symptoms by: change in appetite, reliving images of traumatic events or dwelling on the event. A child may become easily angered or upset or may withdraw or become reluctant to be open or talk. Finally, headaches, stomach aches, indigestion are common by products of this type of stress.

5. Control the television

I have been surprised by the numbers of people that have complained on talk back shows about the effect of the constant coverage of the terrorism on TV is having on their children. My first thought is why don’t these parents’ turn off their television sets?

The advise is simple: "Tune in for updates and stay informed, but do not let the television dominate the atmosphere of your home. It will also help at this time to allow your children to watch their favourite programs or movies."

6. Pray with your children

Talking with your children and listening to them is essential but there is one important thing that we can do as Christians, even when we feel hopeless and the answers seem far away. Praying will provide an answer both for the victims and for your children. Children will feel empowered when they know they can pray.

QUESTIONS CHILDREN ASK

Watching the horror that devastated our nation after the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. a small voice at my elbow said, "Is that a movie, or real Mum?"

My six-year-old was eyeing the carnage on television dispassionately. I had to decide how I would live with the damage after my explanation, one that would take the scales from those innocent green eyes.

There was no way around the truth. It was on every station. He has a seven-year-old brother and on the school bus tomorrow the truth would out. So I gathered the two boys and told them in broad strokes about bad people and bad things.

"Where was God?" the older boy asked.

"He was there," I answered.

"Why didn't God stop the bad people," the younger asked with an angry glare.

"We can never know how God thinks and why things go as they do," I said.

"We will go with what we do know. We know we are safe and others are not. There are people who need all our prayers, so we should not lose those right now."

"But it's not fair," said the older boy. "We should send our bombs and planes to go kill all of them."

"What we should do is take our minds away from death and anger and causing pain," I told them. "We are not fliers of planes or makers of bombs. We are keepers of hope."

My younger son nodded, "And that's an important job right?"

"Yes," I told him. "That's an important job."

So we all went back to work; keepers of the nation's lifeline to what is right and good and innocent still. We will find strength in our ability to contribute. We will find hope. And that may be the most curative power we possess.

Adapted from Lisa Suhay (suhays@home.com) - (Copyright © Lisa Suhay)



Teaching tip 14. - What's in a name?

In Bible days a person's name was usually highly significant because it often described what they were, or what they did. Though obviously of less significance, the names of most children today still have meanings. (At least they do for those with a European background. I am not sure if this is still true for those from other cultures).

I find that some children do know what their name means, but the majority do not. There are many 'Babies name' books around that we can go to find name meanings, so I often tell the children in my classes what their names mean and, as you can imagine, they are usually very pleased to find out.

Fortunately, most names have positive or encouraging meanings - e.g. Michael means 'one who is like God' and Linda means 'pretty'. There are, however, a few names with not very positive meanings. In these cases I either leave the name out of my list, or try and find some positive aspect to the name meaning, For example, 'Emma' means 'Grandmother'. If I told a girl that her name meant 'Grandmother', she would probably get upset and think "Oh, my name means that I am like an old woman!" However, if I said "Your name means Grandmother, and when we think of a Grandmother, we think of someone who is kind and caring", that would be far more acceptable to her.

Telling a child the meaning of their name is a wonderful way to increase their self-esteem. For example, you could say :-
"Sarah. Do you know your name means Princess? I think it suits you really well."
"Roger. Your name means a Famous warrior, and I think you will become a famous warrior in God's Kingdom. I am certainly praying that you will."
"Richard. Your name means Strong, and I believe you will be both physically strong and strong in the service of God."
"Gemma. The first time I saw you, I wondered if your name might be Gemma. Gemma means Jewel, and I believe that you will shine like a sparkling jewel in the Kingdom of God."

At the beginning of the year many teachers will either make or get the children to make name badges. One idea would be to include the name meaning on the badge as well.

Many children have 'Biblical' names, and again they may or may not be aware of that. Sometimes, if a child has a Biblical name, I will take a few minutes telling the child (and their class) about their Bible namesake. Other times if I am telling a story about someone with a common name, for example Paul, David, Peter, Mary, etc. I will say "Do we have anyone with that name here today?" Thus, by being able to make a personal connection between the Bible character and themselves or someone they know, they will be more likely to pay attention to the story.


Object Lesson 53. Using your Fingers as a prayer reminder.

Here is a finger prayer exercise that has been around for many years.

Get the children to have their hands facing inwards. Then :-

!st. Finger (Thumb). This one is the nearest to us. We should pray for our families.
2nd. Finger. This one does the pointing. We should pray for those who 'point the way' for us - our Church leaders and Sunday school teachers.
3rd. Finger. This one is the tallest. We should pray for the Leaders in National and local Government.
4th. Finger. The weakest. We should pray for the sick, needy and poor people.
5th. Finger. The smallest. We should pray for the 'little people' - other children we know.

There are some variations on this theme. For example, The first (Thumb) points to us. We should pray for our own needs. The fourth is the 'ring' finger. We should pray for family and friends. The fifth is the smallest. We should pray for the sick and helpless.



Elimination Bible quiz. !. - General.

In order to check how well children are understanding their Bible lessons, I use a number of quizzes to test them out. Probably the most popular method is an elimination quiz. I ask the class questions, and give two alternative answers. If a child gets the wrong answer, they are eliminated. I keep going until there are only a few successful children left. In order to ensure that the children do not copy each other, I get them to close their eyes as they are answering the question. I say "Put your hand up, if you think the answer is 'A', and keep it down if you think it is 'B'.

Here is a good general quiz that I use to see how well the children understand the basics of the Christian faith. You will note that for some questions, both answers could be considered to be correct. In these cases, I ask for the 'best', or 'most correct' answer.

1. What is the Bible? A. A book about God. B. A book written by God Himself.
2. When does God start to love us? A. Before we are born. B. When we are born.
3. What is God really interested in? A. The way we dress. B. Our hearts.
4. How much does God love us? A. Almost as much as He loves Jesus. B. As much as He loves Jesus.
5. What should be our main purpose in life? A. To help others. B. To please God.
6. How should people know that we belong to Jesus? A. By our church attendance. B. By our love for each other.
7. Why did God create us? A. To be His friends. B. To be someone He could rule over.
8. What is our relationship with God when we are born? A. His friends. B. We are in rebellion against Him.
9. How many people have sinned against God? A. Most people. B. Everybody.
10. Why did God send Jesus to earth? A. To teach us about God. B. To die for our sins.
11. To whom does God offer the gift of Eternal Life? A. Everybody. B. Those good enough to receive it.
12. Which people will go to heaven when they die? A. Everybody. B. Those who have put their trust in Jesus.
13. When we accept Jesus into our lives, what do we become? A. Better people. B. Different people altogether.
14. Why do Christians do good deeds? A. Because they will receive a reward from God. B. They can't help themselves. It is now natural for them to do good.
15. What is God's plan for us? A. To make us very good people. B. To make us like Jesus.



Fundamental Beliefs 7. The Work of Jesus Christ. 1. He died for our sins.

In Newsletter 21 we looked at the Person of Jesus Christ (Fundamental Beliefs 2. Is Jesus really God?). In this Newsletter, we will begin to consider His work.

Because God loves us, He took the initiative in making our reconciliation with Him possible. Our love for Him is our response to His love for us that was shown in sending "His Son as an atoning sacrifice" for our sins. That perfect offering of Jesus on our behalf satisfies the righteousness and holiness of God. Because of Jesus, God accepts us and declares us righteous in His site.

There are five important aspects of the death of Jesus :-

a. It was Substitutionary. God's holiness and justice demands that sin has to be punished - and the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6. 23) - But Jesus died in our place! As 1 Peter 3.19 puts it, "For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God." It should have been you and I being put to death for our sins - but Jesus took our place!

b. It was Sacrificial. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb of God. The old covenant, which God entered into with the Israelites, was based largely on the sacrificial offerings to God of lambs or goats that were without defect. When an Israelite sinned and then repented, he was required by the law to offer a perfect sacrifice to God to appease Him - although in fact the blood of animals could never take away sins (Hebrews 10.4).

Now, however, Jesus is our perfect sacrificial lamb who offered Himself up for us, once and for all, and because He is God, His sacrifice is of infinite value. That one sacrifice is enough to cover every sin that has or ever will be committed. (See Hebrews 10. 10-14).

c. It was Redeeming. To redeem means to buy back. By His death, Jesus bought us back or redeemed us to God - and His blood was the payment (1Peter 1. 18-19).

d. It was Justifying. God has accepted the shed blood of Jesus as an acceptable payment for our sins. He therefore declares us legally righteous in His sight because the full requirements of His law have been met by Jesus. Thus when we put our faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, we are justified. We can declare "It is 'just as if I' had never sinned." (See Romans 4.25; 5.1,9).

e. It was Reconciling. Christ's work made it possible for us to be reconciled or re-united with God (2 Corinthians 5.18,19). Because of the cross, we guilty sinners are now 'at one' with God. This has always been God's plan and desire for us, for He created us for this very purpose.




CHRISTIAN ONE LINERS.

Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers.

It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.

The good Lord didn't create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes
come close.

When you get to your wit's end, you'll find God lives there.

People are funny, they want the front of the bus, the middle of the road,
and theback of the church.

Opportunity may knock once, but temptation leans on the bell.

Quit griping about your church; if it was perfect, you couldn't belong.

