I am a Friend of God Bible Lessons, God's Friend Abraham, Printable Games, Crafts, Worksheets, Coloring and more!

My friend, June Hill, was attempting to explain to her students what a miracle is. In an effort to demonstrate a miracle, she performed th...

This free printable David and Goliath Preschool lesson is based on 1 Samuel 17:1-50. It includes activities, worksheets, games, coloring pages crafts and more.

God made an important promise in Genesis 9 when He set His rainbow in the sky as a sign of His promise to Noah that He would never again destroy the world with a flood. This color by number activity will help children remember that God always keeps His promises.

Zacchaeus is a real-life example of the power that Jesus has to change our hearts. The goal in this lesson is for the children to feel the darkness and ugliness of sin, and then experience the joy and miracle of forgiveness when Zacchaeus meets Jesus! Bible Truth: Jesus has the power to forgives my sin. Bible Story: Jesus changes Zacchaeus' heart. Bible Study: Luke 19:1-10; I Corinthians 5:7 teach cha-ching! To tell the story of Zacchaeus "hands-on" style gather up these items: children's picture Bible, or flannel graph scenery and characters a small bag or coin pouch loose change a cut-out of a black heart and a white heart Peak your class's interest in your lesson by shaking the bag, and letting them guess what is inside. They will probably easily guess that you have money in your bag! Pass out a coin for each child to hold throughout the lesson. (Remind them that they should never put coins in their mouths!) Read the story of Zacchaeus from a children's picture Bible, or tell it in your own words with visuals, such as flannel graph. Introduce Zacchaeus as a short man, who was a tax collector. His job was to collect money that people had to pay to the king. But Zacchaeus took more money from people than he was supposed to. If someone was supposed to pay one coin to the king, Zaccahaeus made them pay two coins, and he would keep one of the coins for himself. That is called stealing. Zacchaeus was rich and had lots of money, but nobody wanted to be his friend because he stole money from them. He had a dark sinful heart. Hold up the dark heart as you describe Zacchaeus' dark and sinful heart. Go on to tell the rest of the story of Zacchaeus meeting Jesus, as you show pictures from the children's Bible or manipulate flannel graph characters. At the conclusion of the story, talk about how amazing it is that Jesus changed Zacchaeus' heart! He used to be a man that stole people's money, but now he gives his money away to people! Jesus did a miracle! Only Jesus has the power to take a dirty, sinful heart and give us a new clean heart! Zacchaeus repented, he turned away from his sin, and followed Jesus! Hold up the white heart as you describe how Jesus changed Zacchaeus' heart. Lead the class in a prayer, asking Jesus to forgive their sin, and change their hearts so they can follow Jesus like Zacchaeus. After you pray, collect the coins from the children. Tell them that they are giving the money back just like Zacchaeus did after he repented. sing Zacchaeus (was a wee little man) is a Sunday School classic, and the perfect song to reinforce the story they just heard. Be sure to do some actions with the song! The Repent Song is the same song we learned along with the story of John the Baptist, so it's great review and repetition. Follow the link for the lyrics and actions. The Bath Song is a great song about how Jesus washes away our sin with "super soap." The "call back" format makes it really easy to sing along! craft color & paste Here is a coloring sheet from Sermons 4 Kids of Jesus talking to Zacchaeus in the tree. Cut pieces of green paper, or green tissue paper into leaves for the children to glue onto the tree. zacchaeus meets Jesus A good craft is one that helps children retell the story that they learned. This craft does exactly that! You will need: this print out in (black & white) or (color) card stock scissors hole punch yarn green tissue paper glue clear tape crayons (optional) To prepare, print the print out page onto card stock. Cut on the dotted line, and cut out Zacchaeus. Punch a hole at the top and bottom of the tree. Cut out approximately 1" x 1" squares of green tissue paper. Cut yarn into 16" lengths. In class, provide glue for the children to attach the squares of tissue paper to the tree as leaves. Lace the yarn throught the holes and tie it behind the tree. If using the black and white version, provide crayons for the children to color Jesus and Zacchaeus. Tip: Tie the yarn near the top of the page, and attach Zacchaeus to the bottom of the page. It is easier for the kids, if you let them glue on the leaves before you add the yarn. Use clear tape to attach Zacchaeus to the yarn. Tip: Set the clear tape under the yarn, sticky side up, and then press Zacchaeus onto the tape. Move Zacchaeus up and down the tree to retell the story! up and down the tree For this craft you will need: this tree pattern this Zacchaeus pattern green construction paper jumbo craft sticks yarn scissors hole punch crayons glue tape To prepare, cut out the top, leaf portion of the tree pattern, and use it to trace onto green construction paper. Cut out tree and Zacchaeus figures. Punch a hole near the top of the trees. Cut yarn into approximately 7" lengths. In class, provide crayons for the children to color Zacchaeus, and the jumbo craft stick. Help them attach the tree to the craft stick with glue. Tape Zacchaeus to the yarn, thread the yarn through the hole in the tree, and tie the yarn off in the back to move Zacchaeus up and down the tree. Find more ideas and for teaching your child at home about Zacchaeus and his encounter with Jesus, here!

