Children’s Faith Formation Resources 2022-23

Moses and Pharaoh – Exodus 5-11, January 2023

Moses and Pharaoh- Exodus 5-11, January 2023

Moses is a very important ancestor of ours. We’ll spend some time getting to know his story this fall. We know that he was rescued from the Nile River by Pharaoh's daughter, and that God called him from a burning bush to go to Egypt and tell Pharaoh to let God’s people go. Now, we follow him on that adventure!

Hear the Story (January 8-15)-

We encourage you to share the story of Moses and Pharoah (Exodus 5-11) with your child throughout the week. Read them the story from their Children's Story Bible. This cartoon tells the whole story of Moses. This short video (2 minutes) is a great retelling of the story from the video Beginners Bible. If you want the full story of Moses- you can also watch the animated film The Prince of Egypt.

Music: This is the classic Moses song- Go Down Moses. Do your parents remember it from their childhood? Sing along to this tune about the call of Moses.

Explore the Story (January 15-22)

Each of these activities is meant to reintroduce the story to your children. To let them interact with and explore the story in order for it to sink in a bit. There are a wide variety of options for each section, so hopefully there is something that works well for each family. Do as many or few as you wish this week, the main thing is to take time with your children so they can hear, interact with, and explore the story of the childhood of their ancestor in the faith- Moses.

This curriculum has a fun craft for a paper wriggly snake.
Here are some fun coloring sheets: Moses and Pharoah, Pharoah Paint By Numbers, Ten Plagues Coloring Sheet.
If you are more into words, here is a word search
One of the plagues was darkness. You might play Blind Man’s Bluff, or see who can navigate a room best blindfolded or in the dark. Then talk about what it might have been like for the Egyptians to live that way. You could play leap frog!
You could also make your own craft with something for each of the ten plagues.

Engage/Live the Story (January 22-29)

This week is a great opportunity for the kids to show you what they have learned so far about the story of Moses. We have several great examples here, but feel free to have your kiddo do the retelling in the way that suits them best. Be prepared to share, we’d love to see what you are up to!

Have them come up with an item that represents each of the Ten Plagues and tell you why they chose each item.
The point of the story is that God is more powerful than any gods that we can create- even computers! Talk with your children about what might be some things that try and keep us from God today. Make a list of those things on a sheet and at the bottom write the command of God through Moses, “Let my people go!”
Have them get creative and retell the story as a poem, craft, or coloring.

Share the Story (January 29)

This week we invite you to join us and share your creations and thoughts about this story. What did you do during this month? What did you create or do last week? Think of it as a big show and tell! We invite you to join us and share your story! If you can’t be with us- send us a picture of your project or a short video describing what you did! We’re excited to see how you have shared the story of Moses in your life this week.

Emmanuel- God with us! – Matthew 1-2, November and December 2022

Emmanuel- God with us! – Matthew 1-2, November 2022

We all know the story of the birth of Jesus, but did you know that the most familiar version is the made up of two different stories? The most familiar is the story from the Gospel of Luke. It has shepherds, Mary and Joseph finding no room at the inn, and Jesus being born and laid in a manger. The one we will look at this month is less familiar.

This one is from the Gospel of Matthew and has wise men from the East led by a star, Mary and Joseph in a house with baby Jesus, Herod the King looking to do Jesus harm, and the wise men laying gifts at the feet of Jesus.

We hope that you have fun learning this story of the birth of Jesus. Our plan is to have this story told by our children at each service on Sunday, December 18. Your child can be part of this by:

sending us a picture of one of the coloring sheets below,
drawing a picture of one of the scenes in the list, or
sending us a recording of them reading the story.

Hear the Story-

We encourage you to share the story of Emmanuel- God with us! (Matthew 1-2) with your child throughout the week. Read them the story from their Children's Story Bible. It’s hard to find a video that just has this story in it. This is the closest one that we’ve found.

Music: This is the classic Three Wise Men song- We Three Kings. Do your parents remember it from their childhood? If you feel so bold, maybe you could record your family singing this song together and share it with us! You can find a copy of the lyrics here.

Explore the Story

Continue to explore the story, but we also invite you to have your child color one of the sheets below or create their own drawing or craft to show one of these scenes. We’ll use these as background for our presentation of the story on Sunday, December 18.

You can send images of the finished drawings to or bring them by the church by Sunday, December 11.

You can also record your child reading this version of the Matthew 1-2 story. Copies of them reading can be sent to the address above or dropped off on a thumb drive at the church by Sunday, December 11.

Share the Story (Sunday, December 18)

During both services this Sunday, your children along with their classmates will be sharing the gospel reading and the sermon for the day. IF they are able to attend, we’ll get them involved in worship leadership. If not, we’ll have their participation through our video which will incorporate their drawings, coloring, and voices as they read the story.

We hope that you will all participate with us in telling this lesser known version of the birth of Jesus as we celebrate the birth of Jesus- Emmanuel- God with us!

