Nature Window: Cat's EyesGod gave cats a very special ability. They can see very well at night. He gave their eyes an extra mirror in the back that reflects the tiny bit of light at night twice for them, so that darkness doesn't look very dark to them. This allows cats in the wild or outdoors to be able to continue hunting at night. It's very hard to hide from a cat. Cats' eyes remind me of the Bible verses, Job 34:21,22, which say, "For [God's] eyes are on the ways of man, and He sees all his steps. There is no darkness..." (NKJV). Did you know that God's eyes are even better than a cat's eyes? Whenever we do naughty things, we are in the dark. We may even think that no one sees us, but God sees us. There was a prophet in the Bible named Jonah who actually tried to runaway and hide from God. Of course, God saw him and even sent a giant fish to catch Jonah. We will learn more about Jonah and God's great love in our Bible story today. On your nature walk today or looking out your nature window, see if you spot a cat. Notice how good cats are at just watching things. They stay very still, especially if they are interested in getting closer. Can you sit still while listening to your Bible story? Close your eyes and see if you can picture it. Memory Mastery: The GodheadThis quarter we are learning more about the Godhead. During our time, we will unpack a little of the mystery of God to help the children understand some important principles. At the end of our questions and answers, you will find a poem about the Godhead that I want the children to memorize. Who is God?
Did God really make everything? What was there before Him? Reference: Acts 17:24-28
Do you like to be alone all by yourself? Neither does God. In fact, did you know God has his own family? References: 1 John 5:7; Mark 1:9-11
Can we see God? References: 1 John 4:12; John 6:46; Hebrews 4:14; John 15:26; John 14:7-9
Here is a poem I wrote to help us remember each person of the Godhead. (This poem is the actual memory mastery project we will memorize as a class.)
Mission Trip: A Secondary School for GabonOur 13th Sabbath mission offering is going to help build a new Seventh-day Adventist secondary school in Franceville, Gabon. Secondary schools there serve children in grades 6 to 12. Can you set aside your coins this quarter to help with this special mission project? Pretend you are part of the mission team to help build a school for our friends in Gabon. Find some blocks or use Play-doh and craft sticks to build your school. The official language of Gabon is French. Can you say, Happy Sabbath, in French? Bon Sabbat! Bible Story: God Sends Jonah to NinevehReference: Book of Jonah God told his prophet Jonah to visit the Assyrian city of Nineveh and warn the people there. God was going to punish them if they didn't stop doing wicked things. Jonah didn't want to go to Nineveh. He got in a boat headed for Tarshish instead. While Jonah slept on the boat, God sent a great wind storm to rock the boat. The men in the boat thought they would all die. They wondered why this storm attacked their boat. The men on the boat woke up Jonah and asked him if he knew why there was this big wind storm. Prophet Jonah told them that he had disobeyed God. With Jonah's permission, the men threw Jonah over the boat into the water. Immediately the storm calmed down. Jonah thought he would die, but he prayed to God for help. God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah. He was in the fish's belly for 3 days and 3 nights. He told God he was sorry for not obeying His command to preach to Nineveh. The fish spit Jonah out of its mouth on dry ground. Prophet Jonah went to Nineveh and preached to the people there. He told them God would punish them in 40 days if they did not stop doing wickedness. The people listened to Jonah. Even the king listened to Jonah. Everyone was sad and sorry. They prayed to God for forgiveness. God decided he would not punish the city. Our prayer verse is Numbers 14:18, which says, "The Lord doesn’t become angry quickly. The Lord has great love. The Lord forgives sin and law breaking. He has great mercy" (ICB). God loves all the people of the world. He wants all of them know of His love. He wants to help everyone to do what is right. This is why He sent prophet Jonah to Nineveh. This is why we can always come back to God and say, I'm sorry. He will welcome us and help us. Dear Father God, When You show me that I am doing wrong, help me be sad for my sin and say, I'm sorry. Thank You for Jesus who died for me. In Jesus' Name, Amen Let's play a game called Hug and Seek. I will close my eyes, and you will hide. When I find you, we will hug and say, I love you. Now, let's switch turns. The Bible says we are "lost" when we do naughty things. When we see that God sent Jesus to die for us, we are sad for the naughty things we did. When we say, I'm sorry, to God, God "finds" us again with His love. This is what happened to Jonah and the people of Nineveh who became sad for the bad things they did and asked for forgiveness from God. Adapted from Children's Ministry Magazine Online.
