May Children's Faith Formation- Ely Community Food Drive and Flat Jesus!
This month, we’ll end our formal Children’s Faith Formation for the program year by helping to feed our community through the Ely Community Food Drive and then prepare for a fun summer with Flat Jesus! We hope you’ll continue to join us as we continue our adventures this summer.
Deliver Bags for Ely Community Food Drive- (May 7)
On this Sunday, May 7, we invite you to join us at 9:15 am in the parking lot across the street from St. John as we go into the community of Ely to drop off bags for our community to fill with donated food for local food pantries. Each home in Ely will get a bag dropped at their front door. We will have the city divided into zones with coordinators for each zone. When you arrive we will split you and your family into one of these zones. You might need to travel to a location, so bring a parent with a car! With many hands we should be done with our task in an hour or less.
We’ll be picking up filled bags the following Saturday morning, May 13, beginning at 9:30 am. If you would like to help with that, you can sign up here, or at the church.
Mother’s Day- Make a Flat Jesus for Adventures With Flat Jesus 2023!- (May 14)
Another year of Children’s Faith Formation is past! While we encourage you and your parents to continue to explore bible stories over the summer, we also invite you to join us in this game over the summer!
Where's Flat Jesus? God is everywhere, so even when we aren’t at home or in church Jesus is still in that place. To remind us of that, we invite you to take Flat Jesus with you as you travel, have fun, and meet with family. Take a picture with Flat Jesus at that location and/or with you! Whether sitting on the back deck for a cook-out or traveling the world Flat Jesus is a way of remembering that Christ goes with us wherever we go. When you take the pic, we ask that you post it to Facebook of Instagram using the hashtag #SJLCFlatJesus2023. You can also email it to pastorstjohnely@southslope.net
Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5-6 , March 2023
This month, we’ll explore the story of Jesus’ first time teaching in Matthew. It’s called, the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus teaches them all kinds of things about how to live in God’s kingdom, but he also teaches them that they should not worry about anything, for God loves and cares for them always.
Hear the Story (March 5-12)-
We encourage you to share the story of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-6) with your child throughout the week. Read them the story from their Children's Story Bible. This cartoon (1 minute) tells the story from the Beginners Bible. This cartoon (2.5 minutes) has the same focus as the Beginners Bible on this Sermon. This longer video (4.5 minutes) summarizes the Sermon pretty well.
Music:
Explore the Story (March 12-19)
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 Jesus’ teachings to his disciples.
- Seeking God Scavenger Hunt: Begin the scavenger hunt by reminding the children that Matthew 6:33 teaches us that we should seek the Kingdom of God and everything else that we need will be given to us. Explain that seeking the Lord means that we are constantly trying to learn more about Him and always trying to do what He wants us to do. For fun, have the children take part in a scavenger hunt. Take the children outside and give them a list of nature items to search for. Possible items are a flower, a leaf, a rock, a stick, a clover, a feather, a cicada shell, etc. Change the list based on what you have around you. Give each child a bag and a list and let them search for the items. Younger children might need help collecting their items. Older children may enjoy a scavenger hunt race by seeing who can find all of the items the fastest. Once children have had time to search for all of the items, remind them that God created all of the nature items that they found. He made the leaves and the flowers grow and he cared for the bird that the feather came from. Remind them, that since God cares for all of these things in nature then God will take care of them as well.
- Here are some fun coloring sheets.
- If you are more into words, here is a word search and crossword puzzle. Or perhaps you like mazes!
- CHILD FLOWER CRAFT: Give your child a paper plate and have them cut a basic flower shape out of it. At the center have them write “Don’t worry! God takes care of me!”. Then decorate the petals of the flower with all the ways God provides for us (Food, family, friends, pets, homes).
- BUBBLES: Grab some bubbles and go outside and blow big and little bubbles and have a discussion about the bubbles representing all the 'worries" of our lives but "see how they pop and disappear"??!! Ask them what things they worry about. Then pray for God to take each one away and blow the bubble. When the bubbles pop shout out, Thanks be to God! Remind them that God takes care of us, always.
Engage/Live the Story (March 19-26)
This week is a great opportunity for the kids to show you what they have learned so far about what Jesus taught his disciples on the mountain. 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 create a Do Not Worry poster. Maybe find pictures from magazines or online that they print and add from the lesson. Of food, drink, birds, flowers, clothes, etc.. Put the poster up in your house as a reminder to all of you that God takes care of us, always.
