Church Fundraiser Ideas: Pickin' and a Grinnin'

Fundraisers don't need to always be about selling something like T-shirts, hats, popcorn, candy, cookies and so on. Many fundraisers do a lot better without items to sell. Below are several ideas for your church fundraiser that are sure to bring in lots of cash.

Creative Fundraising Idea: Pickin' & Grinnin' 
  
For a creative fundraiser for church, start by getting the church family involved. Begin by asking to borrow items such as gingham table cloths, rocking chairs, bales of hay, metal buckets, wagon wheels or anything else you might find on a front porch or in a front yard. Next, schedule a work day to decorate the area you will be using for the fundraiser. Your goal is to make it look like a front porch. If possible, add a few glider swings to the area.

After you have decorated the area, add some old time games to the tables like checkers for people to play. Schedule the event on an evening that the congregation will not need to rush off. Announce to the congregation that anyone who plays an instrument should bring theirs to the fundraiser. While the musicians sit around pickin' and a grinnin', the rest of the congregation can sit back and enjoy the show.

Enlist the children of the church to be waiters for the evening. Plan on serving something simple and cheap like spaghetti and garlic bread. If possible, buy the food in bulk to save yourself some money. There are three ways you can make money. First, have a donation box set up around the musicians as they play. Second, have small metal buckets on each table for donations for the dinner or collect $5 per person who comes through the door. Third, don't serve dessert. Instead, ask the ladies of the church to make homemade pies and auction them off after the meal.

How to Raise Money

Years ago, unwed females would fix a lunch or supper for two and put the meal into a decorated container. The men would bid on the food and whichever man won the bid, he would have the honor of eating the meal with the female cook. Of course, he didn't know what female made what food in the baskets. It was a surprise of sorts. I wonder if this is where the "blind date" originated as well?

This same concept can be used for a church fundraiser, except not use it for match-making. Instead, box up meals that will feed two people and others that will feed a family. Let the church family prepare the food that will be used in the boxes. Some may be sandwiches while others may be fried chicken and baked beans. All boxed meals will go for different prices, but all will be added to the fund raising money.

Creative Fund Raising Ideas
One last idea for raising money is to have a sports fund raiser. At this event, decide on how many different sports you will need such as baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, horse shoes and so on. Invite other churches to join in this creative fundraising idea by scheduling a day that all churches can attend. Next, set a price for each sporting event.

Players will pay $5 to $10 apiece to play in the game of their choice. The winning team of each sport will get to eat free while the losing team will have to pay an extra dollar for their meal. This is all in good fun and most churches will be happy to join in the festivities, especially if the money will be used to glorify God.


Use the money you raise to help spread the Word of God.

Mark 16:15 KJV

Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

 

 

 

*Image courtesy of Doug Kerr.

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Dealing with Your Emotions - Anger Sunday School Lesson

Sunday School Lesson

Date: August 11

Length: 1 hour

Audience: Adults

Lesson: Matthew 21:12-17

 

Opening Prayer

Introduction                                                                                                                       15 Minutes

Have the students read the short story below. After reading, have them answer the question at the end of the story.

It’s Friday!! It’s payday and I’m on cloud 9. It’s going to be a great day. Traffic is light; there are no slow people out driving.  Wait, what was that sound? Oh no, I think I popped a tire. I don’t have time for this. I’m going to be late. What’s that sound? Who’s calling me? Oh no; it’s the boss. Why is he calling me?

Hello.  Hey boss. No, I’m on the way. No, the file is on my desk. It’s  not? Wait, it’s in the car. I took it home to make some final corrections. I’m sorry; I’m on the way.

Well thank God; I’m here, and only an hour late. What else could go wrong? Spoke too soon; here comes “head down Helen.” She is always looking for someone to pick her up. Well, today is not my day. In fact, I’m going to take the stairs.

Did I do something  wrong?

(Allow for open discussion for about 5 minutes)

Answer: I should never allow my anger to interfere with a chance to witness for Christ.

Answer: I should not allow anger to define or consume me.

Ask the class to comment on a time when they made someone angry.

Specifically:

How soon did they apologize?

How fast did they want you to forgive them?

 

 

The title of this Sunday School lesson is: Dealing With Your Emotions.

The lesson will be divided into 2 parts:

(At the end of each section, allow time for questions.)

