Last month, my church had Vacation Bible School, and this year's theme was Hero Central. Throughout the week, the storytelling team taught the kids about heroes from the Bible, and what each hero taught us about what it means to be a hero for God.
Monday: (1 Samuel 16:1-13) The first story of the week was about Samuel anointing David as the next king of Israel. King Saul was not following along with what God wanted him to do, so God gave Samuel the task of anointing a new king from among the children of a man named Jesse. So that Saul would not find out, God told Samuel to take a heifer to sacrifice and invite Jesse and his children to the sacrifice. Once everyone was assembled, Samuel had each of the children come in to see which of them God wanted him to anoint, but none of the six arrogant children there was God's choice. Samuel then asked Jesse if he had any other children, and he replied that the youngest was out in the field watching the sheep. Samuel asked Jesse to send for him, and as soon as David walked in, God told Samuel that he was the one, so Samuel anointed him right away. This story taught us that God's heroes have heart.
Tuesday: (1 Samuel 25:2-35) The next story was about Abigail, who is a little known character in the story of David, but played an important role. She was married to a wealthy and foolish man named Nabal. At the beginning of this story, David and his men helped one of Nabal's shepherds find a lost sheep. Hearing from the shepherd that Nabal was about to have a feast to celebrate the shearing of the sheep, David sent some men to ask Nabal for some food from the festivities. Nabal responded very harshly, and sent the servants away empty-handed. David was furious, and planned to return to teach Nabal a lesson. However, Abigail overheard what had happened, and she rushed to take the men some provisions and apologize for her husband's behavior. Seeing her bravery and thankful for her generosity, David relented and chose not to visit Nabal. From Abigail, we learned that God's heroes have courage.
Wednesday: (Luke 2:41-52) For our third story, we jumped to the New Testament to tell the kids about Jesus in the temple when he was a boy. Jesus was asking questions of the rabbis and listening raptly to their answers. They taught him about the kingdom of God using stories that he would later share with his followers. He was so enthralled in learning that it took Mary and Joseph three days to find him! From Jesus' example, we learned that God's heroes have wisdom.
Thursday: (Matthew 5:3-12) This story was about the beatitudes. To help the kids understand them better, we had people acting out the different types of people mentioned as blessed, including a farmer mourning because he can't find his cow, a meek young lady unsure of how her talents could be used in God's kingdom, and a peacemaker who was always refereeing fights between his siblings. With the help of his friends, Jesus taught that God's heroes have hope.
Friday: (Acts 2:1-41) To finish out the week, we taught the kids about Pentecost, the birthday of the church. We started with a birthday party and teaching the kids how to say Holy Spirit in other languages. We then went into the story about how the disciples were all gathered together when a violent rush of wind entered the house, tongues of fire appeared on their heads, and they all began to speak in other languages. The kids helped us with this part, reciting the words we had taught them earlier. After the chanting had reached a crescendo, Peter asked the kids what it meant, and everyone responded, "Holy Spirit". Peter then reminded the kids of all we had learned throughout the week, just like Peter taught the Jews in Jerusalem on the first Pentecost. The story of Pentecost taught us that God's heroes have power.
Even though we are no longer kids, that doesn't mean that we can't also be heroes for God's kingdom. One way that I do so is by being a part of the storytelling team, but that's not even close to the only thing I do. Every day is a new day to be a hero for God, and we can do it wherever we are. So go out and use the heart, courage, wisdom, hope, and power God gives you to be one of His heroes in everything you do.
Monday: (1 Samuel 16:1-13) The first story of the week was about Samuel anointing David as the next king of Israel. King Saul was not following along with what God wanted him to do, so God gave Samuel the task of anointing a new king from among the children of a man named Jesse. So that Saul would not find out, God told Samuel to take a heifer to sacrifice and invite Jesse and his children to the sacrifice. Once everyone was assembled, Samuel had each of the children come in to see which of them God wanted him to anoint, but none of the six arrogant children there was God's choice. Samuel then asked Jesse if he had any other children, and he replied that the youngest was out in the field watching the sheep. Samuel asked Jesse to send for him, and as soon as David walked in, God told Samuel that he was the one, so Samuel anointed him right away. This story taught us that God's heroes have heart.
Tuesday: (1 Samuel 25:2-35) The next story was about Abigail, who is a little known character in the story of David, but played an important role. She was married to a wealthy and foolish man named Nabal. At the beginning of this story, David and his men helped one of Nabal's shepherds find a lost sheep. Hearing from the shepherd that Nabal was about to have a feast to celebrate the shearing of the sheep, David sent some men to ask Nabal for some food from the festivities. Nabal responded very harshly, and sent the servants away empty-handed. David was furious, and planned to return to teach Nabal a lesson. However, Abigail overheard what had happened, and she rushed to take the men some provisions and apologize for her husband's behavior. Seeing her bravery and thankful for her generosity, David relented and chose not to visit Nabal. From Abigail, we learned that God's heroes have courage.
Wednesday: (Luke 2:41-52) For our third story, we jumped to the New Testament to tell the kids about Jesus in the temple when he was a boy. Jesus was asking questions of the rabbis and listening raptly to their answers. They taught him about the kingdom of God using stories that he would later share with his followers. He was so enthralled in learning that it took Mary and Joseph three days to find him! From Jesus' example, we learned that God's heroes have wisdom.
Thursday: (Matthew 5:3-12) This story was about the beatitudes. To help the kids understand them better, we had people acting out the different types of people mentioned as blessed, including a farmer mourning because he can't find his cow, a meek young lady unsure of how her talents could be used in God's kingdom, and a peacemaker who was always refereeing fights between his siblings. With the help of his friends, Jesus taught that God's heroes have hope.
Friday: (Acts 2:1-41) To finish out the week, we taught the kids about Pentecost, the birthday of the church. We started with a birthday party and teaching the kids how to say Holy Spirit in other languages. We then went into the story about how the disciples were all gathered together when a violent rush of wind entered the house, tongues of fire appeared on their heads, and they all began to speak in other languages. The kids helped us with this part, reciting the words we had taught them earlier. After the chanting had reached a crescendo, Peter asked the kids what it meant, and everyone responded, "Holy Spirit". Peter then reminded the kids of all we had learned throughout the week, just like Peter taught the Jews in Jerusalem on the first Pentecost. The story of Pentecost taught us that God's heroes have power.
Even though we are no longer kids, that doesn't mean that we can't also be heroes for God's kingdom. One way that I do so is by being a part of the storytelling team, but that's not even close to the only thing I do. Every day is a new day to be a hero for God, and we can do it wherever we are. So go out and use the heart, courage, wisdom, hope, and power God gives you to be one of His heroes in everything you do.
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