Ages

Elementary

Scripture

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

What You Will Need

• Bridge to God Printable (See Downloads below).
• 6 pieces of brown construction paper
• Letters of the alphabet on individual slips of paper (See Downloads below).
• Picture of a lighthouse (See Downloads below).
• Lantern or flashlight
• Blow up plastic raft(s) or a blanket raft for all the children to sit on
• 6 pieces 8-1/2" x 11" gray cardboard for paper sharks (Optional)
• Bible

Preparation

Room setup:

• Tape lighthouse to the wall on one end of your room and place the lit lantern or flashlight in front.
• Arrange rafts or blanket on the floor about 15-20 feet from the lighthouse.
• Cut 6 round stepping stones from the brown construction paper and put one letter on each to spell C-H-R-I-S-T.
• Cut out shark fins. Use gray cardboard. Fold long side 2". Cut 2" slit midway from edge to fold. Bend one flap to front and one to back so fin will stand up. With remaining paper, cut out curved triangle shape. Place sharks on the floor between the raft and lighthouse.
• Put alphabet papers in a container for children to draw from.
• Copy 1 Bridge to God printable for each child. (See Downloads below).

Bible Lesson

Can anyone tell me what lighthouses do? (Help ships find their way to safety. Help them get to shore. Have a bright light so ships can see them.) Well, God is our lighthouse.

In Isaiah 42:16, he says, "I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them."

In this scripture, God is not just talking about people who’s eyes can see. He is talking about people who are lost and don’t know their way. He will provide the light to lead them. Like a lighthouse, God will provide the light to lead us through tough times.

But what do we need to get to God?

(Have children sit on the raft.) Let’s pretend for a moment that you are on a raft out in the shark-filled ocean. You are in a dangerous place, but you can see God’s light shining through the darkness. But how can you get to him? (Swim - you’ll get eaten by the sharks. Paddle - you have no oars.) We’re going to play a game to find out how we can safely get across the water to God. We’re going to use a bridge.

Instructions

All the children start on the raft. They must draw a letter from the container. If they draw any letter in the word CHRIST, they earn the stepping stone with that letter on it. The leader places the stone in the water in front of the raft.

"Great, you have earned the first stepping stone in our bridge to get to God". (Note: children will not earn the letters in order. They should be scrambled. They also don’t know what word they are trying to spell).

If a child draws a letter that is not part of the word "Christ", the leader shouts Man Over board. The child gets off the raft and quickly runs all around the raft and jumps back in before the sharks can get him. We sometimes play this game with one child being the shark. If the child gets tagged by the shark, they become the shark and the other child gets on the raft. Play continues until all 6 letters have been chosen and placed on the floor reaching the lighthouse. Now children must work together to unscramble the word and put the letters in the correct order. Once they guess correctly, the leader puts the letters in the correct order to spell C-H-R-I-S-T. The children take turns walking across the bridge to get to God.

In the Bible in John 14:6, Christ says: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

So what is the only way to get to God? (Through Christ) That means that as a Christian you believe that Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Jesus saved us, from all the evil and the sharks in the world, and he is our bridge to God.

Pass around the lighthouse handouts, Have children fill in the letters on the bridge.

I want to give you a challenge. I want you to take this paper and explain it to at least two people this week. (If you see the children the following week ask them to come back and report on how they did on the challenge.)

Prayer

Dear Lord, Thank you for sending Christ to be our bridge to you. Help us to take this message and tell others how they can find you too. Amen

Extras

If you want to go all out, get two blue tablecloths and lay on the floor to make water. Cut slits where the shark fins stick up.

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Downloads

• A Bridge To God.pdf
• CGC A Bridge To God Lighthouse.pdf
• cgcbridgetogodletters.pdf