SESSIONS 1-2 In the beginning, darkness covered everything. (Smooth hands over the black circle.) God said, Let there be light. And there was light bright, shining light. (Fold black to show yellow.) God gave the light a name: Day. God gave the darkness a name: Night. There was evening and morning, the first day. And God said, Let there be sky. And there was sky beautiful, blue sky. (Add blue semicircle.) There was evening and morning, the second day. And God said, Let all the waters come together in one place so there can be dry land. (Cover yellow felt with dark blue felt. Cover black felt with green felt.) God gave the waters a name: Seas. (Point to dark blue felt.) God gave the dry land a name: Earth. (Point to green felt.)
And God said, Let the earth bring forth food. Plants with seeds began to grow. (Add Flowers prop on green felt.) Fruit trees began to grow. (Add felt trees on green felt.) Plants and trees of all kinds grew. There was evening and morning, the third day. And God said, Let there be lights in the sky to shine down on the earth. (Fold back the light blue semicircle to show black.) God made a light for the day and called it Sun. (Lay felt sun on light blue felt.) God made a light for the night and called it Moon. (Lay felt moon on black felt.) Many stars shone in the beautiful darkness of night. (Lay felt stars on black felt.) There was evening and morning, the fourth day. (Point to each item as it is named.) God looked at the beautiful darkness, the shining light, the sky, the earth and seas, the plants and trees, the sun, moon, and stars. God saw that all these things were very good! SESSION 1 ends here. SESSION 2 addition (Remove black felt, moon, and stars.) And God said, Let earth bring forth many animals (Add sea animals from resource pack on dark blue. Add all animals from resource pack on green. Add birds from resource pack on light blue.) And God said, Let us make people. (Add two people on light blue.)
SESSION 3 O God, how great is the world you made! (Lay blue and green semicircles next to each other to form a circle.) You make streams of water (Add blue river. Add trees next to it. Place two white birds from resource pack in the trees.) Each animal you made has a home the stork lives in the fir tree, the goats live in the high mountains, (add triangle mountain ) the rocks are a safe place for the wild rabbits. (Add several small stones.) You made the sun, and it rises and sets every day. (Add sun.) You made the moon and stars to shine at night (Lay black circle over everything.) When it is dark, the forest animals come out. (Add raccoon group prop from resource pack.) The lion cubs look to you for food, oh God. When the sun rises, they go back to their dens. (Remove black circle.) O God, how great is the world you made! The land and the seas are filled with animals, both great and small. (Add all animals and birds props from resource pack.) All the animals look to you for food. You open your hand and fill them with good things. O God, how great is the world you made!
SESSION 4 Psalm 121 (Lay out blue and green semicircles to form a circle. Add large tree. Add mountain. Add one person at the bottom.) I look to the hills. (Point to triangle mountain. ) Where will my help come from? My help comes from God, who made heaven and earth. God will watch over you as you travel. (Move person next to tree.) God won t take a rest or fall asleep. No, God will watch over you night and day. (Lay black over the mountain. Add moon and stars. Add sun. God is like a shade tree that protects you from the hot sun. (Move person under the tree.) God will protect you as you sleep at night. (Lay person down.) God will care for you when you travel and when you come home. (Return person to original position.) God will watch over you, now and forever.
SESSION 5 (Lay out yellow circle. ) God says, Someday I am going to make new heavens and a new earth. There won t be any crying or sadness or trouble there; it will be a place of peace and joy. Think of a tree it starts as a tiny seed, and grows and grows and grows until its branches spread wide and tall. Year after year, it grows. (Add seed. Then add small, medium, and large trees one at a time.) This is how my people will be all the babies will be born safely. (Add smallest person on the edge of the circle, below the row of trees.) The babies will grow to be children. (Add three more people in size order, small to large.) The children will grow to be adults. (Add two more people in size order.) They will build houses and plant food and enjoy their work. I will bless them with long and happy lives. (Trace your finger under all the people, small to large.) Even the animals will live in peace the wolf and the lamb, the lion and the ox, will all eat together in peace. (Add the animals in a row below the row of people.)
SESSION 6 Matthew 6 (Lay out blue and green semicircles to form a circle. Add sun.) Beloved children (add two people), you don t need to worry about food or water or clothing. God knows what you need. God will take care of you. Do birds grow their own food? (Add birds from resource pack.) No, God feeds them. Do flowers sew their own clothes? (Add flowers from resource pack, and/or create additional felt flowers.) No, God gives them beautiful colors to wear. God takes care of the birds and flowers. (Point to birds and flowers.) God will take care of you. Beloved children (add several more people), you don t need to worry and say, What will I eat? or What will I drink? or What will I wear? God knows what you need. God will take care of you. Instead of worrying, spend each day following God. God knows what you need. God will take care of you.
Session 7 Psalm 23 Starting scene The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need. The shepherd leads me to green fields where I can eat, (move shepherd and sheep partway on the green felt) and to streams of water where I can drink. (Move shepherd and sheep next to blue stream.) I feel safe because the shepherd is with me. Even when I walk through scary places, I am not afraid. (Move shepherd and sheep between the mountain and rocks.) The shepherd is with me; I am never alone. Every day from when I am young until I am very old the goodness and love of the shepherd will follow me. My true home is with the Good Shepherd. (Move shepherd and sheep to the middle of the scene.)
