The community song

It’s I. It’s I. It’s I who builds community.
It’s I. It’s I. It’s I who builds community
It’s I. It’s I. It’s I who builds community.
It’s I that builds community…oh, oh, oh, oh



Chorus:

Roll over the ocean, roll over the sea,

Go and do your part to build community.

Roll over the ocean, roll over the sea(Hey!),

Go and do your part to build community.

It’s you.It's you.It's you who builds community …etc
(chorus)


It’s us…etc
(chorus)


It’s love…etc
(chorus)


It’s Christ… etc
(chorus)

It’s me, it’s you, it’s us, it’s love, it’s Christ who builds community,
It’s me, it’s you, it’s us, it’s love, it’s Christ who builds community,
It’s me, it’s you, it’s us, it’s love, it’s Christ who builds community,
It’s me, it’s you, it’s us, it’s love, it’s Christ who builds community.
(chorus).

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

AIM: To teach us to be humble. God does not like proud people. If we humble  ourselves, God will exalt us.  Jesus tells us a story of two people, one a pharisee and the other was a tax collector.  Jesus addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. "Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, 'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity -- greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’ But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, 'O God, be merciful to me a sinner.' I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted." First of all Who was a Pharisee? Pharisees were people from Jesus's times, who followed the Law of God very strictly. In fact  they followed them so strictly that they forgot the original purpose of the law. They were so caught up with "following the law" that they forgot to be human  good and kind.They thought they were very "holy" and were careful not to mix with anyone who may make them "unholy". They were also very proud and rarely cared for others. Who was a Tax Collector? Tax Collectors were Jews who used to work for the Roman Government. they used to collect taxes on behalf of the Romans. They were very unpopular with the Jewish people , because often the taxes were rather hard to come up with. Many tax collectors were also dishonest and would collect extra money in the name of taxes and kept the extra money for  themselves. This story is very simple, but what does it really mean?  Jesus clearly says that the prayer of the tax collector was more acceptable to God than the Pharisee!! But how can that be? The Pharisee used to follow God's law while the Tax collector was by nature not good!! What Jesus was telling us was that God hates pride. He does not like a boastful look. God can read our hearts and our minds. He knows what our thoughts are. We must not judge by outer signs or by what we see of a person from the outside. So even though visible a Pharisee was a good man, his heart was not good. While the Tax Collector seemed bad to others but in his heart he was God loving and God fearing.  The Moral of this Parable is  1) Be humble. God loves a humble heart.  2) Never judge a person by appearances. God can see his heart.

Prayer: 

Lord, help me to be a child- pure and kind. 

Help me to tell wrong from right. 

Make my heart like yours dear Lord - Big and good. 

Keep me from pride and vice. 

May I be close to You and Do what Your Heart tells me to do. 

Amen.

Action Song: 

Give me oil in my lamp. 

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning, burning, burning

Give me oil in my lamp, I pray - Alleluia!!

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning,burning, burning

Keep me burning 'til the break of day

Come on and Sing hosanna, sing hosanna

Sing hosanna to the King of Kings

Come on and Sing hosanna, sing hosanna

Sing hosanna to the King of Kings

Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising, praising, praising

Give me joy in my heart, I pray - Alleluia!

Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising, praising, praising

Keep me praising 'til the break of day

Come on and Sing hosanna, sing hosanna

Sing hosanna to the King of Kings

Come on and Sing hosanna, sing hosanna

Sing hosanna to the King of Kings

Parable of Dives and Lazarus

AIM: The aim in this parable is to make children sensitive to the sufferings of others, even though we enjoy many pleasures and good things. God wants us to share and care. Sharing is Caring.

















Jesus told a parable to his followers:

"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. "The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' But Abraham said, " Remember  when you were alive- you had lot of luxuries and comforts while Lazarus suffered, but now in this life he is comforted but you are suffering" 

It is not wrong to have a comfortable life.It is not wrong to have food , a house , clothes. But anything, that is excess and without a care or thought for those who have nothing is not right. Like us, even the poor and suffering are God's children.  God gave us these comforts - but at the same time- we must remember that God gave us all this not for us to hoard for ourselves but to care for those who are less fortunate than us. 

