Reflections on Parenting

By Jessica Jones, Children’s Ministry Admin. Assistant

I grew up at Calvary.  My family came every Sunday with few exceptions.  Even though I attended Sunday School, (as it was called then- now it’s Bible Fellowship) I have to be honest, I don’t remember much from Sunday School.  I know I liked going when I was little.  We played games, sang songs, did crafts and heard a Bible story.  But I don’t really remember my teachers or the lessons I was taught.  To me that is very surprising to think of all the hundreds of Sundays I was there and yet I don’t remember much.  Where then did my deep rooted Biblical framework come from?  Oh yeah… my parents!  I have many memories of memorizing scripture with my mom.  Usually while she cooked dinner we kids would pick an index card with a verse on it.  We were to read it out loud to her five times each evening until we could say it without looking at it.  I also remember having devotions and prayer with my parents at night before bed.  Those were just two things that were on a “schedule”.  There were lots of moments in between filled with memories of my parents pointing me to God.  Often times when it was a pretty sunset, my mom would call me and point out the sunset and say to me, “Do you see what my Father made for me- it’s such a beautiful sunset.” Or moments when my sister and I would fight, and again in simple ways my parents would point me back to Christ by asking questions like, “When you and Laura fight, does that make Jesus happy or sad?”  “You can’t control what Laura does, but you can control what you do- are you obeying God in the way to respond to your sister?”  I know those aren’t deep and theological, but my parents developed in me a love for God by showing me things all around me that God created and all the things He did in my life.  They also put in me a desire to please Christ.  For me, as simple as this idea was, I loved God and I wanted to make Him happy.  How do you learn more about making Him happy or what plans He has for you?  You read the Bible.  My parents taught us how to have devotions and pray by doing that with us when we were young and then by encouraging us to have our devotions when we were older.

I have been taking care of my sister’s cats while she and her husband are on the mission field.  The cats are indoor cats, they have never spent time outside.  The other day my husband and I were sitting on the sofa and I began to hear this distressed meow- we began looking for the cat making the sound only to find the cat (Memphis) had somehow gotten outside!  He was at the window begging to come back in.  My first thought after getting him back inside?  “When did he get out and how did I not notice sooner?!  I hope having kids isn’t like this!”  Having kids is a huge responsibility- it’s times like that (when I feel like I can’t even take care of a cat) when I really worry about having kids.  I know I will be fine- I have worked with kids since I started babysitting at the age of 11.

Parents, you have such a major impact on the life of your child and on the spiritual formation.  It’s a huge responsibility.  God designed the family.  Deuteronomy 6:5-7 says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”  Parents, I pray that in your house, learning about God isn’t limited to Sunday morning and I really hope and pray you aren’t “leaving it to the professionals” that work at church.  You have the influence and it is your responsibility to teach your children the Bible. It is the church’s job to help equip you as parents.  This blog is one way the Children’s Ministry seeks to provide resources and encourage you.  We would also encourage you to get involved in serving at church.  We love having parents serve with us and giving input towards what helps them as parents and what helps their kids the most.  Our staff is here to serve and equip, your input helps us better serve and equip you teach your children the gospel and give them a Biblical foundation for life.

Jesus’ Temptation – 5/20/12

This past week our students learned about the temptation of Jesus (Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-14). We learned that because Jesus was tempted in every way, but never sinned, He is our Savior and Example. He is our example because He shows us that resisting sin is possible and He is our Savior because resisting sin is only possible through His power and His saving work on the cross.

Our students learned a few things about temptation from the account of Jesus’ wilderness experience:

1. Everyone experiences temptation. Not all temptations look the same (e.g. some are tempted take a little extra, cheat on a test, waste time, etc.), but this doesn’t mean that they’re not temptations. In fact, most often our temptations reflect our own corrupted desires (James 1:14). It is interesting to note that Jesus was taken to the wilderness by the Spirit and after His baptism. This should show us that temptation is always a possibility and we should never consider ourselves exempt from its power.
2. Temptation does not equal sin. Obviously, Jesus was without sin and yet, He was tempted. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.” In moments of temptation we cannot be overcome by guilt or a feeling that sin is inevitable. Instead, we ought to look to our faithful God, who always provides a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13).
3. Sin masquerades itself as something good, but it always bad. Satan tempted Jesus with three different temptations that are recorded in Matthew and Luke’s account of the events in the wilderness. However, because Jesus was familiar with His mission and the Word of God, He recognized Satan’s tactics and was able to resist Satan.