The phrase that is guaranteed to wake up an audience: "And in conclusion."

If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.

God Himself does not propose to judge a man until he is dead. So why
should you?

Don't let your worries get the best of you. Remember, Moses started out as
a basket case.

Some minds are like concrete, all mixed up and permanently set.

Peace starts with a smile.

A lot of church members who are singing "Standing on the Promises" are
just sitting on the premises.

We were called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.

Outside of traffic, there is nothing that holds this country back as much
as committees.

Be ye fishers of men. You catch them - He'll clean them.

Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous.

Don't put a question mark where God put a period.

Don't wait for 6 strong men to take you to church.

Forbidden fruits create many jams.

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

God grades on the cross, not the curve.

God loves everyone, but probably prefers "fruits of the spirit" over
"religious nuts!"

God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage.

If God is your Co-pilot - swap seats!

When praying: Don't give God instructions -- just report for duty!

The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us.

The Will of God will never take you to where the Grace of God will not
protect you.

We don't change the message, the message changes us.

You can tell how big a person is by what it takes to discourage him.

The best mathematical equation: 1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given.
--Author Unknown

http://www.allworship.com


A Job Funny.

TO:
Jesus, Son of Joseph
Woodcrafters Carpenter Shop
Nazareth 25922

FROM:
Jordan Management Consultants
Jerusalem 26544

Dear Sir:

Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them.

As part of our service and for your guidance, we make some general comment, much as an auditor will include some general statements. This is given as a result of staff consultation and comes without any additional fee.

It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

- Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper.
- Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership.
- The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty.
- Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.
- We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau.
- James, son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus definitely have radical leanings and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of great ability and resourcefulness, interacts with people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

Sincerely yours,
Jordan Management Consultants

Newsletter 25

Newsletter 25.

Contents.

Teaching tip 13. Teaching Memory verses.
Fundamental Beliefs 6. The Person and work of the Holy Spirit.
Redefining Children's Ministry in the 21st. Century. By Becky Fischer.
10 Myths about children.


"When you find a spark of grace in a young heart, kneel down and blow it into a flame." Charles H. Spurgeon.


Welcome to my latest Newsletter as I reach the 'minor milestone' of 25 editions. I hope you find something here to enhance your ministry. In particular, check out my tips on teaching Memory verses - I don't know why I didn't do something like this before, as the teaching of God's Word to children has always been close to my heart.

I sent my first Newsletter out to Children's ministers in April 2002. If someone had asked me at that time, how much more material I had left to share, I would probably have said "about enough for two more Newsletters." Indeed, if I had been asked the same question at any time during the intervening 2+ years, my reply would have been exactly the same. Luke 6.38 ("Give, and it will be given to you") has certainly proved true in this case. The more ideas I have given out, the more fresh ideas for sharing I seem to get! Often (for example) an old object lesson that I haven't used for many years and I had completely forgotten about will suddenly 'pop' into my mind. Thus, a number of people benefit. I start using it again myself, and I pass the lesson on to others.

I don't know how long I will continue to send out these Newsletters, but my intention is to keep going as long as I have material that I consider worthwhile sharing.

About a year ago, one of my subscribers offered to host my Newsletters on his web site. I immediately saw the benefit of this, as it would both make the various lessons and teaching tips available to a larger number of people, and remove the need for recipients to either indefinitely store the Newsletters on their computers or, as I know many of you do, to print them out. Also, it would mean that when I got a request for past Newsletters (I have had about thirty of these in the last month alone), I could just refer the person to the appropriate web site, rather than indulge in the time-consuming exercise of 'swamping' their computers by forwarding 20+ (and growing) long emails!

Unfortunately, due to other commitments, the person who made this generous offer hasn't had time to implement it. Although it is still a possibility, as time passes, it is beginning to look less likely of becoming a reality. Therefore, I was wondering if any of my other subscribers had a web site that they would be willing to host my Newsletters on? Please let me know if you can help me in this way?

Yours in Christ,

Maurice Sweetsur



Teaching tip 13. - Teaching Memory Verses.



If someone were to ask me what was my main purpose in teaching my children’s ‘Bible’ classes, I would probably say that it was to impart God’s Word into their lives.

The importance of memorising scripture is highlighted by the fact that almost every Christian has experienced times when the Holy Spirit calls to mind some scripture or truth at a moment when it is needed, for example in their own conversion experience or personal life, or in counselling or witnessing. Thus, if we can get relevant scripture verses into the minds, and then (by memorising) into the hearts of the children, the Holy Spirit will be able to recall truths and verses to them when they are most needed.

Most of the children I teach, I have for about 30 lessons, over a 1year period. During this time, I will attempt to teach them 5 or 6 relevant memory verses.

Here are some useful tips for effectively teaching memory verses.



Good planning. Many teachers plan a lesson, and then ask themselves “What is a good memory verse to go with this lesson?” I do things the other way round. I decide well beforehand which memory verses I want to teach my class, and then build the rest of my lessons around these. I allow plenty of time (e.g. 10 to 15 mins.) for teaching each verse.


Choose the right Bible translation. If possible, look up your verse in a number of modern Bible translations, and then decide which one is best to teach. Some teachers still prefer to use the Authorised Version (King James). However, if you do decide to use this, I would suggest that at least you change the ‘Old English’ words such as ‘thee’, ‘thou’, ‘thine’, etc. into their modern equivalents.


Explain the verse. Don’t assume that the children will understand exactly what the verse means. It may be plain enough to you, but you will need to explain it to your class.


Vary your teaching methods. There are numerous ‘fun’ ways for teaching memory verses, and I have listed a number of them below. To keep my teaching interesting, I never use the same method twice with any one group of children.


Repetition is the ‘key’ to success. Whichever methods you choose to use, always leave enough time for your class to repeat the verse about 7 or 8 times. By repeatedly saying the verse, it should really get down into their spirits. You can make this part more interesting by getting different ‘groups’ within the class to repeat the verse in turn, e.g. boys, girls, those with blue eyes, brown eyes, older sisters, younger brothers, coloured socks, etc. etc. (Some children are actually better at remembering a verse if you get them to repeat it as fast as they can. Give it a try, if only for the sake of variety!). I will then encourage the children to write the verse down while it is still fresh to them, and then offer incentives of small prizes to those who can repeat it to me the following week.


Ways of teaching Memory verses.

There are many ways to teach Scripture (Memory verses) to children, but I have found that the more "fun" you make it, the more likely they are to really take it in.

1. Diminishing words.

In my experience, the most effective method I have come across is to use "Diminishing words." This is very simple and easy to prepare, but children really enjoy it because they think that they are fooling "teacher."

Write out your memory verse about 6 or 7 times on pieces of cardboard (or paper). However, each time you write, gradually make the words smaller. The words on your last card should be as small as you can possibly write them.

Show your first card (Biggest words) to your group, and have them say the verse. Then simply work your way through to the last card - children repeating the words each time. As you get to the smaller words, start to compliment the group on their eyesight. Act amazed when they manage to "read" your last card. Then say "I think you are trying to fool me. I don't believe you can really read this last card. I think you have memorised the verse. I think you can repeat the verse without any card at all" - And they will!



2. ‘Repeater’.

If you have a ventriloquist’s dummy or a glove puppet, use that to help teach the memory verse. Have the verse written out for the children to see, and then explain to them that your puppet is going to say the verse – a few words at a time – and they have to repeat everything he says. You can have a lot of fun with this method by getting the puppet to ‘say’ totally irrelevant things, e.g. jokes, personal comments, etc. as he gradually works his way through the verse, always remembering to bring ‘him’ back to where he digressed. Then get the puppet to say the verse, but pausing in the wrong places. Finally, get the puppet to say the verse the right way, with the children still ‘repeating’ of course.



3. Guess the letter.

This is another popular method, but it does take a little longer than most other ways. Write out your verse by putting “blanks” for letters e.g.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Luke 19.10.

The idea is for the children to guess the correct letters that make up this verse. As they do so, fill in the blanks.

There are two ways of using this method.



Competing teams (e.g. boys v. girls). One person from each team guesses a letter in turn. If team 1, for example, guesses ‘n’, and there are three n’s, they get three points. If team 2 guesses ‘e’, and there are six e’s, they get six points etc. The team with the most points when the verse is complete is the winner.


The class compete against ‘teacher’. Explain that if they guess a letter and it is not in the verse, you get a tick. If you get (say) four ticks before the verse is completed, you win.


4.Elimination methods.

Show the verse in full, and then gradually eliminate the words until they have all gone. Test the children after each step to see if they can still say the verse. There are a number of different ways you could do this.

a. Write the words out on a number of different cards (e.g. 1 or 2 words per card), Get a line of children to hold them up for all to see, and then simply remove the cards 1, 2, or 3 at a time – depending on the length of the verse.

b. The same as above, but write the words out on inflated balloons. Get volunteers to gradually ‘pop’ the balloons with a pin. (This is a popular method!).

c. Write the complete verse out on a large piece of cardboard. Then get volunteers to gradually tear pieces off it, until it has nearly all gone. By the time this is complete, the children should have said the verse the targeted 7 or 8 times.



5. Invisible writing.

Write the verse with a white crayon on white cardboard or paper. Get volunteers to gradually paint over the cardboard with red food colouring. The words will then ‘magically’ appear as the food colouring adheres to the crayon. This is a good way to teach verses concerning the blood of Jesus.