 

Is there ever a right time to be angry? (12-13)                                                                    15 Minutes

Jesus was upset for a number of reasons:

·         Poor people were being forced to buy defiled animals

·         Those guilty of the crime were the spiritual and well off

·         The crime took place in the temple

Jesus was angry; but never allowed His anger to take control. Too often, we allow the anger to be more important than the reason we got angry. For us, we cannot and should not let this happen to us.

 

Prolonged anger can interfere with your ministry (14-17)                                              15 Minutes

No sooner than He was done cleansing the temple; Jesus was faced with society’s most vulnerable people; the disabled and the children. He could have very easily informed both that He had no time right now.  He could have told the lame to quit feeling sorry for themselves. He could have told the children that this was adult business, and He has no time right now. Instead, He stopped and made time for both.

If we are not careful, the spiritually vulnerable will be at our door right after a heated discussion with your spouse or after you’ve found out that you were not chosen for a promotion. What will you do?

Scriptures that will help you deal with your anger:

·         Ephesians 4:26-27

·         Matthew 18:21-22

Summary                                                                                                                                             15 Minutes

• Anger should never see the sunset.
• When angry; be on the lookout for an opportunity to minister to someone.
• Jesus did not allow His anger to conflict with your salvation.

Closing prayer

Author: Stephen Thomas

chicagocareertransitions@yahoo.com

Image courtesy of epSos.de

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It’s Not Okay - Sunday School Lesson

Sunday School Lesson

Length: 1 hour

Audience: Adults

Lesson: 1 Corinthian 10:12-22

Prayer

Introduction                                                                                                                       15 Minutes

Have the students read the short story below. After reading, have them answer the question at the end of the story.

Friday was Bob’s last day. I was in charge of planning the event. Bob had been a great friend and mentor, and I wanted to send him out in style. I walked through the office making a list of all the people that planned on attending. It was going to be a first class; Christian affair.  We even planned to have prayer for Bob at the end of the party.

I asked Mary if she planned on attending. Mary was recently saved, and I wanted her to feel a part of the Christian family at work. Mary was not convinced. She was a recovering alcoholic, and didn’t think it wise to attend. I told Mary that alcohol does not save or condemn. I encouraged her to come, because the safest place on earth was around believers. Mary nodded, and agreed to stop by.

1 hour and 11 drinks later; Mary was drunk. She made a complete fool of herself, and totally ruined the party. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and said: “I shouldn’t have listened to you.”

I felt bad. I only wanted her to be with us, and have a good time.

Was what I did wrong?

 

(Allow for open discussion for about 5 minutes)

Answer: I should have respected the needs of the babe in Christ, and not tempted her into sin. As a Christian, I should have been more sensitive to Mary, and not put her in that position.

(Ask the class to share a time when either they encouraged someone to do something they could not handle.)

The title of the lesson is: It’s not okay! In it, we can and will measure ourselves against ourselves, and get a sense of where we are in our Christian walk. We will divide the lesson into 3 parts:

(At the end of each section, allow time for questions.)

Understanding your strengths (12-13)                                                                           10 Minutes

Even strong Christians will face serious temptation. Those that are strong are sometimes more likely to fall because they let their spiritual guard down. As a Christian, it is never okay to fall; or to make excuses for falling. God does not give you more than you can handle.

Understanding idolatry (14-19)                                                                                      10 Minutes

Flee means run! Sometimes, in order to avoid sin, you have to run. In the 23 Psalms, David proclaimed that he sometimes had to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. David also said that God prepared a table before him in the presence of his enemies. God does not remove - He guides.

About Idols:

·         They are not real.

·         The 10 Commandments warns against graven images.

·         Taking Holy Communion unifies our bodies with Christ; idol worship unifies us with the devil.

·         God cannot share space with evil.

Understanding God’s wishes (20-21)                                                                              10 Minutes

The Bible is full of examples of how the Israelites provoked God by doing wrong in His eyes.

Read Numbers 25:9:  Mention how Israel fell due to idolatry.

Summary                                                                                                                            10 Minutes

The strong can sin by doing something that causes the weak to stumble.

God is bigger than what you are going through.

Closing prayer

Author: Stephen Thomas

chicagocareertransitions@yahoo.com

*Image courtesy of Kevin Probst.
 

