Psalm 122 - Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem Quiet Book Page

Psalm 122 instructs us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Memory Verse: "Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

“May those who love you be secure." Psalm 122:6 

Materials needed to create Abraham's Journey quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet. I used tie dye felt. Peace man!
• a second tie dye felt sheet or black soft felt
• black stiffened felt
• sticky/packing tape
• sewing thread to match
• black velcro dots
• hot glue gun and glue
• my free template (puzzle pieces only)
• peace sign template available from Wee Folk Art

First cut your template pieces out and tape them onto your black stiffened felt. This is so that you don't puncture the felt with pins and so you can see where to cut as it is difficult to draw on felt in that much detail.

The next step depends on whether you have a second piece of tie dye felt or not (I didn't). If you do, you can eliminate some of the following - I'm sure you can work out which bits ;)

I sewed my peace sign down onto the middle of my tie dye sheet by the inside sections only. Do not sew the outside circle yet. This enabled me to cut out the peace sign and fill in the background space with black soft felt. I also sewed the peace sign to black soft felt around the outside edge and cut it out again. Now simply sew your peace sign back over the hole you cut it out from around the bottom half leaving the top half open to form a pocket.

Cut your velcro dots in half and hot glue the soft side to the outside rim of the peace sign in the middle of each quarter. Glue the scratchy half to each puzzle piece.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Intermediate

It will be easier if you have two sheets of the tie dye felt rather than trying to use one. I only had one and had no way of getting more.

The hardest part is getting motivation to cut out the menorah!

Be careful to glue the velcro dots on the correct side - unlike me who had to try to pull one off and re-glue it...

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Psalm 122 - This page teaches about the map of the Old City of Jerusalem in modern times and about how we are all connected to each other - when we harm others we harm ourselves
• Puzzle Pieces - connect the puzzle pieces together
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Psalm 122

Devotional

For a city with a name which means "peaceful", Jerusalem sure doesn't see a lot of it.

This quiet book page is largely a play on words - pray for the peace / pieces of Jerusalem.

Nowadays, the old city of Jerusalem is quite literally divided into four quarters.

Image Source - Encyclopaedia Brittanica

Neverlesless, we are all connected to each other, and when we harm others, we harm ourselves. It is for his own family's sake that the Psalmist wishes for peace.

I imagine Jerusalem will never achieve peace before the Second Coming, nevertheless it does need our prayers. But perhaps this verse is asking us to pray for the Kingdom. Perhaps we are asked to pray that the peace of Jerusalem to come will be present in our lives regardless of our circumstances. May the Prince of Peace bring comfort, hope and joy to your soul as He has done for so many others already. I pray this peace for you.

Paul Wilbur - Shalom Jerusalem

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"What I like best about my story quiet books is that you can tell stories, make up stories together and play (in whatever language you are most comfortable)."

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Genesis 12 - Abram's Journey Quiet Book Page

In Genesis chapter 12, God tells Abram to go to a place He would show him. I have included a few verses from chapters 11 and 13 here for convenience.

Memory Verse: "The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you." Genesis 12:1

Materials needed to create Abram's Journey quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet. I used deep blue.
• brown felt, plus tan scraps
• sewing thread to match, plus blue for the rivers
• a shoelace
• crotchet rings
• my free template

First place your map UPSIDE DOWN on your brown felt and trace around it with a pen.  This way the pen side will be face down...

...and the map will be the right way when placed on the background felt. Sew it down.

Next mark each point at which you will turn when sewing the rivers. I placed my template on top of my felt version and pushed in a pin at each turning point. I started at the branched ends and aimed for the entrance point of each pin when I got to each subsequent pin.

Sew down your pyramids and crotchet rings where indicated. For the crotchet rings I set my machine to zero length on zig zag stitch and secured them with about 20 stitches.

Measure the length of shoelace needed by threading it as shown in the first picture and  leaving enough of an end to stitch it down underneath the zigurat. Melt the ends of the shoelace to prevent fraying before using zig zag stitch to secure it to your page . Place the ziggurat over the end of the shoelace and sew down.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Intermediate

This is a very easy quiet book page to sew, except for sewing the rivers. You might find this part easier if you do it by hand.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Genesis 12 - This page tells the story of how Abraham obeyed God and moved his family to Canaan
• Threading - thread the shoelace through the places mentioned that Abraham stopped at on his way
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Read the Chapter

Genesis 12

Devotional

Abraham had already moved from Ur to Haran when God called him to move again. Moving can be a hard thing, particularly when leaving family - although sometimes it is the reason for the move! Perhaps it was one reason that God wanted Abraham to move, although maybe not. Whilst it is recorded in non-Biblical sources that Abraham's father was an idol worshiper and even owned an idol shop, it does seem that God waited until his death before instructing Abraham to leave.

It is also difficult to trust God and take those first steps when you can't see the end of the road. But God asked Abraham to go to a place that He would show him. Abraham didn't know where the road ended. But He decided to trust God anyway.

It ended up being a bit like a wander in the wilderness for him, and although he eventually ended up living in the promised land, the only piece of it he owned was a burial plot. I assume he could not build a house on land that did not belong to him, and that he continued to live in a tent for the rest of his long life.

There is a lot of pressure on people these days to buy their own home and people who are not able to often feel unsuccessful and like they lack something to show for their efforts. Circumstances are far from perfect and though someone works hard, often things don't work out how we plan. God wants us to remember that this earth is not our home - we are wanderers here. And if we live in a tent for the rest of our lives here that is quite OK. One day we will possess a 'mansion'.

