Job, Who Never Knew Why

A group of us at my local congregation are doing the Digging Deep in God's Word study by Cindy Colley, found here:  Persecution for Righteousness' Sake.     It was my month to "facilitate" our discussion, so I actually have typed notes for the list of questions asked in the book. :)   I am copying them below for anyone who might benefit.  For what it's worth, I strongly recommend using Cindy's studies as a way to stay accountable to studying God's word and as a way to grow in how we think about Scripture and about God's plan for man.  While I may see some things differently than she does from time to time, it is a wonderful guide for my study and helps to keep me focused when things get crazy. :)  You can jump into the study at any time, whether or not you have been participating previously.  She also has other years' studies on her site at thecolleyhouse.org, and each has a different focus.  If you have questions or would like to participate, please let me know! 

• 2:10 – Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?
• 3:11-12 – Why did I not die at birth? Why did I not perish when I came from the womb? Why did the knees receive me?  Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?
• 3:16 – Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child, Like infants who never saw light?
• 3:20 – Why is light given to him who is in misery?
• 3:23 – Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, And whom God has hedged in?
• 6:5-6 – Does the wild donkey bray when it has grass, or does the ox low over its fodder? Can flavorless food be eaten without salt? Or is there any taste in the white of an egg?
• 6:11-13 – What strength do I have, that I should hope? And what is my end, that I should prolong my life? Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze? Is my help not within me? And is success driven from me?
• 6:22-23- Did I ever say, “Bring something to me? Or, Offer a bribe for me from your wealth? Or, Deliver me from the enemy’s hand? Or, Redeem me from the hand of the oppressors?”
• 6:25 (b)- 26 – But what does your arguing prove? Do you intend to rebuke my words, and the speeches of a desperate one, which are as wind?
• 6:30 – Is there injustice on my tongue? Cannot my taste discern the unsavory?
• 7:1 – Is there not a time of hard service for man on earth? Are not his days also like the days of a hired man?
• 7:4 (b) When shall I arise, and the night be ended?
• 7:12 – Am I a sea, or a sea serpent, that You set a guard over me?
• 7:17-21 (a) – What is man, that You should exalt him, That you should set Your heart on him, That You should visit him every morning, And test him every moment? How long? Will You not look away from me, And let me alone till I swallow my saliva? Have I sinned?  What have I done to You, O watcher of men? Why have You set me as Your target, So that I am a burden to myself? Why then do You not pardon my transgression, And take away my iniquity?
• 9:2 – But how can a man be righteous before God?
• 9:4 – Who has hardened himself against Him and prospered?
• 9:12 – If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, ‘What are you doing?’
• 9:14 – How then can I answer Him, And choose my words to reason with Him?
• 9:19-…who will appoint my day in court?
• 9:24- …if it is not He, who else could it be?
• 9:29 – If I am condemned, Why then do I labor in vain?
• 10:3 – 7 0 Does it seem good to You that You should oppress, That You should despise the work of Your hands, And smile on the counsel of the wicked? Do You have eyes of flesh? Or do You see as man sees? Are Your days like the days of a mortal man? Are Your years like the days of a might man, That You should seek for my iniquity and search out my sin, Although You knowt hat I am not wicked, And there is no one who can deliver from Your hand?
• 10:9 …And will You turn me into dust again?
• 10:10-11 – Did you not pour me out like milk, And curdle me like cheese, Clothe me with skin and flesh, And knit me together with bones and sinews?
• 10:18 – Why then have You brought me out of the womb?
• 10:20 – Are not my days few?
• 12:11 – Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food?
• 13:7 – 9 (to his “friends”) – Will you speak wickedly for God, And talk deceitfully for Him?  Will you show partiality for Him?  Will you contend for God? Will it be well when He searches you out? Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man?
• 13: 11 – (to his “friends”) – Will not His excellence make you afraid, And the dread of Him fall upon you?
• 13:14 – (to his “friends”) – Why do I take my flesh in my teeth, And put my life in my hands?
• 13:19 – Who is he who will contend with me?
• 13:23-25- How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin.  Why do you hide Your face, And regard me as Your enemy? Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro? And will You pursue dry stubble?
• 14:3-4 – And do You open Your eyes on such a one, And bring me to judgment with Yourself? Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
• 14:10 – But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last, and where is he?
• 14:14 – If a man dies, shall he live again?
• 17:2 - Are not mockers with me? And does not my eye dwell on their provocation? …Who is he who will shake hands with me?
• 17:15-16 – Where then is my hope? As for my hope, who can see it? Will they go down to the gates of Sheol? Shall we have rest together in the dust?
• 19:2 – How long will you torment my soul, And break me in pieces with words?
• 19:22 – Why do you persecute me as God does, And are not satisfied with my flesh?
• 21:4 – As for me, is my complaint against man? And if it were, why should I not be impatient?
• 21:7 – Why do the wicked live and become old, Yes, become mighty in power?
• 21:15  - Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him? And what profit do we have if we pray to Him?
• 21:17 – How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does their destruction come upon them, The sorrows God distributes in his anger?
• 21:21 – For what does he care about his household after him, When the number of his months is cut in half?
• 21:22 – Can anyone teach God knowledge, Since He judges those on high?
• 21:29 – Have you not asked those who travel the road? And do you not know their signs?
• 21:34 – How then can you comfort me with your empty words, since falsehood remains in your answers?
• 23:6 – Would He contend with me in His great power?
• 23:13 – But He is unique, and who can make Him change?
• 24:1 – Since times are not hidden from the Almighty, Why do those who know Him see not His days?
• 24:25 – Now if it is not so, who will prove me a liar, And make my speech worth nothing?
• 26:2 (to friends) – How have you helped him who is without power?  How have you saved the arm that has no strength?
• 26:3 (to Bildad) – How have you counseled one who has no wisdom, and how have you declared sound advice to many?
• 26:14 ( to Bildad) - …the thunder of His power who can understand?
• 27:8 – For what is the hope of the hypocrite, Though he may gain much, if God takes away his life?
• 27:9-10 – Will God hear his cry When trouble comes upon him?  Will he delight himself in the Almighty?  Will he always call on God?
• 27:12 – Why then do you behave with complete nonsense?
• 28:12 – But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
• 28:20 – From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?
• 30:2 – Indeed what profit is the strength of their hands to me?
• 30:25 – Have I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my sould grieved for the poor?
• 31:1 - 4 – Why then should I look upon a young woman? For what is the allotment of God from above, And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?  Is it not destruction for the wicked, and disaster for the workers of iniquity?  Does He not see my ways, and count all my steps?
• 31:14-15 – What then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him? Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?
• 31:31 – Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?
• 40:4 – Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You?