Moses and the Burning Bush- Exodus 3-4, October 2022

Moses and the Burning Bush- Exodus 3-4, October 2022

Moses is a very important ancestor of ours. We’ll spend some time getting to know his story this fall. We know that he was rescued from the Nile River by Pharoah’s daughter, now we catch up with him years later tending a flock of sheep when he sees a strange sight… a flaming bush that does not burn up. Curious he approaches this sight and then…

Hear the Story (October 2 - 9)-

We encourage you to share the story of Moses and the Burning Bush(Exodus 3-4) with your child throughout the week. Read them the story from their Children's Story Bible. This cartoon tells the whole story of Moses. This short video (4 minutes) is a great retelling of the story from Saddleback Kids. This is a very short video (2 minutes) based on our Children’s Story Bible. This video (6 minutes) is from The Prince of Egypt and would be good for older children. If you want the full story of Moses- you can also watch the animated film The Prince of Egypt.

Music: This is the classic Moses song- Go Down Moses. Do your parents remember it from their childhood? Sing along to this tune about the call of Moses.

You can also sing this fun one to the tune or Mulberry Bush- Moses and the Burning Bush

Explore the Story (October 9-16)

Since this week’s story is about a fire, if it is safe to do so, make a small fire with your child. Make sure to keep them out of the smoke and explain the dangers of fire to them. No doubt they will be fascinated to see how things burn. Explain again how amazing it was that the bush was on fire but did not burn away. You could also have them watch a candle flame and describe to you the colors that they see in it.
Here are some fun coloring sheets for the story of Moses and the Burning Bush. This is another coloring sheet to try.
An easy craft activity is to have your child trace their own shoe on construction or other paper and cut it out. Write today’s Bible verse (Exodus 3:5) on the cut out and add laces and decorations to the shoe. Display it all this week!
Here is another craft to try. You only need scissors, glue, some colored tissue paper, and white cardstock or paper.
If you are more into words, here is a crossword puzzle and word search for our story.
Moses was asked to remove his shoes as a sign of respect for God. Do you have your children remove their shoes when they come in the house? If so, talk with them about how that is a sign of respect as well. As an activity- go throughout the house and see how many pairs of shoes you can find together!

Engage/Live the Story (October 16-23)

This week is a great opportunity for the kids to show you what they have learned so far about the story of the baby Moses. We have several great examples here, but feel free to have your kiddo do the retelling in the way that suits them best. Be prepared to share, we’d love to see what you are up to!

Have some conversation with your child about the story of the Moses and the burning bush. How do you think Moses felt when he saw the burning bush? How would you feel if you saw something like that? How about when the voice came from the bush? How do you think Moses felt then? How would you feel?
Have your child tell you the story of Moses and the Burning Bush. They could do this in a play, with dolls, coloring pages, pictures or video, or any other way that might suit them and their gifts.
Service Project- Moses was told to remove his sandals as a sign of respect for God. Talk with your child about how important shoes are in life. What would it be like to walk around in the cold without them? Check with your school or a local shelter and see if they are taking donations of shoes or snow boots for those who can’t afford them. The next time you are shopping, have your child help you pick out a pair to donate. Make sure you take them along with you when you drop them off!
Another project would be to go find your own bushes that are on fire (have turned fall colors!). Take pictures of them with your child

Share the Story (October 30)

The Child Moses- Exodus 1-2 September 2022

The Child Moses- Exodus 1-2

The Child Moses- Exodus 1-2 September 2022

Moses is a very important ancestor of ours. We’ll spend some time getting to know his story this fall. But how did his story start? Well, as a child in a basket on the Nile River in Egypt. How did he get there? That’s what we’ll discover this month!

Hear the Story (September 4-11)-

We encourage you to share the story of Moses as a child (Exodus 1-2) with your child throughout the week. Read them the story from their Children's Story Bible. This cartoon tells the whole story of Moses. This short video (3 minutes) is a great retelling of the story from Saddleback Kids. This video (2 minutes) is another version to watch. If you want the full story of Moses- you can also watch the animated film The Prince of Egypt.

Music: This is the classic Moses song- Go Down Moses. Do your parents remember it from their childhood? Sing along to this tune about the call of Moses.

This is a fun and simple song with actions about Moses on the Nile as a child. Make up your own song about Moses.

Explore the Story (September 11-18)

This curriculum has some neat crafts and activities for all ages including coloring sheets.
Here are some fun coloring sheets for the story of Baby Moses.
Here is a maze activity your kids might like.
Prefer crafting? Here is a fun craft of Moses in his basket on the Nile you can make with things around your house!
Here is a link to an easy and hard Word Search. You can also use this harder Word Search as well for older children. As you do the exercise, have them retell you the story of the child Moses on the Nile.

Engage/Live the Story (September 18-25)

Have some conversation with your child about the story of the Baby Moses. How do they think Moses’ mother felt about leaving him in the river? Why did she do it anyway? What must his mother have felt when Pharaoh's daughter brought her in to care for Moses?
Have your child tell you the story of Baby Moses. They could do this in a play, with dolls, coloring pages, pictures or video, or any other way that might suit them and their gifts.
Service Project- Miriam kept watch over her baby brother. Talk with your child about some of the people in their lives who might need to be watched over. How could they do that? This might also be a time to talk about people in our community who need to be watched over. The hungry, those without homes, those who are sick. What might be a way you as a family could help watch over them and make sure they have what they need to survive?

Share the Story (September 25)