Tonight's object lesson was a small set of photos of the boys' friends. Last night they got little photo books with pictures of their family, so they added the pictures of their friends to the book. The Christmas devotional was all about God's gift of friendship. There are many proverbs in the Bible about friendship and being a good friend. We chose 4 proverbs to discuss: Proverbs 17:17, 18:24, 27:10, and 27:17. This gave us plenty of material to talk about how God gives us good friends to support us in times of need and to challenge us to become better people. ...Read More
Modern Parables: The Widow and Judge (Review)
The Widow and Judge is a short film from the Modern Parables series. For my Sunday School class I played the film one week and then the application video the next week. This film, like all the other films before it, did an excellent job provoking discussion about some critical topics. Modern Parables is a film series put out by Compass Classroom, and like the other films in this series, The Widow and Judge does not fail to disappoint. Based on Jesus' parable in Luke 18:1-8, the film vividly portrays a prejudiced and corrupt judge and his unwillingness to hear the case of Hannah, a poor black widow. Filmed in black and ...Read More
5 Family Friendly Things to Do Near Williamsburg
Our family recently returned from our vacation in Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown—popularly known as the "historic triangle." If you are up for an educational vacation, this is a historically rich area for your family to visit. In addition to visiting some areas on the East coast, we spent most of our time in these historic cities. There are many family friendly things to do near Williamsburg. Here were our kids favorite activities, in no particular order. 1. Yorktown's Continental Army Encampment Bradley (our 8-year-old) loved watching the cannons fire and learning about weapons used during the Revolutionary ...Read More
Homeschooling Yorktown Victory Center (Photo Blog)
Last week our trip to the Historic Triangle in Virginia also brought us to the Yorktown Victory Center. In 1781 the American and French troops won their decisive victory against the British soldiers, effectively ending the Revolutionary War. The Yorktown Victory Center is a living museum, showing you what a Continental Army encampment looked like. Below Bradley pauses next to a statue of George Washington holding a copy of the opening lines of the US Constitution. Washington was the commander of the US military during the war. ...Read More
Modern Parables: The Shrewd Manager (Review)
The Modern Parables series continues to be one of the best curriculums I've seen. Our Sunday School class has been engaging and rich. So far, I am very impressed with the level of discussion these films provoke. These last two weeks I've been playing The Shrewd Manager film and application video. The film is based on Christ's parable found in Luke 16:1-9. Jasper Crooks is a dishonest man through and through, but he's also creative and calculating. As manager of a large tenant farm in the South, Jasper is responsible for keeping the books, but when the landowner discovers he's been "misappropriating resources" (i.e. ...Read More
Modern Parables: Samaritan (Review)
As I said in my last post, I started using the Modern Parables series for my Sunday School class. I continue to be impressed with these videos. These last two weeks I presented Samaritan, both the parable film and the application video. This film is based on the famous parable of the Good Samaritan found in Luke 10. Samaritan is set in the modern context of a big city. The film opens with an old man laying in an alleyway, heavily beaten. He crawls his way to the street and rests against the side of a building, obviously traumatized. Two men have the opportunity to help: a deacon (who also happens to be a doctor) and ...Read More
All the Twins in the Bible
I've been think a lot about all the twins in the Bible lately. Why? Finding out we were going to have twins was, perhaps, the biggest shock of our lives. They have been a double blessing to our lives. There are many famous sets of twins in history, and this includes Biblical history. Want to learn some good ways to teach your kids about God's word? Check out our Family Bible Studies Guides. All the Twins in the Bible: 1. Jacob and Esau – Jacob and Esau, sons of Isaac and Rebecca, are the first twins mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 25:19-28). The story of Jacob is told in Genesis 25:19-37:36 and 42:1-50:3. The ...Read More
Modern Parables: Hidden Treasure (Review)
In my Sunday school class I just finished teaching Hidden Treasure, the first set of video lessons in the Modern Parables series. I can already tell this series is going to end up being one of the most engaging classes I've taught to date. The short film is based on the parable in Matthew 13:44, "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." Set in a modern context, the "treasure" in this film is a reservoir of oil hiding beneath a seemingly worthless piece of property off the highway. A real estate ...Read More
