Saturday, May 26, 2012

The Holy Spirit Helps Us!


 

 

May 26 and May 27


Jesus Sends Power from God

You can review the story in Acts 2:1-21. The Bible memory verse is John 14:26 -"The Holy Spirit will teach you."


Questions for review with your child:

1. What are some ways we can trust God more in our lives?

2. How has the Holy Spirit helped you in your life?

3. In what ways do you need the Holy spirit to help you?

4. Who else do you know who is powerful?

5. How can we thank God for sending the Holy Spirit to help us?

6. How can you show God that you want to have the Holy Spirit's help in your life?

_____


In Worship and Wonder at 11:00 am on Sunday, the kindergarten class will be studying the following:


Peter, Follower of Jesus, Heals a Lame Man in Jerusalem

Verses for this lesson are from Acts 3:1-16


Questions to wonder about with your child:

1. I wonder how the man feels begging for money?

2. I wonder why the man wouldn't look at Peter and John when he asked them for money?

3. I wonder how the man feels about Peter and John?

4. I wonder how the man feels about Jesus the Christ?

5. I wonder what the man will do now that he can walk?

6. I wonder how the people feel about what Peter said to them?

7. I wonder how they will change the way they live?

8. I wonder what it's like to follow the way of the Kingdom of God?

9. I wonder how they feel when they remember that Jesus was crucified?

10. I wonder how they feel when they hear that God made Jesus alive again?

 

In Worship and Wonder on Saturday night, 9:00 am Sunday and
3's and 4's W & W at 11:00 am on Sunday, we will be studying the following:

Baptism

Verses for this lesson are Matthew 28:18-20; John 8:12; Acts 2:38-39

Questions to wonder about with your child:

1. I wonder what you were doing on the day you received your light?

2. I wonder what it will be like on the day of your baptism?

Friday, May 18, 2012

May 19 & 20: Children’s Sunday School and Wonder and Worship

Christians Encourage Each Other

This Weekend in MC Park, in Sunday School and Elementary Worship, your child will learn the story of Barnabas in Antioch.

Barnabas Encourages Christians in Antioch

You can review the story in
Acts 11:19-26. A great memory verse for your family this week is Hebrews 3:13 – “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness”

Questions for review with your child:

1.    Have you ever had something sad or discouraging happen to you?
2.    Did anyone encourage you and make you feel better?
3.    How did that person encourage you?
4.    Why is encouragement important?
5.    How did Barnabas encourage the other Christians?
6.    How do you think Jesus feels when we encourage others?
7.    Why are encouraging words better from someone who has already gone through an obstacle you now face?
8.    Would you rather have others encourage you with their actions or words?
9.    How can we encourage each other as Friends?
10. Why does God want us to encourage on another?
11. How does it make you feel when you encourage someone?

_____

In Kindergarten Worship and Wonder at 11 a.m., this week's lesson:

God’s Gift of the Holy Spirit

Verses for this lesson: Isaiah 11:2-39; Acts 1:3-5, 1:8

Questions to wonder about with your child:

1.    I wonder how the disciples feel when they receive these gifts of the Holy Spirit?
2.    I wonder how the other followers of Jesus feel when they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gifts the Holy spirit gives them?
3.    I wonder how Jesus’ followers feel when they receive the gift of the spirit of wisdom?
4.    I wonder what they will do with the gift of the spirit of wisdom?

_____

In Worship and Wonder on Saturday night, 9 a.m. Sunday, and 3s and 4s W&W at 11 a.m. on Sunday, this week’s lesson:

Pentecost

Verses for this lesson:
Acts 2:1-4

Questions to wonder about with your child:

1.    I wonder what it felt like to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost?
2.    I wonder how Jesus’ friends felt as they told the amazing things about God?
3.    I wonder how the people felt when they were baptized and received the Holy Spirit?
4.    I wonder how they knew this was the Holy Spirit?
5.    I wonder what all these people will do now that they have the gift of the Holy Spirit?
6.    I wonder what it will be like on the day you are baptized and receive the Holy Spirit?
7.    I wonder what the Holy Spirit wants us to do with God’s gifts?

