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Welcome to THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER'S NETWORK
**** A service of ChristianCrafters.Com ****
"For where two or three come together in my name,
there am I with them." -- Jesus
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SSTN # 49 - April 16, 2003
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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:
--> God's Top 10
1) Post Office BANS Bibles
2) Used curriculum to give away
3) No end to God's Love Idea
4) Discipline
5) Son Harvest County Fair Ideas?
--> Buggie For Jesus - I'm A BEE-liever!
6) Keeping older youth interested
7) Evolution is theory not science
8) Does God Exist?
9) Original Dinosaur Question
10) Children in Adult Worship
--> W.W.J.S.? Gospel Catchers
11) Spirit gifts?
12) Stations of the cross
13) Down by the Creekbank
14) The Walls of Jericho...German pancake
15) Ice Breakers
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God's Top 10 - Understanding God's Love In The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments contain many "Do Nots". They teach us God’s holy
standard and show us how far we fall short of his perfection. But they are
more than this; in these "Do Nots", one can find a positive message: a
message of God’s love. (Developed by Sarah Keith for Kindergarten to 5th
grade) Follow the link below to learn more:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html
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1) Post Office BANS Bibles
Jack Moody of Lenoir, N.C., recently attempted to mail a package to his
son, National Guardsman Daniel R. Moody, currently stationed in the Middle
East as part of “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” The package contained a Bible
study and other Christian religious materials. Moody’s son requested the
materials after experiencing a rekindling of his faith in Iraq. Moody
telephoned the local post office to inquire about the procedure for
mailing a package to his son overseas. The postal clerk informed Moody
that restrictions applied to packages mailed to members of the U.S.
military stationed overseas, including a prohibition on “any matter
containing religious materials contrary to the Islamic faith.”
Despite assurances from officials with the U.S. Post Office and Pentagon
that the policy applies only to “mass mailings,” no changes have been made
to the written regulation. The prohibition is referenced in a March 25,
2003, press release from the U.S. Postal Service titled, “Operation Iraqi
Freedom Mailing Tips.”
To read this entire story, go to this webpage:
http://www.rutherford.org/articles_db/press_release.asp?article_id=332
What can we do about this outrageous law?
Begin by logging onto http://www.rutherford.org and sign a petition
against it. The petition will be sent to President Bush and Defense
Secretary Rumsfeld. Then write or email your congressmen and women and
tell them you want the regulation changed.
Copy this note and send it to your friends and family members.
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2) Used curriculum to give away
Hello,
My name is J.D.Fields and I'm a Lic Pastor.
Why I am writing is that I have a lot of use curriculum that I have put
together over the years for 2 years old - to 1st gr. maybe 2nd grade.
My church is now using a different curriculum for my class's ( Thank
You Lord) and I would like to know if there is a small church just
starting out in the San Bernardino or Riverside county of Ca. that would
be willing to take all what I have. Again I have a lot, To much to
mail,and I don't what to throw it away when I know that there are people
out there who can use it.
If anyone is interested, you can e-mail me at
pals4ever98@hotmail.com
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3) No end to God's Love Idea
Remember typing on a loop of twisted paper in typing class?Take a long
strip of fairly narrow paper, twist it only on half turn, then glue the
endges together to form a loop. When you start a line on one side, your
line continues on both sides of the paper. Since it is a loop there is no
end.
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4) Discipline
Dear Sister in Christ
Scarlet, I have been working with children for a long time and this always
worked for me. I gave them 3 chances in the following manner. 1st problem
they had to get up and tell why they were misbehaving. 2nd time they were
excluded from activities .3rd they got to have their parents come in and
sit with us in ss or children's church.I know some parents don't care but
if you DO TAKE them to their parents during the service more than once the
parents seem to mind being interrupted during service. When I take new
ones in I tell parents right off my rules and they must abide by them or
they will be with them in their service.I normally have a meeting with
mine once a quarter just to let them know how things really are going and
that they could help with discipline at home and maybe even use a reward
system with them has helped me some in the past. I have a good group of
kids as well as parents. They see you really want to help them with their
children they are more apt to be with you and not against you. Kathy Seay
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5) Son Harvest County Fair Ideas?
Hi Everyone...Happy Spring!
Our church will be using Gospel Light's VBS package this summer.
It is called "Son Harvest County Fair" this year
and is about the fruit of the Spirit.
I will check the archives for ideas but
am also hoping people could share any
new ideas for teaching about the fruit of the Spirit.