These Jonah activities can be used in Christian Preschool programs and Sunday schools. Jonah Sequencing Print these story sequencing cards for

This starts the Daniel lessons. I have them divided into four lessons. For this lesson, I made the veggies you see above. They have Good/B...

Scripture Reference: John 21:1-17 Suggested Emphasis: Jesus forgives us and helps us follow Him. Memory Verse: “But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins. We can trust God. He does…

Friends Stick Together (The Story of Ruth and Naomi) Bible Verse: The Book of Ruth Scripture References: Proverbs 17:17 Printable Bible Verse Cards: Print onto card stock, write the Bible verse on the cards, and make copies. KJV Card Pattern NIV Card Pattern The children can also make file…

Jesus Picks His Disciples includes the printables for the dozen Disciples egg carton! An oldie but goodie post! poster This week Jesus is going to pick out His helpers. They are called Disciples, which means follower. (Apostle means one who is sent.) Scripture reference: Mark 1:1:14-20; John 1:35-51, Matthew 10:1-8; Mark 3:13-19; Luke 6:13-16 The Disciples included three sets of brothers: Simon (whom He had named Peter) and Andrew. James and John, Zebedee's sons. James and Thaddeus, sons of Alpheus First is (2) Andrew and (4) John. At about 4 in the afternoon, Jesus talked to Andrew and John. They asked Jesus where He was staying, and He told them to come and see. They spent the rest of the day with Jesus. Andrew went to find his brother Simon and told him that they (Andrew and John) had found Jesus. Then Simon went to Jesus and Jesus told Simon that he would be called (1) Peter which means rock. At the same time, John went to get his brother (3) James. John 1:43-51 Jesus wanted to go to Galilee, and He found (6) Philip and told him to “Follow me.” Philip found (7) Bartholomew. He was also called Nathanael. He asked Philip if anything good could come out of Nazareth and Philip told him to come and see Jesus! They went to Jesus and Jesus greeted them and told Bartholomew “Before Philip called you, I saw you sitting under the fig tree". Bartholomew was amazed and Jesus told him that he would see greater things. Because Jesus had known that Bartholomew was sitting under a fig tree, he knew that Jesus was special! So, we have Simon, now called (1) Peter by Jesus and (2) Andrew his brother. The two brothers (3) James & (4) John. And we have (6) Philip. All of these five Disciples were from Bethsaida, which was a fishing town. People think that (11) Simon was also brought in as a Disciple around the same time. (5) Matthew was a tax collector. He collected taxes outside the city of Capernaum. People who came by him had to pay taxes for average items they traded. The fishermen also paid taxes on their catches. People didn’t like the tax collectors because they overcharged to make extra money for themselves. It was usually a 5% fee, but some things were charged up to 12%. People thought the tax collector's money was so unclean, they didn’t ask for their change! Matthew 9:9 says that Jesus saw Mathew sitting at the tax office and walked up to him and said, “Follow Me.” Matthew did. (9) James, son of Alphaeus & (10) Thaddeus. There isn’t much told to us about them. (8) Thomas is known as Doubting Thomas because he didn’t believe that Jesus, after He died was raised from the dead. (12) Last, we have Judas Iscariot. He is the one that betrayed Jesus. He was the treasurer for the Disciples. (John 12:6) He betrays Jesus for money. We’ll learn more about him later. Jesus told them that they were to preach, preach, preach! Jesus told them to heal the sick including the lepers. Click here to download the above visuals. The Disciple's Anchor Charts have a