Surviving The Jungle

Learning who we are in Jesus Christ

Vbs Manual

(Vacation Bible School)

A new VBS from “Children are Important”

WEB:

www.ChildrenAreImportant.com/jungle/

Thanks To the Whole “Children Are Important” Team!

Chief Editor: Kristina Krauss

Creative Team: Dwight Krauss, Flor Boldo, Jennifer Sánchez Nieto, Julio Sánchez Nieto, Mike Kangas, Monserrat Duran Díaz, Suki Kangas, Verónica Toj, and Vickie Kangas.

Thanks to Michael Kangas and Joshua Mendoza for writing fabulous new songs for this VBS program.

Translation Team:

Ali Atuha, Aline Xavier, Annupama Wankhede, Aroma Publications, Blessie Jetender, Blessy Jacob, Carla Mayumi, David Raju, Ephraim Njuguna Mirobi, Finny Jacob, Jacob Kuruvilla, Jetender Singh, Marcos Rocha, Mathew Das, Nassim Bougtaia, Paul Mwangi, Paul Septan, Rubina Rai, Sabrina Benny John, and SubtitleMe.

LeavesSmall Welcome To “Surviving The Jungle” VBS!

Grab your binoculars and your travel pack and climb into the jeep, because it is time for a jungle VBS! The world around us is like a jungle, where we learn to survive even though others try to manipulate, steal, trick or take advantage of us. However, we can be confident when we learn who we are in Jesus Christ.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

As our theme verse shows, we are inspired by those who have gone before us so that we can confidently conquer all fears, sins, and attacks. In this VBS we will go on an adventure deep into the jungle, and come out on the other side knowing we are a part of the family of God, with bravery, kindness, satisfaction and strength!

As always, you can have your students do the activities all together, or you can divide them into groups and rotate through activity stations. You can serve your normal snack, or use the snack ideas provided that relate to the day’s lesson. The crafts will be extra fun as children love to make animals, and they are based on the animal your students met earlier in the drama “Bogli’s adventures”. Each station has been given a fun name, to make decorating more fun. The daily Bible lesson has 5 drawings for your students to draw, and they will especially enjoy the jungle mazes hidden in their student books! This jungle theme will make a fun VBS, exciting to decorate, and easy to implement lots of creative ideas.

“Surviving the Jungle” VBS is all about helping your students learn who they are in Christ, regardless of the attacks from the world around them. From Delilah, we will learn about those who try to manipulate us; from Achan, those who try to steal; from Gehazi, those who try to take advantage; from Haman, those who directly attack us; and from Goliath, those who boldly threaten. At the same time, we can be strong, satisfied, kind, brave, and become part of the family of God! On day 4, we will have a special opportunity to lead children to give their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ.

You can create extra flavor for your VBS by making it feel like a “survivor” show, where you are broadcasting a competition LIVE with teams to see who can win, survive, and play fantastically. The more technology (pretend or real) you can include into your VBS, the more modern your church will feel!

Are you ready to go deep into the jungle with your church this upcoming vacation season? Adventures await you in this new VBS “Surviving the Jungle!”

Kristina Krauss

Editor: “Children Are Important”

LeavesSmall How To Use The Material

Inviting

Many churches are thrilled to invite their communities to the Vacation Bible School. The most common way to invite people is to post posters around the community, in stores, or on public transportation. You can also locate yourself in a busy area and deliver flyers. For these purposes, we have created posters and flyers. These advertising resources are available for download on our website so you can get them printed. Another good idea is to organize a parade on one of the main streets and suggest that everyone dress up as jungle animals and give out invitations and candy. Some churches even build floats or decorated cars for the parade! The main logo, the graphic arts and everything you need to create your invitations, postcards, posters, printed t-shirts, flyers, etc. are available on our website for FREE. You can really put effort into this! Kids need to hear the gospel, and your VBS is a perfect time.

Recruiting

We recommend recruiting specific volunteers for each task you need in your VBS. Start promoting your VBS months in advance, so your congregation will be thrilled knowing a big event is approaching. When it is time to start recruiting volunteers we recommend that you make a list of the jobs you need, and think about which people you know who are good for each job. Then approach them with a "specific offer" of work. It is a good idea to have them sign a work team list so they can see that other people are volunteering. Participating in a VBS is a great way to show the people in your church how fun the ministry with kids can be! Not all volunteers in childrens ministry should be teachers. We need the whole body of Christ involved to lift the next generation!

Teams

Competition can be the most fun of your EBV, but remember that it is optional. To maintain some equity in teams, divide each age by groups. You can assign a color to each group or a name, the idea is to give it the feel of “Survivor” In this way each age will have members in each of the groups; And at the same time, each of the groups will have members of all ages.

Assign a captain for each team, someone who can lead and motivate their team. Each day, after opening, it can take 15-30 minutes to prepare a cheer for your teams, or even a march. They can also pray together and plan strategies to win. We advise that these team meetings be in the main hall, each team in a corner. In this way, you can listen to each other as you prepare, this will create an atmosphere of excitement. The easiest area to assign points is in the “Marsh games.” But you can also ask your leaders and helpers to take notes of children who behave well, help clean up, are kind, or help younger children. These children can be rewarded with extra points that will help their teams take the lead.

On the first day, separate into teams and choose a name for each team. Make a game to learn the names of each child. On the second day, learn a joke, or sing a song together for the team. On the third, they create a flag or a poster to wave when they appear on Friday. On the fourth day, practice your presentation for the last day. It should include a cheer, a decorative flag, and a greeting to the public. And on the final day, each team can go to the front and present their team with a cheer, its flag, and greet the whole group. Judge which team is the best to be able to name a winner, along with the points accumulated during the week.

Suggestion of names for teams: Amazonians, Survivors, Adventurers, Navigators, or Explorers. :)

Prepare a prize or reward for the team that wins at the end of the week!

Rotation

You can use our VBS however you like, but it is written to be used with a rotation system with three stations at a time. This means that you divide the children into three groups, and the groups rotate through the three stations provided: "Cave Class", "Navigating the Bible" and " Waterfall Crafts". Each station lasts from 20 to 40 minutes, and each station is repeated three times so that each group goes to each station once a day. The easiest way to divide children is by age just like for student work pages:

“Easy”             4-6 years old

“Medium”       7-9 years old

“Difficult”       10-12 years old

But just as you have already divided your group into teams, you can use them too. We recommend that you use teens or adolescents (13+ years) as helpers for your VBS. However, the "difficult" student book will be fun for older students as well and even adults. Our favorite way to rotate through the stations is to put music on when it's time to rotate, so there's plenty of energy as the students move from one station to another. We have separated the "Marsh Games" and the snacks "Tropical Restaurant" because it is easier with all your students together. Another option is to add another station to learn the Bible verse, or to learn the actions for the songs, or both, so you can have 6 stations, and make 2 groups of 3 stations. Of course, you can make the schedule of your event to your liking!

