PrimaRy Teacher Introduction .................... 5 Lesson 1 Ridin’ Ready ............... 9 Lesson 2 Ridin’ Obedient .......... 15 Lesson 3 Ridin’ Faithful ........... 21 Lesson 4 Ridin’ Bold ................ 27 Lesson 5 Ridin’ Courageous ....... 33 PrimaRy Teacher Written by Rhonda Blackerby Rhonda was saved at the age of six and baptized into Sweet Home MBC in Prattsville, AR. She has been married to Pastor Doney Blackerby for thirty-five years serving the Lord together in three churches, currently with Center MBC, Rison, AR. The Blackerby’s have three children and six grandchildren, all active in their churches. She began working in VBS at age fourteen leading music for younger children and has worked in all phases of VBS since that time, including VBS director and as a presenter at VBS workshops. She has been a writer of the Bogard Press primary VBS for eight years. Rhonda is active in all phases of church ministry including choir, mid-week Discovery Bible Clubs director and teacher. She is active in the Ladies’ Auxiliary of her church and has served as an officer for Arkansas State and National Women’s Auxiliaries. She is a part-time receptionist and lives to spend time with her family. “I am thankful to be a part of the Cross Canyon Trail VBS team. It is a blessing to realize your own spiritual helplessness and learn to rely on the Lord to meet all your needs. When you ask, He blesses your efforts. My confidence is in the Lord who is all-sufficient. One of my favorite songs is, ‘Tis So Sweet To Trust in Jesus.’ The chorus in the song is, ‘Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him, How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er!’ I can testify over and over that Jesus has been faithful to me.” Email: [email protected] Our team ADULT EDITOR: LAYOUT DESIGNERS: EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jim Jones Kyle Elkins, Cindy Butler Copyright 2014 Larry E. Clements Ashley Elkins CHILDREN’S EDITOR: Bogard Press© [email protected] Libby Gill COVER DESIGN: 4605 N. State Line Ave. BUSINESS MANAGER: Jeff Allen Texarkana, TX 75503-2928 ILLUSTRATOR: Wayne Sewell www.vbs.bogardpress.org Connie Spears CONTENT EDITORS: [email protected] 1-800-264-2482 Terry McKellar, Carolyn Burks GRAPHIC ARTISTS: PRODUCTION EDITOR: Deby Turrentine, Joni Curtis Shawn Blase, Jeff Allen Sally McInvale Greg Hilterbrand PRINT PRODUCTION: Blake Tilton Charles Easley In preparation for Cross Canyon Trail, this question comes to mind, “How many Christians are ridin’ strong or just ridin’ along?” The theme verse, Luke 9:23, shares precious words from Christ: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” That statement does not bring to mind a life of abundance and ease. Instead, it indicates sacrifice, hardship and a firm commitment to Christ. Cross Canyon Trail includes five outstanding Bible characters. Each account features a man or woman who experienced a hardship and made sacrifices. And they stayed true to the Lord as He accomplished His will through their readiness, obedience, faithfulness, boldness and courage. Primary students will benefit by seeing how God worked in the lives of Gideon, Ruth, Nehemiah, Peter and Esther. The accounts of their faithfulness are recorded in the Bible, because they did not merely ride along, they were committed to ride strong with the Lord. They were able to overcome fear, doubt and attack by enemies. And they learned that God would provide when it seemed they were empty-handed and out of ideas or answers to their problems. Christians today will be faced with some of the same adversity as we try to follow God’s trail in life. This series will help the buckaroos (students) hide God’s Word in their hearts, and they will be more prepared to serve, follow, live for, share and stand with their Savior, Jesus Christ. Teachers, you will personally benefit by taking the time to read the books of Ruth, Nehemiah and Esther in their entirety. Nehemiah had a great undertaking: the rebuilding of the Jerusalem wall. He made a night inspection of the wall with only a few friends. The privacy of the night allowed him to take a true assessment of the situation without interference or interruption. Nehemiah was willing to work overtime to get the job done and restore honor and glory to the Lord in Jerusalem. He researched, planned, prayed and put much thought into the best way to serve the Lord on the wall project. He organized the people, and they enjoyed success even in the face of opposition and ridicule. Nehemiah also had to deal with unexpected problems. The task