Sorry for the lack in posting my sharing time ideas lately. I have been rather pre-occupied, to say the least, over the last month, with my mission companion and close friend in a coma in the hospital. You can read about her here and on my personal blog.
Things are looking up. Heavenly Father answers prayers and is truly a God of miracles. We've been studying this last month in Primary all about how Jesus Christ is a God of miracles. This has been ever so poignant in my personal life lately. I've learned many new things about faith and miracles. Heavenly Father gives incredible insight and we truly come to know Him through our trials. I'll be writing more about that soon on my blog because I want to share and I'll be posting new Sharing Time ideas soon.
Thanks for checking back.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Sharing Time. August 2010: Week One.
Monthly Theme: Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and He is a God of miracles.
Scripture: "For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; . . . and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith." 2 Nephi 27:23
Weekly Theme: Jesus Christ is a God of miracles.
I'm sorry I'm posting this after the fact, but I couldn't get it up on here in time. Hopefully, this will still be of use to someone at some point! Leave a comment; I'd love to know if this worked for you.
Following pretty closely along with the 2010 Outline for Sharing Time, here is my plan.
Preparation:
1. Print the letters of the word miracles on separate pieces of paper (which you can't see through if you turn them over)
2. Print the following words: miracles, show, that, Jesus Christ, has, power, over, the earth, cut into individual wordstrips.
3. Obtain several pictures illustrating miraculous events performed by Jesus Christ. I'm selecting pictures from the Gospel Art Kit (GAK), many of which can also be found in the newer Gospel Art Book (GAB) or printed from lds.org here.
4. Optional: Obtain small tickers of Jesus Christ.
Lesson:
To start, we'll play a quick game of hangman, by putting the letters of the word miracle on the board face down, with magnets, until the word is revealed.
Then, I will divide the group into three groups, and give each group a set of the following wordstrips: miracles, show, that, Jesus Christ, has, power, over, the earth. I made an extra set of wordstrips and put them up face down on the board with magnets. When all the groups unscramble the words and create the sentence, I'll turn over each word on the board so the sentence is on the board for us to look at during the whole lesson.
To encourage understanding of miracles, both past and present, we had a discussion including pictures from the GAK, of miracles performed by Jesus Christ while he was on the earth.
Questions and discussion points:
1. What is a miracle?
- an extraordinary event caused by the power of God (from the Outline)
- the power of God on earth today is the Priesthood
2. Why did Jesus perform miracles? Why do miracles occur today?
- "Miracles should not be regarded as deviations from the ordinary course of nature so much as manifestations of divine or spiritual power." (Bible Dictionary)
- "They were intended to be a proof to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ." (Bible Dictionary)
- "Miracles were and are a response to faith, and its best encouragement. They were never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith." (Bible Dictionary)
- "If miracles cease, it is because faith has ceased." (Bible Dictionary)
Pictures/Stories of Miracles:
Then we discussed briefly the miracles listed below, first identifying the story and then discussing why each one of these events was a miracle, as opposed to just an everyday occurrence.
1. Miracle: Birth of Jesus Christ
Explanation: Babies are born every day, but Jesus Christ's birth was a miracle because he is the child of Mary and Heavenly Father. He is the literal Son of God.
Picture: "The Nativity" (GAK 201)
2. Miracle: Joseph, Mary, and Jesus' Flight Into Egypt
Explanation: When Jesus was young, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt. Joseph was warned to stay in Egypt until the angel declared it was safe to return, because King Herod would seek to kill Jesus. Joseph did as the angel instructed, and Jesus was protected from harm.
Picture: "Flight Into Egypt" (GAK 204)
3. Miracle: Jesus Healing the Blind Man
Explanation:Jesus saw a man who had been born blind. Jesus spat in the dirt and made clay, then put the clay on the blind man's eyes and sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam. After doing as Jesus said, the man came away from the pool able to see.
Picture: "Christ Healing a Blind Man" (GAK 213)
4. Miracle: Jesus Calmed the Stormy Sea
Explanation: Jesus fell asleep as He and His disciples were sailing across the Sea of Galilee. A great storm arose. The wind blew and waves covered the ship. The disciples, afraid for their lives, woke Jesus. He stood and told the winds and the sea to be still. The storm stopped, and the sea was calm. The disciples were amazed that even the wind and the sea obeyed Jesus.