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Teaching Kids to Share God's Word - Sunday School Teacher Lesson

Teaching kids to share God's Word is more than sitting in a classroom and telling them to do so. Think about it - how often have you sat in the church pew and heard the pastor tell the congregation to go tell someone about Jesus today? Or invite someone to come tonight?

Did you rush out of church to find someone to tell about Him or did you go home or out to eat?

More than likely, you did the later - eat.

The thing is - we need to GO tell people and not wait for them to come to us. If we wait until the 'time is right' or when 'God sends someone in your path', we may never get to share God's Word the way He intended for us to.

The bible tells us to go out and teach all nations.

Matthew 28:19 (KJV)

¹⁹ Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

 

 

Without us going out to teach and tell others about God, how will they ever know? Yes, there are thousands of missionaries out there along with pastors telling the lost about the Word of God.

 

We can sit back and rest assured that someone will tell the lost about Christ. We can even make sure to give our money to support the missionaries out in the field risking their lives to tell others. But, that isn't what God commands us to do.

 

He says for us to teach all nations - not support those who do. (Of course, we do need to support them along with doing our part.)

 

The bible also says, faith comes through hearing the Word of God. So, how can the lost have faith in something they've never heard?

 

Romans 10:17 (KJV)

So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

 

 

How to Teach Kids to Share God's Word

The best way to teach kids to share the Word of God is by doing it! Over the next few weeks, come up with a plan to visit people in the community, go to a nursing home, have a FREE family night with games and food, put on a play, deliver food to a family who are struggling, or anything else you can come up with to get people who normally do not attend church in a position to tell them about the Word of God.

 

Make sure the kids are involved through the whole process especially older children. Teens and pre-teens are at an age that sharing God's Word may feel awkward if they have never done it.

 

Like many Christians, teens have sat in a classroom on in a pew 'listening' only.

 

Now is the time to get up and DO!

 

Remember, Jesus told four unlikely fishermen to follow him and he would make the fishers of men instead of fish!

 

This is what we are to do - follow Jesus and become fishers of men!

 

Matthew 28:18-20 KJV

 

18 And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

19 And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

20And they straightway left their nets, and followed him

 

 We should leave our nets and follow him NOW!

 

Reminder!!!

 

Plan on making it a routine to 'spread God's Word' not just once a year. Children (and adults) learn by repetition, so be sure to repeat telling others about God.

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Do All to the Glory of God 1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV - Sunday School Lesson

1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV says "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." This is a hard concept to grasp at any age. Yes, we know that we are suppose to do everything to the glory of God, but how can what we eat and drink be done for God?

Teaching Sunday school children early that doing everything for the glory of God is a way of life instead of just occasionally, will help them to grow to become strong in the Lord and have a wonderful relationship with Him along the way.

Do All to the Glory of God

When beginning this Sunday school lesson, you will need to keep in mind that gentle reminders are a great way to get the point across. Also, a great way to keep kids on track during the week is to text them or email mail them. There are very few children nowadays that do no have cell phones, iPods, iPads, computers, etc. Use these devices to keep in touch during the week:)

As kids come into class today, have them write down any information you may need to get in touch with them. If needed, ask for the parents numbers or email addresses. Then, let the parents know you will be sending out texts or emails to the kids during the week. Most parents will LOVE this idea and welcome it! Also, it lets parents know what their children are learning and can help encourage them:)

What to Do:

Before class, come up with several scenarios that your kids can relate to such as: being bossy, sneaking extra cookies, skipping church to ride bikes, throwing rocks at the neighbors dog, and so on. Also, come up with a few good scenarios such as helping mom carry in groceries, putting shoes away, picking up toys, sharing, and so on.

Now, we are going to use these scenarios to get the idea of doing everything for God rolling!

Begin by mixing up the good and bad scenarios and asking the kids if they believe the scenario is doing something for God or not. This will help to get their train of thought working.

Now, ask, "Do you think that stuffing yourself with a whole extra-large pizza can be done for the glory of God?"

The answer of course is 'no'.

God did not design our bodies to be stuffed full at every meal. He gave us food to sustain us and to enjoy, but not to overeat.

Ask, "What about smoking or drugs?"

1 Corinthians 3:16 KJV

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

 

We are to treat our bodies like the temple of God it is! Overeating, smoking, drugs, and other corrupt things were not meant to be used by our bodies.

