April's New Preview Videos!

What will your children be learning at church during the month of April?  Check out these preview videos below to find out!

After watching this video, I treasured the fact that the entire Easter story is being boiled down to one completely amazing truth:  Jesus wants to be our Forever Friend!  Think about it.  Why else would God have gone to such great lengths to rescue us from our own sin?  This is what your Reign Forest child will be learning this month.



FL Preview : A Friend Forever (Apri 2012) from Orange on Vimeo.


In the Land of Promise, your child will be learning all about HOPE and what the bigger picture might look like to God when life just doesn't make sense to us.  Oh my goodness, I cannot tell you how stoked I am about this month of lessons!  THIS is the reality that has been missing from many children's church teachings.  We pump our kids full of the miracles God does and tell them how all-powerful He is, but we often neglect to teach that sometimes life doesn't turn out "right" to our minds and that God doesn't always swoop in to be The Hero in our little worlds.  That "where's God now?" feeling sets in and can easily derail disillusioned young people who begin to think "Either He's not all-powerful, like I'd been taught, or He's not all good like I've been taught."  This video is something that everyone needs to watch, not just parents of kids at our church.  This truth can change the hearts of all people everywhere.



Preview: Puzzled (April 2012) from Orange on Vimeo.

March 25th - What We Learned

This Sunday, March 25th, your Reign Forest child (ages 2-5) learned that Jesus wants us to tell EVERYONE that He loves them! (Matthew 4:18-22, 28:16-20; John 1:35-45)  Jesus picked 12 friends called disciples to help Him spread the good news that Jesus loves EVERYONE!  We can also help spread the good news to the people around us.

Our memory verse for this month is John 15:12  "Love each other as I have loved you."

Encourage your child to spread the good news to others you come in contact with.  Some of your children were able to make hearts at church with the words "Jesus loves EVERYONE" on them.  Other children did not get to do that at church.  Regardless, your child can decorate a heart at home, and you can write a Bible verse or the words "Jesus loves YOU" on the heart.  Then your child can hand the hearts out to people who need to know that God loves them.  Together with your child, ask God to lead the two of you to the right person - maybe a stranger at the grocery store, maybe an uncle or aunt, or maybe a next door neighbor - and ask God to soften that person's heart towards Him as a result of your child's action.


Your Land of Promise child (kindergarten through fifth grade) learned that it is important to be IN THE HABIT of standing for what is right. (Daniel 6)  Daniel had spent his entire life choosing to do right no matter what the people around him were doing.  Even his enemies knew that he could be counted on not to waver from the right course of action, and they decided to use that against him.  They tricked the king (who was Daniel's friend) into passing a law that said it was wrong to pray to anyone besides the king.  If anyone prayed to someone besides the king, that person would be thrown into a den of lions.  Daniel's enemies knew ahead of time what Daniel would choose to do.  They knew he would choose to die rather than disobey God, and they were right.  When Daniel heard about the new law, what do you think he did?  Immediately, right away, he went to his room and prayed to God about the new law.  He didn't even stop to think about it or put off praying as long as he could.  No, he prayed right away, because he was in the habit of talking to God about everything that happened, and because he was in the habit of doing right even if it would cost him his life.

Daniel was caught praying by his enemies who already knew what to expect from him, and he was thrown into the lion's den, but God rescued him!  God shut the lion's mouths.  The next morning, the king pulled Daniel out and threw the enemies into the den instead.

Our memory verse for this month is 2 Thessalonians 3:13 - Never tire of doing what is right.

How can you help your child begin a foundation now so that at the end of his life, he can look back and say, "I formed the habit of choosing what was right"?  Developing a deep relationship with God is the key, and spending time with God every day develops that relationship.  This week, help your child focus on spending time with God every day.  Depending on your child's age, he may or may not be able to read a portion of Scripture himself, but he can certainly pray himself.  Take time before bed each night to read from the Bible to your child or encourage him to read it himself before bed each night or when he gets up in the morning (assuming you aren't late for the bus!)  Then, practice praying together as a family whenever you are in the car this week.  Let everyone in the family take a turn talking to God and deepening that relationship.

And don't forget to pray for your child during your own prayer times with God as well as during your together prayer times.

March 18th - What We Learned

This Sunday, March 18th, your Reign Forest child (ages 2-5) learned that just like Jesus loves everyone, we should also show our love for everyone (Luke 10:25-37).  Jesus told the story of how the Good Samaritan showed his love by helping a man lying by the side of the road who had been beaten.  The man lying there was actually the Samaritan's enemy. 

Our memory verse for this month is John 15:12  "Love each other as I have loved you."

