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Mystery Manor – Week 6

Mystery question: Can God forgive All My Sins? Need to Know: Jesus Paid the Price for All My Sin! Bible Story: God’s Plan for Jesus- Genesis 3; Romans 5:18; John 3:16; 1 Peter 1:19,20; 1 John 1:9; John 14:6m Memory verse: But without faith (cover eyes) no one (shake head) can please God. (Point up) We must believe (hand over heart) that God is real (nod head) and that He rewards everyone (hands out in front) who searches for Him. (Point up) Hebrews 11:6 Preparation: (Ball/Chin Game) Please have the following ready for after the lesson: Balls (small plastic balls) Lesson: Welcome back to our MYSTERY MANNER series everybody, I hope you are having fun in our series… YAY! Oh my word (ecstatic) I’m sure you are as excited as I am for this week’s MYSTERY with cousins Stevie and Parker! Before we get into our great mystery today, let’s get up! Shake up! And get ready for praise and worship. Ask your kid/s the following question: Which wrong thing would you be the most tempted to do; bounce a ball in the house when you were told not to OR not eat your vegetables and say you did. It’s really hard to do the right thing all the time. What’s it called when we do the wrong things like lie, disobey or steal? It’s called ‘sin’. Today we are finding the answer to this mystery question: Can God Forgive All of My Sin? If we are to discover the answer to this question, we’ve got to work like detectives and join cousin Stevie and Parker on solving todays MYSTERY! Their notes will lead us to the Bible, the best book for finding the truth. I bet they are going to find more clues today! So get set! Ready? Let’s catch up with Stevie and Parker. HERE WE GO! Story time: Stevie pointed to the fire place, telling Parker that that was the place where coal is burned “Remember that clue said, when things are looking bad and there is no one in control, find the answer to what you seek near the place where one burns coal”. Parker looked at Stevie all confused “So you’re telling me that there’s an answer in fireplace?” “Well, I’m not actually sure about that”. Parker slowly walked away from the fireplace and told Stevie that he should have a look at the creepy fireplace to see what was up there, since he was the one with all the science gadgets in his detective bag. “Oh no Parker, remember you’re the one who is all into this mystery. I’m not even sure this thing is real!” Stevie pushed Parker with his finger and said that he is the one who had to go and check out the fireplace. Parker pushed Stevie, he tripped over the stone in front of the fireplace and fell down. “HEY! What was that for? And look- you messed up the fireplace! Everything in this old place is falling apart!” Parker looked down and noticed a secret rock. Stevie was frustrated with Parker for pushing him, he got u from the ground and dusted himself off. His cousin Parker ignored him and picked up the secret rock he saw laying on the floor “look at this rock, it’s different from all the others”. Angrily and not interested Stevie said “So? It looks like most of these stones are sedimentary (chalk like rock). All of these probably came in a bulk package or something”. As Parker was inspecting the rock he noticed that the rock has a secret compartment, Stevie all interested in the rock walked towards Parker to check out the secret compartment. With the rock in Parkers hand, he tried several times to open the secret compartment and ended up accidently dropping the rock on Stevie’s toe. “OOOOOOWWWWW! I think you broke ALL of my toes! “Yeah, but I think your toe jarred the compartment open! Let’s see what’s inside. Oh my word there’s a clue in here” “That’s a rabus clue, it’s a type of code where pictures can stand for words. Then, when you put them all together, it reveals a secret message”. “Well then Stevie, let’s solve it!” The cousins then read the first clue, the clue is a picture of a can of soda- the word would be CAN- the next one has a ‘G’ plus ‘1,3,5,7,9,11’…and minus D. “The numbers that are listed are all ODD numbers. So if we add a ‘G’ to ‘ODD’, and take away the ‘D’, then that leaves us with ‘GOD”. “Okay Stevie, that’s good, so far we have “CAN GOD…” “Yes Parker, the next one has the number four, then a bee hive. And the ‘H’ in ‘HIVE’ should be a ‘G” When the ‘G’ and the ‘H’ are switched around the word the cousins got to was ‘GIVE’. This was a rather confusing puzzle for Parker, he was overwhelmed by it actually. However, with Stevie being there to help him, he got very excited because he knew that they would solve the clue Grand-Pa Pif-Paf had left for them. “Okay Parker, here comes the next one. So ‘FOUR’ plus ‘GIVE’ gives us the word ‘FORGIVE’! That means that we only have three more. The next one has a picture of a ball minus the ‘B’. So that gives us the word ‘ALL’, and a total sentence we have now is ‘CAN GOD FORGIVE ALL’. Now the next one is a picture of a key, minus the ‘K’ and the ‘E’ in ‘KEY’ is actually an ‘M’. Parker was super excited that they finally got so far, and he couldn’t wait for them to solve the next clue. “Ok, so when we take away the ‘K’ in the ‘KEY’, that leaves ‘EY’ .But if we change the ‘E’ to ‘M’ that give us the word ‘MY’ Stevie! “YES Parker! We are getting there, the last one is a picture of someone singing, but it says to replace