Picture: "Stilling the Storm" (GAK 214)
5. Miracle: Jesus Blessing Jairus's Daughter
Explanation: A ruler named Jairus asked Jesus to come to his house and heal his dying daughter. On the way they learned it was too late: the little girl had died. However, Jesus told Jairus not to fear but to believe in Him. When Jesus entered the house He told the mourners not to cry. He told them the girl was not dead but asleep. They laughed because they knew she was dead. Jesus took the girl by the hand and told her to arise. She returned to life and rose from her bed.
Picture: "Jesus Blessing Jairus's Daughter" (GAK 215)
6. Miracle: Jesus Walking on Water
Explanation: One night Jesus' disciples put out to sea in a boat while Jesus stayed behind to pray to Heavenly Father. A storm came up and tossed the boat in the waves. When Jesus saw His disciples struggling with their ship in the storm, He started walking on the water toward the ship. The disciples were frightened when they saw a man walking toward them on the water. Then they heard Jesus call to them and tell them not to fear. Peter asked Jesus if he could come to Him, and Jesus told Peter to come. But as Peter did so he became afraid and started to sink. Jesus took hold of Peter's hand and helped him back to the boat. The sea became calm again, and the disciples testified that Jesus was the Son of God.
Picture: Christ Walking on the Water (GAK 243)
Testimony:
Then, I bore my testimony of miracles. I believe that these miracles really did happen and that they occurred through the power of God. I challenged the kids to pray this week to know for themselves that these things we discussed are true, reminding them that they should not just take my word for it.
Adjustment for Junior Primary:
I left the sentence and the word miracles on the board and did not have the kids play hangman to guess the word nor unscramble the sentence. We devoted the time to the pictures and discussion. Each child came up and held a picture before putting it on the board. They each received a sticker of Jesus Christ, as they returned to their seat on the floor in front of the board.
With each story, we repeated our sentence from the board, "Miracles show that Jesus Christ has power over the earth."
.
.
.
.
Scripture: "For behold, I am God; and I am a God of miracles; . . . and I work not among the children of men save it be according to their faith." 2 Nephi 27:23
Weekly Theme: Jesus Christ is a God of miracles.
I'm sorry I'm posting this after the fact, but I couldn't get it up on here in time. Hopefully, this will still be of use to someone at some point! Leave a comment; I'd love to know if this worked for you.
Following pretty closely along with the 2010 Outline for Sharing Time, here is my plan.
Preparation:
1. Print the letters of the word miracles on separate pieces of paper (which you can't see through if you turn them over)
2. Print the following words: miracles, show, that, Jesus Christ, has, power, over, the earth, cut into individual wordstrips.
3. Obtain several pictures illustrating miraculous events performed by Jesus Christ. I'm selecting pictures from the Gospel Art Kit (GAK), many of which can also be found in the newer Gospel Art Book (GAB) or printed from lds.org here.
4. Optional: Obtain small tickers of Jesus Christ.
Lesson:
To start, we'll play a quick game of hangman, by putting the letters of the word miracle on the board face down, with magnets, until the word is revealed.
Then, I will divide the group into three groups, and give each group a set of the following wordstrips: miracles, show, that, Jesus Christ, has, power, over, the earth. I made an extra set of wordstrips and put them up face down on the board with magnets. When all the groups unscramble the words and create the sentence, I'll turn over each word on the board so the sentence is on the board for us to look at during the whole lesson.
 |
| "Christ Walking on the Water" by Robert T. Barrett (picture found here) |
To encourage understanding of miracles, both past and present, we had a discussion including pictures from the GAK, of miracles performed by Jesus Christ while he was on the earth.
Questions and discussion points:
1. What is a miracle?
- an extraordinary event caused by the power of God (from the Outline)
- the power of God on earth today is the Priesthood
2. Why did Jesus perform miracles? Why do miracles occur today?
- "Miracles should not be regarded as deviations from the ordinary course of nature so much as manifestations of divine or spiritual power." (Bible Dictionary)
- "They were intended to be a proof to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ." (Bible Dictionary)
- "Miracles were and are a response to faith, and its best encouragement. They were never wrought without prayer, felt need, and faith." (Bible Dictionary)
- "If miracles cease, it is because faith has ceased." (Bible Dictionary)
Pictures/Stories of Miracles:
Then we discussed briefly the miracles listed below, first identifying the story and then discussing why each one of these events was a miracle, as opposed to just an everyday occurrence.