SCHEDULE (3-5 hours)

OPENING

Music

Introduction

Drama

TEAMS

Daily Activities (15-30 min)

ROTATION (teams or ages) (15-30 min each)

Cave Class

Navigating the Bible

Waterfall Crafts

GAMES (30-45 min)

SNACK (15-30 min)

CLOSING together (15-30 min)

Music

Announcements and closing

Dramas

Dramas are a fun way to introduce the lesson each day, as well as to help students connect what they are learning with everyday life. We recommend using the same actors, and that they remain in their costumes during the whole program. They can visit the stations to greet the students, and take "selfies" or photos with the students throughout the day.

In these dramas, as Bogli struggles to arrive to school on time each day, the jungle animals either encourage him or discourage him. He talks about his teacher, but you never see him. The animal’s attacks against Bogli should feel like common attacks that the students also experience in our churches. For extra fun, we are using a cell phone, along with applications like Facebook/ WhatsApp/ YouTube, or taking “selfie” pictures. This is to be funny with technology in the jungle. As another joke, Bogli has a favorite breakfast cereal that he eats every day. You can make this whatever breakfast food you want from your area. The decoration jeep made from cardboard is Bogli’s bed each night. The dramas are laid out to have 1 jungle boy (Bogli), and 2 animals each day. Your two actors can be different animals each day, using simple masks for costumes. A 3rd animal appears on day 5, but he can remain off-stage. We hope you have fun with Bogli and the animals!

All templates for the masks can be found FREE online at our website for this VBS.

http://www.childrenareimportant.com/jungle/

Make a cardboard jeep for use in daily dramas. See the video on Youtube to see how to make the jeep! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEwQpAqHNkk

LeavesSmall Stations

Navigating the Bible

Welcome to the river where we are navigating the Bible in a canoe! Have the students say each day’s lesson title, slogan and the memory verse. Next, pass out the student books, and encourage them to start with the hidden maze. Finally, have your students do the 2 activities in their books, and color their pages.

Cave Class

In the Cave Class the teacher will tell the biblical story, while the children draw the pictures of each story. The pictures are not made as good artwork to illustrate the biblical history, but as easy drawings to make, so that the children themselves can copy the drawing. Once finished with the drawings, gather the students around the voting poster, ask the question and read the two options out loud to the class. The idea with "opinions" or "voting time" is to make your students think, therefore, you should make both sides viable. Read the two options provided, and make both seem to be correct answers. Each child will sign on the poster according to their age group, selecting their opinion. You can also use stickers or decals for voting if you wish. Try not to show one answer as the correct one.

Waterfall Crafts

At this station, students will enjoy doing a craft to remember the lesson, and having something fun to take home. All templates for crafts are available online (our website) and the instructions are found here in this manual.

Tropical Restaurant

Sure, you can serve a normal snack, such as tea or lunch, as is customary. However, our snack ideas, besides being good for eating, are also a fun activity for children relating to the VBS (Vacation Bible School). Everyone in your VBS will enjoy the activities along with the snacks. Change the ingredients for ones you can find in your area, and have fun!

Marsh Games

Playing builds knowledge, encourages communication and makes children happy. That's why in this VBS we include games where children will learn to share, take turns, and listen to others. Select one of the included games for each lesson or do both if you prefer. Divide the children into groups of different ages according to the number of children attending, check that the number of young children, intermediates and pre-teens are the same in each group. Form your teams on the first day and keep them all week long!

LeavesSmall Extra Ideas

Decorate the Table

Begin with a long table covered with a green or brown tablecloth. Fill different baskets and dishes, add some stuffed-animal monkeys, and use fruits or candy available in your region that give a jungle feel.

Jungle Juice

You can start with orange or lemon-lime soda and decorate a new label with jungle leaves and “Jungle Juice” or mix up your own fruit powder punch.

Bananas for The Monkeys

We filled a plate or basket with bananas and decorated it with a stuffed-animal monkey. We added a sign that says, “Bananas for you, monkey.” Children will enjoy this fun snack.

Tiger Faces

We used small mandarine or tangerine oranges, but you can use any orange fruit available in your area. Use a black permanent marker to put tiger faces on each orange. Children will have fun selecting a “tiger.”

Live Worms

If you can find gummy worms, they are perfect for this display. Place them on washed leaves or in dishes with a sign that says, “Live Worms” or “Hakuna matata”.

Tiger Toes

The orange “Cheetos” are perfect for this idea, but you can use any orange snack available in your area. You can cut small strips of carrots and lable them “Tiger Toes” if you can’t find this type of snack.

Delicious Ants

To make this snack, put a trail of raisons, blueberries, or dried cranberries (craisons) leading to the bowl laid down like an ant trail. Watch the faces of the children to see who has the courage to snack on them.

The Snake

For this snack, we began with a cucumber. Any green fruit or vegetable will work. Leaving a “head” area of about 4 cm begin cutting circular strips or slices. To decorate the head, cut eyes and tongue from red pepper or tomato.

You can also decorate your food table by drawing animal spots on a deposable plate, and fill with black cookies like oreos.

Canteen or water bottle

Materials:

2 disposable plates aprox. 10 cm de diámetro.

Glue for paper plates or cold silicon glue

Scissors

Green and brown tissue paper or paints and brushes

½ a toilet paper tube (2 students can share one tube)

Curly ribbon or string

Instructions:

Draw a U (upper case) on each plate, making it approximately. the size of the toilet paper tube.

Cut out the U, align the two plates with the U’s together.

Glue the tube where the U is located.

Glue the two plates together.

You can ask the children to decorate their canteens by painting them or by gluing on colored papers like camouflage.

Make a small hole on each side and tie the ribbon handle to the canteen or water bottle.

Lesson 1

Jesus Christ Makes Me Strong

Main Point (Lesson 1)

I am strong in the Lord, even when I feel weak.

Bible Lesson (Lesson 1)

Delilah Manipulates (Judges 16:1-31)

Introduction (Lesson 1)

In this new season, survivor will put many new participants to the ultimate test to prove which team has what it takes to overcome, survice and win!

Welcome to “SURVIVING THE JUNGLE.”

Everyday people try to manipulate you, and make you do things that benefit themselves. However, we can be confident when we learn who we are in Jesus Christ! (Introduce the Bible verse for the day: 2 Corinthians 12:10) Today we will meet Bogli, and see how he overcomes the manipulations of a slippery snake. We will do some weight-lifting during snack time to build up our strength, and even make a bear craft and play games! Then we will open our Bibles and see how Samson was manipulated by Delilah, and how he overcame in the end with his strength. Let us all say today’s main point together, “I am strong in the Lord, even when I feel weak.” At the end of the day, you and I can be confident that we will survive this jungle of life, when we know that we are strong in our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Animals (Lesson 1)

The snake manipulates and the bear helps.

Teams (Lesson 1)

Separate into teams and choose a name for each team. Play a game to learn names.

