A Closer Look at the VBS 2019 Bible Stories
Here’s a closer look at the Bible stories that will be taught during Lifeway’s VBS 2019: In the Wild. Each true story recounts a real life encounter with Jesus. These “snap shots” of Jesus reveal His identity to us and help us to discover that Jesus is who He says He is—the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing we might have life in His name.
DAY 1: Encounter in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52)
When Jesus was twelve years old, He traveled with His family to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. After the celebration Mary and Joseph headed back to Nazareth. After traveling a full day they realized Jesus was not with them. They hurried back to Jerusalem and finally, on the third day, Mary and Joseph found Jesus in the temple. Jesus was listening to the teachers and asking questions. Everyone was amazed at how much Jesus understood at such a young age.
DAY 2: Encounter at the River (Matthew 3:1-17)
John helped people get ready for Jesus, God’s promised Messiah. John told people to repent of their sins and be baptized. One day Jesus came to the river and John told the people Jesus was the One he had been speaking about. Jesus asked John to baptize Him to follow God’s plan. After Jesus was baptized, an amazing thing happened. The Holy Spirit appeared to Jesus in the form of a dove and God declared that Jesus is indeed His Son!
DAY 3: Encounter on the Water (Matthew 14:22-33)
After a long day teaching near the Sea of Galilee, Jesus sent the disciples ahead of Him in a boat. Late at night there was a storm and the waves beat against the boat. The disciples saw Jesus walking to them on top of the water, and they were frightened. After Jesus identified Himself, Peter asked to come to Him on the water. Jesus said, “Come.” As Peter walked to Jesus, he became afraid and began to sink. Peter called out for Jesus to save him. Jesus reached out, caught hold of Peter, and got back in the boat with him. The wind immediately stopped, and the disciples proclaimed that Jesus really is the Son of God!
DAY 4: Encounter at the Tomb (John 20:1-18)
On the third day after Jesus had died on a cross and been buried, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb. As she approached the tomb, she saw that the stone had been rolled away. Mary went and told Peter and John who came to see for themselves. After Peter and John left, Mary looked into the tomb. She saw two angels. They asked why she was crying. A man standing nearby asked who she was looking for. Mary thought the man was the gardener, but when He said her name she recognized His voice. It was Jesus! He sent Mary to share the amazing news with His disciples. Jesus is alive!
DAY 5: Encounter on the Road (Luke 24:13-35)
Two men were walking toward the village of Emmaus talking about everything that had happened during the last week. Jesus joined them, but they did not recognize Him. The men began explaining everything that had happened to Jesus and that He was a great Prophet. Jesus began telling them about Himself using Scripture to explain why all the things had happened. When they arrived in Emmaus, Jesus stayed and ate with them. As Jesus tore the bread and gave pieces to the men, they recognized Him. Jesus immediately disappeared from their sight. The men returned to Jerusalem and told the disciples about their amazing encounter with the risen Jesus.
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I love next year theam vbs 2019
I love in the wild lifeway vbs
I’m pumped about this theme! You know if y’all wanted to send a jump start kit my way I wouldn’t complain either!
LOVE This theme! Picturing a butterfly room.
These are all simple stories. Easy to tell. I believe these stories were I our VBS not too long ago. But if your as old as I am and have taught as long as I have you will find the stories come back around. That is because we have different audience. Maybe some of us have heard but not all and we always have those who are new. And to me each time I tell it I get something different out of it and hopefully as you hear it over and over again it will speak to you in different way. God’s word does not change but lives can.
These are all simple stories. Easy to tell. I believe these stories were in our VBS not too long ago. But if your as old as I am and have taught as long as I have you will find the stories come back around. That is because we have different audience. Maybe some of us have heard but not all and we always have those who are new. And to me each time I tell it I get something different out of it and hopefully as you hear it over and over again it will speak to you in different way. God’s word does not change but lives can.
My mind is already thinking about ways to use this fantastic theme! For the little ones or decorations, I have several old fashioned stick horses (from VBS theme many, many, many moons ago) that I will try to make them into ZEBRAS some way.
Also, my son and daughter in law are very successful in the re-population of various kinds of butterflies that I might use as an interest center. They are school teachers and have used the various stages of butterflies in their classrooms.
My list of ideas is already exploding. Such great fun to be able to use God’s magnificent creation to incorporate with the 2019 Bible stories.
Preparing and praying already.
As we are in the process of finally getting tile floors installed from Hurricane Harvey damage, I came across lots of various theme materials I’ve used over the years and am thrilled that I can recycle everything I’ve saved (sure saves money!!).
Thanks to our SUPER FANTASTIC LifeWay VBS planners that pray for and listen to God’s direction in planning for each year’s Bible study and theme.
Was trying to figure out what the Bible verse will be for 2019. For 2018, 2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. But we taught: God has given us everything we need. Will the verse for 2019 be shortened as well?
You must have been teaching preschoolers! We offer the full text verse in both CSB and KJV translations, and also a paraphrase suitable for a preschooler’s level of understanding. We will offer all 3 of these options again for VBS 2019.
Thank you for responding! Lol! YES, 5 yr olds! I was in heaven! I was hoping to get a jump on what the verse will be so I can make my “Bible Verse Mazes”, but I’m sure it won’t be available until October, correct? Thank you for all you do!
Thank you!
These words are written so we can know Jesus is God’s Son. John 20:31 (paraphrase)
Could you share your bible verse mazes?
Is “In the Wild” VBS 2018 theme set in a safari location or just in a wilderness area? I’m just thinking ahead about decorations for the stage as well as the fellowship hall.
Thank you in advance for answering. Looking forward to VBS 2019!!!