Mystery Manor – Week 5

Mystery question: Is God Really in Control When Bad Things Happen? Need to Know: No Matter What Happens, God is in Control! Bible Story: Jonah & the Huge FishJonah 1-3 Memory verse: But without faith (cover eyes) no one (shake head) can please God. (Point up) We must believe (hand over heart) that God is real (nod head) and that He rewards everyone (hands out in front) who searches for Him. (Point up) Hebrews 11:6 Preparation: (Johna and The Fish Craft) Praise and Worship Time Lesson: Welcome back to our MYSTERY MANNER series. Am I the only one who is getting really excited for Stevie and Parker to solve this Mystery? Story time: We catch up with Stevie and Parker in the creepy and dark basement. The basement is really dark, the two cousins keep bumping into each other. They are both feeling a little creeped out, but they cannot help but remember all the good times they spent in the basement with their great-grandpa. The basement was one of the places where their great-grandpa spent time telling them stories about God. He sure loved spending time down there with God. Parker decides that they should investigate the rocking chair that Pif_Paf used to sit in. Sevie was less convinced. He was weary of rats or other creatures having nested in the chair. After much convincing Parker got Stevie to help him check under the chair. They found what Stevie thought was a false clue. It was a really, really, really smelly old box. Inside there was an old sock…. and a funny tube. Parker wanted to break the tube, to search for a clue on the inside…. JUST THEN THE LIGHTS WENT OUT…. and they could not see a thing. Parker started to panic. The dark can play tricks on one’s mind and eyes. He was convinced that there was someone outside the Mystery Mannor and they had switched off the power. Stevie was more level headed. He was convinced it was merely a fuse that had blown. Parker even started trying to convince Stevie that there were aliens out to get them… imagine that. ALIENS. Stevie was getting a little irritated with Parker. SO he decided to put him out of his missery. He finally revealed what the tube was. It was a mini black light. ” Black lights emit a type of UV light that shows you things you can’t see with your naked eye.” Stevie explained. This confused Parker even more: “My eyes are naked?!?!” he asked. Stevie did not know whether he should laugh or cry: ” Oh, brother. No your eyes aren’t NAKED! It’s just another way of saying that this light shows us things we can’t normally see.” It was at this point that Stevie found a piece of paper with the following Bible story on it: “Look! There’s more! I love reading the stories Great Grandpa Pif-Paftalks about in his journal. But I wonder why he wanted us to hear THIS story?”Parker asked. Stevie grabs note from Parker: “I don’t know but let’s keep reading!” Stevie was so excited that he could not contain himself: “Of course! Great Grandpa Pif-Paf wanted us to hear the story of Jonah so that we can know that all of this crazy bad stuff that is happening, doesn’t need to scare us.” While Parker and Stevie were discussing how God is always in control, Parker noticed something glowing in the lid of the box. It was their next clue: “When things are looking badAnd there is no one in control, Find the answer to what you see Near the place where one burns coal.” While the cousins were discussing the meaning of the clue the lights came on… and was when it suddenly hit them: if the lights hadn’t gone out, then they wouldn’t have found the clue with that black light! But they still had no idea what the rest of the clue meant.. did they have to coal and look for their next clue where people burned coal? To be continued… Wow! What an adventure and what an awesome reminder that bad things can help us to find the good things in life. Let’s see if we can remember what we learned. 1. What did God tell Jonah to do? (Go to Nineveh &preach to the bad people there) 2. God let something bad happen to Jonah while he was out at sea. What happened? (God sent a huge storm which almost made the ship break into pieces; the sailors threw him overboard& a fish swallowed him) 3. Was God in control of sending the storm and the fish that swallowed Jonah?(Yes) 4. What good came out of the bad things that happened to Jonah? (Jonah realized he needed to obey God & do what he promised he would do) 5. Has something bad ever happened to you? (Allow responses) Who is in control, even when bad things happen? (God) So when we’re wondering “Is God really in control when bad things happen?” we can have faith and believe what we need to know today: No Matter What Happens, God is in Control! CRAFT TIME: MAKE YOUR JONAH AND THE FISH CRAFT

Mystery Manor – Week 4

Mystery question: How can I hear from God? Need to Know: I hear from God when I spend time with Him! Bible Story: Cornelius & Peter, Act 10 Memory verse: But without faith (cover eyes) no one (shake head) can please God. (Point up) We must believe (hand over heart) that God is real (nod head) and that He rewards everyone (hands out in front) who searches for Him. (Point up) Hebrews 11:6 Preparation: (Hanger Tennis game) Please have the following ready for after the lesson: Wire hanger Knee high stocking Tape Paper to roll in the shape of a ball Lesson: Welcome back to our MYSTERY MANNER series everybody, I hope you are having fun in our series… YAY! Oh, my word (ecstatic) I’m sure you are as excited as I am for this week’s MYSTERY with cousins Stevie and Parker! Before we get into our great mystery today, let’s get up! Shakeup! And get ready for praise and worship. Story time: Did you realize that when we spend time listening, we hear things we may have never heard before? Have you ever wondered if you could hear from God if you listened? Today we are going to find out our answer to this mystery question.                                    How can I hear from God? So get set! Ready? Let’s catch up with Stevie and Parker. HERE WE GO! Parker walked into one of the rooms in the mansion and looked around. “This is the last room in the house, it’s GOT to be in here”. Stevie ran into the room after Parker, completely out of breath, gasping for air “Why…are…we…RUNNING…around…an…old…abandoned…mansion?” Parker continued to look around the room, ignoring the fact that Stevie was out of breath. “Well Stevie, we are here to look for a feather pen, DUH! That smudge in Great Grandpa Pif-Paf’s Bible came from the ink of a feather pen. So we need to find one somewhere in the house. I just wished we had checked the bedroom BEFORE going up into that creepy attic”. After a while Stevie finally had his breath back, still in great disbelief about this whole mystery. He claims that the mystery is a complete waste of their time. “Every so-called a clue, we find just takes us further down a trail to nowhere”. Parker, however, still refused to give up on solving the mystery. It was fun (well for Parker at least) and he found it very interesting and exciting to find the questions he had about God. “You can believe that all you want, Stevie, but I KNOW this mystery is real. Great Grandpa Pif-Paf wouldn’t have left that smudge in THE Bible if it wasn’t real”. Stevie rolled his eyes at Parker still not believing that the mystery could be real. “I’ll play along with this little mystery game, but when this so-called clue turns out to be nothing, don’t be upset because I, your OLDER and WISER cousin, tried to warn you”. Parker finally got the feather pen, he held it up and showed Stevie, “would you believe that the clue is real if I found the feather pen?” Stevie still did not believe that the mystery could be true. “Psshh…what? NO, because I don’t believe that this mystery is real, remember? However, as someone who does science experiments in my spare time, I would like to investigate the chemical properties of the ink”. Parker did not understand what Stevie had just said, he gave the feather pen to Stevie to perform his investigation. Stevie sets his detective bag on the ground and starts taking things out of it to investigate the feather pen- magnifying glass, bottle, and a scanner. Meanwhile, Parker notices the journal on the bookshelf, he picks it up, sits on the floor, and starts reading it. Looking at the feather pen, “man this is a remarkable scientific advancement. To go from this feather pen to the pens we have today is quite amazing, Buuuut I have to say that there aren’t any clues on this, Parker. Looks like YOU were WRONG”. Parker continued reading from the journal feeling sure that he will find the next clue in the journal. “Where did you get that Parker?” Parker stood up and tells Stevie that it was on the shelf beside the feather pen. “I just thought it might be interesting, so I started reading it. Turns out, its Great Grandpa Pif-Paf’s journal. He has all kinds of notes in here about what he’s learned from God and what God has told him. Stevie grabs the journal from Parker, most of the loose papers fell from the journal. Parker was upset at the fact that Stevie had grabbed the journal from him. “Oh great! Now look what you did! We’ll never find where all those papers go!” “Not that it even matters! When were you planning on telling me that you found this? Were you just going to hide it from me forever?” Parker tried to get Stevie to simmer down. He was also shocked at Stevie’s anger, because he doesn’t believe that the mystery could be true. “Woah now, Stevie! I was just looking at it while you investigating the feather pen! I wasn’t keeping a secret from you! Stevie didn’t’ calm down at all, he still believes that Parker was trying to keep it a secret. “ I bet you found something in this journal that says that this mystery is totally made up! And you don’t want to tell me because then you would have to admit that you were wrong to believe all of these clues really meant something!” Parker in a very calmed state, picks up the loose papers, confused about Stevie’s sudden outburst. “What’s wrong with you today Stevie. “I’m sorry, I was under the impression that we were working as a TEAM. The fact that you found something and didn’t tell me just makes me think that you don’t want me around at all”. Parker was shocked and couldn’t

