Kidzport January 24 – Perseverance and Pancakes

January 27, 2010

We had an interesting day this past Sunday, as we coupled our lesson with pancakes! There’s nothing better than learning scripture while downing some fresh-cooked flapjack goodness, is there?

There are many scriptures that deal with the concept of perseverance. Perseverance can be summed up in one phrase:  ”Don’t give up.”   Here are some great scriptures to read:

Psalm 27: The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalm 121: I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help?
My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.

Isaiah 40:  But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Notice a theme?  Rely on God! When our strength fails, we can “persevere” by holding onto God.

For Parents:

• Read the chapters listed above with your child, and find the specific verses.
• Talk about times when perseverance is hard.  Are there specific examples in your life you can share?
• Pray together that they will remember to turn to God when things get hard.

Schedule note: This Friday (Jan 29th) is our first Family Night!  All parents should plan on attending with their children, at 7:15 in the sanctuary.

KidzPort May 10 – Tongue-tied

May 12, 2009

First of all, let me wish a happy Mother’s Day to all you mom’s out there.  We love you, support you and pray for you.   Maybe this week’s lesson will help you out.

James 3 points out that a small bit can control a horse with a little bit of effort.  Also,  a small rudder turns a mighty ship.  So the tongue, which seems so small and insignificant, has major implications for our lives.  Where the tongue goes, so does the rest of us.

Matthew 12: 36 tells us : “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” (NKJ) We talked a lot about this.  WE took the example of food that is not liked.  Now, the palate of a nine-year-old is very different from that of a forty-year-old.  But saying something like “I will never eat spinach.” is the kind of careless thing Jesus is talking about.  Or worse, by telling someone “You’ll always be a jerk!” is actually cursing them to that.

Two of the most dangerous words in the English language are “always” and “never.”   They are called absolutes, and we need to use them carefully.  Both represent a very long time, and both can easily make us liars.

As an experiment, we tried “taming the tongue” for a while.  I challenged the kids to not speak for fifteen minutes.  They found it hard!  Now imagine doing it all the time. 

For Parents:

• Read James 3 with your child.  See what it is telling both of you.
• Talk to your child about his or her tongue?  Does it get them in trouble? How can they “tame” it better?
• Parents: do you “tame” your tongue? Children reflect what they see.  Pray on this with your child.

KidzPort March 1 – Family

March 2, 2009

Interesting topic of conversation today – the family.  Specifically, the relationship that a familty has to each other, and how that relates to the Gospel and to salvation.

We read today the story of Paul and Silas, as they found themselves in jail.  They had been in Phillippi, and drove a spirit out of a girl.  For this “crime” they were beated and imprisioned.  While in jail, they were singing and praying to God, and a great earthquake shook the building and damged the door.  The jailor feared that they had escaped, but instead, found them sitting there, being obedient to the law. 

The jailor asked them what he must do to be saved.  Paul replied “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved – you and your whole family.”

It is often the case that faith comes to a household through one member.  Rarely does a whole family receive Christ at once.  But that one person can have such a profound imact on the others, that eventually they will come to a place of faith in Christ as well.  In fact, we often claim that promise – that our whole household will be saved.  

For Parents:

• Discuss with your child how your household came to faith in Christ.  Who was first?  A parent? The child?
• Reread the story of Paul and Silas in jail.  (Acts 16:25-34)  Relive what happened so they can understand it.
• Discuss how important it was that Paul and Silas obeyed the civil authorities and did not try to escape.  If they had escaped, would the jailor’s household have been saved?

KidzPort February 22 – God’s Waiting Room

February 23, 2009

No one likes to wait. A doctor’s waiting room is one of the worst places there is, especially for a child. You show up (on time!) for your appointment, and sit and sit and sit… maybe you play with a puzzle with missing pieces, or thumb a year-old copy of Highlights that has had all the hidden pictures found.

Then they call your name, and in you go, and get poked and prodded and embarrased and stuck with a needle. What fun!

We need to wait on the Lord at times. Why would we have to wait for someone that’s always there? Well, for the same reason we have to wait for the doctor; He’s not ready. Not that God is ever unprepared, but sometimes He plans things differently than we do. We know what we want; God knows what we need.

This week’s memory verse:  Isaiah 40:31

But those who wait on the LORD
      Shall renew their strength;
      They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
      They shall run and not be weary,
      They shall walk and not faint.

 

For Parents:

• Talk with your child about waiting on God.  Ask them if there is anything they are waiting for God to do.
• Pray together for this.  Pray with your child to ask God to reveal His plan and timing.
• Read the memory verse with your child.  Talk to them about what the Lord does for those who wait on Him.

KidzPort Feburary 15 – Drawing Near

February 16, 2009

We had a great conversation this week about drawing near to God.  The topic came from last week’s message by Sister Amy. 

One fun thing that we did was show the difference between one person moving toward another, and two people moving toward each other.  It takes a lot less work to approach someone if they are moving toward you at the same time – especially if their steps are a lot bigger than yours.

Our tex this week was from James 4:7-10. 

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

We also talked about why we must approach God with “clean hands” and a “pure heart.” 

For Parents:

• Demonstrate what it means to “draw close” by striving to draw close to your child this week.
• Practice the memory verse with your child: James 4:8

Also this weekend, some members of KidzPort shared in song at Beacon of Light Community Church in Waterbury. Click for bigness.

Kidzport November 9 – Patience

November 9, 2008

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains.

So says the Book of James, chapter 5.   Often, we anticipate things, and this anticipation can lead us to forget who we are, and to cause us to obsess.   Jesus promised that he would return.  The people that James was writing to were impatient for this to happen.  The kept asking “When is He going to return?  Why does he take so long?”

Imagine – they were being impatient for Jesus’ return within a generation of his death on the Cross.  And we’re still waiting two thousand years later!  But we must wait patiently.  Jesus promised a new revival before he came.  We might be in the early stages of that time now.  But whenever the date or hour, we must know God will send his son in his own perfect timing.

For Parents:

• Have your child think of a time when they were impatient for something, maybe a birthday or Christmas.  Ask them how they felt, and why they had to wait.
• Reinforce the biblical principle of patience.  The first characteristic of love in 1Cor 13 is “Love is patient…”  Patience is part of the Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. 
• Encourage your child to “wait on the Lord.”