NORTHWAY CHRISTIAN FAMILY CHURCH

NORTHWAY CHRISTIAN FAMILY CHURCH BIBLE TREK CHILDREN S MINISTRY Turn to God Receive Jesus as Lord Experience Holy Spirit Power Keep growing in our walk with God Parents Page for EXPLORERS & TRAIL BLAZERS Summer 2016 Theme: The Fruit of the Spirit Memory Verse: Galatians 5:22-23 The Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. June 5 LOVE Galatians 5:22-23, John 15:5, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 June 12 JOY Galatians 5:22-23, Nehemiah 8:10 June 19 PEACE Galatians 5:22-23, Philippians 4:6-8 June 26 PATIENCE Ephesians 4:2, James 5:7-8 July 3 FAMILY CHURCH July 10 KINDNESS Ephesians 4:29, Proverbs 16:24, Matthew 5:16, Colossians 3:12 July 17 GOODNESS Romans 3:12 & 22-23, Romans 14:17 & Galatians 6:9-10 July 24 FAITHFULNESS Proverbs 3:3, Deuteronomy 7:9 & 2 Timothy 2:13, Luke 16:10 July 31 FAMILY CHURCH August 7 GENTLENESS Matthew 11:28-30 & Ephesians 4:2, Colossians 3:12 August 14 SELF-CONTROL Romans 8:5 & 1Peter 5:8 August 21 Fruit Bowl Review Day August 28 Fruits & Veggie Tales Day September 4 FAMILY CHURCH

Explorers (Grades K-2) & Trail Blazer (Grades 3-5) Plans June 5, 2016 Memory Verse: Galatians 5:22-23 Theme: The Fruit of the Spirit Today s Fruit: LOVE Today s Key Point: The Holy Spirit produces fruit in us when we stay connected to Jesus. The first fruit is LOVE. God loves us and wants us to love others the way He loves us. Bible Passages: John 15:5, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Today s Snack: Apple slices. Tell children that the apple reminds us of the first fruit of the spirit, LOVE! Introduction: Welcome EXPLORERS or TRAIL BLAZERS to children s church! Ask children to turn to a partner and name his/her favorite fruit. Hold up an apple. Tell children that fruit grows on branches or vines that stay connected to trees. If a branch is separated or cut off from the tree, it won t produce any fruit. Explain to children that we are going to learn about the Fruit of the Spirit. Tell children that the Fruit of the Spirit is not fruit that we eat, but sweet behaviors that the Holy Spirit will grow in us as we stay connected to Jesus! Tell children that we don t want to be ugly, rotten fruit. (Ask for examples of bad fruit in our lives: anger, jealousy, being mean, rude etc.) SHOW VIDEO ON FLASHDRIVE: BIBLE THEATER: GALATIANS- FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT- LIFEKIDS.TV Read Galatians 5:22-23 and have the children recite the 9 fruit with you. Point to the apple and say, Today we will focus on the first fruit: LOVE. The apple will remind us of love! Lesson Read aloud 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Next, do this demonstration: take a deflated balloon and write the word love on it. Hold it up and tell children that the balloon is like a person without the fruit of love in his/her life. It is flat and the word love is so small it can barely be seen. But, when we stay connected to Jesus and make Him part of our lives, (pause and blow up the balloon, but do not tie it off) He will fill us up with His love! His love will be big in our lives! Everyone will be able to see His love when they look at us! Love is powerful! (let the balloon go) Pick up the now deflated balloon and say, How far would this balloon go like this without air inside? (let it go to demonstrate that it wouldn t go far) Say, We need God s love to fill our hearts so that we can go far! Quickly brainstorm with children different ways we can fill up on God s love. (Invite children to bow their heads. Lead them in a prayer asking God to fill their lives with His love!)