Mystery Manor – Week 3

Mystery question: What’s the Big Deal About the Bible? Need to Know: What the Bible Says, God Says! Bible Story: The Bible is God’s Word 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Memory verse: But without faith (cover eyes) no one (shake head) can please God. (Point up) We must believe (hand over heart) that God is real (nod head) and that He rewards everyone (hands out in front) who searches for Him. (Point up) Hebrews 11:6 Preparation: Making finger paint! Please have the following items ready for after the lesson: 1/2 cup flour 1 cup water pinch of salt (optional) extra water Food coloring or liquid watercolors Directions: Pour flour and water into a pot. Stir the ingredients over medium heat until it comes together like smooth, thick paste. The mixture will be lumpy along the way, but it all comes together. When it starts to pull away from the pot, remove from the heat. Add a pinch of salt. This helps keep the paint from spoiling if you don’t use it right away. To reach the desired consistency, slowly add cold water to the mixture. I added about 1/4 cup water to our paint.  Divide the paint into bowls. Squeeze food coloring or liquid watercolors into the flour mixture until you reach the desired color. Store in a covered container in the fridge if you’re not planning to use this right away. It will keep indefinitely. Worship Time Lesson: I don’t know about you guys, but I have been wondering about what Stevie and Parker will out today, this WHOLE week. Are you ready to investigate the mystery with them some more? Story time: The last time we saw Stevie and Parker they had dipped a clue in lemon juice and it made some words appear on a piece of paper. Let’s catch up with them. I think they are about to have a very interesting conversation: Parker is a little concerned. “I still don’t understand how that could’ve happened, Stevie. And you’re SURE that the writing didn’t suddenly appear…like a mysterious hand wrote it while we weren’t looking?” Stevie wants to giggle at Parker, but instead, he kindly reassures him. ” No, it’s simple. The acidity of the juice caused a chemical reaction with a previously existing substance that was on the paper, most likely a kind of hidden ink.” Parker was amazed. ” Wooooaaaah…secret ink?!?! That’s so cool!” Parker then breathes into his hands. “Hey, I think eating those Lemonheads made my breath smell better. What do you think?” He then breathes right into Stevie’s face. Stevie was less convinced about Parker’s breath. ” What do I think? I think you would need to eat a LOT of Lemonheads to cover up that smell.” Stevie is ready to move on.” Now, please tell me you wrote down the clue on this piece of paper before the ink disappeared.” Parker appears to be a little annoyed at Stevie. He rolls his eyes as he says:” Yes, after you told me 67 times to write it down, I got it!” And with that Parker waves his notebook in Stevie’s face. Stevie is getting a little tired of this mystery. ” Ok good, because up to this point, I am NOT convinced that this mystery is actually real, andI’m feeling pretty good that this so-called “clue” is going to prove my theory that the whole mystery is not real. PLUS to show that I was right and you were wrong.” Parker got a little defensive. ” Well I’m gonna use this clue to prove that this mystery IS real and that all these clues really DO mean something.” He reads from his notebook. “The greatest book in all the land, Divinely written by human hands Look in the middle and you will see How God speaks to you and me.” This got Stevie thinking. “Hmmm…the greatest book in all the land?” And he walks over to the bookshelf looking through books. Parker pretends that the answer is obvious. “We all know what the greatest book in all the land isParker and Stevie shout out their answer at the same time. Only it is not the same answer. Stevie says the greatest book of all time is the dictionary and Parker says it is the Bible. Naturally, an argument ensues over which book is the greatest. Stevie even gets a little mean. Parker’s argument was that the Bible was his great grandpa’s favourite book, which is why he clue points to the Bible. Stevie answers him, by taking a jab at Parker. ” Yeah, but choosing something that is Great Grandpa Pif-Paf’sfavorite hasn’t always worked out for you, has it? Like remember when he told you that his favorite dessert was dirt cake? He was talking about that pudding with Oreos and gummy worms in it. But you…you went outside, gathered some dirt, put a candle in it, and ATE. IT. ALL. Man, you puked for DAYS after eating all that dirt.” Parker was a little hurt. He was not that same little boy anymore, and he just knows that this clue is speaking about the Bible. Stevie gives in and they start looking for a Bible. The two boys find their great grandfather’s Bible. It has his name on it, and it is missing the page that they found on the Telescope. Stevie was still very skeptical, but Parker knew that their next clue would come from the Bible. Parker starts flipping through the Bible. ” Well, the clue said to look in the middle and we will see how God speaks to you and me. So I feel like we should turn to the middle of the Bible and see what it says there!I’m sure Great Grandpa Pif-Paf had a good reason for always reading the Bible. “ Parker is so excited. “The Bible isn’t just any book. It’s the most amazing book ever written! Every word is true and it helps us in our lives. What the

