Sabbath School November 2017

11/3/2017

Nature Basket: Pollination

In pollination, the bee helps the flowers move pollen from the stamen to the pistol. Then the flower can make seeds! The flower says thank you, Bee, by giving the bee a special drink, called nectar.

Our Creator God designed each plant to have an abundance of seeds. Some seeds provide food for animals, but other seeds help the plant make new plants. Do you know the important steps in the life cycle of a plant?

A plant starts as a seed.
With water and heat, the seed comes alive and becomes a sprout.
The sprout grows roots, a stem, and leaves and becomes a seedling.
The seedling grows bigger until it becomes an adult plant.
The adult plant makes flowers.
When pollen from the stamen moves to the pistol on the flower, then seeds and fruit form. Often, wind, insects or animals help with this process called pollination. The flower thanks the pollinators by sharing nectar (sweet syrup) with them.
The seeds fall to the ground to start the life cycle all over again.

Pollination reminds me of the story of the little boy who shares his lunch with Jesus. That little boy got to be part of an amazing miracle. He brought his little bit of food to Jesus, and Jesus turned that little bit of food into A LOT of food. When insects share pollen between flowers, they get to be part of a special miracle, too. They help the flowers make lots and lots of seeds, so that many new plants can form. And the flowers say thank you to the pollinators by giving them a special drink, called nectar. I think God likes us to share and be appreciative, don't you? You never know how your little bit can become a lot for God.

Below are some options for experiencing the nature lesson this month. Choose one each week.
1. WALK - Go outside and look for the last blooming flowers of the season, but don't pick them! Do you see bees still visiting them trying to get the last bit of nectar and pollen for the season? Psalm 119:103 says, "How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth" (NKJV)! Bees make honey out of nectar. God wants us to search in His word for Jesus, just like the bees search for flowers to get nectar. When we obey His word, we discover that life with Jesus is sweeter than honey!

2. WATCH - Look out your window on a windy day. What do you see blown about by the wind? Besides leaves, do you notice any seeds blowing by? Usually the seeds that travel by wind have little feathers attached to them. The dandelion and milkweed plant make seeds that fly! In John 3:8, Jesus compares the wind to the Holy Spirit. In Luke 8:11, Jesus compares the seed to God's Word. Just as the wind carries the seed to a new place, the Holy Spirit is the One who makes God's Word bear fruit in our lives when we believe in it.

3. DO - Let's act out the life cycle of a plant.

Seed - Curl up in a tiny ball with your head down and eyes closed.
Sprout - Lift your head up with your eyes open.
Seedling - Stand on your feet, but crouch down.
Adult Plant - Stand tall.
Flower - Stay standing, but cup your hands in front of you.
Seed - Curl up in a tiny ball again.

As Christians, we are supposed to "grow up," too (Ephesians 4:14,15). God puts His Word - the seed - in our hearts. When we accept that Word by faith, the Holy Spirit makes that Word real in our life. Then, we grow, and grow, and grow into the people that God wants us to be! Our special Bible verse, Hebrews 13:16, reminds us to share with others. Ask God to make that verse real in your life today.

BONUS - Check out this link for some awesome hands-on activities on pollination.

4. MAKE - There are different creatures that can be pollinators for flowers - bees, butterflies, bats, humming birds, etc. Can you make a craft of a pollinator? Here are some ideas below.

Pollinators help flowers make new seeds by visiting around to nearby plants. Do you take time to visit around at church and meet someone new? When you do this, you help share Jesus' love and Word with them. Next time you are in Sabbath School, say Hi, to a new friend.

Memory Mastery: Sanctuary Revisited

God wants to live with us, so He asked Moses to build the sanctuary. Do you know all the names of parts and furniture of the sanctuary? Courtesy of Sweet Publishing and FreeBibleImages.org

This quarter, we will again study the Sanctuary. Hopefully, by now your child knows the names of the parts and the pieces of furniture. This time we will review its significance. See if your child can learn to fill in the blanks of the following statements. If your child can name the parts of the sanctuary and fill in these statements from memory, then they will earn a Bible artifact.

Sanctuary means a place to live. God wants to live with us.
The sanctuary service teaches us how God saves us from sin.
Sin is breaking God's law. Sin leads to death.
The courtyard represents what Jesus did on earth.
The tabernacle represents what Jesus has done in heaven.
On earth, Jesus was the Lamb of God who died for our sins.
In heaven, Jesus is our Great High Priest and Judge. As High Priest, Jesus asks God to forgive us of our sins. He covers the record of our sin with His own blood. As Judge, Jesus decides who gets to live forever with Him in heaven.

Mission Mail: A Gift to God

Meet a boy from the Euro-Asia Division who likes to memorize Bible verses as his gift to God. What is your gift to God?

Don't forget to bring your coins to Sabbath School each week to give to God for the world mission project. This quarter the world church is building an Adventist preschool in Kazakhstan.

