Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Free Bible Story Download: Psalm 139

Do the kids in your ministry ever feel anxious when going to new places and facing new challenges? Of course they do! That’s totally normal for kids AND adults. 

One thing we can do to help our kids with this kind of anxiety, however, is to teach them early on that God is with them everywhere they go.  When kids discover the big God who created the universe, is also “an ever present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1, NIV), it changes everything!

That’s why I’ve written this free large group/small group lesson to help kids understand that God is always with them. It’s based on the same Scripture as my first picture book, Where’s God? A Psalm 139 Story. This lesson can be used in conjunction with Where’s God? or as a stand alone resource that works on its own.

Here’s what you get in your free download:

Large Group Lesson

  • Opening Game with digital game graphics.
  • Creative Bible Lesson – Psalm 139 (life of David overview).
  • Application and Lesson Wrap Up with Bible verse and Big Idea slides.

Small Group Lesson

  • Ice breaker game with printable game cards.
  • Discussion activity with printable activity sheets.
  • Memory verse activity.

Family Devotion

The lesson also includes a short family devotion you can share with parents to help them keep the conversation going at home.

Teaching Tips

The large group lesson is told by a storyteller and a story helper/actor playing David. Depending on your resources, you can have the actor memorize their David lines or have another story helper hold up cue cards for the actor. Check out this post on team teaching for some helpful tips.

In case you missed the link above, you can download the lesson here. This will take you to a quickstart page with the links to the lesson docs, slide graphics and printables. I’d love to hear what you think, and let me know how it goes with your kids!

For more teaching tips and free resources, sign up here for the Bible Story Coach Newsletter to learn the skills you need to bring the Bible to life for kids.

The hardcover of Where’s God? is also available on BarnesandNoble.com.

Saturday, August 26, 2023

Where's God? Picture Book is now available!

 

Hey, I just released my first picture book! It’s called Where’s God? A Psalm 139 Story.

It’s all about a kid named Jake, a little guy with a big imagination, who journeys all around the world (and universe) asking if God is really with him everywhere he goes.

Throughout his adventures Jake discovers that God made him, loves him and will be with him no matter what (even in his dark and spooky room at night when he’s having a hard time falling asleep!)

Where’s God? is available now on Amazon. Check out a few sneak peaks below!






Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Summer Coloring Sheets

With summer right around the corner we can all use some extra activities and time fillers to fill in the gaps on Sunday mornings.  Below are a couple of fun summer scenes you can feel free to use in your ministry.  Just click on the picture below to download the black and white version to reproduce.  

You can also download a kids' devotion on my writing blog to go with the Psalm 34 poster.

Happy summer!  Enjoy!






Wednesday, April 26, 2023

End Your Bible Story with a Big Reveal

We all want our kids to remember the Bible stories we teach.  We want them to leave church talking about it.  We want them excited to come back for more.  

One effective way to achieve this is to build in the occasional surprise ending to our stories, or what I call “the big reveal.”  These aren’t surprises just for the sake of changing things up (though that’s not a bad thing), but the big reveal is a way to emphasize the main biblical truth we’re trying to communicate in an unexpected way.  

One of the easiest ways to do this is by using props to hide your message in plain sight.

Nehemiah

A few years ago, I taught a lesson on Nehemiah that was all about how Nehemiah chose to do the right thing even when it was really tough.  When the kids walked in, I had large cardboard boxes sitting around the teaching area that I used to represent the rubble of the wall of Jerusalem.

In the application time at the end of the story, we talked about different challenges the kids might face this week. As we walked through each situation, I picked up a box from the rubble and added it to a row of boxes at the edge of our stage, having them repeat the phrase, “It’s worth the fight to do what’s right” in response.

At the very end I flipped the boxes, revealing the letters R-I-G-H-T printed on the bottom as I reminded them that God will help us to do what’s right even when it seems impossible. 

The kids went nuts when they realized the message had been hidden in front of them all along.  

John 3:16

We also use this in our teaching about salvation and baptism.  I adapted this from an old Willow Creek Promiseland lesson from over twenty years ago, but it’s such a good idea we use again and again.  

For this lesson, we use signs with the following symbols to explain what Jesus did for us and how we can respond.  

  • Cloud: God is perfect.
  • Heart: He loves me.   
  • Earth: Sin is the problem.
  • Gift: God wants to give me a gift.
  • Cross: Jesus paid for my sin. 
  • ABC: To receive God’s gift, we Admit our need for Jesus, Believe in Jesus and Choose Jesus to be our Forever Friend 

We talk about each one of these concepts for a few minutes, but at the end, the storyteller reveals that these pictures remind them of one of their favorite Bible verses, John 3:16.  The storyteller then goes from sign to sign saying the verse and pointing to the corresponding picture.  

  • Cloud: For God
  • Heart: So loved
  • Earth: the world
  • Gift: that He gave
  • Cross: His only Son
  • ABC: so that anyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Of course all of this was visible the whole time, but it’s a fun aha moment when we get to point it out.  It’s especially fun because we do this lesson with parents in the room, who are more likely to already know the verse and appreciate the surprise.

So your challenge this week is to take this same principle and try it out in an upcoming story.  Look for ways you can occasionally use props in your storytelling that can also reveal a surprise word, Bible verse or phrase at the end that will drive home your teaching.