picture and an 'About Me' on each page. There are several extra posters for Disciples and the Apostles are included also. Click here to download the updated posters. Click here to download the worksheet. Fishing boat visual for Disciples Matthew Tax Collector Visual There are two different versions of the Disciples for you to choose from: (But the outside top cover, song, Jesus and initials are the same) The original idea for this project was found on Pinterest (☺). Sunday School Kids created the original project (as far as I know). I wanted to print mine in color, so I made these. Their original black and white printables can be found here. I printed the outside and added Jesus on the stick for the inside. Jesus can be printed here. A color version for the outside top can be printed here. Click here to download for the Disciples in color. Clipart used with permission. Find more here: Get more Bible freebies here. Get Bible clip art here. Click here to download the disciples in color. Click here to print the Disciples song. For the inside, I wanted this in color, so I printed the 12 Disciples song for the top and printed the first letter of each name and used a small circle punch to cut out. I use Aleene's Tacky Glue for my craft projects. I tried to make 'egg' shape Disciples, but they are really ovals. Here are the initials for the Disciples. This was the workbook page for this lesson. One side is lapbook style, read the question and lift the flap to write the answer. Today, instead of gluing pictures, I put a wheel with the Disciples names. Print the Disciples wheel here. Here are the printables for the Disciples page of the lapbook: How many Jesus said You can find all the download links for the Life of Jesus lapbooks and the lapbook worksheets here. Robin Sampson sent another Disciples song to use (Thanks): (sing to Jesus Loves Me) Peter, James, John, Andrew, Phillip, and Bartholomew Thaddeus, Thomas, another James Mathew, Simon, Judas too. These 12 disciples, all followed Jesus But one betrayed Him, Lord help me be true. Here is a very good article about the Disciples. Bible Verse: Mark 1:17 Discípulos Printables também estão disponíveis em Português: A cobertura exterior para a parte superior pode ser impresso aqui: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3uNEVAAKowpbVBBcDRtb0R6MXc/edit?usp=sharing Os Discípulos pode ser impresso aqui: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3uNEVAAKowpaE9KYVZBdmd6LTQ/edit?usp=sharing As primeiras iniciais para os discípulos podem ser impressos aqui: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3uNEVAAKowpWEx3eE1wR2pRamM/edit?usp=sharing Jesus que colada a uma grande palito para o interior pode ser impresso aqui: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3uNEVAAKowpdzB2QTg2LVh4WlE/edit?usp=sharing Os discípulos da música pode ser impressa aqui: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3uNEVAAKowpVk91NjdLWExKRFU/edit?usp=sharing Aqui está o cartaz fo os 12 discípulos de Jesus também: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3uNEVAAKowpeTctN1U3ZnVmb0E/edit?usp=sharing Favor informar-me se existe uma tradução incorreta. Thanks! Tradução @ http://translate.google.com/#en/pt/

Download this free coloring page of Job being visited by his friends, who insisted he must have done something wrong even though he hadn't....

Help your child learn God's Word with these ABC Bible Verses. Set to music, your child will learn these scriptures easily!!

Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. Ruth 1:16 Ruth is a great book...

This free printable preschool Bible lesson covers the life of the prophet Elijah. God providing food and water. Elijah and the Widow, The prophets of Baal and The quiet whisper.