- Have them get creative and write about something they remember most from the story as a poem, craft, or coloring.
Share the Story (March 26)
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! pastorstjohnely@southslope.net We’re excited to see how you have shared the story of Moses in your life this week.
Crossing the Red Sea; Manna and Quail in the Wilderness – Exodus 14-17, February 2023
This month, we’ll do something a little different. We’ll continue following Moses and the Israelites as they leave Egypt pursued by Pharoah and his army. We’ll hear the story of the crossing of the Red Sea and explore that story the first two weeks. Then we’ll hear the story of how God provides food and drink for the Israelites in the desert through manna, quail, and water and explore that story the last two weeks.
Hear the Story (February 5-12)-
We encourage you to share the story of the Israelites crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus 14-15) with your child throughout the week. Read them the story from their Children's Story Bible. This cartoon (1.5 minutes) retells the crossing of the Red Sea from the Beginners Bible. This longer video (4 minutes) summarizes the story so far and then tells the crossing of the Red Sea. This is the Red Sea scene from the movie The Prince of Egypt.
Music: Here is a fun and simple song about how Moses crossed the Red Sea.
Explore the Story (February 12-19)
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 how God got the Israelites to safety.
- Explore water and how it works. Get a pan of water and ask your child to hold it back. Let them use their hands, or a tongue depressor, or a big spoon. Give them a chance to figure out a way to hold back the water. Is there anything that can hold back water? Dams can do it, but they are huge and take a long time to set up. How do they think God help back the water?
- Here are three fun coloring sheets for the crossing of the Red Sea.
- If you are more into words, here is a word search and crossword puzzle.
- A simple craft and example for your children is to make a Red Sea Baggie-You will need a Ziploc baggie, hair gel, and blue food coloring. Fill one quarter to half of the baggie with hair gel. Put the blue food coloring in the baggie, and then use clear packing tape to double seal the top of the baggie. Mix the hair gel and the food coloring together. Then, help your child retell the story of God parting the Red Sea by parting the goo in the baggie. You can even use a sharpie to write “God is ALL powerful” on the baggie.
- Have your kids act out the crossing of the Red Sea in your living room. Use a blanket or cushions, maybe pieces of paper for them to step on as they cross the “water” of the floor. Use this as a chance to retell or have them retell the story.
Hear the Story (February 19-26)- Manna, Quail, and Water Exodus 16-17
We encourage you to share the story of God providing for the Israelites in the wilderness (Exodus 16-17) with your child throughout the week. Read them the story from their Children's Story Bible. This short video (1.5 minutes) is a reading of the chapter on Manna, Quail, and Water from the Beginners Bible. This is another short, animated video of the story (1 minute). This longer video (5 minutes) uses and interesting line drawing animation to tell the story of how God provides for the Israelites. This might be better for older children. This is the Red Sea scene from the movie The Prince of Egypt.
Music: Here is an active and upbeat song about manna and quail. This might be fun to sing!
Explore the Story (February 26- March 5)
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 how God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness.
- Maybe you could make pancakes together for breakfast and talk about how the Israelites make cakes from the manna God provided. You could find a short video about how grain is made into wheat. Don’t forget to give thanks to God for providing our daily bread! You might also have a meal of Cornish hens or chicken this week and remind them that this would have been the diet of the Israelites for most days during their 40 years in the wilderness.
- Here are some coloring sheets about Manna, Quail, and Water.
- If you are more into words, here are some word searches and a matching activity.
- The Israelites asked one another in Exodus 16:15, “What’s that?” The Israelites had never had manna before. What might it have been like to try something new? This would be a good time to introduce some new foods to your kids. Radishes, beets, kiwi, or even a new dish you prepare. What was it like for them to try something new? Do they think this was the same for the Israelites?
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! pastorstjohnely@southslope.net 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.
- Mary and Joseph with Jesus
- The Wise Men Traveling to Find Jesus
- Herod and his Priests
- The Wise Men coming to Jerusalem
- The Wise Men, Mary, Joseph, and Jesus
You can send images of the finished drawings to pastorstjohnely@southslope.net 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)
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.
- 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)
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! pastorstjohnely@southslope.net We’re excited to see how you have shared the story of the Baby Moses in your life this week.
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)
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 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)
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 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)
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! pastorstjohnely@southslope.net We’re excited to see how you have shared the story of the Baby Moses in your life this week.