“SUPERHEROES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT”
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
2009
Ideas:
I. “Dear God” letters:
a. Students will write a letter to God sharing their feelings or asking to hear a special prayer.
b. Completed and edited letters will be placed into book form and bound to leave in Sunday School to share with other students.
II. Seven “SUPERHEROES” will be selected for study. Each “hero” will include daily memory verses, lesson plan for daily lesson, craft idea, and film resources.
III. Individual puppet theaters will be made for intermediate kids to perform puppet plays to primary kids. Plays will deal with stories of the “Heroes”.
IV. A mural will be drawn by intermediate students and will correlate with crafts being done daily by younger students. The mural will consists of scenes from each of the ten “Superhero” stories. For example: Moses in the river, the lion’s den, Joseph’s “coat of many colors”, the “burning bush”, the walls of Jericho, Abraham’s altar, etc.
V. Clothing: Teachers and assistants will dress in Bible Times costumes.
VI. Field trips will consist of:
v Monday-Students will write a “Letter to God”.
v Tuesday:
Tour of our Church---explanation of symbols, manners used and relics in altar.
v Wednesday:
Great Explorations-
Wild Animals brought to church (lions, tigers, etc)
Field trips continued:
v Thursday:
Joseph’s “Coat of Many-Colors” Parade.
v Friday:
Old Testament Olympics:
*Daniel in the Lion’s Den Beanbag Toss
*Bible Face Painting
*Bible Animals Pinatas
*Furnace Limbo
*Moses Basket Floats
*Abraham’s Sheep
*Joshua’s Wall (sand jars)
*Old Testament Animal Balloons
Superheroes
-Each day of the week, two “Superheroes” will be studied. The “Heroes” represent characters of the Bible who possessed an emotional strength which allowed them to do God’s bidding and keep their faith in Him. Their strength was not a physical strength, but a strength which developed from the power given to them by God. This type of might is more powerful than the physical muscles often associated with heroes of today. These “Heroes” are more enduring and lasting.
Monday:
Abraham & Isaac
Tuesday:
Joseph--Moses
Wednesday:
Joshua-Ruth / Naomi
Thursday:
David
Friday:
Daniel-Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego
Topics for Father
*Tour of church and explanation of symbols and important things in our church.
v 1. Beginning in Vestibule Father may explain the story of our patron saint and how this saint was chosen as the name of our Church. Who were the Godparents of our Church.
v 2. Discussion of icons found in Narthex of our Church.
v 3. Explanation of the Bishop’s throne
v 4. Explanation of the prophets shown on the dome.
v 5. Explanation of symbols found in our Church and in the altar.
v 6. Explanation of the relics in our Altar --
St. Paraskevi--St. Anastasia--St. Nicholas
(Fragment of our Lord’s cross)
v 7. Explanation of certain vestments.
v 8. When was our Church erected.
*Manners
A discussion of the manners necessary to use in our Church:
1. Crossing oneself when passing the Church.
2. Appropriate dress.
3. Lighting of candles upon entering the Church and veneration the icons.
4. How to sit appropriately in Church.
5. When we should stand and when we sit in Church.
6. Our responsibility in singing praises to the Lord with the responses during our Liturgy.
7. Repeating prayers before and after Communion.
8. Do not walk into or leave the Church when the Gospel is being read.
9. Bowing our heads when the Holy Gifts are presented and brought out of the altar.
Manners continued:
10. When approaching for communion or anthdero, approach reverently.
11. Correct way to approach for Communion:
a. in prayer for forgiveness
b. hands clasped before you
c. tell priest your baptismal name.
d. after receiving Communion, wipe mouth thoroughly and be careful not to spit or use inappropriately language.
e. take one piece of prosforo to be sure no communion spills from your mouth.
12. Always treat the sacred things in our Church with respect.
13. New icons should be brought to the Church for blessing, where it will stay in the altar for forty days.
14. Never have your back to the altar.
15. Always remember that our Church is a very Holy place and that God is always there.
Abraham & Isaac
Abraham and Isaac
Bible Verse:
“Now I know that you honor and obey God, because you have not kept back your only son.” Genesis 22:12.
Story:
Many years ago, a good and kind servant of God, lived in Canaan. His name was Abraham. He often showed God how much he loved Him and always obeyed God’s word. Once, God wanted to test Abraham’s faith. Abraham was married to Sarah and he loved her very much. Unfortunately, even though Sarah and Abraham had been married a long time, they did not have any children to bless their home. The couple was very old, and Sarah was sad because she could not give Abraham a son. Sarah asked Abraham to take Hagar as a wife. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael. Abraham loved his son, Ishmael, but he always prayed to God to have a child with Sarah.
The Lord came to Abraham and promised him that Sarah would bear him a son. Abraham named his son Isaac and loved him very, very much. When Hagar and Ishmael saw how much Abraham loved Isaac, they were very jealous. Because of this, Sarah feared for Isaac and asked Abraham to send them away to another village to live. Abraham sent Hagar and Ishmael away and made sure that they were well care for.
As Isaac grew, Abraham taught him about God and how to make sacrifices to His glory. Abraham taught Isaac how to prepare the lambs for sacrifice to God. At about this time, God chose to test Abraham’s love for God. God came to Abraham late one night and commanded him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice to God. God said, “Take your son, whom you love so very much, and go to the mountain I will show you.” God commanded Abraham to go the land of Moriah and climb the mountain that he would find there.
Abraham and Isaac prepared to travel to Mount Moriah. When they got there, Isaac could see how very sad his father, Abraham, was. He asked, “Why are you so sad, my father? Where is the lamb for us to prepare for sacrifice?” Abraham answered, “Do not worry, for God will provide one. When they came to the place God had directed Abraham to, he tied his beloved son to the altar. Isaac faithfully allowed Abraham to bind him on the altar, for he, too, loved God and understood what his father had been commanded to do.
