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SSTN # 106 - December 10, 2004
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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:
--> "Chalk-It-Up" 22 Awesome Outdoor Games!
1) Paper Angel...Easy-to-make!
2) Plug for Armor of God game
3) Dear burnt out
KIDS CAN @ CHRISTMAS TIME
4) Urgent Holiday Prayers
5) Jesus loves terrorists
6) Olga's email from Indonesia?
Noel Christmas Photo Frame
7) Burned Out "Holly"
8) Bible Science Experiments
9) Bible Science Experiments
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--> "Chalk-It-Up" 22 Awesome Outdoor Games!
"Chalk-It-Up" is a great game book for kids and comes with a pack of giant
marble sidewalk chalk! Inspires creativity, independent play and family
time fun! Give one to the children in your life this Christmas. Check it
out on the following page:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html
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1) Paper Angel...Easy-to-make!
Check out the new Paper Angel craft. It's easy-to-make
and can be given as a gift! It's located at:
http://www.ChristianCrafters.Com
in the CHRISTIAN CRAFTS section under Holidays & Holy Days.
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2) Plug for Armor of God game
I want to recommend the Armor of God game that Sarah sells. I didn't use
the whole lesson this time, although I may in the future. We just played
the game - I tied it into a month long rotation lesson on Gideon.
We used men's t-shirts with the arms cut off for the breastplate of
righteousness, pot lids for the shields, bibles for the sword of the
spirit, strips of fabric for the belt of truth, men's sox for shoes of
readiness, hats and toques for helmet of salvation.
The kids really loved it - especially the boys. The only thing I found was
that the game cube had a tendency to roll to the sword regularly. I
mustn't
have had an equal weight of tape all around. That's something to keep in
mind when you are taping it up.
I did readings out of "Bible Wars and Weapons" by Osborne, Wooding and
Strauss. It was my first time using this book, but it appears that it will
be a good resource. It goes over many wars or battles in the bible,
telling
the story in an easy-to-understand fashion and then discussing the
relevance to the children. Includes maps and dramatic, cartoon-like
illustrations.
I wish that I would have had a camera to record what the children looked
like after they were all suited up :)
Maureen
--from SSTN: thank you, Maureen. For anyone else that's interested, you
can find the lesson with game cube on the following page:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/game_armor.html
ysic,
Sarah Keith
ChristianCrafters.Com
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3) Dear burnt out
You are not alone. Like you I found myself experiencing the same
spiritual loss. But please do not leave the ministry without the leading
of the Holy Spirit. Just because you are going through a rough season
does not mean that you are not where you are suppose to be. Lay your
burdens first at the Father's feet then to your Pastor. And if your
pastor does not help then as I had to do for a while until others found
the value in children's ministry and me, I had to let go of some of the
children's ministries responsibilities. Parents soon began to assist and
now I have time for the ministry and my personal relationship with God
and others.
Don't give up, God is not through with you yet!
Leslie McKinney
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KIDS CAN @ CHRISTMAS TIME
An Advent celebration of 31 crafts and recipes. To learn more, go to:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/crafts_Christmas_Advent.html
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4) Urgent Holiday Prayers
This holiday, or any time we are honoring the Lord the enemy seems to
attack families. I've had a lot of my church family lose their loved ones.
I have also heard a lot of stories and prayer request for many families
due to car accidents, and unexplained fatal accidents. My family also has
very sick loved ones at this time. Please I ask everyone to pray
for everyone, even people we do not know. We are under attack. Let's pray
for the Lord to place his guardian angels all around. We must remember it
is not the Lord who causes these terrible things. Let's pray for the
people who are struggling with believing in the Lord. Their are many
people who are happy and joyful with not a worry in the world. But let us
not forget about the people who are feeling sad and hopeless during the
holidays. I work at a Christian Store and it has made me realize how many
people need the Lord in their lives. Jesus calls his people to love the
ones who hate us, feed the poor, and do not judge anyone. If Jesus was
visiting today his followers wouldn't even know. He would be with the lost
broken people. Let us Thank the Lord every day for blessing us with his
LOVE
God Bless EVERYONE, Michelle
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5) Jesus loves terrorists
In his latest book, Light Force: A Stirring Account of the Church Caught
in the Middle East Crossfire, which he wrote together with Al Janssen,
Brother Andrew details how God opened the doors for him all the way to
Arafat. Janssen and Brother Andrew emphasise that with Jesus' love, it is
possible to reach every person, including Hamas terrorists. "I sometimes
doubt that we Christians really believe that," says Janssen. "We say that
God loves the whole world, but when we hear that some terrorist group
commits a crime, we say 'They deserve the death penalty!' We picture some
nameless enemy instead of a human being perhaps desperately seeking
answers."
"If nobody goes to tell terrorists the Gospel, how will they ever hear
it?"
Brother Andrew, who has always liked to go where no one else does, says of
himself "If I, a simple Dutchman without even a proper schooling, can have
such a ministry, then anyone can!"
--from SSTN: this book can be found in CD format in our bookstore by
typing, "Light Force: A Stirring Account of the Church" into the search
box at:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/bookstore.html
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6) Olga's email from Indonesia?