Digging with Moses

The ladies at our congregation met last night for our monthly group discussion about the Digging Deep Bible study for women found here:  http://thecolleyhouse.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Unto-Thee-O-Lord.pdf   This study is put out by a faithful Christian woman in order to help her sisters in Christ grow closer to God.  This year the focus is on prayer, which, personally, is exactly what I need!  For the record, anything in colored font below comes directly from Mrs. Colley's study notes found at the link above.  

Here are some notes from our class last night.  I am not on facebook, so I cannot post on or read posts from the group there, so I'll put some here!  :)  I was the facilitator for our group last night, but by no means the ones with all the answers, and these notes are not all my original thoughts and notes. :)  I am so thankful for the older women (I think I was the youngest last night!!) who were in the study with me last night, from whom I can and do learn so much!

We were asked to read and study prayers at the beginning and end of Moses' service to God and to notice what kind of (if any!) growth Moses had in his desire to lead and intercede for God's people.  Here are some questions we discussed.

1.      WHAT EXCUSES DID MOSES MAKE IN HIS COMMUNICATION WITH GOD?  WHAT EXCUSES DO WE STILL MAKE TODAY?  WHAT HOLDS US BACK FROM LISTENING TO GOD?  I don't know enough, I don't have time, I am afraid.  It is interesting that Moses never expressed fear of Pharaoh as a reason for his reluctance.  Would we not be terrified if sent before a powerful leader to discuss God's word??

