Jesus and the Children

This week, our lesson was about Jesus and the children.  Parents wanted Jesus to bless their children but His followers said No.  Our lesson started with things that make us stop and go.  Can you think of anything that makes you stop?  I had the children draw a picture from either category on the white board.  The children had to guess what they were drawing.  The kids love doing this sort of thing.  At the end of my lesson, I had several items in both categories

In my class, I have been trying to show the importance of prayer and how much God cares about the children.  We have a prayer board with a asked area and an answered area so this was a wonderful moment for me to drive home the point about how much the Lord wants to know them and how much he cares about them (even at their age).  Wouldn't it be wonderful if children grasped the concept that God cares for them and hears them?  What a powerful thing to know especially when they become teenagers and adults.

I enjoy teaching very much and look forward to posting more from the Sprout Room.

Blessings overflowing,

Linda

Do you remember when you were 12 years old?

I was having a difficult time remembering when I was 12.  Our lesson this Sunday was about Jesus as a young boy.

I started out with an exercise.  The children drew tasks that either an adult or child would do.  Some examples were mowing the lawn, getting married, playing at the playground or playing video games.  We organized these tasks into two categories:  Adult and Child.  The children were able to see that there are some things that adults can do that children are not permitted to do.  The goal was to have them determine what is appropriate and what is not.

Mary, Joseph and Jesus were traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Passover.  After the feast, Mary and Joseph started traveling back to Nazareth.  After one day of traveling, Mary and Joseph realized that Jesus was not with them.  I can only imagine the steams of emotions that must have flooded their hearts.  After searching and searching for Jesus, they finally found him in the temple listening to the teachers of the Law.  The teachers were fascinated by his ability to grasp concepts concerning the Law and God.

Even though Jesus was about his Father’s business, he still needed to be obedient to his parents.  Jesus returned to Nazareth with his family and lived an obedient life to them and God.

Hope this new year brings you many blessings from the Lord!

Linda 

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