Mystery Manor – Week 2

Mystery question: Are God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit the same? Need to Know: God is Three in one! Bible Story: Creation; Angel speaks to Mary; Jesus is Baptized; The Cross Genesis 1:1-2, 26-27 Luke 1:26-38 Matthew 3:13-17 Luke 23:44-47 Memory verse: But without faith (cover eyes) no one (shake head) can please God. (Point up) We must believe (hand over heart) that God is real (nod head) and that He rewards everyone (hands out in front) who searches for Him. (Point up) Hebrews 11:6 Preparation: Making invisible ink! Please have the following items ready for after the lesson: Baking soda (A tablespoon measurement) A bank paper Earbuds (4) Small bowl Newspaper to work on (we don’t want to make a mess) A glass of water Colouring pencils/ grape juice Paintbrush (if you going to use grape juice) Worship Time Lesson: Welcome back to our new series Mystery Manner!️‍♀️🕵️‍♂️ I hope that you are excited to hear what Parker and Stevie are going to find today! Before we get into our great mystery with Parker and Stevie, let’s get up! Shake up! And get ready for praise and worship. Story time: Question: Has anyone ever wondered if God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the same? I can definitely say that I have. Are you ready to meet up with Parker and Stevie as they investigate this great mystery today? Let’s meet up with them in 5…4…3…2…1 here we go! Stevie holds on to Parker’s T-shirt pulling him to the kitchen. Parker all confused and doesn’t understand why Stevie is pulling him to the kitchen shouts “Stevie! Why are you pulling me to the kitchen? Now is definitely not the time for a snack, we just found our next clue! “Don’t be ridiculous Parker” Stevie says laughing, “I didn’t come in here to get a snack, I came here because the kitchen has better light”. Stevie took a close look at the page from grandpa Pif-Paf’s Bible “Please be careful with it, you don’t want to tear it” Parker exclaims. “Oh Parker, just as I thought, this is probably some meaningless little note that Great Grandpa Pif-Paf left on this Bible page, like a reminder dentures (artificial teeth) in. Stevie holds the page up for Parker to see. “Now Parker, I’m one step closer to proving that this mystery is all made up” Stevie says to Parker. Parker however, disagreed with Stevie, believing that this could be the next BIG clue. Parker believes that these are like a series of clues that will definitely lead to them solving the MYSTERY! Stevie in disbelief rolled his eyes, still unable to grasp the fact that Parker believes that there is a  ”BIG MYSTERY” to be solved. “This is just some old man scribble scrabble” he says. Parker being persistent reaches into Stevie’s detective bag to find the magnifying glass “I’m going to find out what the clue says, okay! Stevie was not okay with the fact that Parker took the magnifying glass out of his bag “Uhm….first of all excuse you! Second of all, there is no way that you’ll be able to read that Parker, it’s almost impossible to see” “Well I’m sure you probably have something in your bag that can restore faded ink, don’t you Mr Smarty pants” Parker sarcastically says. Stevie surprisingly had something that could restore faded the ink on the Bible page that grandpa Pif-Paf left. This according to Stevie is a risky procedure, and the cousins should be very cautious when doing it, because one wrong move could mean that the document would be ruined! This left the cousins with one tough choice to make, either not do anything and never know what the clue says or risk ruining the document while trying to figure what the clue says.  “As a scientist, I would recommend that we be thorough in our search, but if you want to give up now Parker, I’m okay with that too. Parker was stressed and didn’t know what to do, this was a pretty tough choice to make, and he was really excited about the clue. Parker gained confidence after giving it a thorough thought, he then took the Bible page and placed it on the kitchen table “Okay the Stevie, let’s do it!”  Stevie reached into his detective bag and took out three different bottles. One of the three solutions could work to restore the ink. “I’ve got lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide (bleach), and some ammonia (for purification)” Parker was disgusted by the smell of the ammonia, “EWWWWW! You have a sickness in your bottle”. Stevie rolled his eyes ad explaining “No, ammonia is a cleaning material”  The ink on the paper has just faded over time according to the observation Stevie had made while examining the page. After thinking for quite some time Stevie decided that the best solution to use is lemon juice. Stevie took out his safety goggles and gloves from the detective, he puts them on before he did the experiment. Parker was very impressed that Stevie –who didn’t believe that this MYSTERY could be true- was prepared.  Just as Stevie was getting ready to use the lemon juice he discovered that the lemon juice bottle was empty, he had forgotten to refill it after his previous experiment. The cousins ended up using stale lemon heads that Parker found behind some kitchen utensils. It WORKED! The stale lemon heads actually worked! “Quick Parker, grab a notebook and pen from my detective bag and write down what it says before the lemon juice fades”. After writing it down Parker read the clue aloud “It looks like some kind of riddle, it says” clue “HOLY SPIRIT, FATHER, SON. THIS GREAT MYSTERY: 3in1, this is definitely the next CLUE!” Parker took the recipe box that had a 3in1 symbol on it, from the shelf he found the Lemonheads. Stevie opened up the recipe box (clue 2) that had the same 3in1 symbol on it as the Bible