Temptation is real and students are often pressured to do the wrong thing. We must remind them of our Savior who set an example for fighting temptation, but who also remained sinless and died for us that we may find grace and mercy in our time of need (Heb. 4:16).

Lesson Overviews: May 6 and 13

This month, our focus has been on the early life and ministry of Jesus. A general overview of the month of May looks like this:

• May 6, Jesus at the Temple (Luke 2:40-52)
• May 13, John the Baptist and Jesus’ Baptism (Luke 1:1-25; 57-80; 3:1-22; John 1:19-37; Matthew 3:13-17)
• May 20, Jesus was Tempted (Matthew 4:1-11)
• May 27, Jesus Called Disciples (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; 2:13-14; 3:13-19)

As you spend time speaking with your children about what they’re learning this month, keep in mind two basic truths that we derive from Jesus’ life on earth:

Jesus is our Example. No one lived life on earth more perfectly than Jesus. In fact, He is the only One who can claim to have lived without sinning. The Bible tells us that Jesus was tempted in every way, yet without sin (Heb. 4:14-16). For this reason, we can look to Him in our times of need, when we’re suffering, and even when everything is great. Someone once said, “Learn from the best.” Certainly, no one is better than Jesus and if we’re going to learn from the best, it means looking at Jesus as our example.

Jesus is our Savior. Ultimately, we cannot follow Jesus completely because we are sinners who have a natural disposition to sin. So, although we can look to Jesus as an example, we must keep in mind that He came for a purpose greater than modeling a good life. He came to redeem that which was lost (Luke 19:10). Jesus’ perfect life on earth reminds us that He lived as only He could and in such a way that it validated His claims of being the Son of God and our Redeemer.

Our memory verse this month reminds us to keep God at the forefront of everything we do. Work with your kids to memorize Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

If you’re looking for a fun way to learn the memory verse, we have plenty of ideas. One would be to write each word of the verse on a sheet of paper. Crumble up the individual pieces of paper and use them as basketballs. Play basketball with your kids using the pieces of paper with the words on them. As your kids score baskets, have them unfold the piece of paper that they scored with and put the verse together as they score. The game is complete when all the basketballs have been scored and the verse has been completed!

*We will resume posting our weekly lesson overviews next week.

The Ascension – 4/29/12

Yesterday, we studied the post-resurrection appearances of Jesus. The first and second graders looked at Jesus’ appearance to the disciples in John 21 (the disciples were fishing in the Sea of Tiberias) and the third through sixth graders looked at the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:4-11). Although both accounts chronicle Jesus’ life after His death and resurrection, we’ll look specifically at the ascension for this lesson overview.

Oftentimes, we overlook the importance of the ascension when discussing the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. This is unfortunate because of its importance in Christian doctrine and its implications for the Christian life. The ascension is important for a few reasons:

The ascension reminds us that Jesus is alive (Acts 1:1-3). Luke, who recorded details about Jesus’ life carefully, describes that after His death and resurrection, Jesus ”presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (1:3). Our Savior is alive and this truth gives us assurance of our salvation and hope for a future resurrection.

The ascension reminds us that we have a mission today (Acts 1:4-8). The disciples were concerned with the timing of the final restoration of all things, which we are assured of through the resurrection. However, Jesus pointed out to the disciples that their (and our) focus should not be the timing of the final restoration, but rather on the present opportunity for mission. Jesus has already finished His work on the cross and we are assured of His coming again, but in the in between time, we have be called to be witnesses, being used by God to bring others into the family of God.