Hunger and Thirst - May 18, 2012

Pray:  Ask god to give me an open mind and open heart in hearing God’s word.
Read:  What is the point of the scripture?
Reflect:  What is God telling me through the passage?
Practice:  How does the scripture apply to my life today?
Revelation 21:1-8, 2-27
 
A New Heaven and a New Earth

 1 Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
 6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children. 8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Hunger and Thirst - May 17, 2012

Pray:  Ask god to give me an open mind and open heart in hearing God’s word.
Read:  What is the point of the scripture?
Reflect:  What is God telling me through the passage?
Practice:  How does the scripture apply to my life today?
Revelation 12:1-17
 
The Woman and the Dragon

 1 A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. 4 Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
 7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
   “Now have come the salvation and the power
   and the kingdom of our God,
   and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
   who accuses them before our God day and night,
   has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him
   by the blood of the Lamb
   and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
   as to shrink from death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
   and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
   because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
   because he knows that his time is short.”
 13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring—those who keep God’s commands and hold fast their testimony about Jesus.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Hunger and Thirst - May 16, 2012

Pray:  Ask god to give me an open mind and open heart in hearing God’s word.
Read:  What is the point of the scripture?
Reflect:  What is God telling me through the passage?
Practice:  How does the scripture apply to my life today?
Revelation 7:9-17
 
The Great Multitude in White Robes

 9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
   “Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”
 11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
   “Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”
 13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
 14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”
   And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore,
   “they are before the throne of God
   and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
   will shelter them with his presence.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
   never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’
   nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne
   will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’
   ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Hunger and Thirst - May 15, 2012

Pray:  Ask god to give me an open mind and open heart in hearing God’s word.
Read:  What is the point of the scripture?
Reflect:  What is God telling me through the passage?
Practice:  How does the scripture apply to my life today?
Revelation 4
 
The Throne in Heaven

 1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
   In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying:
   “‘Holy, holy, holy
   is the Lord God Almighty,’
   who was, and is, and is to come.”
 9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
   to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
   and by your will they were created
   and have their being.”

Monday, May 14, 2012

Hunger and Thirst - May 14, 2012

Pray:  Ask god to give me an open mind and open heart in hearing God’s word.
Read:  What is the point of the scripture?
Reflect:  What is God telling me through the passage?
Practice:  How does the scripture apply to my life today?
Revelation 2-3
 
To the Church in Ephesus

 1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:
   These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.
   4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
   7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
 
To the Church in Smyrna

    8 “To the angel of the church in Smyrna write:
   These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9 I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you life as your victor’s crown.
   11 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death.
 
To the Church in Pergamum

    12 “To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
   These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. 13 I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, not even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city—where Satan lives.
   14 Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. 15 Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
   17 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.
 
To the Church in Thyatira

    18 “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write:
   These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.
   20 Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. 21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. 22 So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways. 23 I will strike her children dead. Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.
   24 Now I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.’
   26 To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations— 27 that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father. 28 I will also give that one the morning star. 29 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

 
To the Church in Sardis

 1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
   These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.
   4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
 
To the Church in Philadelphia

    7 “To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
   These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. 8 I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you. 10 Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.
   11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. 12 The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name. 13 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
 
To the Church in Laodicea

    14 “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
   These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.
   19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.
   21 To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Friday, May 11, 2012

Hunger and Thirst - May 11, 2012

Pray:  Ask god to give me an open mind and open heart in hearing God’s word.
Read:  What is the point of the scripture?
Reflect:  What is God telling me through the passage?
Practice:  How does the scripture apply to my life today?
1 John 3:18-24
 
Love One Another

18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
 19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Hunger and Thirst - May 10, 2012

