Rolling Hills



Hiking with JesusCurriculum for Home Communities from Imago Dei KidsHOW TO USE THIS CURRICULUM:Welcome to your hike with Jesus! This curriculum was designed for children to connect Christ with their typical summer activities. It is our hope that this toolbox is a springboard for you and your community to see Christ at work in ALL THINGS. Whether it’s camping or picking fruit or just watching the clouds – God is eager to tell you who He is and just how much He loves you. We hope you have a blast with your little ones and Christ throughout this hike.WHAT YOU WILL NEED:**Many of the lessons will require a sensory bin of sorts. Some easy options are a kiddy pool or an under the bed storage unit. It will need to be waterproof (not a cardboard box) and you won’t want it too deep for the safety and cleanliness of the kiddos. Weeks that it isn’t part of the curriculum, we still highly recommend using it for some of your more tactile kiddos. Some ideas are: beans/rice, moon dough, sand, bubble solution, water, etc.… **You will need the Jesus Storybook Bible for some of the stories in this curriculum.This hike begins with backpacks that the children will be working on throughout the hike. We’ll provided the backpacks and the stories, but here are some other things you will need:PaperFabric markers or paint (for the back packs)Color crayons, pencils, or markersSticks (about half the length of a child’s arm – one per each child)StringMagnets (one for each child - we used the plain circle ones found at a craft stores)Pipe cleanersRubber bandsPlastic strawsSifter or pie tins (used for panning)Glue (sticks and tacky or hot)Sleeping bags/tent (for the kids to explore)Toilet paper or paper towel tubesWatercolor paints and brushesPopsicle sticksScissors (adult and kids’)Tissue paperStaplerOld magazinesPaint or large stamp padsSTRUCTUREIt will be important for your Home Community to decide on a structure that works well for your families. Some may choose to have some time together in worship or fellowship before having the children leave for their special time. You’ll also need to decide WHO will be teaching your children during these times and HOW you will best care for everyone’s needs. We hope it is a meaningful conversation for your community to love one another well.The structure of the kiddos’ time is as such. Feel free to bend the time limits based on how long you meet. This is geared for an hour-long time.20 minutes: Free play/sensory/memorization5 minutes: Clean up and center in (can be good to march in a line or sing a song)15 minutes: Story, songs, prayers20 minutes: Craft/Free play/memorization*During those beginning and ending times you’ll have kids that will want to be spending time in each of those areas depending on their age and personality.Now you are ready to begin!Love the?Lord?your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.?These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.?Impress them on your?children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.?Deuteronomy 6:5-7LESSON 1: THE MAPThis is the frontload for all you will be talking about over the next several weeks with your little ones. It will be something to look back on throughout your hike together.SensoryUsing the supplies in your surroundings, build an obstacle course for the kiddos to go through. First make an incredibly easy one. Next, add in some extra difficulties. Finally, (if you have older ones) blindfold a couple and have the others lead them through. Talk with them how being a follower of Jesus can be like this. Sometimes it is easy. Other times it is harder. Sometimes it is SO HARD you can only completely trust Jesus to lead you through it. But He will never leave you or lead you astray (even if some of their little partners do ).Songs/PrayerWe always like to begin our time together with worship and prayer. Feel free to use the songs included or add your own. The children typically sing the Doxology every week at church as their intro to story time.StoryWhen Jesus left the earth to join Papa God in heaven, He gave his friends the very important job to tell everyone this good news: We all can be in God’s family when we choose to follow Him with all of our heart! Jesus told them to go everywhere telling this good news, and He also said “I will be with you, even to the very end.” (Mt. 28:20) We know that God sent the Holy Spirit to be with us until Jesus comes back to bring us to heaven. Now it is our job to go everywhere and tell everyone the good news! They can be in Jesus’ family, too! Sometimes our walk with Jesus can be really hard or scary… sometimes it is SO MUCH FUN – but no matter what, we know that He is with us if we want Him to be and He will never, ever leave us.During our time together we are going to learn about all the ways we can see Jesus with us. When it’s sunny and warm outside I like to:___________________ (what do you like to do?) One of the best ways we can see Jesus is when we go play outside. He made you and He made our world! It brings him GREAT JOY to see you play in it. Over our next few times together, we’re going to be following this map for our Hike with Jesus. The hike doesn’t only have to happen here – when we’re together - though! When you go home with your family you can keep looking for ways that Jesus is telling you that He loves you and the people around you.