Session 8 Psalm 42:1 5 Starting scene (Hold up the deer storytelling prop. Run the deer toward the dark blue felt stream. ) The deer runs to the stream to drink because it is so thirsty. It laps the clean, fresh water. The deer drinks until it is not thirsty anymore. (Hold up one person figure.) I am like that deer. When I feel sad, I run to God. (Lay person next to the stream.) God cares for me and helps me. When I feel sad in the day (add sun to light blue felt sky) and in the night (add moon and stars to black felt sky), I remember leading people to the house of God. (Move one person toward the edge of the scene. Add five people figures in a line next to the first person.) I remember singing joyful songs to God. Why should I stay sad? God will help me. God knows what I need. God will take care of me.
Session 9 Psalm 1 Starting scene Happy are the people who love God. (Add people one at a time, smallest to largest.) Happy are the people who follow God s ways. They think about God s words (lay an open Bible in front of you) in the daytime (lay sun on light blue felt) and in the nighttime. (Lay moon and stars on black felt.) People who love God are like trees planted by a cool stream of water. (Lay dark blue stream at bottom of green felt.) The trees grow strong and have many leaves. (Add trees one at a time, smallest to largest.)
Every year, fruit grows on the trees. (Add paper or felt circles on tree to show fruit.) Happy are the people who love God. (Point to each felt person.) Happy are the people who follow God s ways.
SESSION 10 Psalm 36, 57, 63 Start with this scene. Cover the entire thing with the large yellow circle. How great is your love, O God. In the shadow of your wings, all people are safe. (Lay out six people in a group. Fold the yellow circle down to form wings around the people.) You provide food and water for everyone. You are full of light and life. Birds keep their babies safe. They hide them in their nests and protect them. (Lay out two treetop pieces to be nests. Lay one bird storytelling prop from the resource pack on top of each one.) O God, please be a safe place for me when the storms come. In the shadow of your wings, I am safe. (Point to the yellow felt surrounding the people.) When I think of you in the light of day, (add sun to light blue felt) and when I think of you in the dark of night, (add moon and stars to black felt) I sing your praises. For you have been my help. In the shadow of your wings, I sing for joy. (Point to the yellow felt surrounding the people.)
Session 11 Ruth 2 (Starting scene) Long ago, God gave this law to Moses: When you cut the food from the fields, do not cut all of it. Leave some for people who are hungry and for people who are new to the land. That way no one will be hungry. Many years later, there lived a woman named Ruth. (Point to the Ruth figure.) She was very poor and had moved to a new land with her mother-in-law Naomi. (Point to the Naomi figure.) Early one morning, Ruth went out to find food to eat. (Move Ruth to the edge of the circle.) She followed the workers in the field, picking up the leftover food. (Snip the yellow paper and move the two people forward as if they are cutting grain. Move Ruth behind them.) She worked hour after hour, never even stopping to rest. Boaz, the owner of the field, saw Ruth hard at work. (Place the Boaz figure near the two workers.) He asked his worker who she was. That is Ruth, one worker said. She came from a faraway land with her mother-in-law Naomi. Ruth takes care of Naomi and has been working hard all day. Boaz went to Ruth. (Move Boaz next to Ruth.) From now on, you can follow the workers in my field, he told her. They will leave extra food for you on the ground. Anytime you are thirsty, come drink from my water jar. Ruth knelt down by Boaz. Why are you helping me? I m from a faraway country. Boaz said, I have heard about your kindness to Naomi how you left your home to travel with her and how you take care of her now. Like a baby bird under the wings of its mother, you have trusted God to keep you safe in this new land. At mealtime, Boaz gave Ruth food to eat. She ate until she was full, then went back to work.
When evening came, Ruth prepared the grain and carried it home. (Place some snips of yellow paper in Ruth s arms. Move her back to brown construction paper.) She shared some with Naomi. (Give Naomi some of the paper grain.) Naomi said, May God bless Boaz for his kindness to us.
SESSION 12 Leviticus Starting scene God spoke to Moses and Moses told the people God s message. Moses said, You planted vegetables and grain in the ground. (Lay 8 10 small paper circles on the green felt. Lay yellow strip of grain on the green felt. Now the food has grown and is ready to be gathered. The trees are full of fruit. (Add remaining paper circles to trees to be fruit.) God has blessed you, and now it s time to celebrate! Don t just spend one hour or one day thanking God. Praise God for seven days. (Count to seven. Hold up each finger as you count.) Make a booth to sleep in for the seven days. (Place brown paper booth on blue felt.) Gather fruit and branches from the trees. (Remove fruit from trees.) Cut the grain. (Snip the yellow paper grain.) Gather vegetables from the ground. (Pick up small circles.) Build a fire and give God your offerings of fruits and vegetables, animals and grain. (Lay paper circles and grain snippings in a pile by booth.) Be happy before God! Sing, laugh, dance, and wave the branches. (Make the people dance. ) Eat, drink, and rest from your work. Remember the good things God has done. This celebration is for all people. (Set out felt people as you name the groups of people. Place some on brown paper and some next to it.) It is for friends and family, for strangers and people who are lonely. It is for men and women, girls and boys, young and old. God has blessed you and now it s time to celebrate!
Session 13 Psalm 148 God created the heavens and earth. Now let everything praise God! Praise God from the heavens! Praise God, sun and moon. (Add sun and moon.) Praise God, you shining stars. (Add stars.) Praise God from the earth. Praise God, sea creatures (add sea animals on dark blue felt) and all the deep waters. Praise God, mountains and hills. (Add mountain on green felt.) Praise God, fruit trees and cedars. (Add tree on green felt.) Praise God, wild animals (put animal props on green felt) and creeping things and flying birds. (Add birds on light blue felt.) Praise God, all people of the earth, girls and boys, men and women, young and old. (Add six people around the edge of the circle.) God created the heavens and earth. Now let everything praise God.