2.      WHAT GROWTH DO YOU SEE IN MOSES? Humility because of who God was, rather than as an excuse for his inability to serve.  

3.      WHAT CAUSED THIS GROWTH?  (SERVICE TO GOD; EXPERIENCING GOD’S POWER AND GOODNESS)   

4.      HOW DOES OUR SERVICE TO GOD HELP US TO GROW CLOSER TO HIM?

5.      WHAT ARE SOME WAYS THAT WE, AS WOMEN, CAN LEAD AND SERVE SO THAT WE CAN GROW CLOSER TO GOD?   support our husbands (especially as elders and/or deacons), raise faithful children, teach Bible class, prepare meals for those in need, visit, conduct Bible studies, write cards, etc.   One of our ladies mentioned that there is never an enemy of Jesus listed in Scripture who was a woman.  Interesting!  we discussed many powerful/influential/encouraging women in Scripture, such as Deborah, Ruth, Esther, the women who aided Jesus and the apostles, etc.  Women have powerful roles in God's kingdom, and we should never feel inferior or unappreciated!  

6.      LOOK BACK TO WHEN YOU STARTED COMMUNICATING WITH GOD AS A CHRISTIAN.  HAS YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE HIM GROWN SINCE THEN?  IF NOT, WHY NOT?  HOW CAN WE CHANGE THAT? 

Then we start a discussion comparing Moses as Israel’s intercessor and our own Intercessor…why?   Deut 18:15-19 & Acts 3:22  ²² For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you

What made Moses a good choice for Israel’s intercessor? - He had been on both the Egyptian and the Israelite side of things.  Can you imagine going back to confront the people in the very household where you had grown up?  Here we digressed into a discussion of what it is like for newly converted Christians to "go back" to their family of origin and talk to them about error in their lives.  

Who was the intercessor sent later who WAS perfectly willing to intercede for and free a people?    JESUS! 

INTERCESSOR/INTERCESSION  “to deal” - these are some definitions we found.  I especially like the one about reconciling.  It makes a good "word picture" for me.

·         a person who intervenes on behalf of another, especially by prayer.

·         1.an act or instance of interceding.

·         2. an interposing or pleading on behalf of another person.

·         3.a prayer to God on behalf of another.

·        to attempt to reconcile differences between two people or groups;mediate.  (Heb 12:24

ROMANS 8:34 ³⁴ Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.

HEBREWS 7:25 ²⁵ Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

ISAIAH 53:12 ¹² Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors

Read Philippians 2:1-12.   Sometimes, as women, we grumble about the tasks we are given to do within our roles in the church because we feel that they do not get as much recognition as the tasks given to the men.  I have heard women say (and I have felt!) that our roles are “not as glorious,” or are “inferior,” or “unappreciated” in comparison to the roles men hold.   However, if we are going to have a heart like that of Jesus, we need to remember that He gave up ALL glory to empty himself to become one of us!  Do I have the willingness to engage in that which “makes me nothing” in the sight of others??  Who are we trying to please? 

While we know He was willing, find his prayer that showed that this submission, in the end, was difficult for the human side of our Intercessor.

Matthew 26:36ff; Mark 14, etc.

Notice also that God identified Himself, the sender in Exodus 3. What was that identifying name? I AM (Exodus 3: 5-6)  Interesting side note:  THE GOD is plural in the original language, emphasizing the Godhead.  J

The “sent”  wore that name when the Great Intercessor came. Find the New Testament passage that gives that label of identification to our Intercessor. 

John 8:58 ⁵⁸ Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."

When Jesus said “I AM,” He wasn’t using the same word as the name of God in the Old Testament; however, with all of His I AM statements (also found in John), He was claiming attributes of divinity, and thus signifying His place as part of the Godhead.  The Jews would likely have recognized all of these as ways in which Jesus was claiming equality with God.