Now, ask, "Since we know that putting things inside our bodies that shouldn't be there is not glorifying God, what do you think about what you drink?"

Of course many children will know that alcohol will not glorify God, but what about other drinks? God wants us to enjoy what we drink as long as it isn't hurting us, but drinking sodas, sugary drinks, and other drinks that were not designed by God for us to drink can harm us if drank in over abundance! Believe it or not, drinking too much water or milk can even harm our bodies!

Read about the risks of drinking too much milk here.
Read about the risks of drinking too much water here.

We are to partake food and drinks to sustain us and not for gluttony or to look cool.

What Else?

There are ways to glorify God in all that we do even as children. Have the kids think about their every day activities: soccer, basketball, fishing, hunting, school, and so on.

Express the importance of using all of their activities for God. All of our actions, words, and motions we portray can let others see God in us. We can let God shine in us so others may want to know more about God.

Have you ever heard the saying, "I like your God, but I don't like your Christians?"

This can be very true about so many non-Christians. Non-Christians look at us and can't see Jesus anywhere in us! What a sad thought.

Think about it...

How often do we gripe, complain, grouch, yell, get angry, and so on. These are not attributes of God.

Philippians 2:14 KJV

 Do all things without murmurings and disputings:

 

 

We are all guilty of these things, but because of God's mercy, we can ask forgiveness and start again! Praise the Lord we serve a loving God!

 

I learned a lot myself from this Sunday school lesson!

 

 

Image of reading the bible courtesy of Photo-Monique

Image of basketball courtesy of Ixitixel



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Woman at the Well and Living Water Sunday School Lesson

No matter what age children you teach in Sunday school, they need to understand the importance of asking Jesus to be their Savior and living a life for God. While sharing bible stories is an important part of teaching God's word, our main goal is to lead these children to Christ and to teach them how to lead others. So, as you teach each and every lesson from here on out, do it with one goal in mind - winning souls for Christ!

Woman at the Well
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Carl Heinrich Bloch

Introduction - Sunday School Lesson

Begin your Sunday school lesson by recalling Jesus' birth. Children need to understand Jesus didn't have to leave heaven to come to earth as a baby. He chose to. He wanted to.

Jesus left his beautiful wonderful home in heaven where there was no sin, no sickness, no hurt, and no sadness to come to earth where all of this existed.

He grew up just like all children do. He was a toddler, a young boy, a pre-teen, a teenager, and then a young man.

He obeyed his mother, Mary, and his earthly father, Joseph. He learned how to work with wood because Joseph was a carpenter. He also got hungry and tired. He needed sleep just as we do.

For around 30 years, Jesus lived as any of us would have except for he never sinned. Try to imagine never doing anything wrong. It's impossible! Some people believe they have never did anything wrong, but we all do.

When Jesus was 33 years old, he died on the cross for our sins. Of course, he didn't stay dead. Praise God! After they placed Jesus' body in the tomb, it stayed there for 3 days and then a miracle happened!

He arose from the dead!

It was because Jesus died on the cross for our sins that one day we can live with him forever in heaven.

Now, here is where you will begin telling the bible story of the woman at the well.

Woman at the Well - Bible Story

Today's bible story is about a Samaritan woman who came to a well to draw water out of it. Jesus disciples had went into town to buy meat, but Jesus decided to rest beside the well. Of course, it wasn't by accident he was sitting by the well. He knew a woman would soon be approaching.

John 4:6-15 KJV

⁶ Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
⁷ There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
⁸ (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
⁹ Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
¹⁰ Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
¹¹ The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
¹² Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
¹³ Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
¹⁴ But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
¹⁵ The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.

Leather bucket drawing water from a well.

What Happened in the Bible Story?

When the woman came to the well, Jesus asked her to give him a drink of water.

She was a bit taken aback that he even spoke to her because she was a Samaritan and Jesus was a Jew. In those days, Jews were not very fond of the Samaritan people.

Jesus said to her, "If you only knew who I am, then you would have asked me and I would have given you living water."

The woman didn't understand what Jesus was talking about. Jesus had no bucket or rope to get water with, so how could he give her 'living water'?

You see, wells were often very deep and without something to draw up water with, you couldn't get to the water.

Think about it: Water was often hard to get. Women and children would have to work hard each day to get the water needed to cook and to drink. What about the water for animals? It was no easy task!

