It is a live-action video using pipe cleaner characters.  The music is the classic children’s song by Bill Gaither with new tracks.

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Daniel 2:21
And He changes the times and the seasons;

Celebrate each season, emphasizing God’s hand in it all.  Autumn is such a fun tme to enjoy God’s beautiful world with your children. Go outside and play in the leaves – build a leaf fort, bury each other in leaves, walk on the dry leaves and hear them crunch, see who can find the most perfect, colorful leaf.  Be sure to thank God for the leaves as you play. And don’t forget to sing!!!

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Our Big God

God is greater than man.
Job 33:12

Bible Stories:

1. Psalm 104 David wrote about how great God is.  He knew God was greater than man.  It was God that made the heavens, water, and earth.  He puts the mountains and valleys in place..  God walks on the wind, causes the thunder, gives water to all the animals, and causes the grass to grow.  It is God who has made darkness, feeds the animals, causes the sun to rise and set, gives the animals homes, makes the moon to rise and set.  Man could work from morning to night and not be able to do all God does and has done and will do!!  Truly God is greater than man.
2. Exodus 2:11-14; 3:1-22; 14:15-31 Moses saw one of his people being beaten by an Egyptian.  This made Moses angry and he wanted to help his friend.  Moses killed the Egyptian and buried him in order to help his friend.  The next day someone found the Egyptian that Moses had buried and knew that Moses had done it.  Moses ran away.  God followed Moses and told him that he saw how bad his people were being treated and he was going to use Moses to help them.  God lead Moses to gather the people and lead them out of Egypt.  The Egyptian army followed them.  When they got to the sea, God parted the water and let them pass to the other side.  Just when the army started to pass, God caused all the army to be buried under the water.  God showed Moses that He is greater than man.  When Moses tried to help his people, he only helped one, only destroyed one Egyptian, and then didn’t bury him very well because someone found him.  When God helped His people, He helped them all, destroyed the entire Egyptian army, and completely buried them in the sea.  God IS greater than man!
3. Isaiah 55:8-9:25-31 God is greater than man.  God said that His ways are higher than our ways.  The things God thinks and plans are greater and wiser than the things we think and plan.  That is why we should always ask God what He wants us to do because He knows what is best for us.  God is greater than we are and knows more than we know.  Always ask God to show you what to do because He is greater than you.
4. Matthew 14:25-31 Jesus’ disciples were in a boat one night and Jesus came to them walking on the water.  Peter then wanted to come to Jesus and walk on the water, but he began to sink in the water because he was afraid.  Jesus was greater than Peter.  Jesus could walk on the water but Peter couldn’t.  God is greater than man and can do things greater than men can do.
5. Philippians 2:9-11 Jesus is greater than man.  God has even given Him a name that is greater than any man’s name. God says that at the name of Jesus everyone and everything shall bow down.  Jesus’ name has power and we can use His name to help us with any problem.  When we use Jesus’ name everything and every person will have to respect His name.  God is greater than man.  Jesus is greater than man and His name is greater than man.
6. Mark 4:36-39 Jesus and His disciples were in a boat.  Jesus was taking a nap.  All of  sudden a big storm came up with strong wind that was tossing the boat back and forth.  The disciples were afraid.  When they woke Jesus, He spoke to the wind and said “Peace, be still”.  Immediately the wind stopped.  Only Jesus can stop the wind!!

Prayer: Help us to always be aware that You are greater than us and we should depend on You to handle our problems

Activities for younger preschooler:

1. Go outside and point out all God made and share the verse
2. While in the tub, tell the story of God parting the water
3. Let him look in the mirror and talk about only God can make a cute little baby like him.
4. While in the tub, tell the story of Jesus walking on water
5. Sing ‘Jesus, Jesus, There’s Something About That Name’ from Bill Gaither’s Especially for Children
6. Let him feel the wind and talk about how Jesus stopped the wind

Activities for older preschoolers:

1. Put the verse on the refrigerator.
2. Play in the pool or bath and tell the story about God parting the waters
3. Show a rock, sand, water, etc.  Tell him to try and make a rock.  Share the verse.
4. In the tub or pool, tell the story of Jesus walking on water.  Try to walk on water.
5. Print the name of Jesus in block letters and let your child color it while you sing ‘Jesus, Jesus, There’s Something About That Name’ from Bill Gaither’s Especially for Children
6. Stand in front of a fan and try to stop the wind

Songs:

“Jesus, Jesus, There’s Something About That Name“
Listen to it here
Purchase it here

“My God Is So Big”

Books:

Check your children’s Bibles for the stories mentioned above.  If you don’t have any, there are several recommended on the Train Up The Child aStore

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Joshua 4:6-7
We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future, your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’  Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a permanent memorial among the people of Israel.”

