The Sioux City Church recently held a rainforest-themed Vacation Bible School, where children were encouraged to “Follow Jesus on a Life-Changing Adventure.”

The week was spent going through several parables Jesus told, each being accompanied by songs, snacks and crafts that coincided with the day’s lesson.

The first day they learned about the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13). They took turns touching and feeling different types of soil—hard, rocky, weedy, and good—and learning in a practical sense the spiritual lesson that God’s Word best takes root in good soil, producing fruit 30, 60, or 100 times what was planted.

In the Parable of the Lost Sheep (Matt. 18, Luke 15) they learned about how there is more rejoicing over the one lost sheep that was found then the 99 that were safe with the shepherd. They learned about John 3:16, that God loves them so much that He sent His son Jesus to find them, and that if they believe in Him they’ll be found just like the lost sheep and will get to spend eternal life with Him.

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) they learned that everyone is their neighbor, even if they look different, have a different skin color, come from a different country, attend a different church or wear different clothes. They learned that even those who mistreat them are their neighbors. They also learned about the greatest commandment: to love the Lord with all their heart, soul and mind and to love their neighbors as themselves (Matt. 22:36-40).

The last parable was the Friend at Midnight who asked his neighbor for three loaves of bread (Luke 11). They learned how they can pray to God any time of day or night, and that God will meet their needs. If our parents know how to give us bread when ask instead of a stone, or a fish instead of a snake, or an egg instead of a scorpion, how much more will our Heavenly Father who is perfect know how to give us the things we need when we ask Him (Luke 11:11-13).