Posts Tagged ‘Bible class’

Bible Rocks and Minerals

Sunday, November 13th, 2022

Bible-Rocks-and-Minerals

I’ve recently noticed many places in Scripture that mention rocks and minerals. Years ago we purchased The Geology of Israel and Rocks and Minerals of the Bible from Northwest Treasures, which is a set of rocks and minerals that is specific to the Scriptures and to Israel, along with a binder with information about the rocks contained in the set. My kids gathered around to look at each rock and mineral to better understand, in a tangible way, the rocks referred to in Scripture.

Today I’m going to show you my two favorite rocks and minerals passages in Scripture: the precious stones in the Levitical priest’s garments and the precious stones referred to in the New Jerusalem that descends from heaven in the book of Revelation.

Precious Stones of Levitical Priest

I’ve always been fascinated by the precious stones in the high priest’s breastplate, which is described in Exodus 28:17-20. These stones were to be put into the beautiful woven garment that was for Aaron, the high priest. Each one of these rocks represents a different tribe of Israel, starting with Ruben (the oldest), all the way down to Benjamin (the youngest.)

We are going to look at some of these rocks and minerals today:

You can also do a craft for the breastplate of the high priest with shiny bronze paper and plastic gems to represent each color of the precious stones listed in Scripture. I give instructions on how to do this craft here:

breastplate-high-priest-craft

Precious Stones from Revelation

My other favorite Scripture passage for the study of rocks and minerals is the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven in Revelation 21:10-21.

The New Jerusalem is in the shape of a square, with three gates on each of the four sides. Each gate is an enormous pearl, and under each gate is a foundation stone. Each foundation stone is decorated with every kind of precious stone. These stones are mentioned: jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolite, beryl, topaz, chrysoprase, jacinth, and amethyst. Let me show you:

The length and width of the New Jerusalem is 1,500 miles across, so you have 500 miles for each foundation stone! Those are enormous foundation stones, one huge rock under each gate, holding up the walls of the New Jerusalem. The foundation stones are adorned with beautiful designs (maybe mosaics!) with only precious stones that glitter and sparkle in the light. God will be the Light of the city. You can see the precious stones adorning each foundation stone because the ground is transparent gold like glass! So the streets are clear, but they are shimmering because they are made from gold rather than sand, which is what window glass is made of. WOW.

We made a model of the New Jerusalem:

If you enjoy hands-on Bible activities, you will love Using Simple Costumes and Props to Teach the Bible, as well as the Bible section of the Unit Study Treasure Vault, which contains hands-on activities for every book of the Bible!

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$200 Christmas Giveaway!

Christmas-Giveaway

Once again, I have teamed up with some generous bloggers for the 9th annual Christmas Blessings Giveaway to bless FIVE families this year. In the past we have had two winners for this giveaway, but this year we wanted to give to even more families – we are giving away $200 gift cards to 5 families! Each winner will get a $200 gift card to wherever they choose – a restaurant, clothing store, grocery store, online retailer – any place that offers gift cards!

There are lots of entry options in the Rafflecopter form below – the more you enter, the better your chance of winning! I know it can seem tedious and time consuming to go through all the entries, but isn’t a chance at $200 worth it? I think it is! Plus, all of these amazing bloggers donated their own money towards the prizes, so this giveaway wouldn’t be possible without them. I hope you’ll take the time to check out each one. Who knows, maybe you will find some new blogs to follow.

The giveaway will run from Monday, November 14th through Wednesday, November 23rd (ends at 11:59pm EST). Winner will be notified by email shortly after the giveaway ends and will have 48 hours to respond to claim the prize or another winner will be drawn. By entering this giveaway, you agree to be added to the email lists of the participating bloggers. Please be sure to read the Rafflecopter terms and conditions upon entering.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I & II Thessalonians Unit Study

Wednesday, June 1st, 2016

Thessalonians-unit-study

We had a great time filming our I & II Thessalonians Unit Study. We re-enacted lots of skits, referred to a map of Thessalonica, and baked a cake to represent the Day of the Lord.

