Activity from the Hands-On Bible

You know how when you play Hide and Seek, there’s one place where you’re safe? Home base is your safe place, your refuge. (See? You learned a new word—a refuge is a safe place!)

A refuge can be wherever you feel safe, kind of like a home base. And the safest “place” of all is with God! Read NAHUM 1:7 out loud so you remember where your home base should be.

GOD WANTS TO BE OUR HOME BASE!

1. Write, “God Is My Home Base” in the center of a sheet of poster board.
2. Draw a square around the words. (Now it looks like a home base.)
3. Around the poster,write or draw things that trouble you.

See how all those troubling things are outside the home base?

Hang your poster in your room to remind you that God will be your refuge in times of trouble!

Want to read more about God as our refuge? Check out Psalm 46.

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Jonah answered, ‘I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land.’

The sailors were terrified when they heard this, for he had already told them he was running away from the Lord. ‘Oh, why did you do it?’ they groaned. And since the storm was getting worse all the time, they asked him, ‘What should we do to you to stop this storm?’

‘Throw me into the sea,’ Jonah said, ‘and it will become calm again. I know that this terrible storm is all my fault.’ Jonah 1:7-12, NLT

Activity from the Hands-On Bible

Want to read a cool story? Go read all of JONAH 1. Then come back to make something fishy!

• Cut a piece of paper to look like a special diamond gemstone. Draw Jonah on this diamond shape to remind you that Jonah was a special prophet of God.
• Fold the paper in half to remind you that Jonah hopped on a boat to try to hide from God.
• Fold the long end down to remind you that Jonah went overboard. Then flip the paper upside down to see the fish that swallowed Jonah.

PRAY TODAY

Now you have your very own Jonah storyteller! But that’s not the end of this tale. Read JONAH 2 to see what happened next. Jonah prayed to thank God for another chance to follow him.

Think about all the second chances God gives you to obey him. Then write a note to God on the fish’s belly, thanking him for fishing you out of your troubles.

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Look in the mirror and what do you see? Yup – you see a reflection. Read from Acts chapter 8 below to meet a man who reflected the love of Jesus.

ACTS 8:26-20, NLT
As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, “Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.

The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.”

Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

The man replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.

The passage of Scripture he had been reading was this:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter.
And as a lamb is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
He was humiliated and received no justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”

The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” So beginning with this same Scripture, Philip told him the Good News about Jesus.

As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?” He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.

Now, Try This!

Gather two empty paper towel tubes, a mirror, a flashlight, and a friend (parent, grandparent, or sibling works well too.)

1. Set the paper towel tubes on a table in front of a mirror. Place them in a V-shape pointing toward the mirror.
2. Use the flashlight to shine light through one tube toward the mirror. Angle the second tube until you see the light reflected back through the second tube.

That’s Enlightening!

When we treat others the way Jesus says to, we reflect the love Jesus shows us. Philip reflected Jesus’ love when he helped the Ethiopian understand the Scripture.

Who can you reflect the love of Jesus to this week? Write it down so you don’t forget! Or even better do it right now!

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“Here we are—Parthians, Medes, Elamites, people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the areas of Libya around Cyrene, visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans, and Arabs. And we all hear these people speaking in our own languages about the wonderful things God has done!”  Acts 2:9-11, NLT

Huh? Say again? All those words mean “hello” in a different language. There’s a cool story in the Bible about people speaking different languages. But they were speaking in languages they didn’t even know! Read Acts 2:1-42.

Grab a friend (or sibling or parent) and try this.

Together make up your own foreign language. In your new language, what words represent these pictures?

Now, with your friend, go talk to three people using only your new language. They didn’t understand you, did they? So how come on the day of Pentecost the people where able to speak in new languages and others were able to understand them? Because of God! God poured out his Holy Spirit on the people!

Spread the news, just like the disciples did!

Think of three things you can tell about Jesus, and tell to three people this week.

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