6. Puzzle methods.

1. Balloon race. Take two pieces of paper, and write out your verse on each one. Cut each paper into small pieces, with two or three words on each. Put each set of papers into two uninflated balloons. Choose two teams. One member of each team has to race to the other end of the room, blow up their balloon, tie it, burst it, retrieve the pieces of paper, and get the other members of the team to help to arrange the verse in the correct way. For larger classes you could, of course, have more teams.

2. Flannelboard Jigsaw. Write your words on any interesting shape, back with winceyette, or other suitable adhering material, and cut into about 8 or 9 pieces. Place the pieces in random order on your board, and get two or three children to come out and rearrange the jigsaw correctly. Shapes you could use are a question mark, a Bible shape for any verse relating to the Bible, or a telephone for Jeremiah 33.3.

3. Rearrangement. Write out your verse on about ten pieces of cardboard. Have a line of children hold up the cards in random order. Other children will then try to rearrange the cards in the correct order, and in the shortest possible time. (n.b. you could then conclude by slowly removing the cards as in Elimination method a, shown above).

4. Picture puzzles. Draw a series of pictures, each representing a word. Get the children to try and guess – you may have to give some ‘hints’ – what each picture stands for, until the verse is complete.

5. Mirror image. Write the verse backwards, so that you could only read it properly by looking at it through a mirror. (Ensure that the individual letters are written 'the wrong way round'). Get the children to try and read the verse. In my experience, most children do not have any trouble doing this.

6. Code method. Write out the verse in code form, by either changing the letters to numbers (e.g. a=1, b=2 etc.) or, for older children, to symbols. Don’t forget to show the children the code. Alternatively, you could not show the code, but change only the vowels (e.g. a=1, e=2 etc.).

7. Extra letters. Write out the verse, but add (say) two extra letters between the words. Leave no gaps. Here is an example:-

ThegxsonkbofswmanqkcamerptoooseekzjandfrtouwsavexrthegglostaaLukejy19.hh10.

8. Jumbled letters. Jumble up the letters of each word. Example:-

het sno fo mna acme ot eeks dna ot aves het tlos. Lkeu 19.10.




Revising Memory verses.

I always consider it a good idea to revise your Memory verses a week later in order to see how effective your teaching has been. Here are four ways that I do this.

1. As I mentioned above, I offer small prizes for those children who can say the verse to me the following week. I get them to repeat the verse in front of all the class. This way all the children are hearing the verse again a few more times.

2. Mistakes. Read out the verse, and make a number of deliberate mistakes. See if the children can spot them all.

e.g. The brother of God arrived to find and shave the poor. Matthew Chapter ninty verse eleven. (Luke 19.10. - Mistakes underlined).

3. Puppet fun. I bring along my 'Dummy' George, who tells the children that he wants to learn the Memory verse. I get a child to repeat it to George, but then he gets it wrong. e.g. "Out towels dried for us while we were still swimmers." (Romans 5.8). A second child repeats the verse, but George still gets it wrong e.g. "McDonald's fried for us while we were still hamburgers." Finally, all the class repeat the verse to George. This time he gets it right!

4. Elimination. Get either individuals or groups to say the verse in turn (i.e. go round in a circle) - one word at a time. No hesitating is allowed. If a child (or group) cannot say the next word, they are eliminated. Once the verse is complete, get them to do it again, only faster!

"The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword."

Hebrews 4. 12.



Fundamental Beliefs 6. - The Person and work of the Holy Spirit.


The doctrine of the Trinity is not an academic theory, but rather a statement of historical facts.

God the Father revealed Himself in Old Testament times, and when the Son (Jesus) came, he spoke of the Father and the Spirit as distinct from Himself. Thus we have the Godhead manifest in three persons - Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The Person of the Holy Spirit (Who He is).

1. His Personality. The Holy Spirit is a 'He' not an 'it'. He is a Person, not an impersonal influence or power coming from God.

The constituent parts of personality are attributed to the Holy Spirit - Mind (Romans 8. 26,27.), Emotion - He can be grieved (Ephesians 4.30), and Will - spiritual gifts are given to each man as the Spirit wills (1 Corinthians 12.11).

2. His power. Notwithstanding His personality, the Holy Spirit can be regarded as the power of God - a power that can be handled, transferred and stored in much the same way as electricity in a battery. (Luke 8.46, Acts 19.11, 2 Kings 13.21).

3. His Deity. This person is God. He is of one substance, majesty and glory with the Father and the Son. We are instructed to make disciples and baptise them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28.19). i.e. three Persons, but only one name.

Our attitude to the Spirit is our attitude to God. See the account of Peter's dealing with Ananias and Sapphira in Acts, chapter 5. He told Ananias that he had lied to the Holy Spirit (v.3) and then that he had lied to God (v.4) - For the Holy Spirit is God.

The work of the Holy Spirit (What He does).

Because the Holy Spirit is God, He is eternal and has always been active - for example in Creation (Genesis 1.2) and revelation (2 Peter 1.21). However, the Holy Spirit is particularly active in New Testament days, applying and enforcing the work of Christ. The Holy Spirit can be regarded as the 'executive' of the Godhead, in that what God does today, He does largely through the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit's work can be divided into four areas; in relation to Christ, the Christian, the Church and the world.

1. In relation to Christ (Glorification).

Although the Holy Spirit witnessed to Christ through the Old Testament writings (1 Peter 1. 10-12), the glorification (i.e. manifestation) of Christ is His distinctive New Covenant work, impossible before the incarnation.

We are promised that the Holy Spirit will remind us of all that Jesus has said (John 14.26) and that He will bring glory to Christ by taking from Jesus and making it known to us (John 16.12-14). His work then is to reveal Jesus and point us to Him.

The Holy Spirit caused the Bible to be written, and it is He who is also our teacher, opening our hearts and minds to God's Word and making it come alive to us. Contrast this with the man without the Spirit who cannot understand the Word of God (1 Corinthians 2.14).

2. In relation to the Christian (Sanctification).

The indwelling Spirit desires to make us holy (1 Thessalonians 4. 7,8). He not only reveals Christ to us, but forms Christ in us (2 Corinthians 3.18).

It is the Holy Spirit's work both to subdue our flesh and to develop our Christian (Christ-like) character. The Holy Spirit also teaches us how to worship (Philippians 3.3) and to pray (Jude 20).

3. In relation to the Church (Edification).

The New Testament writers dwell on the twin themes of the Church's unity and diversity, both being due to the Holy Spirit.

a. Unity. The Church - the body of Christ - is one, because the Spirit who indwells and breathes life into it is one. The unity of the Church is a reflection of the unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4.4-6).

We have to admit that that often there is disunity in the Church. We have not yet become in practice what God's Word says we are. However, whenever the Holy Spirit moves in revival power, the main effect is to bring unity - Christians get their eyes off their differences and focus them instead on Jesus.

b. Diversity. Although the gift of the Holy Spirit Himself is available to all who ask, we do not all have the same gifts of the Spirit, their value being in proportion to their power to benefit and build up others (1 Corinthians 12.7).

4. In relation to the world (Evangelism).

The Holy Spirit is always reaching out to the unbelieving world. The work of conversion belongs to the Holy Spirit.

1. He convicts the world of sin (John 16. 8-10).
2. He witnesses to Christ (John 15.26).
3. He effects the new birth (John 3.5).
4. He indwells the new-born Christian (Romans 8.9).
5. He assures him of his sonship (Romans 8. 15,16).
6. He seals him as God's own, guaranteeing his full inheritance (Ephesians 1. 13,14).

These then are the four chief areas of the Holy Spirit's operation in which He concentrates His divine energies. If the Holy Spirit is leading us, these will also be our great concerns.

"Where the Spirit is, He flows forth. If there is no flowing forth, He is not there." William Temple.

n.b. Check out Object lessons 4,13,21 and 30 concerning the Holy Spirit.



Redefining Children's Ministry in the 21st Century



By Becky Fischer





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What we have always called "children's ministry" is being redefined in this century quietly in unparallel ways across the face of the earth. Conventional thinking has limited it to Sunday school quarterlies, cleverly repackaged Bible stories the kids have heard for the hundredth time, a good puppet skit here and there, excellently produced videos with good moral lessons, and some well-produced, lively music. But there is a growing number of children's ministers who stroll down the aisles of the typical Christian bookstores and browse through various publishers' catalogs, and come away saying, "There's got to be something more than this!" I, too, have wondered, Just how many ways can you repackage Noah's Ark, anyway?

At some point we have to ask ourselves: Is what we're doing in children's ministry today really working? It's a legitimate question based on recent findings that tell us as many as 70 percent of the youth raised in our Christian churches are leaving the church at the age of independence and never stepping foot inside our doors again (Barna Research, Real Teens). I dare say their decisions were not made once they reached their teen years, but by the time they were 10, 11 and 12 years old.

After being a children's pastor for many years and now working with kids around the world on a regular basis, I am confident what kids are wanting is not another Bible story they already know by heart, but a supernatural touch from the living God. Kids are hungry for the supernatural! The results are speaking for themselves in churches where the children's ministries are daring to introduce their kids to the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, intercessory prayer, teaching them to flow in the gifts of the Spirit, lay hands on the sick, and more. Kids can't get enough of these things! These have generally been considered "adult activities," but Jesus didn't think so. He said, "These signs will follow those who believe" (Mark 16:15, nkjv), and if a child believes, he qualifies for the supernatural like anyone else.

