January 22nd - What We Learned

This Sunday, January 22nd, your Reign Forest child (ages 2-5) learned that Jesus can even walk on water! Mark 6:45-51 tells us that some of Jesus' friends got caught in a storm while they were fishing on the sea. In the middle of the storm, they looked out and saw what appeared to be a man walking on top of the water out to their boat. They panicked, thinking they must be seeing a ghost - because it is obviously impossible for people to walk on water. But as the memory verse for this month says, "And Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man, it's impossible. But with God, NOTHING is impossible!'" Matthew 19:26 Jesus climbed into their boat, and the storm stopped.

Plan to read this short story found in Mark 6:45-51 at home to your child at BED TIME or MEAL TIME. Then it can be reinforced during bath time or play time. Help your child pick a variety of objects to test out in the bath water. Be sure to choose some items that will sink and some that will float. Have him guess what each one will do, and then try it out to see what it does. Get a little silly, and let him try to walk on water himself.  Talk about how amazing it was that Jesus could do this.

(Side note: You could also discuss with your older kids the fact that Peter was able to walk on water with God's help. He could not do it alone, but God helped him do something that is impossible for people to do. God still helps us today do things that are impossible as Philippians 4:13 reminds us.)

Your child in Land of Promise (kindergarten through fifth grade) learned that too much of a good thing can be very bad. (Proverbs 25:16) They were given examples of playing video games too much, or eating too much food, or watching too much TV. It is important to KNOW WHEN TO STOP.

To help your child internalize the trait of Self-Control, discuss with her during MEAL TIME or DRIVE TIME the following questions.

• What is something that controls you? 
• How can you tell when something is controlling you? 
• What are the clues that something is controlling you? 
• Proverbs 25:16 says, “If you find honey, eat just enough. If you eat too much of it, you will throw up.” (NIrV)   Can you think of somebody in your life who’s is good at “eating just enough,” meaning they know when to stop and make healthy choices?

January 8th - What We Learned

This Sunday, January 8th, your Reign Forest child learned that Jesus can control all the fish in the sea (Luke 5:1-11).  "One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (the Sea of Galilee), the people were crowding around Him and listening to the word of God. He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then He sat down and taught the people from the boat.

When He had finished speaking, He said to Simon, 'Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.'

Simon answered, 'Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.'

When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, 'Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!'  For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, 'Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.'  So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Him."

Our Bible memory verse for the month is
Matthew 19:26 (Cup your hands around your mouth as you practice the verse with your child)
And Jesus looked at them and said, (make binoculars with your fingers around your eyes)
"With man, this is impossible, (say this dejectedly and hang your head and arms down)
but with God, (point up)
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!" (raise your arms excitedly to the sky)

Your child will completely enjoy acting the Bible lesson out in the bathtub with all their bath toys.  Give them a wash cloth or a small hand towel to use as a net, and take all the toys out of the tub.  They can "fish" with their "net" in the empty tub for a long time and pretend to get tired of it.  Then you can be Jesus who tells them to try again.  When they dip their "net" into the "sea" again in obedience, dump as many bath toys as you can find into the tub all at once.  Their little "net" will not be able to catch the multitudes of "fish" that are suddenly swimming in the sea.  Then the two of you can shout the Bible memory verse together!

Your kindergarten through fifth grade children in Land of Promise learned they should be slow to anger as Proverbs 16:32 instructs us.  The lesson centered around a video game controller.  Every game controller comes with a pause button, and the kids learned that God has also given each person the ability to PAUSE and control their attitude and anger before they choose the wrong actions.  Bottom Line: Pause before you lose your temper.

To illustrate this lesson at home, at the start of your MEAL TIME, read Proverbs 16:32 "It is better to be patient than to fight. It is better to control your temper than to take a city" and also read your child's memory verse for the month - James 1:19 "My dear brothers and sisters, pay attention to what I say. Everyone should be quick to listen. But they should be slow to speak. They should be slow to get angry."  Then fill a cup mostly full of ice and pour a drink over the ice.  Let the cup sit in the middle of the table during the meal. 

