V - Vacation Bible School

Vv Vacation Bible School
This is a basic bible theme unit. Additions may be made to make it specific to any religious belief. Coloring pages along with a few activity sheets are included. You may want to get a bible story book to read some short stories.

Who Is God
Lots of people say they believe in God, but they don’t know who he really is.

Suppose one day someone came to your house and thought Someone must live there. They would be correct, but what if they thought you were a giant, lived in the basement and juggled all day. You know that is not really you, God has a similar problem.

People look to the skies, up to heaven and think, that’s where god lives and they are right. God does live there. God lives everywhere, even in our hearts and souls.

People say they believe in God. But what if one person thinks God is loving and powerful and another thinks God is an old man living in a cloud, someone else may think he is a statue on the shelf.

God had to find a way to let all people know who he is so he chose a man named Abraham. God told Abraham who he was and Abraham’s family became people of God. God chose Abraham and his family to help us learn who God is.

In The Beginning
Before there was anything, there was God. Before there was cars, before there was toys, before there was TV’s, there was God. If it wasn’t for God, there would be nothing, no oceans, no land, no light, no stars, sun or moon.

One day, God said, Let there be light! And there was light. God saw that the light was good, and so he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called, Night.

Nighttime came. It was the end of the first day of God’s creation.

The second day God made the earth, and he put the sky above it. In the beginning the earth was completely covered with water. There was no dry ground at all. Nighttime came again, and that was the end of the second day.

On the third day God made dry land. God called the dry land Earth and he called the water Sea. God looked at all he had made, and he saw that it was good.

Then God said, Let there be plants on the earth, and all the things that grow! And all the different plants and trees began to grow; apple trees and coconut trees, grass and weeds, flowers, wheat, and corn.

And God looked at all that he had made, and he saw that it was good. There was nighttime again and then morning. On the fourth day God said, Let great lights appear in the sky! And by his words alone, God made the sun and the moon and the stars. And God looked at all that he had made, and he saw that it was good.

Again there was nighttime and morning. On the fifth day God said, Let there be fish in the oceans and lakes, and birds in the air! And the oceans and lakes were filled with all kinds of fish, big fish and little fish, strong fish and weak fish.. In the sky there were birds, big birds and little birds, blue birds and red birds. And God looked at all that he had made, and he saw that it was good.

Once again, nighttime came and then was morning once more. Then God said, Let there be animals upon the earth! God made lions and tigers and bears and elephants and sheep. He made animals with great big antlers, and little animals, and animals that lived under ground. He made so many animals, big ones, small ones, spotted ones, striped ones, some with long necks, some with horns, some that are brown, some that are gray.

Let us make people in our own image God said, so God made people in his own image. When you look in a mirror, you see an image of yourself. What you see in a mirror is a reflection of who you are. We are the image of God. We are a reflection of what God is like. So God looked at all that he had made, and he saw that it was good.

That day ended and morning came once again. On the morning of the seventh day God saw that the whole universe and everything in it was finished. Nothing else needed to be made. It was all very good. So God rested on the seventh day to celebrate all the good work he had completed. God blessed the seventh day and made the seventh day Holy.

What does Holy mean? When something is holy it is special. When God made the seventh day holy, he made it a special day. God rested from his work on this seventh day and enjoyed all that he had made. God made everything there is. And God is good.

The First Man - Adam
The first man’s body was made from earth, but his life came from the breath of God. His name was Adam.
God planted a garden in Eden so Adam could live there. God planted all kinds of trees in his garden; apple trees, and pear trees, banana trees and mango trees, fig trees. God wanted to make sure there was plenty of things to eat.

In the middle of the garden God planted two special trees. One was the Tree of Life, the other was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

God made a stream of water to flow through the middle of the garden to water it and keep it green.

God brought Adam to the garden and he told him, Take care of my garden. You can eat the fruit of any of the trees but be careful, do not eat the fruit from the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If you eat any of that fruit, you will die.

So Adam lived and worked in the garden God made him.

Noah and His Ark
Many, many years ago before it began to rain on the earth there was a man called Noah who loved and obeyed God. Back then gardens were watered by a mist that arose on the earth during the night. This allowed the trees, bushes, grass and gardens to be kept green and lush. There was no such thing as rain.

There were many people living on the earth then. Most of the people did not love or think about God and there was much evil on earth. Most of the people thought only about themselves and did not care about others. They worshipped strange gods and obeyed Satan. There was lying and killing and much violence.

God did not like this, He did not like the bad thoughts and bad feeling people had in their hearts and minds. God knew they would not change, so He decided to destroy the Earth and all the people on it. God looked throughout the entire earth to find a man who would obey His commands and love and obey God. He found a man named Noah who did not do the evil things like the others. Noah loved God.

