“…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17 One side has the words “Sword Of The Spirit”. The other has a list of the Books of the Bible. Instructions…

One of my Visuals. We are continuing to "EXPLORE" the various attributes of the FRUIT of The Spirit. The children are really excited about this topic. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, I decided to do an "extension" to last weeks lesson. We are going to have different lesson for every attribute....but, because so many of my students are out of town, I did not want to proceed forth into the LOVE lesson. I did not want them to miss any of the lessons on the individual attributes. My students will be making a "Fruit of The Spirit" fruit basket as their Take-Home project. I think they turned out very cute...They will color and glue the basket together and then add "paper fruit" and the Fun Foam Fruit as well. For their "Explorer Journal" activity the kiddos will be making a Fruit of The Spirit Puzzle. The will add the puzzle pieces to make a complete apple. My focus with them is going to be that we have to have ALL the attributes to have a COMPLETE fruit...If we are missing any of the attributes we are NOT completely the way GOD wants us to be...so, we need to improve, change or add the attributes we are missing. Completed Fruit of The Spirit Puzzle. Our Review Game for this week is a Bean Bag Game...The kiddos will answer a question from the lesson and then get the opportunity to throw a bean-bag at the "Toss-A-Cross" game...They will then have to answer the question that they turn over with their bean-bag. My students LOVE to throw bean-bags...so, I know they will LOVE playing this game. (BTW, the game was made from a old Toss-A-Cross game, that I purchased at a yard sale for 50 cents. Always keep your eye out for things you can re-purpose for Bible Class.)

“…and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17 One side has the words “Sword Of The Spirit”. The other has a list of the Books of the Bible. Instructions…

Paul preached in three cities and people responded differently. Which people group do *you* want to be like? Acts 17 Bible Lesson for Kids

These free, printable Paul Preached in Athens activities on Sunday School Zone will help children learn about the story of when Paul preached at the Aereopagus in Athens. The story will help kids learn that the God of the Bible is the only God there is and that He is worthy of our love and trust.

Paul and Silas Snacks For Kids "Prison Bars and Music Notes" Acts 16:22 And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. Acts 16:23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Acts 16:24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. Acts 16:25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. Acts 16:26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. Black Sharpie Marker-"To draw music notes and write Paul And Silas" Tape Stick Pretzels-"Prison Bars" Colored Note Cards Just fold notecards until they make a cone shape. Put a little piece of tape on it to hold it in place. Take your black sharpie marker and write Paul and Silas on the front. Draw music notes all over the card. This represents the praying and praising they were doing in the prison. Fill with Prison Bars-which are the stick pretzels.

The armor of God described in the book of Ephesians is a popular theme for Sunday School lessons and Vacation Bible Schools. Kids not only like making the armor, but they enjoy putting it on and playing around with it. Iâm sure your kiddos will...

This Bible activity is a match game highlighting the shipwreck of the apostle Paul as he made his way to Rome. Who can find the most matches? Who can tell the story of what happened to Paul and how God was caring for him along the way?