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Nature Window: Dandelions
Dandelions are pretty yellow flowers that you often see in yards. Your mommy or daddy may not be so happy to see dandelions in the yard. We call plants we don't want, weeds. Why don't a lot of people like dandelions? It's because dandelions are really hard to remove or kill, and they spread very easily.
After the yellow flower is gone, the dandelion becomes a white puffy ball that easily breaks apart. In fact, the seeds are in that puffy ball. When the wind blows those balls apart, the seeds fly and plant a new dandelion somewhere else.
Dandelions remind me of the Bible verse, 2 Chronicles 33:9, which talks about a wicked king of Judah named Manasseh. It says, "But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do wrong" (ICB). When a king decides to disobey, he influences his people to disobey, just like how the dandelion spreads its seed everywhere. It's hard to remove disobedience. God was very sad with Manasseh because he spread evil all over Judah. Thankfully, his grandson, King Josiah decided to be a good example for the people and follow God.
On your nature walk today, can you pick the yellow dandelion heads? Find one that has gone to seed. Pull it apart to see the parachute God attached to each seed. Think of how you can be a good influence to those around you.
Memory Mastery: The Godhead
This quarter we are learning more about the Godhead. During our time, we will unpack a little of the mystery of God to help the children understand some important principles. At the end of our questions and answers, you will find a poem about the Godhead that I want the children to memorize.
Who is God?
Did God really make everything? What was there before Him? Reference: Acts 17:24-28
Do you like to be alone all by yourself? Neither does God. In fact, did you know God has his own family? References: 1 John 5:7; Mark 1:9-11
Can we see God? References: 1 John 4:12; John 6:46; Hebrews 4:14; John 15:26; John 14:7-9
Here is a poem I wrote to help us remember each person of the Godhead. (This poem is the actual memory mastery project we will memorize as a class.)
Mission Trip: West Central Africa Division
This quarter the world church family is going to do some special mission projects in the West Central Africa Division. We will learn more about those projects next time.
Can you find these countries on the map of Africa in Google Maps? Zoom in near the Gulf of Guinea to find Nigeria and Gabon, where our two special projects are.
Bible Story: Josiah Discovers God's Special Book
Reference: 2 Chronicles 34
Josiah's father Amon and grandfather Manasseh were wicked kings of Judah. Josiah was only 8 years old when he became king. He decided he would love and obey God.
As King Josiah humbled himself before God, God showed him more ways to do what's right. King Josiah decided to destroy the idols in Judah and in parts of Israel. He tore down the altars made to pagan gods.
He also decided to repair God's house. People gave money to help. King Josiah hired carpenters and stone workers to fix God's house. The priests and Levites made sure everything was done right.
Then Hilkiah the High Priest discovered something very special in the temple. It was the only copy of God's book in the country. He sent God's book to King Josiah. When King Josiah listened to the words of God's book, he was so upset he tore his clothes. He was sad that his people had disobeyed God for so long. He wondered what God thought of him. Huldah the prophetess gave King Josiah a message from God: "I am glad you are sad for all the sins of your people. I have been very sad, too. Because you want to do what is right and follow me, I will not punish the people while you are alive."
King Josiah was thankful that God was happy with him. He read God's book to the people. They wanted to obey God, too. Then all the people celebrated the Passover to remember how God freed his people from slavery in Egypt.
Our prayer verse is John 14:15, which says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Because King Josiah loved God, he kept God's commandments. He got rid of all the idols in Judah. He read God's special book to the people, so they could learn of God's love and God's commandments.
Do you love God? Do you read God's special book? Do you obey God's commandments? It makes God sad when we disobey. Let's show God how much we love Him by asking for His Holy Spirit to help us obey, like King Josiah did. Dear Father God, I love you. Send me Your Holy Spirit, so I can keep Your commandments. In Jesus' Name, Amen
Let's play a game of hide and seek with the Bible. When Josiah was king, there was a copy of the Bible hiding in the temple. Priest Hilkiah found it. Close your eyes, while I place this Bible somewhere in the room. Open your eyes and see if you can find it. King Josiah was glad to find God's special book. But when he read it, he became sad because he realized that his people had been very wicked. Let's remember to read our Bible stories, so we can know what God says.
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