1. Miracle: Birth of Jesus Christ
Explanation: Babies are born every day, but Jesus Christ's birth was a miracle because he is the child of Mary and Heavenly Father. He is the literal Son of God.
Picture: "The Nativity" (GAK 201)
2. Miracle: Joseph, Mary, and Jesus' Flight Into Egypt
Explanation: When Jesus was young, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him to take Jesus and Mary to Egypt. Joseph was warned to stay in Egypt until the angel declared it was safe to return, because King Herod would seek to kill Jesus. Joseph did as the angel instructed, and Jesus was protected from harm.
Picture: "Flight Into Egypt" (GAK 204)
3. Miracle: Jesus Healing the Blind Man
Explanation:Jesus saw a man who had been born blind. Jesus spat in the dirt and made clay, then put the clay on the blind man's eyes and sent him to wash in the pool of Siloam. After doing as Jesus said, the man came away from the pool able to see.
Picture: "Christ Healing a Blind Man" (GAK 213)
4. Miracle: Jesus Calmed the Stormy Sea
Explanation: Jesus fell asleep as He and His disciples were sailing across the Sea of Galilee. A great storm arose. The wind blew and waves covered the ship. The disciples, afraid for their lives, woke Jesus. He stood and told the winds and the sea to be still. The storm stopped, and the sea was calm. The disciples were amazed that even the wind and the sea obeyed Jesus.
Picture: "Stilling the Storm" (GAK 214)
5. Miracle: Jesus Blessing Jairus's Daughter
Explanation: A ruler named Jairus asked Jesus to come to his house and heal his dying daughter. On the way they learned it was too late: the little girl had died. However, Jesus told Jairus not to fear but to believe in Him. When Jesus entered the house He told the mourners not to cry. He told them the girl was not dead but asleep. They laughed because they knew she was dead. Jesus took the girl by the hand and told her to arise. She returned to life and rose from her bed.
Picture: "Jesus Blessing Jairus's Daughter" (GAK 215)
6. Miracle: Jesus Walking on Water
Explanation: One night Jesus' disciples put out to sea in a boat while Jesus stayed behind to pray to Heavenly Father. A storm came up and tossed the boat in the waves. When Jesus saw His disciples struggling with their ship in the storm, He started walking on the water toward the ship. The disciples were frightened when they saw a man walking toward them on the water. Then they heard Jesus call to them and tell them not to fear. Peter asked Jesus if he could come to Him, and Jesus told Peter to come. But as Peter did so he became afraid and started to sink. Jesus took hold of Peter's hand and helped him back to the boat. The sea became calm again, and the disciples testified that Jesus was the Son of God.
Picture: Christ Walking on the Water (GAK 243)
Testimony:
Then, I bore my testimony of miracles. I believe that these miracles really did happen and that they occurred through the power of God. I challenged the kids to pray this week to know for themselves that these things we discussed are true, reminding them that they should not just take my word for it.
Adjustment for Junior Primary:
I left the sentence and the word miracles on the board and did not have the kids play hangman to guess the word nor unscramble the sentence. We devoted the time to the pictures and discussion. Each child came up and held a picture before putting it on the board. They each received a sticker of Jesus Christ, as they returned to their seat on the floor in front of the board.
With each story, we repeated our sentence from the board, "Miracles show that Jesus Christ has power over the earth."
.
.
.
.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Sugardoodle Link Love.
I recently noticed the increased traffic to this blog and I couldn't figure out where everyone was coming from. After a little investigative work, I found that someone submitted my "Sharing Time. July 2010: Week Three" idea to Sugardoodle.
In case you have not yet heard of Sugardoodle, it's a great site that compiles all sorts of ideas for lessons and activities for the families and the auxiliaries in the LDS Church, such as Primary, Young Women, and Relief Society. Check it out!