It is not a safari. Check out the names for all of the rotation sites, Bible study, and Worship Rally. You’ll see some are in the rain forest, some in the swamp, some grasslands, some mountains (like the Rocky Mountains of North America), some Arctic … it’s all over! With this theme will go looking for animals in the wild, wherever they may be, and take pictures of them in their natural habitats.
Is there a Drama Skit with this program?
Yes! There are skits for an Opening Worship Rally and a Closing Worship Rally each day. We also offer a full-blown children’s musical that uses the VBS songs and a small cast of speaking parts.
Where are the skits located? I cannot find them anywhere?!? help please!!
Worship Rally Guide: https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/vbs-2019-worship-rally-guide-P005804879
How are the media files going to be distributed this year. We are finding that the newer lap tops no longer have the CD/DVD drive capability. The resource CD/DVD has items that run off a DVD player and also a CD player ( power point vs video) we had some issues this year because most laptops do not have the capacity to use a Disc.
Yes, we’re seeing more and more of that too. In fact, we use external disc drives that plug into our computers via USB because non of our computers have disc drives either! Some VBS resources are already available as digital downloads—-such as our music and video bundles. But starting with VBS 2019, anything that has a disc will also have a unique code that you can enter and download that content from an online cloud. You’ll still need to buy the book/pack/etc. to get the code, but you won’t be up a creek if your computer doesn’t have a disc reader. I hope that’s good news!
Thanks for all this feedback! Sooo excited! Where do we find more information about the drama skit? Is it going to be a script that we perform live or a video? And what would need to purchase?
All of the above! We have 2-person skits for both opening and closing worship rallies every day in the Worship Rally Guide. There are daily videos that can be shown (different story line from the skits) during Worship Rally in which the plot unfolds little by little each day (5 episodes of the same story arc). These are available on the Worship Rally DVD Set. AND we have a full blown children’s musical available that includes scripts for a larger cast and weaves in all 6 VBS songs. This is found in “The Music Book.”
Most every year we do preschool crafts for VBS. We try to match our crafts with the nightly story. Do you have any preschool craft suggestions for this year? I’m having trouble relating discovering creatures in the wild to encountering Jesus in the different stages of his life. Thanks
Yes! Crafts and free art suggestions for 3-year-olds through rising 1st graders are included in the 3s-Kindergarten Rotation Pack. Just ask your VBS Director to give you the crafts folder from that pack (the other folders go to each leader of the other preschool rotations). https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/vbs-2019-3s-kindergarten-rotation-pack-P005804873
In teaching the Bible lesson, are there shorter storytelling skits that the children participate in? (I don’t mean the musical or opening/closing two person skits.) In past VBS programs we have used, there was a storytelling station in which the children acted out a simple version of the story. Then there was a separate station that was a more in depth Bible study time of the story.
With LifeWay VBS, all of that is combined into one “station” … Bible study. You’ll find a 30-minute core that includes an interactive Bible story as part of a “large group” time and then 4 options for small group activities that help kids apply the Bible truth for the day to real life. These activities also include Bible skills, memorization, and life application through a variety of learning approaches. Each day uses a different method for telling the Bible story. Sometimes this includes skits, etc. … it’s different each day and for every age group. Hope that helps answer your question!
I am so confused by the eight poster set that we ordered. I can not tell which verse goes with which day. I am very discouraged. Can I hone help? I’ve tried looking on the website
Happy to help, Patty! The Visual Pack posters don’t necessarily go with a specific day of VBS. You’ll see a Scripture reference on 5 of the posters, which corresponds to the Bonus Verse for each day. So John 6:38 is Day 1, John 1:34 is Day 2, John 14:1 is Day 3, John 14:6 is Day 4, and Romans 10:17 is Day 5. Balso ut the posters are incredibly versatile and designed to be used all week long as decorations. So you could do other things with them as well. Those same 5 posters feature locations that are rotation sites–Beluga Bay (rec), Bullfrog Bog (music), Cockatoo Canopy (crafts), Panoramic Point (Worship Rally), Watering Hole (Bible study)–so they could easily be used to decorate those sites. The other 3 posters are a logo, the motto and the main Scripture verse for the week. So they can be used anywhere and on any day. Hope that helps!
I think it helps but the daily posters are not what we thought. Very expensive and time consuming to mount them on large poster board etc Thank you for your prompt response.
Where can I find a list of the actor’s names used in the five-day drama? One of them looks very familiar to me and i want to figure it out. Thanks!
Check out the end credits on the Worship Rally DVD. All actors are listed there.
We Just finish our VBS 2019. We thank God for Life Way Ministry.
Thank You Life Way .
I am not a craft person but it falls on me to do them. I wish that your instruction for craft could be on a tube video showing how to do them.
Great idea, Doris! We do a weekly live video on Facebook during VBS season. We could easily demonstrate the crafts during those!
The craft book I received was for preschool. Is there one for older kids even almost teenagers?
Yes! We have a craft book for 3s–Kindergarten included in the 3s–Kindergarten Rotation Pack, crafts for 1st-6th graders in the Crafts Rotation Leader Guide, additional preteen crafts can be found in the VBX Leader Guide, and then craft ideas for Grades 7-12 are included in the Student VBS Starter Kit. Here are links to each of those resources:
Preschool Crafts: https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/vbs-2020-3s-kindergarten-rotation-pack-P005816499
Kids Crafts: https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/vbs-2020-crafts-rotation-leader-guide-P005816468
Preteen-only Crafts: https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/vbs-2020-vbx-preteen-bible-study-leader-guide-P005816501
Student Crafts: https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/vbs-2020-student-starter-kit-P005818666