Trail Blazers: On the dry-erase board, create a T chart entitled LOVE. On one side write IS and on the other side IS NOT. (see example attached) Have students turn in their Bibles to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Read aloud 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 slowly. Pause and ask, What can we write on our chart? What IS love? What is love NOT? Invite different volunteers come up and write on the chart. Continue reading the verse and pausing to add to the chart. For each word, explain the meaning and give examples when needed. When you are finished reading the Bible passage, review the completed chart. Next, do the balloon demonstration, brainstorming and prayer described above in the Explorer Plans. Activities: -SHOW VIDEO ON FLASHDRIVE: FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT MUSIC VIDEO- GO FISH. -Game: BALLOON BLAST OFF- Give each child a deflated balloon. A few students at a time should line up on one side of the room and inflate their balloons. At your signal, they let go of the balloon. See which balloon went the farthest. Continue until all children have had a turn. (Make the point that the more air fills the balloon, the farther it will go, the more of God s love we have in our lives, the farther we will go in life.) -Color Sheet -Hands-on: PLAYDOUGH HEARTS- Students will use heart-shaped cookie cutters to make playdough hearts. Trail Blazers: SHOW VIDEO ON FLASHDRIVE: VIDEO- GO FISH. -Game: (same as above) FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT MUSIC -Four Corners of Love: Follow the directions on the attached pages. (pages 23-25 from Kids Travel Guide) -Lovely List: Give each child a Lovely List sheet. On the outline of the apple, help students to fill in the blanks on the list. (see answer key attached) Next, have students lightly color the apple so that the list is still legible. Closing: When the usher signals five minutes remaining, together create and write a one or two sentence Trail Log entry. Ask, What was the most important part of our Bible TREK today? What main point did we learn? What significant moment took place? Record it in the log. Be sure to put down the date and please write legibly! Dismissal: When church is over, hand out any coloring papers etc., and close in prayer. Then, escort the children into the sanctuary. Be sure to leave the room neat and clean. Put any unused items in the appropriate bin in the metal cabinet. Thank you!

June 12, 2016 Memory Verse: Galatians 5:22-23 Theme: The Fruit of the Spirit Today s Fruit: JOY Today s Key Point: The joy of the Lord gives us strength. We get God s joy when we are in His presence! The more we worship God, read the Bible etc, the more joy we will have! Bible Passages: Nehemiah 8:10, Psalm 32:1-2 Today s Snack: Watermelon Introduction: Welcome EXPLORERS or TRAILBLAZERS to children s church! -SHOW VIDEO ON FLASHDRIVE: FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT MUSIC VIDEO- GO FISH. Briefly review that we are learning about the fruit of the spirit (sweet behaviors that God grows in us when we stay connected to Him). Read last week s trail log entry about love. Remind children the first fruit is love. Point to the apple. Hold up a slice of watermelon (in the shape of a smile). Say, The apple reminds us of love and today, watermelon will remind us of the second fruit: JOY! Look at the shape of the watermelon. What does the shape remind you of? (A SMILE!) Lesson Go on a Joyful face search. Have each child find at least 2 smiley faces hidden around the room. Next, read aloud Nehemiah 8:10. Explain that as we stay connected to Jesus in Bible reading, prayer, church attendance and communion, Jesus will fill us with joy. He will give us lots of reasons to be joyful. Ask, What is one reason why we are joyful? Say, Because Jesus loves us! Show children the picture of Jesus showing love to children. Remind children that Jesus loves each of them and knowing that should fill them with joy! Have the whole group stand in a circle. Toss a plastic ball to a child and ask, What is one way we can show or express our joy? Then, everyone should do the expression together. Toss the ball to a different child and ask for another way we can express joy. Continue until all children have had a turn to catch the ball. Use these expressions if needed: smile, clap, jump up and down, shout, Hooray!, sing, dance, lift hands in victory, give a high-five etc. Finally, watch The Fruit of the Spirit: Joy - Micah's Super Vlog on the flashdrive. Trail Blazers: Tell children that God will give us joy! Together, look up and read aloud Nehemiah 8:10 and Psalm 332:1-2. Explain that as we stay connected to Jesus in Bible reading, prayer, church attendance and communion, Jesus will fill us with joy. Ask, What is one reason we have to be joyful? Say, Because Jesus loves us! Remind children that Jesus loves every child and knowing that should fill them with joy!

