Memory Verse: “The Lord says, “This day is like the time of Noah to me. I promised then that I would never flood the world again. In the same way, I promise I will not be angry with you or punish you again. The mountains may disappear, and the hills may come to an end, but my love will never disappear; my promise of peace will not come to an end,” says the Lord who shows mercy to you.” Isaiah:54-9-10 (NCV).
Materials needed to create A Promise of Peace quiet book page:
Cut out all the pieces for this page and the page itself from the Betty Lukens set. The Betty Lukens FAQ section has posted a cutting tips PDF.
Sew the Betty Lukens page onto the background felt along three sides, leaving the top edge open to form a pocket.
Add two grommets to the top right and top left of the Betty Lukens page. I went through both the pocket and background page together (you will still be able to open the pocket. You can google how to do this - it is not as scary as it looks!
Thread the elastic through the grommet from the back of the page and thread on some pony beads in rainbow order (I used two beads per colour), followed by the word 'promise' using your alphabet beads, and then more rainbow beads in reverse order. Thread the elastic back through the other grommet and tie it off through a button at the back (like I did on the Leviticus 25 - Jubilee Calendar Quiet Book Page). This is to prevent the knot coming through the grommets to the front of your page.
Pop the animal pieces inside the pocket (or better yet - play with them)!
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.
A very easy quiet book page! Grommets are not as intimidating as they appear. Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
Isaiah 54 - Learn about the Covenant of Peace promised by God
Imaginative Play - position the animals around Noah's ark and remember God keeps His promises - just like He kept His promise to never again flood the entire Earth like He did in the days of Noah
Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
Whilst Isaiah was speaking to the Israelites about the captivity and those that God would bring back afterwards, they prefigure the goodness God will bring upon all believers in the covenant of peace made with blood in the previous chapter (prophesying Jesus' death). This covenant is certain because it is not built on our merit, which is a changeable thing, but on God's mercy, which is from everlasting to everlasting.
Isaiah 53 is a Messianic passage which describes the sacrificial death of the suffering servant (Messiah ben Joseph).
Memory Verse: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5.
Materials needed to create the Messiah ben Joseph quiet book page:
A4 felt background sheet - I used mid blue
four small nail looking shank buttons
felt scraps in skin colour, hair colour, wood colour and parchment colour
matching thread colours, and red thread (for the blood)
air erasable marker (or pen)
letter beads - or ink pads and small alphabet stamps or a permanent marker etc
Cut out your template and most pieces from the felt scraps in appropriate colours. I find for intricate shapes (such as the section that needs to be cut from the inside of the legs) it is sometimes best to use a pen to draw the shape onto the felt and cut it out that way - of course you need to flip the pattern over and draw on the inside so it will be hidden when sewn together. I only cut the front of Jesus' body out and waited until I attached the front to the back to cut out the whole body.
The draw and cut method was certainly useful when trying to keep within the lines whilst sewing on Jesus' whip stripes. And of course you need to sew on the wound details in red thread before sewing the front body to the back. Jesus most likely received 39 stripes. Jewish law forbade any more than 40 (Deuteronomy 25:3) and in an effort not to cross this line, 39 were delivered just in case someone miscounted. Since the Roman whip had three tails on it, they would have delivered 13 strokes to make a total of 39 lashes.
39 stripes
Sew the front of Jesus' body to the back and cut it out. Then sew on the face - don't worry that you can see the stitching on the back as the hair will cover it. Use red thread to make small buttonholes to fit your buttons on the feet/ankle and wrist/hand areas.
For the hair, cut two fronts and sew them together, two backs and sew them together and then join the doubled front to the doubled back along the top of the hairline to a spot at about just above the nape of the head. Leaving the ends open will allow the hair to fit over the head and split over the shoulder. You will also be able to lift the hair at the back to see all of the stripes. Position the hair and secure in place using red thread on a zig-zag and/or decorative stitch to sew across the head to make a bloodied crown of thorns.
To make the sign for the top of the cross, sew the two white pieces of felt together and make a buttonhole the same size as the others using matching thread this time. It should be positioned down a ways from the top to allow room to roll the ends up. Use hot glue to keep the ends rolled in place. Hand sew on some beads to make a list of names on one side and to say "Messiah ben Joseph" on the other.
I did also try using stamps and ink for the lettering, but I don't think my ink was very good quality. You can see that it ran/separated a little, especially at the 'M' - it looks worse in real life. I have seen felt stamped before that turned out well. If you have good quality ink it might work better.
Sew down the cross onto your page and lay Jesus' body on top. Push sewing pins through the buttonholes to mark the position needed for the shank button nails. Add the sign and do the same. Hand sew the buttons on.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Intermediate.
