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WHY WATER? We believe that Water is important as a teaching tool and item in this program. We like to give the little bottles of water out to the kids each day. You can also incorporate the little kool-aid packs that the kids put into the bottles. This you can use to explain change, blood Jesus shed on Calvary, sin, and other examples. Without water there is no life...without Jesus there can be no life eternal. You can also plan activities around water/ Lesson examples of having chunk of ice, place it in a metal pot and heat it up. Allow the kids to see how it changes from solid to liquid. CHANGE is the key. We use water to teach in all our VBS programs because it is mentioned as a symbol throughout the Bible. This page is just some examples about water for you to create your own inturpetation into your 5 day program. If you give them a small bottle of water each day, they put kool-aid in it, they will soon remember change, baptism, life, and all the other things that you talk about in reference to water. Rather than just kool-aid, pop, jucie, punch, this can be used throughout the time you have with the kids. They can take a drink break and you can explain about "water" in relationship to the WORD OF GOD. Kids will see water all throughout their life, and remember little tid bitts that you tell them. [Back to Hero Academy] B=bring I=internal/inside your heart B=brings L=life E=eternal
The Bible has a lot to say about "water" in it's natural state. This shouldn't be surprising since the human body is comprised mostly of water and since the abundance of water on the earth keeps our planet from being a dry, dead asteroid. But the word "water" is also used quite often when speaking of the "spiritual" life on our planet. Even for the newcomer to the Bible, it should be soon evident that "water" in the Bible has its spiritual counterpart. How many times is "water" mentioned in the Bible and how significant is it? A: To answer your question, I have run the references to water (or derivatives of it) in scripture and come up with 722. The significance of water in scripture is a huge question, and one that will take up more space than I have here. Perhaps I can give you just a few thoughts that will wet your appetite for further study. The first mention of water in scripture is found in Genesis 1:2 and the last mention is found in Revelation 22:17. In between those two books water flows right through the pages of scripture. This should teach is that there is a great spiritual significance to it. Water speaks of physical (or natural) birth In Genesis 1:20, we read of the first mention of life, and this life comes from water, "...Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life...". This thought is again repeated in the New Testament in John 3 when Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews is asking questions of Jesus. In verse 5 we read, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." Notice here, the water birth (physical) comes before the Spirit birth (spiritual). We see the reality of this when a woman is in labour and the baby is about to be born. We wait for the 'waters to break' which surround the baby until birth. We cannot be spiritually re-born until we have first been naturally born. Water speaks to us of the word of God In Ephesians 5:26, concerning the church we read, "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word." The Psalmist in Psalm 119:9 writes "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word." Reading the Bible has a cleansing effect on the reader. Christians would do well to sit and read, study and meditate together on the word of God. In the Tabernacle in the Old Testament, we read in Exodus 30:18 that Moses was to make a laver of brass and put water in it. This was to be situated between the Tabernacle and the altar. The priests were to wash their hands and feet in this when they went into the Tabernacle "that they die not". They needed to purified. The Lord was telling them that they constantly needed to have their feet cleaned. We see a picture of this in John 13. The Lord Jesus washes the disciples feet. They were already washed, but needed their feet washing. Consider the words of verses 9-10 "Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head. Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all." Note that Lord (v14) then tells the disciples that they ought also to wash each others feet, "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet." It seems to me that this is a future instruction, as at this point their feet were clean. Surely, spiritually speaking, we wash each others feet through reading the word of God. That's why the Lord said in John 15:3 "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken to you." In the Christian life, we all need to be purified from the filth of this world, we all need our feet cleaned. Water speaks to us of the purification of the Christian This is really linked to the previous consideration, but the following verses are interesting to ponder on. Concerning the nation of Israel in a future day, the following words are recorded in Ezekiel 36:25. Ezekiel 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. This is a promise from God for a time when Israel returns to Him (see vs 24-38). However, there is also clearly an application here for the sinner who comes to Christ when we compare this verse with Hebrews 10:22 Hebrews 10:22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Water speaks to us of spiritual life In Genesis 2 we read of the perfect conditions