Isn’t it interesting how there are so many great Bible pairs in the Bible?  Alpha and Omega, David and Goliath, Joseph and Mary are just a few of the great examples peppered throughout God’s wonderful Word.  Now how about “lamp and light”?  Did you guess Psalm 119:105?  This illuminating verse says the following:  “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  How true.  How true.  But do your kids know it’s true?  Why not play this fun Bible school activity that uses a game of pairing important Bible people or things together while also promoting the memorization of the verse.

Here’s what you do:

Before playing the game, you will need to do a little preparation.  First, take a stack of index cards and write one word each from Psalm 119:105.  Put the reference on a card as well.  Place these cards face out either on a pocket chart (this is my choice) or on a table in mixed up order.  Finally, make sure you have the list of Bible pairs ready, which I have provided for you down below.  You are ready to play the game.

Here’s how you play:

Begin by saying the following:  Who can tell me what goes with salt?  (Wait for response of “pepper.”)  Who can tell me what goes with spaghetti?  (Wait for response of “meatballs.”)  You guys are great!  You know common everyday pairs, but do you know the pairs that come from the Bible?  For example, what goes with Noah?  (Wait for response of “ark” or “flood” or something comparable.)  That’s right!  Now how about the word “lamp”?  (Wait for response.)  That one’s a little harder.  Maybe our Bible verse that we are going to memorize will give you a little hint.  It’s Psalm 119:105 and it says this: “Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  Now who can tell me the pair that goes with lamp?  (Wait for response of “light”.)  Super!

Today we are going to play a game where your team will have to guess some pairs in the Bible in 30-second intervals.  For each pair you get right, your team will get 100 points.  At the end of 2 rounds of guessing (each team gets to have a turn), whoever has the most points will get 30 more seconds to place our Bible verse all scrambled here in perfect order.  If the team is successful, they will earn an extra 100 points.  We will play several rounds.  By the way, if you cannot think of the pair fast enough, you can say, “Pass” and I will go onto the next pair.

Tips for Success with this Bible School Activity:

You will want someone to be the scorekeeper and someone to keep time.  When you say the first part of the pair, add on the word “and” afterwards.  Only accept the pair that is on your list as a correct answer. You can reuse the pairs after going through the list.  Scramble up the words of the verse after each attempt.  Pick one child from each team at a time to play the game and let the rest of the class know they must be quiet and not shout out any answers.  Finally, have fun!

Bible Pairs:

Noah and the ark

Joseph and his coat of many colors

Abraham and Sarah

Adam and Eve

Daniel and the lion’s den

Alpha and Omega

Joseph and Mary

The burning bush and Moses

The dove and the Holy Spirit

Jonah and the whale

Quail and manna

30 pieces of silver and Judas

Jonathan and David

Samson and Delilah

Chariot of fire and Elijah

10 Commandments and Moses

40 years in the desert and the Israelites (or Jews)

Pillar of salt and Lot’s wife

Sodom and Gomorrah

Ruth and Naomi

Solomon and the temple

Jacob and Rachel

Isaac and Rebekah

Falling walls and Jericho

Cain and Abel

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To say that the Bible is simple, would be incorrect.  However, I do believe that there are passages that are simple to understand.  This is good news for our preschoolers.  There are a ton of great Bible verses we can share with our little ones and Psalm 100:3 is one of them.  This Scripture says: “Know that the Lord is God.  It is He who made us and we are His.  We are His people, the sheep of His pasture.”  That’s Christianity 101, right there in a nutshell.  Here is a fun Bible school activity you can play with your preschoolers to help them learn the 5 important parts of this verse.  It’s called “5 Things You Gotta Know About God.”

Here’s what you do:

For this activity, you will need 5 jars or buckets.  Next you will need to come up with pictures that represent each of the following points found in Psalm 100:3.  I have given the following suggestions:

1.     Know that the Lord is God. Use a picture of a cross.)

2.     It is He who made us.  (Use a picture of a boy and girl smiling.

3.     And we are His.  (Use a picture showing Jesus holding a child.)

4.     We are His people.  (Use a picture of a group of people worshiping in a church.)

5.      The sheep of His pasture. (Use a picture of a sheep with a shepherd.)

Make 4-5 copies of each picture big enough to fit nicely into your buckets.  Laminate these for long-term use.  Attach one of each of the pictures on the buckets.  You are now ready to play the game.

Introduce Psalm 100:3 in the following way:  Boys and girls, did you know that God wants us to know 5 important things?  Everyone show me your 5 fingers.  Let’s count them. 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5.  Now hold up one finger.  The first important thing God wants us to learn is that we should know that the Lord is God.  Here is a picture of a cross, which should make us think of Jesus.  Jesus is God.  Now show me 2 fingers.  The second important thing we should know is that God made us.  Here is a picture of a boy and girl.  They are so happy that God made them and loves them.  Now show me 3 fingers.  The third important thing we should know is that each of us belongs to God.  Here is a picture of Jesus holding a child.  Jesus loves this child and He loves you too.  You belong to Him and He will never leave you.  Now show me 4 fingers.  The fourth important thing God wants us to know is that we are God’s people.  Here is a picture of many people worshiping God inside this church.  They all belong to Him if they love Him.  Now show me 5 fingers.  The fifth important thing God wants us to know is that we are like sheep and Jesus is our Shepherd.  A shepherd takes care of His sheep and God will always take care of you.