I'm not sure who was the source of this Sugardoodle link love, but I thank you. Thanks for being interested and thanks for helping us share ideas!
.
.
.
.
In case you have not yet heard of Sugardoodle, it's a great site that compiles all sorts of ideas for lessons and activities for the families and the auxiliaries in the LDS Church, such as Primary, Young Women, and Relief Society. Check it out!
I'm not sure who was the source of this Sugardoodle link love, but I thank you. Thanks for being interested and thanks for helping us share ideas!
.
.
.
.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Sharing Time. July 2010: Week Three.
Monthly Theme: I Can Follow Jesus Christ's Example
Scripture: "Come, follow me." Luke 18:22
Weekly Theme: Jesus Christ's example teaches me how to live.
In an effort to stay close to the suggested lesson ideas found in the 2010 Outline for Sharing Time, I selected the first suggested activity listed. The activity is to have kids match pictures of events in Christ's life found in the scriptures, with scripture references and Primary songs related to the topic. Each picture depicts Christ giving an example for us to follow.
In the Outline, there are four suggestions for match-ups, and with a little help from Jen Higgins, I came up with a few more and also included a picture of how we can follow that example. All the pictures I used can be found in the Gospel Art Kit (GAK) and the songs are from the Children's Songbook (CS) and the standard Hymn book (Hymns). If your primary does not have access to the GAK, many of the same images can be found in the new Gospel Art Book (GAB) or similar images can likely be found in your ward library.
1. Christ's Example: praying, praying with family
pictures: "Jesus Praying in Gethsemane" (GAK 227) and "Young Boy Praying" (GAK 605)
song: "A Child's Prayer" (CS 12-13)
scripture: Matthew 14:23
2. Christ's Example: studying the gospel
pictures: "Boy Jesus in the Temple" (GAK 205) and "Young Girl Reading Scriptures" (GAK 617)
song: "Seek the Lord Early" (CS 108)
scripture: Luke 2:42-49
3. Christ's Example: being baptized
pictures: "John the Baptist Baptizing Jesus" (GAK 208) and "Baptism" (GAK 601)
song: "Baptism" (CS 100-101)
scripture: Matthew 3:13-17
4. Christ's Example: calling apostles (their example of willing service, etc)
pictures: "Calling of the Fishermen" (GAK 209) and "Serving One Another" (GAK 615)
song: "Come Follow Me" (Hymns 116)
scripture: Matthew 4:18-20
5. Christ's Example: sharing/teaching the gospel
pictures: "Go Ye Therefore" (GAK 235) and "Missionaries Teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ" (GAK 612)
song: "Called to Serve" (Hymns 249)
scripture: Matthew 28:19-20
6. Christ's Example: healing, serving the sick and afflicted, loving regardless of physical condition
pictures: "Jesus Healing the Nephites"(GAB 317) and "Administering to the Sick" (GAK 613)
song: "I'll Walk with You" (CS 140-141)
scripture: 3 Nephi 17:7-9
For Senior Primary: I started out by greeting them with a whisper. I proceeded to ask them about their week and what they did. All in a whisper. They began to answer me in a whisper. Then, finally, one child asked, "Why are you whispering?" I replied, "Two reasons. One, because it causes you to pay attention. Two, because do you see what's happened? You began to whisper back, following my example. Christ gave us examples during his life that we, too, can follow.
I printed off strips of paper with the scripture references and put them in a column on the board. In another column I put the strips with the song references. I split the group into three smaller groups and gave them each two pictures. They were asked to work together to find out what was happening in the picture and find the scripture and song to match. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to sing the songs, but we discussed how Jesus can always serve as our greatest example and how our lives will be blessed when we follow Him.
For Junior Primary: I put each of the pictures on the board, with the song strip just underneath it. As a group we went through each picture and found Jesus in the picture and talked about what he was doing in the picture. After we went through all six of them, we started again by talking about what we could do to follow the specific example of Jesus in each particular picture. I called on six children, one by one, to pick a picture (from the remaining six that were of modern day examples) that best illustrated how we could follow the example that Jesus had set. Using the magnets, they placed the correct picture underneath the picture of Jesus.