When God saw how greatly Abraham loved Him, that he would sacrifice his beloved son, He called to him. “Abraham, do not hurt your beloved son, for you have shown your love for Me and your faith is very strong.” Then, Abraham and Isaac saw a ram caught in the bush and they knew that God had provided for them. They prepared the lamb for sacrifice and offered it up to God. From them on this place became known as “God provides.
Because of Abraham’s faith, God promised him that He would bless Abraham’s kin and descendants for years to come.
Note:
Teachers, please feel free to add or change the wording when you present this to the children. This is a condensed version, as per the Old Testament from the Genesis.
Crafts for Abraham & Isaac
1. A mural depicting Abraham’s teaching Isaac how to prepare a sacrifice on the altar.
2. Using “Plate Animals” pattern, children may make lambs to place on mural or display around room.
3. Students may design headgear that was worn in Abraham’s time.
4. Children may create flowers which may have been found on the mountainside in Moriah to represent the beauty God has created for us. Using tissue paper and chenille wires, the students will stack five circles of tissue paper, tie them in the center with the wire and then pull the edges in to the center to form a flower. Make several different colors to brighten up display.
5. Using wallpaper cut into bookmarks, students may make a tablet where they may write a promise they would like to make to God.
Joseph & His Coat of Many-Colors
Joseph & His Coat of Many Colors
Bible Verse:
“I am your God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid....” Genesis 46:2
Story:
Once, many years ago, there was a young man named Joseph, who tended his father’s sheep. He was a good and gentle youth and he loved his father Jacob very much. Jacob loved Joseph more than all his other sons because he was old when Joseph was born. When his brothers saw how their father loved Joseph best, they were very jealous and did not speak to him kindly. Once, Joseph saw a dream, and when he told his brothers about the dream, they hated him even more. The dream showed that they were in a field of wheat where the sons of Jacob had tied up their sheaves of wheat. Joseph’s sheave of wheat stood straight and tall in the middle of the field. All his brothers’ sheaves circled Joseph’s wheat and bowed down to it. The brothers thought that Joseph was pretending that he would be a king and that they would bow down to him. Then Joseph saw a dream in which the sun and moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. Joseph’s brother were very angry. One day, when they went to another village to do an errand for their father, they took Joseph along. On their way, they decided to have Joseph kidnapped and taken away forever. On the trip, Joseph wore the beautiful many-colored coat his father had made for him. His brothers took it from him, placed goat’s blood on it and took it back to their father. They told him that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal. Jacob was so sad and he mourned Joseph for a very long time.
When Joseph was taken to Egypt, he was sold to one of the king’s officers. After some years passed, Joseph was able to interpret the king’s dreams. One dream showed the king standing by the Nile River. Seven fat and sleek cows came to drink, then seven thin and bony cows came to drink and then ate up the seven fat cows. The king woke, but fell asleep again and saw seven heads grain, full and ripe growing on one stalk. Then seven thin and scorched heads grew on another stalk of grain. The thin ones swallowed up the full ones. In the morning, the king was troubled, but no one was able to tell him what the dreams meant. Soon, Joseph told the king what the dreams meant. He said that the two dreams meant the same thing. He told the king the God was sending a message. There were to be seven years of plenty in the land of Egypt and then seven years of famine in Egypt. Because the king saw that Joseph was an honest man, he believed him. He placed Joseph in charge of the storehouses. Joseph was able to put enough food away during the seven years of plenty to supply the people of Egypt with enough to eat during the seven years of need in Egypt.
Meanwhile, Joseph’s father and brothers were very hungry and learned that there was food in Egypt. Jacob, Joseph’s father, sent his ten sons to Egypt to buy food. Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt and bowed down to Joseph, but they didn’t recognize him. When the brothers bowed down to him, he remembered his dreams as a boy. Joseph decided to trick his brothers to see what they would do. The brothers were arrested and accused of being spies. Joseph released them, but he kept one brother and told the others that they must return to their land and bring back their youngest brother, Benjamin. As they sat with Joseph, who they did not know was their brother, they talked about their guilt for the sin of selling their brother many years before. Joseph asked them to return to their father and commanded that their bags be filled with grain and their money, so that their father and their family would have enough to eat, for Joseph was a kind and generous man. He still loved his brothers, even though they had wronged him. The brothers returned to Jacob and told him about Joseph, but they still did not know who he was. Jacob refused to send Benjamin to Egypt. He was afraid he would lose him, as he had Joseph many years before. He still mourned his loss.
Soon, the family ran out of food again and the brothers were forced to return to Egypt. This time they returned with Benjamin. Joseph was able to meet him, even though the brothers did not know that Joseph was their brother. Joseph wanted to test the brothers. He placed a silver cup into Benjamin’s belongings. Joseph accused him of stealing the cup. Judah, the oldest brother, pleaded for Benjamin’s life. When Joseph saw how the brothers loved each other, he wasn’t able to hide his identity any longer. He told them that he was the brother they had sold all those years before. The brothers were so ashamed and they wept when they realized who Joseph was. They begged his forgiveness and Joseph embraced his brothers. He was very happy to have his brothers back again. Joseph introduced his family to the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh promised to take care of Joseph’s family if they moved back to Egypt, for he didn’t want to lose Joseph as his governor. Joseph’s brothers returned to their father and told them the good news. Jacob could not believe his dear son, Joseph, was alive and well. Jacob praised God and God promised to make Jacob(Israel) a great nation. Jacob moved his sons and their families to Egypt. When Jacob was reunited with his son Joseph, he felt very blessed by God. God kept His promise to Jacob and the family and ancestors of Jacob and Joseph became great in God’s family.