Montaintop Experiences
Group Activities

Sermon Title: "Mountaintop Experiences"

Scripture Reading: Luke 9:28-36

MOUNTAIN TOP PAPER MACHÉ:

The class will use newspaper to create a paper maché mountain. Paper Maché the mountain and then stick toothpicks into it with little triangle banners stuck onto the toothpicks with some mountaintop experience for the children such as birth, first tooth, first day at school, salvation. Discuss that these experiences are starting places, not stopping places! Extra wet toweling will be needed for clean up! Suggest to children to think about mountaintop experiences during the week and bring more ideas the next week. Their mountain will be dried by the next week and ready to paint if desired.

MOUNTAIN ART:

Give each child a large Mountain picture (triangle construction paper), a big yellow sun and 4 toothpicks. The mountain and the sun can be glued or taped onto a piece of poster board. Tape the 4 toothpicks onto the Mountain and have the children draw a head on each toothpick to make them look like the men in today's lesson (Jesus with Peter, James and John). An ink thumbprint would make a cute face for each man. Glitter could be sprinkled around the stick figure that represents Jesus, as well as a small white cloth on the "Jesus" toothpick! Children will have fun making legs and feet and arms to their toothpick. Tape a typed or written out Bible verse on the bottom of their art.

MOUNTAIN TOP PAINTING:

The children will draw a mountain on a large piece of poster board and color it using markers. The teacher will provide little slips of paper with "mountain top experiences" written on them for children to choose from and to tape or glue onto the Mountain. Discuss some of the experiences that God might have planned for us if we turn our life over to HIM! (God knows the plans He has for us, Jeremiah 29:11)

FRAMING A MOUNTAIN:

Find some beautiful pictures of mountains from old calenders or magazines and let the children pick out a picture that they would like to frame. Cut strips of construction paper for the children to use to paste around their picture to form a frame. Let the children decorate the border or write a caption at the bottom to say something similar to, "On the Mountain Top with Jesus."

MOUNTAIN PRAYER:

Tape a large picture of a mountain on the wall and have the children gather together as they listen to the lesson while sitting at the foot of that mountain. At the close, ask the children to say sentence prayers THANKING JESUS for everything that He does for us. When everyone has said a sentence prayer, let the group stand and hold hands at the "foot of the mountain" and sing "Every Day with Jesus."

TABERNACLE BUILDING:

For younger children, provide a sheet of construction paper, some craft sticks, and some glue. Tell the children that the disciples wanted to build three tabernacles on the mountain. One each for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. Let the children glue the craft stick on the construction paper to make a tabernacle.

Song: "I Have the Joy" Arr. by Elaine Kirkpatrick

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Piano Accompaniment Track (4x) - Right click and save to your computer.

This song may be freely downloaded and reproduced for religious or educational use by churches, schools, home schoolers, and other non-profit organizations.

Song: "Every Day With Jesus" by Wendell P. Loveless

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Piano Accompaniment Track - Right click and save to your computer.