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Reply to "ART Workshop Lessons and Ideas for Fiery Furnace"

1) Originally posted by member Loren

Art Idea - Picture in Frame with Wax Paper/Crayon Melt (Glass)

For the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace I used the following craft, and each age group loved it. The 4th and 5th graders thought it was very cool.

  1. Cut a rectangular hole out of a piece of construction paper or card stock to make a frame.
  2. Cut pieces of wax paper that cover the hole when folded in half.
  3. Have the kids draw pictures of 4 men (Shadrach, Meshach, Abedngo, and the angel). Be sure the picture will show through the frame.
  4. Let the kids sharpen yellow and orange crayons with pencil sharpeners (the sharpener in the crayon box doesn't really work very well, but it would do in a pinch).
  5. Sprinkle the crayon on the wax paper and fold in half. You don't need much crayon or it will be too thick.
  6. Iron the wax paper (on low setting). The crayon will melt. As long as you don't have too much crayon it will remain transparent. I used an old towel, and you might even want to use a towel on top so the crayon doesn't smoosh out the sides and get on your iron.
  7. Tape this to your frame as the "glass" and tape the drawing behind it. Voila! You have an excellent fiery furnace picture.


2) Originally posted by member Rotation Friend

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: Prayer is Powerful

Art Workshop

Summary of Lesson Activities:

Making Prayer Jars.


Leader Preparation:

  • Gather the materials.
  • Read the scripture ahead of time.

Supplies List:

  • Large tongue depressors/craft sticks,
  • a color-able label for the jars that says "prayers",
  • crayons/colored pencils,
  • jars,
  • small-type prayers to cut and glue onto the sticks (see prayers below)


Presentation

Opening-Welcome and Lesson Introduction:

Shepherds will begin by gathering everyone, starting conversation.

  • Then say: "Does anyone remember the story of Daniel we studied last week?  What was important about Daniel?  (or if it’s the first week, ask if anyone knows the story of Daniel and the lions den).”
  • Then say: "Daniel isn’t just a story about one guy who faced down lions.  It’s actually a whole book in the Bible.  Can anyone find where Daniel is in our Bible?”
  • After pausing to receive answers, say: “The book of Daniel has a lot of stories in it, mostly stories and prophecy to help all the people of Israel—who were living in exile, not in their native land—remember God and hope for a better future.  Would you all join me in prayer?”
  • After a moment of silence to let everyone calm down, say: “God, today we hear a story about some brave men from the book of Daniel.  As we listen, remind us that, just like these men, we can also use prayer to help us through hard or scary times.  Amen.”


Dig-Main Content and Reflection:

Storytelling

The kids might remember that Daniel got thrown in the lions’ den because he wouldn’t pray to King Darius—he prayed to God alone.  You can connect it by saying that this was often a problem for the Jewish people.  When they were captured by foreign kings, those kings pressured them to give up their religion and pray to different gods.  Today’s story and the story of Daniel and the lions’ den were told to help the people remember God and pray to God alone—and to trust God in times of fear.

Read pages 143-144 in The Family Story Bible

  • To save time, you can have the kids start coloring their “Prayers” labels.  These labels will be glued to the jars.  You can either have the kids choose a jar and cut the “Prayers” label down to size before you start the story, or you can just let them color away and then cut off the excess later.  Sometimes coloring helps them focus more.  Sometimes it distracts them.  You can decide how best to do this lesson.

Craft:

Explain to the kids that today you’ll be making prayer jars.  The idea is that it is important to remember to pray regularly—just like Daniel and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did (remember, the story of Daniel in the lion's den says that Daniel prayed three times a day).  One good time to pray is before a meal.  Another is before bed.

They’ll be making a jar of prayers to take home.  They can decide if they want to make a “before bed” jar or a “before meal” jar.  Then, at that time, they can select a prayer from the jar and read it. It’s just one way to remind us to pray to God alone (though there are many others, too, of course!)

  • After the kids decide on which jar to make, give them a sheet with the appropriate prayers on it (see below).
  • Then have them cut out each prayer and glue it to the lower half of a tongue depressor.
  • Help them glue the “Prayers” label to their jar and place the tongue depressors in it.
  • They should be able to randomly select a tongue depressor…and get different prayers each time!

Closing:

You can take prayer requests and then close with the regular Indian Paintbrush Lord’s Prayer together (posted on the wall).  Tell them that, in addition to all the prayers now in their jars, there’s another important prayer, the Lord’s Prayer.  Using it helps us pray in church, and it’s another good prayer to use at home, too.

Author's Note: I really dislike scary bedtime prayers ("Now I Lay Me..." is a classically terrifying prayer that makes God sound like a soul-snatcher (I pray to God my soul to take?!).  I tried to find classic prayers (often from saints) that were different and interesting.  I did adapt many of them to have more modern and inclusive language. However, you can substitute with any prayers that seem appropriate to your own faith tradition.


Mealtime Prayers:

O God, to those who have hunger, give bread,
and to us who have bread, give the hunger for justice.

Bless this food to our bodies and us to your service.

For food that stills our hunger, for rest that brings us ease,
For homes where memories linger, we give our thanks for these.

God, let us be your hands, your feet, and your heart
to love others in the world.

O Lord my God, teach my heart this day
where and how to find you.

Help me to recognize you, oh God,
in the people around me today.

Christ our God, bless us your servants, our home,
and the food and drink before us, for you are the source
of all blessings, now and forever and ever.

God, thank you for this food before us
and thank you for those who prepared it.

Bedtime Prayers:

Lord God, be a bright flame before me,
a guiding star above me, a smooth path below me,
& a kind shepherd behind me, tonight and forever.

Come, Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your people.
Kindle in us the fire of your love.

Lord, the sea is so wide, and my boat is so small.
Be with me.

Now the light has gone away; Jesus, listen while I pray.
Asking you to watch and keep and to send me quiet sleep.

God, we thank you for the night, and for the pleasant morning light;
for rest and food and loving care, and all that makes the world so fair.
Help us to do the things we should, to be to others kind and good,
in all we do at work or play to grow more loving every day.

Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray, oh God, for rest that’s deep.
And in the morning when I wake, help me, God, love’s path to take.

Creator God, please hear my prayer.  Keep me in your loving care.
Be my guide in all I do, and bless all those who love me too.

With all that I do and all that I say,
help me to walk in Jesus' way.

Last edited by Luanne Payne
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