Jesus Turns the Water into Wine (John 2:1-11)

Our preacher for the wedding is holding the Bible.  
Our groom looks a bit love struck.
The bride is off stage.

Digital Resources 

• Saddleback Kids
• The Beginner's Bible - Begins with an ad.  Also, skip to 1:28 once video begins.
•  The Beginner's Bible App - This app is good for several reasons.  As the text is read, each word is highlighted, so it's excellent for beginning readers.  This is an app version of The Beginner's Bible, so it's good to have the printed book for kids to use at home too. In class we wait until the text has been read and then take turns with the interactive parts.
• Bible for Kids App - no story yet

Print Resources

• Pictures of a wedding that include bride, groom, preacher. 
• Pictures of a wedding reception that include bride and groom and others at the reception holding something to drink.
• The Cat's Story Jesus at the Wedding by Nick Butterworth and Mick Inkpen (Story of Jesus' first miracle from a cat's point of view)
• The Beginner's Bible, "Jesus First Miracle," page 314

Prop Resources

• Small cups - one for each child and for demo.   
• Small plastic bags - one for each child and for demo.
• 3 grapes for each child’s bag.

Activities

• Show pictures of a wedding, pointing out the bride, the groom, and the preacher.  Take turns letting children identify those people.
• Show pictures of a wedding reception with bride and groom holding something to drink and all the people at the party. 
• Explain that wine (vocab) is like juice.
• Give each child a small cup with a little water in it.  Remind them that Jesus turned water into wine.  Dialog: Can we do that?  Let's just wait and watch.  Anyone's water turn into wine yet?
• Demonstrate filling one cup to the brim (vocab).  Dialog:  Jesus had the men fill 6 big jars up to the brim with water.  Do you see how the water is round on top?  "To the brim" means putting as much water in as you can, all the way to the top, without spilling over.
• Give each child a baggie with 3 grapes in it.  Children will squish the juice out of the grapes.  While they are doing that, explain that in order to make wine, people have to squish juice out of grapes.  Jesus didn't have to do that because he is God's Son!  People have to wait a long time before the juice turns into wine.  Jesus didn't have to wait because he is God's Son! As we examine our "juice progress" I remind them that Jesus needed enough wine for everyone at the wedding reception.  Could we ever make enough juice for everyone at church?!
• The men who filled the jars did exactly what Jesus told them to do.  We are supposed to do that too because Jesus is God's Son.  Play "The Little Children Come Unto Me" which is like Simon Says only we say Jesus Says.  
• Sing the "You can't kiss a dinosaur right between the eyes, but you can be happy if you want to" song.  Dialog:  We can be happy if we do what Jesus wants us to do.  How do we know what Jesus and God want us to do?  We read the Bible and learn our Bible stories.

Vocabulary

• to the brim
• wedding
• wedding reception
• groom
• bride
• wine

The Bible

The words in red are the ones Jesus said.

• We talk about the names for the Bible (usually) every week:  God's Word, The Sword of the Spirit, The Word of God. 
• We talk about the two BIG parts of the Bible, the Old Testament and the New Testament.  I open my Bible and the kids each take a turn putting their left hand on the Old Testament side while saying, "Old Testament" and then putting their right hand on the New Testament side while saying "New Testament".
• We tell the children where the story is in the Bible and whether it is in the Old Testament or New Testament.
• We are learning that the "Jesus stories" come from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament.

Samson and Delilah (Judges 14, 16)

What's wrong with this picture?

Judges 16:19 

Picture credit:  Lambsongs

Digital Resources

•  Saddleback Kids
• The Beginner's Bible - Begin at 1:24.  Ads appear onscreen.  Just close them.
•  The Beginner's Bible App - This app is good for several reasons.  As the text is read, each word is highlighted, so it's excellent for beginning readers.  This is an app version of The Beginner's Bible, so it's good to have the printed book for kids to use at home too. In class we wait until the text has been read and then take turns with the interactive parts.
• Bible for Kids App - Text is not highlighted.  Story is usually more detailed than Beginner's Bible App.  In class we wait until the text has been read and then take turns with the interactive parts.  Just tap on the picture to go to the interactive part.  Note that you need to slide the picture to the right and left to see the entire picture.

Print Resources

• Samson and Delilah adapted by Maxine Nodel, Great Bible Stories
•  Samson and his Strength by Alice Joyce Davidson, Board Book
• Samson retold by Anne de Graff, Little Children's Bible Books
• Samson and Delilah, Read-Along Storybook and Sing-Along Songs PC Fun

  
Discussions

•  Samson had 3 rules from God:  1)  Don't drink wine.  2)  Don't touch anything dead.  3)  Don't cut your hair. 
• Samson killed a young lion one time and when he came back by, he found a swarm of bees and some honey in that dead lion.  He ate some of the honey.  Samson was not supposed to touch dead things.  Was he careful not to touch the lion when he got some honey? 
• As long as Samson kept his hair long and uncut, he was strong.  We talked about how we get strong.  It's not from having long hair!  We came up with some good answers.

Activities

•  Toy props of Delilah, Philistines, and Samson-- with long hair, bald, seven fresh bowstrings, new ropes, and 7 braids weaved into fabric.  Dialog:  Delilah was Samson's girlfriend.  She wanted to know what made Samson so strong.  It was a secret.  She asked him, "What makes you so strong?" over and over and over.  That's called nagging (vocab).  
• Read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems because the Pigeon does a good job nagging in that book!  Each time the Pigeon gives a reason why we should let him drive the bus, we yelled, "NO!"
• Continued with props acting out: Samson told Delilah a strange answer each time she asked him why he was strong.  Finally, he told her the true answer -- as long as he didn't cut his hair, God would make him strong.  As soon as he went to sleep, Delilah called someone in to cut Samson's hair!  She also called the Philistine rulers in because they had promised to give her lots of money if she helped them capture Samson. 

We also mentioned that Samson was one of the fifteen judges.  His story is in the old testament book of Judges.

Samson and Delilah story extensions:

1. New vocabulary word: Nagging
2. Ways we can get strong
3. Delilah was actually promised silver.  You could help your child identify silver things, and while you're at it, teach them clear, transparent, and opaque.  Oh!  Before you do that, ask them what color water is.  (Usually children say it is white.)