Jesus wanted this woman to understand that the water she drank would only keep her from being thirsty for a little while. As the hours passed, she would become thirsty again. The next day, she would have to come to the well to get more water to drink, wouldn't she?

Have the kids think about that for a minute.

Say to the kids, "When it is in the middle of summer and you are outside playing, you like to drink water, right? (wait for answers) But, just because you get one drink of water, it doesn't mean that you won't need another drink. After you play for a while, you'll get thirsty again, won't you?"

Of course they'll get thirsty again.

The living water Jesus was talking about was eternal life!

Only Jesus could offer this woman a way to live forever. Salvation is referred to as living water and only through Jesus Christ can we have eternal life - a life where we can live forever in heaven with him!

The woman wanted this 'living water' and ran to get others in the town to come to hear what Jesus had to say!

We should be like the woman at the well and bring others to church with us to hear about the Word of God!

If you'd like to read a bit more about 'living water', visit the website Got Questions.




Photo of well courtesy of Neogeolegend, Wikimedia Commons


 

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Foot Washing - Being Humble Sunday School Activity

Kids today don't know what it means to subject themselves one to another. In fact, many adults don't know what it means either. Maybe because they have never been taught to subject themselves to others or maybe they just don't understand what it means. Either way, you are going to have fun teaching your class what it means today!

Sunday School Activity - Foot Washing (Well, sort of.)

The bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:5 KJV:

⁵ Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Have the kids in your Sunday school class to read the verse aloud, quietly to themselves, or read along with you before you begin the following Sunday school activity.

This activity is so much fun, but you'll find that older kids tend to be shy while doing it. Stress the fact that Jesus wasn't embarrassed or ashamed to wash his disciples feet and he was the Son of God!

As the verse above says, we are to help older people and each other. Maybe you've seen kids rush past the older folks as they are walking or trying to get through a door. Remind the kids that it is more important to stop and help the older folks than rushing in front of them. For instance, maybe they can hold the door for the older folks in the church, carry their bibles or help them pick up papers when they drop them. Think of ways they can help those who need help even other kids that are the same age as the ones in your class.

Sunday School Activity

Everyone will be participating in this Sunday school activity, so no one has to be embarrassed that they are doing something and no one else is.

First, you'll need some paper towels or hand towel and some hand soap. A sink will work great for this activity. If you don't have a sink, improvise with baby wipes or bottles of water.

Have the kids line up in a line near the sink. Talk to them about the passage John 13:4-9 KJV (below). You don't have to read it word for word. You may also find the Jesus washes his disciples feet Sunday school lesson can help you explain this activity a bit better.

⁴ He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
⁵ After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
⁶ Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
⁷ Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
⁸ Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
⁹ Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

What You'll Do

Have the first child wash your hands. Then, the second child will wash the first child's hands. The third child will wash the second child's hands and so on. Have paper towels or hand towels ready for the children to dry their hands on. You can wash the last child's hands so that all children will wash someone's hands and have their hands washed too.

Believe it or not, even kids ages 10 and 11 will have trouble washing other children's hands. You may have to give verbal instructions as each child takes a turn. They will wonder whose hands to put the soap on and should they hold them under the water. They will be very unsure of how to do this because it is something new to them.

I was surprised when we did this activity.

The eleven year olds had just as much trouble washing someone's hands as my six year olds.

It was a great experience for them all!

It gave them the understanding that when Jesus washed his disciples' feet, it wasn't easy. And, it probably took quite a while to finish all twelve of them.

Kids learn so much more when they have something visual to go by and learning by doing is a great way to teach the Word of God. This Sunday school activity is great for helping them grasp some of what Jesus did that day so long ago.


Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, Thibault fr
 

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Jesus Washes His Disciples Feet Sunday School Lesson

Teaching children to be humble can be hard. We all want our children to be proud of what they accomplish, yet being too proud can lead to the opposite of humble! Think about the children you see on the playground, on the ball field, at competitions.

Many children nowadays tend to be arrogant. All too often, I hear the words, "Your going to lose.", "You can beat me!" or "I'm better at this than you'll ever be."

These are not words Jesus wants us to say to others.

Teaching our Sunday school class about being humble and how Jesus was humble is a step in the right direction. Talk to them about putting others first, thinking of others feelings, and helping others when they need help. Of course, teaching them to compliment and encourage others isn't a bad thing either.

Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet

Being by talking to your class about what the word humble means.

As you being this Sunday school lesson, talk about how wonderful Jesus is. Have the kids think about all the wonderful things Jesus did while he was here on earth.

They may come up with words like:

• perfect
• loving
• kind
• mighty
• powerful
• famous
• forgiving
• tender
• miracles or miraculous
• and many others

Be sure to compliment their words and encourage them to think of more. You may even want to have a few of your own written down to add to their list.

After they have finished thinking of words that describe Jesus, say, "There is one word we are forgetting - humble." (More than likely, they will not think of this word to describe Jesus.)

If your class consists of older children, have them turn in the bible to John 13:4-9 (KJV below) and let them take turns reading the verses below. After each verse, tell about what the verses mean so they grasp the story more fully (see below the verses for more).

⁴ He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.⁵ After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
⁶ Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
⁷ Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
⁸ Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
⁹ Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

Verse 4

We see in verse 4 that Jesus is setting at supper with his disciples - The Last Supper. Jesus laid aside his garments which simply means he removed his robe. Taking a towel, he placed it in his belt.

Verse 5

Jesus poured water into a bowl and stared to wash and wipe the dirt with the towel from each of the disciples' feet.

Verse 6

When he was ready to wash Simon Peter's feet, Simon Peter asked Jesus why he was washing his feet. Peter didn't understand.

Verse 7

Jesus tells Simon Peter that there is more to what he was doing than just washing feet. Even though Simon Peter didn't fully understand what was going on and why Jesus was doing this, he would soon enough.

Verse 8

Simon Peter then objected to Jesus washing his feet! He goes so far as to say never! Jesus calmly tells him that if he does not wash his feet, then he will have no part of him.

Verse 9

Simon Peter loved Jesus. He wanted to be with Jesus and be a part of him and changed his mind quickly. He thought that if he could be with Jesus and be a part of him just by having his feet washed, then he wanted Jesus to wash his whole body too!


Be sure to get the Sunday School Activity that goes along with this lesson. It's FREE!

Meaning of Foot Washing

In bible times, there were no roads or sidewalks. People wore sandals and the dirt on the roads made their feet really dirty and dusty. When someone would enter into another person's house, a servant would normally wash the guest's feet.

Since Jesus had a room prepared to eat the last supper alone with his disciples, there were no servants there.

This was all a part of Jesus' plan. Keep reading....

Dig a Bit Deeper

Think of this first...why didn't one of the disciples think about washing the other's feet? Did they think they were too good to do it? Would they have been embarrassed? Did they worry about what the other disciples would think of them and didn't want to be ashamed?

Thankfully, Jesus showed his disciples, and us, that we should be humble and not ashamed to wash someone else's feet. It also shows us that we should never be ashamed and always be humble when it comes to doing things for the Lord.

Of course, there was more to the feet washing than this.

When we dig a bit deeper, we see that to be washed means to be saved. When you ask Jesus to come into your heart to live forever, the bible tells us that you will be washed as white as snow!

Psalm 51:7 KJV

⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Even though Jesus washed the disciple's feet to show humility, their feet became dirty again when they left the room. But, when we are washed white as snow from our sins, we never have to worry about being washed again!

Once you are saved, you never have to worry about not being saved again!

You can rest assured that you will one day be in heaven forever! Jesus died for our sins so that we could live in heaven forever! All we need to do is not be ashamed and step forward to ask Jesus into our hearts.

Leading Children to Christ

Have the kids to close their eyes.

Ask if anyone in the room would like to have Jesus in their hearts. This is what we as Sunday school teachers are there for. To help lead little ones to Christ.

Be sure to read Romans 10:9-10 KJV to prepare yourself for this lesson.

⁹ That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
¹⁰ For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

With the Lord's help, you can lead a lost child to Christ.

Before teaching this Sunday school lesson, pray that God will open the hearts and minds of the children in your class and that he will help you say what needs to be said to teach his word.


May God bless you.


Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons, Patricia Sobrino Hoyos
 

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Samson and the Lion Bible Story and Sunday School Lesson

Samson and the Lion
Bible Story
Photo courtesy of Joachim Huber, Wikimedia Commons

The bible story of Samson isn't as well-known as many others, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be told. In fact, Samson has some unique stories (all true, I might add) that kids will love. You'll find that with most of the bible stories of Samson, you will need to be prepared to answer many, many questions as quite a few aspects of his life are things children have never heard of before.

