Spiritual Prep
All those involved in VCS are busy preparing not only the physical things needed for a successful week, but spiritually preparing for a great week as well. We invite you as families to prepare as well to help make this week memorable and Spirit-filled. Below are some of the topics and themes we will be talking about this week. We hope this helps you in your discussions with your children and in your own lives and study.
Monday
Wonderful Faith
Today we will be talking about faith. Our story for the day is about Moses and crossing the Red Sea. The faith of the Israelites and Moses allowed God to do some mighty miracles. If you would like to read the story for yourself, check out Exodus 14.
Looking at stories of faith and water, who can not think of Jesus walking on the water? Peter had enough faith to step out of the boat and take a few steps, but then his faith faltered. In this video clip, it shows Peter on top of the water, until he took his eyes of Jesus. Then doubt came in and his faith waivered. Are you keeping your eyes on Jesus?
Tuesday
Amazing Prayer
Today we dive into prayer: what is it, why we do it, and how amazing it is. The story we are using to bring this into focus is Jonah and the big fish. His story of prayer is recorded in Jonah 1 &2.
Another amazing story of the power of prayer and water is the account of Nephi's family crossing the ocean found in 1 Nephi 5:180-212. Due to the rebellion of his brothers, the Liahona stopped working. Nephi's faith and the prayers of his family were able to help them get back on track. Here is a fantastic 15 minute video of that story.
Wednesday
Valiant Testimony
Today we plunge into testimonies. God calls us to be valiant in our testimony. We will look at a great example of Paul being valiant in his testimony even under the trying circumstances of being shipwrecked. Here is a fun video for the kids.
We are also going to be looking at some modern day missionaries and how they have been valiant in sharing. Who is your favorite modern missionary? Have you read any of these books?
In the Service of My Lord: Vivian C. Sorensen
33 Women of the Restoration & Dedicated to Serve: Emma M. Phillips
Adventures of a South Sea Missionary: F. Edward Butterworth
The Call at Evening: Jessie Ward
Thursday
Eternal Life
Today we get to explore the concept of Eternal Life. A story that explains this is the account of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the Well found in John. A short little video that tells this story can be found here.
Another concept of Eternal life is how we will get to live with Christ forever in Zion. Talk with your child about what you think Zion will look like. Who will be there? What will it look like? How will we live? Try not to be general such as "one heart and one mind" but be very specific. What does your child think it will be like? The word Zion is found 424 times throughout the scriptures. Lots of places to start studying!