Scripture: "Come, follow me." Luke 18:22
Weekly Theme: Jesus Christ's example teaches me how to live.
In an effort to stay close to the suggested lesson ideas found in the 2010 Outline for Sharing Time, I selected the first suggested activity listed. The activity is to have kids match pictures of events in Christ's life found in the scriptures, with scripture references and Primary songs related to the topic. Each picture depicts Christ giving an example for us to follow.
In the Outline, there are four suggestions for match-ups, and with a little help from Jen Higgins, I came up with a few more and also included a picture of how we can follow that example. All the pictures I used can be found in the Gospel Art Kit (GAK) and the songs are from the Children's Songbook (CS) and the standard Hymn book (Hymns). If your primary does not have access to the GAK, many of the same images can be found in the new Gospel Art Book (GAB) or similar images can likely be found in your ward library.
1. Christ's Example: praying, praying with family
pictures: "Jesus Praying in Gethsemane" (GAK 227) and "Young Boy Praying" (GAK 605)
song: "A Child's Prayer" (CS 12-13)
scripture: Matthew 14:23
2. Christ's Example: studying the gospel
pictures: "Boy Jesus in the Temple" (GAK 205) and "Young Girl Reading Scriptures" (GAK 617)
song: "Seek the Lord Early" (CS 108)
scripture: Luke 2:42-49
3. Christ's Example: being baptized
pictures: "John the Baptist Baptizing Jesus" (GAK 208) and "Baptism" (GAK 601)
song: "Baptism" (CS 100-101)
scripture: Matthew 3:13-17
4. Christ's Example: calling apostles (their example of willing service, etc)
pictures: "Calling of the Fishermen" (GAK 209) and "Serving One Another" (GAK 615)
song: "Come Follow Me" (Hymns 116)
scripture: Matthew 4:18-20
5. Christ's Example: sharing/teaching the gospel
pictures: "Go Ye Therefore" (GAK 235) and "Missionaries Teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ" (GAK 612)
song: "Called to Serve" (Hymns 249)
scripture: Matthew 28:19-20
6. Christ's Example: healing, serving the sick and afflicted, loving regardless of physical condition
pictures: "Jesus Healing the Nephites"(GAB 317) and "Administering to the Sick" (GAK 613)
song: "I'll Walk with You" (CS 140-141)
scripture: 3 Nephi 17:7-9
For Senior Primary: I started out by greeting them with a whisper. I proceeded to ask them about their week and what they did. All in a whisper. They began to answer me in a whisper. Then, finally, one child asked, "Why are you whispering?" I replied, "Two reasons. One, because it causes you to pay attention. Two, because do you see what's happened? You began to whisper back, following my example. Christ gave us examples during his life that we, too, can follow.
I printed off strips of paper with the scripture references and put them in a column on the board. In another column I put the strips with the song references. I split the group into three smaller groups and gave them each two pictures. They were asked to work together to find out what was happening in the picture and find the scripture and song to match. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to sing the songs, but we discussed how Jesus can always serve as our greatest example and how our lives will be blessed when we follow Him.
For Junior Primary: I put each of the pictures on the board, with the song strip just underneath it. As a group we went through each picture and found Jesus in the picture and talked about what he was doing in the picture. After we went through all six of them, we started again by talking about what we could do to follow the specific example of Jesus in each particular picture. I called on six children, one by one, to pick a picture (from the remaining six that were of modern day examples) that best illustrated how we could follow the example that Jesus had set. Using the magnets, they placed the correct picture underneath the picture of Jesus.
Friday, July 16, 2010
New, Broader Direction.
I know I haven't posted singing ideas in awhile. I was sustained as first counselor in the Primary about seven months ago, so I lost steam with posting Singing Time ideas, although I was doing double duty for about a month.
I have changed the name of the blog to include my new duties of teaching Sharing Time every three weeks or so. You'll probably see a lot more Sharing Time ideas rather than Singing Time ideas for now, since that's what I'm focused on. Hopefully, they will still be of benefit to someone.
I have changed the name of the blog to include my new duties of teaching Sharing Time every three weeks or so. You'll probably see a lot more Sharing Time ideas rather than Singing Time ideas for now, since that's what I'm focused on. Hopefully, they will still be of benefit to someone.
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