VBS 2024

This page is full of daily resources to engage with as a family during VBS. Each day after VBS, we encourage you to look at the daily videos, big ideas, questions/answers, activities and more!

GIVING UPDATE

Day 1

Big Ideas

Bible Story

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Bible Story Questions & Answers

What is one thing you remember about baobab trees?
- Humongous succulents.
- Store a lot of water in order to survive.
- Flowers that actually bloom at night, produce a wild fruit that is super healthy.
 - Attracts many animals, provides food and shelter from insects to bats, owls, warthogs and elephants!
Why do you think Jesus used a child to show what being "the greatest" means?
To show that it's not about age, power, or achievement, to show what it means to depend on and trust God completely.
What is one thing you remember about Zacchaeus?
- Tax collector who was rich
- Short man who couldn't see in a crowd
- Seeking to see who Jesus was
Why were people shocked that Jesus would want to spend time with Zachaeus?
They saw Zacchaeus as a sinner, someone who has done many wrongs and Jesus should not be around someone who does wrong.
What is something you think you can learn from the way Jesus spent time with Zacchaeus?
Let kids answer on their own.

Day 1 Recap Video

Day 2

Big Ideas

Bible Story

John 1:6-28

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

(John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Now this was John’s testimony when the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him who he was. He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”

They asked him, “Then who are you? Are you Elijah?”

He said, “I am not.”

“Are you the Prophet?”

He answered, “No.”

Finally they said, “Who are you? Give us an answer to take back to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’”

Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?”

“I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

This all happened at Bethany on the other side of the Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Bible Story Questions & Answers

What is one thing you remember about glass frogs?
- They have translucent skin, meaning you can see through their skin
- They are the size of a thumbnail
- They can jump higher than a tree in the rainforest
What is one thing you remember about John the Baptist?
- Sent from God to share the news that Jesus is the Savior
- Baptized Jesus
What was John's message to people?
To be ready for Jesus; that Jesus is the Savior, not him.
Why do you think it's important to share your story?
Remember the ripple effect, you share your story and someone else hears it and it passes on to another and then they share their story too until everyone hears about Jesus and how His love has changed you and helped you.
What is one wild way you can share your story?
Let kids answer on their own.

Day 2 Recap Video

Day 3

Big Ideas

Bible Story

Mark 5:21-43

When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” So Jesus went with him.

And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years.  She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,  because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’"

But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James.  When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”).  Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Bible Story Questions & Answers

What is one thing you remember about red pandas?
- Flexible ankles that make them able to climb down a tree head first
- They have a pseudo-thumb which is a special bone in their wrist that sticks out and acts as a thumb - helps them get a good grip on their bamboo that they eat.
- They spend most of their awake time looking for and eating bamboo
Why did Jairus seek out Jesus?
His daughter was sick, he wanted Jesus to heal her
Who touched Jesus' cloak in the crowd? Why?
A woman who suffered from bleeding disease, she believed she would be healed just by touching his clothes.
What was Jesus able to do for the woman and the little girl in the story? What about everyone else?
- He healed the woman
- He brought the girl back to life
- He brings hope and amazement to others, the chance to believe and have faith in Him
What kinds of gifts has God given you?
Let kids answer on their own.

Day 3 Recap Video