* End your time in prayer again. Take prayer requests from the children and encourage them to pray for one another. Keep a prayer book for your group so you can remember one another and see how God is working in your lives and the lives around you.Craft- Paper, markersUsing the included map as a guide, have the children make their own maps. As you make them, talk about what things have been hard (share some of your own story, too!) and what things have been easy. It’s okay if it’s really literal (climbing up a mountain) or spiritual (learning to pray). The important thing is to share the experience together.Free play/memorizationSee our verse booklet for verses for your little ones. Say the main theme verse all together every time. Even your littlest of littles will find joy in it.LESSON 2: BACKPACKSMatthew 4:1-11; Jesus is the strongest. This week we will make our backpacks. The children will be making things for their backpacks throughout the curriculum. Decide if you will have them stay at Home Community or have the families bring them each time you get together.SensoryHave blocks or sand for the children to build towers. Talk of how STRONG Jesus is. He could pick up the mountains and throw them in the sea if He wanted!Songs/PrayerWe always like to begin our time together with worship and prayer. Feel free to use the songs included or add your own. The children typically sing the Doxology every week at church as their intro to story time.Story (from Mt. 4:1-11)When Jesus was about to begin telling the people on earth all about His amazing plan to bring us into God’s forever family, He first took a trip out into the wilderness. He went out there for a long time (40 days and 40 nights!) and He didn’t bring a single thing with him.He didn’t have a water bottle.He didn’t have any granola bars.He didn’t have a sleeping bag.He didn’t have a tent.He didn’t even have a stuffed animal to sleep with!Out in the wilderness Jesus was met by the Devil. The bible calls him the evil one. He is God’s enemy and is doing everything he can to stop God from having His kiddos in His forever family. He wanted Jesus to give up being the strongest one that would save us.Knowing that Jesus was hungry, the Devil came to tempt him. “Turn these stones into bread if you are the Son of God!” said the Devil.“It takes more than bread to stay alive.” Replied Jesus. “It takes a steady stream of words from God’s mouth.”“Jump off this high temple if you are the Son of God! Won’t the angels catch you?” teased the Devil again.“Do NOT test the LORD your God,” responded Jesus.Finally the Devil took Jesus to a high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms… as far as the eye could see. How beautiful they all were!“Bow to me and they will all be yours!” said the Devil.“Beat it, Devil!” Jesus told him. “Worship the Lord your God… and ONLY Him. Serve Him with your whole heart!” Seeing that Jesus was strong enough to resist all of his tricks, the Devil left and God’s angels came immediately to care for Jesus.Jesus was strong for you and me so that we could be part of God’s forever family. Today we are making backpacks for our adventures together. Today these packs are empty. There is no water bottle. There is no sleeping bag. There is no granola bar. There is nothing inside of it. Today remember how Jesus went out into the wilderness with nothing and was stronger than the devil because He wants YOU to be in His family forever. We know, just like Jesus did in the desert, that God will provide everything we need.