This is Memorial Day Weekend.  Don’t forget to let your children know what it is all about – to remember  those who served in the military and to honor those who are presently serving, helping to keep our country safe.

• Ministry-to-Children.com has a great Bible lesson for Memorial Day based on the above verse.
• Look at pictures of soldiers.
• Thank God for the soldiers.
• Ask God to protect them.
• March like a soldier to this song:  March, March, March like a Soldier

As children, our boys loved to pretend to be soldiers, dressing in full camouflage.  When they got older they made this short film to illustrate one of their father’s sermons:

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Day Three
(click for a printable pdf)

Day Three – God Made Sea, Land, and Plants

And God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky be gathered into one place so dry ground may appear.” . . . God named the dry ground “land” and the water “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land burst forth with every sort of grass and seed-bearing plant. And let there be trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. . . . And God saw that it was good. This all happened on the third day. Genesis 1:9-13

Bible:

Say: “God made the seas, land, and plants on the third day.  When He looked at all He had made so far, He really liked it!!  This is what the Bible says: And God said, “Let the waters beneath the sky be gathered into one place so dry ground may appear.” . . . God named the dry ground “land” and the water “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land burst forth with every sort of grass and seed-bearing plant. And let there be trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. . . . And God saw that it was good. This all happened on the third day.“

Read about Day Three of Creation in a Bible story book

Activities:

Make a picture like the one above or use the printable pdf.

Sea:  Have fun with water play today – Thank God for water as you play.

• Using a straw, blow into a bucket of water that has a little detergent in it.
• Make a paper boat and play with it in water. Video instructions

Land: Get dirty together as you share that God made dry land.

(1982 Billy, Josh, Jer playing in the dirt)

Plants: As you share that God made plants:

• plant a seed and water a plant
• play in a tree
• Color pictures of plants:
  http://www.coloring.ws/flowers.htm

  http://www.coloring.ws/trees.htm

Have a ‘dirt’ snack of crushed oreos with yogurt covered raisens as ‘seeds’ to plant in it

Prayer: Thank you, God, for dirt to play in.  Thank you for water that helps plants grow in the dirt. Thank you God for the sea for the boats to sail on.

Songs: Sing the following words to God Made the Whole World by His Hands

God made the sea, land, and plants by His hands.
He made the sea, land, and plants by His hands.
God made the sea, land, and plants by His hands.
He made the whole world by His hands.

Do the following action song together:

This is the way we plant the seed in the dirt, in the dirt.
This the way we plant the seed;Thank you God for dirt.

This is the way the rain comes down to water the seed, God waters the seed.
This is the way the rain comes down, God waters the seed.

This the way the sun shines down to help it grow, God helps it grow.
This the way the sun shines down, God helps it grow.

This is the way the plant grows, plant grows, plant grows,
This the way the plant grows – Thank you God.

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He created everything there is–nothing exists that he didn’t make.
John 1:3

Foundational to our belief system is our thoughts on how ourselves and the world around us came into being.  The Bible makes it very clear how the world began.  Let’s spend this week talking about the week of Creation as it is recorded in Scripture.  Begin by reading Genesis 1 for yourself.  Then each day tell your children what God made on that day during the week of Creation.  I hope by now you have a good Bible story book with illustrative pictures of what God made.

It is interesting to note that on the first three days God created the places and on the last three days He created things to reside in the places in the same order He created the places.  This information helps in remembering what was created when.

Share the above verses often as you use songs, hands-on activities, games, crafts, books, pictures, etc. to establish this truth in your children.  I’ll give you some suggestions each day, but I’m sure you can be more creative.

You might want to use the following song this week:

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God is Good

Psalm 145:9  The Lord is good to all.

Bible Stories: (I suggest you read the stories from the Bible and then tell them in your own words with expression.  Also find them in your children’s Bible and read them to your children.)