The ascension assures us that Jesus is coming again (Acts 1:9-11).Finally, and maybe most obviously, we can know that Jesus is coming again. The angels who gathered with those who watched Jesus ascend into heaven remarked, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” (1:11). This is a major theme throughout the New Testament and it is even prophesied about in the Old Testament:  Jesus is coming back! In fact, the Bible ends with this affirmation from Jesus, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” (Revelation 22:20-21).

Read Acts 1:1-11 with your children and explain to them what happened when Jesus ascended into heaven. He is now at the right hand of the Father and will one day return for His people and to bring about the end of all things. In the meantime, we can spread this good news about His second coming.

Optional Activities to Help Teach about the Ascension:

• Memorize Acts 1:11
• Work on memorizing this month’s memory verse: Philippians 2:10-11 (“every knee will bow…”)
• Make a craft that reminds your child(ren) of Jesus’ return. This craft should be something that reminds your children that Jesus is alive, present among us, and returning again. An example of this craft is making a simple star to display in your child’s room. On the star write “Acts 1:11″ as a reminder of Jesus’ ascension and second coming.

The Road to Emmaus – 4/15/12

Once a month, in the Children’s Ministry area, we bring all the kids together for a large group session. Yesterday, during the large group time, the kids we’re taught about Jesus’ interaction with two of His followers on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). One of the things we can take away from this passage is that God had a plan from the very beginning to redeem His people and that plan is bigger and better than we could ever imagine.

Following Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion, the disciples were confused and disheartened. They had followed Jesus for a few years now and couldn’t imagine life without Him. “Why did He have to die? What are we suppose to do now?” This perspective is summed up by the two men on the way to Emmaus. They said to Jesus, who they did not recognize as Jesus:

So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a Prophet powerful in action and speechbefore God and all the people, and how our chief priests and leaders handed Him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified Him. But we were hoping that He was the One who was about to redeem Israel. Besides all this, it’s the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women from our group astounded us. They arrived early at the tomb, and when they didn’t find His body, they came and reported that they had seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they didn’t see Him.

The two men revealed to Jesus what they were expecting: the One who would redeem Israel. What they didn’t realize was that God’s plan was exactly that, but God would redeem His people in a way that was better than what they expected! Jesus pointed them to the Old Testament and revealed to them how the Messiah would have to suffer and die before being raised to new life. He showed them the significance of all of this by pointing out that the Messiah came for more than physical redemption, He came to redeem His people spiritually. Through belief in the resurrected Jesus, we can have eternal life.

What great news! This was such good new that when the two men realized that they were speaking with Jesus, they ran back to Jerusalem and announced to the disciples and others gathered with them, “The Lord has certainly been raised!” This is how Christianity was spread throughout the ancient world and how it continues to grow today: God working through individuals who have been drastically changed by the good news of Jesus resurrection! Let’s make this message the most important thing about us and let’s tell those we come in contact with the great news that God has made a way to redeem people for His glory.

The Resurrection – 4/8/12

There was no Bible Fellowship this weekend (Easter), but we still wanted to post a lesson overview for parents who are using this material at home. Obviously, this week’s lesson would have been on the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Although we missed everyone at Bible Fellowship this week, we’ll be looking at the resurrection on Wednesday night. Our 4th and 5th graders will be looking into some of the historical evidences for the empty tomb, while our 1st – 3rd graders are going to be learning about the resurrection from Mark 16.

Optional Activity: Resurrection Eggs

Resurrection Eggs are a great way to help your children understand the events of Passion Week (the final week of Jesus’ earthly life). The objects that are placed in the eggs take your children from Jesus’ Triumphal entry (see last week’s post) through His death, burial, and resurrection. This is something you could easily do at home with your children this week or any week of the year.

This video gives helpful instructions on how to make resurrection eggs:

The Triumphal Entry – 4/1/2012

This Sunday, our kids looked at the Triumphal Entry of Jesus. This event, which had been predicted by the prophets long before (e.g. Zech. 9:9), was the beginning of what is referred to as Passion Week (from the Greek verb paschō, meaning “to suffer”).