We pray for our owies every service in my class. When I say that its time to pray, each child wants to show me their owie that they want to pray for. It's quite adorable, nearly comical, to watch them search for the littlest scratch that they may have to pray for. They are actually disappointed when they don't have an owie to pray for. In that case, I tell them that they can help their friend pray for their owie. Before we pray I tell them to put their hand on their owie to show Jesus where it is, because He is the only one that can heal all of their owies. Their child-like faith is very evident in this moment, as they come to know Jesus as their healer. Bible Truth: Jesus heals me. Bible Story: Jesus heals a man who could not walk when his friends bring him to Jesus. Bible Study: Luke 5:17-26; Mark 2:1-12; 1 Peter 2:24; Psalms 103:1-3 teach Here are a couple different visuals to show as you narrate or read this story from a children's Bible. diorama drama This story also lends itself well to a 3-D diorama dramatization in order to show the paralyzed man being lowered through the roof. I created my diorama by inserting felt into a shoe box and then placing my flannel graph characters into the box. I made the paralyzed man and the bed according to the craft instructions found below. I tied yarn to the four corners of the bed, and used a craft stick on top of the box to hold the man in place after lowering him down. Release the yarn from the stick, so that after Jesus heals him the man can stand up, and "carry" his bed. (See the craft tutorial below.) bend and tell This is such a simple and genius way to tell this story! I have seen it a few different places, but I have no idea where the concept originated. All you need is four strips of card stock or tag board, a hole punch and three brads. I found the version displayed below here. http://kirstymcallister.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/in-memory-of-uncle-tom.html play four friend weave The four friends in the story did not give up on helping their friend. In fact their faith is quite commendable! In this game four children work together like the friends in the story. You will need: a pillowcase a doll or stuffed animal field cones or chairs Setup a few cones staggered across the room. Have all the children line up at one end of the room. Choose one child to be "Jesus" and stand at the other end of the room. Choose four children to be the four friends. Their task is to each hold a corner of the pillowcase, carrying the doll or stuffed animal, and weave around the cones to bring their "friend" to Jesus. If they drop their "friend" they must go back to the beginning. When they reach the end, have the child who is "Jesus" repeat after you saying, "Your sins are forgiven. Arise, take up your bed and walk." Everyone claps and celebrates, thanking Jesus for healing their "friend". Repeat, giving each child the opportunity to be a "friend" and/or "Jesus". craft coloring page Here is a coloring page to accompany this story. I suggest gluing four pieces of yarn for the ropes attached to the bed, and gluing a piece of cloth on the blanket covering the man. band-aid art In this week's story, Jesus forgives the man's sin and heals him. Print this simple activity sheet based on Psalms 103:2-3. Have the children color the heart, and then let them stick a few band-aids on the heart. Kids love the opportunity to put band-aids on by themselves! arise and walk This is the man and bed that I used in the diorama. The children can each make their own to take home and retell the story. You will need: this man template (printed on card stock) felt craft sticks scissors crayons glue hole punch brad permanent marker This man's legs did not work. He could not walk. His friends had to carry him on his bed. Jesus healed him! He forgave the man's sin, and told him to take up his bed and go to his house. To prepare cut out the man templates, and cut felt into 4 1/2" x 2 1/4" rectangles. Punch a whole in the center of the man's body. In class, help the children glue their felt pieces to craft sticks. Have them color the man, then attach the the man to the felt with the brad.

This week we are learning about Job. There is so much to learn from Job. He was faithful no matter what happened to him. There are several printables today, including a fill-in-the-blank for the kids to list the before and after things that Job had. And there is a song with visuals, too! Lesson: Today our lesson is found in Job 1 & 2, 42. It is in the middle of the Old Testament, right before Psalms. Job lived in UZ. He was faithful to God. Click here to download the before and after visuals of Job and his blessings. Job had 7 sons and 3 daughters. He also had 7000 sheep, 3000 camels, 500 oxen, 500 female donkeys and a very large household. One day, Satan told God that the only reason Job was faithful was because he had so much, and he had an easy life. So, God told Satan that he could do anything to Job, except lay a hand on him. Soon after, a servant came to Job and told him that while the oxen were plowing and the donkeys were eating beside them, the Sabeans came and took them and killed all the servants except for him. While that servant was talking, another came and told Job that a fire came from heaven and burned up the sheep and those servants, all except for the one that came to talk to Job. While the servant was talking, the Chaldeans took the camels and killed all the servants, except for… the one talking to Job. Again, while that servant was talking, another came and told Job that all his children were eating a meal and a great wind came and killed everyone, except for the servant talking. Job stood up and tore off his robe and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and said, "The Lord gives, and He takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord." No, Job didn’t get angry and shout at God for his misery! Now, Satan told God that Job was faithful because those things (servants, animals his children) that were taken away didn’t hurt him physically. So, God said Satan could do what he wanted except kill Job. (Job 2:7) We purchased this pot and broke it! My husband used this for a visual when he taught the teen class about Job, and I used it for this lesson. The kids loved it! The first thing Satan did was put painful boils all over Job, from his feet to the top of his head. (Job 2:7) Job used a broken pot to scrape himself! Then, Job’s wife started telling Job to curse God because of what was happening to him. Job told her that sometimes there’s good in life and sometimes there’s bad and Job did not curse God or sin. When his three friends came to see Job, they didn’t even recognize him! They ate with Job for seven days and nights and didn’t even talk! They did talk after that, and Job stayed faithful and didn’t blame God. But Job did have questions for God. (Job 38:1) and God answered Job out of a whirlwind. Job said “I know You can do anything (Job 42:2) When Job prayed for his friends, God gave Job back all that Job had lost, He even doubled it! (Job 42:10) God blessed the last days of Job and gave him (42:1212-13): Click here to download the before and after visuals of Job and his blessings. 14,000 sheep 6,000 camels 1,000 oxen 1,000 female donkeys 7 sons & 3 daughters There were not any women more beautiful in the land than Job’s daughters. Job lived 140 years after that. I printed this worksheet and we filled in the blanks as we talked about Job. Click here to print the Fill-In-The-Blank worksheet. The second picture is the answer sheet which can also be used as a teacher's visual. Click here to print the answer sheet. Ok, anybody that knows me, knows I can't sing. But, I woke up singing this one morning! I told my husband we had to wait to do our errands because I had to write it down before I forgot it! He just laughed and said OK! That was months ago, and I still like it! So, anyway, here is a song for Job with visuals. Just click on the picture to print it. Click here to download the worksheet. Click here to download the lesson. Click here to download the updated visuals. Not all are shown. Click here to download the pictures to color. (These are the same as the visuals but are black & white.) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.

