For Vacation Bible School this summer, our parish used Group Publishing’s curriculum “Everest: Conquering Challenges with God’s Mighty Power.” This is the third week of family devotions based on the five Bible stories that we learned at VBS. (If you missed last week’s, find it here: https://familygodtime.wordpress.com ). Enjoy learning from your kids; you might be surprised what they have to teach you!
Supplies: God Time pillows, candle and holder (see “Gathering,” below), My First Hands-On Bible (or other children’s or family Bible), access to the internet, a box of dollar store adhesive bandages (I got 60 for $1), a permanent marker, a camera
Gather: We like to sit in a circle on the floor for God Time. Finding some pillows or cushions to sit on makes it even more comfortable. My kids like to use pillow pets for this purpose! Once you are in a circle, light a candle (or turn on a battery-operated one; we use an LED tea light in a pretty metal container).
Story: Read the story of the God Heals Naaman’s Leprosy from II Kings 5 in My First Hands-On Bible or another children’s or family Bible. If you are using the My First Hands-On Bible, feel free to do the activities and questions described there. If you don’t have a children’s Bible, check out this version: II Kings 5:1-15
Discuss: What do you think it would have been like to have leprosy? What did Elisha tell Naaman to do to be healed? Did he want to do it? Why or why not? Did what Elisha told him to do work? Do you think that we can pray to God for healing, too?
Song: Vacation Bible School Dance Party: If you want to, you and your family can take this opportunity to have your very own VBS Dance Party. Play the music, do the actions, or just get up and dance!
If you want to learn a new song, you could learn my prayer song for healing, available on youtube:
Activity: Pictures of Healing
To help us to remember this story, I got a box of 60 adhesive bandages from the Dollar Store for $1. We opened the packages, and drew crosses in the center, and stuck them all over our bodies. Some we just stuck on, and others, we stuck on in the shape of a cross. Then, we took a bunch of pictures to remind us that God heals! You can see some of the pictures, below:
Prayer: (You can do this all together, or as a “repeat after me” prayer, depending on reading ability) You can use the “Heal Me, Jesus” song as a prayer, substituting names of people you know who need healing. Or you can simply pray: Dear Jesus, we know that there are lots of people who need to be healed. Please heal (name people you know here; or you can use the names from Sunday’s bulletin). In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