Recently I hosted a four-day conference for children, parents and children's ministers called "The School of Healing for Kids." We conducted four workshops each morning, teaching children everything we possibly could in such a short time frame about how to heal the sick according to Bible patterns and doctrine. My guest speakers included Lenny LaGuardia from the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO, and Tim Carpenter, project manager for KIDS Church from CharismaLife. Lenny leads children's healing teams at IHOP, and Tim has taught children how to heal the sick for years while travelling with Kenneth E. Hagin and the Rhema Singers.

The last night of the conference, we invited the sick to come so the children could lay hands on them and pray for their healing. It was an amazing thing to watch children as young as 7 and 8years old give words of knowledge, such as, "There's somebody here with a crooked spine that needs prayer," and to see two women come forward with scoliosis. As these children then gathered around them and prayed, both ladies claimed they could feel their spines had been straightened. One little girl called out fibro myalgia. I wondered how she even knew how to say the words! But once again, two ladies stepped forward, and one had immediate manifestations of healing when her ever-present pain immediately left. One lady had come believing to be healed of a serious sinus condition, and testified on the last morning that a bleeding ulcer on the inside of her nose that had been there for nine years was totally gone!

While it may be a very new thought to many to train children in such ways of the Lord, I believe the day will come when these types of activities will be mainstream children's ministry. While the world is allowing their kids to be sucked into the supernatural world of Harry Potter, the church has got to sit up and take notice, and begin training our own children with the supernatural ways of the living God! One darling 4-year-old girl at our conference stepped up boldly to the microphone, looked intently at her chubby little hand and declared, "God told me He put power in my hands!"




10 Myths about children.

MYTH #1: Today’s kids have a short attention span.
FALSE. Kids have always had an insatiable desire to learn and experience new things. Today’s kids can absorb amazing amounts of information if it relates to them. They have little interest in sitting and watching someone dispense information that doesn’t connect with their life. But if you make your lessons relevant and interactive, then kids will give you their full attention and teaching becomes easy.

MYTH #2: School teachers make the best children’s ministry teachers.

NOT ALWAYS. Some school teachers make great children’s ministry teachers. Others are weak children’s ministry teachers because they try to impose ineffective, classroom style methods to teaching kids about the Bible.

MYTH #3: Children are the church of tomorrow.

FALSE. Children are part of the church today. People who are not yet saved are the church of tomorrow. Children can be involved now in the work of God. If you train children that their job is to do nothing but sit up straight, don't be surprised if that's all they do when they become adults.

MYTH #4: God will send volunteers to help you.

MOSTLY FALSE. No one in the Bible ever volunteered for Jesus and very few volunteered for God in the Old Testament. If you want quality workers you have to recruit them in much the same way that Jesus recruited His disciples. God will help you recruit, but He won’t drop volunteers on you. What do Moses, Abraham, Jonah, Peter, Paul, Matthew, and scores of other people in the Bible have in common? God didn't wait for them to volunteer; He recruited them. Some will volunteer, but the most effective and Biblical way to build a team is to recruit good people.

MYTH #5: Kids aren’t mature enough to receive salvation.

TRUE and FALSE. No one is mature enough to receive salvation. That’s why God offers salvation through His grace by faith. Salvation is a free gift that Jesus paid for in advance. The pre-requisite for salvation is not maturity but the humility to receive God’s provision for you (Matthew 18:3,4).


MYTH #6: VBS is the best way to reach new kids.

NOT ALWAYS. Vacation Bible School works for some churches but not others. A relevant Sunday morning children’s ministry is the best way to consistently reach new kids. Many new VBS kids never return to church. If you really want growth, then make your Sunday morning children's church a world-class event every week.

MYTH #7: You have to grow up to serve God.

FALSE. The Bible tells several stories where kids did cool things for God before they ever grew into adults. Examples are David, Samuel, King Josiah, the servant girl who told Naaman to go see Elisha, and Jesus Himself teaching in the temple at twelve years of age.

MYTH #8: Youth ministry is better than children’s ministry for growing a church.

FALSE. Teenagers will drive on their own to a youth group that meets their needs. Mom and Dad may attend another church. Kids who get excited about a Sunday morning children’s ministry will pressure their parents to bring them to church. Many churches are filled with families who are there because the kids want to be there.

MYTH #9: Small groups are the best way to disciple kids.

NOT NECESSARILY. Abiding in the word of God is what discipleship is all about (John 8:31). The best way to disciple kids is to teach them principles from God’s word. Some churches do this better in large groups and some are more successful in small groups. The important thing to remember is that discipleship is more about the content, and less about the method. Small groups are great for relationship building and prayer, but not always for teaching God's word.

MYTH #10: Children's ministry is costly.

FALSE. According the George Barna's well-researched book, Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, churches get more return for their money in children's ministry than from any other department. Churches that want the most for their money put it in children's ministry. In the long run, withholding money from children's ministry is more costly than spending the money to do it right.

Source: http://www.kidzblitz.com

Newsletter 24

Newsletter 24.

"Whatever children become, is what their community will be." Anon.

Contents.

Fundamental Beliefs 5. What do Christians believe?
Object Lesson 51. Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Object Lesson 52. Ask and you shall receive.
Teaching tip 12. The Lord's Prayer.
Explanation of God by an 8 year old.
A success 'funny'.


Fundamental Beliefs 5 - What do Christians believe?

As children get older they are often exposed to a variety of different beliefs. It can be quite confusing to them when they realise there are many different Religions, sects, denominations etc. They may ask "Do they all differ in what they teach, or do they have beliefs in common?" "How can I be sure of which one is true?" "Does it really matter which faith I choose to follow?"

As a start, I usually answer such questions by explaining the difference between Christianity and Religion. Religion is about us attempting to reach up to God through our own efforts, usually by observing certain rules or doing good works. Christianity is the exact opposite. It is about God reaching down to us through His Son, Jesus.

Whereas Christianity says we can only come to God through faith in what Jesus did for us on the cross, all Religions and Sects basically teach that in order to gain God's acceptance, we need to improve ourselves and reach God by our own efforts. The second difference from Christianity that Religions and Sects have in common is that they deny that Jesus is the GOD-MAN i.e. totally God, and totally man in One Person. Some deny Jesus' humanity, but most deny His divinity.

I think that 'Religious' people must be the most unhappy people on earth. Their Religion teaches them that they are 'sinners', but doesn't offer them the power to change their ways. Thus when they sin, they can't really enjoy it because they are aware that they are breaking God's rules!

Within the 'Christian' church there are indeed many different groups or denominations. However, these can be categorised into just three groups, determined by what they have as their Final Authority for what they believe, and consequently their conduct.

1. The 'Liberal' group. Their final authority is Human reason. They often consider the Bible as a very important document, but when it disagrees with their own reasoning, they reject what it says. For example, their human reason tells them that miracles are impossible. This will then lead to a denial of God's supernatural act of Creation, the Resurrection of Jesus and His miraculous acts etc.

2. The 'Catholic' group. Their final authority is their church leaders - past and present. Because they believe that their leaders were appointed by God, their pronouncements are thus infallible and must be right. If these pronouncements agree with the Bible, then that is not a problem. The problems only arise when their pronouncements differ from the clear teachings of the Bible. The best example of course is when Martin Luther pointed out that the Bible teaches that we are "justified by faith alone" and not by good works.

3. The Evangelical group. The Bible is their final authority. They use their human reason, and they appoint leaders, but when these contradict the Bible, they submit to the authority of the latter.

It is important to understand and teach what a Christian really is. A Christian is a Christ-in-Person. In other words, a person in whom Jesus Christ is living - because He has been invited to do so, following repentance of sin and faith in His substitutionary death on the cross. Christians may belong to many different types of churches, but ultimately the important thing is not what your particular group teach, but whether Jesus is living in you.

Even among the Evangelical group of churches, there are many different denominations, and variations in what they believe and teach. However, many of these differences are 'minor doctrines' and ultimately not important to our salvation. Such 'minor doctrines' include Water Baptism - i.e. the Baptism of infants or 'Believers', the present day operation of the gifts of the Spirit, the method of Church government, the role of women in the church and the correct interpretation of the 'End Times'.

I would suggest, however, that there are six 'Major doctrines' that Evangelical churches have in common, and around which they can have true fellowship. These are :-

1.The divinity of Christ.
2. The substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross for our sins.
3. The bodily resurrection of Jesus.
4. Our need to be 'Born Again'.
5. God accepts us on the basis of our faith in Jesus alone.
6. The Bible, as first given, is the divine and infallible 'Word of God'.

Amidst the great variety of faiths that abound today, how can we show children that the Christian one is the true one? The Bible says "Taste and see that the Lord is good." Psalm 34 v. 8. Or to use a modern proverb, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating." If anyone sincerely tries Jesus out for themselves, then they will 'know' that His way is the true way. (see object lesson 51below).


Object Lesson 51. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

When teaching children about the Promises of God, I usually conclude by asking "How do you know that these wonderful promises are true? How do you know that they are good and will really work? You will probably get a mixed response.

Get out a box of chocolates or mallows. Ask "How do you know that these chocolates are good?

They certainly look good, but do you know that they really are good just by looking at them? - No.

They smell good, don't they, but can you tell if they are good by smelling them? - No.

I could tell you all the ingredients - cocoa, sugar, butter etc. - and how the chocolates were made, but would you then know if they really are good? - No.