Bible Verse (Lesson 1)

“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10

Drama (Lesson 1)

Bogli is sleeping in his jungle jeep, with his cellphone alarm sounding. He continues to hit the snooze button, and then suddenly realizes that he is late! He wakes up and jumps out of the jeep. Bogli runs around screaming that he is late for jungle school and sends a quick WhatsApp message to his friend, the bear. Have Bogli tell the children about his school in the jungle, but that now he is late and will have to skip breakfast. He is afraid that his teacher will punish him for being late. While frantically trying to get ready, his stomach growls and he is very sad about missing breakfast. The snake comes and tries to talk Bogli into staying to eat breakfast. The snake manipulates him, saying that he should worry about himself. Bear also enters the scene and encourages Bogli that he must be to school on time! Bogli is tempted to stay because the snake starts to pour his favorite cereal. (Choose a favorite cereal from your area and have for each day of the VBS.) Bogli says hey! You don’t have any hands!! How are you pouring cereal? Then he leaves both animals and takes off running. When Bogli arrives at jungle school, there is a huge plate of fruit, and that same favorite cereal! It was a special day at school, and they provided breakfast for everyone!!! Bogli sends another WhatsApp message to the bear saying, Wow! Even when I feel weak, I am strong, because God is on my side! I was weak this morning and kept hitting the snooze button, but no one knows because I skipped breakfast to be on time! I would have been weak all day with no food, but now I feel strong with a delicious breakfast! I am strong in the Lord, even when I feel weak. Jesus Christ makes me strong.

Cave Class (Lesson 1)

Delilah Manipulates

(Judges 16:1-31)

As you tell each section of the Bible story, have the students draw the picture shown. Keep the drawings as simple as possible, so that your students can copy the drawings easily.

1. Samson was incredibly strong. The enemy wanted to capture him, but no number of soldiers could do it. However, everyone knew he must have a secret to his super strength. The Philistine leaders promised to pay Delilah lots of silver if she could manipulate Sampson into telling his secret. Samson loved Delilah, but she loved money more.

Picture: A huge bag of silver coins.

2. Delilah arranged to have the guards ready nearby as she begged Samson to tell her his secret. He told her if he was tied up with new bow strings he wouldn't be able to get free, but he was lying. When he slept she tied him up, but when he awoke, he broke the strings easily. She complained and sulked because he had lied. Even then, he didn't realize that she was deceiving him. Then Sampson told her that new ropes would be strong enough. She again tied him up and he again broke them easily. Next, he told her weaving his hair into fabric would hold him down, but when she did that, again it failed.

Picture: A head with long hair, in seven braids like Samson wore his.

3. Finally, Delilah used the strongest way of forcing him to do what she wanted. She told him, "Don't you love me? If you loved me you'd tell me the truth." If your best friend said that to you, would you do what they wanted? Samson relinquished and told her his secret. “My hair is my strength”, he said. If it is shaved off, I will be as weak as any other man.

Picture: A man sleeping and half of his hair is cut off.

4. Delilah knew he was finally telling her the truth. She arranged to have a man come and shave his hair while he slept, and soldiers were prepared to capture him. This time it worked. The soldiers rushed in and captured the bald Samson, hurting him, and they put him in jail.

Picture: A prison with bars on the windows

5. While in prison Sampson’s hair grew again and he realized that his strength was a gift from God. He was brought to a huge celebration for Dagon, a false God the Philistines worshiped. He prayed to God and asked for strength, and God answered his prayer. Sampson was able to win the war against the Philistines in the end.

Picture: A man praying

Opinions

Read the two options out loud to the class. The idea with “opinions” is to make your students think, therefore you must make both sides be possibly correct. Read the two options provided, and make them both seem like correct answers. You can also use stickers for voting if you choose. Try not to show them a correct answer, but encourage them to think for themselves.

Question: Should Samson keep his secrets?

A. When told, "If you really loved me, you'd tell me your secret,” anybody would have told their secret. If I was Samson, I would have.

B. When told, "If you really loved me, you'd tell me your secret" anybody would have been suspicious and understood it was a trick. If I was Samson, I wouldn't have told her about my hair.

We will be manipulated every day, just like Samson was. But we can rejoice in difficulties, because that is when God helps us! We are strong in the Lord, even when we feel weak.

Navegating The Bible (Lesson 1)

Welcome to the river where we are navigating the Bible in a canoe! Let us all say today’s lesson title, slogan, and memory verse. Pass out the student books, and encourage them to start with the hidden maze. Next, have your students do the 2 activities in their books, and color their pages.

Answers

(The medium book answers can be found using easy and difficult answers.)

Tropical Restaurant (Lesson 1)

Barbels Of Strength

Ingredients: (Select what is available in your area.)

• Bars: pretzels, skewers, toothpicks, carrot sticks, or jicama sticks.

• Weights: Grapes, cheese cubes, marshmallows, olives, strawberries, or melon cubes.

Instruccions:

• Demonstrate how to stick the weight on each end of the bar.

• Allow the children to make their own barbells.

Marsh Games (Lesson 1)

1. The Snake’s Trip

Tie eight to ten rings (or bicycle tires) together with ropes or cables (remember that if they are cables they should have protection.) Suspend them from strong trees, or if there are not trees, use two people to support the rings. If you have no way to suspend them, you can also put them on the ground. Each team forms a line and they step through the tires or rings.

2. Here Among Us

For this game you can use balloons, medium sized balloons, or paper balls.

Scatter the children then have them close their eyes and begin to move, spinning. The first person they touch, hold onto them, and this will be their new game companion. Tip: Make sure that the pairs formed are a similar height. Mark starting and ending lines, give an inflated balloon or ball to each pair. They put the ball at about stomach height, holding it there by pressing against it. Then without using their hands they spin around each other, going to the finish line without dropping the ball or breaking the balloon.

Waterfall Crafts (Lesson 1)

Paint a Bear

Print and give each student the bear head outline, eyes and nose.

1. Children color and cut out the eyes and nose. Allow the children to draw and color the black eyes anywhere on the white eye circle to get creative and interesting results.

2. Demonstrate how to put a little paint on the back of a spoon and paint the ears brown where shown.

3. Demonstrate how to paint the fur with a fork, starting from the nose area and moving outward.

4. Glue the eyes and nose into place.

How to make brown paint: Mix together approximately equal amounts of primary paint colors: red, yellow, and blue. You can add a touch of white if the brown appears to be too dark.

Conclusion (Lesson 1)

People will try to manipulate us, just as Samson was manipulated by Delilah, and Bogli was manipulated by the snake today. There will be those who take things from you, or pretend to be on your side, when they are not. However, we can know that our Lord Jesus Christ is with us, and will never leave us. When we trust in the Lord, we will be strong, even when we are weak. And as our Bible verse says, we can even rejoice in our difficulties, hardships and weaknesses, because that is when Christ's strength enters our lives. Let us all say together the main point for today...

"I am strong in the Lord, even when I feel weak!"

Come back to this VBS tomorrow, for another exciting day of "Surving the Jungle" where we will see which team has what it takes to survive and win!