Prayer: 

Dear God, I love you. I love you with my whole heart. Help me to love you more and more. 

Thank-you dear Lord for blessing me and my family. Help dear Lord to have a caring heart. 

Teach me love and compassion.Help me help those in need. 

Bless all  the children around the world today who need help and care. 

Amen. 

Action Song: 

 This little guiding Light of mine. 

This little Guiding light of mine, 

I'm gonna let it shine, 
This little Guiding light of mine,
I'm gonna let it shine, 
This little Guiding light of mine, 
I'm gonna let it shine, 
Let it shine all the time, 
Let it shine.

Hide it under a bushel, oh no. 

I am gonna let it shine. 

Hide it under a bushel, oh no. 
I am gonna let it shine. 

Hide it under a bushel, oh no. 
I am gonna let it shine. 

Let it shine all the time, 
Let it shine.

God Cares for Me

AIM:  To teach children that they are loved, they are special. God sent them Parents, friends as angels to care for their needs , their feelings and all they might require.

Story time: 

Once upon a time, there was Ladybug. Ladybug had a friend, the Turtle.
turtle and Ladybug were the very best of friends. the used to play together every evening after they had finished their homework.
One day, Turtle told Ladybug some sad news. Turtle was moving! He would moving to another house. Ladybug was very sad because now she would not have her dear friend the Turtle to play with her.
Ladybug continued to be sad for a long time. One day Turtle telephoned Ladybug to speak to her. turtle told Ladybug he was very happy as he made new friends with Cat. Ladybug was happy for Turtle but continued to be sad. Turtle could make out Ladybug was sad. Turtle cared fro Ladybug deeply. So one day  Turtle took Cat to Ladybug's house and they began to play together. Soon all three became good friends and they used to play with each other everyday. !!




God knows we cannot be alone, and so He sends us different people at different times to be happy. God wants us to be happy. When we are little God gave us daddies and mommies to care for us. As we gtrow older our daddies and mommies are still very important to take care of us but we also need freinds- so God gave us friends.
Everything around us is because God gave us thee things so that we may be happy. He gave us the world, the universe, animals, plants, birds, parents, friends, teachers etc.

Why did God give us all this?
Because God cares for us!!

Repeat this to yourself  EVERYDAY

 " I am special. I am good. God Loves me!!


Action Song: 

I am Special. I am Special .
Don't you see?
Don't you see?
Someone very special. Someone very special,
God made me. God made me.





Bible verse:

" The Lord is my Helper. I will not be afraid." Heb 13:6

Sharing With Friends

AIM:   To encourage the Christian Virtue of Sharing in little children. 

When we make new friends, we also like to share our things with them like our toys, colors,our lunch at school and even maybe a pencil.Even though some of us don't like to share our things,as good Christians we should practice good manners and courtesy towards each other.

Teacher: How many of you made new friends last class?
(All hands go up).
Teacher: What do you like to do with your new friends?
(some of them raise their hands to answer and they answer play with their friends, help them with homework and share their things with them).
Teacher:Who is our best friend? that one friend who never fights with us and even talks to us when we are angry or sad?
(All the children shout in a chorus saying JESUS).

Small Story: 

Perry Porcupine had no friends.People were all afraid of him.He was very sad. Fury Fred came by. "Oh, my! what beautiful needles! May I have two? I want to make a sweater."

"Take my needles!" Perry said. "And will you be my friend?"
Furry Fred hopped up to Perry. "Sure! I like you! I'll be your friend."
Like Fury Fred, We need friends.

Song: 

Sharing, if we would all keep sharing, 

Sharing all the things we have, 

Oh what joy, what peace and contentment , 

If we would keep sharing all we have. 

(Repeat above again)

Activity/ Handout: 

Jesus , Our Friend

Jesus Christ was truly God. He was also truly man. He thought with a human mind, acted with a human will and loved with a human heart. 

Jesus, the Son of God, wants to be our FRIEND.