We are coming to the end of our study of Paul in the book of Acts. This week is a very simple worksheet with different ways to use it. We have been studying about Paul being in Caesarea. He was taken there with 472 soldiers from Jerusalem where the 40 Jewish men wanted to kill him. He was sent to Caesarea for his safety. Remember that he had to go before The Governor Felix first, then after he was in prison for two years, a new governor was in charge and so he went before Festus. Paul told them that “I appeal to Caesar.” While Festus was waiting to send Paul to Rome, King Agrippa and Queen Bernice visited. Paul went before them and was permitted to tell his side and explain that he was innocent. Paul told King Agrippa about how he became a Christian and about Jesus. King Agrippa said, “Almost you have persuaded me to become a Christian.” Click here to download it. We are in chapter 27 of Acts (Acts 27:1-44), and there are only 28 chapters! Read: Acts 27:1 Luke writes 'we', so that means that Luke is traveling with Paul also. Festus had to agree to send Paul to Rome, since Paul said, "I appeal to Caesar.". As a Roman citizen, he had the right to do that. A centurion (a centurion is in charge of 100 soldiers), named Julius was in charge of getting Paul to Rome safely. There were a lot of soldiers and there were other prisoners going to Rome. Festus told Julius that Paul had not broken any laws, but was being tried on Jewish religious reasons, so he treated Paul with courtesy. Paul earned more respect on the voyage! It was Autumn and the ships sailing directly to Rome had already left port, so they had to take a smaller ship. They were going to sail along the coast of Syria to Asia Minor and change to a bigger ship if they could. Luke and a Christian from Macedonia called Aristarchus (Ar-iss-tar'-chuss) went on the ship with Paul. They stopped in Sidon (side'-un) to pick up cargo and Paul was allowed to leave the ship to visit friends. They soon got back on the ship and because it was late in the season, the winds were strong on the open seas. They had to stay close to shore and dropped anchor often. When they reached the city of Myra (My'-ruh), Julius found a ship from Egypt sailing to Rome with a load of wheat. Almost immediately, problems started. There was a strong head wind and remember, they didn't have engines, just the sails. Luke states that they sailed slowly for many days. When they came to a harbor in the island of Crete, Paul begged them to stay there for the winter. He had already been shipwrecked three times and warned Julius there would be trouble if they kept going. But Julius wanted to get to a bigger island, so they kept going. It was Julius' decision since he was the centurion in charge. The wind shifted to a northeaster and the seas became very rough. They threatened to engulf the ship. They stopped on a little island called Clauda for temporary shelter. They used ropes to tie the ship together to keep it from breaking apart and they stayed in the cliffs. They left the island, and the storm grew worse. Water sprayed into the boat, and it sprung leaks, so they started throwing stuff overboard to make it lighter. The ship bounced around in the storm for days. They didn’t even bother eating for a long time. Luke says in Acts that they did not see the sun or stars for many days. They really didn't think they would live through the storm! Paul remembered that God told him he would get to Rome, and he told the frightened seamen that they wouldn’t die in the storm, but only the ship would be lost. After 14 days, they saw land. Paul took bread, said prayer and everyone ate to get strength to swim to shore. They hit a sandbar, huge waves rolled over the ship and the boat cracked in half! The soldiers were going to kill the prisoners, because they didn't want them to escape. But Julius wanted to save Paul, so he said to free them and let them swim. The ones that couldn’t swim, used pieces of the ship to get to the shore. They all made it to the shore, shivering in the rain. They were tired and bruised but alive! Just like Paul told them! God kept them safe even when things were not going easy. There were people on the island, and that will be the lesson for next week. They were on the island of Malta and stayed there until winter was over.  I used this very simple worksheet to discuss, again, Paul doing what God wanted and not what he wanted. On the left side, students can write things they shouldn't do, and on the right side, things they should do. Or, you can discuss different Bible people. Name someone. Did they do what God wanted? No, write their name on the left, Yes, write their name on the right side. I left it plain so you could use the worksheet different ways. Click here to print. Click here to print the worksheet. You can find all the Acts worksheets here. Bible verse: Acts 27:24 Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. Passport: the coast of Syria to Asia Minor Click here to download the updated visuals. This file contains all the visuals for Acts 27. All are not shown. Click here to download the pictures to color. (These are the same as the visuals but are black & white.) Lesson