Now explain to the children that they are going to play a game called “5 Things You Gotta Know About God” and learn Psalm 100:3.  Say the verse and as you do, put the corresponding picture into its bucket.  Now let a child come up and place a picture in each bucket as you say the verse again.  Do this several times.  After the children have learned the verse, you may want to place the buckets in different parts of the room.  This will force the children to look around for the correct matching bucket.  Have fun!

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I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember.  I still remember songs I learned in kindergarten. Music is universal and even though you aren’t Barbara Streisand or Frank Sinatra, you’re kids will appreciate any effort you put toward singing a snappy tune.  And since there are a ton of resources out there today, none of us has any excuse to be silent.

One of the best resources or ideas for incorporating music into your Sunday School or family devotion time is “Piggy Back” songs.

Piggy Back songs are familiar tunes we already know with different lyrics.  For example, you might take the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” and come up with words about Jesus instead.  A wonderful book that has a lot of these great songs is The Gracious Mother Goose Book published by Carson-Dellosa) and another resource I love is 100’s of Songs, Games and More published by Nexgen.

Piggy Back songs can be very effective since you and most of your children will already know the tune.  However, don’t overuse them.  Stick to one new set of lyrics to one old tune.  You can see how confusing it could get for your little ones to sing “Old MacDonald” in 3 different ways!

If you yourself would like to take a stab at coming up with your own lyrics to an already known tune, but aren’t sure which song to choose, check out www.pdinfo.com for a list of “public domain” music.  It’s an incredible site.  It lists the name of the song along with the book you can find it in.  You can also find the sheet music for any individual songs you are looking for.

Perhaps the best use of Piggy Back songs would be to add a Scripture to a familiar tune that your children are working on.  Music is perhaps the best way to engrave something into our memory.

Next, if you liked this Sunday School/Homeschooling idea, then sign up today to receive Scripture Lady’s Free Email Kid Tips packed full with creative ideas and receive 6 FREE Bible Review Games to help your kids get excited about the Bible!

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id you know that there are a lot of Bible verses that are just begging to have motions put to them?  Preschoolers are wired to wiggle, so why not give them some simple moves to help them memorize their Bible verses?  Psalm 119:28,32 is a perfect example of this. It says: “Strengthen me according to Your Word.  I run in the path of your commands for you have set my heart free.”

Here are the moves I came up with:

Strengthen me  (Have children raise up arms like they’re showing their muscles.)

According to Your Word.  (Have children put their hands together then open them up like a book.)

I run in the path of your commands   (Have the children run in place.)

For You  (Have children point up to God.)

Have set my heart free.  (Have children place both hands over their heart then push their hands upward as if their heart is being set free.)

Go over these moves several times.  After they have learned these moves you can have them play a fun activity called  “Unpin the Hearts.”

Here’s what you do:

For this activity you will need to make 5 to 10 pairs of identical paper hearts.  Let each set be a different color of paper.  Laminate these for long-term use.  Pin one set of the hearts onto a clothesline.  Place the matching set in a bag or bucket from which the children will pick.  Have the children perform the moves to this Bible verse.  After doing the moves, have one child come forward and pick a heart from the bag or bucket of hearts.  He will take the heart to the clothesline and find the matching heart.  He will unpin this heart off of the clothesline to “set it free.”  Play this Bible school activity over several times until all the hearts have been unpinned and set free.

Next, if you liked this Sunday School/Homeschooling idea, then sign up today to receive Scripture Lady’s Free Email Kid Tips packed full with creative ideas and receive 6 FREE Bible Review Games to help your kids get excited about the Bible!

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Do you or your child know of anyone heading off to the mission field for either a long-term or short-term mission’s trip?  My church is constantly sending off people to far away places to share the good news of Jesus Christ.  Missionaries need our prayers.  Here is a fun activity you can do with your children to help them learn the importance of praying for ambassadors for the Lord.  I call it “The Missionary Tool Box”.

The missionary too box can be a great “tool” to help get your kids thinking of how they can pray for families and friends who are on the mission field whether for 2 weeks or 2 years.  First, you will need a toolbox.  I got mine at my local 99 cent store.  Next, fill the box with all sorts of great gadgets that will spark ideas of how to pray for the missionary.

For example, my box contains a toy cell phone.  This will remind the children to pray that missionaries will be able to communicate by phone whenever the need arises.  A plastic lizard in the box can be a reminder to pray for safety around strange creatures a missionary may not be use to.  Foreign coins can spark a prayer for financial support.

A large toy magnet can be a reminder to pray that the missionary’s message of the Gospel will “attract” many non-believers.  Some plastic food is a prayer jogger for a missionary’s need to not be too picky about what is served them.  Missionaries can get sick too, so make sure you include an empty medicine bottle for prayers of health.  And a toy truck or car can spur your child to pray for safe transportation while in other countries.  You get the idea.

Finally, during prayer time, pick a child to pull out an item from the tool box and have the class focus on the prayer need that item represents.  Then when the missionary gets back, if possible, let them know that you prayed for them.  I’m sure they’ll be very glad you did.