Noah worshiped God. Noah’s three sons, Shem, Ham and Japeth along with their wives also worshipped and obeyed God. They prayed every day and talked with God through prayer. They lived the way God wanted them to. God said to Noah, The end of all people has come before Me. The earth is filled with violence, I will destroy them with the earth.

Make an ark, a great boat of gopher wood. Make rooms inside and cover the inside and outside with black tarry pitch so water cannot come inside the ark. Build the ark four hundred fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide and forty-five feet high. Place a window one and one-half feet long in the top of the ark and place a door along the side of the ark. Divide the ark into three decks, each fifteen feet high.

I am going to bring a great flood upon the earth that will destroy every living being. The only people who will survive will be those in the ark. Make sure your three sons and their wives enter the ark with you when I tell you to go. You need to preach to all the people around you while you are building the ark to invite them to enter into the ark with you so that they, too may be saved from the great flood which is coming on the earth.

I will have animals and birds to come to the ark to be saved along with you. Stock the ark with food and water for your family and for the animals who will be brought into the ark.

These instructions sounded strange to Noah. It had never rained upon the earth before. Nevertheless Noah obeyed the command of God. He and his sons began to build the ark just as God had instructed.

Noah and his sons built the ark for one hundred twenty years. They began to preach to the people around them. They told them of the coming flood. They told the people that one day it would rain from the heavens and floods of water would cover the earth.

No one believed Noah and his sons. They laughed and called them crazy. They came to watch the construction of the ark. They made of fun of Noah and his family.

They think that it is going to rain, It never has rained before! Who ever heard of water falling from the heavens?

When the ark was complete, God said to Noah, Come in the ark, you and your family, because I see that you are righteous before Me in this generation of evil people. Take with you seven each of every animal that I have allowed you to eat and a male and female of the animals you are not supposed to eat. Take with you seven each of the birds of the air so that these animals may be preserved during the great flood that I am sending upon the earth. After seven days I will start the rain and everything on the face of the earth will be destroyed in the flood.

Noah obeyed God and with his family and the animals and birds that God has specified went into the ark. They waited for seven days. They waited one day for each of the days it took God to make the world. Then, water came from the sky and came up from the ground. It rained, and rained, and rained and the great flood came and lightning flashed and thunder crashed. The winds blew large waves across the water. The water lifted the giant ark the ground. It lifted it above the houses and the trees.

It rained for forty days and forty nights. It rained so hard that Noah’s ark floated higher than the highest mountains. There was no dry ground left. And everything that lived and breathed on the earth died.

After the waters had reached their highest level God sent a strong wind to blow upon the earth to cause the water to evaporate into clouds and to settle into the depths of the earth called oceans.

One hundred fifty days after the flood began the ark rested on the top of a mountain now called Ararat. Forty days later, Noah opened the window and sent out a dove to search for a place to rest. The dove could not find dry land so they returned to the ark.

Seven days later Noah again let the dove out of the window. This time the dove flew back to the ark with a twig with olive leaves in her beak.

Noah and his sons then removed the covering of the ark and saw that the earth indeed had dried. He and his wife, their sons with their wives stepped out of the ark, back onto dry ground. The door was open and the animals were released to fill the earth again.

Noah was so thankful to be alive, he was going to build an altar to God. So he got some rocks to build a fire. Then he took the best of the animals he had kept aside, killed them, and burned them on the altar. This was a sacrifice Noah offered to God to thank him for saving his life.

God was pleased with Noah’s sacrifice. But most of all, God was pleased that Noah was truly thankful. So God made this promise to Noah.

Never again will I destroy the world with a flood.
I make this covenant with you and with all creatures.
From this day on,
there will always come a time for planting,
and a time for gathering up what was planted.
Day will always follow night,
the warm days of summer
will always follow
the cold and snow of winter,
as long as the earth shall be.

God saved Noah and his family to show us that he has the power to save all of us and bring us to a new life with him in heaven.

So God blessed Noah and his family. He told them to have many children and fill the earth with people again. He gave them plants and animals for food. He made people the boss of everything on earth

God said to Noah, Look up in the sky. The storm clouds were drifting away. The bright sun was shining on Noah. Noah looked up, and against the dark grey sky, God made a beautiful rainbow appear. God said You see, I have set my rainbow in the sky. This will be the sign of the covenant I have made with you and all creatures, never again to destroy the earth by flood. It will always be a reminder of the promise between you and me.

JONAH’S FISH STORY
God said, Jonah, I want you to go to Nineveh. The people there have turned away from me, and are worshiping other gods. Tell them that if they change and make things right I will forgive them all. But if they don’t change things, I will destroy the entire town. (To change these things means to repent).

Jonah thought, I’ve heard what an awful town Nineveh is. If a city deserves to be destroyed, that is the one. Then Jonah thought If I don’t go to Nineveh, they can’t repent, and God will destroy them. That would be a good way to get rid of that terrible city. So Jonah went to the seashore and got on a boat going away from Nineveh.