“I AM” statements in which Jesus claimed attributes of God

·         I AM the living bread which came down from heaven. John 6:51

o   GOD who sent manna from heaven Exodus 16:31

·         I AM the Light of the World John 8:12 

o   Psalm 27:1 – David identifies God as Light

·         I AM from above. John 8:23

o   James 1:17; Php 2:9 – He has name above all names

·         I AM the Door.  John 10:9

o   A Shepherd would lie down between sheep and open field to protect them.  He would be the “door” to the pasture.

·         I AM the Good Shepherd.  John 10:11

o   Psalm 23 – the LORD is my Shepherd

·         I AM  the Son of God. John 10:36

·         I AM the resurrection and the life.  John 11:25

o   Genesis 1 – it was God who breathed life into all things; He is the beginning of life

·         I AM the way, the truth, and the life.  John 14:6

o   Psalm 31:5 – God is the God of truth

·         I AM the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  John 15:1

·         I AM Alpha and Omega/First and Last. Rev 1:8,17

o   Isaiah 44:6 Redeemer = First and Last

·         Mark 2:5-7 – sins are forgiven

o   Daniel 9:9 – forgiveness belongs to the Lord

·         Matt 25:31-32 – Judgment

o   Psalm 9:7-8 – the Lord shall judge  also see: Joel 3:12

·         John 17:5 – claims glory together with the Father

o   Isaiah 42:8; 48:11 – the LORD will not give His glory to another

Acts 9:5 “Who are you, Lord?”  “I AM JESUS…”

Read Exodus 5-7 giving emphasis to 5:22,23. This intercessor used prayer to complain

²² So Moses returned to the Lord and said, "Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? ²³ For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all."

Can you think of others who complained while communicating with God?  (Ex:  Job. Elijah, Jonah)

What do we complain about? 

Do we complain in prayer to make excuses??  What holds us back from serving the Lord with our whole hearts?

What SHOULD we pray for??

Did our Intercessor ever complain about the job He was doing on our behalf?

NO

Look at John 17, Matthew 26, etc. 

Monthly Focus:  For this month (October), let’s focus on the intercession of Jesus on our behalf. Spend fifteen minutes in prayer as you close this study, praising Him for the Intercessor who purchased our freedom from bondage; for His willingness and for the fact that He was uniquely qualified to intercede for us.

What makes Jesus the perfect Intercessor for us??

            He knows both sides!  (Divine and Human!!)  What comfort we should have in knowing that, if we love and obey Christ, He will intercede for us!  What a privilege we have to even approach our Father in Heaven with Christ at our side.  

 

Scrapbook pages for Kindergarten Bible CLass

We make a scrapbook in my kindergarten Bible class to send home at the end of the year.  My purpose behind it is twofold:  1.  To help the kids retain what we have studied and be happy to share it with family, and 2. To have a visual reminder of how much the kiddos have progressed and grown during kindergarten.   It has been a work in progress for a couple of years, gradually getting more complete and more useful.  We work on them throughout the year and send them home during the last few weeks of class before promotion.  Today is promotion Sunday for our congregation, so I am trying to get ahead for my new kiddos.  I want to do a better job with the scrapbook this year and make it very intentional, so I'm starting this post with links to the scrapbook pages to keep me accountable.  Feel free to use anything that is useful to you!

I have also linked to the Parent Review Cards that I send home each week to help the kiddos and parents review what we have studied.  Periodically I also send home a list of ALL review questions up to that point or for that particular unit.  At the end of the year I put a comprehensive list of what we have covered in their scrapbooks to take home.    You can view it here:  Cumulative Review


Lesson 1 - God Made Me Special
               
Lesson 2 - What is the Bible?  (King Josiah) - they draw a picture from the story or trace and decorate a crown
        Parent Review Card Lesson 2      

Lesson 3 - Respect God's Word (Ezra) - use paper scraps to make a beautiful mosaic heart, just like Ezra's heart was beautiful and loved God!
         Parent Review Card Lesson 3

Lesson 4 - Basic Bible facts  page 1    page 2  - cut out the words in the boxes and glue in the appropriate places on the other page.