Action song:

**Since Jesus came to me and washed away my sins

(Point to sky, then towards yourself and then act as if your washing some clothes)

I am inwards, outwards,upwards,downwards
(Both thumbs pointing towards chest,towards the front,towards the sky and then towards the floor)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

I am inwards, outwards,upwards,downwards
(Both thumbs pointing towards chest,towards the front,towards the sky and then towards the floor)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

**Since Jesus came to me and washed away my sins
(Point to sky and then act as if your washing some clothes)

I am forwards, backwards, rightwards, leftwards
(Take a step forward then backwards then towards the right and then towards the left)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

I am forwards, backwards, rightwards, leftwards
(Take a step forward then backwards then towards the right and then towards the left)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

**Since Jesus came to me and washed away my sins
(Point to sky and then act as if your washing some clothes)

I am inwards, outwards,upwards,downwards, forwards, backwards, rightwards, leftwards
(Repeat all the actions together)

Happy all the time.
(Put two fingers on cheeks and smile)

(Repeat many times and faster).

Hello - to new friends.

AIM:   To encourage social development in young children.

Friends.

We all need friends. Children need them even more!!
Especially when they come to a new environment like a Classroom , making friends helps them break the ice and cheer up! It also makes class more interesting & fun!!

One of our first classes was

"Hello to New Friends" 

A friend is someone who accepts you just the way you are, believes in you and encourages you. Someone who is trustworthy, who never forsakes you, who forgives your mistakes, who enjoys being with you, and who makes you laugh.

We started off by introducing ourselves and teaching kids the importance of friends.

Teacher: How many of y ou have friends? 

(Lots of hands go up) 

Teacher: How many of you have Best Friends? 

(Hands go up) 

Teacher: How many of you love making New friends?   

(Hands go up) 

Teacher: So, how do we make a friend? 

(Silence) 

Then the teachers have a little activity with the help of volunteers and basically teach the kids to say "Hello" and introduce themselves. 

We then proceeded to explain to the kids who a friend really is. 

Kids were encouraged to learn the names of other kids in class. 

As an activity we gave them handouts to fill and paste it on their notebooks. 
It was more of a checklist. 

Following this we encouraged kids to think of a Friend - who has all the best qualities and more. 


With a little prodding our young geniuses came up with the Correct Answers on their own: 

JESUS!!

Yes, Jesus can be our Very Best Friends and He Loves to talk to us. 
Prayer is one of the nicest things because the second we say a small "Hello" / "what's up Jesus? " Our Best Friend Jesus is ready and around to talk to us!!!

Action Song: 

Jesus Loves me: 

Jesus Loves me this I know
For the Bible tells me so
Little ones to Him belong
He is great and we are small. 

Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
Yes, Jesus loves me
The Bible tells me so!!!

Action Songs for little ones:)

Children are absolutely adorable!They are always so eager to please - a smile and appreciation goes a long way with these little ones.

Having said that keeping them attentive and interested is a different story.

I have noticed that most 5 year olds get fidgety really soon and we need to keep them constantly engaged.

As teachers, we constantly try and make things as interesting for them as possible. More often than not , i use small props for them to "touch" and "feel" and get the whole class involved in a little "action".
We get rewarded with their million dollar smiles at the end of our exercises.

Some of these exercises than can be universally used irrespective of the Lesson being taught are action songs.

An all time favourite is : "Lord's Army", this Song is an instant hit - with boys and girls alike- i would say the boys love it even more since at this age all of them aspire to be Pilots/ Soldiers etc.

The Lyrics go as follows:

"Lord's Army"

 I may never march in the Infantry,  

(an elaborate march - chest forward, head looking ahead, swinging arms etc.)

Ride in the cavalry,  

 (pretend you're riding a horse)

Shoot the artillery.  
 (pretend you have gun, and point all around)

I may never zoom o'er the enemy,   
(show zooming action of a jet in motion with one hand)

But I'm in the Lord's Army.  
 (point one finger up to God)

I'm in the Lord's Army, yes, sir!  
 (salute)

I'm in the Lord's Army, yes, sir!
 (salute)

I may never march in the Infantry,

Ride in the cavalry,

Shoot the artillery.

I may never zoom o'er the enemy,

But I'm in the Lord's Army, (yes, sir!) 

The "yes, sir" is almost a shout in my class. 

This Action Song fulfills its purpose wonderfully in my class room. :)