VERSES: Acts 27:1-44; 45:1 MEMORY VERSE: Acts 27:24 "...Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar..." BOOK TO REMEMBER: Jude. Write "Jude" on small slips of paper and hand out to the students at the end of class. PRAYER: Thank God for his protection and his providence. SPECIAL SONG: The Wise Man Built His House On The Rock (see March 2014 - Songs We Sing In Bible Class #3 on this blog. Click on orange circle to hear tune.) VISUAL AID: Bible map; large Activity (see below), whiteboard or chalkboard. A map is drawn by the Bible teacher as the students watch and then draw on their own papers. Colored dry erase markers or chalk is helpful. LESSON POINTS: In Caesarea, Paul and other prisoners were entrusted or delivered into the hands of a centurion named Julius. Julius was responsible in making sure that his prisoners reached Rome. Paul had appealed to Caesar and Caesar lived in Rome, Italy, a far away place from where Paul was. (Using the map as a visual aid, trace Paul's journey.) Traveling from Caesarea to Rome was quite a long journey, especially on a sailing ship. Sailing ships relied on the weather and lots of wind. When there was no wind, the ship would float along until the winds came. Sometimes the winds would not come for days. Traveling was definitely not an easy thing to do. Julius, the centurion, Paul, Luke, Aristarchus, possibly other friends of Paul and other prisoners sailed on a sailing ship which stopped in Sidon where Julius, the centurion, did a very nice deed for Paul. While they were in Sidon, Julius gave Paul his freedom to go to his friends and receive anything that he needed. Julius trusted that Paul would come back to the ship and Paul kept his word. After they left Sidon, they were beginning to have trouble with the weather. They had to go another way around the island of Cyprus that was sheltered because the winds were not cooperating. They sailed over the sea of Cilicia and docked in Myra, a city in Lycia. In Myra, the centurion found a ship that was going to Italy and he commanded all those under his control to board that ship to Rome. After they had sailed slowly for many days, they sailed to Cniidus, under the island of Crete, around Salmone, and then on to a place called The Fair Havens which was on the island of Crete. After many days and when the sailing was dangerous, Paul scolded the captain of the ship and the centurion, saying the journey was not going to be an easy trip. There would be danger and much damage, not only to the ship and the cargo, but to the lives on the ship. But the centurion listened to the captain and owner of the ship instead of Paul. Thinking that they might be safer sailing on to Phenice which was on the other side of Crete, they sailed on. The south wind blew softly, so they sailed close to Crete, but before they could get to Phenice, a mighty, violent wind took hold of their ship and they were swept along by the wind out in the sea. As they made their way across the huge sea, they sailed on the sheltered side of a small island called Clauda where they did their best to fix some things that had happened to the ship. Becoming a huge storm, the ship was tossed here and there in the sea, so much so, that the men lightened the ship by throwing unnecessary items overboard into the sea. It did not do much good, so the next day, they threw some of the things that were more important, even things that they needed, overboard.. After many days of not seeing the sun nor stars, the men were giving up hope. But after a long while without any food, Paul stood up in the middle of the men and said, "Sirs, you should have listened to me and not sailed from Crete. But now, I encourage you to be happy because no one's life will be taken, but only the ship will be lost. An angel of God told me not to be afraid because I must be brought before Caesar in Rome and God will save all those that travel with me. So, be happy because I believe God and everything that the angel said. However, the bad news is that we will be thrown out on to an island." On the fourteenth night about midnight, the men thought that they were close to land, so they took soundings which was the way they could measure the depth of the water. They were afraid that the ship would run into the rocks, so they let down four anchors which they thought would hold the ship and then they wished for the morning to come. Some of the men had let down the life boat and were about to sail away in the small boat, when Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, "Unless all the men stay on the ship, they cannot be saved." This time the centurion listened to Paul and cut the ropes that were tying the small boat to the ship and let it fall into the sea. When it was almost daylight, Paul encouraged the men to eat some meat because it had been fourteen days that they eaten nothing. Paul said that no harm would come to them if they ate something for their health. After he had finished speaking, he took some of the bread, and while they were all standing there, gave thanks to God and ate it. The rest of the men began to be more cheerful and they ate, too. In the whole ship, Luke writes that there were 276 people.After they had eaten, they threw more things over into the sea, throwing even the wheat into the water. In the morning, they had no idea where they were, but they discovered a small creek with a shoreline which they intended to turn the ship into, if it was possible. They took up the anchors and headed for the shore, but they were actually in a place where two seas met and they ran the ship into a sandbar where they were stuck. The front of the ship could not be moved, but the back of the ship was broken up by the waves. They were shipwrecked! It was a dangerous time to be a prisoner! The soldiers wanted to kill all the prisoners because they thought they might swim out to sea and escape, but the centurion wanted to save Paul, so he stopped the soldiers from killing anyone and told everyone to jump off the ship and swim to shore! So, everyone jumped off the ship. Some used boards to make it to the island of Melita, and some hung on to broken pieces of the ship. All 276 people made it to land safely just like the angel of God had told Paul. God knows the future and is always in control! We will talk more about what happened on the island of Melita and what God has in store for Paul next time. "Older Student" Tips: We notice that Luke is with Paul, traveling with him to Rome. Read Acts 27:1. Luke is telling this journey in detail because he is there (Notice the pronoun "we.") Aristarchus was also with Paul and Luke. Aristarchus was one of Paul's traveling companions when he was in Ephesus and Demetrius stirred up the silversmiths, causing much confusion in the city. Aristarchus was one of the men who the Ephesians caught in the theater. (See Lesson - Demetrius And The Sin Of Idolatry - July 2015 on this blog.) We need to remember that these friends of Paul were also suffering right along side of Paul without food and a fear of the storm. Fourteen nights in a violent storm and all 276 people were saved. Not one was lost! God was in control all the time! We need to remember that when times are hard for us that, if we are obedient to God and doing His Will, He will always take care of us. Read 1 Peter 5:7..We should pray to God and He will take care of us. The captain, the centurion, and everyone on the ship could have saved themselves much trouble and could have saved the ship if they had listened to Paul in the beginning. The same thing applies to us today if we would listen to God. During hard times--times that come to all people, we all "wish for the morning to come" (Acts 27:29). We should never give up hope, but pray to God and He will listen. We only need to ride through the night when things look dark and bleak. The morning always come and things always look better and brighter. When we are doing right and trusting God, He will take care of us. ACTIVITY: Paul Sails To Rome Materials needed: White bond paper, 2" x 4" rectangle of scrap paper, scraps of brown and tan construction paper, a plastic straw, pencil, eraser, markers, crayons, scissors, glue, tape. Move Bible map of Paul's fourth missionary journey, showing entire Mediterranean Sea area close to the students, so all can see. Hand out white paper. Using a pencil, each student looks at the map on display, and as the Bible teacher attempts to draw the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea on the board, they gently draw the general area on their white paper. No professional artists needed. An illusion of the area is fine. (You can do this! It does not need to be perfect! Try this yourself a day or two before class begins. It is easier than it looks!) Make sure that the islands of Cyprus, Crete Sicily, and Melita are drawn on the paper. Trace pencil lines with black marker. Label Caesarea, Sidon, Cyprus, Myra, Cnidus, Crete, Fair Havens, Phenice, Clauda, Melita, and Rome on the map. Draw a line connecting Caesarea, Sidon, the back side of Cyprus (closest to land), Myra, Cnidus, around to Fair Havens, around Caluda, and ending in Melita. At the top of the paper, write, "PAUL SAILS TO ROME" and "Acts 27, 28:1." Color. Trace "journey line" in red crayon. Carefully using scissors, cut on the red line that connects the cities and islands, going around the names that the student has written on the map. (Bible teacher may need to help a little with this step.) Set map aside. Ship: Using scrap paper, cut a small one-inch semi-circle out of brown paper (this is the ship), a skinny brown pole (glued to the middle of the ship), and tan triangles (glued to the pole for masts). Tape ship to straw. Carefully, insert ship into the line that has been cut through the Mediterranean Sea, showing the path from Caesarea to Melita. CAUTION: If not careful, the paper will tear. Turn white paper over to the back side. Tape two long edge and one short edge of 2" x 4" paper to the back side of the white paper to form a pocket for the ship and the straw when it is not in use. As a class, carefully and gently move the ship along the journey that Paul sailed, trying to get to Rome. Everyone places their ships in their pockets before leaving class.

