I really like this 5-evening VBS on "Bible Heroes" written by Rotation.org member Liz Weingart for her church—especially because it concludes with "our hometown heroes today"—the first responders in your community and church. I also like the way the lessons remind kids of the superpowers THEY have. While you may have already taught these stories in Sunday School, refreshing students' memories of these key stories is never a bad idea

Then and now...

BE FAITHFUL... BE FORGIVING... BE STRONG!

Bible heroes and heroes in our midst are included in this VBS program designed for 5 evenings. Kids learn to forgive like Joseph and to be more obedient than Jonah. They learn that just like Moses and like local heroes, they can use their strength to help others. The courage that Daniel had can be theirs too!  Throughout the week, students engage in the point of view of the Bible Heroes. The program concludes with a  celebration of hometown heroes. This lesson set is packed with great story scripts and activities and could be used in many ways other than VBS.

Summary:

• Evening 1 -- Joseph: Popcorn & a Movie “Joseph, King of Dreams”
• Evening 2 -- Jonah: Enter a life-size whale and hear Jonah tell his story followed by a snack (no details on snack).
• Evening 3 -- Moses: Storytelling of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments, snack (no details on snack) and make Wooden Patriotic Beaded Bracelets, one for themselves and one to give away to a Hero.
• Evening 4 -- Daniel: Hear the story of Daniel and the Lions' Den, make a Plaster Hand-print Garden Decoration, and have a snack (no details on snack).
• Evening 5 - Hero Presentation: Fire, EMTs, Police, and Fire House Tour, followed by pizza and dessert.

2 Road to Emmaus "Double" Treasures

Like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, each of the following lessons about the Road to Emmaus has TWO great things going on in each one. They were a joy to "rediscover" in the archives of our site. While both require a Supporting Membership to access, I've included enough in each description below for everyone to glean a hint of these tasty teaching resources.

This software-using lesson not only has a fun and interactive way for the students to learn the story, but it also has a great reflection activity focusing on “seeing” Jesus—and how most of us need help to do that. The lesson is designed to be used with the “Jesus in Space” software (which is now free to our Supporting Members), but also has other suggestions for reflecting on how we "see" Jesus in our lives.

Supporting Members are able to download the computer software for free. They can also let their families download it and use it at home! (A great reason to purchase a Supporting Membership for only $45 a year!)

Neil MacQueen has a copy of the Jesus in the Snow photo along with a key, and notes about teaching with it available to all over at his software site.

The second great pairing involves this art lesson from the Writing Team's Emmaus lesson set (available to Supporting Members) and a great idea for creating Art Easels out of cardboard. In this lesson, students look at some Road to Emmaus artwork and then create their own painting showing the road, the disciples with Jesus, their hearts burning, and their eyes opening.

What do YOU see when Jesus walks with you?

Do others see Jesus in you? How?

Supplementing your lesson with some great visuals of Christian artwork could work for any number of lessons, not just this one. We have an entire forum devoted to online resources for Christian art and illustrations and graphics. Suggestions have been made by a number of our Rotation community members. I love seeing this support of our mission to help teach about Jesus.

And making your own art easels ELEVATES both literally and figuratively by adding a sense of importance and fun to the illustrating activity.