How are you? Are you ready for another Bible lesson? We are talking about the Holy Spirit as our comforter today.Did you know that the Holy Spirit is also known as the Comforter?Jesus promised the disciples that He would send the Holy Spirit to comfort them after He left them.You can read this story in John 14:15-21. I have prepared a fun windmill craft to help you explain to your children all about the Holy Spirit. You will find the template in the Resource Library. There is also a word search

My three youngest boys (ages 6, 6, and 4) and I just started a journey through the Bible. We are using various resources we already own - books, videos, and CDs. I'm also making up

Free Bible lesson teaching about the Rainbow and God's promises. Includes fun and educational games, activities, worksheets and crafts.

All the projects for the Beatitudes in this post are intended for preschool or kindergarten. I have simplified (a lot) the Blessed are... for each one, to be easier to discuss this with them and to be easier to understand. This is an easy cut and glue (which they love) to discuss each beatitude with the students. You can print this in color or black & white. Click here to print. I also printed the hive and one set of bees in color from the set above to play Beatitudes hide & seek! It seems like every age loves hide & seek! I hid the bees around the house. First, we talked about beehives and what belongs in the hives. I said to find the bees and bring them back to the hive. (Again & again ☺) As they brought back the bees, we talked about each Beatitude and what it meant. That Jesus taught the Beatitudes. They loved this and I can't wait for it to be nice outside and do it again in the backyard! This download has one Beatitudes visual in color that can be used for teaching and the matching Beatitudes worksheet is a picture to color. Click here to print. This Make-Your-Own Bee template is also available. The kids like cut and glue projects, but I mostly cut and the younger ones glue and color! They love to see all the parts working together to make the final project. The directions are included in the download. Click here to see it.

Could you use short and meaningful Bible studies that you could print out? Explore these free printable Bible lessons for children.

Abigail showed her love for God through her kindness. This is one of the series, The Character Hunter, lessons on Biblical Character at Shadowingenoch.com

Bible Story Printables from Old Testament stories like the story of Creation, Noah’s Ark, David and Goliath, Jonah and the Whale & more!

These Jacob and Esau Printables are aimed at children in kindergarten and preschool and includes over 100 pages of fun and learning.

Teaching kids a Lords prayer Bible craft? Here are a few ideas! A post from Seattle area family lifestyle blog Long Wait For Isabella.

