WELCOME TO WEEK 3

What’s the best way to know if something tastes good? You taste it! It’s fun to taste test different  foods and discover new foods we might like. Good tasting food is beset discovered by experiencing it. We can get a taste of who God is by experiencing Him and trusting him in good and bad times.

John 2:1-11 

BIBLE STORY

Gather geometric shaped tiles or cut out different shapes using construction paper. Be sure to have basic shapes such as square, rectangle, circle and triangle. Have several of each shape available for your child to use. 

Look at all of these shapes in front of us. Let’s make a simple picture using these shapes. You can allow them to make their own picture or you can guide them through making a specific picture. For example, start by making a house, then use those same shapes to see if you can turn it into a boat. Then start by making a scarecrow, then use those same shapes to turn it into a snowman. Do this several times, making a picture and then using those same shapes to turn it into a new picture without adding or taking away any shapes, then starting all over with new shapes. 

Was it easy or hard to create a new picture using the same shapes from the previous picture? Sometimes it was easy and sometimes we had to find new ways to use shapes that didn’t really fit our picture. It can be hard to make one thing turn into something completely different, but God has the power to do that in our lives. This week Jesus will show people a taste of God’s power. God can take one thing and turn it into something completely different and new! When Jesus was at a wedding feast they ran out of wine and they needed more. It would have been a disgrace to run out of wine to serve their guest! Jesus turn regular water into something completely new, wine! Only the power of God can make something turn into a completely different thing. Let’s see what happened in the story by reading from the Bible.

Read or listen to John 2:1-11

Where was Jesus and his disciples? (At a wedding feast)

What was the problem that occurred at the wedding? (They ran out of wine)

What did Jesus’ mother tell him? (They have no more wine)

What did Jesus reply to His mother? (My time has not yet come)

What did Jesus tell the servants to do? (Fill the jars with water then take it to the master of the banquet)

Did the master of the banquet know where the wine had come from? (No, he didn’t know but the servants knew)

What did the master say to the bridegroom? (Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then as the ceremony goes on they bring out the cheap wine when no one will notice)

BIBLE STORY ACTIVITY

Activity

Jesus gave everyone a taste of God’s power when he changed the water into wine. Only the power of God could make something new from plain water. Let’s take a taste test to see if we can determine what something is just based on our sense of smell. Gather several items for your child to taste that is sweet, salty, and sour. Hide the items so your child cannot see what they are before tasting it. Once they have tasted an item, ask them to guess what they think it is before you reveal to them the actual item. Test as many items as you would like. Ask them if they enjoy the flavor and if they think the taste is salty, sweet, sour, or bitter.

Materials: Various foods for testing, small cups to hide food or a blindfold

Alternate

Try to turn water into wine or juice. Take a glass of water and add red or other food coloring (just a little to change the color). Ask Do you think we made juice? Let’s taste it and see if we made a wonderful juice. This really just tastes like water, we may have changed the way the water looked, but we didn’t really change it into something new. Let’s try again with another glass. How can we make some sort of juice? Discuss what it would take to make juice. We can’t turn water into juice, but we can turn fruit into juice or a smoothie by physical change. We’ve not really made something new but instead changed the form of the fruit. God can change something into a new thing, but we do not have the power to do what God can do. Let’s make juice or a smoothie from our fruit. Blend fruit with a blender to make a fruit smoothie or use a juicer if you have one.

Materials: Water, food coloring (red), variety of fruit, blender or juicer

Independent activity:

God made some animals with the ability to completely change into a new looking animal as they grow and change. This is called metamorphosis. An example of an animal that uses metamorphosis is a caterpillar that changes into a butterfly. Think of an animal and imagine if it could morph into something new. Fold a sheet of paper inn half and draw a picture of your animal on one side and then draw the animal you would have it change into one the other side.

ARTS & CAFTS

CRAFT 1

Coloring page

Materials:printed coloring sheet, crayons or other coloring utensils

Craft 2

Coloring page

Materials: printed coloring sheet, crayons

FOLLOW-UP

Have you ever heard of a delicious new dessert or candy that you’ve never tasted?

How do you really know if that special dessert is good?

How does tasting the dessert for yourself help you know for sure if it is good or not?

Can we know God really well just from hearing others experience God?

How can we get closer to God and experience Him for ourselves?

Is it easier to trust God wants what is good for when everything is going well or when its going bad?

How can we learn to trust God when everything seems to be going wrong?

Practical Application at Home

Think of your favorite dessert or candy and taste it if you have it on hand. If not, taste another dessert that you really enjoy. Think of all the words you would use to describe this favorite food. Describe how it looks, taste, smells and how it makes you feel.

Using a sheet of paper, divide the paper in half. On one side write the name of your dessert on top then list below it all the words you thought of to describe it. On the other side of the page label it God/Jesus and then list all of the words you would use to describe your experience with God. We may not share this exact list with others, but notice the words you use to describe God, try to share who He is to you with someone you know this week. 

We all experience God through our good and bad times. No ones experiences are exactly the same, but we can trust that God is the same throughout time. He is trustworthy, he is faithful, and he is just. Our lives may not always go the way we want or thought it would, but we can trust that God will be faithful through it all. Trusting and relying on God through all of our experiences will strengthen our walk with Him and bring us into a closer relationship with Him. This does not mean life will be perfect, but we can wait and trust God’s perfect plan for our lives. What He wants more than anything is for us to live in relationship with Him.

Materials: Sheet of paper divided in half, writing utensil

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?