Lesson 2

Jesus Christ Makes Me Satisfied

Main Point (Lesson 2)

I have everything I need to be happy.

Bible lesson (Lesson 2)

Achan steals (Joshua 7:1-23)

Introduction (Lesson 2)

Yesterday we started the new survivor season, where our teams battled to prove they were the best. They had no idea how much fun this would be, and they accepted the challenge to learn who they are in Jesus Christ. Join us on twitter, with #hashtag “surviving the jungle”, and let us know what you think. (Use a favorite social media from your country. You don’t have to start the account; it is just a fun thing to mention.) Every day we see others around us with more things than we have, better clothes, or a nicer cellphone. However, we can be satisfied with who we are and what we have when we learn who we are in Jesus Christ! (Introduce the Bible verse for the day: Philippians 4:12) The truth is that we can experience a deep joy as we trust God with our lives, and follow Jesus every day. Do you remember Bogli from yesterday? We will see him again in a minute, and watch as he is jealous of others, and loses his joy and satisfaction. Also, today we will open our Bibles and learn about someone who lost his happiness when he gave into the temptation to steal. We will look for his stolen items during snack time, and during craft game make a cute elephant to help us remember to be strong and satisfied. Let us all say today’s main point together, “I have everything I need to be happy.” At the end of the day, you and I can be confident that we will survive this jungle of life, when we know that we are satisfied in our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Animals (Lesson 2)

The hyena steals, and the elephant helps.

Teams (Lesson 2)

Have each team separate and learn a cheer together, a chant or a song for their team.

Bible verse (Lesson 2)

“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Philippians 4:12

Drama (Lesson 2)

Bogli’s alarm sounds, and he jumps out of the jeep, awake and ready! He is happy that today he didn’t sleep in, so he gets ready and pours himself a bowl of his favorite cereal, whistling with joy. He eats a banana and throws the peal. As he is eating his breakfast, the elephant enters, playing a fun game on his mobile phone, then slips on the banana peel. Bogli is jealous of elephant’s game, and keeps staring at it, and asking elephant about it. (If you want, change the toy to something that children are jealous of in your area.) Elephant makes Bogli’s jealousy worse by giggling, laughing, and having a great time with the game. The hyena enters and tells Bogli that he doesn’t have to be jealous, because he has a solution! As elephant sets the cell phone with the game down and starts visiting with Bogli, the hyena sneaks over and steals it! Bogli is shocked and tries to tell hyena NO without the elephant noticing. Then, all of a sudden, he realizes that once again he is going to be late to school! He runs around like crazy, looking for his pencil. He finds it, but then drops it again. (spend some time chasing and dropping the pencil.) Bogli then takes off for school. On his way to school, he receives a notification on Facebook that his class is meeting at the field for games. Now he is able to go straight to the field, and not lose time going to the wrong place first, and so he is barely on time! Once again, Bogli is on time and satisfied. He received the notification on his phone that isn’t as fancy as Elephants’, and even though he doesn’t have that cool game, his cellphone helped him get to jungle school on time. He says, wow! I have everything I need to be happy! Even when I do not have all the toys that others have, Jesus Christ makes me satisfied.

Cave class (Lesson 2)

Achan Steals

(Joshua 7:1-23)

As you tell each section of the Bible story, have the students draw the picture shown. Keep the drawings as simple as possible, so that your students can copy the drawings easily.

1. Achan was one of the soldiers in Joshua's army when they marched around Jericho. The battle was powerfully won by God when the walls fell. God gave instructions that the people could not take anything they found in the city, not clothing, gold, silver, or anything.

Picture: The walls of Jericho

2. The next battle for Joshua's army was against the city of Ai. The battle was lost, even though they should have won easily. Joshua prayed to God, asking why they had lost. God answered that He was angry because the people hadn't followed his instructions. He saw that love of things had replaced love of God and obedience to him.

Picture: Heads of soldiers with sad faces because they lost the battle.

3. God told Joshua to tell the people to consecrate themselves to God and tomorrow he'd show them who had stolen things and hidden them. It was a chance to repent and turn away from loving things more than loving God. It was also a chance for Achan to repent and obey God. He could have realized that he had everything he needed to live a happy life and to please God.

Picture: Joshua praying, on his knees talking to God.

4. The next day Joshua called forward the tribes, then the families, and then each member of the family. God showed Joshua that Achan was the guilty man. When asked, Achan said that when he saw the beautiful and valuable things, he wanted them for himself. Therefore, he took them and hid them under the dirt inside his tent. Joshua sent messengers to his tent and they found them hidden just as Achan said. Joshua took the valuable things from him and gave them to the Lord, and Achan was punished.

Picture: The things Achan took: a beautiful robe, a bar of gold and silver coins.

5. God told Joshua not to be afraid, saying “Take your army back to Ai, and I will give you victory.” Once again God told them not to take things they wanted from the city. This time everybody obeyed and they burned down the city as commanded. They won the battle, and were happy that again God was helping them to win.

Picture: Soldiers with arms raised in praise to God and happy faces.

Opinions

Read the two options out loud to the class. The idea with “opinions” is to make your students think, therefore you must make both sides be plausible. Read the two options provided, and make them both seem like correct answers. You can also use stickers for voting if you choose. Try not to show them a correct answer, but encourage them to think for themselves.

Question: Was it OK for Achan to take a few things?

A. Achan should have known that God sees everything and disobedience would be punished. He was very wrong to take anything and hide it.

B. Achan knew the city was going to be destroyed and nobody would miss a few things since it was all being destroyed anyway. He knew if he hid them well he wouldn’t be caught.

I will also be tempted to steal from others or God, or will have someone steal from me, just like Achan did. I have everything I need to be happy. Jesus Christ makes me satisfied.

Navegating the bible (Lesson 2)

Welcome to the river where we are navigating the Bible in a canoe! Let us all say today’s lesson title, slogan, and memory verse. Pass out the student books, and encourage them to start with the hidden maze. Next, have your students do the 2 activities in their books, and color their pages.

Answers

(The medium book answers can be found using the easy and difficult answers.)

Tropical Restaurant (Lesson 2)

Achan’s Hidden Treasures

Ingredients:

• Plastic cups (1 for each student)

• Small plastic spoons (1 for each student)

• Chocolate pudding mix (Instant or cooked),

• Milk for the pudding

• Small sweets to hide at the bottom of each cup.

Instructions:

Drop a candy or two into the bottom of each cup. Follow package directions to make the pudding. When pudding is cool, fill each cup and seal. Tell the children: "This is the dirt inside Achan's tent. Your job is to dig to find what he hid there."

Marsh Games (Lesson 2)

1. Little Jumps

For this game, you need one empty bucket and a plastic cup for each child. Instruct each team to line up facing forward. The first person reaches his right hand back and holds on to the upraised right foot of the child behind him. The second child grabs the foot of the third child and so on. If played outside, you can include water! With the left hand, they pick up full cups of water. The only exception is the first person in the line has an empty cup. Point out the start and finish lines. At the signal, all the group begins jumping, trying to arrive at the finish line. When they get to the finish line, they all put their water in an empty bucket. The team that has the most water remaining is the winner.

