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Efik Sowing the Jesus Seed - Session #6

Download English Lesson #6 (To be translated into Efik)

MATERIALS:
A watering can full of water, a cup, a healthy plant in a pot, break off a branch and allow it to wither and wilt before putting it in a pot. Photo copy Bible Verse Visual Aids, crayons. Balloons, small piece of paper with 1 Cor. 6:19 written on it. Photocopy and give each child a ‘Take Home Bible Memory Verse’ and English 'Activity Booklet' if appropriate.

AS KIDS ARRIVE PRIOR TO THE LESSON :
Get 1 child to colour the Bible Verse Card.
Examine the Ewe Igbale plants, in their cut off plastic water bottle (with holes dug in the bottom) ensure they are being watered. We are going to learn today that being watered is like being filled with the Holy Spirit.

1. WELCOME GAMES: (10 minutes)
“Jesus Says” game. Children line up facing the leader. The leader gives the children instructions ... 'turn around, touch nose, touch elbow, quack like a duck' etc, whatever you can think of. If the leader says “Jesus Says” before the instruction such as “Jesus says quack like a duck', the children should do the activity. The leader then says “Jesus says stop”they immediately stop the activity. If the leader does not say “Jesus Says,” prior to the instruction eg 'Quack like a duck' then the kids should not do as instructed, if they do they are disqualified.

2. TEAM GAMES: (10 minutes)
Father, Son, Holy Spirit Sit in a circle on the floor. One child, the tapper, walks around the circle tapping a child on the head saying “Father” then another child “Son” when they tap the child they wish to select, they say/yell “Holy Spirit.” That child then has to chase the tapper around the circle, they then become the tapper.

Prayer: Dear God You wants us to grow Spiritually. We have already learnt in order to grow plants need sunlight and water. The light is Your presence, Jesus is our light. Being watered is like being filled with the Holy Spirit living & growing in us. Keep us connected to you like the vine and the branches we can do nothing without You

5. TEACHING
a. “Back Track” Review
Remember we learned that God is like a farmer or a gardener and we are like his garden. God wants us to grow Spiritually.

In order to grow Spiritually He must plant the Jesus seed in the right type of soil. Your heart is like the soil, if your heart is full of anger, bitterness and pride it is like hard soil. Download Parable of the Sower review 'Missing Verse' quiz to test the children with their Memory Verses.

If you put little effort into your relationship with Jesus it is like rocky shallow soil. If your heart is full of worldly things it is like thorny soil. Our hearts need to be like good soft fertile soil.

Without spending time in God's presence and being filled with the spirit we wither and die like a plant without water or sunlight, we will not produce fruit. (Hold up withered branch in a pot like a dead plant)

Object Lessons:
1. Fill the cup up with water from the watering can and empty it on a plant, but then the water gets used up and the plant needs to be watered again. God fills us with his Spirit just like I fill this cup with water. But just being filled once with His Spirit isn't enough because the water gets used up. And then we need a fresh outpouring of God's Spirit in our lives each day. If we want our Ewe Igbale plant to live we need to water it daily especially as a young plant, and it needs sunlight daily. If we want to grow Spiritually we need to spend time in God's presence.

2. (Bring out the wilted plant again) This plant I have here was neglected. It was left in the dark and deprived of water. Instead of growing and becoming a beautiful plant, it is now a dead limp, ugly plant. As Christians we need to spend time in God's presence just as this plant needed to spend time in the light. If we do not we wither and die Spiritually. We also need to have the Holy Spirit poured out in our lives just as this plant needed to have water poured out into it.

3. Give the children balloons let them blow into their balloon and talk about being FILLED with the Holy Spirit. Then tell children that if we aren't filled with the Holy Spirit, then we'll be LIFELESS and let the balloons fly around the room until they all land on the floor without the air in them!

Discussion Questions:
1. Who lives in our bodies? (The Holy Spirit)

2. Plants need light, who is the light? (Jesus)

3. Plants need water, what is water like? (Holy Spirit.)

6. APPLICATION / ENCOUNTERING GOD:

CLOSING PRAYER
We thank you Father, for sending your Holy Spirit. Thank you for breathing life into the church and giving your Spirit to all who believe. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

NEXT WEEK
We will discover that gardens need to be weeded! Check your Ewe Igbale plant for any weeds. Bring it back next week so we can see how well it is growing it is soon time to plant it outside your home.

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A DROP OF HOPE

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