* End your time in prayer again. Take prayer requests from the children and encourage them to pray for one another. Keep a prayer book for your group so you can remember one another and see how God is working in your lives and the lives around you.Craft- Fabric markers or paintsColor the backpacks – make them personal for each child!Free play/memorizationSee our verse booklet for verses for your little ones. Say the main theme verse all together every time. Even your littlest of littles will find joy in it.LESSON 3: FISHING POLESMatthew 4:18-22; Luke 5:1-11; This week we are fishing, remembering how Jesus first invited some of his fishermen followers to join Him by calling “follow me! I will make you fishers of men!”SensoryYou will need to pre-make a couple things here for the little ones. Make a lot of fish from pipe cleaners by bending them in half and twisting the two ends together a couple inches from the ends. (see example fish if needed) Toss them in your sensory bin or on the ground for the kiddos to “fish”.Make fishing poles from your sticks, string, and magnets. Tie the string to the end of the stick. Use glue to connect the magnets to the other end of the string. Now you have a fishing pole for catching fish!Songs/PrayerWe always like to begin our time together with worship and prayer. Feel free to use the songs included or add your own. The children typically sing the Doxology every week at church as their intro to story time.StoryUsing the Jesus Storybook Bible, read Mt 4:18-22 and Luke 5:1-11. The story is titled Let’s Go!Here is our hook to connect:Just like Jesus invited these fishermen to join Him on His adventures, He invites us to come with Him, too! We get to join God’s forever family with Him and we even get to invite OTHERS to come along with us. Today we fished for fish, but you and I can fish for people just like Jesus’ disciples by telling other the good news. We can tell everyone that they are invited into God’s family.**Brainstorm together as a group how YOUR home community can be telling others. Who comes to mind that hasn’t heard the gospel? How can you each show them God’s love and truth? What’s something you can do together? What’s something each person can do on his or her own?End your time in prayer again. Take prayer requests from the children and encourage them to pray for one another. Keep a prayer book for your group so you can remember one another and see how God is working in your lives and the lives around you. Pray for those that aren’t in God’s family yet – making sure to ask the kiddos if any of them haven’t joined yet, too.Craft- Paper, watercolors, scissors, crayonsUsing watercolors, scissors, crayons… whatever suits your fancy – make pictures of fish together. If you’re feeling ambitious, use Popsicle sticks and string to make your cut out fish into a mobile. May it remind us to invite others into God’s forever family every time we see it.Free play/memorizationSee our verse booklet for verses for your little ones. Say the main theme verse all together every time. Even your littlest of littles will find joy in it.LESSON 4: PANNING FOR GOLDMatthew 19:16-30 is the story known as the Rich Young Ruler. This lesson shows us how the path with Jesus can be narrow and difficult. Not many can follow it. Only by trusting Jesus to BE our path can we adventure through this difficult journey toward eternity.SensoryFill up your sensory bin with lots of sand/gravel/small rocks, your “gold”, and water. Give the children pie tins or sifters to pan for gold. The gold reminds us of a story from the Bible… Songs/PrayerWe always like to begin our time together with worship and prayer. Feel free to use the songs included or add your own. The children typically sing the Doxology every week at church as their intro to story time.StoryWe’ve been on a hike together with Jesus. We made our backpacks and we did some fishing… and today we are looking for gold in the bottom of our pond. Today I’m going to tell you a story about a man who had LOTS and LOTS and HEAPS of gold.This man came up to Jesus one day. He had lots of gold, but there was still one thing he wanted.“Jesus,” he asked, “what good thing do I need to do to have live that lasts forever and ever?”“Follow what God has told you to do in His rules,” Jesus answered.“Well…. Which ones?” Asked the man.“Don’t kill. Don’t steal someone’s wife or husband. Don’t take what isn’t yours. Don’t lie. Honor your parents. And love your neighbors as much as you love yourself.” Replied Jesus.“Great! I’ve kept all of those things! What else am I missing?” Asked the man.“Sell EVERYTHING you have (those heaps and heaps of gold) and give it all to the poor – then you will have treasure in heaven! Come, follow me!” Invited Jesus.But the man hung his head and walked away sadly. He loved his heaps of gold too much to sell them and follow Jesus.“Oh! It’s so hard for those with heaps of money to enter God’s kingdom!” Jesus told his friends. “It is easier for a camel to squeeze through the hole of a needle than for the rich to enter God’s family.”Friends, the path that we walk on with Jesus is a narrow one, but He will always show us the way. It is hard sometimes to love God more than we love anything else… but that’s how we follow Jesus! We know that it is worth it to give up EVERYTHING to be with our good God.