Families of Faith VBS

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Welcome to VBS!
Even though we can’t do Vacation Bible School (VBS) in person this year, we hope and pray that this will be a joyful time for your family to grow and learn together. This may actually be a blessing in disguise. Christian education shouldn’t just happen at church. Families are where faith is formed. Hopefully by doing these studies and activities together each day, you can start or expand your family devotion time. Set aside a regular time each day, and remember to include the whole family (dads, too!).

Theme:
Since you’ll be doing these lessons together as a family, it made sense for us to go with a theme that has to do with family life. Our Bible readings will cover a variety of topics including marriage, parenting, and sibling relationships. Family life can be complicated, and the goal of this study is not to compare your family to some sort of “perfect family.” The family we’ll be learning about this week is certainly not perfect! But we will see how God can work even through imperfect families like ours to show us His love and forgiveness.

Readings:
Each day we work our way through the story of Isaac and Rebekah and their twin sons, Jacob and Esau. Readings are provided from the English Standard Version of the Bible. Some of these are longer stories, and you may wish to ask older children to help with the readings. For younger children, page numbers are provided for The Story Bible (CPH, 2011). If you need a copy of The Story Bible, it may be purchased at www.cph.org for around $20: https://www.cph.org/p-18257-the-story-bible.aspx. We also have a few extra copies here at church.

Catechism:
Work on learning these texts by heart (adults, too!). Younger children should be able to at least learn the text of the commandments, while older children can also work on learning the explanations.

Prayer:
A simple prayer is included for each day, along with the Lord’s Prayer and Luther’s Morning and Evening Prayers. Please add to these prayers any specific needs or thanksgivings for your family and loved ones.

Song:
This year, our theme song for VBS is “Oh Blest the House” (LSB 862). If you don’t know this hymn, there are YouTube versions available, including here. https://youtu.be/5xWqfPlAlqU

Crafts and Activities:
Following each lesson, there are opportunities for further interaction with the story. Try to pick at least one of these projects to work on together as a family. You can also use Google and Pinterest to find more options, if you are looking for ideas. There are also some coloring pages included at the end of the packet.

Please let us know how this is working for your family. Check in with us at church or send us an email at the link below. We hope that these lessons serve you well, and we look forward for gathering in person again for VBS in 2022.

God’s Blessings,
Pastor Mark Birkholz