KidzPort September 27 – Choices

September 29, 2009

Baseball is a game of choices.   The pitcher has to choose which pitch to throw, and where to throw it.  The batter has to choose whether swing, to bunt, or to lay off.  The umpire has to choose to call it a ball or strike.  The fielders have to choose how to play it.

Life is a game of choices.  We choose all kinds of things, every day.  Sometimes we choose to do the right thing, sometimes we don’t.   It’s also a game of chances.  Every  time we get a chance, we have to make a choice.  And sometimes the choices we make determine what our next chance will be.

Peter had many chances.  After Jesus was arrested, God gave him three chances to do the right thing.  Three chances to stand up for Christ.   According to John, Peter stood outside the door of the high priest when a servant girl recognized him.  When she asked him if he was one of Jesus’ disciples, he said “I am not.”

Strike one.

Later, warming himself by a fire, he was asked the same question.  “I am not!” he said vehemently.

Strike two.

Another man, who was in the garden, asked him again. And again he said no.

Strike three. 

Anyone hear a rooster crowing?

But, Peter got more chances.  And he made better choices.  God never stops giving us chances, as long as we consistanty seek after Him.  And the best part?  Once we make the right choice, all are bad choices are forgotten!

So what’s your choice?

For Parents

• Read John 18 with your child, specifically the story of Peter’s denials.  How did Peter make bad choices?
• Read John 21.  How did Jesus give Peter more chances?  How did Peter choose?
• Talk to your child about choices, and pray with them that God helps them make good choices.

KidzPort September 20 – Revival in da HOUSE!

September 22, 2009

This was a very unique and wonderful weekend for KidzPort!   This weekend was our first ever Kidz Revival Weekend.  And it was a great success. 

We began the weekend on Saturday morning, with a kickoff celebration featuring Studio-Z, a student-run children’s ministry from Zion Bible College.  Studio-Z is a travelling ministry, and at 8:15am they rolled their trailer up to the church door and began unloading and setting up.   By the time they were done, the sanctuary of Gospel Light Community Church looked nothing like it had before!!

The Revival kicked off with a worship celebration led by Studio-Z.  The team demonstrated to the kids the two songs that the weekend would revolve around: “One Way” and “Jesus, You’re My Superhero.”  Oh, yes, there were dance moves that went along with each of the songs, you can be sure.

We broke for our first session, into groups by age.  Our 4-6 year olds did a lesson on unforgiveness called “Bitter Roots”  We demonstrated this with small capsules that turned into animal shapes when put into water.  No one could tell how large or what shape each of the capsules would become – just like a “root” of unforgiveness.  We also showed them some plant roots to demonstrate how long and deep these unseen things were.   Our 6-9 year olds made a cross out of the “Colors of Faith” over a black template, demonstrating how things like purity, God’s light, new life in Christ, loyaty, faith and the Blood of Christ cover sin and death.  The 10-12 year olds did a Bible scripture hunt, led by our college-age cell group.

Another session with Studio-Z followed: more worship, some drama and puppets.  We met some of the crazy characters that would show up throughout the weekend.  Our second breakout flipped the two younger groups, while the older group played “Twisted in Sin” – a Twister game with a message. 

After lunch and some more time with Studio-Z (involving a mad scientist of questionable European descent!) the final breakouts had both young groups doing a Bible scripture hunt, while the older group went on a “Treasure Hunt” of sorts: deciphering clues to find hidden scriptures scattered around the property.  These scriptures in turned helped each team to solve a riddle.  This was the best event of the day, by far!

We closed with a final, family celebration, where parents came and saw some of what the kids had been doing all day, and heard their children giving testamonies as to what they had learned.  Everyone was looking forward to Sunday’s worship celebration, led by Studio-Z!

KidzPort August 30 – Eat some corn

September 1, 2009

The Israelites took a long time to get to Canaan.  And there were certainly a lot of them. 

Exactly how many Israelites came out of Egypt is a question that is still not satisfactorily answered to this day.  I’ve seen numbers ranging from a low of 20,000 to a high of 10 million.  The most common assumption (based on the biblical count of 600,000 men) is about 2.5 million people. 

All those folks had to eat.  If we take the common average of 2.5 million, 3 meals a day, for 40 years we get over 109 billion meals!   That’s a lot of Big Macs, except there was no McDonalds drive-thrus in the desert.  In fact, there wasn’t much of anything out there.  Even if everyone carried all they could out of Egypt, that food would last a very short time, not 40 years. 

The Bible tells us that God provided for the Israelites supernaturally by giving them manna.  (Ex 16:13-21)  Manna was a bread-like food that God gave to the Israelites each day with the morning dew.  They would collect just enough for the day, for anything else would go rotten.  They had to count on God every day for their food.  (They did not collect on the Sabbath, they would take two days worth the day before) 

Once the Israelites got to Canaan, however, they were in the place where God had promised them.  And when they entered Cannan, almost everyone who and come out of Egypt had died, and there was an entire new generation of God’s people – a generation that only ever eaten manna, had only ever gotten their food from God.  Joshua 5 tells us:

Then the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day. 
Now the children of Israel camped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight on the plains of Jericho.  And they ate of the produce of the land on the day after the Passover, unleavened bread and parched grain, on the very same day.  Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year.  (Joshua 5: 9-12, NKJV)

So when God removed the punishment of Egypt from His people, he also allowed them to fend for themselves, somewhat.  Of course, God was still providing – after all, He provides everything.  But He allowed them to eat what the land produced, in all it’s variety.  The King James Version says that they ” …did eat of the old corn of the land…” when they got there.  The word ‘corn” here means any and all kinds of grain – wheat, barley, oats… 

Imagine eating one thing all your life, and then suddenly being brought before a huge buffet! 

For Parents:

• Read the verses in Joshua with your child.  Talk to them about how it must have felt to suddenly be able to eat anything they wanted.
• Ask your child why most of the Israelites who came out of Egypt died before entering Canaan.  (Because the spies were afraid)
• Ask your child who were the only people who came out of Egypt and entered Canaan.  (Joshua and Caleb)   Ask them why.  (Because only they trusted God to give them Canaan as promised.)