* End your time in prayer again. Take prayer requests from the children and encourage them to pray for one another. Keep a prayer book for your group so you can remember one another and see how God is working in your lives and the lives around you.Craft- Scissors, markers, glueCut out hearts together and glue them on paper. Write “I,_____, will love the LORD with my whole heart”. For your older ones – talk with them about things you’ve had to give up in order to follow Christ. How do you feel about it now? Why did you do it?Free play/memorizationSee our verse booklet for verses for your little ones. Say the main theme verse all together every time. Even your littlest of littles will find joy in it.LESSON 5: SLEEPING BAGSLuke 5:17-26 tells the story of Christ healing a lame man. The man’s friends display great courage and Jesus shows great power: forgiving sins and healing the broken. In this lesson we see that We Can Trust What Jesus Says.SensoryLay out sleeping bags (perhaps a tent too!) for the kids to experience. If you have a dark room and some twinkle lights or glow in the dark stars, it could be fun to pretend your sleeping under the stars. When you are ready to begin your story time, have all the children lay down on their backs (in a sleeping bag or just on the ground).Songs/Prayer*Do this before having them all lay down We always like to begin our time together with worship and prayer. Feel free to use the songs included or add your own. The children typically sing the Doxology every week at church as their intro to story time.StoryOne of my favorite things about camping is my sleeping bag. Sleeping outside you can hear the crickets cricketing and the frogs croaking, you can smell the grass and flowers… it’s just lovely.BUT, imagine if you had to just lay here like this ALL OF THE TIME. What if you couldn’t get up to eat? What if you couldn’t get up to play? No soccer… no going down the slide… no sitting at the table to color.I know a story about a man who was like this. He had to lie on his back ALL OF THE TIME. His legs could not carry him – so he was stuck.(Have the children sit up now to look at you for the rest of the story.)But this man had some very wonderful friends that wanted him to get better. His friends had heard about Jesus and all the crazy amazing miracles he was doing. “I bet Jesus could make our friend better!” they said.Well, one day Jesus came to their town! Oh, what luck! “We just need to bring our friend to JESUS!” the friends cheered. They picked up their friend on his mat and carefully made their way to the house where Jesus was teaching.When the friends arrived at the house where Jesus was, there wasn’t an inch of room left for ANYONE to squeeze in – let alone four friends carrying a man on a mat! People were crowded in shoulder to shoulder to shoulder. “How will we get him to Jesus?!” The friends cried.They were determined to get their friend all better – so they found a very sneaky way to get to Jesus. Up on the roof they climbed! Pushing and pulling, heaving and hoeing, they got their friend up to the top of the building. POUND, POUND! BANG, BANG! The started to make a HOLE in the ROOF! They made their hole right above Jesus and ever so carefully lowered their friend down, down, down… right in front of Jesus’ feet.Jesus looked at the man, he looked at the hole in the ceiling, and he looked at the people listening to Him. He smiled. “Friend, your sins are forgiven! Welcome to my family!”The people listening to Jesus gasped and grumbled. “Only GOD can forgive sins!” They said. They didn’t believe that Jesus was God. “Just so you know that I am God, friend, get up!” And the man whose arms and legs could not work STOOD UP! It worked! Jesus made him all better! Using his body that used to be broken, he picked up his mat and walked right out of that house – praising Jesus with his friends all the way.Now, whenever you sleep in your sleeping bag, or even at your bed at home, you can remember how powerful Jesus was to show that he really is God. We can trust all that he tells us because he loves us and he, alone, is our God.