The disciples were aware of the dangers of entering Jerusalem, but they could not have known what would unfold during this week. Jesus was on His way to the cross. This was His mission and the very reason why He had come to earth in the first place. It was only through this event that humans could be restored to God.

Jesus made His way into the city, not in secret, but with a parade. As He rode in on a donkey, the crowds waived palm branches and shouted “hosanna,” which means (“save now”). The idea of a Messiah was nothing new to the Israelites. For hundreds of years they had anticipated the coming of God’s “Anointed One.” However, the people expected a warrior who would overpower the Romans and elevate Israel to a place of world power. In other words, they expected someone to save them and they were ready to praise that Savior, but they were primarily expecting salvation from those who oppressed them physically.

Therefore, Jesus, as a miracle worker and authoritative speaker, seemed to fit the profile of a savior. In fact, He was who they were looking for, but instead of being the Savior who would free His people from outside oppression, He came to save them from the oppression of their own sin and disobedience. When it was discovered that Jesus was not the one who would lead the Israelites militarily, many of these same people who praised Him would turn their back on Him.

How do we see Jesus? Why do we worship Him? The children’s curriculum has this helpful application point for children:

Luke 19:37 states that people recognized Jesus for the miracles He had done – a fitting tribute, but not the central reason Jesus deserved their praise. Children often make the same mistake as the crowd did. They can easily thank Jesus for material blessings, but they have not yet learned to praise Him for who He is.

How do we see Jesus? Do we praise Him for what we want Him to be, who we think Him to be, or for who He is? Jesus came to save us from our sins and to restore us to a right relationship with God. This is great news! Take time this week to reflect on the final week of Jesus’ life and discuss the way that He endured sufferings for our sake. He didn’t have to suffer as He was God and He could have overpowered the Romans, but instead, He choose to suffer and die in order that we could believe and truly be saved.

Memory Verse: April

By Sheri King, Director of Children’s Ministry

Our Bible Verse for April is:

 “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,…”  Phil. 2:10-11

I believe almost everyone would agree that this is a verse our kids should know, memorize, and understand.  This verse is actually the end of a paragraph that tells us WHY we should know this verse, understand it, and hide it in our hearts.  Let’s look at that paragraph:

⁵  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶  who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. ⁹  Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

I think it is great that our kids memorize this verse.  However, without the knowledge of WHY every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, this verse is just another verse to get a piece of candy for as they walk out the door.  We MUST teach our kids the “WHY” of “WHAT” we are teaching them.

So, let’s look at WHY every knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  First of all, in verse nine we see the reason for the bowing and confessing is that God has highly exalted Jesus and given him the name above every name.  WHY would God do this? Because (v. 6-8) Jesus did not boast in his position of equality with God, rather, he humbled himself to serve us and die for us. No other religion in the world claims to have anyone love us as much as Jesus does.  Therefore, we will honor him in all we do and say.  We will worship him and him alone.  He is the one and only Son of God, Savior, King of Kings!  Our relationship with him should be our first priority, not a side bar or foot note.

Let’s teach our children what Christ means to us as we bow our knee to Him and surrender our desires for His desires.  Let’s confess that Jesus is Lord so that others will know him.  Let’s share the love of Christ so others will want to know him and want to know WHY we love him!

Joshua Project

Our kids learned about the life of Jonah in Bible Fellowship this past Sunday (3/25). You can read our lesson overview here. Jonah’s story teaches us that God care for all people and desires that all be saved. Nineveh was a wicked city and yet, God desired their salvation. What’s unique about God’s plan to reach people is that it involves us. We get to be message bearers on God’s behalf!

The Joshua Project, a website that we have linked on our sidebar, is dedicated to helping us learn more about people groups around the world. Their website says this, “Joshua Project is a research initiative seeking to highlight the ethnic people groups of the world with the fewest followers of Christ.”