It's not really hard, just a bit fiddly in some sections.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
Isaiah 53 - Taking our place and dying on the cross was not an easy task. This prophecy in Isaiah was fulfilled in such detail. Sin causes devastating consequences.
Imaginative Play - Jesus died on the cross so we don't have to. Turn the sign at the top of the cross to reveal either your name/s or Messiah ben Joseph. You get to choose who pays the price for your sin.
Buttoning - He died to pay for our sin so it is appropriate that our hands put the nails through.
Counting - see if you can count the 39 stripes on Jesus' back.
Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
I did question whether or not making this page was a good idea. The topic is not really a fun one and I didn't want to encourage disrespectful play. However, it is also the central topic of Christianity and it is rather difficult to create a Bible full of quiet book pages without featuring the cross.
The page was inspired by the buttons which looked to me like nails. I prayed about if I should go ahead with the idea and then decided to count how many buttons I had... if there were not enough then in a way it would be decided for me. I found exactly four and felt assured of approval.
Part of the message I wanted to portray with this page was that it is MY personal sin that Jesus died to pay for. Therefore it is appropriate that my own hand does the buttoning.
In times past Christians have blamed Jews and labelled them Christ-killers and given rise to massive antisemitism. Jews were driven from their homes and massacred during the crusades and the First and Second World Wars. I want to sincerely and profusely apologise for that. Anyone who wants to shift the blame in that way does not understand the gravity of their own sin, a point which the death of God's Son should certainly drive home.
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Effectively, that cross had my name on it until I decided to ask Jesus to take my place. That is what the scroll meant to demonstrate... it has 'many' (unfortunately I could only fit four) names on one side, and the other is labelled with 'Messiah ben Joseph' our suffering servant.
In Jewish eschatology there is a belief that there are to be four Messianic figures: Elijah, Messiah ben Joseph, Messiah ben David and the Righteous Priest termed collectively the Four Craftsmen. There are correlations with the Christian belief in the two comings of the Messiah. At His first coming, Jesus fulfilled the role of Messiah ben Joseph, which Christians term 'the suffering servant', and at His second coming, we believe that He will fulfill the role of Messiah ben David or what we term 'King Messiah'. We also believe Jesus is a Priest in the order of Melchizedek. In Malachi 4, Elijah was prophesied to return and in the New Testament people asked John the Baptist 'Are you Elijah'? Although he denied being Elijah or the prophet - Moses (John 1:21), perhaps an effort to deflect attention away from him and towards Christ, Jesus did imply he played the role of Elijah (Matthew 17:12). But of course the real Elijah and Moses did return prior to the cross at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9, 2 Peter 1).
Interestingly enough here are some of the traits attributed to Messiah ben Joseph and how I can see them relating to Jesus' first coming:
He is the leader of the lost ten tribes and/or all Israel - Christians believe we represent spiritually the lost ten tribes who were scattered among all nations. It is said that in the future He will bring back the exiles and rebuild the land of Israel. Christians believe that this will be fulfilled by Jesus at his second coming.
'Ben' means 'son (of)' in Hebrew, and Jesus was known as the son of Joseph (his legal father).
Joseph is also meant to refer to the tribe of Joseph (Ephraim) which was in the north and is linked to both the lost ten tribes and the physical northern area of Israel (i.e. Nazareth/Galilee area where Jesus was from).
A stone tablet called Gabriel's Revelation refers to a Messianic figure from Ephraim who will break evil in three days - Jesus breaks the power of evil by dying on the cross and rising to life again in three days. Messiah ben Joseph is also associated with the rebuilding of the temple (hence why he is a craftsmen) - something Jesus claims he will do in three days referring to his bodily resurrection.
Messiah ben Joseph is willing if necessary to die battling evil forces and the enemies of God and would receive an inadequate burial - which indeed happened to Jesus. Perhaps not in the way the Jews envisioned a battle would take place but it was the greatest battle ever fought and won.
Later God would resurrect the dead and a peaceful Messianic era would follow with Messiah ben David ruling (sounds like Heaven to me).
Start by using your template to cut out a piece of the patterned felt including the hole at the top. Pin this to the similar coloured felt and stitch it down around the outside and the hole. Cut it out including the hole.
Cut two lengeths of ribbon to reach across and past both edges the longest section of the tissue box. Melt the ends of the ribbon with a match to prevent fraying.
Pin the ribbon in position on top of the tissue box and sew them down. Fold the longer ends of the ribbon underneath the tissue box before pinning it to the background page and sewing it down around the outside edge only. Leave the hole open to allow you to fold and place the handkerchief inside.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Easy.