*End your time in prayer again. Take prayer requests from the children and encourage them to pray for one another. Keep a prayer book for your group so you can remember one another and see how God is working in your lives and the lives around you.Craft- Scissors, paper, Popsicle sticks, markers, staplerCut your paper down to ? size of the regular sheets. Fold each little section in half and staple or glue it closed, making it a “sleeping bag”. Use Popsicle sticks and pipe cleaners and paper to make little people for your sleeping bags, reminding us of God’s power and Jesus’ accountability.Free play/memorizationSee our verse booklet for verses for your little ones. Say the main theme verse all together every time. Even your littlest of littles will find joy in it.LESSON 6: BINOCULARSMatthew 6:25-34 is a beautiful sermon given by our Lord Jesus about worry. He urges us to look at creation around us and see how he sustains it. He tells us he loves us EVEN MORE than those flowers and birds.SensoryMake a “habitat” box together. (You could use your sensory bin or an old shoebox… anything works.) Take the children on a hunt around the yard or neighborhood, collecting little bits of nature for your habitat. Bonus is if you’re able to find some bugs, worms, or frogs. Songs/PrayerWe always like to begin our time together with worship and prayer. Feel free to use the songs included or add your own. The children typically sing the Doxology every week at church as their intro to story time.StoryJesus loves this world he made. He LOVES when you play in it. He created it for you to enjoy! He loves when you splash in the rivers, climb up big rocks, and pick wild flowers for your mommies. He also loves for you to see just HOW MUCH HE LOVES YOU when you play in his creation. When you are out on a hike – watch all the things God made and see how God takes care of them. He waters them, he feeds them, and he makes them beautiful. How much more, little ones, does he LOVE you!?*Read from the Jesus Storybook Bible*End your time in prayer again. Take prayer requests from the children and encourage them to pray for one another. Keep a prayer book for your group so you can remember one another and see how God is working in your lives and the lives around you.Craft- Toilet paper tubes, stapler, stringUsing toilet paper or paper towel tubes, staple the two together side by side to make binoculars. Staple string to the outside edges to make it a necklace. Wear them around the house and yard, looking for was to see God at work.Free play/memorizationSee our verse booklet for verses for your little ones. Say the main theme verse all together every time. Even your littlest of littles will find joy in it.LESSON 7: BAPTISMRomans 6:1-14, Mark 1:1-11, and Matthew 28:18-20 give us the big picture of baptism from Jesus’ own baptism, to the command for his followers to be baptized. Be sure to be inviting the little ones toward baptism – encouraging them to talk with their parents further about when they might be ready to be baptized.SensoryPut some water and water toys in their sensory bin. Talk with them of Jesus’ baptism and how he was bigger than death. He went under the water, but came up again – providing a way for us to follow him and be clean before God.Songs/PrayerWe always like to begin our time together with worship and prayer. Feel free to use the songs included or add your own. The children typically sing the Doxology every week at church as their intro to story time.StoryToday on our hike with Jesus we are stopping at a clear, beautiful lake. The water is just the right amount of cold and the sunshine is just the right amount if warm. When you get to be very big (like me) and very brave (like some of you may already be…) you can jump into the deep, deep water. SO deep it covers not just your toes, or your tummy, but all the way over your head! You can be completely surrounded wit the cold, clear water all around your whole body.The bible tells us a story about one time when Jesus went out on a hike to visit his friend John the Baptist. John was baptizing people in some cold, clear water – just like the water we love to go swimming in. Jesus came to be baptized by John. John lowered Jesus down, let his whole body get surrounded in the clean water, and then lifted him up again to feel the warm sunshine. When Jesus was baptized, God called out from heaven to all the people “This is my Son!”.From then on, people in God’s family have been getting baptized, too! When someone decides that they trust in Jesus to be their King and they will follow Jesus for the rest of their life, they get to be baptized. Being baptized shows us a picture of how Jesus died, but came back to life. It also helps us see how following after Jesus is like a fresh, new start. Everything yucky from when we didn’t want to follow Jesus is washed away and we are like new.If you have decided to be in God’s family and trust Jesus forever and always, then it’s time to get baptized! Be sure to talk with your parents and us today if you are thinking about getting baptized. We would LOVE for you to declare that you are in God’s family forever. Today as we play in the water, let’s remember together how Jesus was baptized. He came to earth to make a way for us to be with God forever. God made us, he loves us, and wants us to stay his kids forever and always.