Here are three keys to make it work:

  1. Make the message intentional. Whatever word, phrase, verse or picture you use, it should be the payoff for the lesson, not just a random add on at the end.
  2. Hide the message in plain sight. Whatever you use to conceal the message needs to make sense with the lesson (like my John 3:16 pictures and Nehemiah boxes).  Sure you could hide the message in random set dressing or room decor, but it’s way more fun if the props seem to have a purpose. 
  3. Practice with the props several times, This will help you reveal the message smoothly and keep you from fumbling the big moment.  When I did the Nehemiah lesson, I had to be extra careful to get the boxes in the right order and to make sure none of my letters were upside down.  Without practice it would have been so easy for me to blow it.

Of course you can’t use a big reveal every week or the kids will be on to you, but when you do use, it will remind kids that God’s Word is full of fun surprise. More importantly, it will help to remember the truth you’re teaching for weeks and months to come.

In our next post we’ll talk about another fun way to end with a big reveal: using simple pictures to lead up to powerful finish!

Friday, December 3, 2021

Rediscovering Your Christmas Wonder



The room was silent, all the kids’ eyes glued to the gifted storyteller onstage. With expert skill she told the tale of the wise men coming to see Jesus. She said, “Evil King Herod told the wise men to let him know when they’d found the child so he could go and worship Jesus too. But he was lying! He didn’t really want to worship Jesus. He wanted to hurt him!”

Suddenly a first grader gasped and cried out, “WHAT?!”

It was awesome. This was obviously the first time this kid had ever heard the Christmas story, or at least that part of it. He was totally shocked that anyone would ever think about harming Jesus. This was completely new information.

I think of that day every year when I’m preparing to teach for Christmas. It’s a great reminder that I will have kids in the room who will be hearing this incredible story for the very first time. 

That means I have to bring my A-game. I can’t let myself become lazy or bored just because I’ve heard the Christmas story a million times.  I can’t just go through the motions. I have to be fully engaged with the wonder of what God did in Bethlehem.  

As adults it’s easy to lose our sense of awe for the familiar. Many of us have talked about Mary, Joseph and the shepherds so many times, we may begin to see them more as cartoon characters instead of real, breathing humans who experienced the miraculous.  

Think about it. These people were swept up in a cosmic drama, where the entire fate of mankind hung in the balance. They talked with angels. Angels! Not cute, little cherub babies but terrifying beings of unimaginable power. 

And let’s not forget the mind-blowing mystery in the manger. God in the flesh! The Creator King wrapped in swaddling clothes, breathing the air He made, submitting to the gravity He invented, all-powerful but fragile, eternal but newborn, the Author of Life destined for a cross.

How could we tell this story with anything less than jaw-dropping, eye-popping amazement?  

Yet, we do, because we’re human and we’re jaded and we’re busy and stressed with daily life, and we just forget. We forget what it’s like to be a seven-year-old hearing this world-changing true story for the very first time.  

So, if that’s you this year, here are a few ideas to reclaim your wonder and bring your best to the Christmas story:

  1. Pray. Ask God to restore your sense of awe. Repent of any cynicism in your heart. Seek forgiveness for forgetting what He has done. Trust me, I’m right there with you. 
  2. Read the story. I’m embarrassed to admit how many times I’ve taught lessons from a curriculum or from memory without going back and re-reading the text. Read the Christmas story from the Bible! Read in multiple translations. Read it  . . . slowly . . . and think about it.
  3. Step into history. Imagine what it would have been like to be Mary or Joseph or a shepherd. Explore your senses. What would you see, hear, taste, touch and smell throughout these events? Plug into it emotionally. How would you feel if you were in Mary’s shoes when the angel shows up? Imagine being Joseph and hearing Mary’s preposterous news. Use your imagination to engage with this story as if it’s happening today.
  4. Look for creative inspiration. Check out shows like Christmas with the Chosen or a book like Max Lucado’s Cosmic Christmas. Listen to powerful Christmas music and take time to let it sink into your heart. 
  5. Reflect on what the coming of Christ has meant to you. Journal about it. Pray about it. What difference has “God with us” made in your life? Think of where you would be without Jesus.

Take some time this season to grow young again for Christmas. Invite the God who became a baby to blow your mind with the miracle of His love and His presence, and let your child-like worship overflow to all those you teach and lead each day. 

Sunday, March 15, 2020

Navigating the Coronavirus Crisis In Children's Ministry




The global Coronavirus crisis has not only claimed thousands of lives, but has created massive disruptions in everyday life for our families and churches. What does it look like to minister to kids, parents and leaders during this challenging time?

Check out the latest episode of the Simple Kidmin Podcast in the media player below or in iTunes for a few ideas of how we can serve families in this season.

 

If you'd like to see some of the things our Children's Ministry is doing to stay connected with families, you can check out our Southland Kids Facebook Page.

Along with weekend teaching content we also put together this Bible Story Review Game video, a simpler version of a game we've been playing live all month long in our elementary environments.

Here is the link to our Parent Guide for talking to kids about the Coronavirus.





Sunday, December 8, 2019

027: Kidmin Lessons from Christmas Movies



What can Christmas movies teach us about kidmin?  Find out in this episode as we take a look at three classics: ElfIt's a Wonderful Life and A Charlie Brown Christmas and see what lessons we can learn about Children's Ministry, leadership and following Jesus.  
For more Christmas inspiration, check out Jason's book, Holiday Road: A Christmas Devotional on Amazon.




Listen here in the media player or over on iTunes.

Holiday Road: A Christmas Devotional

Are your holidays more hectic than holy?  More weary than worshipful?  Do they leave you exhausted and longing for more?
Check out Holiday Road: A Christmas Devotional and rediscover the joy in the journey to Christmas. Meander the back roads to Bethlehem with these 25 light-hearted devotions written to help you refocus on what really matters during the holidays.  Holiday Road is available online in both paperback and e-book.