He will give us lots of reasons to smile! One reason for our joy is that Jesus has forgiven us! Tell children that a joyless person is a powerless person. A person who never smiles or praises the Lord is miserable and joyless! But, when we praise God even in the hard times, He will grow the fruit of joy in our lives! We will be juicy fruit! Finally, watch The Fruit of the Spirit: Joy- Micah s Super Vlog on the flashdrive. Activities: -Color Sheet -Balance the Fruit Cooperative Game: The entire group lines up in the front of the room. Two at a time, students must walk in a circle around the tables balancing a plastic fruit on their heads. As they circle the table, the rest of the group must chant: The Fruit of the Spirit is LOVE!! If a fruit falls off a child s head, he/she must stop & replace it and then continue around the circle. The two students join the rest of the group and two different students must complete the circle while balancing plastic fruit on their heads. This time the group must chant, The Fruit of the Spirit is JOY!! Continue playing until all children have had a turn to balance a fruit on their heads and all 9 fruits have been chanted. See how quickly the group can accomplish this task!! -Expressions of JOY: (Play like Hot Potato) Students stand in a circle and pass around the pre-marked Bible as you play music. Periodically stop the music. The person holding the Bible opens to Tab # 1 and reads the highlighted verse. Then, together, the whole group must express joy as stated in the verse. Repeat the process until all 4 verses have been read and different ways of expressing joy have been demonstrated. 1. Leap/jump (Luke 6:23) 2. Sing (Ps 92:4) 3. Dance (Ps 30:11) 4. Clap & Shout (Ps 47:1) Trail Blazers: Same as above Closing: When the usher signals five minutes remaining, together create and write a one or two sentence Trail Log entry. Ask, What was the most important part of our Bible TREK today? What main point did we learn? What significant moment took place? Record it in the log. Be sure to put down the date and please write legibly! Dismissal: When church is over, hand out any coloring papers etc., and close in prayer. Then, escort the children into the sanctuary. Be sure to leave the room neat and clean. Put any unused items in the appropriate bin in the metal cabinet. Thank you!

June 19, 2016 Memory Verse: Galatians 5:22-23 Theme: The Fruit of the Spirit Today s Fruit: PEACE Today s Key Point: God doesn t want us to worry or be afraid. We can have peace by praying and trusting God to take care of us. Bible Passages: Philippians 4:6-8 Today s Snack: Crackers Introduction: Welcome EXPLORERS or TRAILBLAZERS to children s church! SHOW VIDEO ON FLASHDRIVE: FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT MUSIC VIDEO- GO FISH. Briefly review two fruit already covered: love & joy. Read aloud the trail log entry from last week. Remind children that the fruit of the spirit is not actual fruit that we each, but sweet behaviors that God produces in us when we stay close to Him! Point to the pear. Tell children that today we are going to learn about another fruit of the Spirit: Peace. Lesson Ask children to name some opposites. (What is the opposite of sad? What is the opposite of big? etc Then, ask children, What is the opposite of worry? (Peace!) Talk about what worry looks and sounds like and what peace looks and sounds like. (Hold up picture examples of worry and peace.) Help children find and read Philippians 4:6-7 in the Bible. Explain how prayer is the pathway to peace! Demonstrate how to turn worries into prayers. Next, show The Fruit of the Spirit- Peace Micah s super vlog on the flashdrive. Finally, do the messy experiment on page 1173 in The Hands On Bible. Ask for a few volunteers to share their worries. Then, pray for the students out loud demonstrating how to turn worries into prayers. Trail Blazers: Ask children to name some opposites. Ask children, What is the opposite of worry? (Peace!) Talk about what worry looks and sounds like and what peace looks and sounds like. Show The Fruit of the Spirit- Peace Micah s super vlog on the flashdrive. Next, help children find and read Philippians 4:6-7 in the Bible. Explain how prayer is the pathway to peace! Demonstrate how to turn worries into prayers. Ask for some volunteers to share some of their worries. Pray for the students out loud to demonstrate how to turn worries into prayers. Do the messy experiment on page 1173 in The Hands On Bible. Activities: -Make a Father s Day Card (Please be sensitive to children who don t have a dad. Thank you.) -Color sheet