This summer began for us with the advent of two young guests. They’ll stay a couple of weeks and then head off to their grandma’s. I warned their dad before they arrived that they should be ready for morning devos! Morning devotionals are a summertime tradition at my house. For my homeschooler, during the school year, Bible is an academic subject. My public school teen and I talk about how to apply God’s principles to her school life all the time. But when the rigors of school are over, when summer slows everything down, we take a few minutes everyday after breakfast and read the Bible together. We memorize God’s Word and think His thoughts after Him. These moments are precious. For me they offer insight into my children’s spiritual development and opportunities to address the questions and subjects on their minds. It also offers me the chance to confess to them. As we talk, I can be first to admit my failings. Children and teens can easily feel isolated and overwhelmed in their struggle against sin. Although they see our faults all too clearly, it isn’t always easy for them to see that we acknowledge that these are sins to be repented and confessed. For the kids the blessings are abundant. Devotionals help them get their day started with a regular scheduled time with God a habit we hope they carry into adulthood. They bring ideas in front of them that might not come up in Sunday School. They allow children and teens to interact directly with the Word (as opposed to a story/lesson book) and gives them an opportunity to have spiritual conversations with their parents. These morning times with God put kids in a different frame of mind. This summer the kids (right now all 4 of them! I am sending all my respect right now to you mothers of larger families!!!!) and I are working in Colossians. We have begun by memorizing Colossians 3:1-4 (See the note below for some awesome links to help you get started on your memorization journey!). Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4) I want to be seeking the things above as the verse says. I want my kids minds to be pointed heavenward where Christ is. The best way I know to make that happen is to be studying with them. I would love for you have the chance to do that with your kids too. So this summer I will be posting a series of short devotionals that will include the scripture we are studying, questions for you and the kids, and particular insights we gleaned from our study. We did this last year with “6 Short Kids Devotionals from Daniel." So if you are ready to get started with devotionals and don’t want to wait as the Colossians posts come out one by one, go for it! If you want to make sure not to miss any of the posts, send me an email ([email protected]) with the subject “Summer Devo Series” and I’ll be sure you get an email letting you know when each one comes out. And of course you are always welcome to subscribe. Use the box above on the right, or if you want email me at [email protected]! Until our Lord Jesus Christ is revealed in glory! Helene PS. I know how hard memorization can be. And how discouraging! So I reached out to some bloggers I care about and came up with these great links. 10 Bible Memorization Tips That Won't Take All Day Making Colorful Scripture Cards 5 Better Ways to Memorize Scripture Scripture Challenge! SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

How many differences can you find between these two images of heaven? There are 14 in all, and answers are provided. This is a wonderful Bible activity!

This starts the Daniel lessons. I have them divided into four lessons. For this lesson, I made the veggies you see above. They have Good/B...

Enjoy our free Bible worksheet: Paul's Missionary Journey. Printable Bible activities for homeschoolers, Sunday and Shabbat school teachers.

Free bible coloring pages are perfect for sharing faith, using in Sunday school classes, bible school, homeschool and more

