Kidzport

This week we focused on “forgiveness.”   Our text was out of Ephesians, Chapter 4.  Sister Jill taught the lesson this week.  She begain with an understanding of what it means to “grieve the Spirit,” and  why God is sad when we hold grudges against one another. 

It’s important to understand that when someone hurts us, it’s OK to be upset, but that we need to be willing to forgive and move on.  God will only forgive us as readily as we forgive others.

Also there were gifts from Pastor Dave Smith and his wife Gloria passed out for those who were not here.

Christian and Orlando working with the younger group

For Parents:

• Talk to your kids about forgiveness.  See if there is anyone they are having a hard time forgiving, and pray with them about it.
• Talk about God’s feeling toward unforgiveness, especially in light of Ephesians 4.
• Memory verse: John 3:16

That seems like a pretty simple question, right?   But it’s really not.  

Coming off Pastor Pedro’s Christmas Sermon, I asked the kids this question: Why did Jesus have to be born?  Couldn’t God have just chosen to forgive sin and defeat Satan on His own?  Why did Jesus have to go through everything He went through?

To begin, we look at the nature of Jesus - who was He?   We compared John 1:1 with Genesis 1:1 and came to the conclusion that Jesus must have been around at the beginning of time.   And if that is the case, then He must truly be God.

But since sin was first committed by men - Adam and Eve - then only someone who was comletely man could pay the price for that sin.  After all, that’s only justice.  So God had to become man - in the person of Jesus.  That man paid the price, not for his own sins - he had none - but for all of our sins.  If it was a sinful man who began the fall from Grace, then only a sinless man who had no debts of his own could pay the price.

For Parents:

• Read John 1:1-12 with your child.  Discover who Jesus was, and why He became man.
• Be sure that your child understands what Christmas means for him or her.  Do not let them give standard answers - really make sure they get it.

The 2008 Christmas Cantata was  a big success, in spite of terrible weather and a host of other issues.  Not the least of which was a group of kids who had, for the most part, not participated in anything like this before.  (Yes, I had to release our former generation this year…   and they were so GOOD!) 

The evening began with some Christmas music by Gospel Light Worship.  They did an original arrangement of “Do You Hear What I Hear?” to open the evening, followed by “What Child is This?” and “O Come All Ye Faithful.”   The music continued with Send Judah First, who gave a very special and powerful performance of “Alpha and Omega.”  Finally, we were treated to a beautiful a capella rendition of “O Holy Night” by our own Cecelia Cruz.

 Then came time for the drama.  This year I wrote a short play entitled “A Modern Christmas Carol.”  It was a twist on the Charles Dickens classic, where instead of Scrooze being visited by three ghosts, his employee is visited by three angels, who show her things of the past, present and possible future.

There were three songs incorporated into the play:  “Joy to the World (A Christmas Prayer)” by Nicholas Jonas demonstrated a desire to keep the important things about Christmastime in the forefront.  An original song, “The Coming of the King” represented the hope that the prophisied child would bring to a dark world.  The finale was David Crowder’s “Here is Our King” which set the tone for the whole evening.  All the children joined in this song, and most of the youth did as well from their seats. 

After the drama it was time for the Kidzport group to take the stage.  Our 4-9 year olds did a great job singing two Christmas carols  - “Silent Night,” “The First Noel.”   Then they handed out candy canes while singing “Feliz Navidad.” 

The evening was wrapped up with a powerful and timely word from Daniel Miller, who encouraged us to “run to Jesus.”  There was a spontainious ministry time after the message. 

 I’m working on getting some video uploaded from the play, but there are pictures available here.

Today was our last chance to run through all the songs the Kidzport kids will be doing before Saturday’s big show. The kids are doing a great job with their part of the production.

Friday night both cell groups will be meeting in church instead of Kidzport. This will be our last dress rehearsal. Saturday, all the kids need to be at the church by 3pm for a final runthrough and dinner before the show.

For Parents:
- Make sure your kids know their songs and sing them all week. Get them there on time Friday and Saturday. And bring as many people as you can.

Wit the Christmas Cantata coming up, the next couple of weeks are going to be dedicated to preparations for that great event.   So this week, we spent our session working on music with the kids.   The 10-12 year-old GLCCKidz group is going to be doing the skit during the Cantata, but we are counting on the KidzPort group for their voices.  They will be joining the older kids for songs during the play, as well as doing some carols on their own.  What carols?   You’ll have to come to find out! 

But I can tell you this…   they sounded awesome! 

Remember, the cantata is Saturday, December 20 at 6:30PM, right at Gospel Light.  See you there!

This week we took a look at Isaac, son of Abraham.  According to Genesis, after Abraham died, the Philistines took back the land that Abraham had occupied - land God had given him.   When he matured, Isaac began to inhabit these lands.  

One way that someone would claim land in those days was by digging a well.  You see, there was plenty of water under the ground, but one had to dig for it.  Having grown up in the area, Isaac knew where all the wells were.  But as he began to uncover his father’s wells, he ran into opposition from the Philistines.  Finally, he found a place that he could live without argument.

