Fun Activities for Kids About James Chapter 4 7-19

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Bible verses are sometimes simply “words on a page” to young children. Help your preschool kids gain an understanding of the book of James, chapter four, verses seven through nineteen, by providing fun activities and simple observation. Kids can experience the meaning of Biblical concepts even if they sometimes cannot find the words for a more rational explanation.

1 “Resist the Devil, and He Will Flee From You” — 4:7

Create a “devil” mask out of construction paper, or simply create a pair of “devil horns” that can be attached to a headband and worn. Play a game of tag, with the person who is "it" representing the devil and wearing the mask or headband. Allow every child to have a turn being both the devil and one of those who “resist” being tagged by him. Once the game is over, help them observe that those who tried hardest and ran the fastest were able to resist the devil, while the child playing the devil was most successful when he “fled” the “resisters” and worked on tagging those who were easier to catch.

2 “Draw Near to God, and He Will Draw Near to You” — 4:8

Ask your child to draw a picture of God and also one of herself. Have her do this on two separate sheets of paper. Offer glitter glue or watercolor paints, for example, for decorating both pictures. Ask her to place one picture in one part of the house and the other picture in a room quite far from the first. Have your child pick up and carry the picture of herself toward the place where she has placed the picture of God. As she gets closer, remind her that she is ”drawing near to God” as she approaches the picture. Once she has the two pictures side by side, show her that, in fact, as she has “drawn near to God, he [has] drawn near to [her].”

3 “Humble Yourselves in the Sight of the Lord, and He Shall Lift You Up” — 4:10

This verse presents a fun opportunity for some physical connection between parent and child. See if your youngster can fall to the ground, going completely limp. Have him remain as limp as he can as you “lift” him from the ground with no help from him. If your child Is small enough, lift him completely into your arms and hold him there for a moment. Ask your child to describe the feeling of being completely lifted and carried, without providing any of his own support. Remind him that God is there to lift him up, in much the same way, if only he will give up his control and allow Him in.

4 What Is Your Life?” — 4:14

James 4:14 answers this question: “For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” Demonstrate this idea by using your household’s bathroom. Close windows and doors and turn on the tub’s hot water faucet, allowing the room to fill with steam (which will stand for “mist”). Make a game of it by having the children guess how long they think the bathroom's "mist" will take to disappear once you open the doors and windows. Time the mist's disappearance. Review this Bible verse with your child and relate the disappearance of the bathroom "mist" to the brevity of each human’s life on Earth.

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