*End your time in prayer again. Take prayer requests from the children and encourage them to pray for one another. Keep a prayer book for your group so you can remember one another and see how God is working in your lives and the lives around you.Craft- White crayon, watercolors, brushes, waterUsing a white crayon on white paper, write “raised with Christ”. Have the children paint with watercolors all over the paper. The words will show up through the paint and water – reminding us that through baptism we are “raised with Christ”.Free play/memorizationSee our verse booklet for verses for your little ones. Say the main theme verse all together every time. Even your littlest of littles will find joy in it.LESSON 8: PRAYER WHISTLESPsalm 91:14-15 tells us, when we call out to God, he will answer. We’ve been working on praying for one another and together throughout our time together. This week focus on each individual little one finding a way to talk with God (drawing pictures, singing, talking, writing…)SensoryPile a bunch of magazines in your sensory bin for the little ones to look through. Have them make collages of things they want to talk to God about. Things they are thankful for, things they want to ask him for, things they give him praise for…Songs/PrayerWe always like to begin our time together with worship and prayer. Feel free to use the songs included or add your own. The children typically sing the Doxology every week at church as their intro to story time.StoryToday I’m going to tell you a story about a little boy named Tommy. Tommy was SO EXCITED to be going on a hike with his pals. They had their backpacks stuffed with all the things they would need – fishing poles, binoculars, treasures (it’s always important to have treasures…), a map of their trail, and lots of yummy snacks for the hike. Each of his friends also had one very important thing for going on big hikes in the woods: a whistle.The three friends started out on their hike through the woods. They climbed up steep hills, threw rocks off of tall cliffs into the river, and then they stopped to have a picnic next to the wildflowers.Just as the friends were starting to pack up their backpacks with the remainders of their lunch, Tommy spotted a small black and white bunny hopping from the field in to the woods. “OH Man! A bunny!” thought Tommy. He wanted to follow the bunny and get a better look, so without stopping to check with his friends, he left his pack and followed after the bunny. This way and that way, around and about the trees the bunny ran – fast, fast, fast. Tommy ran faster and faster to catch the bunny. Oh! How wonderful it would be to catch that bunny! His friends would be so amazed!But, wild bunnies are much too fast for little boys to catch, and before he knew it – the bunny was gone and Tommy was lost. Every way he looked it was the same! He turned this way – there were trees. He turned that way – there were more trees. Which way should he go? Oh dear! What was Tommy to do lost out in the woods by himself!? He started to get scared… every noise sounded like something sneaking up to get him. He was afraid and all alone.Suddenly, ah ah! Tommy knew just what to do, the sunlight slipped through the trees and glinted off of his shiny whistle. His whistle! Of course!He gave it a big loud blow and waited quietly for an answer. In just a minute he heard the response from his friends, “Toot! Toot!” Their whistles shouted from one direction. Tommy continued to call and listen and bit-by-bit he made his way back to his friends and the wildflowers. He was so grateful to see his friends again and be safe on the trail! How wonderful that Tommy had his whistle with him!The Bible tells us how we can call out to God we need help, the same way Tommy called out when he was lost in the woods. Psalm 91:15 tells us that when we call out to God, he will answer us. He will be with us in trouble and he will rescue us when we need his help. Whenever you are lost, scared, lonely… anytime – you can talk to God and he will be with you ALWAYS. Today we are making whistles to help us remember we can call out to God anytime. God LOVES to hear from his children. He loves you so very much.