Mystery Manor – Week 1

Question: Is God Real? Need to Know: God is Real! He Created Things That Are Impossible for People to Make! Bible Story: Creation of Heaven and Earth Genesis 1-2; Romans 1:19-20; Hebrews 1:10-12 Memory Verse: But without faith (cover eyes) no one (shake head) can please God. (point up) We must believe (hand over heart) that God is real (nod head) and that He rewards everyone (hands out in front) who searches for Him. (point up) Hebrews 11:6 Preparation If your children are of an age where they love building blanket forts, let them build a blanket fort that can serve as your mystery manor for this lesson.  Using string, build a giant spider web obstacle course either inside or outside the house. The idea is that the kids need to climb over, under and through the strands. If you have a stopwatch, you can time them and challenge the kids to beat their best time. It will be even more fun if mom and dad also joined in and worked their way through the obstacle course. Lesson Start the lesson at the dining room table / in the lounge. Introduce the new topic. Over the next few weeks we will be following the story of two cousins Parker and Stevie and the mysteries that their great grandpa left for them to solve.  But before we start with our praise and worship, let’s work through this giant spider web.  Take turns climbing through the spider web obstacle course. Time for praise and worship.  Encourage your children to follow the dance moves and go through effort to also join in. When we are willing to lose ourselves in God’s presence and surrender by worshiping him not just with our voices, but through movement, we discover a deeper level of intimacy with Him. Children need permission to let their hair down, and the only way you can give that permission is by letting your own hair down and dancing like David.  Story Time If possible gather inside or in front of your own mystery manor. Settle everyone and start reading the story of Parker and Stevie. We catch up with cousins Parker & Stevie just as they meet up in the dark and dusty study of their Great Grandpa Pif-Paf’s old house, called the Mystery Manor. Parker was delighted to see Stevie there. Both Parker and Stevie received mysterious letters, inviting them back to the house where they had spent so many happy hours as young children. Stevie was less impressed. He said that the only reason he came was to save Parker from making a fool of himself. Stevie accused Parker of always being gullible. “I don’t know what you are talking about!?! I’m not gullible!” said Parker. Stevie rolled his eyes, unable to believe that Parker believes this nonsense. “Oh Parker, remember when we were little and you thought a dragon lived in the basement of this old house because Pif-Paf read Pete’s Dragon to us the night before? And whenever the wind blew you thought for sure the trees had claws that would snatch you out of the window, thanks to that big imagination of yours!” Parker shook his head. That was a long time ago, and he is no longer at the mercy of his own wild imagination. There is something special about this clue that Great Grandpa Pif-Paf sent to them. He can feel it in his gut. There really is something here to be discovered. Parker and Stevie each got a different clue in their letter. After a long discussion (more like an argument) Parker finally gave in and read his clue first. “NIGHT REVEAL CAN PROVE REAL. ”I have no idea what it means, but that’s why I need to see what yours says” Parker moaned. “THROUGH THE STARS THISGOD IS” Perplexed by the two clues that make almost no sense, the two cousins put their heads together to try and piece the puzzle together. “What if we put the two halves together?” asked Stevie. Parker was delighted by the idea. He was even happier that Stevie was getting into the whole mystery thing, but he dared not say anything, just in case he spoiled the mood. Ok, well there are two choices: “NIGHT THROUGH THE REVEAL STARSCAN PROVE THISREAL. GOD IS” Or maybe it is the other way around, said Stevie: “THROUGH THE NIGHTSTARS REVEAL THIS CAN PROVEGOD IS REAL” Parker was more confused than ever. “What are we suppose to do with this clue?” He asked. “Waaaaait a minute,” said Stevie. “This clue says something about proving that God is real? Great Grandpa Pif-Pafwas always trying to talk to us about God, but I’m just not buying the fact that someone you can’t see can actually be real.” Parker could not believe what he was hearing. He asked Stevie what he meant and Stevie replied that he found it hard to believe in things he could not see. This gave Parker an idea. He took a huge book and dropped it on the floor. (Perhaps this was not such a good idea. When the book hit the ground, it sent dust flying into the air. They had dust up their noses, in their eyes, they were both coughing and spluttering) But when the dust finally settled, Parker asked Stevie why the book fell down and did not float in mid-air. Stevie was now very annoyed. His spit had turned to mud in his mouth because Parker was trying to prove a point. “Gravity,” Stevie answered. Parker then giggled, are you sure? Have you ever seen gravity?” Stevie just shook his head. “You see, you say it is gravity, but you can’t see gravity, so how do you know that it is real?” Stevie was catching on to Parker’s clever angle, but he confessed that he would need to see more evidence before he could believe that God was real. Parker was saying to Stevie how there is evidence of God all around us. This caused Stevie to look around and