Abraham's Exciting Journey - Song for the Kids

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Genesis 3 - The Fall of Adam and Eve Quiet Book Page

In Genesis chapter 3, Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Memory Verse: Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1

Materials needed to create The Fall of Adam and Eve quiet book page:

• A4 felt background sheet. I used sky blue.
• felt scraps
• sewing thread to match
• fabric paint (optional)
• sew on press studs
• a pipe cleaner
• two black seed beads
• thin ribbon scrap
• a tree of the knowledge good and evil template - I used this wall hanging from Wee Folk Art
• a tree of life template - I used the Autumn Oak Applique pattern also from Wee Folk Art
• a printer / scanner
• a laminator and lamination sheets or iron on transfer paper/sublimation printing and white stiffened felt

Image Source

For the Adam and Eve finger puppets, I used the workbook Bible Stories by Twin Sisters Productions, 2005. I printed and cut out around the outside of the puppets, but left the finger holes uncut, then laminated them. After laminating, I cut around each finger puppet again, and cut out the finger holes. I used a single craft hole punch to make a hole in the finger slots so I could get the scissors in. If you want them made from felt, you could use transfer paper and white stiffened felt, or have them sublimation printed onto felt and then back them with stiffened felt.

On your background sheet, arrange some green felt in the foreground to make grass and sew down.

Cut out a double layer of darker green felt in the shape of a bush. Decorate one piece with fabric paint flowers (or use flower buttons etc). Sew one side of two press studs to the back of the bush piece so they will fit between the finger holes of the finger puppets. Sew the two bush pieces together. Then sew the bush down in about the middle of the foreground along the bottom edge. Sew the other half of the two press studs to the background sheet so they line up with their respective studs on the bush. This is how you will store the finger puppets and stop them falling out of the quiet book when not in use.

Print and cut out your tree templates. You may have to reduce the size to make sure it fits to your page (sorry I can't remember whether I did or not as I made this page quite a while ago). I definitely reduced the size of the tree of life template so I could create a peek-a-boo flap. I didn't want the tree of life to seem boring compared to the tree of knowledge of good and evil! I just used one of the sections but straightened out one edge and turned it upside down. Use doubled felt for the flaps to strengthen them. Sew fruit down underneath the flaps.

For the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, sew down your leaf sections first. Double the felt for the trunk and sew it down to the page along the trunk and outer tips of the branches. This way you can weave the snake in and out.

The snake was made by sewing a circle of brown felt folded back and forth between two thin strips of felt. I inserted a ribbon at the end for a tongue. Before sewing together completely at the opposite end, I inserted a pipe cleaner to allow the snake to bend and keep it's shape. It was difficult to get the pipe cleaner past the frill, but I got it eventually. Sew on two black seed beads for the eyes.

Finished!

Difficulty Level = Difficult

The snake was quite difficult as I wanted it to be thin - which made inserting the pipe cleaner hard. You could simplify it by leaving off the winged frill on the snake, using a small toy snake, or making this Pipe Cleaner Craft: Beaded Snake by Kids Activities instead. If I had found this idea before making the snake I might have saved myself a fair bit of bother.

Key Learning Areas and Skills

• Genesis 3 - This page tells the story of how sin entered the world
• Imaginative Play - our Adam and Eve like to play peek-a-boo
• Press Studs - apples and Adam and Eve get held behind the bush for storage with press studs
• Finger Puppets - your fingers are Adam and Eve's legs!
• Peek-a-boo - lift the flap to discover fruit on the Tree of Life
• Weaving - the snake can be woven through the branches of the tree of knowledge of good and evil
• Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
• Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination

Eve giving Adam the apple...

Read the Chapter

Genesis 3

Devotional

The first lie is still believed today. No-one wants to think they are going to die forever. The snake said "you shall not surely die" but God said "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life" (Romans 6:23). The gift is only given to the righteous. The dead know not anything (Ecclesiastes 9:5).

It is a misnomer that the righteous go to Heaven when they die. The righteous go to Heaven after the resurrection, when Jesus returns with His reward (Isaiah 40:10, Revelation 22:12). Heaven is not the reward - He is not bringing Heaven with Him. Eternal life is. Until then, Jesus refers to the dead as 'sleeping'. The belief in immediate Heaven and Hell following death entered the church with the conversion of Gentile (often Greek) people who brought their ideas from Greek mythology with them.

It would be unjust for punishment to precede judgement - and God will leave no avenue open for Satan to appeal against His justice system.

Adam and Eve - Song for the Kids

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Pre-School Bible Class Song Activity - Felt Bible

The best Bible class I have taken Tahlia to when she was little was based almost entirely on songs and activities to go with the songs. It had a theme or story for each month and a box of items to go with each song. Children need repetition, and repeating the songs all month helped them learn the song and enjoy it.

This felt Bible has been hanging around the children's room at a church I recently visited for at least 20 years. No-one, not even the older ladies, could tell me where they came from - but they would be easy enough to make yourself. I think they may have been a kit purchase for people to cut out and put together themselves. If you know the company that produced them, please share your info!

They appear to be printed using the sublimation method to me, although the ink has rubbed off onto the other pages so perhaps not. But sublimation printing would definitely work if you did not want to paint/draw/sew a whole bunch by hand. Check out my post on affordable sublimation printing - Sublimation Printing on Felt - Test.

Alternatively you could use iron-on transfer paper and use images of your child's family. Putting Jesus there with all the other family members demonstrates to a child that He is an important member of their family.

This item was handed out to accompany the song Read your Bible, Pray Every Day. I'm sure you could adapt it to many other songs too, such as With Jesus in the Family, Happy Happy Home.

Children's Bible Songs has printable lyrics and guitar chords for Read Your Bible, Pray Every Day.

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If you have any other song activities or picture ideas to include in this Bible I'd love to hear from you!