Christ the King Lutheran's VBS: The Tree

500 4th Avenue Southwest,Spencer IA 51301

14 July, 2022

Description

Christ the King Lutheran's Vacation Bible School: The Tree of Life The Tree of Life Vacation Bible School program is written produced by Pax Domini Press. The Tree of Life (Pax Domini Press) is a Vacation Bible School program intended to present to children one of the most powerful images of the Gospel in the Scriptures. Few images are more consistently invoked from the beginning to the end of Scriptures than that of the tree. The first mention of life outside of the Trinity in Scripture is botanical (herbs and seeds; cf. Genesis 1: 11) and the image carries through to the last chapter of the Bible. When understood in light of Jesus Christ and the Gospel, the tree not only becomes a simple way of explaining some complex teachings, but due to its ubiquitous presence in our world, the tree can become a wonderful reminder of the Gospel. Christ the King's Vacation Bible School is for children ages newborn - 12. Ages newborn - until potty trained require a parent present with their young child. A donation of $20 is appreciated to cover all the costs of materials! Lesson One: The Promised Seed (Genesis 3) After Adam and Eve sin, Paradise (Eden) is shut off from them, but God promises that Eve’s “Seed” would crush the head of their enemy, Satan. That Seed is Christ, Who at His conception was sown from heaven and implanted in humanity, and at His birth He opened up heaven again, reversing the curse given to Adam and Eve. Lesson Two: The Buried Seed (John 12:24-25) Jesus the Seed needed to die and be buried before He could “sprout” and be a Tree of Life for us. Lesson Three: The Seed Sprouts (Matthew 13: 31-32) Jesus “sprouted” when He resurrected and “grew” (ascended) to the right hand of the Father. He is now a “Tree of Life” that reaches up into the heavens, providing a way for us to follow Him and ascend to heaven as well. Like a mustard tree, Jesus was buried “small and insignificant,” but arose to be a mighty tree that provides shelter to all who come to Him. Lesson Four: The Vine and the Branches (John 15: 1-8) We become branches in Jesus, the Vine (The Tree of Life), when we are baptized. We abide in Him through Holy Communion. As His branches, we share in what He possesses, namely, a place in heaven. Lesson Five: The Fruit of the Lips (Acts 2) As branches in The Tree of Life, we produce fruits, and the Holy Spirit gathers our “firstfruits” at the feast of ingathering, Pentecost, an event the continues in the Church’s liturgy. These firstfruits are our faith, as expressed in various activities, all of which happen at church: calling on the Lord’s name, confessing sins, begging for mercy, praying. And as the Proverb reads, we are filled by the fruit of our lips in Holy Communion. (Proverbs 18: 20) That is to say, the Lord answers our faith with His gifts.