Coats & Shackels: Week 5

Week #5 I Will Serve… Go Answer: I will serve God and finish His plan. Go Verse: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11 Poor Joseph! What is going on?? He has been stuck in prison for years! If you remember from last week, Pharaoh has a crazy dream about fat cows and ugly cows and lots of grain growing. The dream scared the king and he needs it interpreted badly. Trouble is, no one can interpret it for him. But Pharaoh’s cupbearer suddenly remembers Joseph who is still locked away in prison. If Joseph had interpreted the cupbearer’s dream, why couldn’t he interpret Pharaoh’s dream too? Joseph is brought out of prison and taken before Pharaoh where he interprets Pharaoh’s dream for him… There are seven years of feast coming to the land of Egypt. It will be a wonderful time filled with great harvests and lots of food. But after the seven years of feast, there will be seven years of famine. In this famine, food will be scarce and people will go hungry. Joseph tells the king that he should put someone in charge to rule over the food. This person will make sure that enough food is saved during the seven years of feast so that there is plenty of food left when the seven years of famine hit. Pharaoh likes this idea and determines that Joseph is the best guy for the job. “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you’” (Genesis 41:39-40a). Things are looking up for Joseph! He’s out of prison and is second in command over all of Egypt! This is awesome! But we’re not done. Things are going to get even crazier when Joseph’s brothers come to town… Last week we talked about obeying God, this week we’re talking about serving Him. Let’s take a look at our Go Answer… “I will serve God and finish His plan.” Consider having the kidssay it with you or repeat after you. Optional: Create actions/hand motions to help kids memorize the Go Answer. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord.‘They are plans for good and not for disaster,to give you a future and a hope.’”Jeremiah 29:11, NLT The Go Verse is the scripture verse that corresponds to the theme of our series for the children to commit to memory over the course of the 5 weeks. Make this fun for your family, whether it is a repeat-after-me segment or an unscramble game. Feel free to get creative! Recruit some help for the dialogue, or turn the dialogue into a crazy story. Interrupter: I had a great time at the zoo yesterday!Presenter: Tell me about it!Interrupter: I started at the ostriches.Presenter: That’s fun.Interrupter: Yeah, but one tried to bite my finger off.Presenter: Yikes!Interrupter: It’s okay, he missed.Presenter: Well, that’s a relief.Interrupter: Yeah, but instead he poked me in the eye.Presenter: Ouch!Interrupter: It’s okay, I got to wear an eye patch!Presenter: That would be fun.Interrupter: Yeah, but unfortunately, I couldn’t see too well with just one eye.Presenter: That is unfortunate.Interrupter: No problem, I can run fast.Presenter: Run?Interrupter: The ostrich got loose and started to chase me.Presenter: Yikes!Interrupter: It’s okay, I outran him.Presenter: Good job!Interrupter: But I ran straight into the lion’s cage.Presenter: What?! How scary!Interrupter: No worries, he was asleep.Presenter: Well, that was fortunate.Interrupter: Yeah, but the monkeys woke him up.Presenter: That’s horrible!Interrupter: It’s okay, I threw him my lunch sack.Presenter: Good thinking.Interrupter: Yeah, but he didn’t want it.Presenter: Run!Interrupter: No worries, I got away.Presenter: Whew! What a relief.Interrupter: Because the monkeys picked me up.Presenter: They sound really strong.Interrupter: It’s okay, they set me down quick.Presenter: Oh good.Interrupter: But I landed in the mud.Presenter: Well, at least it was soft.Interrupter: But then the ostrich found me again. (Interrupter exits.) These stories are getting out of hand! Too many ups and downs! Life hasn’t been going so well for our pal Joseph, but things are about to change for the better. Let’s jump in… Scripture Reference: Genesis 41:14—47:26 Objective: The goal during week five of our series is to conclude Joseph’s wild journey. We will cover his rise to second in command of all of Egypt to his brothers’ return and the fulfillment of Joseph’s dream when he was a teenager. The key element for children to understand this week is that Joseph served God his whole life and God carried him through to an amazing completion and achievement. Message: Joseph is now thirty years old and is second in command over all of Egypt. He is now wealthy and rules over many. Because of his leadership, the people of Egypt will not starve during the seven years of famine. They have plenty of food to last because Joseph has instructed people to save up food supplies during the years of plenty. After the seven years of feast, the famine hits. The famine was severe across the whole land. People from all over came to Egypt in order to buy food supplies. In the midst of all those people, guess who shows up? Joseph’s brothers! Joseph’s brothers traveled to Egypt to buy food: “Since Joseph was governor of all Egypt and in charge of selling grain to all the people, it was to him that his brothers came. When they arrived, they bowed before him with their faces to the ground… Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them many years before” (42:6-9). Do you remember the dreams? We learned about them in week one. Joseph dreamt that people would bow down to him. The whole land would bow down,

Coats & Shackels: Week 4

Week #4 I Will Obey… Go Answer: I will obey God even when I can’t see His plan. Go Verse: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11 When we last saw Joseph, he was in command of Potiphar’s household but, someone is about to get him in BIG trouble. Potiphar’s wife lies about Joseph and tells Potiphar that he has done terrible things. This is not the truth, but Potiphar believes his wife. Potiphar becomes furious and throws Joseph into prison. This guy just can’t catch a break! Joseph went from being the favorite son wearing a beautiful coat to being thrown into a pit and sold into slavery. From there he is blessed and put in charge of an official’s household, but now he’s been falsely accused (lied about) and thrown into prison. Joseph’s life is a lot like a game of “Chutes & Ladders,” isn’t it? One minute everything is looking good and you’re headed up (ladder), but then the next minute everything is messed up and you’re going backwards (chute). Last week we talked about honoring God, this week we’re talking about obeying Him. Let’s take a look at our Go Answer… “I will obey God even when I can’t see His plan.” Consider having the audience say it with you or repeat after you. Optional: Create actions/hand motions to help kids memorize the Go Answer. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord.‘They are plans for good and not for disaster,to give you a future and a hope.’”Jeremiah 29:11, NLT The Go Verse is the scripture verse that corresponds to the theme of our series for the children to commit to memory over the course of the 5 weeks. Make this fun for your family, whether it is a repeat-after-me segment or an unscramble game. Feel free to get creative! Get someone to help you with the dialogue or turn this dialogue into a story. Interrupter: The other day I went sledding.Presenter: That sounds like a blastInterrupter: Buuut I forgot my sled.Presenter: Oh no, what did you do?Interrupter: Thankfully, my friend had an extra sled.Presenter: That’s great! Interrupter: Well, unfortunately, I tripped and started sliding down the hill … backwards.Presenter: Oh no! Were you okay?Interrupter: Yeah, it was fine. A bump flipped me back around.Presenter: Thank goodness.Interrupter: But then I was sliding straight towards a tree.Presenter: Oh no!Interrupter: All good. I missed the tree.Presenter: Whew! Glad you missed it.Interrupter: But then I accidentally ran into a deer.Presenter:  A deer? Was the deer okay?Interrupter: No worries, it wasn’t real. It was a plastic Christmas decoration.Presenter: That’s weird… but glad everything was okay.Interrupter: Yeah, but then I started tumbling … fast … down the hill.Presenter: Yikes! Interrupter: It’s okay, my jacket was really puffy.Presenter: Good thing!Interrupter: A very good thing! I eventually rolled myself into a giant snowball!Presenter: Niiice! (Interrupter exits.) That was a crazy trip down the hill! As we jump back into learning about the life of Joseph, we’re going to hear more about his many ups and downs. Today, things aren’t going so well… Things are continuing with Joseph on a ‘down.’ Let’s jump in… Scripture Reference: Genesis 39:17-40:23. Objective: The goal during week four of our series is to pick-up where we left off with Joseph being thrown into prison and carrying it through to his relationship with Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker. The key element for children to understand this week is that Joseph obeyed God even when his life seemed to be crashing in around him. Message: So Joseph is now in prison. Potiphar’s wife has lied about him and he’s been thrown into prison. The Bible tells us that even when he was in prison, God was looking out for Joseph. God wasn’t done with Joseph. There was still much, much more to the story of Joseph, and even though Joseph couldn’t see it yet, God was going to use him to do incredible things. While in prison, Joseph continues to listen, trust, honor, and obey. In Genesis chapter 39, the Bible says, “the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him His faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden [guard]” (39:21). The prison guard put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners. Isn’t that great?! Wherever Joseph goes, he is put in charge and is blessed by God. “Whatever he did,” the Bible says, “the Lord made it prosper” (39:23). While Joseph is in prison, the cupbearer and baker of the king of Egypt (Pharaoh) get in trouble and are thrown into prison. One night, they both had a dream, but were very discouraged because they didn’t know what it meant and needed someone to interpret it.  When Joseph came to find them in the morning, they told him about their dreams. Do you remember one of the things that is so special about Joseph? He listens to God and is able to interpret dreams. When he was seventeen, Joseph had a dream and told his brothers about it. Now it’s time for Joseph to interpret another dream. Joseph knew that it was God who had given him this gift; he wasn’t able to do it on his own (40:8b). Joseph interpreted the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker. The cupbearer’s dream and its interpretation were good. Joseph said his dream meant that he would be released from prison and get his job back in three days. But the baker’s dream and its interpretation were bad. Joseph said that his dream meant that he would die in three days. Joseph said: “Please remember me and do me a favor when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place. For I was kidnapped from my homeland … and now I’m here in prison,