-Fruit Unscramble: On the dry erase board, scramble the letters to each of the nine fruit. In pairs, see if children can unscramble and write down all nine fruit -Taste the Fruit: Divide the class into 2 teams. Have one person from each team come forward to be blindfolded. Give both children the same color Skittle Candy. (hold it up so the rest of the kids know which color/flavor you are giving to the contestants) The first person to tell you the right flavor earns a point for his/her team. Continue until all children have had a turn. Give both teams extra Skittles at the end of the game. Trail Blazers: Same as above Closing: When the usher signals five minutes remaining, together create and write a one or two sentence Trail Log entry. Ask, What was the most important part of our Bible TREK today? What main point did we learn? What significant moment took place? Record it in the log. Be sure to put down the date and please write legibly! Dismissal: When church is over, hand out any coloring papers etc., and close in prayer. Then, escort the children into the sanctuary. Be sure to leave the room neat and clean. Put any unused items in the appropriate bin in the metal cabinet. Thank you!

June 26, 2016 Memory Verse: Galatians 5:22-23 Theme: The Fruit of the Spirit Today s Fruit: PATIENCE Today s Key Point: Just like a farmer or a gardener must wait for his seeds to grow, we must allow the Holy Spirit to help us to be patient. Bible Passages: Ephesians 4:2 & James 5:7-8 Today s Snack: pretzels & strawberry juice Introduction: Welcome EXPLORERS or TRAILBLAZERS to children s church! SHOW VIDEO ON FLASHDRIVE: FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT MUSIC VIDEO- GO FISH. Briefly review fruit already covered: love, joy & peace. Read aloud the trail log entry from last week. Remind children that the fruit of the spirit is not actual fruit that we eat, but sweet behaviors that God produces in us when we stay close to Him! Point to the strawberry. Tell children that today we are going to learn about another fruit of the Spirit: Patience Lesson Ask children if they have ever walked a dog. Ask children how they would like to walk a turtle! Which fruit of the spirit would we need a lot of to walk a turtle? (patience!) Hold up a package of seeds. Explain that gardeners need to be patient. Tell how you must wait after you plant seeds. They don t sprout into plants right away. Explain to children that God is patient with us and He wants us to be patient with others. Read together Ephesians 4:2. Do the Patience O-Meter activity attached. (pages 47, 48 & 50) from Kids Travel Guide to the Fruit of the Spirit. Briefly discuss with children situations in which they really need God s patience. Close by praying and asking the Holy Spirit to help us to be patient! Watch video The Fruit of the Spirit: Patience- Micah s super vlog on flashdrive. Activities: -Coloring sheet -Cooperative Activity: Cup stacking- Divide the group into four teams. Each team works together to stack cups (see example). Students must use patience! The first person takes two cups and begins the stack. The next person must carefully balance his/her two cups on the top of the first two cups. Continue until all nine cups are balanced as shown. -Taste the Fruit: Divide the class into 2 teams. Have one person from each team come forward to be blindfolded. Give both children the same color Skittle Candy. (hold it up so the rest of the kids know which color/flavor you are giving to the contestants) The first person to tell you the right flavor earns a point for his/her team. Continue until all children have had a turn. Give both teams extra Skittles at the end of the game.

Closing: When the usher signals five minutes remaining, together create and write a one or two sentence Trail Log entry. Ask, What was the most important part of our Bible TREK today? What main point did we learn? What significant moment took place? Record it in the log. Be sure to put down the date and please write legibly! Dismissal: When church is over, hand out any coloring papers etc., and close in prayer. Then, escort the children into the sanctuary. Be sure to leave the room neat and clean. Put any unused items in the appropriate bin in the metal cabinet. Thank you!