This is a very basic page.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
Isaiah 25 - God cares about the tears we cry
Imaginative Play - pulling tissues out of a box is a pretty exciting thing to do for a toddler -then you can wipe everyone's tears with it too
Pulling - pull the tissue out of the box
Folding - older children can learn to fold the handkerchief so it fits nicely back into the tissue box
Tucking - tuck the folded handkerchief back into the tissue box
Touch and Feel - if you use a handkerchief edged with lace, it will provide sensory stimulation through varied textures
Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
Wiping someone else's tears is rather personal. Our God loves to have a personal relationship with each of us. He often makes me laugh. He gets my sense of humour and He knows which verse to show me when I am feeling down in the dumps.
Sometimes you can't tell a soul in the world what you are going through or what is gnawing away at your peace of mind. But you can trust these secrets to the One who gave you life.
There is a saying "If you love something, set it free; if it comes back to you it is yours". He cared enough to create you, He cared enough to give you freedom, He cared enough to come rescue you. It's up to you if you want to return to Him and allow Him to wipe your tears and restore your status.
In Isaiah chapter 9, a prediction of the Messiah's birth occurs.
Memory Verse: "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6
Materials needed to create Unto Us a Son is Born quiet book page:
A4 felt background sheet. I used mid blue.
purple ribbon scrap
felt scraps in white, gray, yellow, orange, straw, dark brown, mid brown, tan, and various purples
a yellow/gold shank button with a loop back - this is too accommodate the thickness of four layers of felt used on the star
my free template - which includes the extra pieces missing from A Felt Nativity Story by Stay at Home Educator as an added bonus! Most of them are untested, but I am confident they will work - I have made a few templates in my time.
From the felt nativity story template, I used Joseph's body for both Joseph and Mary. I used two of the wise men's clothes for them because they are easily able to be adapted to form pockets to enable cuddling of Baby Jesus. First cut out one of all the pieces and arrange them on your page to make sure they fit. You will need to adapt your pieces somewhat to be able to form a pocket with Mary and Joseph's clothes. I will try to explain adequately below.
Baby Jesus: sew down the pieces for baby Jesus in the order of face followed by swaddling onto a doubled layer white background. When you have gone around the saddling, sew around his head on the white felt. Cut around the edge leaving a white border around Baby Jesus' head.
Manger: sew down the pieces for the manger and straw in that order onto a sheet of felt the same colour as the manger. I used chocolate brown. Then cut it out. Pin it to the page and cut a length of purple ribbon for a blanket and melt the ends with a match to prevent fraying. Pin it in position so it will fold over baby Jesus and form a blanket. Unpin the manger and sew down the ribbon at the bottom edge where it won't be seen under the manger. Then re-position the manger and sew it down around the outside edge leaving the top straw side open to form a pocket for baby Jesus to sleep in.
Star of David Sun: first choose the size appropriate for your button and cut out one star and sew it down to the same yellow felt. Cut it out after sewing it down. Then cut out the corresponding sized circle out of orange felt and layer a piece of orange felt topped by the Star of David and the circle of orange felt on top of that.
Sew down the circle. Sew the appropriate sized button hole onto a scrap piece of felt so you can mark with sewing pins on your sun where to start your button hole.
Sew a buttonhole the appropriate size for your button in the middle of your star and open it up with a seam ripper.
Then cut out the star by cutting the bottom orange layer by following the circle shape at the top. Fold back the yellow star points as you cut around so you don't cut them off. Hand sew the shank button to your page. Button on the sun.
Mary: Use a few of your pieces to line up Mary again, and sew down the back of her head covering and then her body on top. The photo is to show the positioning - not which sections to sew down.
Sew down the two purple pieces onto a white sheet of felt. Position the body piece template over the top and use it to cut out the shape of her dress. Then trim the section of white from around the shoulder area and continue down along the purple to the bottom edge. See below.
Pin the dress on top and sew matching your thread to the white and purple sections. Stop at the spot where the purple cuts across Mary's chest to form a pocket opening so Mary can cuddle baby Jesus.
Next sew down Mary's head and hair. Sew her front head covering down onto the same white sheet of felt it was cut from so it is double thickness. Cut it out and then sew it down along the outside edge.
Joseph: When cutting out Joseph's clothes, cut off one shoulder from the Y shaped pattern pieces. When you cut out the pieces out of felt, extend the length of the pieces you cut off from the Y shape so they extend underneath the other and into the pocket.
Position and sew the back of Joseph's head covering, followed by his body. Then sew down the extended shoulder pieces the go underneath Joseph's outer robe into the pocket. Sew down his head and hair.