I could introduce you to people who have tasted them, and they will tell you how good they are, but would you then know they were good? - No.

I could eat one myself (proceed to do so). Oh yes, they really are good! But do you now know that they are good? - No.

What would you have to do to find out for yourselves if they are really good? That's right. You would have to taste them for yourselves. It is exactly the same with God's promises. The Bible tells us to "Taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34.8). The only way that you will prove for yourselves that God's promises are good is by putting them to the test, and trying them out for yourselves.

Now, who would like to put these chocolates to the test, and prove that they are good?"


Object Lesson 52. Ask and you shall receive.

Jesus told us that some people don't receive anything from God, simply because they don't ask. Here is a simple illustration to help children understand that they should pray for their needs.

Write out on a piece of card or paper "-------------- (your name) wants to give away $1." Place it in a conspicuous place in your room before the lesson starts, but don't refer to it until the appropriate time.

Talk about how much our generous God wants to bless us and give us all our needs, but how some people don't receive from God because they don't ask. Remind them that Jesus said "Ask, and you shall receive" (Luke 11.9). By now one child might have really understood what you are talking about, and asked you for your dollar. If not, ask the children "Is there anyone here who wants to ask me for something?" Eventually someone should understand and ask for your dollar! "It is as simple as that. 'Ask and you shall receive' ".

Teaching tip 12. The Lord's Prayer.

Many children, whether they go to church or not, know the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6. 9 - 13). In fact in Britain, many schoolchildren have to repeat this prayer every morning before the start of their lessons. I found, however, that although many children could recite the Lord's prayer for me, most of them didn't have much idea of what they were praying for! This, I believe, is because of two main reasons. Firstly, many children are still taught this prayer in old (King James) English using words that they are totally unfamiliar with such as art, hallowed, thy and trespasses. Secondly, although some children are taught the prayer, they are simply not taught what it actually means.

This is the way I teach the Lord's prayer to children. I write out the prayer on the board, or a piece of cardboard, using a modern translation e.g. Contemporary English Version. Then I go through the prayer, explaining each section as I do so as shown below.

Our Father in heaven,
What a great privilege it is for anyone to be able to call God 'Father'. God is the Creator of everyone, but He is only the Father of those who have become part of His family through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Many people, when they pray call God 'Father', but if they are not part of His family, they should really call Him by some other name, like 'my Creator'.

help us to honour your name.
God and His Name are inextricably linked together. That is why we should never use His Name, or the Name of Jesus, in a disrespectful way, such as swearing. If we do so, we are actually disrespecting God. No, we should always use the Name of God in the right way, with respect and honour. And if we really love Him, we should want others to Honour His Name as well.

Come and set up your Kingdom, so that everyone on earth will obey you, as you are obeyed in heaven.
This is the greatest prayer that anyone could ever make. God is, of course, obeyed in heaven, but not everyone obeys Him here on earth. Our greatest desire should be that everyone does obey Him on earth. We know that one day, after Jesus returns, everyone on earth will obey God. The exciting thing is, we can play a part in making this happen. The more we pray this prayer, the sooner Jesus will be able to return and bring in that glorious day.

Give us our food for today.
I think this is my favourite part of the prayer. After teaching us to pray the greatest prayer imaginable (Come and set up your Kingdom - - - - ) Jesus tells us to ask for "our food for today." (That is why many people 'give thanks' to God at mealtimes). This reminds us that God is interested in every little detail of our lives, even the food we eat. It also reminds us that everything we have, food, water, clothes, houses, families, etc., even the air we breathe, comes from God.

Notice also, that Jesus teaches us to ask for our needs for today. Many people worry about the future, "will I pass my exams, will I get a job, will I have enough money, will I get sick, etc., etc." No, Jesus tells us not to worry about the future, because He will take care of that. We are to concentrate on today. Today is the important time.

Forgive us for doing wrong,
There is nothing that you or I could possibly do that God won't forgive if we ask Him to, and we are truly sorry.

as we forgive others.
Much as God wishes to forgive us when we do wrong, He can only do so if we are prepared to forgive others that hurt or harm us. This can be a very hard thing to do, but nevertheless something that we must do, if we wish God to forgive us. The important thing to remember is that you need to choose to forgive others. Don't wait until you feel like forgiving them, because you may wait forever! And when you do forgive them, you are not saying "what they did didn't really matter". No, you are actually handing the situation over to God, for Him to deal with in however way He chooses. So always remember to tell God when you choose to forgive someone. (The Parable of the unmerciful servant - Matthew 18. 21-35 - is a good story to teach to reinforce our need to forgive others).

Keep us from being tempted,
Everyone is tempted to do wrong. And being tempted is not a sin. What is a sin, is when we give in to our temptations. But we can pray and ask God to "keep us from being tempted".

and protect us from evil.
There is a lot of evil in the world, but God is well able to protect us from it, if we ask him to.

Amen.
That means "so be it" or "I agree" (to what has just been prayed). So by saying "Amen", we are including ourselves in the prayer.

Now, let us all pray this prayer together, and really think of what the words mean as we are saying them.

Maurice Sweetsur.


EXPLANATION OF GOD BY AN 8 YEAR OLD
"One of God's main jobs is making people. He makes them to replace the ones that die, so there will be enough people to take care of things on earth. He doesn't make grownups, just babies. I think because they are smaller and easier to make. That way he doesn't have to take up his valuable time teaching them to talk and walk. He can just leave that to mothers and fathers."

"God's second most important job is listening to prayers. An awful lot of this goes on, since some people, like preachers and things, pray at times beside bedtime. God doesn't have time to listen to the radio or TV because of this. Because he hears everything, there must be a terrible lot of noise in his ears, unless he has thought of a way to turn it off."

"God sees everything and hears everything and is everywhere which keeps Him pretty busy. So you shouldn't go wasting his time by going over your mom and dad's head asking for something they said you couldn't have."

"Atheists are people who don't believe in God. I don't think there are any in Chula Vista. At least there aren't any who come to our church."

"Jesus is God's Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn't want to learn about God. They finally got tired of his preaching to them and they crucified him But he was good and kind, like his father, and he told his father that they didn't know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said O.K."

"His dad (God) appreciated everything that he had done and all his hard work on earth so he told him he didn't have to go out on the road anymore. He could stay in heaven. So he did. And now he helps his dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones he can take care of himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary, only more important."

"You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to help you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time."

"You should always go to church on Sunday because it makes God happy, and if there's anybody you want to make happy, it's God.

Don't skip church or do something you think will be more fun like going to the beach. This is wrong. And besides the sun doesn't come out at the beach until noon anyway."

"If you don't believe in God, besides being an atheist, you will be very lonely, because your parents can't go everywhere with you, like to camp, but God can. It is good to know He's around you when you're scared, in the dark or when you can't swim and you get thrown into real deep water by big kids." "But...you shouldn't just always think of what God can do for you.

I figure God put me here and he can take me back anytime he pleases. And...that's why I believe in God."

A success 'funny'.
There once was a rich man who was near death. He was very grieved because he had worked so hard for his money and he wanted to be able to take it with him to heaven. So he began to pray that he might be able to take some of his wealth with him.

An angel hears his plea and appears to him, "Sorry, but you can't take your wealth with you."

The man implores the angel to speak to God to see if He might bend the rules.

The man continues to pray that his wealth could follow him. The angel reappears and informs the man that God has decided to allow him to take one suitcase with him. Overjoyed, the man gathers his largest suitcase and fills it with pure gold bars and places it beside his bed.

Soon afterward the man dies and shows up at the Gates of Heaven to greet St. Peter. Seeing the suitcase Peter says, "Hold on, you can't bring that in here!"

But the man explains to him that he has permission and asks him to verify his story with the Lord. Sure enough,. Peter checks and comes back saying, "You're right. You are allowed one carry-on bag, but I'm supposed to check its contents before letting it through."

Peter opens the suitcase to inspect the worldly items that the man found too precious to leave behind and exclaims, "You brought pavement?!?!"

[forwarded by Nancy Gale]

Newsletter 23

Newsletter 23.

“Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation.” C. Everett Koop.


Contents.

Fundamental Beliefs 4. Why does God allow suffering?
Teaching Tip 10. Use of Storytelling.
Teaching Tip 11. What is love?
The letter reference.


Fundamental Beliefs 4. Why does God allow suffering?

The main reason why people (both adults and children) reject the Gospel is because of the question of suffering. Simply stated, they ask "If God is all powerful and all loving, why does He allow suffering? Why doesn't God stop all the trouble in the world?" God's ability is usually not in doubt, but rather the question is why He does not appear to act. Surely the all-loving God as revealed in the Bible would do something?

We don't know the complete answer to this of course. However, we can share some insights with those who are genuinely (as opposed to using it as an excuse for rejecting Christ) seeking answers to this problem.

1. God does not cause suffering - man does. God created people with free-will. This means we have the ability to choose to either obey or disobey our Creator. Our first ancestors chose to disobey God. This was in reality rebellion against their Creator. As a result of this rebellion (the Bible calls it sin), a curse came upon the whole earth so that everything in it was affected and began to degenerate to the state we find it in today.

Thus, Man's original sin first brought trouble and suffering into God's perfect world, and man's continuing sin results in continued trouble and suffering.