of Nehemiah may sound like trying to complete a week of VBS with lively, challenging students. You can be successful in the same way Nehemiah was. Start with prayer, then prepare and perhaps put in a little overtime. Let the Lord handle the things you have no control over. Remember Nehemiah 4:20, “Our God shall fight for us.” Try not to get ahead of Him on the trail, but stay calm and confident in Him. Ride strong! Introduction 5 Theme Ideas Cross Canyon Trail will help to encourage students to follow God’s trail in life by serving, following, living for, sharing and standing with the Savior, Jesus Christ. The theme setting is a cattle trail drive. Listed on page 2 are suggested titles for students and various activities at Cross Canyon Trail. Consult with the VBS director and attend planning meetings to see how the theme will be implemented at your church. VBS students will be introduced to a cast of characters on the lesson videos. Your VBS director and staff will need to choose the best way to implement the lesson videos. You will need to be familiar with these characters: Kids: Tommy and Annie Chuck Wagon Cook: Cookie Trail Boss: Mr. Wade Foreman: Dusty Wrangler: Red Cowboy: Josie Lady: Aunt Maetta Materials Needed Bulletin Board Begin by cutting all the • Yellow, tan, beige paper to fit your bulletin and brown paper • Bulletin Board board or the wall space Visuals (Primary you desire to cover. As Visuals) shown in the illustration, • Table use the tan paper for the mountain and hill on the horizon. The following bulletin board visuals are found in the Primary Visuals: horse and rider, lettering, theme verse and lesson titles, the cactus and cowboy hat patterns are in the Primary Visuals Instruction Booklet. Cut visuals out and place them as shown. Use beige paper to make the trail for the rider. Add any western items available to you. Consider doing silhouettes of your students. Place colorful paper or poster board on the wall. Have each student stand in front of a projector so that his shadow will fit onto the paper. Use a pencil or chalk to trace his profile. Cut and place around the room. Tip: in keeping with the theme, place a cowboy hat on each student so that he has a true buckaroo profile. A special cactus can be made by your students. Make a green cactus. Use a stamp pad or finger paint and have students use their fingerprints to make the spines or stickers on the cactus. Add other cactus or prairie plants as desired. Place a table underneath the bulletin board. There is a clothespin (legless) horse pattern in the Primary Visuals 6 Primary Teacher for Grades 3 and 4 Instruction Booklet. Cut out a horse for each student from cardstock and use clothespins for the legs. Add the students’ names on the horses and arrange on the table. Add a primary placard to the table. This will be a good space for supplies you will use during the VBS. The horses can also be used as name tags or place cards for seating students. Theme Ideas The Cross Canyon Trail catalog and Director’s Plan Book will have other ideas for your classroom. You may want to bring cowboy hats, boots, spurs, saddle, horseshoes, reins, lasso, guitar, cowhide, cowbells, a leather vest or any items associated with a cattle trail drive. A metal bucket full of peanuts, trail mix or beef jerky might be fun if you have the space and time to enjoy them. discipline of the trail At times discipline problems can interrupt precious class time and cause frustration for the teacher or other students. Have some fun theme ideas ready so that the teacher is setting the tone of the room, not the buckaroos. There are numerous cowboy creeds or rules. Find one for your room and refer to it if necessary. Here are a couple of cowboy slogans that might be helpful: 1. Wipe your chin. This phrase was used in the Old West by cowboys who wanted to tell someone to be quiet. Tell boys and girls this phrase will be the Cross Canyon Trail signal to settle down and get quiet. 2. Buck up. When a cowboy used this phrase he was trying to cheer up someone or encourage him to keep on trying hard to get a job done. Use this with students who become distracted or just need a little encouragement to do the right thing. Talk with your director or pastor if you need more help with your group. bible-time Line The five Bible characters included in the Cross Canyon Trail lived at different times of history. It might be helpful if you have a Bible-time line on display. You can show students that Gideon and Ruth lived before the time of the kings. Ruth was a grandmother of King David.