When looking at the overview for I & II Thessalonians, we saw that one of the main themes was the Day of the Lord. We filmed Jesus and an archangel up on a chair holding some clouds while the archangel blew the shofar, the Jewish trumpet. The dead in Christ rise first to meet the Lord in the air, so we had a black gravestone made out of black poster board. One of my sons floated up out of the gravestone to meet the Lord in the air. You see him in the clouds with Jesus and the archangel.

map-of-thessalonica

We looked at a map of where Thessalonica was located, which is in Macedonia north of Greece. I have a beautiful biblical map that a woman from my mom’s church gave her. It was created with markers on a large piece of felt. You can easily look in the back of your Bible to find a map of Paul’s missionary journeys, and you will find where the city is located.

be-patient-with-all-men

We acted out various skits to bring to life the topics discussed in these two letters from Paul to the Thessalonians:

  • If you don’t work, neither shall you eat. (Give bread to the one that is working, but don’t let the lazy person have any bread.)
  • While saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction comes. (Throw lots of couch pillows on an unsuspecting person.)
  • Admonish the unruly. (An out-of-control person gets scolded.)
  • Encourage the fainthearted. (When someone is sad, give them a hug.)
  • Help the weak. (Help an elderly man walk across the street.)
  • Be patient with all men. (Have a kid sit in a chair while people around him are being annoying. Have him sit patiently, as pictured above.)
  • Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks. (Act out each of these commands.)

rapture-cake

We also make a cake that represented the Day of the Lord. It is a cloud shape with white frosting. A trumpet shaped by chocolate frosting is on the top. This was the culminating activity for our I & II Thessalonians Unit Study.

If you enjoyed these activities, you will love the Bible section of the Unit Study Treasure Vault that includes unit studies for every book of the Bible!

David and Goliath in LEGO

Friday, October 30th, 2015

lego-david-and-goliath

When reading the story of David and Goliath to your kids, why not have them re-enact the story with LEGOs? My kids created a scene on a green LEGO base. They had an army of Israelite LEGO men on one side and a LEGO giant on the other side. The LEGO giant was holding a spear. The David figure is leaning back to throw the smooth stone out of his slingshot. This stone will hit Goliath on the forehead and send him crashing to the ground.

The Israelites won this battle because David knew that God was mightier than any giant. When we put our trust in Him, we do not need to be afraid.

If you are doing a unit study on David and Goliath, here are some free crafts, videos, and hands-on activities that you can do:

king-david-in-lego

Because of his courage (and because God had chosen him to be king through Samuel’s anointing), David became the next king of Israel. You can re-enact other scenes from the life of David. Pictured above is David sitting on his throne while people bow to him from other nations. God gave him victory over all the nations around him because He put his trust in God.

For more Bible unit studies, join the Unit Study Treasure Vault!

Crossing the Jordan in LEGO & Jello

Friday, October 16th, 2015

crossing-the-jordan-lego-jello

Have you ever thought of creating the scene of “Crossing the Jordan” in LEGO and jello? This activity is super cool and a sure hit in your home or Sunday School to bring this story from Scripture to life for kids. This story can be found in Joshua chapter 3.

crossing-the-jordan-lego

To build a “Crossing the Jordan” scene with LEGOs, begin with a green base. Build up huge waves on both sides with your blue LEGOs. Make them almost crash over the LEGO people that you place in the middle. You can also make an Ark of the Covenant with LEGOs for the priests to take across. Add plants and rocks to complete your scene.

crossing-jordan-back

To make a jello “Crossing the Jordan” scene, start by making two large boxes of blue jello with Knox gelatin. I used 3 packages of Knox gelatin and one cup less of water than called for. Place your jello in the fridge until it hardens. Then using a sharp knife, cut a path through the Jordan River. Pull out the pieces with your fingers.

jello

Place some chocolate pebbles on the bottom of the path, and LEGO people walking through the middle of the path. Now you have completed your “Crossing the Jordan” scene in jello. The children will enjoy eating this scene.

crossing-the-jordan-jelloFor more fun hands-on activities for Bible class, as well as unit studies for the books of the Bible, join the Unit Study Treasure Vault.