During PLAY TIME, talk with your child about ways to show love to others.  For example: show Mommy you love her by helping her put the spoons on the table.  Show Grandpa you love him by making a card for him.  Show your brother you love him by sharing your special treat with him.  See what ideas your child can come up with on his own, and help him put his ideas into action.

Your Land of Promise child (kindergarten through fifth grade) learned how important it is to tell the truth and to stand for what is right even when it is not popular to do so (Daniel 5).  Daniel was a grown man, and a new king, Belshazzar, was now in charge in Babylon, where Daniel had been kidnapped to many years ago.  King Belshazzar was in the middle of a party with all of the officials of his kingdom when a giant hand appeared and wrote on the wall in a foreign language.  Daniel was called in to interpret, and the king offered him several rewards if he would tell the crowd what the words meant.  Daniel looked at the words and knew the king could get very angry at Daniel and possibly even kill him if Daniel told the truth about the meaning, but he still chose to do right.  He told the truth - that the words spelled out the end of Belshazzar's reign - even when he could have made up a more pleasant meaning and no one but God would have known what Daniel had done.  That night, King Belshazzar was murdered, and a new king took over the land.

Our memory verse for this month is 2 Thessalonians 3:13 "Never tire of doing what is right."

 To help your child remember to do right even if it's not popular, put a note in her lunch box each day, or send her a text message a few times this week with these simple words:  "STAND for what is right."     "Don't blend in!"     "Are you ROOTED?"    "I dare you to be like Daniel!"

March 11th - What We Learned

This Sunday, March 11th, your Reign Forest child (ages 2-5) learned that Jesus loves EVERYONE, even people who do bad things, even people whom no one else likes. (Luke 19:1-8)    A man named Zacchaeus used to steal other people's money, and the people he stole from didn't like him because of it.  When they saw him coming down the street, they would move away from him.  If he said hi to them, they would not talk to him.  They were very mad.  One day, Jesus came into the town where Zacchaeus lived.  Zac was very sad and lonely, and he wanted to see Jesus very badly.  He had heard about how wonderful Jesus was.  But the crowds around Jesus were so big and so tall, and Zac was very short.  Whenever he asked the people in front of him to move so that he could see, they ignored him.  Zac knew if he didn't hurry, Jesus would leave before he would get a chance to see him, so he climbed a tree.  From up there, he could see everything, even Jesus.

Jesus saw him, too.  He walked over to the tree, and he looked up into the branches.  "Zacchaeus, come on down from there.  I'm coming over to your house for supper today!"  Can you imagine how Zacchaeus must have felt?  How did Jesus know his name?  And why would Jesus want to be friends with him?  No one wanted to be friends with him!  He scrambled down from that tree as fast as his short legs could climb.

At Zacchaeus' house, Jesus had a long talk with him.  He told him all about how God wanted to forgive him for all the bad stealing he had done.  Zacchaeus did a lot of listening.  Oh, how badly he wanted a clean heart and a guilt-free life!  "YES!"  He told Jesus, "I want to be forgiven and made new again!"  Jesus wiped all of Zacchaeus' sins away, simply because Zacchaeus asked Him to.

Zacchaeus was so happy!  He wanted to make things right with everyone in his town!  He decided to pay everyone back four times more than he had ever stolen from them!  When Jesus becomes your Forever Friend, He makes a BIG difference in your life.

Our memory verse for March is John 15:12 - Love each other as I have loved you.

To reinforce this lesson during CAR TIME, as you drive down the road, call out the people you see and ask your child if Jesus loves them.  Some examples would be, “Does Jesus love the man in the red car?  Does Jesus love the woman in the blue dress?  Does Jesus love the little girl who’s crying?  Does Jesus love the man who bagged our groceries?”  Prompt your child each time to say, “Yes! Jesus loves everyone!”  As you get out of the car, tell your child to look in the review mirror.  Ask her, “Does Jesus love (name of child)?”  Yes! Jesus loves everyone!

Your Land of Promise child (kindergarten through fifth grade) learned that when you stand for what is right, others can see God. (Daniel 3)  Three young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, had a decision to make:  they could bow down in front of a statue of the king, or they could burn to death in a furnace.  They chose to burn to death.  I absolutely LOVE the statement they made when given a second chance to bow before the statue, "King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.  But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."

They wouldn't even pretend to.

The king, of course, was infuriated and ordered that the furnace temperature be raised seven times hotter.  The guards who tossed the three tied men into the furnace were killed from the radiating heat, but when King Neb looked into the furnace to see the remains of the three, he saw four men walking around in the blaze completely unharmed, and he thought the fourth guy looked like a god.  When the three men came out of the furnace there was not a mark on them; they didn't even smell like fire.  The king was amazed!  He said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way."