Periodically check on the ice to see if it has melted yet.  If possible, leave the icy cup on the table until bed time, or take it home from the restaurant with you and continue checking on the progress of the melting ice.  Comment on how slowly the ice is melting.  Discuss with your child how "being slow to anger" as Proverbs 16:32 and James 1:19 instruct can be like how slowly the ice is melting.  Tell him that when he begins feeling ANGRY about something, that he should picture the s-l-o-w-l-y melting ice, and remember that God has given us the power to PAUSE, THINK, AND CONTROL OURSELVES.

January 1st - What We Learned

On New Year's Day, your 2-5 year old child learned that Jesus can do ANYTHING, even things impossible for people to do! John 2:1-11 tells us that Jesus was at a wedding party when the hosts ran out of wine. Not a problem for Jesus, he simply turned the nearby water into wine.

The huh?  Whaaa?

What?  You mean that's not normal?

In class, the kids were particularly impressed when their teachers poured regular, clear water into see-through plastic cups and the water "miraculously" turned deep purple and smelled wonderful. (Before class, a few grains of powdered grape Kool-Aid had been placed in the bottom of each cup.) The children were told that it wasn't a real miracle like the one that Jesus did, and they were shown how the trick was done. Still, the initial shock of the magic trick helped instill real wonder in their hearts about what Jesus had done so long ago, and about what He is still able to do in their lives.

They then learned the new Bible verse for the month - Matthew 19:26 "And Jesus looked at them and said, "With man, this is impossible, but with God NOTHING is impossible!"

Your children brought home a paper jar and some scraps of blue and purple construction paper. They excitedly made the craft in class and practiced telling the story to each other using those props. If your child is old enough, encourage him to tell the story to you at home using the visual aid, and read the Scripture passage to him at MEAL TIME or BED TIME this week to reinforce the lesson. If your child is younger, you can use the craft and tell the story to your child.

The kindergarten through fifth grade children had their first lesson on Self-Control this past Sunday. They learned that according to Proverbs 25:28 a person without self-control is like a city without walls - he lacks protection and is a danger to himself. This concept was illustrated by a silly story about a man named Sir William and his horse, Hector. Sir William went looking for treasure, but his lack of self-control during this treasure hunt caused him to harm himself.
Your child began learning a new verse for the month of January. "My dear brothers and sisters, pay attention to what I say. Everyone should be quick to listen. But they should be slow to speak. They should be slow to get angry." James 1:19, NIrV

To help your child keep the concept of self-control in mind throughout the week, you can play a game during DRIVE TIME called "Game Off, Game On." In this game, you name a scenario. If the scenario describes a situation where someone is exercising self-control, your child should call out "GAME ON!"  If you describe a situation where the person did not exercise self-control, your child should call out "GAME OFF!" 

Remember, self-control is defined as choosing to do what you SHOULD do, not what you WANT to do.

Here are some suggested scenarios from the folks at Orange to get you started:

• You walk into the kitchen and see a GIANT plate filled with your favorite cookies. You’re tempted to eat ALL the cookies, but you eat only one. --GAME ON!
• A classmate calls you a name. You get SO angry that you kick your classmate in the leg. --GAME OFF!
• Your favorite TV show is on all weekend. You watch it from the time you get up to the time you go to bed. --GAME OFF! 
• Your brother grabs the Wii remote from you just as you’re about to beat your game for the first time. You want to slap him, but you don’t. --GAME ON! 
• Your teacher brings donuts to class. After everyone has eaten one, there are six left. You gobble them all up when no one is looking. --GAME OFF!
• Your sister breaks your favorite toy. You yell and scream in her face. GAME OFF!
• You’re playing your favorite game. You want to play for hours, but you turn it off after thirty minutes instead and go outside to play. --GAME ON!
• Your friend apologizes to you for something he did. You want to stay mad, but instead you say, “It’s okay. I forgive you.” --GAME ON!

Have fun!