1. Genesis 2 God made the first man and named him Adam.  He was good to Adam.  He gave him all kinds of animals to keep him company.  But Adam was still lonely so God made Adam a wife to be his best friend, to talk to, and to share the garden with.  God made Eve to be Adam’s wife.  God was good to Adam (Proverbs 18:22)
2. Exodus 14 God’s people were being chased by some bad people who didn’t love God and wanted to hurt His people.  When they came to a great big sea, they had no way to cross the water, so God parted the water in the center and the people of God walked on dry land right over to the other side of the sea without even getting wet! Then the bad men started to cross over after them, but God caused the waters to go back together and all the bad men were drowned.  God protected his people; He was good to them.
3. I Samuel 1 Hannah was so sad because she wanted a baby very badly.  She asked God for a baby and God answered her prayer.  He gave her a baby boy named Samuel.  God was good to Hannah and wanted her to be happy.  God was good to us so He gave us a special gift from Him – He gave us you!  The Bible (Psalm 127:3) tells us that children are a gift from God.
4. Matthew 8:20, Matthew 6:25-34 God is good to the birds; He gives them nests to live in. God is good to the foxes; He gives them holes to live in .  God feeds the birds and clothes the flowers and the grass.  Jesus said that if God takes care of these, how much more will He take care of you and feed and clothe you too. He is good to all!
5. God is good to you; The Bible tells us that He thinks about you (Psalm 139:17).  He is with you always (Joshua 1:9).  He even knows when you are crying and catches your tears (Psalm 56:8).   He gives you good things to eat (Psalm 103:5). God is good to you!!

Prayer: Thank You, God,  for being so good to us. (Lead your child to thank God for  specific things as they come to mind)

Activities for baby:

1. Sing the songs in the videos below and change the words to fit what you might be doing that reminds you that God is good.
2. While rocking, name the ways God is good to us.
3. Let baby look in a mirror and talk about how good God is to have given him to you
4. Feed the birds and talk about how God takes care of them and us.
5. Share the verse while he eats.

Activities for older preschoolers:

1. Creatively write or illustrate the verse.  Hang it on the fridge or in a prominent place all week.
2. Lead him to name ways God is good to us and sing the songs below, fitting the things he named into the songs.
3. Look at pictures of when he was born and talk about how good God is to have given him to you.
4. Feed the birds and talk about how God takes care of them and us.
5. Make cookies and say “God satisfies our mouths with good things to eat (Psalm 103:5).

Songs:

Books:

Check out these:

Children’s Bibles

My Awesome God Bible Story Book

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Jesus talked a lot about giving on Day Four of Passion Week.  Of course He had every right to do that since He was about to give the ultimate gift of His life on the cross for the sins of the world.

Encourage your children to give today as you talk about how much Jesus gave.  Bake Easter cookies (see recipe below) in the shape of a cross to share with neighbors.   As you make them,  talk about Jesus’ gift to us.  Say:

Everybody has done wrong things such as disobeying, lying, being unkind, etc.   God calls this sin and there must be punishment for it. But Jesus loved us so much that He took the punishment for all the wrong things that were done or would ever be done.  He died on the cross so we would not have to.  We can now have a happy life forever with God.

In your giving today, don’t forget to give thanks to Jesus for His gift of life to us.  Here’s a simple song to sing to Him  -  Jesus, Jesus, Thank You Jesus.  Make up your own songs together.

My mother’s old-fashioned tea cookies recipe:

3/4 cup crisco or butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 & 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 & 1/2 cup Self-rising flour
Mix all together, roll out, and cut into shapes
(If you don’t have a cross cookie cutter, roll out 2 small ropes & lay one across the other to make a cross.)
Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.

Ice with butter cream frosting:
1 box confectioner sugar
dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup butter

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Have you walked past someone on the street or in a store and just went on by as if no one was there?  This scripture points out we should greet everyone with love.  My Dad thought this was just plain good manners; he would never walk past a person without saying ‘Hello’ or ‘How are you?’   You never know when a simple smile and friendly greeting from you will be the encouragement a troubled person needs at that moment.

I feel we should train our children to greet others with love.  Now to a stranger that can be just a ‘hello’ accompanied with a smile.   But to friends – children and adults – it could also be a handshake or a hug. However, we have to set the example.

Make an effort to speak to those you come in contact with.  In so doing you teach your children that each person is important to God and shouldn’t be ignored by us.

“realize that all human beings are really members of  the same family and that being members of the same family they owe each other some measure of warmth and solace.” (Scrooge’s nephew in the 1938 version of A Christmas Carol)

Here’s a song adapted from “Hello” on the album Especially for Children…of all ages by Bill Gaither you might sing with your children to get them in the habit of saying ‘Hello’.

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