May I know Olga's email..?
I'm from Indonesia too..
I teach sunday school too..
May be I can send sarah some material in bahasa indonesia.. likes song,
story.....
thank you and God bless you..
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Noel Christmas Photo Frame...Download it today!
An easy make-and-take project with a great fundraising tip!
Learn more here:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html
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7) Burned Out "Holly"
I too went through a similar situation some years ago...I was given lots
of advice by wonderful people but they were not wonderful enough to
help....I didn't quite understand what you meant when you wrote about the
"debate" concerning children in the service... Did this mean the church
would like to have the children in the service? Or NOT in the service?
If they want them there then why not try a "Children's moment" at the
beginning of the service then you sit back and enjoy the rest of the
service or let them stay for the singing and more informal part then take
them out just before the message....use teenagers....they are a great
tool..and it teaches them they can be of service for the Lord... If your
church wants them OUT then why not try something I did...it worked and I
was able to gradually get the help I needed....I found SEVERAL object
lessons to use in my childrens' messages...usually two or three very short
lessons per week.... (you can buy object lesson books by the hundreds) I
passed them out the week before to willing adults...and sometimes
teens....telling them I only needed their help long enough to do the short
lesson....most of the time they would come back and sit until it was
"their turn"..tah, dah....instant help and they didn't even
suspect....gradually people volunteered to do a "lesson" because they
enjoyed it....and they many times enjoyed the simple messages I taught...
Getting people to share they "jobs", "hobbies", etc as "guest speakers" is
another way of sneaking them in.... Good luck....and two little words of
advice, which took me many years and tears to learn....learn to say "no
more" or you WILL become bitter....then you'll be no good to anyone,
specially God. Dianne, AL
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8) Bible Science Experiments
>>Where can I find experiments to demonstrate a bible lesson?
Leslie--
Here is a list of science experiments I have used to teach Bible lessons
in the past. Hope this helps!
Dana
* Our new life in Jesus:
Make caterpillars (can use egg cartons and pipe cleaners)
Make a chrysalis (a decorated toilet paper tube)
Make a butterfly on stiff paper. Put a Popsicle stick at the center to
make a puppet handle. Roll the wings inward so the butterfly slides into
the chrysalis—then you can play out the butterfly’s glorious “rebirth”
from his “tomb.” (Also—even though it’s difficult for a butterfly to
emerge, if it were to receive help it would never fly.)
(from SSTN: you can see this on our crafts page under "Caterpillar to
Butterfly" at:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/page6.html
)
* Our cup overflows with blessings:
(Use the old baking soda and vinegar volcano trick.)
Place a cup inside a baking pan (to catch overflow). Put some vinegar in
the cup. Then add baking soda—watch the overflow!
* Influence of our culture (tv shows, movies, etc)
Put some Queen Anne’s Lace (a wonderful weed flower) or white carnations
in some “pure” water—the flowers remain white. Add “sin” food coloring to
the water—watch how it affects the purity of the flowers.
* We can’t see the Holy Spirit—but we can see what he does:
Just like the wind: Can we see it? (no) Make kites or wind socks—then
watch how the invisible wind can make a kite soar.
(1 Kings: the lord was in the gentle breeze)
(Do a Bible word search on wind at crosswalk.com)
* Stars—constellations
Make a slide constellation viewer (with a Styrofoam cup, or on the inside
of an umbrella….poke holes in the shape of a constellation on the bottom
of the cup and shine a flashlight through, or use white paint or chalk on
the underside of a black umbrella and stand under it)
Constellations are mentioned by name in the Bible (see Job 9:9) (He
arranged them so that they look that way only from earth! From any other
place in the universe, the same stars would be viewed from different
angles, and thus not make the same constellations.) (Orion, …)
* Reflecting God’s light
http://www.camalott.com/~ckirk/light.html
(that’s a matching sermon by Charles Kirkpatrick)
Make CD-Rom mirrors—put a little picture of Jesus over the hole in the
middle and a magnet on the back (older kids can put these in their
lockers). When you look in the mirror, you’ll see Jesus in the middle of
you. That’s what others should see when they look at you! (That's a
reminder of what you should be "reflecting.")
Related science: light and reflection
(Can’t reflect something you’re not facing…test that with your mirrors.
How can you reflect the strongest light? What happens if something comes
between our mirror and the light?)
* Beat-A-leaf
science: chlorophyll makes the leaf green.
Place a green leaf on an old board, and place a square of muslin fabric
over that. Then pound the daylights out of the leaf (with a rock or a
rubber mallet..). The chlorophyll will stain the fabric and make a
pretty, and permanent, artistic impression.
The leaf has to lose it’s temporary “life” (the chlorophyll that gave the
tree it was attached to life by making fuel) to gain permanence as
artwork. (What happens if the leaf surrenders only part of it’s
chlorophyll “life”? Will the part it retains last? Will the artwork be
all it could have been?)
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9) Bible Science Experiments
>Where can I find experiments to demonstrate a bible lesson?
Check out Object lesson numbers
2,3,4,5,7,10,12,17,18,19,21,23,24,27 and 32 on
http://mauricesweetsur.blogspot.com/
Maurice Sweetsur
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