God is Powerful

do we really fear God today? i have been asking myself that question a lot recently... and as i was teaching this part [God is Powerful] of the "God is" study these past two weeks i realized that often i forget how powerful the almighty God is....sometimes i even live like or speak like He is not the creator God who has and is the most powerful being in the universe... how could i lose sight of such an obvious truth... i think those are the times when my prideful self is focused on me..and somehow i think i am big... which all seems ridiculous now when i am looking at truth.... looking at God.

Below is just a few of glimpses of what we did. Each day we read God's word particularly passages about His all powerfulness and did an activity or art project that reenforced the passages.

BIBLE STUDY: Luke 5: 1-11 (Jesus make's Simons boat overflow with fish), Mark 6:30-34 (Jesus feeding thousands of people with just few fish)

ART PROJECT: THE BIG CATCH

You will need: white coffee fliters, markers, water, paint brushes, aluminum foil, glue stick, and paper clips - to make fishing pole you will need a magnet tied to a string tied to a stick.

Flatten coffee filter, color with marker randomly with different colors. Paint water onto filter and watch the colors spread as it absorbs water. Let dry. When dry cut out in the shape of a fish. With a marker mark the eye. Glue scraps of aluminium as shinny scales. Attach paper clip and throw in basket. Have the children fish in one place with out fish and then talk about how Jesus showed his power to Simon by making fish were they seemed to be no fish.

SNACK: Make a Berry Blue Jell-O in a clear glass bowl. Refrigerate for an hour. push some swedish fish in the bowl. Yummy and fun.

(we even had a guest join us for this fun!)

ART PROJECT: Bean Art (God sending fire on the alter - based on our Bible study on 1 Kings 18:1-40)

You will need: small paint brush, pencil, board (card board, etc), a variety of beans (different color – I even used rice), ruler or straight edge.

1. Start by drawing the simple picture in pencil on your board. Number were you want a color/bean (number-by-color).

2. "Paint" a thin layer of glue in one area of your pattern, and sprinkle the area with colorful beans. Use a single color in each area.

3. Use the ruler to clean up the edges of the beans before moving on to the next area.

4. Repeat steps 1 through 3 until the board is covered. Let dry for a few hours.

now this next one was Jeriah's... it is a sun... no theme... just something simpler for the two year old... and yes we had a lot of beans to sweep up afterwards!

BIBLE STUDY: GOD OPENS THE RED SEA Exodus 14-15:21

ACTIVITY:

Parting Water

To help your child understand how powerful God is, fill a bucket with water. Try to part the water. Try with other things (sticks, etc). Have child put their hands in the water to see if they can part it. Once it becomes clear that the water cannot be parted, talk to your children about how only God had the power to part the Red Sea. Thank God for being so powerful. (i snagged this idea from some random sunday school material online... sorry i don't have the original source to list) verse: Fear of the Lord is a life-giving fountain; it offers escape from the snares of death. Proverbs 14:27

ACTIVITY: God is powerful

You will need: a large magnet, plastic (see through) container with lid, lots of random metal that fits in container (paper clips, nails, screws, etc.)

Put metal in container and close lid tightly. Talk about the magnet (we even read books about how they work). And have them test the power of the magnet by placing it on the container and watching the stuff stick. Discuss how God made the the stuff that makes up a magnet and that He is all powerful. verse: Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! He is to be feared above all other gods. Psalm 96:4

ART PROJECT: Mountian melt like wax (based on our Bible study on Psalm 29 and 97)

You will need: crayons with paper removed, grader, 2 10x10 inch wax papers, 2 hand towels, iron (hot - keep out of reach of the children), ruler or straight edge, marker, tape, and one sheet of construction paper.

We read Psalm 29, then you tubed how crayons are made - to watch wax melt, we you tubed volcanoes (mountains melting), thunder and lightening, hurricanes, and tornadoes as well to show what the verses were describing. We talked about how powerful God is.

Place one hand towel on table. Make sure iron is on but out of reach of children. Place one wax paper on the hand towel. With the grader shave different color crayons on to the wax paper. When covered at least half way, with a ruler make the shape of a mountain or triangle. Place other wax paper on top then place hand towel on top of that. Press hot iron firmly over the hand towel checking to see if crayon shaving have melted. Once complete, cut a matching mountain shaped hole in construction paper and tape wax paper to back side and write the verse: Psalm 97:5 The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth.

(sorry no picture... still hanging in our window will try to get a picture)

One of the songs we sang....

MY GOD IS SO BIG

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty

There's nothing my God cannot do

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty

There's nothing my God cannot do

He made the trees

He made the seas

He made the elephants too

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty

There's nothing my God cannot do

I will leave you with this... after 2 weeks of studying the power of God and watching the hurricanes swirl up trees with Elijah on youtube... this song stands out in my heart... and i am left overwhelmed by my AMAZING POWERFUL GOD!!!

Lord, help me to be in awe of you constantly!