2. Although God does not cause trouble and suffering, He is often able to use it to get our attention.

The most important thing in life is our relationship with God who we can only know through a personal faith in Jesus Christ. However, if we all lived completely trouble-free lives, most people would never give God a second thought! As Jesus said "What would it profit a man if he gained the whole world and lost his own soul?" (Mark 8.36). It is often through trouble or suffering that God is able to gain our attention and make us aware of our need of Him. Numerous people have in fact only found Christ after a personal tragedy in their lives.

3. God is primarily concerned with our characters, that is what we are rather than what we do.

Character can be defined as a measure of what one has overcome. Thus, as we overcome problems and difficulties, our characters are developed. A trouble-free life would, in fact, hinder this development. And whilst this life lasts for only a short time, our characters are for eternity. (My object lesson No.3 "Why does God allow suffering?" can be useful in explaining this to children. I will paste this on below, together with two similar lessons, for the benefit of new recipients).

It is an interesting fact that many of the men that God has used the most throughout history have been those that have suffered the most in their lives. The Apostle Paul, Martin Luther and John Bunyon (author of Pilgrim's Progress) immediately spring to mind.

4. God, being all-powerful, could stop all suffering on the earth in an instant if He chose to. But what would He actually have to stop? - People! Suffering is the result of sin, and to remove sin God would have to remove all sinners - everyone! But because He loves us, God would rather transform us than eradicate us. The good news is that through the death of His Son on the cross He has made it possible for that to actually happen.

5. God understands our suffering. He does not ask us to face suffering without having first faced it Himself. This He did on the Cross when Jesus suffered more than anyone. Through that Cross He now provides us with the grace and power to face suffering.

God then has done something about trouble and suffering. The basic problem in the world is us - self-centred people. But through a commitment to Christ, God, by His Spirit, is able to come into our lives and change us, giving us new God-centred natures. Then as individuals are transformed, the societies in which they live are changed. This is verified by reference to history. In times when large numbers of a particular community have committed themselves to Christ (this is called a revival) the crime rate in that community has fallen to almost zero. This then is God's plan for our world - to change individuals who in turn change the world in which they live.

The only real answer to suffering is to become a Christian, for then we have His unbreakable promise that all things (including our suffering) will be working together for our good (Romans 8.28).

6. The complete answer to mankind's problems and the end of all suffering is the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, God has promised, the creational order prior to man's disobedience and rebellion against God will be restored. "The desert shall blossom as the rose, the eyes of the blind shall be opened, the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped, the lame shall leap and the dumb shall sing. The lion shall lay down with the lamb, swords shall be turned into ploughshares, and a government of peace shall be established." These are just a few biblical expressions of the future kingdom rule of Christ. The whole of creation is looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth. This is good news in a world of trouble and suffering.


Object Lesson 3. Why does God allow suffering?
Take a large piece of white paper, and write across it in LEMON JUICE the word "Jesus" - i.e. in "invisible ink."

State that many people ask questions like "Why does a good God allow suffering?" Give a few examples of suffering. Say that there is no simple answer to this, but that you are going to show the class one reason why God may allow problems and hardships to come into our lives. God is interested in what we do, but He is more interested in what we are i.e. our character. God can use our problems to develop our character.

Use your own words for your particular class, but you could go along the lines suggested below.

"God has a wonderful plan to change you into someone far better. If none of us ever had any troubles, not many of us would give God a second thought, and we would never change. God sometimes allows suffering in our lives and uses it - as He helps us to overcome our problems - to change us. The Bible says "Suffering helps us to endure. And endurance builds character" Romans 5.3,4. ( C.E.V. ).

HOLD UP THE "BLANK" PAPER AT THIS POINT. I am going to have an imaginary conversation with this paper. "Nice to see you paper, but I am now going to put you over a flame"

LIGHT A CANDLE. EXPLAIN THAT THE FLAME STANDS FOR TROUBLES OR PROBLEMS.

Paper - " I don't like the sound of that. I might get too hot. I might even get burnt".

"I do like you paper, but I have a wonderful plan to change you into something better, and I have to place you over the flame to make this happen."

BEGIN TO MOVE THE PAPER OVER THE FLAME, FOLLOWING THE WORD "JESUS" WHICH YOU SHOULD JUST BE ABLE TO SEE. BROWN WRITING WILL START TO APPEAR. Continue your dialogue while still moving the paper.

"How are you feeling now paper?"

Paper - "Stop it. I am getting far too hot."

"I haven't finished my plan for you yet. I must complete the job. I know this is tough for you, but I won't let you burn."

COMPLETE THE HEATING OF THE PAPER. AS YOU HOLD THE PAPER TO SHOW THE CLASS THE WORD "JESUS" CONCLUDE YOUR TEACHING.

"This is what God's plan is for you. To build your character, and make you to be like Jesus. Often He uses our problems and difficulties to bring this about.



Object Lesson 23. Standing up under pressure.

When things are going well, it is sometimes hard to tell the difference between the person who is trusting in Jesus, and the one who is not. However, when pressure - hardships, troubles, problems etc. - comes upon us, the person who knows Jesus is able to keep standing, whereas the person without Christ often crumples or "goes under."

Preparation. Take two plastic pen tops (Preferably different colours). Attach one or two plastic paper clips to the first top. To make the second top heavier than the first, attach one or two metal paper clips. Take about a two litre plastic clear bottle, and fill about 90% full with water. Drop the two plastic tops (with attached clips) into the water. They should both float. Screw the top on the bottle, and apply pressure to the bottle by squeezing it. A little "trial and error" may be required here. You may need to adjust your tops by adding or subtracting clips to ensure that when pressure is applied, the first top continues to float, whilst the second always sinks, or "goes under." When you release the pressure, the submerged top should rise to the surface again.

Presentation. You can make this as long or as short as you wish. Explain that the two same-sized tops represent two people, one who is trusting in Christ, and one who isn't. When things go well (no pressure to the bottle), there is no difference - the tops both float. However, when pressure comes, one continues to float, but the other goes under. Repeat the pressure-on / pressure-off process a few times.


Object Lesson 32. Facing trials and troubles.

Children particularly enjoy any lessons involving fire, water or balloons. The following object lesson involves all three, so should be a big hit!

Everyone faces trials and troubles at sometime in their life, but if we have put our trust in Jesus then He has promised to always be with us and help us through all our troubles.

1. Light a candle - the flame represents our trials and troubles.
2. Produce an inflated balloon - this represents the person who doesn't have Jesus in their life, and is therefore facing the trouble on their own. Let's see what happens when I put the balloon over the flame - BANG.
3. Produce an inflated balloon about one third full of water - this represents the person who has Jesus in their life (c.f. the water). Let's see what happens when I put this balloon over the flame - THE BALLOON IS UNHARMED.

Although both balloons faced the same trial (i.e. flame), the second one came through unharmed - because the water took away the heat before it could do any damage. In much the same way, Jesus is able to see us through our trials and troubles unharmed.


Teaching Tip 10. Use of storytelling.

The telling of a good story remains the most effective way of imparting spiritual truths to children. Children will forget basic facts, but will remember a good story, especially if it is told in an interesting and exciting way.
Jesus is THE Great Storyteller of course, and remains our best example to follow. Read the Parables, and learn from the Master.

I have found that the best way to improve my storytelling is by listening to other storytellers. Over the years I have heard many excellent storytellers, and have learned something from all of them. I have sometimes been able to simply repeat the story in the same way that I heard it told. Other times, I have been able to adapt the story to suit my own class and personal storytelling preferences.

There are however certain tips that we can learn that will improve our storytelling, and I have listed some of them below.

1. Decide what is the point of your story? What truth do you want your class to learn? It is best to have only one point (or at most two) and plan your story around this.

2. Make your story exciting. Be dramatic. Move around the room as you are telling it. Change the tone and speed of your voice at appropriate times. If you are not excited about the story, then the children won't be either. Practice beforehand until you can tell it without having to pause to think "what comes next?"

3. Tell your stories in lots of different ways. Use plenty of props such as clothing, pictures and maps to make your stories more interesting. If appropriate, you could even incorporate a good object lesson or illusion into your story. If you are teaching a Biblical story, tell it "in context." I often take along a "Time Line", that lists all the major Biblical events in chronological order, to show the class where a particular story (especially if it is one from the Old Testament) fits into God's redemptive plan. Never lose sight of "the Big Picture."

4. If you are telling a story about a Bible character, consider 'becoming' that character. Dress up as the character, and tell it from his/her viewpoint.

5. Consider telling familiar stories from different angles - to keep the children guessing! e.g. Daniel and the Lion's den from the viewpoint of one of the lions, David and Goliath from the viewpoint of the Giant (don't mention Goliath's name till the conclusion), the Good Samaritan from the viewpoint of the Donkey etc. etc.

6. Involve the children as much as possible. There is much truth to the old Chinese proverb : -
"I hear, I forget."
"I see, I remember."
"I do, I understand."
Your class could be asked to copy specific actions that you do throughout your story, or to respond to phrases they hear by giving a certain response. You could ask for feedback from the children as your story is progressing. "How do you think Character A was feeling at this point?" " What do you think Character B was thinking here?" "What would you have done in this situation?" etc.

7. Consider telling your story by getting children to act out a play. Write out a simple script for them to read as they act it out. You don't have to stick strictly to the Biblical narrative, as long as you are getting your point across.

