Bright Shining Faces Group
Group Activities

Sermon Title: "Bright Shining Faces" or "The Transfiguration"

Scripture Reading:  Luke 9:28-38 or Matthew 17:1-9

FLASHLIGHT FRENZY: Let the children scatter and hide under or behind obstacles. ONE child or leader with a flashlight will try to play TAG with the flashlight. When the flashlight shines on a hiding child, tell that child to jump up and SMILE with a bright shining face. Continue as time allows. Tell children to listen carefully to today's lesson about a bright shining face. Have answers to questions about today's story written on sheets of paper around the classroom. The children will shine the flashlight on the correct answer when the teacher has a question/answer time at the end of class.

RUN TO AND FRO: The teacher will have words written in very large letters around a designated area of the class room. All of these words will be from today's lesson such as transfiguation, shining, light, darkness, and hearts, etc. When the teacher calls out a word, the children will all run as quickly as possible to the word that the teacher called out. The last one to reach the word will be out of the game. Continue to play until only one child is left then tell the children to listen carefully for those words in today's Bible lesson. Encourage the children to raise their hands when they hear one of the game words in the lesson!

TENT TIME: If facility and supplies are available, have the children build a teepee type of tent. Have the children make up a simple skit of today's lesson pretending to camp on the Mountain where Jesus was transfigured. The ONE who is Jesus in the skit could just wear all white (robe and head piece, etc). They could set up three tents for the "shelters" in our story as they retell the story in a simple skit.

COTTON CLOUD: Provide the children with supplies to make a large cloud shape and add wisps of cotton on that cloud with glue. Write today's Bible verse on the cloud and hang it from the ceiling.

SUNSHINE PLATE: Give each child a paper plate and markers to color yellow and to glue yellow thin strips of paper all around the edge of the plate to represent the sun's rays. Encourage the children to draw happy faces on their sunshine plates and hole punch the top of the sunshine plate and add yarn or string so this sunshine craft can be hung on a wall to remind children of today's lesson.

CHALK TALK: Let the children take turns using colored chalk to draw parts of the story as the teacher tells the Bible lesson today. Each child can draw one part such as a mountain, one of the disciples, Moses, Elijah, or the cloud.

BRIGHT SHINING FACES: Provide construction paper, markers and many various smiling and happy faces for the children. Have the children write today's Bible verse in the middle of the paper and then decorate with happy face stickers all around the border of the paper.

SHINING BANNERS: Give the children long, wide strips of paper (from a roll of paper, for example) to color and decorate with special phrases from today's lesson and then worn over their shoulders for others to see. (Examples: GLORY TO GOD; JOY TO OTHERS, BRIGHT SHINING FACES; TRANSFIGURATION)

SING A SONG: CLIMB UP SUNSHINE MOUNTAIN; EVERY DAY WITH JESUS

SHARE A SNACK: Before class, the teacher can fill small cone shapes with small candies and cover them with plastic wrap (Saran wrap). Turn the cones upside down so each snack looks like a mountain. And have a question on each cone from today's lesson. As the children come to the teacher to received their MOUNTAIN SNACK, they can choose a cone and read the question and try to answer it before returning to their seat to enjoy their snack.

Song: "Climb Up Sunshine Mountain"

Music: Words and music PDF

MP3: Piano Accompaniment

Song: "Every Day with Jesus"

Music: Words and music in PDF

MP3: Piano Accompaniment