2. Everyone in The Bucket

Prepare ahead of time flavored or natural water, and drinking straws. Each group will form a tight circle, as close as possible. Put the water container in middle of the group, and the whole group drinks from the container until it is empty. They can drink all together or one at a time. If your groups are larger, have multiple containers for drinking for each team.

Waterfall Crafts (Lesson 2)

3D Elephant

Print and give each student:

• 1 elephant head and body

• 2 small wiggle eyes

• 2 cm of yarn for the tail

Instruct students to color the head and body of the elephant and cut them out.

Demonstrate how to gently roll or fold the body so the bracing strips can be glued together under the elephant’s stomach.

Glue on the elephant’s yarn tail.

Glue the eyes on the head.

Bend the tab on the head, insert it into the slit in the neck and glue it in place.

Conclusion (Lesson 2)

Temptations will come for us to be unhappy, or even to steal from others, just as Achan was tempted and stole from God, and Bogli was jealous of elephant’s game. There will be those who show off what they have and try to make you unhappy with what you have. However, we can know that our Lord Jesus Christ makes us satisfied on the inside, and will give us a deep happiness. When we trust in the Lord, we will be satisfied, regardless of what we possess. And as our Bible verse says, we can know the secret of being content in every situation, whether well fed or hungry, having things we want or not. Let us all say together the main point for today... “I have everything I need to be happy.”

Come back to this VBS tomorrow, for another exciting day of "Surviving the Jungle" where we will see which team has what it takes, t to survive and win!

Lesson 3

Jesus Christ Makes Me Kind

Main Point (Lesson 3)

I behave towards others the way I wish they behaved towards me.

Bible Lesson (Lesson 3)

Gehazi takes advantage (2 Kings 5:1-27)

Introduction (Lesson 3)

We are back for day 3 of “Surviving the Jungle” where each team is trying to find a way to win. Today will be full of opportunities to show others what you are made of. Can these teams seize their chance today? Every day people are unkind to each other, trying to reach the top by stepping on the heads of others, which can make us lose confidence. However, we can be confident when we learn who we are in Jesus Christ! (Introduce the Bible verse for the day: Luke 6:31) Today Bogli will face a bully on his way to jungle school, and must decide if he is going to be kind even at risk to himself! We will make a fun monkey craft to take home to remind us of this VBS, as well as eat a pile of coins during snack time. Then we will open our Bibles and see how Gehazi took advantage of others for his own good, and how he got in big trouble for it. Let us all say today’s main point together, “I behave towards others the way I wish they behaved towards me.” At the end of the day, you and I can be confident that we will survive this jungle of life, when we know that we are kind to others in our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Animals (Lesson 3)

Monkey takes advantage, and the panther helps.

Teams (Lesson 3)

Have each team create a flag or posters to wave when they present on Friday.

Bible Verse (Lesson 3)

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Luke 6:31

Drama (Lesson 3)

Bogli’s alarm goes off, and he jumps up and out of the jeep and gets ready for school in a hurry. While eating his favorite cereal for breakfast, Bogli watches a YouTube video on his cellphone that shows some kids at his school bullying a kid. The video makes him sad, but he doesn’t want to be late for jungle school, so he takes off early. On his way, Bogli runs into that same kid from the video being picked on by a monkey! The monkey is riding on his back, nibbling on his food, and peeking at his homework. It seems like the monkey is taking a free ride, getting a free meal, and cheating to get ahead in school! Bogli feels bad to see the monkey taking advantage, and knows he should stop and help, but he doesn’t want to be late to school. All week he has been almost late, but God continued to help him arrive on time. But if he stops now to help, for sure he will be late. Just then, the panther comes along, and encourages Bogli to do the right thing. Bogli looks over at the poor boy being tortured by the monkey, and decides he must help. “What if I were the one being taken advantage of by a monkey?” So Bogli and the panther protect the boy and cause the monkey to run away. As the monkey is running away, he runs right into a tree, and falls backwards. He gets up, and runs into the tree again accidentally, then gets up and runs away. Since the monkey is gone, Bogli helps the boy up, then notices he is almost late to school, and will never make it in time!!! Oh no! Just then, panther offers them both a ride on his back. They climb up and he and takes off running into the jungle. Once again, to Bogli’s surprise, they make it just in time!!! Then Bogli remembers I behave towards others the way I wish they behaved towards me. With a smile on his face he says, wow! Jesus Christ makes me kind!

Cave Class (Lesson 3)

Gehazi Takes Advantage (2 Kings 5:1-27)

As you tell each section of the Bible story, have the students draw the picture shown. Keep the drawings as simple as possible, so that your students can copy the drawings easily.

1. Naaman was a great man, however he had leprosy. He went to God’s prophet Elisha to be healed. Elisha told Naaman to go wash 7 times in the river to receive his healing. Naaman obeyed and was thrilled when he was healed of leprosy! Naaman offered a gift to Elisha, however he refused to take it. Even though Naaman urged him, Elisha continued to refuse to take the gifts or the money.

Picture: Naaman’s head in the river.

2. Elisha’s servant Gehazi saw the healing and the gifts that were offered. After Naaman left and was on the road returning home, Gehazi ran after him to stop him. Gehazi knew that Naaman would be rich, since he was a famous military commander. He decided to lie to him to get some money and clothing for himself.

Picture: Gehazi running down the road.

3. Gehazi lied to Naaman to receive some gifts and money. It was a bad thing, but he could think of good excuses to explain his behavior, like many people do today. One sin usually starts a string of other sins to cover it up, creating a downward spiral of sin. Gehazi told Naaman that two men were visiting Elisha, so he had changed his mind. Naaman was so grateful that God had healed him that he gave Gehazi twice as much money! Gehazi was greedy and wanted more things for himself, taking advantage of Elisha, Naaman and God!

Picture: A bag of money or a purse or wallet.

4. Once Gehazi received the gifts and money, he hurried home to hide them. He thought he could keep it a secret and Elisha would never find out. However, God showed Elisha exactly what Gehazi had done. We can be sure that God sees everything we do, even into our hearts to know our motives. He is never fooled by the story we can invent to make something we do look like a "good thing."

Picture: A house

5. Now everyone knew what Gehazi had done to take advantage! Then God punished Gehazi with Naaman’s leprosy. Gehazi did not treat Naaman or Elisha in the way he would have wanted to be treated. Will you be like Elisha being kind to others? Or will you be like Gehazi trying to look out for yourself to get more things, and taking advantage of others?

Picture: A sick man in bed.

Opinions

Read the two options out loud to the class. The idea with “opinions” is to make your students think, therefore you must make both sides be plausible. Read the two options provided, and make them both seem like correct answers. You can also use stickers for voting if you choose. Try not to show them a correct answer, but encourage them to think for themselves.

Question: Was Gehazi right to go to Naaman to ask for money?

