VBS 2010 - Day 5, the final day

Wow! What a VBS. The lady who said FAL's is VBS on steroids was right! It was an absolutely amazing VBS. Superb leadership. Outstanding musicians. Inspired skits. So many good helpers. So much fun for the kids. Well, and fun, too, for those helping whose hearts are so in it. It was God's VBS - and He showed up!!!!!

Today was my day to teach the lesson in Bible Voyage. I didn't feel the script the publisher had planned was adequate, so I re-wrote today's lesson - and the other Bible Voyage leader took my script and made it her own as well. I didn't use the exact script I wrote - but it formed the framework for what I shared with the kids.

I was in a pretend boat on a pretend Lake Galilee. I did a little fishing with a pole - then showed them how I saw the fisherman cast a net when I was in Israel on a boat like Jesus and his disciples would have been on 2,000 years ago.

I read how Jesus called the fishermen Peter and Andrew - and made them fishers of men. Then I went fishing with my net, and pulled in the catch: 1 baby bottle and 4 fish, each fish representing a message. The baby bottle was a visual reminder that we all start out as baby Christians when we ask Jesus to come live in our hearts - and that someone can be 5, 15, 44 or 89 when they accept Jesus as their Savior - and they become a baby Christian no matter how old they are.

As for the fish - Green was for God's Word - with the message that we have to read God's Word if we want to grow. That we can ask Jesus into our hearts, but if we do not read God's Word we will stay a baby Christian our whole life - and then only if we are at church regularly to get a little food.... The picture on the back of the 'fish' was a Bible.

The next fish was white for prayer, and I explained 4 basic parts of prayer: Praise, Thanks, Confessing our sins, Asking for things (supplication.) The picture on the back of the fish was children praying.

The 3rd fish was blue for faithfulness in fellowship - church, Sunday School, having Christian friends. The picture on the back of the fish was one I took a couple of days ago of children at VBS with FAL in the background. Just like baby people, baby Christians cannot survive alone....

The 4th and final fish was red, which represented sharing the good news with others.

And then we made a necklace with a whale in the center and the 4 colors as reminders. I know that overall it is too much information - but there was food there for everyone: kids and crew leaders.

We finished with a review of the week:

God's Word is True.
God's Word is Comforting.
God's Word is Surprising.
God's Word is Life-changing.
and for today:
God's Word is for Everyone.
And off they went....

Lord, through your Holy Spirit, please bring these lessons back to them and draw them closer to you.