Get Ready For Easter!

Get Ready For Easter is a five week curriculum series that will teach children about the events leading up to Jesus’ resurrection on Easter. Children will hear about Christ’s Triumphal Entry, the Last Supper and Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, Jesus’ trial, his Crucifixion and finally Jesus’ resurrection. Children will learn though an interactive video, memory verses, small groups and crafts. Series begin February 21, 2010.

Web Links for families

Splink is a SIMPLE way to LINK your family together spiritually.It’s a FREE weekly email packed with ideas to help connect your family. Splinks are creative ways of interacting with your children with family devotional starters and ideas for family time. Splinks can also help you use teachable moments to pass along spiritual truths and life lessons while making memories or just having fun together. No matter where you are, it can always be time for a Splink!

Family Times helps parents transfer a spiritual legacy to their children. Family Times is designed to help equip parents with easy to use tools to make the most of everyday moments together. This tool is based on the biblical model that teaches that the home should be the primary place where a child learns about God.
Seeds Family Worship – Worship & Togetherness through music! Planting the seeds of God’s word in the hearts of families.

Quest for Compassion is designed to educate your children about global poverty and help them develop a heart for the poor around the world. When children understand poverty, they grow into compassionate adults.  This is a great interactive online game for kids.

To see the world be changed

I have been very challenged by Russ’s sermon series these past number of weeks, Hope Lives.  I have been challenged to be aware each moment of the day to see the needs that surround me.   Knowing that God wants to use me through each day, not just ’some day’.

We have been going through this series in our kids programming as well.  Focusing on caring for and loving others.  This is a difficult concept for kids.  Kids are generally very me-focused, especially in today’s society.  They can easily tell you how they were not helped, but have a hard time understanding how they can help others.  We have challenged them in that thinking because they can grasp this concept.  We as adults need to be challenged and so do children, only they tend to me more receptive to it then we are.  They don’t say, “I’ll think about”, they do.  They don’t often contemplate too much.  If they believe it is good, they act.

At Tidal Wave this week we did a night focusing on missions and packed Samaritans Purse shoeboxes.  We provided stations that the kids went to, where they learned about poverty, then did an activity that applied in a small way.  They had a great time, and we planted seeds.  My prayer is not that kids will change their me-focused ways today, but that we plant seeds to last a lifetime. That they will begin to change the world in small ways.

How are you planting seeds in kids’ lives and your own children’s lives?

Reflect on the words of the Lincoln Brewster song “Power in your Name”:

Surely children weren’t made for the streets
And fathers were not made to leave
Surely this isn’t how it should be
Let Your Kingdom come

Surely nations were not made for war
Or the broken meant to be ignored
Surely this just can’t be what You saw
Let Your Kingdom come
Here in my heart

I will live
To carry Your compassion
To love a world that’s broken
To be Your hands and feet
I will give
With the life that I’ve been given
And go beyond religion
To see the world be changed
By the power of Your name

Surely life wasn’t made to regret
And the lost were not made to forget
Surely faith without action is dead
Let Your Kingdom come
Lord break this heart

Your name
Is a shelter for the hurting
Jesus Your name
Is a refuge for the weak
Only Your name
Can redeem the undeserving
Jesus Your name
Holds everything I need
Jessica

Prayers of Kids

One night at Tidal Wave we were talking about prayer and there were a number of stations the kids went to.  One station was just where they wrote out their prayers.  Here were a few of them…

“Dear God, I wish for a hamctr (hamster)”

“Dear God, I am so happy that when I prayed for the girl at my school to stop bullying people and she did”

“Dear God, Thank you for people so taht they could make the stuff I like so much and thank you for imaginasons (imaginations) so people could invent music, skating, books, mitns and everything else. but I think we could do without war, fighting, hatred and other bad stuff that imaginations created.”

We just thought that they were too interesting not to share!

Jessica

Responding to the kids “BIG” questions

Well our answer time on the kids big questions went very well but I have to admit that for most of the questions our main answer was “we don’t really know the answer”.  And truly the kids seemed mostly satisfied with that answer!

However we did give any information we do have regarding their questions.  We talked about what the bible says about heaven but that we don’t really know where it is!  Russ came and shared that some people believe Jesus does love the devil and others believe not and so again we don’t really know.

We encouraged the kids in their questioning and that asking God, going to the bible for answers is the best thing to do.  So we directed them to the bible for questions regarding sin, names of Jesus, the place where Jesus died etc.

We we most definitely will do it again next year!  In fact we have decided the leave the question box up permanently.  We want kids to have a faith that is their own, we want to encourage them to go to Jesus for answers and to keep asking him questions because then they keep talking to him too!

Jessica

MARCH IS VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION MONTH!!

This month we just want to take time to appreciate our full time volunteers.  Take time to send them a note, buy them a gift card, invite them over for dinner…. be creative!!

Also, on March 15 after the 2nd service we are having a pizza lunch for all the full time volunteers.  Sign up and come for free pizza if you volunteer on a regular basis!

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO PUT TIME IN WEEKLY TO SERVE AT CORNERSTONE CHURCH!

More on what kids are asking

I hope that you are all having a wonderful week!

I have a few more questions for you to ponder and provide some insight too!

1. How do we know when Jesus will return?

2.Has God ever healed someone in your family?

3.If Jesus appeared to you would he appear as a light or a normal person?

We are attempting to answer kids questions this coming Sunday!  I am really looking forward to this dialogue with the kids about their questions and this amazing God we serve!

What kids are thinking about…

As my first post I wanted to share with parents/guardians what questions your kids are asking and what kind of things are on their minds! 

We had prayer stations at Tidal Wave a couple of weeks ago and kids wrote prayers such as:

“I am so happy that when I prayed for the girl at school to stop bullying people and she did”

“Thank you for people so that they could make the stuff I like so much”

“Why does there have to be war and hurting people?”

In Promiseland we have a “BIG questions” box where kids have been encouraged to ask any questions.  I encourage you to comment if you have helpful answers to these questions!  Some are really stumping us because they are sometimes complex and difficult to explain to an 8 year old!  We will be ‘answering’ these questions on March 1.

Elementary Kids questions:

1. Is there a pet heaven?

2. How many kinds of churches are there?  I only know three, catholic, mennonite & baptist.

3. How big is heaven?

4. Is the name God different in different languages?

5. Do you ever feel like God doesn’t love you?

6. How does God make & create Promiseland games?  It would be hard.

7.How many times a day do people sin?

8. Is heaven outside of space?

9. Jesus says to love your enemies.  Does Jesus love the devil?

10. How does God make each snow flake different?

These are not all the questions!  Kids just kept writing & writing!  They want to talk about it, they have questions and as parents/teachers/guardians, it’s okay if we don’t have the answers but it is important to engage your kids in these kind of conversations.  Encourage questioning about God and their faith because when is it bad to dwell on God and who he is?

Jessica