Our next armor of God activity took a few days to come to fruition because I had to order a

I am gearing up for a new CCD year, and planning activities for this years' theme. Last year's theme of "My Soul Magnifies the Lord" was lots of fun, but although Mary is all of our Mother, it definitely felt like some (most) of our decorations and activities were more girl friendly than boy friendly. So, I may be over compensating a little in the opposite direction, but the theme this year is "Put on the Whole Armor of God" and our patron Saint is St. Michael the Archangel. I am planning decorations and ways to incorporate the theme into our year long activities, but I am also working on a Boys' Retreat to go along with the same theme. I'll be sharing some of the games and activities that we use for that event. First up: Draw Your Sword. Every now and then in one of my college Bible Studies, we would play a "lame" game called Draw Your Sword. The idea was to improve memorization of where to find things in the Bible and speed in looking things up. Someone in the group would call out a book, chapter, and verse, and the first to find it and start reading was the winner and would get to call out the next verse. A little friendly competition made it entertaining. The name "Draw Your Sword" comes from Hebrews 4:12- "For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword." Knowing the Word of God is the best weapon we can arm ourselves with against the world. To make the idea of familiarizing them with the Bible and looking up references a little more fun, I made this game. Starting with an empty small coffee can, I colored and attached the Draw Your Sword printable, (link below). Then buy different colors of plastic knives (swords) and write a Book, Chapter, and Verse on the end of the knife with a Sharpie. (Note- if you are working with really little kids, or kids prone to violence :) I don't recommend plastic knives- those suckers can still hurt. I have a knife-free option below. I went ahead and used knives because I knew that my older students could handle it.) There is a list below of verses, at least one from each book of the Bible, and a lot of them connect to the theme of the Armor of God. Here is the finished jar. Now, arm each kid with a Bible, have one draw out a sword, and race to see who can find it first. The first one to read the verse gets to pull the next sword. I made plenty of swords so they could even be split into cups for use with smaller groups. Click here for a printable label to wrap around a jar or container: Click here for a two page printable with Scripture verses from the entire Bible if you would rather use paper instead of plastic knives. You could cut these out and put them in a jar or envelope for the same kind of game.

Scripture, like nothing else, reaches into the soul and transforms.

This morning, I loaded Lydia up to go to school and when we got there, the crossing guard/carpool person pulled

Nard Pugyao of North Carolina grew up in a time when his Philippine Islands village was experiencing a dramatic shift between the old ways and new possibilities.

The apostle Paul declares in 1 Peter 2:9-10 (NIV)... But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. While completing her doctoral study, Tammy Jacko confirms that reading Scripture increases intimacy with God, the church, and the community, and discovers the spiritual purpose and ministry relevancy of believers today. My Inheritance demonstrates how biblical research stipulates and affirms that every believer is the recipient of an eternal inheritance and has a distinctive role personally and publicly as a priest in the world. The legacy of the priesthood reflects a spiritual seed that expands the Kingdom of God, a spiritual position of honor and power in God, and the spiritual mediating responsibility of all believers who work with God.