Think about telling Biblical stories in a modern setting. The Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan (e.g. the Priest, Levite, Samaritan, Donkey and Innkeeper become respectively a Politician, Sunday school teacher, Gang member, Motor Bike and Hospital Receptionist) have worked well for me.

Think about telling your story as a Puppet play. I usually record the story on cassette beforehand using different character voices, and then play it back as selected children operate the puppets.

8. Children love to hear personal stories about "Teacher", so tell a few, especially from when you were about their age. This is a good way of teaching children how they can learn from their mistakes, and about the Goodness of God.


Teaching Tip 11. What is Love?

It is easy for us as teachers to tell children that "God loves you" and assume they all understand exactly what we mean. However children have different concepts as to what love actually is, and you will probably find that you need to explain it to them.

I came across some amusing children's comments on this subject on the Internet recently. Children were asked "What is love?" Their replies were all humorous, but many contain an element of truth. I have subsequently been able to use these comments to teach some of my own classes on what love is (see below), and in particular the difference between human love and God's love.

Question. What is love?

Answers.

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne, and they go out and smell each other." Karl (age 5).

"Love is when you tell a boy you like his shirt, and then he wears it every day." Noelle (7).

"Love is when you go out and give someone most of your French fries, without making them give you any of theirs." Chrissy (6).
There is a lot of truth in that because if you love someone, that means you want the very best for them. You want good things to happen to them, even more than you want good things to happen to yourself. So if you give someone most of your French fries, without asking for anything in return, that is an expression of your love.

"Love is when mummy gives daddy the best part of the chicken." Elaine (5).
Another expression of love. 'Mummy' is putting 'Daddy's' needs before her own. Jesus told us to love others as we love ourselves. Everyone loves themselves. Do you hit yourself, lie to yourself, or steal from yourself? No, of course not! You all treat yourselves well. If you are thirsty, do you say "Oh I can't be bothered giving you a drink right now" ? No, you just give yourself a drink. In the same way that we are good to ourselves, we should be just as good to others.

"Love is when mummy sees daddy all smelly and sweaty, and still says he is handsomer than Brad Pitt." Chris (7).

Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and talk instead. My mummy and daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss." Emily (8).

If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend you hate." Nikka (6).
A good answer. It is easy to be nice to people who are being nice to you, but very hard to be nice to those who are being nasty to you. But Jesus told us to "Love your enemies." Jesus wants us to be nice to everyone, even to those who are not nice back to us.

"There are two kinds of love, our love and God's love. But God made them both." Jenny (8).
This is probably the best answer. The difference between human love and God's love is that human love is often conditional on the other person loving us back, whereas God's love is unconditional. Suppose you like someone, so start being good to them. If they are nice to you in return, you will carry on being nice to them - wonderful. But if that person is nasty to you in return, do you carry on being nice to them? Probably not. You probably won't want anything to do with that person anymore, or you may even start being nasty to them yourself. God's love is not like that. God's love is unconditional. He loves us because "God is love." He loves us even if we are nasty to others, Ignore Him, or even reject Him. These things all make God sad, but there is nothing anyone could possibly do that would ever make Him stop loving them. He always desires the very best for us.

Maurice Sweetsur.

The Letter of Reference (An All Time Classic)


"To Whom It May Concern:
"Bob Smith, my assistant programmer, can always be found
hard at work in his cubicle. Bob works independently, without
wasting company time talking to colleagues. Bob never
thinks twice about assisting fellow employees, and he always
finishes given assignments on time. Often he takes extended
measures to complete his work, sometimes skipping coffee
breaks. Bob is a dedicated individual who has absolutely no
vanity, in spite of his high accomplishments and profound
knowledge in his field. I firmly believe that Bob can be
classed as a high-caliber employee, the type which cannot be
dispensed with. Consequently, I duly recommend that Bob be
promoted to executive management, and a proposal will be
executed as soon as possible."

Delivered a short time later:

"That idiot was standing over my shoulder while I wrote the letter sent to you earlier today. Kindly re-read only every other line."



Uncle Maurice - Children's Entertainer - Gospel Illusions, Ventriloquism, Balloon Modelling, Puppets, Stories.

- Ministering to Children through Sunday schools, Kids clubs, Hoilday programs, Uniformed organisations, Camps and Schools.
- Ministering to Teachers through monthly Email Newsletters and Training workshops.

Tel. 09 2961495. Email. mnmsweetsur@xtra.co.nz

Newsletter 22

Newsletter 22.

Contents.

Fundamental Beliefs 3. Did God write the Bible?
Teaching tip 9. Noah's Ark and the flood.
Noah Jokes.
O. L. 49. R U E ?
O. L. 50. Trust. a. A mousetrap.
b. Falling backwards.
More Gems from the classroom.


"He who can reach a child's heart can reach the world's heart." Rudyard Kipling.

Welcome to my latest Newsletter. I hope you find something here that will enhance your children's ministry.

I have been having a few problems sending and receiving emails lately. Therefore, if you did not receive either of my last two Newsletters (Nos. 20 and 21), please let me know, and I will resend them to you. Also, if you emailed me during the last two months, were expecting a reply, but didn't get one, please try again as I probably didn't receive it. I apologise for any inconvenience.

Computer viruses seem to be constantly with us. If you have recently received an email and attachment containing a virus apparently from me, be assured that I am not the source. My recent Newsletters do not have attachments, and the subject line will never be "hi" - it will almost certainly be "Newsletter."

Maurice Sweetsur.


Fundamental Beliefs 3. Did God write the Bible?

The Bible claims to be the inspired Word of God (see for example 2 Timothy 3.16 and 2 Peter 1.21). Evangelical Christians believe that to be true. But how would you explain to an enquiring person why you believe that God is indeed the author of the Bible? Here are seven reasons that you could give.

1. The Bible does not contradict any scientific fact.

The history of science is one of discarded and abandoned theories as new light is constantly thrown on the workings of the Universe. This is in sharp contrast with the unchanging scientific statements made in the Bible.

It has been said that the Bible is not a scientific textbook. While it was not written from that perspective, it claims to be the TRUTH - and all its scientific statements have proved to be correct! Here are a few examples.

In ancient times, the earth was generally thought to be supported by huge pillars. But this conflicts with what Job said of his Creator 4,000 years ago: "He spreads out the northern skies over empty spaces; he suspends the earth over nothing. " (Job 26.7).

At the time of Colombus, navigators were concerned that by travelling too far they might fall of the edge of the world. Scientific observation had shown that the earth was flat - water finds its own level, so the sea must be flat! However, some 2,700 years ago Isaiah said of his Creator, "He sits enthroned above the circle (literally ball) of the earth." (Isaiah 40.22).

Nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus referred to a future event that would happen in a split second (the blinking of an eye). In the same passage (Luke 17) Jesus said that it would be day with people working in the field (verse 31) and night with people asleep in bed (verse 34). How was this possible? It used to be thought that when it was daytime, it was daytime all over the world. We now know, however, that when it is daytime at one longitude, it may be night at another - thus enabling us to understand Jesus' statement.

And so we could go on. The Bible has proved to be remarkably accurate in all of its scientific statements. The people that God used to write down these statements doubtless believed, along with their contemporaries, many unscientific notions. However, God ensured that no such untruths came to be included in His Word,


2. The fulfilled prophecies.

A prophecy is usually a prediction about a future event. Hundreds of prophecies in the Bible have been fulfilled, exactly as foretold, often hundreds of years later.

Biblical prophecies are not vague and rambling such as those of Nostradamus and other supposed prophets. Bible prophecies deal with specific places, people and events. Their fulfilments can be verified by reference to subsequent history. For example Isaiah (chapter 53) foretold the death of Christ with minute accuracy more than 700 years before His crucifixion. In fact, over 300 Biblical prophecies about the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus have been completely fulfilled.

Biblical prophecy can only be explained by divine inspiration. God, the Creator of time, is outside of time. He is the One who controls the future and, therefore, the only One who knows the future.


3. There are no contradictions in the Bible.

This is quite remarkable when you consider that the Bible is a collection of 66 books written by at least 40 different people over a period of about 1,600 years. You would normally expect such a collection of different books to have many contradictory statements, but the unity of the Bible is extraordinary for every book agrees with all the others, like some gigantic jig-saw.

Critics have claimed that the Bible does contradict itself in a few places. However, all such apparent contradictions can be satisfactorily explained by a close examination of the texts involved.


4. There are no proven errors in the Bible.

Because of its remarkable claims, no book has ever been scrutinised by its critics as closely as the Bible. Yet, despite this, there remain no proven errors in the Bible.

Much of the Bible concerns a record of the conflicts between the Israelites and neighbouring nations. For centuries there was no evidence for these wars outside of the Bible itself, and critics claimed they were a mixture of legend and invention. Today, however, 'myth' after 'myth' have proved to be true history. Archaeologists have discovered numerous cities beneath the sands of the Middle East, together with countless inscriptions, letters and other items all proving conclusively that the biblical accounts are an authentic record and that the characters referred to truly existed at the times stated.


5. The remarkable Mosaic Laws.

Our public sanitary laws date back less than 200 years. The Bible, however, contains a remarkably good sanitary code. Modern public health officers are concerned with public cleanliness, purity of water supplies, dispersal of sewage, clean food, education of the public, and control of infectious diseases. The Mosaic law covers all these aspects in Leviticus chapters 11 - 16.