A. As Elisha's servant, Gehazi was wrong to interfere with Elisha's choice to not charge for what God had done when He healed Naaman. He should not have gone to find Naaman.

B. It's normal to expect payment when services are given. Just like paying a doctor who makes you well, it's OK to ask for money from Naaman since he was healed.

People will take advantage of us every day, just as Gehazi took advantage of Naaman. But we can learn “I behave towards others the way I wish they behaved towards me.” Jesus Christ makes me kind.

Navegating The Bible (Lesson 3)

Welcome to the river where we are navigating the Bible in a canoe! Let us all say today’s lesson title, slogan, and memory verse. Pass out the student books, and encourage them to start with the hidden maze. Next, have your students do the 2 activities in their books, and color their pages.

Answers

(The medium book answers can be found using the easy and difficult answers.)

Tropical Restaurant (Lesson 3)

Gehazi’s Pile of Coins

Ingredients:

• Round snacks such as cookies or crackers.

• Napkins for each student

Instructions:

• Arrange the snacks like a big pile of money.

• Pretend to be Gehazi, lusting after the money and taking a little since there is so much available.

• Give each child a napkin with "coin" cookies.

Marsh Games (Lesson 3)

1. Crossing the Swamp

Make a “swamp” by using tires or rings placed on the ground. Put pretend crocodiles at different spots along the swamp. At the ends of the “swamp” make signs that indicate the start and end of the race. Build excitement before starting and congradulate the winning team. An option would be to have a small group of children in each group carry one “injured” child through the swamp. Be careful to assure safety of all of the children.

2. Crossing the Spider Web

Place chairs facing each other about four feet apart. Tie a rope from the front legs on one chair to the other front legs on the other chair, about six inches from the ground. Use three or four sets of chairs to make the size of “spider web” you want them to cross. Depending on the skill level of the children, make the spider web easier or more complicated. At the ends of the “spider web” make signs that indicate the start and end of the race. Build excitement and start a race. The children must traverse the web without touching the ropes. The winning group getting a point.

Waterfall Crafts (Lesson 3)

Monkey Door Hanger

Print and give each student:

1 door hanger base, 1 monkey body, and 2 feet

5 pipe cleaners (10 cm or aprox 4 inches)

Instruct students to color and cut out the door hanger, the monkey, and its feet.

Demonstrate how to curl one pipe cleaner into a tail shape and glue it to the monkey.

Demonstrate how to bend the two legs and then glue the feet to bottom of the legs.

Glue the legs to the monkey.

Next bend the arms and glue them to the monkey and the door hanger, attaching them where the “hands” are drawn on the door hanger.

Conclusion (Lesson 3)

People will try to take advantage of us, just as Gehazi and the monkey did today. However, we do not need to follow the ways of the world, but we can be different, and follow Jesus Christ! It is not important how other behave, I can decide to be kind, and do unto others as I would have them do unto me, just as our Bible verse says. Let us all say together the main point for today...

“I behave towards others the way I wish they behaved towards me.”

Lesson 4

Jesus Christ Makes Me Part of His Family

Main Point (Lesson 4)

I have eternal life in heaven as a child of God.

Bible Lesson (Lesson 4)

Direct attack from Haman (Esther)

Introduction (Lesson 4)

Welcome back! We are coming to the end of “Surviving the Jungle”. Can our teams give it everything they have got? This week our teams started an adventure of a lifetime, but they had no idea how much fun it would be. It is now coming to an end, but I have a feeling, today will be epic.

We are learning who we are in Jesus Christ this week, and today is extra special. Today we will see that we have actually been adopted into the family of God! Jesus Christ makes me part of His family! (Introduce the Bible verse for the day: John 10:27-28) In Bogli’s adventures, he comes under attack, and I sure hope he survives. Then we will open our Bibles and see how Esther won against a direct attack from Haman, by God’s grace and mercy. In our craft, we will make a photoframe to take home, and during snack time we will make Esther’s crown! Esther was happy to know that she was a child of God. Let us all say today’s main point together, “I have eternal life in heaven as a child of God.” At the end of the day, you and I can be confident that we will survive this jungle of life, and we too will have the opportunity to become a part of God’s family!

Animals (Lesson 4)

The tiger attacks and the wolf helps.

Teams (Lesson 4)

Have each team practice their presentation for tomorrow. It should include a cheer, a decoration or flag, and a greeting to the crowd.

Bible Verse (Lesson 4)

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” John 10:27-28

Drama (Lesson 4)

Once again Bogli’s alarm goes off, and he slowly sits up, stretching as he wakes. Bogli realizes that he is all wet because it rained. Oh no! He should have covered the jeep when he went to bed last night! After eating a breakfast of his favorite cereal, he puts on a rain jacket and heads toward the jungle school in the rain. His normal route would get him all wet by the time he arrives to school, so he talks to the children about taking a more protected route thru the thicker jungle, so he can stay dry. The only problem is there are tigers that way! He grabs his cellphone and checks. Sure enough, there are tigers on Facebook posting pictures of themselves in the thick jungle just this morning. Bogli decides to go anyway. As Bogli enters the tiger’s part of the jungle, he realizes that he is very easy to see because his skin has no stripes. Just then, a tiger jumps out and growls at Bogli. The direct attack from the tiger startles him, so Bogli grabs some mud from the swamp, and paints stripes on his skin. Now he thinks he will not be so noticeable. Quickly, a wolf rounds the corner and sees Bogli with mud stripes on him! “You do not need to feel alone Bogli,” he says, “It doesn’t matter that you do not have stripes on your skin like the tigers. You do not need to be a part of the tigers, because Jesus Christ makes you part of His family!” Bogli washes off the stripes in the swamp and he and the wolf can get away from the tiger. Just then Bogli’s foot gets stuck in the mud, and he can’t get it out. They work on that for a while, and then break free. As they finish the walk to the jungle school, the wolf tells Bogli all about Jesus Christ who paid for his bad actions. As they walk, wolf explains salvation and Bogli prays and then says, “I have eternal life in heaven as a child of God! Jesus Christ makes me a part of His family.” Once again, Bogli makes it to school on time.

Cave Class (Lesson 4)

Direct Attack from Haman (Esther)

As you tell each section of the Bible story, have the students draw the picture shown. Keep the drawings as simple as possible, so that your students can copy the drawings easily.

1. Queen Vashti was removed from her position because of her disobedience to King Xerxies. Esther was chosen to replace her. She was from the lowest class in the kingdom and just 14 years old.

Picture: Draw Esther, a pretty princess type girl

2. Haman was the king's prime minister, the most important man in the huge kingdom next to the king. He was very proud of himself and the king commanded that all the people bow to him anytime he passed by. Mordecai was a Jew, and chose to bow only to God, not to Haman. This made him very angry. Haman was so angry he decided not only to kill Mordecai, but also to have all the Jews killed too! He tricked the king into making it a law and punishing all the Jews.