Sometimes life is like this.  God has a blessing for us (the water) but it is hard to get to.  We have to dig for it.  It helps if we know where to dig, as Isaac did.  But sometimes there are obstacles to what God has.  We can either give up, or keep looking for a new place to uncover a well, and get to the blessing. 

For Parents:

• Have your child read Genesis 26: 17-22 with you.  Why did Isaac have to dig so many wells?
• Ask your child why it is important to keep pressing on, and trying to uncover new wells.
• We talked about Isaac’s family - see if they remember who Isaac’s older brother is. (Ishmael)

Reminder: Reheasal for the Cantata is Saturday, 12/6 at 12:00 in the church,

First, let me thank our three volunteers for helping out this week, freeing Jill and myself for some needed family time.  Marisol, Celia and Ashley - thank you! 

This week the topic was asking God for things.  The key verse was Psalm 4:6.

There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?”  LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.

Often, we turn to all kinds of people when we are asking for things, and we fail to turn to the Father of Blessings!   Imagine that!  The one person who has the ability to give all things, and we neglect to ask Him.   Marisol took the time to work through praying with the children, talking about how we can effectively pray to God, and why God is the one we should turn to.

For Parents:

• Pray with your children.  The most effective way to teach a child is to show them.  The bible says that if we train up a child in the way he should go, when he is old he will not depart from it. (Prov 22:6)
• Ask your child if they remember Psalm 4:6, and help them to recall it and recite it. 
• Encourage your child to put their wants and needs before God.  This is especially important at this time of year.  Be sure they are asking God, not Santa Clause!

Today we talked about the Ark of the Covenent.  Yes that Ark of the Covenent.   Now, dealing with seven-to-nine year olds, I had to come to grips with the fact that no one had ever even seen the original Indiana Jones films.  So we started from scratch, because I had a point to get to, but they had to understand what I was talking about. 

So we talked about the Ark, how it was built and what it was made of.  Special attention was paid to the fact that once the Law was placed into the Ark, no one was allowed to touch it. Which brings us to the point of the lesson.   David had decided to bring the Ark to Jerusalem.  Instead of having the Levites carry it - which was the way it should have been done - David had it placed on an oxcart.  At one point, the ox stumbled and the Ark nearly fell, Until it was steadied by Uzzah.  The Lord killed Uzzah on the spot for touching the Ark.

While it seems at first harsh and cruel - after all, Uzzah probably reacted instinctivly - it demonstrates an important point.  We are not to interprete God’s law for our own purposes.  After all, perhaps God planned for the Ark to fall.  David had made several mistakes - moving the Ark without consulting God, putting the Ark on a cart instead of carrying it.  Throughout his lifetime, people would die for David’s mistakes.  Often times, other people suffer for ours.

For parents:

• Read the passage in 2 Samuel 6 regarding the moving of the Ark and the death of Uzzah.  Have your child relate why Uzzah was killed for this simple act.
• Ask your child if they’ve ever had to suffer for something someone else did, and how they felt about it.
• Ask your child to describe the Ark.  Remind them by letting them read the description in Exodus 25.  

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.”

With the upcoming election, I thought it would be a good time to talk about making important choices.  An American’s vote is an important thing.  It is, at times, a difficult descision, and one that should be made prayerfully and cautiously.    Our verse was Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

We simplified it, though:  “Do all things in the name of the Lord.”    And that includes making important descisions.   We talked about different kinds of choices - going to school, getting married, finding a job.  I asked the kids if God had a place in those descisions.  I was glad when they said yes.  We talked about making choices by filtering them through the lens of scripture, and seeing what comes out.

I asked the kids, if they could vote, who would they vote for.  Most of them said Barak Obama.  I asked them why.  I got a variety of answers, some silly, some wrong, some thoughtful.   I asked the kids, that in light of the verse, who would God have them vote for.  They all named whomever they had chosen, of course. 

So we did a little comparison test.  I said to forget the candidates names, and let’s just look at them as far as where they stand on some issues that might be important to God.  First I told them that Candidate A had a personal experience with God in his life, and has acknowledged that his faith has played an important role in who he is.  This candidate acknowledges Jesus in his life.  Candidate B says that there are many ways to seek God, and that none are wrong.  

Who would God vote for?  Unanamous - Candidate A. 

Next question - Candidate A wants to limit abortions, if not stop them altogether in most cases.  Candidate B wants to expand abortion rights, and make sure everyone who wants an abortion can have one.

Again - unanamous for Candidate A.

Finally, Candidate A says marriage is between a man and a woman only, and has supported a ban on same-sex marriage in his state.   Candidate B has said that he thinks a marriage is between a man and a woman, but doesn’t think same sex marriage should be banned.

That does it - all unanamous for Candidate A.  I then asked then which candidate was which.  They were very surprised at the answer.   We then talked about what happens when we make important descisions before consulting with God.  We need to seek out God’s will in all things, and be sure we are acting as He would want us to.

For parents:

• Talk to your kids about the choices they make.  Ask them if they pray before they make hard choices.  Encourage them to, and pray with them.
• Kids do as they see parents do?  Be sure you are being a good example in seeking God’s face when making choices.
• Whoever you vote for - vote prayerfully.