When plagues such as the black death swept across Europe in the Middle ages, the Jews, in stark contrast to the other peoples, survived in large numbers. This was because of their healthy habits and high moral standards, as a consequence of their keeping the Mosaic laws. The Jews themselves did not know anything about germs or how diseases spread. Their motivation for keeping the laws was simply "The Lord said." And we know that it was essential for God's plan for the Jews to survive. Their survival and the subsequent formation of the state of Israel was a result of God's protection and the fulfilment of His promises as foretold in the Bible.


6. The Authority of Jesus.

Even a brief glance at the Gospels will convince anybody that Jesus Himself accepted the scriptures (what we now call the Old Testament) as directly from God. Jesus quoted from the scriptures frequently and always treated them as God's Word "which cannot be broken" (John 10.35).

As Jesus accepted the scriptures as God's Word, how can anyone who claims to follow Him not do likewise?


7. The life changing power of the Bible.

Amongst the countless thousands of books that have been written, the Bible is the only one that claims to be alive and have the power to change lives (see Proverbs 4. 20 - 22, Isaiah 55. 11, and Hebrews 4. 12). These amazing claims have been completely vindicated as down through the centuries countless multitudes have found them to be true for themselves. As people have READ, BELIEVED and OBEYED the Bible, their lives have been completely transformed.


The Bible and the Lord Jesus Christ are inextricably linked together as God's revelation to man of His Truth. God has given us the Bible not only that we may know what the truth is, but also that we might come to know Him who is Himself the Truth.


The above was extracted from a Booklet "The Bible. The work of man or the Word of God?" that I wrote a number of years ago. If you would like a free copy of the complete booklet and you live in Britain, I understand they are still available from New Life Centre, Prestwick, KA9 2PA, Scotland. If you live in New Zealand, please email me your postal address, and I will send one on to you.



Teaching tip 9. Noah's Ark and the flood.

One of the favourite Bible stories for many young children is undoubtedly Noah's ark. Older children, however, often question the authenticity of this remarkable event. Here are a few of the questions I have been asked, together with the answers I gave.

Question. The Bible says Noah took 120 years to build the ark. Wouldn't he have died of old age by then?

Answer. No. People did live a lot longer before the flood - about 900 years on average! It was only after the flood (about 2,300 years B.C.) when, probably as a result of the much harsher climatic conditions, the average life span of people began to decline until the time of King David (about 1000 B.C.), when it reached its present level of about 70 years.

Question. How did Noah manage to gather together all those animals and get them onto the ark?

Answer. He didn't. God caused the animals to come to Noah. All Noah would have to do was to open the door of the ark.

Question. Was the ark large enough to accommodate all the thousands of animals?

Answer. Yes. The Ark was enormous. It has been calculated that if the average size of the animals was that of a sheep (actually it would probably have been smaller), they would have only taken up one third of the available space. Thus plenty of room would be left for Noah, his family, and all the food. Also, I believe, God would have chosen young, and therefore smaller, animals for the ark. (All land animals are small when they are young - even Dinosaurs!).

Question. Wouldn't it have been too big a task for Noah to feed all the animals during the year or so they were on the ark?

Answer. Noah was not on his own. He had his family, eight persons in all, to help him. Some animals have the ability to hibernate. We don't know for sure, but perhaps God caused all the animals to hibernate while they were on the ark. Then Noah's task would certainly have been a lot easier!

Question. Where did all the water come from to flood the earth?

Answer, Genesis chapter 1 indicates that from the second day of the creation week, God placed a huge canopy (or envelope) of water vapour above the earth, probably to protect life forms by absorbing harmful radiation from the sun. Many believe that something happened to cause this canopy to collapse and fall to the earth in the form of rain over 40 days and nights. It has been suggested that a collision with a large meteor triggered this collapse. But whatever the physical cause, the important thing to remember is that God was in complete control. He only allowed the rains to come on the day Noah and the animals were safely on the ark. At the same time much water that was originally trapped under the earth was forced to the surface and came out as "great fountains" to add to the floodwaters.

Question. Would there have really been enough floodwater to cover the highest mountains, e.g. Mt. Everest?

Answer. No. Before the flood there were probably no high mountains, so the floodwater, when it came, could have covered all the earth. The Bible indicates (Psalm 104) that, probably as a consequence of the great forces in operation at the time, the mountains were forced up and the valleys dropped down to compensate. The floodwaters then flowed down into these valleys to form our present oceans, seas and great lakes.


Answers in Genesis ( www.answersingenesis.org ) offer excellent cardboard scale models (about 12 ins. long) of Noah's ark. They are excellent for taking along to your class, or for giving out as prizes.


Noah Jokes.

I usually incorporate the following jokes into one or other of two ventriloquism skits that I have with Shaun - my sheep puppet.

1. Shaun. Were you on Noah's ark?
Self. Shaun, have you any idea how long ago Noah had his ark?
Shaun. How long?
Self. About 4,300 years!
Shaun. So?
Self. 4,300 years ago, and you are still asking me if I was on the ark?
Shaun. Yes.
Self. Shaun, exactly how old do you think I am? No. I most certainly was not on the ark.
Shaun. Well, if you weren't on the ark - - - - - - How did you survive the flood?

2. Shaun. I was one of the animals on Noah's ark.
Self. I find that hard to believe. If it's true, tell me, What was the name of Noah's wife?
Shaun. Joan.
Self. Joan?
Shaun. Yes, Joan of Ark!
Self. What did all the animals do to pass away the time while they were on the ark?
Shaun. They read.
Self. You mean animals can read?
Shaun. Yes.
Self. Well tell me then, What did the cows read while they were on the ark?
Shaun. The Moos paper!
Self. What else did the animals do on the ark?
Shaun. They played basketball.
Self. Basketball! What is it called then if a Duck scores at basketball?
Shaun. A Slam Duck!
Self. I bet with all that water about, you did lots of fishing while you were on the ark?
Shaun. No, we didn't fish.
Self. Why not?
Shaun. There were only two worms!
Self. People often play cards to pass the time. Did you play cards on the ark?
Shaun. No, we couldn't play cards because Noah sat on the deck!
Self. I imagine that the worst animals to have on the ark would have been the skunks - they smell aweful.
Tell me, How did you stop the skunks from smelling?
Shaun. Easy. We just held their noses!
Self. I heard you had a light while you were on the ark. As electricity hadn't been discovered, what sort of
light did you have during the flood?
Shaun. A Floodlight of course!


Object Lesson 49. R U E ?

When talking about His second coming, Jesus referred to the days of Noah, saying that when He returned, the conditions on the earth would be similar, i.e. great lawlessness. Jesus went on to explain that the actual date of His return was not important, what really matters is "Are you ready?"

Write out on a card the letters R U E ? (ensure that the "E" is in red). Ask the children "What does this say? That's right R U E. But what is the colour of the "E"? That's right - red. Now, read the card again, but this time say the colour of the letter "E". That's right R U red E. Now, keep on saying it, faster and faster _ _ _ _ _ _ _ You've got it. It says "ARE YOU READY?" The important question is "Are you ready for when Jesus returns? Are you really trusting in Him?"

Object Lesson 50 - Trust.

Here are two simple, but fun, object lessons on trust that you can use with your lesson on Noah, or indeed many other lessons where you want the children to understand what trust is.

A. - A mousetrap. Take along to your class a broken mousetrap, but one that appears to be in working order. Place it on a table, and very carefully place a large coin on top of the trap.

Explain to your children that you want them to understand what trust really is. Challenge the class along these lines. "I am looking for someone who will really trust me. If they do, they will be able to come out and, without hesitating, pick the coin from off the trap and take it away to keep - without any harm coming to them. If they don't really trust me, however, I am not responsible for anything that might happen to them." You should have no shortage of volunteers!

Explain that if the volunteer hesitates in any way, causes the trap to move at all, or drops the coin while attempting to pick it up, it doesn't count - even if the trap does not actually go off. In my experience, the first two or three volunteers will be hesitant, and thus be disqualified. Eventually, someone will pick up the coin without hesitating etc. You can then demonstrate that the trap is not actually working, but state that your volunteers did not know that, and the person who got the coin was indeed really trusting you.

Trust is taking someone at his word, and not doubting it for a moment.

B. - Falling backwards. This illustration has been used for many years, but it is still a very effective lesson for teaching on trust.

Ask for volunteers who really trust you (You could choose two teams). Explain that all they have to do is stand up straight with their backs to you, fall backwards, and you will catch them. However, if their feet move, or their knees bend, they don't get a point as that shows that they were not really trusting you.

After the exercise, you can conclude by saying : "Everyone who took part in that said they trusted me, and I am sure most of them really thought they trusted me. But when it came to the test, it was found that some were really trusting me, but some were not. It is not important whether you really trust me or not, but what is important is whether you are really trusting in Jesus. Many people say they are trusting in Jesus. But the vital question is are you really trusting in Him?"


More Gems from the classroom.

"In the first book of the Bible, Guinness, God got tired of creating the world, so he took the Sabbath off."

"Lot's wife was a pillar of salt by day, and a ball of fire by night."

"Samson slew the Philistines with the axe of the Apostles."

"The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple."

"The fifth commandment is Humour your Father and your Mother."

"The seventh commandment is You shall not admit adultery."

"The Epistles are the wives of the Apostles."

"Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption."

"Solomon had 300 wives and 700 porcupines."

"The greatest miracle in the Bible was when Joshua told his son to stand still, and he obeyed him."

"Christians have only one spouse. This is called monotony."