Bible Scrabble

A few weeks ago, Daddy had a VERY late meeting at school, so the kiddos and I were on our own for family Bible study.  We have an "unofficial rule" that if one of the parents is gone for Bible study, we play a game or do something different for the study that night so that we are all together on where we are studying.  It provides a fun break to the routine and makes those evenings extra special.  On this particular night, we played "Bible Scrabble" with our new Disney Jr. Scrabble game Little Man got for his birthday.  The only rule was that we had to find words that had to do with our current "pew packer" card from the book of Matthew.  We played as a team finding words instead of competitively, and if we got a piece on one of the "point" squares, we had to answer Bible trivia questions about our cards and memory verses to get to keep the points.  The kids had a blast and we were all pleased with how many words we came up with throughout the game.  We played 2 separate boards.  The first time was random words from the card, and the 2nd time I'd call out a chapter and they had to find a word that went with that chapter.   We'd turn the pieces over one at a time and the first to spot a word could put it on the board.  I have one great speller and one terrible one, so that made for some funny spellings.

Side note...Our congregation uses the KidSing cards for a Pew Packers program 15 minutes before evening services.  (I'll link to it later, but their site is down).   The kids get trophies when they can complete a card and tell it to an elder of their choice.  My kids have learned SOOOOOOOO much, and it has been such a boost to our family Bible studies.  If your congregation doesn't do something similar, you can always do it at home!  A friend of mine is doing it at home with her 3 year old and reaping the benefits!

Noah's Ark for 2s and 3s

Last night I got called to sub for the 2s and 3s class at our congregation.  They were studying Noah, so we focused on the rainbow, God keeping his promises, and the animals.  Unfortunately, I forgot part of the lesson at home in the chaos that was yesterday, so I didn't quite have enough stuff to fill the time, which meant I had to improvise.

Here is what I planned that I forgot!!!

Matching game

We started class by sorting "rainbow" things by color.  I had some colorful bowls, some popsicle sticks in rainbow colors, some krazy straws, some beanbags, and various other rainbow items.  They sorted them into piles of the same colors and we talked about how God made colors for us to enjoy!  This was a good ice breaker for the kids who were nervous about having a different teacher than usual.  By the way, each kid took home a krazy straw at the end.

Next, we told the story of Noah.  When it rained, we sang "Pitter Patter."  As Noah floated on the water, we rocked back and forth.  When Noah praised God upon leaving the ark, we all bowed our heads and prayed to thank God for all of our blessings.   At the end of the story, we sang "Good Old Noah."  Overall, the kids did pretty well considering I was a "strange" teacher. :)

Our craft for the evening was this:

The kiddos added foam animals to the ark and rainbow stickers.  We wrote their names on the bottom popsicle stick, so that it would read "God keeps His promises to Sarah," or whichever kid it was.  It was a fun project!  The rainbow sticks came from Dollar Tree in packs of 100, and I hot glued them to the plain sticks.  Then, the ark was cut from a paper grocery bag because I was out of brown construction paper.

Ruth

We studied Ruth in Bible class a couple of weeks ago, and here's what we did.

First, the kiddos glued cheerios on the word Ruth as they waited for class to start.  We talked about how cheerios are made of grain and that our story was about grain so to listen carefully for why we were using grain!

Next, we told the story and the kids colored a page about Ruth and glued on some oats for the grain.  (Yes, I know Ruth actually gleaned barley and wheat, but oats are much cheaper and easier to glue, and we talked about how there are all kinds of different grains. :)  )

I have a worksheet called "Find the Ruth Truth" that we used for our scrapbook page.  I read them the sentences and they had to be detectives and figure out which ones were not true and cross them out with a big "X."   The one I have is reproducible for classroom use, but I can't post it here.  You could easily make up your own, though!

Finally, we made a Ruth toilet-paper-roll-doll from here.  We focused mostly on kindness and all the people in the story who showed kindness to each other.   We brainstormed ways WE could be kind to others as well.

