"Very Good" Kids - February 28

Hey Everyone!

In the next 4 weeks we are going to cover the most important pieces of Scripture with your kids, and each week builds upon the following week. 

This week we're covering this...
Scripture: Gen 2:4-24 (God Created Man)
Application: We want your kids to praise God for creating them in His image.
Memory Verse: “He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen.” Matt 26:8
Prayer for the Nations : The World - Because "God so loved the world" (Jn 3:16) we are taking the time to pray for the entire world. We all need Jesus!

This Sunday we are going to cover in 7 minutes what took God 7 days to create, and when we get to God's creation of man we are going to slow down and zoom in on that "very good" part. That's what I think you need to take the time to do this week. Slow down and zoom in on the fact that your children are gifts created in God's image. Our baby, Cohen, turned 6 months on Wednesday. That's absurd! The reality is that I often struggle and tell God that I don't like the fact that my kids are growing up. I told Pastor Bruce that one time, and he laughingly reminded me, "the only other option is that they never grow up." 

I want my boys to grow up. In fact, I want them to be fearless warriors for God's Kingdom! I believe the place to start helping them grow up is to be constantly reminded that God gave them to Katie and I to begin with.

Be reminded this week that God has given you an incredible gift, and make sure to tell that to your kids so they won't forget either.

Jared Norris
Children's Minister
The Glade Church

FAMILY PLUS Children's - February 22

February 22

Hey Everyone!

This week your kids are starting to get ready for the hearing of the Easter story on March 24th. Instead of starting at the beginning of the Easter story, we're starting with the telling of John 11 (Lazarus is raised from the dead). The story of Lazarus gives us a glimpse of not only Christ's power, but of Christ's death and resurrection too. So for the next month we are going to start at Lazarus' resurrection and end at Christ's resurrection. It could not be a more appropriate beginning.

Because our kids are such "black and white" thinkers it's hard to explain things like someone being raised from the dead, and have them actually "get it." So I've researched a few resources/ideas to help you out, and I'm giving them to you now in case you want to get ready for Easter a little early. Imagine how it would help your kids to spend a little extra time talking about the single most important Truth in the world...Christ's Resurrection!

Early Elementary ideas:

Use this activity to help your kids understand that Christ's resurrection means that we can have eternal life!
Lay a skein of yarn on a table and pull 2 inches of yarn from one end. Ask your child to slowly pull on this piece, and when she has pulled out about an arm's length of yarn, snip it off with scissors. Tell your kids that this piece of yarn has a beginning and an end, just like our lives here on earth.Take the snipped piece of yarn and tie it back onto the skein, explaining that, through Christ, we are free to live with God forever. When Jesus died and rose again, He gave us eternal life. Although our time on earth will come to an end, our life with God will go on and on forever. Celebrate the power of the Resurrection by allowing your kids to pull freely on the piece of yarn and run with it as it unravels from the skein. Let them run out of the room! Up the stairs! Pray together, thanking God for sending His Son and welcoming us into eternal life with Him.
-Vance Fry 

 

Here's another idea, put on an old, white T-shirt. Then discuss what sin is by asking your child to share some examples, such as lying or envy. Invite them to use permanent markers to write their examples on the shirt. Explain that our sins create a divide in our relationship with God and keep us from experiencing His love. To be reconciled with God, we need to get rid of the sin that separates us. Ask for ideas on how to remove the marker stains from the shirt. If the kids suggest washing it, try scrubbing it in the sink. Let them see that the stains are permanent. Also note how the "sins"can't be hidden, even if the shirt is turned inside out.Ask: "If we can't remove our own sin, who can help us?"Guide your child toward understanding that only Jesus, through His death and resurrection, has the power to get rid of our sins. Take the old, dirty shirt and place it in a trash bag near a Bible or a cross, where you've also set a new, clean white shirt. As you put on the clean shirt, talk about how Christ takes away our sin and gives us His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).

-Jeannie Vogel
  

Older Elementary ideas:

Below are a couple of good resources to start the discussion with your kids about whether Jesus' resurrection was real. These 2 resources are very in depth, which I believe your 4th-5th graders can handle. Don't sell them short or be intimidated to ask questions alongside them. When in doubt say, "I don't know, but I can find out the answer." Then go find the answer out by doing your own reading, talking with a trusted teacher/friend, or emailing me.

A very interactive app...I love this app: Resurrection iWitness (it's all about the resurrection's historical accuracy)

This book covers the same topics as the app above. It covers them in a traditional book format: The Case for Christ for Kids

The details for Kidstuf this week are:

Scripture: John 11:1-44

Memory Verse: "What is impossible for people is possible with God." - Luke 18:27

Prayer for the Nations: USA

Please let me know if there is any way I can serve and help your family!

Jared Norris

Children's Minister

The Glade Church

FAMILY PLUS Children's - Feb 16

February 16

Hey Everyone!

This week your child will be learning about a passage of Scripture and a subject that should be very familiar to you if you were able to be in "Big Church" last Sunday. Pastor Bruce was talking about suffering, and your kids will be talking about how Jesus was able to heal the suffering, specifically the blind man from John 9. He briefly mentioned this passage in his sermon this past Sunday. 

Suffering and healing are things that our kids can understand very easily. Immediately, your kids will think of the scratches and scrapes they get playing outside or in PE at school. That's what will resonate with them. That's just pain though. Suffering is the experience of pain (whether emotional, physical, or other) without the ability to be comforted. So you may want to explain it in a story like this...

Remind your child of a time that they were hurt bad. Remind them of the pain, and then remind them of how you helped ease the pain. They will get this easily. After that change the story a little bit. What if no one helped take the pain away? What if you lived with that pain for years? What if people made fun of you because of your pain? That's what it was like for the suffering blind man in John 9. At this point make sure to take the time to remind them that someone was able to remove the pain and restore the man to a healthy state. That man was God's Son, Jesus! He can help you just like he helped the blind man.

Here are the details for this week:

Scripture: John 9 (The Blind Man)

Memory Verse: “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” - Luke 18:27

Prayer for the Nations: USA

Jared Norris

Children's Minister

The Glade Church

FAMILY PLUS Children's - February 9

February 9, 2013

Hey everyone!

This month we're talking about miracles, and this week we're talking about feeding the 5,000. Not only is this a miracle, this is a testament to how God is committed to providing for our needs in life. God's provision in our families lives has been a huge theme in our story of following him. The things we've needed to follow Him have always been provided. I can tell you countless stories...like the time we moved away to Kentucky for school and were randomly given a bonus check that a family earned that covered all of our 1st semester expenses in school and we had $17 left over. Or the time when Katie and I were about 2 months away from getting married and I totaled my car. We were about to go out and buy a car together with what little money we had, and then out of no where we were given a car. I was completely blown away. Those two stories are just a part of our story of God's provision, and they're stories I plan on making sure my kids hear one day.

Recognizing that God is the provider is a key part of understanding who God is and how He works in this world. This week help your kids understand this by talking about things that may be upcoming in their life and the things they need in order to succeed in those times. After you recognize what you need, pray toward that. This will be the start to helping your child understand that God provides what we need to follow Him.

Here are the details of this week:

Scripture: John 6:1-13

Memory Verse: "What is impossible for people is possible with God.” - Luke 18:27

Prayer for the Nations: USA

Jared Norris

Children's Minister

The Glade Church