These three guys chose to stand firm, and their choice revealed GOD to many, many people.

Our memory verse for March is 2 Thessalonians 3:13 - Never tire of doing what is right.

Choosing to stand is a scary thing, but sometimes practicing ahead can make it easier.  Role play with your child various situations and talk your way through them together.  "What would you say if someone at school said this to you...?"  "How would you act if a teacher said this...?"  "What would you do if you saw someone take something that didn't belong to him?"  "What would you say if your friend said God is not real?"  Be creative in your scenarios and give your child a chance to turn the tables on you, asking questions like "What would you do if your boss asked you to...?"

March Preview Videos are Here!

In this three minute video Amber explains March's theme for our Reign Forest children - Jesus Loves EVERYONE. It is pretty convicting when she says that the best way our children learn is by watching us love EVERYONE around us including "...that woman who we don't know, but who we think we know by the way she talks..."

FL Preview : Everyone (March 2012) from Orange on Vimeo.

Reggie unpacks the Land of Promise theme for the month of March - Rooted Conviction - in this seven minute video. He explains that conviction not rooted in Scripture and not fueled by the Spirit of Christ can be dangerous and awful (suicide bombers are full of conviction, for example, so are abortion clinic bombers). We want our children to learn the type of conviction that is not simply "standing for something," and not even "standing for the right thing," but "standing for the right thing in the right way." It is well worth your time to watch this video!

Preview: Rooted (March 2012) from Orange on Vimeo.

March 4th - What We Learned

This Sunday, March 4th, your Reign Forest child (ages 2-5) learned that God loves EVERYONE!  Jesus showed us this by spending time with a lady whom nobody liked.  (John 4:1-26)  This lady was a Samaritan so the Jews hated her, but her own people, the Samaritans, hated her too.  She had done a lot of wrong things, and she was outcast in her town.  No one would talk with her.  None of the other people wanted to be friends with her.

One day, the lady came to get water from the well, and she saw Jesus sitting there.  She knew He wouldn't talk with her - she could see that He was a Jew.  But He did talk to her!  He asked her for a drink!  She was so surprised that she asked Him why He would talk with her.  They began a conversation, and Jesus showed her that He even knew about all of the bad things she had done and was still doing.  He knew, and He still loved her!  The lady couldn't believe it.

She ran back into the village and shouted to everyone, "Come see this man who knows all about me and still loves me!"  All the people in the village came out to the well, and Jesus loved all of them, too!

We began learning a new verse this month - John 15:12 "Love each other as I have loved you."  Ask your child what that means.  Who should we love?  How should we love them?

To help this lesson sink in at home, plan a special play date with a couple of your child’s friends. Talk with your child before the play date about how Jesus loves all her friends and He wants her to love them too. Brainstorm ways she can show love to her friends before they arrive. Some ideas? Set out a special snack. Give them a hug when they walk in. Allow them to play with a favorite toy. Make a special gift to give them. Once you have a plan, put it into action and help your child make it happen. Talk with your child about all the ways she showed love after her friends leave. Pray together and thank God for helping you love everyone.

Your Land of Promise child (kindergarten through fifth grade) has started a new virtue for the month of March - Conviction: standing for what is right, even when others don't.  This Sunday, your child learned that Daniel and his three friends choose to eat only what God had said was right to eat, even when everyone around them was eating the wrong things. (Daniel 1)  Daniel and his friends were young boys when they were kidnapped and taken to another country named Babylon.  In Babylon, they were going to become servants for the king, and they were given certain food to eat.  All of the other boys who were kidnapped obeyed the bad king and ate the food they were served, but Daniel and his three friends knew that this was food that God did not want them to eat.  They very nicely asked if they could have only vegetables to eat and only water to drink.  No desserts, no fried chicken, no steaks, no hamburgers...only vegetables.  No chocolate milk, no soda pop, no lemonade...only water.  The man in charge let them eat and drink that way for ten days.  After ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and stronger than all the other boys who had eaten the other food, so the man in charge let them continue eating only vegetables and drinking only water for the rest of their years in the palace.

Our new memory verse for March is “Never tire of doing what is right.” 2 Thessalonians 3:13, NIV

To help this lesson sink in at home, during MEAL or DRIVE TIME tell your child about a time when you had to show conviction all by yourself, or tell about a time when you have seen someone else stand up for the right thing.  Ask your child to tell about a time when they have had to do what was right while others around them were doing wrong.  In what ways can they show conviction this week at home or at church or at school?