Invisible
WELCOME TO WEEK 4
Do you think it would be fun to have an invisible friend? Someone that no one could see but you knew they were there? That may pose a few problems, but the idea sounds fun. Ww might not always know if our friend was in the room with us. We can not see Jesus, but we know He is always with us guiding us. Let’s find out how we can have strong faith even though we can not see God.
BIBLE STORY
Go on a scavenger hunt for the following items. Have your child find the items and bring them back to you. Gather all the items in one location.
Let’s go on a scavenger hunt to find items and then we will put them in my basket. When you hear me call out an item, if you can find it, grab it and bring it back here! Ready go!
A shoe
A blanket
A stuffed animal
The wind
Something you love
A stick
A book
Love
A ball
Gravity
A fan
Air
A favorite toy
Was it easy to find all of the things on my list? Were you able to bring all of them back to me? No, some of these items are impossible to put into a basket because they are things we can not see! Although we can not gather the wind we know it is there. Just because we can not put love into a basket, we feel it when we are with the ones we love. We know there are some things we can not see but they are still there, just like Jesus. Even though we can not see him with our eyes we can trust that he is still there. We know He is there because we can feel his presence and we can allow Him to change us. This week we will read a story about Jesus during a time when the disciples heard God’s voice but they could not see Him. They knew God was there with them even though they could not see him with their eyes. Let’s read or listen to this week’s story.
Read or listen to Luke 9:28-36
Why did Jesus take Peter, James and John to the mountain to do? (Pray)
What began to happen as he prayed? (His face began to change and his clothes bright like lightning)
Who were the two men that appeared in glorious splendor? (Moses and Elijah)
What were Peter, James and John doing while Jesus was talking? (Were sleepy but became fully awake to see Jesus talking to the men)
What did Peter say to the men as they were leaving? (It is good for us to be here, let us put up 3 shelters )
What happened while Peter was speaking? (A cloud appeared and covered them)
How did Peter, James and John feel about the cloud? (They were afraid as they began to enter it)
What did the voice from the cloud say? ( This is my Son, whom I have chosen, Listen to him)
What did the disciples do after the cloud Elijah and Moses were gone? (They kept what they saw to themselves and didn’t tell anyone what they saw)
BIBLE STORY ACTIVITY
Activity
Even though we can’t see something, it doesn’t mean it does not exist. Let’s play a memory game and see how many items you can remember when you can no long see them. Have several items hidden in a bag. Place 3-5 items on a tray or an area in front of you. Let your child see the items for about a minute, then cover the items or remove the out of sight. Ask the child to tell you all of the items that were on the tray. Be sure to bring the tray back out where your child can see you didn’t take any items away and to check how many they remembered. Repeat this activity switching different items and adding more items to show at a time. Was that an easy or hard game? When there were only a few items on display it was probably easier to remember, but as the amount got larger, it may have been harder. Did you trust that all of the items were still there even though you could’t see them? Jesus is with us even though we can’t see Him, we can trust that He will never leave us.
Materials: Several variety of items, a bag to hide items inside, small tray or flat surface
Alternate
Transfigure means to transform or change into something new or different from what it was before. Jesus changed right there before the disciples eyes and they saw how he was different. Let’s practicing changing these colors into something different. Using a small baggie and paints, mix colors together to create new colors. In a small baggie place a quarter size amount of red paint on the left side of the bag and a small amount of blue paint on the right side of the bag. Tightly close the bag and secure the seal with tape so that the bag does not reopen. Then have your child push the paint together and mix the colors until they see the new color, purple. Continue mixing other colors in baggies to create new colors.
Materials: Small baggies (snack size), paint in various colors or primary colors, heavy duty tape
Independent activity:
Create a windsock to place outside in the wind. We can not see the wind, but scientist have a way of measuring it and determining the direction it moves. Let’s create our our wind instrument to measure the direction of the wind. Take a sheet of construction paper, have your child decorate it with crayons and stickers. On a second piece of paper (or use tissue paper), cut it into 1 inch strips to make tassels and attach them to the bottom length of the decorated paper. Then roll the decorate paper into a tube and glue the short ends of the paper together to create the tube. The tassels should hang from the bottom of the tube, then attach a string at the top to create a handle. Hang the windsock outside from the string.
Materials: 2 sheets of construction paper, tissue paper (optional), scissors, crayons, stickers (optional), glue, string
ARTS & CAFTS
CRAFT 1
Make your own wind chimes using recycled items or things you find around the house. Watch this instructional video.
Materials: Various household items, string, scissors, glue
Craft 2
Coloring page
Materials: printed coloring sheet, crayons
FOLLOW-UP
What did the disciples do when they saw Jesus talking with the 2 other men?
What were the disciples afraid of?
What was invisible to the disciples?
What did they understand more clearly after being on the mount?
Who did the disciples see on the mount of transfiguration?
How did the disciples know it was God speaking when they could not see anything?
How can we be sure of God’s presence with us when we also can not see Him?
Practical Application at Home
Have you ever used a compass before? With a compass it will always point North, no matter what direction you are facing. The needle will always show you the direction North because of the gravitational pull a the North Pole. Even though this pull is invisible and we can’t see it, it is very helpful in keeping your directions straight. You can trust it to lead you in the right direction. We can trust Jesus even more than earth’s compass God created. When we follow Jesus, He will guide us the direction He wants us to go and never leave us. We can trust that His plan is better for us than the plan we have for ourselves.
Draw a picture of one way God leads you or has led you through a difficult path. Write a sentence a the bottom of the picture to describe what is happening.
Additional Resources
Outings to Reinforce Lesson
Enjoy the cool weather and take a nature walk. Observe the things God created and how they work together in His plan. What part do each of us play in God’s plan for us?