Thanks for all the wonderful ideas and positive attitudes you share all
the time. And a special thank you to Sarah for establishing and
maintaining this wonderful site.
In His Name,
Kim
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Buggie For Jesus - I'm A BEE-liever!
Reproducible buggie crafts, games, lessons, and yummy devotions
to coordinate with your summertime VBS programs, or midweek classes.
In the Curriculum section:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html
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6) Keeping older youth interested
I can speak from experience, I was one of the older youth at my church at
one time. I know that I enjoyed doing crafts, and even the guys who were
in my class liked doing them...it's a shame she won't do them...Another
idea, I found it to be very helpful with my 5th and 6th graders is to
incorporate contemporary Christian music in the lessons. They could also
be put in charge of creating a lesson for the younger children, or even in
charge of a devotion for one sunday morning. I know that for my brother,
he has had to create devotions for youth group. Hope these ideas were
helpful!
~Sara
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7) Evolution is theory not science
Hi JM- I too am a scientist and I believe in creation. God SAID it, that's
all I need to know. The Bible is God's breathed word- period. As a
Christian, you believe it all or you don't believe any of it. When did
evolution go from being a theory to a science? I believe that God created
alot more species of animals and plants than we see now- yes, even
dinosaurs- that are now gone due to non-survival of the non fittest and
also to catastrophic events (like a flood, etc). Of course you will find
many more types of skeletons than we have species alive now. Dr D.J.
Kennedy had a wonderful speaker on his program just about 2 weeks ago-
perhaps you could get his tape. Evolution also won't fit the definition of
science if nothing God (or a creationist) can say or show you would change
your mind. I guess the 2nd law of Thermodynamics is only valid for
creationists but not for evolutionists! Are you willing to open your mind?
God can do anything and HE is the original scientist!
Linda N *<><
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8) Does God Exist?
Hi guys,
DOES GOD EXIST?
That's what I have to try and "prove" to a group of kids aged 7 to 14.
I would love for people to share effective ways of getting this across.
Please give me all you've got!!
Thanks
Esther Bennett, NZ
--from SSTN: The better question is: Prove God DOESN'T exist.
Creation Evidence:
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his
hands.
Psalm 19:1
"For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his
eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood
from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they
knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but
their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened."
Romans 1:20-21
Jesus Evidence:
The WORD Became Flesh and dwelt among us. Who was Jesus? Was he a liar? A
lunatic? or was he LORD? Jesus said he was the WAY the TRUTH, and the
LIFE. Was he a liar? If he wasn't a liar, was he mistaken? If he wasn't
the LORD he must have been a lunatic to think this of himself. These
questions are examined in a great little book called: "More than a
Carpenter" It is a great study for older teens and adults. You can find it
in the Christian Education section of the Bookstore if you're interested:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/bookstore.html
ysic, sarah keith <><
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9) Original Dinosaur Question
Since I posed the original question, how to explain how dinosaurs fit, I'd
like to comment here. I was not asking for scientific proof or debate over
the scientific facts for evolution or geologic history, just how to
explain
dinosaurs existance to 4th-6th graders.
My faith instructs me to believe the Bible is God's word, and it cannot be
wrong, so I am not looking to do a scientific experiment. We have no way
to
'test' history, like you can test gravity, so how can scientific evidence
prove anything? All scientists can do is guess at what happened based on
what they see happening today.
Yes, early christians thought the sun revolved around the earth, but this
is different, the bible does not tell us how the solar system is arranged,
the bible tells us how the world began.
How can you seperate your religion from the rest of your life by saying
you
don't need to reconcile what you "know in your heart" with your religious
beliefs? Why does the world and it's systems assume it is acceptable to
take the holy word of God and only take the parts we like or agree with?
If the bible is not 100% true, then it is false, and if it's false, who
decides which parts are false? Sorry for the rant, I am growing tried of
water down christianity.
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10) Children in Adult Worship
In response to Jean R. Maryland: Children in Adult Worship Services? and
Shan in Canada Children's time?
Jean/Shan - I can really understand your struggle trying to keep youth
engaged during a service designed for adults. I come from a rather large
traditional Church which has had children over the age of 5 attending the
adult service before being dismissed for Sunday School. As the mother of
two children under 10 I saw the struggle both from the perspective of
being a Sunday School teacher when my students would come to class and not
be able to tell me what the lesson was about we just heard, and from the
perspective of being a parent - trying to keep two active children from
fidgeting, fudgeting and generally just disrupting my experience and the
experience of those around us out of boredom.