Pray:  Ask god to give me an open mind and open heart in hearing God’s word.
Read:  What is the point of the scripture?
Reflect:  What is God telling me through the passage?
Practice:  How does the scripture apply to my life today?
James 2:1-13
 
Favoritism Forbidden

 1 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
 5 Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.
 12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Hunger and Thirst - May 9, 2012

Pray:  Ask god to give me an open mind and open heart in hearing God’s word.
Read:  What is the point of the scripture?
Reflect:  What is God telling me through the passage?
Practice:  How does the scripture apply to my life today?
1 Peter 2:4-10
 
The Living Stone and a Chosen People

 4 As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:
   “See, I lay a stone in Zion,
   a chosen and precious cornerstone,
   and the one who trusts in him
   will never be put to shame.”
 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
   “The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”
 8 and,
   “A stone that causes people to stumble
   and a rock that makes them fall.”
   They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.
 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Hunger and Thirst - May 8, 2012

Pray:  Ask god to give me an open mind and open heart in hearing God’s word.
Read:  What is the point of the scripture?
Reflect:  What is God telling me through the passage?
Practice:  How does the scripture apply to my life today?
Hebrews 11
 
Faith in Action

 1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
 3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
 4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
 5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
 7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
 8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
 17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
 22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
 23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
 29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
 31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
 32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Hunger and Thirst - May 7, 2012

Pray:  Ask god to give me an open mind and open heart in hearing God’s word.
Read:  What is the point of the scripture?
Reflect:  What is God telling me through the passage?
Practice:  How does the scripture apply to my life today?
1 Timothy 6:6-19
 
Fight the Good Fight

 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
 
Final Charge to Timothy

 11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen.
 17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Friday, May 4, 2012

May 5 & 6: Children’s Sunday School and Wonder and Worship

It’s Cool to Tell Others About God

This Weekend in MC Park, in Sunday School and Elementary Worship, your child will learn the story of Philip and the Ethiopians.
 
Philip Tells the Ethiopian About Jesus

You can review the story in
Acts 8:26-40. A great memory verse for your family this week is Proverbs 3:5a – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart”

Questions for review with your child:

1.    Why is it important to tell others about God?
2.    What is it like not to know what other people know?
3.    What are good things you like to share with others?
4.    Who was the first person to tell you about God?
5.    When has someone told you about something cool?
6.    Why is God’s message too cool to keep to ourselves?
7.    What are some ways we can help others know about God’s love?
8.    What’s one thing you wish everyone could know about God?
9.    How can you be sure others hear this cool message?
10. Do you sometimes find it hard to tell others about God?

_____

In Kindergarten Worship and Wonder at 11 a.m., this week's lesson:

Jesus Appears to the Disciples by the Sea

Verses for this lesson: John 21:1-13

Questions to wonder about with your child:

1.    I wonder how the disciples feel when Jesus doesn’t seem to be around anymore?
2.    I wonder why they decide to go fishing?
3.    I wonder what they are talking about while they are fishing?
4.    I wonder how they feel fishing all night and catching nothing?
5.    I wonder how the person on the beach knows where the fish are?
6.    I wonder how the disciples know the person on the beach is Jesus?
7.    I wonder what Jesus and the disciples are saying to each other?
8.    I wonder what they will do now that they have talked with Jesus again?
_____

In Worship and Wonder on Saturday night, 9 a.m. Sunday, and 3s and 4s W&W at 11 a.m. on Sunday, this week’s lesson:

The Good Shepherd and The Lord’s Supper (II)

Verses for this lesson:
1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Questions to wonder about with your child:

1.    I wonder if these people have names?
2.    I wonder if the people are happy to be at this great feast?
3.    I wonder where this place might really be?
4.    I wonder if you have ever been close to this table?
5.    I wonder if you have ever felt the Good Shepherd there with you?
6.    I wonder if you have ever heard the very words of the Good Shepherd?
7.    I wonder how many people can come to this table?
8.    I wonder where they come from?
9.  I wonder where this whole place might really be?