This month, let's learn some facts about the people of the biggest country in the Euro-Asia Division - Russia! Try to learn one each week.
1. Most of the people in Russia speak Russian. See if you can learn how to say hello.

2. One common soup eaten in Russia is called Borscht. Beets are the main vegetable in it. Have you ever had beet soup? Check out this borscht recipe and consider adapting it as needed.

3. Traditional Russian clothing involved long dresses and head coverings for women. Usually there were two dominant colors in the outfit - white or some natural color with red. Men wore pants and long shirt with a belt tied around their waist. They also wore hats. During winter, coats were made out of skins and fur.

4. Most of the people in Russia worship God as Orthodox Christians (75%). 5% of people are Islam. Then, other churches and religions make up the rest. The biggest holiday in Russia is New Year's Day.

Bible Story: A Boy Shares His Lunch

References: Matthew 14; Mark 6; Luke 9; John 6
Jesus and his disciples were trying to catch some rest on a hillside near Bethsaida near the Sea of Galilee when a multitude of people found them. The people were looking for Jesus. Jesus saw that the people needed much guidance and help, so He taught the people and healed those who were sick.

After a long day of teaching and healing, Jesus knew the disciples and all the people were very hungry. Jesus turned to his disciple Philip and asked, "Where will we buy bread, so all these people can eat?" Philip looked over the multitude of people with 5,000 men, not including women and children, and said, "Even 200 denari worth of bread is not enough to feed all these people!" Jesus replied, "Go see what you can find."

After a long day of teaching and healing, Jesus asked Philip to feed the people. There were so many people that Philip didn't know how he could ever earn enough money to feed them all. Can you count to 5,000?! That's how many men there were in the crowd. Courtesy of Sweet Publishing and FreeBibleImages.org

The disciple Andrew found a young boy who had brought his lunch. In his basket, he had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. The young boy offered to share his lunch with Jesus. So, Andrew came back to Jesus with the boy's lunch and said, "Here is a boy who has 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. But, this is nothing compared to all the people that need food." "It is enough," said Jesus, "have the people sit down to eat."

There was a little boy who offered to share his lunch with Jesus. In his basket, he had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Can you pretend to hold a basket? Courtesy of Sweet Publishing and FreeBibleImages.org

Jesus smiled at the little boy and took the basket of food. He broke a piece of bread and thanked God for providing them all with something to eat. The little boy watched Jesus pull bread and fish out of his little basket over and over again. The disciples gave the food to the people till everyone received something to eat. Jesus then said, "Go, gather up the leftovers." When the disciples came back, they had 12 baskets full of bread!

Jesus took the little lunch. He thanked God for the food. From that little lunch, Jesus had the disciples feed all those people! Can you pretend to give me something to eat? Courtesy of Sweet Publishing and FreeBibleImages.org

Our Bible story reminds me of the Bible verse, Hebrews 13:16, which says, "Don't forget to share with others." God does special miracles in us and through us when we share with others, just like He did with the little boy who shared his lunch with Jesus. Sometimes sharing is not giving things. It can also be giving ourselves in helping others. What can you do just in your own home to share something or help others?
Dear Father in Heaven, I want to share my heart with Jesus. I want to share my things with others. I want to be a helper. Please help me not forget to share. In Jesus' Name, Amen

Below are some options for experiencing the Bible story this month. Choose one each week.
1. Let's review where our cities are on our map of Israel. Can you draw your own map of the cities, using the water landmarks as your guide? - The Sea of Galilee (north), the Dead Sea (south), and the Jordan River (connecting the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea).

Blank version of this map of Israel courtesy of FreeBibleImages.org

Our Bible story takes place near the Sea of Galilee in a hillside near the town of Bethsaida. Bethsaida had lots of flat hills - a perfect place to sit down and have a picnic. Why don't you pretend (or not pretend) to have a picnic somewhere outside or inside? Don't forget your little basket. Retell the Bible story while you eat.

2. A denari was considered a penny in Jesus' day. It's what someone could earn working in a vineyard (Matthew 20:2) all day! When Philip said that not even 200 denari would feed the people, he was saying that if he worked for a whole season on the farm, he couldn't make enough money to feed all those people. Try this fun craft to imagine how Jesus really performed an amazing miracle turning one boy's lunch into thousands of lunches.

3. Bread and fish were the common, simple diet of the people living near the Sea of Galilee. Bread was made from wheat or barley, the two main grains of Israel (Deuteronomy 8:7-9). The sardine was one of the 3 main fish found in the Sea of Galilee (reference). It's a small fish, and it may have been the fish packed in the basket for the little boy. Look at the ingredients or the name of the bread that you like to eat. Which grain do you see listed - wheat or barley?

4. Before Jesus performed the miracle of feeding over 5,000 people with a little boy's lunch, He took a moment to thank God in heaven for the food. Today, we call that simple prayer, Grace. Do you remember to say Grace before you eat your food? Practice your simple prayer now.

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