*End your time in prayer again. Take prayer requests from the children and encourage them to pray for one another. Keep a prayer book for your group so you can remember one another and see how God is working in your lives and the lives around you.CraftYou will need Popsicle sticks, straws, and rubber bands for this craft. If you have permanent markers or stickers, the kiddos can decorate their whistles, too! Wrap one rubber band lengthwise across one Popsicle stick. Cut the straws into one inch pieces, place one piece underneath the rubber band toward one end of the stickPlace another straw at the other end of the stick on top of the rubber bandLay the second popsicle stick on top of the straws and connect them together on the end by wrapping a rubber band around both sticks several timesRepeat on the other end of the stickLet the music begin! Blow on the sticks like a kazoo!Free play/memorizationSee our verse booklet for verses for your little ones. Say the main theme verse all together every time. Even your littlest of littles will find joy in it.LESSON 9: TENTSThe psalmist in Psalm 91 calls God his refuge. Under God’s arms we are perfectly safe. His arms fend off all harm. A canvas tent holds no comparison to the strength of God’s protection, but it’s a picture that fits with our summer hike of safety from the storms.SensoryHave a tent or pop up shade set up for the kids to explore. The more “camp like” the better. (i.e. lantern, sleeping bags or mats, camping snacks…)Songs/PrayerWe always like to begin our time together with worship and prayer. Feel free to use the songs included or add your own. The children typically sing the Doxology every week at church as their intro to story time.StoryWe’ve been on this long hike with Jesus over the summer. Jesus has taught us so much through fishing, bird watching, playing in water… and today it’s time to set up our tent and REST.Here! Our tent is all ready for us! And it’s a good thing, because there’s a storm coming! (if possible, gather all the kiddos in the tent and make rain together by drumming your fingers on the ground; thunder by stomping on the ground.)Tents can keep us safe when it starts to rain, or when the wind comes up strong, or when there’s an angry storm coming.The Bible is full of stories of how God protects his people. He protects us much better than this tent. Psalm 91 is a song someone sang a long, long time ago about how STRONG God is. It says:“God, you are my refuge. I trust in you, and I am safe!... His huge outstretched arms protect you, under them you are perfectly safe; His arms fend off all harm.”God loves you so much and he wants you to be safe in his care. Sometimes bad things can happen. Real life storms like people getting sick, or hurt, or just really, really sad and lonely. But God wants us to know that he is bigger than all of it and he will protect us with his mighty arms when we trust in him. It doesn’t mean that all the bad things go away right away; but the day is coming, friends, when it will. While we wait for Jesus to come back, God will give us comfort in his big strong arms of love.*End your time in prayer again. Take prayer requests from the children and encourage them to pray for one another. Keep a prayer book for your group so you can remember one another and see how God is working in your lives and the lives around you.Craft-Paper, markers, scissors, Popsicle sticks, glueDepending on your ages, feel free to do the simple or intense craft… or both! Tents on paper: on a plain sheet of paper make storm clouds in each corner and a person in the center of the paper (see example); cut out a triangle to serve as the “tent” and cut a line in the middle. Have the child glue the “tent” over the person on the paper. When they open the flaps, they can see the person safe from the storm inside!Tents out of sticks: using Popsicle sticks, let the kiddos go to town with glue to make shelters or tents. Hot glue would be helpful to get their frame started for them.Free play/memorizationSee our verse booklet for verses for your little ones. Say the main theme verse all together every time. Even your littlest of littles will find joy in it.LESSON 10: FRUITJohn 15:1-17 talks of staying connected to Jesus. When we stay connected to Jesus we produce good “fruit”.SensoryUse fruit and paint (or ink pads) to make awesome works of art. Some ideas are halving apples or pears for stamps, using pits from peaches or nectarines, rolling berries and using their juices to paint abstract pictures…If the time of year and surroundings work for you, teaching your little ones about pruning would be perfect for this lesson, as well.Songs/PrayerWe always like to begin our time together with worship and prayer. Feel free to use the songs included or add your own. The children typically sing the Doxology every week at church as their intro to story time.Story*You will need a stick for this lesson.We are almost to the end of the map for our hike with Jesus. It has been such an adventure! This week our hike takes us to a peach orchard. In the summer where we live here in Oregon, it is the perfect time for peaches.The air smells sweet with the smell of ripe peaches and the tree branches are so full of good yummy fruit that they dip down low enough for all of us to reach up on our tippy toes and grab one. Yum! (pretend to reach up and grab one)Being at this orchard with Jesus reminds us of something he once told his friends when he was still on earth.