In this Sunday school lesson, we will cover what it means to be a Nazarite and tell the story of Samson and the lion. This story sets the scene to show children just how strong Samson was.

To read this story in full, turn to Judges 13 and 14. Use this time to study the bible for yourself as it is very important not only as Sunday school teachers, but as Christians to study God's word.

Samson and the Lion Sunday School Lesson

Before Samson was born, the Angel of the Lord appeared to the wife of a man named Manoah. The bible does not tell us her name, but it does tell us that she had been unable to have any children.

When the Angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife, he said, "You have never been able to have children, but now you are going to. You are going to have a son."

Can you imagine what it must have been like to have an angel appear out of nowhere to give you a message?

Ask the kids, "Do you think you would have been scared? What about excited? Maybe you would have thought you were dreaming."

Wait for the kids to think about this. Let them talk about this for a moment, then begin again.

Before the Angel of the Lord left, he gave Manoah's wife a few rules to follow as she raised her son.

1. She was not allowed to cut his hair.
2. He wasn't allowed to eat anything that was unclean.
3. He was not allowed to drink wine or other strong drinks.

Note: If you have older children, you may want to elaborate on each one. We will discuss number one below.

What Is a Nazarite?

Samson was to be a Nazarite from birth. A Nazarite did not cut his hair at all, eat anything that was unclean (or touch anything that was dead), or drink alcohol.

A Nazarite's long hair let people who saw them know that they were doing God's will and that they were a Nazarite.

The Angel of the Lord even told Manoah's wife that she was not allowed to drink certain things while she was pregnant with the baby.

After the Angel of the Lord left, she ran to tell her husband what the angel had said to her.

Then, Manoah asked God to let the Angel of the Lord come back again to teach them how to raise their son. God heard Manoah.

One day when Manoah's wife was sitting in a field, the Angel of the Lord returned but Manoah wasn't with her this time either.

Quickly, she ran to get her husband and he followed her to back to the angel and he said, "While your wife is pregnant, she is not allowed to drink anything containing grapes. When she has the baby, he is not to drink anything containing grapes, he is not allowed to touch anything dead, and he is not to cut his hair."

Get the Samson and Lion Maze.
Get the Book of Judges Coloring Page.

Samson is Born

Samson - Nazarite
Peter Trimming, Wikimedia Commons

When Samson was born, Manoah and his wife did as the Angel of the Lord instructed.

They did not allow Samson to eat or drink anything that had grapes or grape juice in it, he did not touch anything that was dead, and he never cut his hair.

Samson grew into a man still following these rules from God.

Samson and the Lion

One day, Samson was walking along and came to a vineyard (where grapes are grown). Samson didn't know it, but there was a lion in the vineyard.

As Samson came near, the Spirit of the Lord came to Samson making him very, very strong.

You see, Samson didn't have a sword or a staff that he used to fight off the lion. Instead, when God made him extremely strong, he used only his hands to kill the lion.

Imagine, being so strong that you could take on a lion all by yourself and with no weapons at all!

Of course, without God's help, Samson couldn't have beat the lion. The bible tells us that:

Philippians 4:13 KJV

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

As the years passed, Samson's hair grew. As long as Samson did not cut his hair, he stayed strong. If he ever cut his hair or his hair was cut at all, he would become weak and his strength would leave him.

Guess what.

There was one time when a girl tricked Samson and his hair was cut! But, that is another Sunday school lesson for another day.


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Samson and the Lion Maze - Sunday School Activity

Here is a cross between an activity and a coloring page. As you can see, on the left the kids can color the letters and the lion and on the right, the kids can work the maze.

In our Sunday school class, we have kids who like to color and others who do not like it at all.

So, to help please everyone, we've come up with a two-for-one. Well, sort of.

The good news is that instead of having to print out two different sheets, you only have to print the one. You can choose to give everyone a whole sheet or cut the sheet in half and let the kids choose which they'd like to do. Of course, you could give half the page to the kids to color as they arrive and the other half after you tell the story. It's completely up to you.

Get the Samson and the Lion Sunday school lesson to go along with the activity/coloring page below!

 

Sunday school Activity/Coloring Page

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