My oldest son is getting closer and closer to Jr. High. OH MY! Does this ever give me heart palpitations. Jr. High was a rough time for me. I felt lost through quite a lot of it. I didn't have a lot of confidence and found myself seeking whatever friends would take me. I have learned throughout my life that friends can have a profound impact on our lives. The people we choose to spend our time with contribute to molding our character. L. Tom Perry, in the February 1993 New Era said, "The friends we choose to associate with are main contributing factors in the formation of our character. We form social habits by association with our friends. These habits can be useful when directed towards the formation of a wholesome personality. I have found that the right friends have a powerful influence on your life. Choose your friends wisely. Make certain they will help build within you the right standards with which to govern your life." I wanted to impress upon my kids minds how vital choosing good friends would be in their lives. This was the object lesson we came up with..... (I have to apologize for the picture quality. My camera was out of town with my hubby and the cell phone was all we had. Not great, but better than nothing! :) ) These 4 bowls of water represent different interests people may have. I had the kids name a few interests that different people may have. We had a group that liked video games and movies, a group that liked driving and race cars, a group that like sports and a group that liked games. We filled each bowl with pre-cooked pasta. The noodles were representations of people, or friends. We talked about how usually we make friends based on having similar interests as they do. We talked about how it was good to be kind and friendly to everyone, not just those that we spent the most time with, because of our similar interests. Then we started talking about what happens when a person or two in our group of friends start to make bad choices. As I dropped a few drops of blue food coloring in one bowl we talked about how one of the friends in this group started using cuss words to express himself. Little by little, others started making this same choice. Before long these choices started to affect, or change the character of each of the friends in the group. There was a little guy that didn't like the cussing, but liked spending time with his friends. We talked about how he decided he was going to stick with the group, but he wasn't going to get caught up in the same bad habits his friends were involved in. Before long, he too was starting to get stained from the bad choices being made in this group. We talked about how perhaps because the boy was surrounded by these words all of the time, they were the words that came to mind when he got upset and before he knew it a few of them had made their way into his vocabulary. This group was our video game & movie group. These guys got caught up in playing video games that were violent and movies that were filled with inappropriate language, violence, etc. Our red guys were getting caught up in drugs, smoking & alcohol. (You can, of course, adjust each groups "sins" based on your feelings and your kids age. Remember, kids are exposed to things MUCH younger. Go bold with this. Bold, but appropriate. If your kids don't hear this from you first, where would you like them to hear it from? Their peers?) This group is our group of friends that have committed to each other to not allow these sort of bad choices to define them. They lovingly encourage each other to stay clean. They have found that life is MUCH more fun without the cussing, drugs & inappropriate games and movies. I took one of the noodles from the "good" bowl. He decided he wanted to hang out with the blue group. They had similar interests and he was certain he could spend time with them without getting trapped in the same bad habits. In fact, he thought that he could actually become good friends with them, hang out with them all of the time and maybe they would choose to follow his example and stop making the choices they were making. Little by little their choices started to define his character. As he was in the center of it, the things they were doing didn't seem so bad and little by little he started making similar choices. Before long, those choices became a central part of the definition of his character. He was blue. This was a great opportunity to talk about helping others and setting a good example. It is SO important to do these things. So how do we do it without getting caught in it ourselves. I asked the kids if they thought it would be easier to help a friend out of a deep pit from down in the pit with them, or from the ground above. They chose the ground above. We talked about throwing them a rope, a ladder, etc. The were so many options, but from inside the pit, our only option was being stuck and needing to be rescued ourselves. I told them that I once had a very good friend that I loved so much. We had been good friends for most of our lives. She was always a good example to me. One day I met a boy that I really liked. I started to date him. My friend knew that his friends weren't the kind of friends she wanted to spend time with. I knew it wasn't a good choice, but I liked the boy I was dating. I promised I wouldn't make any of the choices they were making and kept spending all of my time with them. A while later I could see that my life had changed. I wasn't making choices that were allowing me to stay close to the spirit. I wanted out. I didn't see my friend much during that time of my life. She didn't want to get involved with the new friends I was spending my time with. When I did see her, I could feel how much she loved me. She helped me remember that these choices weren't the real me. I felt sad about the choices that I had made and I wanted help to get out of them. My good friend was getting married soon. She invited me to her bridal shower. I remember how happy she was to see me. She was about to get married in the temple. I could see the example that she was setting. She didn't know it, but that night was an answer to my prayers. I was in the pit. She was casting me a ladder through her love and example. She helped me out. I let my friends know that I had to change my life and that I couldn't spend time with them anymore. It was hard, because I enjoyed them personally, but the choices we were making all together couldn't be a part of my life anymore. Although it was a hard thing to do, it was the best choice I had ever made! I was so thankful for such a good friend that set such a good example to me! If she had started coming with us and got down in the pit with me, we both would have been lost. But she didn't. She kept trying to send down help. That is the kind of friend WE need to be. I gave the kid a noodle and told them that it represented them. They got to pick the group of friends they wanted to be with. We also discussed how sometimes in our lives it will feel like we are alone. Maybe all of our friends are making bad choices and we feel like we don't have any friends. We talked about how no matter what, we always have our family and we always have the Lord. Those are the important relationships that last forever. They said that they would rather be on their own than getting stained in the other groups. And then my son Jake took this whole lesson to the next level. That is what he tends to do. We talked about how we can always repent and have these sins washed clean from us. We read, "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." -Isaiah 1:18 Jake asked if we could spray bleach on the red noodle to represent the Atonement cleaning our sins. I didn't know that it would work, but I thought it would be worth a try.  It totally worked! It wouldn't work on the green or blue, but totally worked on the red! Great! It goes with the scripture perfectly! :) The Atonement is the most important part of all of this lesson. We all make choices that we wish we wouldn't have, at one time or another. Some more severe than others. The important thing for our kids to understand is that there is ALWAYS a way out and a way to be washed clean and it is only through the power of our Saviors Atonement. I am so glad we did this lesson! Mallory talked about it for days after! It will be something we repeat often. Perhaps each year just before school starts! Let me know how it goes for you, or if you come up with any variations. I always love hearing other ideas!

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Bible Hour, Rooted In Love, Visuals, Visual Aid, Bible Class

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