God's love through the Bible

We FINALLY finished our timeline study with the kiddos (it kind of felt like it was in real-time because we wanted to make sure we weren't over their heads), and after a short "break" to study the book of John that we are memorizing for Pew Packers, we have started a new study.   We are currently studying "God's Love through the Bible."  Our daughter has extreme difficulty understanding the concept of "love," so we have been working hard with her on the different types of love (eros, phileo, agape) found in Scripture.  She still struggles, so we have started going through each book and finding evidence of God's love.  We had planned to do summaries of each book of the Bible, but instead we have gravitated towards discussing examples of love.  So far we are through Joshua, and it seems to be making an impact, albeit slight, in how she comprehends love.   She is so analytical that the concept of feelings is hard for her.  She is afraid to say she "loves" or even "likes" anything because it is not something that can be quantified.  We have talked quite a bit about how sometimes love doesn't "feel" good.  Sometimes, you do something loving just because it is what is right, not because it's "ooey gooey, mushy gushy," as she says. :)

Here is a peek into our topics covered thus far:

Genesis:  Kids had to mention any and all examples of love (God's or people's) in Genesis.  Some were obvious:  Jacob and Rachel, Jacob and Joseph, etc.  Surprisingly, they also pulled out a few gems like Joseph loving God enough to flee from Potiphar's wife, God loving Adam and Eve (and us!) enough to create the world, and so on.   We talked about these for a couple of days because there are SOOOO many stories in Genesis, and it was a good foundation for our study.  My husband pulled out selected verses and passages to support the study.  He also brought up that God's plan for man's salvation began in the garden and was evidence of his endless love for mankind.

Exodus:  Here they had to find examples of love as well, but it was harder!  We mostly focused on God's love for His people.  The kiddos had to really dig deep into what they knew about Moses!  We talked about Miriam, Jochebed, God protecting the Israelites during the plagues, crossing the Red Sea, etc.  Again, we read selected stories and passages.

Leviticus:  The only story the kids knew from Leviticus was Nadab and Abihu, so this book was a little challenging.  It's not much of a "story" book, but we talked about how God gave the Israelites rules to help them be the special, "set apart" people he wanted them to be.  We also talked about how many of the laws He gave were for their good, even though they didn't yet know it!  We talked about unclean foods and hygiene laws that showed God's loving care for His people.  Little Miss LOVED this study, I think because it was so matter-of-fact and practical.

Numbers:  Our focus was on the spies and their lack of faith in God's love and how He kept the faithful few to continue the existence of His people.

Deuteronomy:  Summarized our first few studies and pointed out that when God gave the law again to this new generation of people He was reiterating His love for them.

Joshua:  Focus here was on obedience and how, when God's people were obedient, He fought for and with them (Jericho).  However, when they were NOT obedient (Achan and Ai), He did not fight for them.  He has great love for His people, but he demands obedience from them to show their love for Him.

Samson

I LOVE the story of Samson.  There is something so adventurous about the story, and it has so many different twists and turns.  It is the perfect story for teaching children the value of always doing EXACTLY what God tells us and not giving in to peer pressure.  

This time around, I made rice-filled sock "dolls" for the kids to decorate.  All you do is go to the dollar store and get some cheap white tall athletic socks.  Fill them with rice and tie off the top with a rubber band.  Put another rubber band around the middle to separate the "head" from the body.  In this case I only filled 1/2 way so that I would have long "hair" hanging down.

Then, I made a cardboard box "temple" and drew stick people around the inside.  I cut a potato chip canister into "columns" and cut slits in the top of the box to slide the columns into. 

Side view

Front view

Cardboard box "temple" with columns.  

We started class by having the kids decorate their own "Samson dolls" with fabric markers.  Then, I told the story with my doll.  When Samson's hair got cut, we rolled up the "hair" and made it short.  Then, for the finale, we put Samson in the temple and made the columns "fall down" by pulling them out of the temple and knocking the temple down flat on the table.  The kids LOVED it.  At the end, each of them got to tell the story if they wanted and act it out with the temple.  Fun times!  Then, we learned the "judges" song.

