By Rev. Doug Forbes
Reverse Painting is a fun way to help our children develop their creativity and to remember important morals from their Bible lessons.
For the Reverse Painting activity you need: Bibles, Bible concordances, white or tan 11” X 13” construction paper, poster paint, pencils, paint brushes, ¼” masking tape, and small plastic bowls or plates.
Begin your activity with a Bible study. One option would be to break your students into two or more teams, and have each team search for names in the Bible. Instruct them to write the names on the board. The team with the most names could win a small prize. When teaching younger children give everyone a prize for trying.)
Ask your young people to turn to Numbers 26:4-16 and request volunteers to read a verse until the entire passage has been read. Explain that everyone’s name is important to God. God made you, He knows your name and He loves you very much! Read Jeremiah 29:11 and John 15:13 and explain that God loves us and He has good plans for us if we will believe Him and trust Him.
Spread newspaper on the tables to protect them. Give each student a piece of construction paper and on the back ask them to write their name, Jeremiah 29:11 and John 15:13 in pencil. On the front of their paper help your young people make their initial using masking tape. Give each student several colors of paint on a plate and a small bowl of water to wash their paint brushes when changing colors. Instruct your students to make creative designs on their papers using lots of colors. When the paint starts to dry, gently pull up the tape to reveal their initials. Wait a week before sending the art work home so that it can dry completely.
For an alternate activity you could discuss God’s great love and read the story of how Jesus died on the cross and rose again to give us the free gift of eternal life. Read John 3:16 and explain that God loves everyone and wants to give each of us the free gift of eternal life. All we have to do to receive this wonderful gift is to pray and ask Jesus to forgive our sins, come into our hearts and make us a member of His family.
Next, have the children write their names and John 3:16 on the backs of their construction paper. Help them make a cross on the front of their paper and paint away! Again, gently pull the masking tape off when the papers begin to dry and send the art projects home when they are completely dry.