This past year our Church started a satellite site out of a local school
with the mission of outreach and ministry. One of the first decisions we
made is that we needed to encorporate the youth of all ages more actively
within the service to excite them about worship. To do so one of the main
things we have done is incorporate an intergenerational learning time
during the service. This is very different from the Childrens Sermons
which we had at our home church which were designed for the children. This
time is designed for EVERYONE of all ages with the idea that we should all
be learning the object lesson together. We do all kinds of "different"
types of learning lessons but the best thing we have found is to run it
like small group sessions and to make it interactive! We usually have
groups within the congregation need to work on a very short activity
together designed at helping them learn the lesson. It can be as simple as
looking up missing words from bible verses, working on a crossword puzzel
or needing to actually get up and move around to to accomplish their
mission. The key is to not keep doing the same thing everyweek and to make
everyone feel safe and comfortable working together.
There are several on-line resources we have found to help us come up with
activities that we modify for this type of session each week, including
SSTN, Kids Sunday School Place http://www.kidssundayschool.com/ and
Kidology http://www.kidology.org. If you would like I would be more than
willing to share any of the lesson plans we have used that have worked
well so far.
Good Luck and God Bless dparis@new.rr.com
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W.W.J.S.? Gospel Catchers
There's something much worse than cooties...it's called sin! Now kids can
make Gospel Catchers rather than Cootie Catchers! A fun and innovative way
for kids to learn to share their faith with their friends! Includes 4
Gospel Catcher patterns to make: the Colors of Christ (Gospel Colors), the
Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the Promises of God. Follow this
link to learn more:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html
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11) Spirit gifts?
I am looking for focus activities for a women's class studying gifts of
the Spirit. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks
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12) Stations of the cross
>I am teaching 10 year old children and would like some ideas on how I can
>make the station of the cross meaningful for these children.
We do Stations of the Cross every Sunday morning (before class) during
Lent with all the Religious Ed classes. We use the booklets "The Way of
the Cross for Young Christians" from Barton-Cotton, Inc. Our parish holds
Stations of the Cross every Friday evening during Lent; and outdoor
Stations every first Friday of the month throughout the warmer months.
The Religious Ed Director chooses one Friday during Lent for the children
to act out "Living Stations of the Cross" for the evening session. We use
our Christmas costumes, and the kids are usually enthusiastic about
participating. It seems to mean more to them when they can physically act
it out.
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13) Down by the Creekbank
Beth,
I am also doing "Down by the Creekbank" with my kids. I have some ideas
and would love to share them with you and brainstorm together. You could
contact me via email and then maybe we could talk.
Have a great day!!
Denise Hicks
The Turning Point
Madison, Tn
www.turningpointministries.com
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14) The Walls of Jericho......German pancake
I would love to share the German pancake recipe with you! This is a great
recipe to use when teaching the walls of Jericho to kids. Mix the pancake
first then review the lesson while it is baking.
Ingredients:
5 Tbsp. butter
4 eggs
one quarter tsp. salt
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
2 Tbsp. confectioners sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
In a mixing bowl, combine eggs, salt, flour and milk. Use a blender if
desired.
Melt the butter in a 9 X 13" pan. Pour the contents of the mixing bowl
into the pan.
Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until the mixture rises. Serve at once, sprinkle
powdered sugar on top before serving. Very tasty and don't forget to make
some noise when taking it out of the oven, it will fall!
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15) Ice Breakers
You need two people to run the game. These are coordinators.
We had a list of contests.
The group was divided into men and women. The contestants are all
blindfolded.
Each woman pulls the name of a man.
The coordinators pair them off. Then contest is drawn. It has to be things
they can do blindfolded. These range from stacking dominoes to carrying a
glass of water across a room and then emptying it into a larger bowl to
arm-wrestling.
Surprisingly the arm-wrestling was very fun and popular. Without seeing
your opponent, it takes away some advantage for the bigger party. Then
there is the uncertainty. We had several of the women beat bigger men.
It was a great way to open the party.
Thale Long
Creighton
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If you are finding SSTN helpful to your ministry, then please help to
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To help keep SSTN going and to learn more, go to this webpage:
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Or, mail your US check or US money order to:
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Lake Park, FL 33403
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(In the memo section of your check write: 'SSTN Subscription'.
Please include your email address.)
Your webservant,
Sarah Keith <><
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--Copyright 2002 S.A. Keith--All Rights Reserved. ----
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