The first night the trouble started. A terrible storm came up. It started to rain, and the wind blew. The storm was terrible, the people working on the boat were sure they were going to sink. They started to throw things into the water to make the boat lighter, but it didn’t help. One of them said, Someone on the boat must have done something really bad and God is punishing them. Let’s find out who it is. They found it was Jonah who had disobeyed God. Jonah told them what had happened.

Throw me in the sea and the storm will stop, Jonah told them. But they didn’t want to do that, so they kept trying to keep the boat from sinking, but it didn’t work. So they had to throw Jonah in the water to save themselves and the boat. Down, down, down, down....

Jonah went under the water and it was cold and deep. Jonah thought he was going to die. Then, all of a sudden, Jonah was swallowed by a big fish! Jonah started to pray to God. God, I know it was wrong to try to run away from you. I was wrong not to go to Nineveh and preach to the people. Please forgive me.

Jonah was in the big fish for three days and three nights. Then the fish spit him out on dry land. Jonah made sure he went right to Nineveh and did what God told him to do. When God saw that the people of Nineveh had changed (repented), god changed His mind about destroying them.

Baby Moses
After Joseph died, the children of Israel lived in Egypt for about three hundred more years. They became a very great nation and the new Pharaoh in Egypt was afraid of them. So, he decided to make life hard for them by making them slaves. Pharaoh’s plan did not work and he decided to have the midwives kill the baby boys when they were born. But the midwives feared God and did not obey the king. So Israel continued to multiply and grow.

Then Pharaoh commanded all the families to kill every baby boy that was born to them by throwing him into the river.

About that time Moses was born. Moses’ parents believed in God. They did not kill him but hid him. After three months they could not hide him anymore. So his mother made an ark and hid Moses in the reeds by the river’s bank. His sister watched the ark to see what would happen. One day the Pharaoh’s daughter came to wash at the river bank and saw the basket. After her maid brought it to her, she opened it and saw the baby crying. She felt sorry for the baby. Then Moses’ sister asked Pharaoh’s daughter if she would like her to get a Hebrew nurse to take care of Moses. Pharaoh’s daughter said, yes. Then Moses’ sister went to get her mother. Pharaoh’s daughter asked her to take the baby and nurse him.

Moses grew. Then his mother took him to Pharaoh’s daughter like she had promised. Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s house and was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He became a mighty man and would deliver Israel from Egypt one day.

Activities

Dress Up
Wear a robe and a pair of sandals or go barefoot. Look for a large stick to use as a staph. Walk through sand, gravel, grass, how do these feel under your feet?

Build an Ark
Make an ark out of a cardboard box. Paint it to look like wood, add a top by folding a piece of cardboard to resemble a roof and glue in place. Fill the ark with stuffed animals.

Noah’s Ark
Fill the tub with water, place a plastic toy boat in the water to be the ark. Use a sprinkling can to make it rain on the ark, move the water with your hand to see how the boat tips and turns. How do you think Noah and his family felt in the ark?

Moses
Find a small wicker basket, place a small plastic baby doll inside. Place the basket in the tub of water and see how Moses traveled down the Nile as a baby.

Creation Learn about the seven days of creation. For seven days do the following activity: For each day of creation, look through magazines or draw pictures that represent that day of creation. If using magazines, cut the pictures out and glue them to paper.

Day - 1
One day, God said, Let there be light! And there was light. God saw that the light was good, and so he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called, Night.

Day - 2
The second day God made the earth, and he put the sky above it. In the beginning the earth was completely covered with water. There was no dry ground at all.

Day - 3
On the third day God made dry land. God called the dry land Earth and he called the water Sea.

Day - 4
On the fourth day God said, Let great lights appear in the sky! And by his words alone, God made the sun and the moon and the stars.

Day - 5
On the fifth day God said, Let there be fish in the oceans and lakes, and birds in the air! And the oceans and lakes were filled with all kinds of fish, big fish and little fish, strong fish and weak fish.. In the sky there were birds, big birds and little birds, blue birds and red birds.

Day - 6
God said, Let there be animals upon the earth! Let us make people in our own image God said, so God made people in his own image.

Day - 7
On the morning of the seventh day God saw that the whole universe and that everything in it was finished. Nothing else needed to be made. It was all very good. So God rested on the seventh day to celebrate all the good work he had completed. God blessed the seventh day and made the seventh day Holy.

Bible Verses
Using a child’s bible, learn and memorize a short verse each day during this unit.

Bible People
Using a child’s bible, learn about another interesting person from the bible.

Jesus
Using a child’s bible or a bible story book. Read about Jesus, who he was born to, where he was born and what happened to him. Find the true meaning of Christmas and Easter.