Coats & Shackels: Week 3

Week #3: I Will Honour… Go Answer: I will honor God and stay faithful to His plan. Go Verse:“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11 Let us set the atmosphere. Open with prayer and then go into praise and worship. Holy Spirit is not limited to moving at church or children’s church. Be expectant for Holy Spirit to move in your home as you dive into the word with your children. Introduction Gather the kids around the table, or in the lounge. Start the following discussion:Have you ever had a bad day? (Listen to some answers.) Have you ever had a day that went from bad to worse? (Listen to some answers.) Recap on our journey up until now: Here we are in week three already of our series, “Coats & Shackles.” When last we saw Joseph he was sold by his brothers into slavery and is headed towards Egypt with his new owners. Things are looking pretty crazy for poor Joseph! But it’s all about to get a little better for Joseph. A very important man is going to buy him from the visiting traders. Our focus for today is on honoring God. What does the word “honor” mean? (Discuss this as a family.) The definition of “honor” is high respect, respect that is given to someone who is deserving. It is when we show good behavior or good character. I need two volunteers to help me explain this. (You need to prepare slips of paper with the scenario’s here below on it. Read or get one of the children to it aloud and take comments determine if the situation on the paper slip is honoring or not. You can also engage older children by asking them for examples from their own life that contains honour and that does not.) Situations: 1. Your teacher asks you to put your desk supplies away and instead you talk with your friends. (Not Honoring) 2. You are playing outside and your dad tells you to come inside for dinner.  You decide to tell your friends you have to leave and you go inside for dinner. (Honoring) 3. Your mom tells you to clean your room and you march up the stairs, and angrily throw everything into place. (Not Honoring) 4. You are at Go Port and you see scraps of trash lying around, you pick them up without being asked. (Honoring) 5. Your friend had something embarrassing happen to them and you tell everyone about it. (Not Honoring) 6. Your older brother is studying for his college exam so you make sure you are nice and quiet so you don’t disturb him. (Honoring) Let’s continue to think of ways we can honor others as we take a look at our Go Answer… “I will honor God and stay faithful to His plan.” Consider having the audience say it with you or repeat after you. Optional: Create actions/hand motions to help kids memorize the Go Answer. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord.‘They are plans for good and not for disaster,to give you a future and a hope.’”Jeremiah 29:11, NLT The Go Verse is the scripture verse that corresponds to the theme of our series for the children to commit to memory over the course of the 5 weeks. Make this fun for your family, whether it is a repeat-after-me segment or an unscramble game. Feel free to get creative! Get a second person. To be the interrupter, OR change this dialog into a story. Interrupter: You’ll never believe what happened to me last night!Presenter: Oh yeah? Tell me about it.Interrupter: A spaceship landed in my backyard.Presenter: That is unreal!Interrupter: Yeah, unfortunately, it crushed the scooter.Presenter: That stinks.Interrupter: But it’s okay, it was my sister’s scooter.Presenter: Well, that stinks for her.Interrupter: Then the spaceship door opened.Presenter: Oh really?Interrupter: Yeah, but the door crushed my scooter.Presenter: Aww, that’s a bummer.Interrupter: It’s okay, the spaceship was full of minions.Presenter: Well, that’s pretty awesome.Interrupter: But they were the mean, purple minions.Presenter: Uh-oh!Interrupter: It’s okay, I had the jelly gun.Presenter: Perfect.Interrupter: Too bad it wasn’t actually a jelly gun.Presenter: Huh? What was it? Interrupter: It was actually a confetti canon.Presenter: Sounds like a party!Interrupter: Well, it would have been, but I accidentally hit the spaceship’s launch button.Presenter: That’s terrible!Interrupter: No worries, I headed into space.Presenter: Exciting!Interrupter: But then I remembered the doors were still open. Presenter: Did you fall out? Interrupter: No… then I woke up. Presenter: Wait… It was a DREAM?? Interrupter: Yep!(Interrupter leaves the conversation.) That was the weirdest story I’ve ever heard. Today, as we jump back into learning about the life of Joseph, we’re going to hear about more of his many ups and downs. Let’s jump in… Message Scripture Reference: Genesis 37:36, 39:1-6a Objective: The goal during week three of our series is to pick-up where we left off with Joseph having been sold by his brothers into slavery. Things are bleak, but Joseph is never out of God’s plan. The key element for children to understand this week is that Joseph honored God through it all. He remained faithful to God. Message: The Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to a man named Potiphar. Potiphar was no ordinary man. He was an officer of Pharaoh (the ruler of the land) and was a captain of the guard. The Bible tells us that “The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man” (Genesis 39:2a). Joseph lived in Potiphar’s house and God blessed him. Because Joseph acted so honorably, Potiphar liked him and he put him in charge of his household. Everything that Potiphar owned was under Joseph’s care. He was the man in charge! God began to bless Potiphar’s house because Joseph was there. Joseph stayed faithful and showed good character and behavior. Is this always easy to do? (No.) It