This is my son's Samson.  Don't you love the rainbow hair?  Hahaha.

After his hair got "cut."

Behavior in our Bible School Classroom

Managing classroom behavior is always a work in progress, as the dynamics change from one class to the next.   This year we have tried a few new things with our class!

We have a treasure box in the cabinet filled with lots of irresistible "junk" from the dollar store, clearance aisles at the craft store, etc.   The kids drool over the idea of getting into the prize box, so we use it as an incentive.

Each kid has a chart pinned up to our word wall.  At the end of class, any child who has behaved appropriately gets a sticker to put on the chart.  4 stickers = a trip to the prize box.   Every week they gleefully put their stickers up and count (and recount!) their stickers.  They always announce proudly when they come in on "prize day" that "this is my day!"  :)

During class, we started out the year with laminated name strips for each kid.  We would tape their strips in front of them on the tables, and each strip had 3 boxes.   As I went through class, I would draw some kind of dry erase picture in each box for any child behaving acceptably.  One before the story, one during the story, and one during our post-story activity.  When they got 3 pictures, they could have their sticker for their chart.   We have phased this out mostly, as they are behaving so well and being so cooperatively they haven't needed this visual reminder of their progress.  It did work great for some of my kids with attention or behavior challenges, though, because it was a "reward" periodically DURING class.

Also, I found some really cheap award ribbon stickers at our local dollar store, so I generally choose a "student of the day" at the end of class and they get to wear their sticker proudly to services.  Usually that means adults stop them and ask why they got a sticker, so they get to brag about their good behavior, further reinforcing their pride in themselves.  

Deborah

This story is always a favorite of the girls in class because:

1. Deborah is a tough female judge,

2.  Deborah helps the head of the army (Barak) who is too afraid to go to battle without her, and

3.  Another woman (Jael) defeats the bad guy!

Even the boys love when the chariots get mired in the  mud, the bad guys run off, and Jael tricks Sisera with a glass of milk, a "safe" place to sleep, and a tent peg through his head!  For some reason, they are also fascinated that she sat under a palm tree to judge. :)

At the beginning of class, we traced their handprints and made a "palm" tree.  The trunk is just craft sticks glued to the page.  At first, that is all we put on the page, and I ask them to listen and see what (or who!) goes under the tree.  Following the story, they get to draw Deborah.

When I tell the story, I use these cheesy little "puppets" I made and laminated.   I purposely don't make them look realistic (as if I could draw them realistically if I wanted to!) because we talk often about how we don't know what they looked like.  Kids this age get hung up on thinking they know what characters look like because of pictures in a book, and then they can get a little panicky if they see one that's different than theirs at home, so I always remind them this is just a picture.  :) 

Anyway, I pass out each puppet to a kid and tell the story.  When their characters are discussed in the story, they hold them up and, if they want, they "act out" the story with them.  If I have more than 4 kids that want to be the characters, we just tell the story more than once! 

Following the story, they add their "Deborah" under their handprint palm tree.   Notice in the sample the Deborah looks almost identical to my "puppet" because it was my sweet boy and he wanted to be just like Mommy.  :)

For a review, we put this on the wall:

It is just a long piece of brown paper (in this case, a scrap of contact paper we used to cover our tables) used for a palm tree trunk, and laminated "palm leaves" with questions on them.  If I did it over again, I would color both sides of the leaves and turn them face down so they couldn't see the questions, BUT, so few of mine can read at this point that it's not THAT big of a deal.  Anyway, the kids each come up and pick a leaf off the tree and answer the question.  If they can't answer it, their classmates can help.   We continue until all the leaves are gone.  Usually they want to play again.   Then, we staple up our word wall words on the bulletin board.  As I pull out a word (laminated on a palm tree picture!), they have to tell me what that word means in our story.   Repetition, repetition, repetition!  :)