How to Play Pin the Bible

I read a banned book almost every day. In fact it is the most banned book in the world. Any guesses what it is?

If you guessed the Bible you are right.

We played a fun game in Sunday School to help our kids learn about the importance of the Bible translation and access to the Bible for Christians. It was called Pin the Bible.

In the Wilderness with Jesus - Learning to Overcome Temptation

Teaching Children to Overcome Temptation from Joan Eppehimer on Vimeo.

Even though I have taught this lesson on Jesus being tested by Satan before, I found it very difficult to present. I like to think of this as the game Battleship. When you make a hit on the enemy's ship in this game, they yell, "Hit!" When I am doing something for God and I encounter a lot of obstacles, it is the equivalent of that cry, "Hit!" In other words, I am making inroads into the enemy's territory, I have made a "hit." And that's a good thing.

Jesus' Great Big Family - Engaging Children with Jesus' Genealogy

Genealogy of Christ from Joan Eppehimer on Vimeo.

A few weeks ago we began the study of the New Testament in Sunday School. The first lesson called for the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1. "Now how am I going to engage the children with this?" I thought. The curriculum suggested drawing a stick figure for each name on a board OR using post-its with the names on them. I had a better idea - how about printing stick figures with the names on card stock and using a pocket chart. You can access the printed sheets here.

King Solomon's Dream Magic Window

This makes a great craft for the story of King Solomon's dream. You need to separate the 2 pictures to make it.

DIY Polar Bear Cave

We made this really cute polar bear cave with crinkled up white paper (actually used same paper in 2 churches), cotton batting, "Buffalo Snow." ice chest ice blocks, blue cloth and lots of tape. You can watch the video below to see how it got put together.

Building Through Bowling

An important aspect of children's ministry is spending time with the kids outside of church. We took our Sunday School kids bowling over spring break.

Why are times like this important? Kids need adults in their lives - and 60 minutes on a Sunday morning or Wednesday night is not enough.

Esther and Purim, the Jewish Mardi Gras

via GIPHY

Esther is the perfect story to teach children (and adults) about God's sovereignty. From Esther's becoming Queen to the king not being able to sleep the night before Haman plans to have Mordecai executed you can trace God's hand all through the book.