of the garden of Eden. This garden was watered by a river (v10). Without water, the garden would have died, as plants, animals and humans cannot survive without water. It seems to me that this river is a beautiful picture of the life that Christ gives to His children through the Spirit of God. Consider the following verses that speak of this: Exodus 17:6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses do so in the sight of the elders of Israel. Isaiah 12:2-3 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation. Isaiah 55:1 HO, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Jeremiah 2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. John 4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. John 7:38-39 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given: because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) This water is the everlasting life that we enjoy now in Christ. That's why the scripture says in 1 John 5:12 "He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." Without water there cannot be life: Without the Lord Jesus Christ there cannot be eternal life. It's interesting to me that the greatest expanse of water in the world today is the sea. The sea in scripture is a fascinating subject, and one we can't go into here. However, I would encourage you to look at the references and you will see that the sea often speaks to us of restlessness and tribulation (See Matthew 14:22-33, Mark 6:47-52, John 6:15-21). Note, in all of these passages, the seas were calmed by the Lord Jesus. When we follow these thoughts through, we read those lovely words in Revelation 21:1. Revelation 21:1 AND I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." No more sea in Heaven, no more restlesness, no more tribulation, all calmed by the Lord Jesus Christ forever. However, although there will be no more sea in Heaven, there will be water, eternal water that flows forever. Revelation 22:1-2 AND he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. I'm sorry I've gone on longer than I ought, but trust the above thoughts will be of use to you. I've certainly enjoyed the study. There may be other spiritual types for water that I haven't considered but the above are the ones that spring to mind. I'll leave you with the final reference to water in the Bible found in Revelation 22:17.
We like to use water bottles with the word BIBLE placed on the outside. The children pour the water out into cups and drink the water. In Dan Wheelers STS teaching method this uses both sight, taste, touch the senses in teaching. Bottled water is very popular today. To help the children understand that the WORD of God is essential for spiritual life.
In the natural we see water all around us. We drink it. We wash in it. When it doesn't rain, we pray for it. And we love to look upon it in the sea, the rivers, the streams, etc. The study of our seas and how water gets to them is very interesting. The major suppliers of water to the seas / oceans are the rivers, but the incoming waters really begins with the brooks which are fed by fountains in the earth and / or run off from melting snow or rain storms in the hills and mountains. The brooks then give their waters to the creeks which in turn run into streams; and the streams then contribute to the larger rivers. Finally, the rivers of the continents give their waters to the sea. We teach the children about the prophets. And how the word is defined as bubbling forth. In our Christian walk we will find songs, stories, testimonies, and yes the scripture that deals with storms,seas, rivers,fountains,brooks, all about water. The Bible talks about water some 722 times. The children should learn about water, and how it spiritually reflects to us. To keep it simple we like to use this simple language to explain it to children that Jesus is the Living Water and in the Bible water is discribed by several ways. In prophecy it goes something like this.
The sea is the mass of humanity that live apart from God and outside of any covenant with Him. The rivers are the nations of the world. The brooks and creeks are the communities that make up the nations. The springs are the individuals. And the fountains are the sources of all this: i.e., they are the men and women, that establish the communities. Water is essential for physical life. It also is essential to our spiritual live. Baptism: In the Old Testament period, baptism was a ritual of conversion to Judaism. Pagans would become proselytes through this ritual by self-baptizing themselves to become part of the Jewish people. So it was an Identification with the people of God. We believe in our programs that it is very important to teach the children about "water". For our spiritual well -being. For children to understand and relate water in the 'spiritual' form we must first try to help them understand water in the physical form. Just how important it is to life. Water and how we need it for our Physical being. Water carries nutrients, homones, and fighting cells and antibodies from body organs through the blood stream. Water carries carbon dioxide and wate products to the lungs, and out of our bodies. Water is used for lubrication of joints and muscles, our heart works harder without adequate water. Lack of water can result in confusion, and raised blood pressure, The brain is made up of 80 percent water. A Woman of 5'4 with an ideal body weight of 121 lbs needs 34 to 68 onces of water each day. Our bodies can only live a few days without water. Water is lost daily through breathing.... Water is found in fruit and veg, milk,other foods.
