KidzPort November 29 – Advent

November 30, 2009

This week was Advent Sunday.  While we don’t make a big deal about Advent at Gospel Light, it is a time to begin getting into the “Christmas Attitude.”   For is in the kids ministry, that means getting ready for the Christmas Cantata.

We spent Sunday’s time getting warmed up on some songs from last year’s show, and talking about Advent and getting ready for Christmas.   We talked a little about what people do differently during the Christmas season than they do at other times.  One thing, of course, is Christmas decorations.  People light up their houses and businesses, and towns decorate for the season.  Sometimes they may make it seem like a generic “Happy Holidays” kind of thing, but it is usually unmistakably Christmas.

We also tend to sing a lot of songs around Christmastime, a lot more than the rest of the year.  No one sings patriotic songs for a month before the Fourth of July.  But there are plenty of radio stations that play nothing but Christmas music during Advent.  We don’t go singing songs on people’s front lawns during Easter, but we do it now.  Why?  Because this is different .  Christmas is all about joy and hope.  And people like those things.

So as we get ready for the Cantata, keep seeking out joy and hope.

KidzPort November 22 – Writing on the Wall

November 23, 2009

The tale of Belshazzar, Price of Babylon hold a lot of information and some

great lessons for us.  Belshazzar’s story is told to us mainly in Daniel 5, although historical documents also prove his existence.

Belshazzar was the grandson of Nebuchadnezzar and the son of Nabonius, King of Babylon.  He was charged by his father with the protection of the city, while Nobonius took his army to meet the Persians in battle.  Instead of doing his job, Belshazzar had a great party, using gold and silver items stolen from the Temple of God in Jerusalem.  While he and his guests partied, a strange hand appeared in mid air, and began writing on the wall of the palace.

Belshazzar was scared and confused – the words made no sense.  He called his wisest men and fortune tellers, but they couldn’t explain either.  Finally, Daniel was called, and Belshazzar promised him much wealth and power if he could interpret the message. Daniel said he didn’t want money, but would do it any way.  He said the message was three Aramaic words: mene mene, tekel, u-pharsin. Taken together, these words mean “counted, weighed, divided.”

Daniel told the prince that God was telling him that his days had come to an end, that he had been judged and found wanting, and that his kingdom would be divided.  Belshazzar lives up to his promise and gives Daniel much wealth, but that very night Belshazzar is killed when Darius the Mede captures the city and becomes king.

So what lessons can we learn?  It’s basically three-fold.  First, we have to know when God is speaking to us. Secondly, we have to understand what He is saying. Finally, we must be obedient to what He says.

Knowing, understanding and obeying.  These the steps to understanding what God says to us, and getting the most from it.

For Parents:

• Read Daniel 5 with your child.  Make sure they understand what happened in the story.
• Why didn’t Belshazzar understand the writing.  What did Daniel have that he didn’t?  (A relationship with God)
• Talk to your child about a time when they think God spoke to them. Did they understand it?  Did they listen and obey?

KidzPort November 8th – Songs and Coats

November 9, 2009

We did a two-parter this Sunday in KidzPort.  First off, we “reviewed” some of the songs we’ve done over the past year with the kids.  I was very impressed how many of these songs they remembered:

• The Unicorn Song - The Irish Rovers
• There is No One Like You - David Crowder* Band
• Superhero - Hillsong Kids
• How He Loves - John Mark McMillan
• One Way - Hillsong United

There’s nothing quite as much fun as a bunch of kids, an acoustic guitar, and some great worship songs.   Check out some of the songs above, because your kids love ‘em!

 

Second, we talked a bit about the Biblical Joseph.  Not Joseph, the husband of Mary, either.  We’re talking Old Testament Joseph, the son of Jacob.  Joseph was the youngest of twelve brothers, and the favorite of his father.   He was also a bit of a troublemaker.  We know from his story in Genesis that he was a tattletale.  We also know that he rubbed his father’s love for him in his brothers’ faces, and that he had no problems telling them about the dreams he had – dreams where he was master over all of them!

Of course, the brothers didn’t like this very much, and niether did they like Joseph.  In fact, they sold him into slavery in Egypt!   But Joseph had a God-given talent for interpreting dreams, and when the Egyptian king had a puzzling one, he called on Joseph.  Joseph interpreted the king’s dream to mean that there would be a famine in all the land after seven years of prosperity.  He also warned the king to start storing up food during those seven years.  The king was so impressed, he made Joseph the ruler over all the Egyptians’ food. 

When the famine came, Joseph’s brothers came begging for food.  They didn’t recognize Joseph, but he recognized them?  How do you think he reacted?

For Parents:

• Read the story of Joseph in Genesis.  (Paying attention to Chapter 37 and 42-45.) 
• Answer the question above:  How did Joseph react to his brothers asking for food?
• Talk with your child about their relationship with their siblings, if they have any. 

Hallelujah Night

November 2, 2009

What a great night we had at Hallelujah Night this Saturday.  Hallelujah Night is Gospel Light’s alternative to Halloween.  This year we had about 40 kids in attendance.   We had games, music, food, face-painting, pumpkin decorating, video games and slime-making.

Thanks to all the volunteers who made this night such a success!