Does Children's ministry still occur the Sunday after VBS? It sure does! VBS-tired doesn't mean we take days off! And this morning, we continued to share from God's word in the Book of 1 Samuel chapters 4-6 even with a shortage of volunteers. In previous lessons, we have talked about the Ark of the Covenant and how it represented God's presence. God would speak to the priest in the tabernacle, standing in front of the Ark. This morning, we saw the Israelites try to "use" the Ark as a kind of good luck charm, bringing it onto the battlefield with them against the Philistines. The Ark was supposed to remain in the tabernacle, and guess what, because the Israelites didn't obey God, it was taken by the Philistines. But they treated it poorly too. And everywhere the Philistines took the Ark, people got sick and died. Finally they sent the Ark back to the Israelites. The Ark was a symbol of God's presence, and it was a pretty big deal. And it pointed toward a much bigger deal... when Jesus, the son of God, came to earth.
Starter questions to help extend the conversation this week:
Elementary
- Why do you think that the Philistine people, who were near the Ark got sick and died?
- The Ark of the Covenant was a symbol of God's presence. Why do we not have an Ark anymore? How can you know that God is always with you?
Preschool
- Why did the Israelites take the Ark into battle? What did they think it would do?
- How can we know that God is always with us?
PLEASE NOTE: WHILE ATTENDANCE IS OFTEN SPORADIC DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS WITH VACATIONS AND CAMPS AND LEADERS OFTEN TAKING A BRIEF BREAK, CHILDREN'S MINISTRY IS IN NEED OF COMMITTED LEADERS EACH WEEK. IF YOU ARE WILLING TO HELP OUT DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS IN A CLASSROOM, PLEASE CONTACT US! For Early Childhood, contact Melanie at [email protected] For Elementary, contact Michelle at [email protected]