Christmas Program Pictures

Preparing For Christmas

At Spirit of Grace Church, we are preparing for our Annual Christmas Program and Banquet. Nearly everything comes to a halt as this takes precedence. Songs are being practiced. Lines are being learned. Children are learning the true meaning of Christmas.

As a parent, I am struggling with my 5 yr old Kindergartener. In our family, Santa is pretend, just another character like Mickey Mouse or Max & Ruby or Thomas the Tanker. It's a decision we made nearly 20 years ago. The difficulty I am having is that Mya's kindergarten classmates have nearly convinced her that Santa is real. How crazy is that??!! With all the TV specials revolving around the Santa mystery, it has become a challenge to make sure that she is aware of the mystery of God manifest in Flesh, Jesus. We have nativity sets around the house and even use a manger and star in place of a fancy decorated tree but none of this can replace a good lesson from me, her parent. Each year, I realize more and more that it is not the "job" of the Sunday School teachers to be the sole source of Christian teaching but to be a support mechanism of lessons learned at home. Christmas is one of the times when that fact becomes very apparent.

We hope that you and your family are having a wonderful holiday. Let me take this post time to invite you to attend our annual program and banquet on December 20 at 10 am. I hope that you will join us for a time of carols, skits and a wonderful food. We look forward to meeting new people and returning guests.

Blessings,
Verna

Christmas Program Practices

THE CHRISTMAS SEASON IS NEARLY HERE.

THE CHILDREN WILL BE PRACTICING FOR THE ANNUAL PROGRAM SOON. HERE IS THAT SCHEDULE:


Sunday, Nov 22: 3 graders through High School plus adults in skits after church noon -2:30 lunch provided

Sunday, Dec 6th: Same group noon to 2:30 lunch provided

Sunday, Dec 13: Same group noon to 2:30 lunch provided

SATURDAY, Dec 19: ALL KIDS plus singers - Nursery -2nd graders 9:30 -10:30 all other plus singers 10:30 to 12:30

We have made the LEAP into Exodus

This Sunday, our discussion was about Moses. After he was born, his mother hid him because the King of Egypt was killing all the Hebrew baby boys.  When it became difficult for her to hide him any longer she constructed a basket. Imagine sending your baby in a basket on the Nile and most of all wondering what would happen to him?  Thankfully, she had Miram to help her.  Miriam watched the basket travel through the water to the King's daughter area on the Nile. God cared for Moses.   God cares for us too.

The children in my class have completed their personal posters this Sunday and now our next project is getting ready for the Christmas program and completing our prayer board. My goal with the prayer board is to build faith.  When the children realize that God cares for them and their needs.   There is no silly prayers to God.  You can never be too young to have faith in God.

I hope this post will encourage to you to Cast all your cares on Jesus for he cares for you.  Remember there are no silly requests.  No prayers is too large for our God.

Blessings overflowing to you and your family from the Seedling Room,

Linda

Abraham leaves His Home

Are you Young? Are you not so young like me? Can you imagine being 75 years old and have the Lord appear to you? I don't know about you but that would be enough to make me shake in my boots but it didn't shake Abraham. God made a promise to Abraham that day.

God told Abram: "Leave your country, your family, and your father's hme for a land that I will show you.
"I'll make you a great nation
and bless you.
I'll make you famous;
you'll be a blessing.
I'll bless those who bless you;
those who curse you I'll curse.
All the families of the Earth
will be blessed through you."

The Message


I started my lesson in Pastor Tim's office. Location Ur and Haran. I wanted the children to get the feeling of being in a cushy environment. I wanted them to feel what Abraham must have felt like when the Lord talked to him. Did Abraham obey God? Yes, He packed up his wife, his family and all his cattle. The journey was not very short. It was a 800 mile trek into foreign territory. Along the way, Abraham made sacrifices to the Lord and once they had reached their destination. They lived in tents.

I asked the children how many children Abraham and Sarah had when they left Ur? The answers were from 4-8. The children couldn't believe that Abraham and Sarah had no children.

Have you discovered God's promises in His Word?
Do you have a favorite promise in the Bible?
The Lord in His beautiful way is drawing us closer to Him.

My Hope is that all of us can plant seeds of love and hope in everyone we meet today.

Blessings overflowing from the Seedling Room,

Linda

God makes a Promise to Noah and to Us!

Have you ever made a promise? Imagine, Noah, his family and a collection of God's creatures are all aboard the ark. Imagine the smell in there. After a year and 13 months, the Lord opened the door for Noah and the animals to exit the Ark. Imagine what it must have felt like to be on land. My husband and I on our honeymoon traveled to Europe. I remember being on a overnight train. Well after we made our destination I could still feel as though I was on the train. Have you ever experience this sort of sensation? I wonder if it took a long time for Noah and his family to adjust? One thing we do know is that they offered a sacrifice to God in thanksgiving for his faithfulness to them. God also gave them a very important gift. He made a promise to Noah (and to us) that he would never destroy the earth by water. Take a look outside? Is it raining? Be reassured that we have a God who always keeps his promises and loves us.

Blessings to all,
Linda

Then, the Lord shut them in.

We had a great time in class today. Our Bible discussion featured Noah. All the people became very wicked and violent. God was displeased with the behavior of man BUT there was one man who found favor in the eyes of the Lord. His name was Noah. God instructed Noah to build an Ark. Well, you know the story. It is simply amazing the minds of children. We did a recap on the Days of Creation so it was fun when they realized that all these amazing creatures were aboard the Ark. Snakes, Iguanas, Lions and Turtles were all on the ark. Our story focused on Obeying the Lord even when it is hard. You might be facing things in your life that make it difficult to follow the Lord but be encouraged the Lord always is with you. Just like he was with Noah. Our next lesson continues with Noah.

Linda

The Days of Creation

Hi, My name is Linda Raschke and I teach the K-2nd grade class. Our class has been discussing the Creation Days. It has been so funny hearing about their ideas and see the great things the kids bring up in class. Our next topic is Noah. If you are planning a visit to Spirit of Grace in the near future. Feel free to stop by my class and say hello.

God's Team -- SFS August 30

When there is a fifth Sunday in a month, Spirit of Grace celebrates with Super Funtastik Sunday. That Sunday is dedicated to our children and has a sermon aimed at Children of all ages. Last month's theme was "God's Team". Cheryl talked about Zaccheaus and how he needed to come down out of the tree and join God's team.

Our kids got together for a Team Photo.

Every team needs Cheerleaders!

Trish sings the Zaccheaus song and Owen plays Zaccheaus. Hmmm . . . Noah got in the act too.

Puppets help us learn about being on God's team.

Pastor Tim prays with the kids at the end of service.