Revelation 22:1-7 And He showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
John 4:7-14 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
I Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
Only our Messiah, Jesus Christ can give to us the Water of Life. Only He can save us from our sins and give us Salvation. Our soul's desire can never have satisfaction without the Living Water of Life. No matter what sins we have committed, He is faithful and just to forgive us all of our sins. Jesus Christ the son of the Living God created us, he knows us, each and every one of us, the Bible says that he knows the very hairs on our heads, that he supplies food for the sparrows, yet we find it so hard to believe that he supplies our needs, each and every day. Baptism baptism is very simple. You begin by standing, sitting, or kneeling in some water. Another Christian then lowers you under the water and then brings you back up out of the water. You could also literally call this “immersion.” Because some faiths sprinkle water on people instead of immersing them, the obvious question is whether this is OK. Since the only consistent answer around the world comes from the Bible, we recommend using it to find your answers. It is interesting that nowhere in the Bible does anything but “immersion” take place. That is, baptism is always by immersion. This makes sense if you realize that “baptize” is a transliteration of the original Greek word baptizw (baptizo). In turn, baptizo comes from the root word baptw (bapto), a term used in the first century for immersing a garment first into bleach and then into dye, both cleansing and changing the color of the cloth. Stated another way, when you process cloth to change its color, you are said to “baptize” it. If sprinkling of any kind was to be practiced, a different Greek word would have been used, but it was not. The Bible gives a number of reasons to be baptized: Acts 2:38 - Tying repentance and baptism together provides forgiveness of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Romans 6:1-7 - This shows us that the mode of baptism (immersion) pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In the same way that He went through these things, our old nature is to “die” and we are to be “buried with Him through baptism into death” and raised to “walk in newness of life” (live like Jesus). So we do not just try to be a better person, we bury the “old person” in the water and become a “new person” through our acceptance of Christ. It is like a new birth and a new beginning for us. Galatians 3:27 - We “put on Christ” when we are baptized. 1 Peter 3:21 - Baptism is not an outward cleaning, but saves us through an inward cleaning. It is an appeal to God for a good conscience and asks God to take away the guilt of our past sin (that Christ paid for, wiping our “inner slate” clean).One thing is clear, the Bible always places believing in Christ for salvation and baptism together. They are not separated. Consider these references: Acts chapter 2, verse 41 (Acts 2:41) - 3,000 people were baptized after believing on the first day of the Christian church. Verses 38 and 39 make it clear that this is the way that it will always be done. That is, all people who accept Christ as their savior will come to Him in this way. Acts 8:26-39 - We know where this road from Jerusalem to Gaza is. Verse 26 terms it a “desert.” The only water there was oasis water. This means that the eunuch and Philip climbed down into the people's drinking water to do this. Apparently, Philip and the eunuch did not think it could wait until later! (You will also notice they did not take a handful of water and “sprinkle” the eunuch to keep things sanitary, either.) The Bible states that all Philip did was “preach Jesus to him” (verse 35) and then the eunuch said that he wanted to be baptized (verse 36). This means that the preaching of Jesus includes preaching the need to be baptized. Acts 9:18 - after this encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road, Saul (later renamed Paul) decided to accept Jesus—and was baptized. Acts 10:47,48 - Cornelius and those with him were commanded to be baptized, becoming the first non-Jewish converts to Christianity. Acts 16:13-15 - Lydia and her household “believed” and were baptized. Acts 16:16-34 - The Philippian jailer “believed” with his household and they were baptized—and this was in the middle of the night! Also consider the following passages: Galatians 3:26,27 - “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” Ephesians 4:4-6 - “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” On top of all these references, when Jesus left the earth (see the end of the book of Matthew) He told his followers to make disciples (followers), baptize them, and teach them. Jesus apparently felt it was pretty important to make this a priority for His followers. The Bible is clear—belief and baptism were always together. Thus, “when we believe” is the right time to be baptized. If you “believed” some time back and were not baptized, then this should become a priority for you to fulfill what God asks you do in the Bible. Faith and Baptism also go hand in hand. Below are some references in the New Testament. Some References of Baptism and Faith used in the New Testament Books:
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In this article we try and stress the importance of Water. From Gen to Rev Water is shown to us in many meaning. From representing Jesus The Living Water, The Word of God the Bible, Prophecy, Cleansing, Baptism and much more. Basically we feel the most important thing that water represents is LIFE. In Eph. 5 :26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the WORD". (The Bible) In Psalm 199:9 Wherewithall shall a young man cleanse his way, by taking heed thereto according to thy WORD. (The Bible) Then Jesus in John 15: 3 " Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. The Word of God cleans us inside daily as we drink from the living well. 
