KidzPort June 28th – Some Really Old Dudes.

June 30, 2009

This week started with a little trivia excercise by Sister Maureen.  She was asking various questions, and challenging the kids to find the answer in Scripure.  One of the things that struck a chord was a question about Noah’s Ark.  The kids were astounded to find out that the most common answer given for how long it took Noah to build the ark was 120 years!

This was a hard thing to comprehend, so we started talking about how long people lived in the bible.  It turns out, that prior to Noah, the average lifespan of people in the bible was over 900 years!! Imagine being born in 1109!  You would have been born before Gengis Khan and Richard the Lionheart.  You would have lived through the Crusades!  You would be older than fireworks in China!

Some of the oldest people in the Bible:

• Seth – 912 years
• Adam – 930 years
• Noah – 950 years
• Jared – 962 years
• Methuseleh – 969 years old!!

But in Genesis 6:3, God says to Noah ” My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.”  So after the flood, God decided that man’s lifespan was too long, and he limited it.  (Apparently living for 900 years gave man waaaay too much free time!)  In fact, after Noah’s time, only one person in the bible is recorded as living over 120 years.  (Can you find out who?) 

Ironically, modern scientists have pegged the maximum human life expectancy at about 120 years. The oldest person recorded in modern times is a French woman who died in 1997 at the age of 122.

KidzPort June 21- Gifts of the Holy Spirit

June 23, 2009

Last week’s lesson on the Fruit of the Spirit led perfectly into this weeks conversation.  This week we looked at the other side of the provisions the Holy Spirit gives us – the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

In our lives, there are differences between fruit and gifts.  A fruit is something that is planted, nurtured, and grown before it is ready for use.  But once grown, and properly cared for, it will be useful perpetually.  A gift, on the other hand, is given ready to use, but it is generally given for a specific reason or occaision, and its usefulness may be limited.

So it is with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.  When they are given, they are ready to use.  But, in God’s timing, they may be only for a given moment, or a specific purpose. 

The Gifts, of course, are listed in 1 Corinthians 12:  wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues. These are also sometimes referred to as the “Charismatic Gifts,” as there are other gifts that the Holy Spirit will give as He wills. 

We also talked about what happened to the Apostles on the Pentecost, and how the Holy Spirit came upon them, and what things they were able to do afterwards.

For Parents:

• Read over the list of Gifts with your child.  Make sure they understand what each one means. (we went over this in class.)
• Read Acts 2 and discuss how the Spirit came upon the Apostles.  What powerful miracles followed this? 
• Pray with your child that the Fruit of the Spirit might grow in them, and God might use them by giving them Gifts.

KidzPort June 14 – Fruit of the Spirit

June 15, 2009

Today we took a look at the two parts of our being – the flesh and the spirit.   Romans 8:6  tells us:

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (NKJV)

So we should always look toward being spiritually minded, and trying to let our spirit (that is connected to God) be the part of us making choices.  In Galatians 5, Paul warns us of the difference between the things that our flesh seeks out and the things out spirit seeks out.  In verse 20-21 he tells us of our fleshy, sinful desires:

…idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,  envy, murders,drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But in verse 22-23, are listed the things the spirit seeks:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

So keep “Spirit-minded!!”

For Parents:

• Read the verses in Galatians 5: 20-23 with your child.
• Discuss if there are any times when your child feels like acting on their “fleshy” wants.  Go over each of these desires, so that they know what they mean.
• Pray with your child, that they might grow stronger in the “Fruit of the Spirit.”

KidzPort June 7 – How Much Do You Know?

June 8, 2009

This was going to be a regular lesson day for KidzPort.  However, the church anniversary celebration kind of threw that into disarray, as we had many visiting children this week.  So we decided to have a little fun instead.

What ensued for the oldest group was a Bible Triva tournament, complete with prizes.  We broke the group up into seven teams (yes, seven!) and spent the time discovering how much bible knowledge we had. 

Our guests from Light of the World Christian Fellowship in Maryland held their own, and demonstrated some great knowledge of the bible.  Great job!

Our 3-6 group spent some time doing crafts, and made paper snakes, as they learned about Adam and Eve.