KidzPort July 4 – Happy FREEDOM Sunday!!

July 5, 2010

It was a hot one this weekend, that’s for sure,  but a great weekend to enjoy the Fourth of July and the freedom that comes with it.  It’s also a perfect time to be thankful to God for the fact that we live in a time where Christians are free, in many places, to share and live their faith, and remember those who live in places they cannot.

We also need to remember that we are not truly free apart from God.  Earthly freedom is one thing; without Jesus we would still be bound and held back by sin, and by our own weakness.  That’s why this weeks memory verse is taken from John 8:36:

Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.

We also are working on a new song, one that ties right into the lessons we have been doing on Pentecost and the workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  The kids did a great job with it, but they need to continue working on it.  The song is called “Fix My Eyes,” and it was written by Fred McKinnon,  a worship pastor from Georgia, and a friend of mine.  I’ve included a video below, so the kids can listen to it, and practice it.

For Parents:

• Help your child to memorize the memory verse, John 8:36
• Help your child to memorize the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
• Watch the video below, and encourage your child to get more familiar with the song.

KidzPort July 5 – Freedom!!

July 6, 2009

Since it was Fourth of July Weekend here in the States,  it seemed appropriate to begin this week’s discussion with a question: “Why do we celebrate the Fourth of July, anyway?  Our oldest KidzPort group is 7-9 years old, so the answer to the question was not as easy as one might think.  Most of them could put together that it was Independence Day, buit no one could tell me what “independence” really meant, or who we were “independent” from. 

After a (very) quick primer on the American Revolution, we began to discuss the idea of “freedom.”  What exactly does “freedom” mean, anyway.  One common answer was that freedom mean you could do anything you want.  Of course, that’s not true.  In any country, there is still the rule of law, and so people cannot do whatever they want to do.  But, we are (here in America) free to voice our opinions, to vote someone into or out of office, and to worship how we see fit.

One person in the Bible who did not enjoy such freedoms was Daniel.  Daniel lived during a time when his country, Israel, was under the rule of a more powerful country, Babylon.  Daniel, in fact, Daniel was forced into service to the King of Babylon, a man with the unlikely and hard-to-pronounce  name of Nebuchadnezzar.  The King made Daniel interpret a dream, and because of that, Daniel (whose Baylonian name was Beltshazzar) became a man of great standing.  Danel later interpreted the “writing on the wall” (Dan 5) for Belzhazzar. 

When Babylon was taken over by the Persians, Daniel found himself in the service of Persian King Cyrus.  Cyrus had made a law that no one could be worshipped but him.  This limited Daniel’s freedom, because it meant that he could not worship God legally.  Imagine if someone came to your house and told you you could only pray to the President of the United States, or you would be killed!!  These things happen all over the world, even today.  Thankfully, we live in a country where we all have freedom to worship God.

Eveyone knows Daniel’s story, about being thrown into the lion’s den.  God rescued Daniel for his faithfulness.  Amen!

Our 3-7 group was working on John 3:16.  They made pictures depicting their idea of what God’s love looks like to them.

For Parents:

• Talk to your child about freedom.  What does it mean to you?  What does it mean to them?  How what responsibilities come with freedom?
• Read the story of Daniel in the lion’s den.  (Daniel 6)  What does the story mean to them?
• If you have a younger child, have them explain their picture to you, and learn John 3:16