You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October, 2007.
Elementary: Monthly Virtue: Respect: responding with words and actions that show others they are important.
Main Point: “Show respect to God because He’s in charge of everything.”
Bible Story: Matthew 8:5-13 The centurion went to Jesus to get help for his servant who had become paralyzed. The centurion trusted in Jesus so much, that he surprised Jesus.
Memory Verse: Show proper respect to everyone. 1 Peter 2:17
Conversation Starter: Tell your kids about a time when you realized that God really is in charge of everything What happened? How do you show respect to everyone in everyday life?
Preschool: Monthly Key Question: Who made everything?
Main Point: God made everything.
Bible Story Focus: Psalm 65: 9-13. God cares for all that He made.
Memory Verse: You made the world and everything in it. Psalm 89:11
Conversation Starter: Help your children point out everything that God made. How do we know that He cares for it? Reread the bible story and reinforce the main point.
A couple of weeks ago, we went to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It was one of the best experiences ever. The environment, music, speakers, everything was amazing. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to go.
One of the speakers was Craig Groeschel; it was the first time I have heard him speak, and it was great. What he said has been replaying in my head over and over. His prayer was “Disturb Us Lord.” To let us not be complacent with where we are in life, and let us not forget where we are going and what we are here for. In my ministry, home life, walk with God, family, relationships with others, I pray that God disturbs me so that I am continually challenged and always looking to make it better. That I am constantly dreaming; dreams that other people might think are crazy or impossible. That I am going for things that scare me so much, and dreams that I know I cannot do alone, so that I have to rely on God to get me through it.
He ended with a prayer from Sir Francis Drake that sums it up:
Disturb us, Lord, when We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
Now that you know what we do week to week, let me tell you what we did specifically this week:
Elementary: 10/21/07-Monthly Virtue: Respect: responding with words and actions that show others they are important.
Main Point: “Respect whoever’s in charge even if they don’t deserve it.”
Bible Story: 1 Samuel 18-24. King Saul was looking to kill David, and David had the opportunity to kill King Saul in the cave, but he chose to respect him, even though he didn’t deserve it.
Memory Verse: Show proper respect to everyone. 1 Peter 2:17
Conversation Starter: Many people say that respect is something that is earned. So, if a person hasn’t earned your respect, why should you give it to him or her? Ask your kids and get the conversation flowing.
Preschool: Monthly Key Question: Who made everything?
Main Point: God made everything.
Bible Story Focus: Psalm 104. God made animals.
Memory Verse: You made the world and everything in it. Psalm 89:11
Conversation Starter: Ask your preschoolers who made the animals, and talk to them about how God made everything. Reinforce the bible story and the main point.
I know that I have been more than a little slack about keeping up with this thing, and I apologize to all my loyal readers. But, one thing that I want to start doing is using this as a means to connect with parents, as well as posting personal tidbits. From now on, I will start posting what we do on Sunday morning with the children. I hope this gives parents an opportunity to talk with their children throughout the week about what they learned at church, and take it a step further in their homes.
As we all know, parents have more influence than anyone when it comes to their children. The church has one hour a week, however the parent has an estimated 25-30 hours a week with their children, including driving and meal time (which are great places to have meaningful conversations). The George Barna Research Group has found that a person’s spiritual identity is largely set in place by the age of 13, so I want the church to partner with the parents in becoming the spiritual leaders in the children’s lives during these critical years. Leading children spiritually is not something that can be put off until tomorrow, we have to make the most of it today!
My goal is for this site to have links, articles, topics, and stories to help parents and leaders in any way possible. I would love to hear your feedback of what you like and don’t like at tiffany@lifepointnow.com. Before I get started on the specific weeks, let me give you an overview of what we do in the children’s ministry:
For our preschool areas we “teach less for more.” We repeat one key truth, what we call the Bottom Line, all month long. We do this through creative activities teaching the bible story. All of these truths deal with three main concepts we want the children to believe by the age of five. They will hear these foundations in some way every single week, and these three things are:
- God Made Me
- Jesus Loves Me
- Jesus wants to be My Friend Forever
In our elementary areas the curriculum is based around three basic truths. These truths are based on a Core Virtue for every month, in which we take key bible stories as the framework for each week. Each Basic Truth is amplified by a weekly main point. In elementary we also work in a large group setting, telling the bible story, then each child connects in their small group. By the time the children are entering middle school, we want them to know that:
- I need to make the wise choice.
- I can trust God no matter what.
- I should treat others the way I want to be treated.
I know that we only have one hour a week to reach these children, that is why I want it to be the best hour of their week! We have fun, dance, do crafts, sing, and shout to help show children that God is relevant to them. We teach key bible stories and truths that will lay the foundation for the rest of their lives. We have some exciting things coming for parents in the near future, so stay tuned! Now that you know the outline of every week, I will post a weekly review of what we do in each age service.
Recent Comments