Similar to Mary, sew down the two purple pieces on top of each other onto a grey sheet of felt. Position the body piece template over the top and use it to cut out the shape of his robe. Then trim the section of grey from around the shoulder area and continue down along the purple to the bottom edge. Pin the robe on top of his body and sew matching your thread to the grey and purple sections. Stop at a spot a little below where the purple cuts across Joseph's chest to form a pocket opening so he can cuddle baby Jesus too. Why is it always Mary that gets all the cuddles? I'm sure Joseph tried to be a good Step-Dad and gave Jesus plenty of cuddles.
Lastly, Sew down the front of his head covering onto another gray sheet of felt to double it up so it is strong. Then cut it out and position it, sewing only along the outer edge.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Intermediate.
However - A Felt Nativity Story board by Stay at Home Educator is easy! I included the missing pieces in my free template above.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
Isaiah 9 - This page tells about how God told Isaiah about the birth of the Messiah around 500 years before the fact - He came from Royal lineage as predicted
Imaginative Play - The baby can have cuddles with Mummy and Daddy, wear His crown/halo, and sleep in His royal-blanky bed
Tucking - Tuck baby Jesus into his manger-bed and tack the blanket in over the top
Buttoning - Button and un-button the sun
Shapes - Learn the shape of a Star of David and sun
Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
Isaiah prophesied Jesus birth around 600-700 years before the event.
Jesus is the sun of righteousness mentioned in this chapter. I made a Star of David shaped sun that can be buttoned on and off the page - and can be used as an impromptu crown or halo on Jesus' head.
This quiet book page features a lot of purple - because the government will be on His shoulders and that is the Royal colour. I gave Jesus a purple blanket for the same reason. It kinda annoys me when they picture Him in prickly hay. As if his Mama wouldn't put a blanky down first!!
Both Mary and Joseph are descendants of King David (government) - although Joseph was a descendant through the line of Jeconiah and therefore not eligible to be a forebear of the Messiah. I will write about that in another devotional, however.
Which brings me to the next part of this devotional... hidden information regarding the virgin birth.
There are countless fascinating things to discover when you start studying the Bible. You might be frightened that you will learn everything there is to know, but you are quite safe to believe you will never get to that stage. The Holy Spirit has inspired so many secret layers of meaning (that probably the original writers did not even realize they were hiding in the writing) that we will never run out of learning.
There are two ways of writing the Hebrew letter mem - 'M' in English. they are called an open mem and a closed mem, referring to the gap or no gap formed in the letter when writing it. Correct Hebrew grammar rules that the closed mem is only ever used at the end of a word. Theses rules are followed everywhere in the Bible except in one word in a passage in Isaiah 9. If you are curious as to why the rule is broken here and how that is significant to the prophecy of Jesus' virgin birth, please read this article from JewishRoots.net and even if you don't read the whole article - make sure you follow the link in the article to a two and a bit page PDF entitled The Mystery of the Closed Mem by Daniel Botkin. It is large writing and an easy read, and WELL worth it!
For unto us A Child is Born - Handel's Messiah
Tahlia had fun pretending to conduct the orchestra and choir for this clip!!
Since it is Hanukkah right now, I decided to make a felt board play set and share with my readers how to do it. So here it is: how to make a menorah felt board play set for Hanukkah!
Menorah Felt Board Play Set
Felt sticks to itself, so you can make movable pictures for kids to play with and rearrange repeatedly. Normally I double my felt to make it strong, but not for this project as I didn't want it to be too heavy and fall off the felt board.
Hanukkah celebrates a miracle which occurred during the time in between the writing of the old and new testaments.
Basically, the temple had been defiled by the Greeks who were ruling over the Jews at the time. They were being massacred and reading the scriptures was outlawed. The Jews ran a successful revolt, and rededicated the temple to God even though they only had enough undefiled olive oil to last one day in the temple seven-branched candlestick. It was never supposed to go out, and one day's supply of oil miraculously lasted eight days - enough time to secure an ongoing supply. To read a more detailed story click here.
So, why are there nine candles on the Hanukkah menorah when the oil only lasted eight days? I believe the taller candle called the Shamash, or servant, represents Jesus, see Isaiah 53:11 and John 8:12. It is used to light all the others. Of course this is not the meaning attributed to it by Judaism. Click here for their explanation.
John records that Jesus went to the temple at the time of Hanukkah, John 10:22-23. Since it celebrates being set free from earthly oppressors, the Pharisees used it as another opportunity to chide Jesus about whether He was really the Messiah... and He responded that they didn't recognise Him because they didn't know His voice. As this is the only place where the Good Shepherd is mentioned, I cannot leave that out and will not be focusing on Hanukkah in that chapter of the Bible quiet book project. I think :)
The candles are lit from right to left in the same way that Hebrew is read from right to left. Ascension Ministries have a heap of good ideas on how to celebrate Hanukkah in a New Testament way!
Find a free template of the Hanukkah menorah felt board play set I made here!