The Joshua Project is helpful for identifying various people groups, learning about their culture, and identifying ways to pray for them. In addition, the website provides these resources:

• A list of the world’s ethnic people groups with Christian progress status indicators.
• From this overall list is generated a list of all unreached ethnic people groups with strategic church-planting status indicators and ministry tool availability data.
• Statistical profiles of all ethnic people groups, many with photos, maps and text.
• Country specific data related to Christian status, persecution rankings, human development index, economic levels and religious makeup.
• User-defined selection of people group data. Data can be selected by population, geographic area, religion, status, ministry resource availablity including Bible translation status, the Jesus Film, and Gospel audio recordings.
• A daily rotating Unreached People of the Day feed that can be displayed on websites and blogs. The Unreached People of the Day is also available by email.
• Downloadable data, PowerPoints and other unreached peoples presentation materials in various languages. A user-friendly software program for viewing, querying and reporting of available Joshua Project data.

The Unreached People of the Day is a great resources for families who are looking to pray for a particular groups of people. Try praying for different groups to encourage your children to think internationally or adopt one group and commit to pray for that particular nation/ethnicity.

 

3/25/12 – Jonah

It’s hard to imagine any Old Testament story being more popular than the story of Jonah. It seems that everybody knows about Jonah’s life events. He ran away from God, was thrown off a ship (voluntarily I might add), swallowed by a big fish, spit out of a big fish, and he eventually preached to the people of Nineveh.

Jonah’s narrative reminds us of our need for obedience, but more importantly, God’s heart for the lost.

Jonah repeatedly disobeyed God’s command to preach to the citizens of Nineveh. We look down on Jonah for his attitude, but it’s almost understandable when you consider the people of Nineveh. There were very few cities in the ancient world that would have been as bad as Nineveh, which was the capital city of the Assyrian Empire (the same Assyrians who destroyed Israel in 721 B.C.). The prophet Nahum describes the city as a “city of blood, totally deceitful, full of plunder, never without prey” (Nahum 3:1). In fact, Nahum’s whole prophecy is dedicated to declaring the destruction of Nineveh. This place was as bad as it gets. Jonah knew that and because of it, he didn’t want to preach God’s grace to them.

However, no matter what Jonah attempted to do to get out of the situation, God made sure that the gospel was preached in Nineveh. If you follow the book closely, you’ll notice God’s intervention in Jonah’s situation:

“The word of the Lord came to Jonah…” (1:1)

“Then the Lord hurled a violent wind on the sea…” (1:4)

“Then the Lord appointed a great fish to swallow Jonah…” (1:17)

“I called out to the Lord in my distress and He answered me.” (2:2)

“The the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.” (2:10)

“The the word of the Lord came to Jonah a second time.” (3:1)

“So Jonah got up and went to Nineveh according to the Lord’s command.” (3:3)

“Then God saw their actions – that they had turned from their evil ways – so the Lord relented from the disaster He had threatened to do to them. And He did not do it.” (3:10)

The story goes on from here and God continues to intervene in Jonah’s life to teach him a lesson about grace (God appoints and destroys a plant, 4:1-11). Why did God intervene in such a way that He would be able to save the Ninevites? I think Jonah gives the best explanation for this when he says to God, “I knew that You are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to  become angry, rich in faithful love, and One who relents from sending disaster.” This was the reason Jonah ran from God and His command to preach in Nineveh. He didn’t want the Ninevites to be saved and he knew that God could save them if they heard the gospel.

We must remember that no one is too bad for God to save. His desire is for “everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Therefore, we must constantly keep God’s saving work in our own lives before our eyes, lest we forget about His triumphant grace and think that others don’t deserve His mercy.

Take time this week to reflect upon the gracious work of God in your own life. Remember that work and allow it spur you towards good works and gospel witness. Paul, in Titus chapter 3, tells Titus to insist on teaching the gospel in such a way that lives are changed. He reminds Titus and those at Crete,

For we too were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, captives of various passions and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, detesting one another. But when the goodness and love for man appeared from God our Savior, He saved us – not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. This Spirit He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3-7