Coats & Shackels: Week 2

Week #2: I Will Trust… Go Answer: I will trust God even when I don’t know His plan. Go Verse:“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11 Let us set the atmosphere. Open with prayer and then go into praise and worship. Holy Spirit is not limited to moving at church or children’s church. Be expectant for Holy Spirit to move in your home as you dive into the word with your children. Introduction Gather the kids around the table, or in the lounge. Start the following discussion:Have you ever had a bad day? (Listen to some answers.) Have you ever had a day that went from bad to worse? (Listen to some answers.) That is the situation Joseph currently finds himself in. You remember Joseph, right? We learned last week that life was going really well for Joseph. He’s the favorite son and his father has given him a beautiful, colorful coat. He also has these awesome dreams God gives him. Joseph was excited about these dreams and he told them to his brothers. Trouble was his brothers did NOT like what they were hearing about his dreams. Joseph’s brothers had a plan to destroy him and threw him into a pit…dun, dun, DUN! Sometimes life just doesn’t make sense and we need to trust God. We don’t have the answers in life, but God does, and that is exactly what we are talking about today. Last week we talked about listening to God, this week we’re talking about trusting Him. Let’s take a look at our Go Answer… “I will trust God even when I don’t know His plan.” Let the kids say it with you or repeat after you. Optional: Create actions/hand motions to help kids memorize the Go Answer. “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord.‘They are plans for good and not for disaster,to give you a future and a hope.’”Jeremiah 29:11, NLT The Go Verse is the scripture verse that corresponds to the theme of our series for the children to commit to memory over the course of the 5 weeks. Make this fun for your family, whether it is a repeat-after-me segment or an unscramble game. Feel free to get creative! Like last week, you need a second person to play the part of the interrupter, or you will need to turn this dialogue into a story. Interrupter: I was invited to a birthday party!Presenter: Hey, that’s great!Interrupter: Yeah, but the party was in China Presenter: That’s a long way to go.Interrupter: It’s okay I took an airplane to the party.Presenter: Oh, that’s perfect! Interrupter:  Unfortunately the plane ran out of fuel so I had to jump out.Presenter: Yikes, that terrible. Interrupter: It’s okay, I had a parachute. Presenter: What a relief!Interrupter: It wasn’t… The parachute had a hole.Presenter: That is the worst!Interrupter: But it’s okay, there was a haystack below me. Presenter: I’m so glad to hear that.Interrupter: You shouldn’t be… There was a pitchfork in the haystack.Presenter: Ouch! That would hurt!Interrupter: Thankfully, I missed the pitchfork. Presenter: Hooray!Interrupter: Buuut I missed the haystack.Presenter: This is getting worse and worse.Interrupter: No, it’s fine… There was a pond near by. Presenter: That would help to break your fall.Interrupter: Yeah, but the pond was dried up.Presenter: What?!Interrupter: It’s okay… The mud was soft. (Interrupter leaves the conversation.) Sounds like that was a wild trip filled with ups and downs all over the place! Today, as we jump back into learning about the life of Joseph, we’re going to hear about his many ups and downs. Today, things aren’t going so well… Things are continuing with Joseph on a ‘down.’ Let’s jump in… Message Scripture Reference: Genesis 37:19-35 Objective: The goal during week two of our series is to pick-up from where we left off with Joseph’s brothers scheming against him. They have now thrown him into a pit and their plan is to kill him. The key element for children to understand this week is that Joseph trusted God even in dark and confusing times. Message: Joseph’s brothers were very jealous of Joseph so they devised a plan to get rid of him. In fact, they wanted him dead. Now, if you remember, Joseph has now been thrown into a pit by his brothers, but his youngest brother, Reuben, felt bad and didn’t want Joseph killed. “Let’s not kill him,” he said, “Instead, just leave him here in this pit.” His plan was to come back later and rescue Joseph but, before he could do that, a group of Midianite traders passed by. They were headed to Egypt with many camels that carried spices, balm, and myrrh so the brothers had an idea…a horrible idea. If they simply killed their brother, they wouldn’t get any money for him, but if they sold him as a slave to the Midianite traders, they could cash him in for money! So, that’s exactly what they did. Before Reuben could come back to deliver Joseph, they had sold him for twenty shekels of silver (which would have been about $6 at that time) and he was taken away to Egypt. Joseph’s brothers took his coat of many colors, ripped it, dipped it into goat’s blood and lied to their father about it. They brought it to their father and made him believe that Joseph had been attacked and eaten by a wild animal. Was this the truth? (No.) Things are not looking good for Joseph! He’s been thrown into a pit, sold as a slave, and now his father thinks he is dead. Things are just going from bad to worse for him. Joseph didn’t know what was going on or what kind of plan God had in mind. This didn’t seem to line-up with the dreams he had. (Do you remember Joseph’s dreams from last week?) What do you