Picture: People on the knees on the ground bowing

3. In the same way, God gave us 10 commandments or laws to follow. If we do not obey those 10 commandments, that means we have also earned punishment. You and I will always be unable to follow all of commandments all the time.

Picture: A post with a poster of the laws.

4. Esther planned 3 special meals for the king and told him of the danger to herself and all the Jews. Esther even risked death when she spoke to the king, but her bravery saved the people from dying. Jesus Christ stepped in and made a way for us to not be punished for our sins. He died for us and for everyone who has not followed all the commandments.

Picture: A table with a special meal on it.

5. Just like Esther, if you want to be saved, you must tell God, who is the real King, about your danger. You can say the words of a prayer after me or make up your own words to tell Him.

“Dear God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that you sent Jesus to be my Savior. He died on the cross to take the punishment for my sins. Please forgive me, and come into my life and change me. Please guide me and help me to follow You for the rest of my life. Thank you for saving me and making me belong to your family. Thank you for taking me to Heaven when I die to live with you. In Jesus' Name, Amen.”

Picture: Draw you surrounded by your Christian family.

Opinions

Read the two options out loud to the class. The idea with “opinions” is to make your students think, therefore you must make both sides be plausible. Read the two options provided, and make them both seem like correct answers. You can also use stickers for voting if you choose. Try not to show them a correct answer, but encourage them to think for themselves.

Question: Did Ester do the right thing or the wrong thing?

It’s good to go to the leader of a country and try to change the laws. It’s OK to use any way you can to win favor, like Ester did with the meals.

It’s good to accept the laws and live by them no matter what the outcome might be. It’s wrong to win favor with food and then ask for laws to change.

We will face direct attacks in our life, just as Esther did. But we can have confidence that these attacks cannot hurt us eternally because as children of God, we have eternal life in heaven. “I have eternal life in heaven as a child of God! Jesus Christ makes me part of His family.

Navegating The Bible (Lesson 4)

Welcome to the river where we are navigating the Bible in a canoe! Let us all say today’s lesson title, slogan, and memory verse. Pass out the student books, and encourage them to start with the hidden maze. Next, have your students do the 2 activities in their books, and color their pages.

Answers

(The medium book answers can be found using the easy and difficult answers.)

Tropical Restaurant (Lesson 4)

Ester’s Crown

Option 1:

Ingredients:

Paper cups

Snacks to fill the cup: Chips, Cheetos, Fruit, Cookies

Instructions:

Prepare the cups by cutting out triangles to make crowns.

Idea: Allow children to color their cups or decorate them before filling with their snack.

Option 2: Watermelon cut into a crown shape

Ingredients:

• Individual serving plates for the students

• Prepared Fruits: Anything available locally

• Ideas: Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Bananas, Grapes, Peaches, Marshmallows, Blueberries, Strawberries, Pineapple

Instructions:

Cut the watermelon and hollow it out, using the fruit as part of the snack. Cut a small slice from the bottom of the melon to help it to sit stably on a table and not tip or roll.

Fill the watermelon shell with your choice of fruits.

Marsh Games

Crossing the Cave

For this game, you need big plastic bags or newspaper and tape. Tape the bags together the length you want the race, hooking them together to make a tunnel. Make as many tunnels as you have teams.

Each team enters the cave and goes through it until the end. The first team to pass completely through their tunnel is the winner.

To make it more interesting, hang paper “rocks” or “trees” as obstacles to make it more exciting to pass through the tunnel.

2. Leaf Race

Each child will need a leaf of any tree and a straw, mark on the ground a section for each team where their leaves will fall, each team should know how many leaves they will have. When you hear the starting signal, the whole group must throw the leaf into the sky and blow with the straw to advance to the finish line. Many leaves will go to the opposing team, so kids should try to make sure all leaves fall into their section. The one with the most leaves wins in his section, even if it is from another team.

Waterfall Crafts (Lesson 4)

Tiger Picture Frame

Print and give each student:

1 tiger head shaped frame

2 sets of teeth

2 eyes

Instruct students to color and cut out the tiger head.

The small wiggle eyes (or any circles for eyes) are glued into place.

Lastly, the teeth are glued to the back side of the tiger’s head. If you can, take pictures, have them printed, and put the picture in the tiger’s mouth!

Conclusion (Lesson 4)

People will attack us as we struggle in this jungle called “life” just as Esther was attacked by Haman. But we have no need to fear when we are a part of God’s family. When others pretend to be on your side, Jesus will always be with you! In fact, just as many of you prayed today, we can be confident that we are a part of His family when we pray and ask Jesus into our hearts. And as our Bible verse says, when we belong to God, no one can snatch us out of His hand. Let us all say together the main point for today...

“I have eternal life in heaven as a child of God.” Come back to VBS (Vacation Bible School) tomorrow, for another exciting day of "Surviving the Jungle" where we will see which team has what it takes, play, survive and win!

Lesson 5

Jesus Christ Makes Me Brave

Main Point (Lesson 5)

I can conquer fear even when things seem impossible.

Bible Lesson (Lesson 5)

Goliath threatens (1 Samuel 17)

Introduction (Lesson 5)

We are LIVE for the season finale of “Surviving the Jungle”. We have everyone here, from Bogli and the animals to representatives from all the teams. We are back for this final day and conclusion of a crazy season, and it comes down to this. Do you have what it takes? Alright, join in on the fun, hit us up on twitter, hashtag “surviving the jungle”, and let us know what you think. It is going to be a fun day!

Every day you and I face fears around us, but with Jesus Christ, we can conquer those fears even when things seem impossible. (Introduce the Bible verse for the day: Joshua 1:9) Well, let us hurry and start the day, so we can see Bogli, learn about David and Goliath, and do some fun snacks, crafts and games!

Let us all say today’s main point together, “I can conquer fear even when things seem impossible.”

At the end of the day, you and I can be confident that we will survive this jungle of life, when we know that we are brave in our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Animals (Lesson 5)

The crocodile threatens and the mouse helps.

Teams (Lesson 5)

Each team can come forward and present their cheer, their decoration and a greeting to the whole group. Judge which team is the best to name a winner.