“I am the tree” Jesus said, “and Daddy God is the one who takes care of the branches. He takes down every tree that doesn’t grow fruit and the ones that do grow, he prunes so that they will give even more fruit… stay with me and I’ll stay with you. Just like a branch can’t bear fruit without the tree, you can’t grow without me.”Now, I have here this stick. Do you think that this stick, if I just hold it here, will grow some blueberries for me?No! Of course not! Why not? Because it’s not CONNECTED any more. Branches cannot grow fruit if they aren’t connected to the tree… and we cannot grow fruit if we are not connected to Jesus.The kind of fruit we grow with Jesus isn’t the kind we eat… but it’s sweet and good, too. This kind of fruit is called LOVE, JOY, PEACE, KINDNESS, GENTLENESS, SELF CONTROL, AND PATIENCE.When we stay connect to Jesus, when we listen to him by praying and reading our Bible and obeying our grown ups, we can have this beautiful, good fruit, too.Today we are making some flowers to remind us how beautiful, good things grow when we stay close to Jesus. I hope we can all always stay close and continue to grow strong in him.*End your time in prayer again. Take prayer requests from the children and encourage them to pray for one another. Keep a prayer book for your group so you can remember one another and see how God is working in your lives and the lives around you.Craft- Tissue paper and pipe cleanersCut tissue paper into small squares. Allow the kids to pick out their colors and help them bunch the paper in the center, folding up the sides to make a flower. Twist a pipe cleaner around the bunched up part for a stem! Added bonus: let them spray some perfume in the center for a sweet smelling flower. Free play/memorizationSee our verse booklet for verses for your little ones. Say the main theme verse all together every time. Even your littlest of littles will find joy in it.LESSON 11: GO!When Christ left this world he left us with a GREAT commission to GO and share whom he is and what he has done. This week is our last lesson in this curriculum. Be brainstorming together as a home community for ways that you can challenge yourselves to GO. Whether as a crew or as families or individuals, find ways to be actively sharing the gospel in your neighborhood, with your friends, and with the world. May you find joy in one another as you do so!SensoryPour out bubble solution in your sensory bin for the grand finale (if it’s nice outside ). Let the kids blow on the surface with straws. Loop a string through two straws and make a large circle, tying off the string. Hold on to the straws and dip it in the solution. You should get super big, FUN bubbles.Songs/PrayerWe always like to begin our time together with worship and prayer. Feel free to use the songs included or add your own. The children typically sing the Doxology every week at church as their intro to story time.StoryWe’re at the end of our hike now friends! It has been such a fun journey seeing all the things Jesus has to show us through hiking. Finishing our hike with Jesus reminds me of when Jesus was finishing his time on earth. Before he went back up to heaven to get a place ready for us, he gave his friends a very special job – and that job is for us, too!After Jesus rose from the dead, many of his friends realized and believed that Jesus was God. They worshipped him and trusted all that Jesus had taught them. Just before Jesus went to heaven to get a place ready for us to join him, he was hanging out with his friends.“Friends, I am the boss over all things. I tell you to go over the entire world and tell everyone about me. Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AND, I promise I will be with you always, until the very when I come back to get you.”It’s our special job as Jesus’ followers to tell others about Jesus and to baptize them! One way you can do that this week is to share your backpack with someone and tell them all the stories you’ve been learning. Remember, the Holy Spirit is with you as you share!*End your time in prayer again. Take prayer requests from the children and encourage them to pray for one another. Keep a prayer book for your group so you can remember one another and see how God is working in your lives and the lives around you.Craft*** ................
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