Bible Verse (Lesson 5)

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

Drama (Lesson 5)

Ring, ring, ring… and once again the alarm rings with Bogli sleeping in the jeep, but he grumbles and hits the snooze button. Then his phone rings and he jumps up out of the jeep and awake. His friend, the mouse is on the phone, and asking him if he will swing by and help him go to jungle school. Bogli agrees, but must hurry to eat his favorite breakfast cereal before taking off to pick up his friend the mouse. If he doesn’t hurry, they will both be late! When Bogli arrives, mouse has a pie, and surprises him by putting the pie in his face! They laugh together and clean up Bogli’s face, then they start singing as they walk along, until they reach the swamp. Oh noooo! How will we cross the swamp?? They find a canoe on the edge of the swamp, climb in, and start paddling across. Then suddenly, they hear low growling sounds, and they start looking around for what animal it is. Mouse sees it first… A CROCODILE! Mouse encourages Bogli to be brave. The crocodile starts to chase them as they paddle as fast as they can. Both of them shout at the same time, I AM SO AFRAID! The crocodile moves closer and closer and Bogli realizes that it is going to be completely impossible for them to reach the other side before the crocodile catches them. Bogli totally forgot that he was going to be late to jungle school, and started worrying that he was going to be crocodile food! Mouse tried to remind Bogli to be brave, but Bogli couldn’t hear him because of his screams. Then Bogli remembered his friend, the bear! He grabbed his cellphone, and sent bear a quick text. The crocodile was getting closer and closer, and just as his jaws were about to clamp down on the canoe, the bear arrives at the shore and growls so loudly that it shook the whole swamp!! The crocodile squeals in fear and goes swimming back. Everyone cheers loudly because the impossible has happened! Bogli shouts, “I can conquer fear even when things seem impossible!!!! Jesus Christ makes me brave!” Once safely on the other side, they took a quick selfie picture, and then hurried to school. Bogli thought for sure this time he would be late, but they arrived at the jungle school, just before the bell rang. More impossible things were happening! Bogli, even in his weakness, had made it to jungle school on time every day this week! I can conquer fears even when things seem impossible. Jesus Christ makes me brave! He celebrated that night before he went to sleep in his jeep.

Cave Class (Lesson 5)

Goliath Threatens (1 Samuel 17)

As you tell each section of the Bible story, have the students draw the picture shown. Keep the drawings as simple as possible, so that your students can copy the drawings easily.

1. David is a young boy with 7 older brothers. His father put him in charge of their flock of sheep. One day his father asked him to run to the battle field where 3 of his oldest brothers were serving in Saul's army to bring them some food and a gift of 10 cheeses for the army commander.

Picture: A backpack filled with breads and cheeses and food.

2. Goliath was a very tall man (3 meters, 9'9" tall!) and the champion of the Philistine army. He shouted insults and threatened everyone, scaring the whole Israelite army. Rather than have the two full armies fight and kill many soldiers, the Philistines offered to allow just one man to fight against Goliath. The winner would be the winning nation of the whole war.

Picture: Scared soldier

3. While David was delivering the things his father sent, he heard the shouts and threats from Goliath. David was not afraid of Goliath because He knew God was on the side of Israel. David declared that he would be willing to be the soldier that fought against Goliath. When Saul heard about David's brave offer, he called for him. He told David that he was much too small and young to have a chance against Goliath. He also pointed out that Goliath had been a soldier for years and David was untrained in battle.

Picture: King Saul

4. David had to prove to King Saul that he was brave. He told him about the times he'd killed a bear and a lion because they had attempted to steal a lamb from his flock. But the most convincing argument he had was this: "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine." He had confidence even though it seemed impossible, because he knew God was on his side. We can also be brave and face impossible situations because God is with us!

Picture: A lion and a bear

5. King Saul decided to trust David to fight against Goliath for the whole nation of Israel. He gave David his best armor, helmet, and sword. It was all so heavy on him that he couldn't even walk. He chose to not use all the battle equipment but instead use the same thing he used while caring for the sheep. He knew that if he won, it would be from the Lord, and not from superior strength, skill, or battle equipment. He chose 5 stones and his sling, and went to fight Goliath. His first shot hit Goliath right in the head and he fell dead. David was brave because he knew that with God, all things are possible!

Picture: Sling and 5 smooth stones

Opinions

Read the two options out loud to the class. The idea with “opinions” is to make your students think, therefore you must make both sides be plausible. Read the two options provided, and make them both seem like correct answers. You can also use stickers for voting if you choose. Try not to show them a correct answer, but encourage them to think for themselves.

Question: Was it smart of David to speak up and volunteer to fight Goliath?

David should not have volunteered to be the only soldier to fight Goliath. If he wasn’t strong enough the whole Israel nation would lose the war and become servants of the Philistines. The risk was too high.

David knew that size and strength, age and experience did not matter because the battle belongs to God. He was right to volunteer since none of the other soldiers had.

In my life, many people will mock me and threaten to harm me, just as Goliath mocked and threatened David. “I can conquer fear even when things seem impossible.” Jesus Christ makes me brave.

Navegating The Bible (Lesson 5)

Welcome to the river where we are navigating the Bible in a canoe! Let us all say today’s lesson title, slogan, and memory verse. Pass out the student books, and encourage them to start with the hidden maze. Next, have your students do the 2 activities in their books, and color their pages.

Answers

(The medium book answers can be found using the easy and difficult answers.)

Tropical Restaurant (Lesson 5)

David’s Ammunition Bag

Ingredients:

Corn tortilla or flat bread (1 for each student)

Round snacks, 5 per student

Suggestions: Grapes, candies, cheese puffs, any round snack

Instructions:

You may want to warm the tortillas or flat bread to soften it so it will be flexible to gather into a bag shape.

Allow each student to take 5 snack balls and place them into their tortilla and gather it around the balls to be David's ammunition bag with his 5 smooth stones.

Don't allow students to throw their "stones" at other students since they are not 9 feet tall.

Marsh Games (Lesson 5)

1. Bring the Elephant Home

Make groups of five children. Four children carry the other (the “elephant”) one person grabbing each leg and arm. Place an orange or another round fruit on the stomach of the “elephant.”

Cross to the finish line without dropping the fruit. If the fruit falls, the team loses. The first team that crosses without dropping the fruit is the winner.

2. Carry the Water to Town

Make two long lines with the children. Give each student an empty, plastic cup. Fill the first cup in the line then have that person pour the water into the next cup, without looking, over their head, into the cup of the person behind them. The second child pours water into the third, etc. The team that has the most water at the last cup is the winner.

Waterfall Crafts (Lesson 5)

Crocodile Mask

Print and give each student:

1 crocodile mask

1 set of crocodile teeth

1 50cm piece of ribbon

2 eyes

Instruct students to color and cut out the mask. (Teachers may want to punch out the ribbon holes on the side of the mask so they aren’t too close to the edge and could tear easily.)

Show the students how to glue the large eyes to the back of the mask on the straight edge.

Next, glue the crocodile teeth to the back of the mask, gently shaping the teeth to follow the wavy line.

Last, tie the ribbon to one side of the mask and adjust for the child’s head before tying the other side.

Conclusion (Lesson 5)

People will try to frighten us, just as Goliath threatened the people of God, and Bogli was frightened by the crocodile today. However, just like David, we can trust in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And as our Bible verse says, we can be strong and courageous because God is with us wherever we go. Let us all say together the main point for today... "I can conquer fear even when things seem impossible.”

Thanks for joining us this week for “surviving the jungle” where together we have explored how to conquer fears, sins and attacks and become full of bravery, kindness and strength! In this jungle adventure, we have had fun together while learning who we are in Jesus Christ! Each one of us has left everything behind in our homes, to come to church and join this adventure, that no doubt has changed us for the rest of our lives. Thanks for being a part of this special week.

We will see you next time for a new season of “Surviving the Jungle!”