What We Learned - April 29th

This Sunday, April 29th, your Reign Forest child (ages 2-5) learned that Jesus wants to be with us forever! (John 14:1-4)  He told his friends, the disciples, that He had to go away, but that He was getting a place ready for them so they could come and live with Him forever.  He's getting a place ready for us, too, so we can live with Him forever!

To help reinforce this lesson at home, read John 14:1-4 to your child, and imagine with them what those mansions Jesus is working on must look like.  Then you can draw a picture of those mansions together, or you could try to build a mansion out of blocks or Legos or whatever you have on hand.

Our Bible verse for this month is Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times."  Your child should be able to recite this verse to you since we've been working on memorizing it all month. 


Your Land of Promise child (kindergarten through fifth grade) learned that no matter what happens, she needs to spread the good news about what God has done for her.  (Acts 4:1-21, I Peter 3:15)  After Jesus went back to heaven, Peter and John - two of his disciples - healed a man who could not walk.  The man began telling everyone what had happened, and Peter and John got into trouble with the authorities. - the same people who had killed Jesus earlier.  Peter and John were told never to talk about Jesus again.  But they didn't obey.  They kept right on telling everyone all about how great and wonderful God is!

To help your child internalize this lesson, at Meal Time enjoy an interactive role play with your child.  Pretend to be a person they met at school who has some questions about church and God, and play out a possible conversation with that person.  Help your child come up with some great hope and joy to share with the person.  Then, switch roles with your child.  Let your child pretend to be someone you met at work or someone you met at a store who has questions for you about life or God. 

Our memory verse for the month is John 16:33b "In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world."

April 15th - What We Learned

This Sunday, April 15th, your Reign Forest child (ages 2-5) learned how important it is to spend time with Jesus and listen to Him. (Luke 10:38-42)  When Jesus went to visit His friends Mary and Martha, Martha worked all through His visit and stayed very busy, but Mary sat with Jesus and listened to everything He said.  Jesus said that Mary had made the best choice.

Our memory verse for this month is Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times."  And your child is learning that Jesus wants to be her friend forever!

To help your child realize how active God is in her daily life, cuddle up with your child and pray with her. “Dear God, thank You for giving us our good friend, Jesus. He’s the best friend ever! Thank You for all the ways He shows us love every day. We love You, God. Amen.”  Spend the rest of the week pointing out His active love in her life.  When you see the sunshine, exclaim, "Look how much God loves us!  He gave us sunshine to enjoy!"  When you see rain (or snow), exclaim, "Look how much God loves us!  He gave us rain (or snow) to water our plants!"  When I was in sixth grade, I had a Sunday School teacher who encouraged us to be "Blessing Detectives."  Try it!  It's a lot of fun!  :-)

Your Land of Promise child (kindergarten through fifth grade) learned to remember that no matter what happens, God always has a bigger picture. (Luke 24:13-35, Romans 15:4)  Two friends were walking on the Road to Emmaus.  They had been friends of Jesus, and they were so sad after His death.  They just couldn't figure it out - if Jesus had been the Messiah like they had believed He was, He couldn't possibly have died.  But...He did die.  It just didn't make any sense.  They were discussing these things when another man came up behind them and started walking with them.  The three of them continued their journey while talking it all over, and the man with them reminded them of certain Scriptures that said Jesus would be put to death, AND after three days, He would rise again!  Hmm, the men saw a glimmer of hope.  Could there be a bigger picture than what they could currently see, after all?  After a while, the three men stopped to eat supper together.  Suddenly, the two friends looked at the third man and realized Who He was!  Jesus!  Alive!  God DID have a bigger picture!

Our memory verse for this month is John 16:33b “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

To encourage your child to have hope in his present circumstances, during Meal Time ask each other, "What is something in your life that seems hard right now?"  Then every day this week, take time to pray with each other, and ask God to help you have hope.

April 8th - What We Learned

This Sunday, April 8th, your Reign Forest child (ages 2-5) reenacted the Last Supper that Jesus had with His disciples and learned about how Jesus came back from the dead (Matthew 26:20-30; 28:1-7). The class ate bits of a piece of bread and drank grape juice just like Jesus did with His friends before He left them. But Jesus is our Friend forever, so He did not stay dead! He came back to life!

Our memory verse for the month of April is "A friend loves at all times." Proverbs 17:17

As you drive around this week, talk to your child about how Jesus is a good friend and He loves us ALL the time, even when your child is disobedient or unkind! Practice this month’s memory verse together: “A friend loves at all times,” Proverbs 17:17. Maybe surprise your child by driving to their favorite park once they’ve memorized the verse.

Your Land of Promise child (kindergarten through fifth grade) learned that whatever happens, God is stronger than ANYTHING -- even death! (John 20:1-18) In today's lesson, a fake news anchor interviews Mary Magdalene and John and Peter after Jesus rises from the dead.

After the silliness of the story, the teacher explained to the class, “When Jesus died on the cross, He made it possible for our sins to be forgiven and for us to have a friendship with God -- the way God wanted it from the beginning of time. Sins are the wrong things we do. Talking back to your parents, lying to a friend, and even eating a cookie before dinner when it’s against the rules -- these are all sins. Each time we sin, we grow further and further from God. God doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want there to be anything between you and Him.

“So, in order to erase these sin -- the sins of the whole world -- God did something amazing. He sent Jesus, His own Son, to pay for all of our sins when He died on the cross. When you or I believe in our hearts that Jesus is who He said He was, and we put all our trust in what He did for us on the cross, then we receive the gift of eternal life -- heaven, with God, forever!

Photo credited to www.brokenbelievers.com

“That’s a decision you need to make yourself -- to trust Jesus to forgive you for all of your sins. When you believe that Jesus died on the cross to take away your sins, and He rose again, then you have the HOPE of eternal life. The Bible says, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.’ Easter: the BEST news the world has ever known, the BEST news that anyone will ever hear. Easter means one thing: Jesus is alive!

“That’s the true meaning of Easter. You might think it was the final piece of the puzzle, but you’d be wrong. This was just the beginning of something new and HUGE that God was doing. Proof that Jesus is who He said He was and that whatever happens, God is stronger!"

The best way to follow this lesson up at home is to ask God to give your child a soft heart towards Him and a complete understanding of what God has done for her. Then take time this week to ask your child if her sins have been forgiven? Have they been paid for?

We will be praying with you as you pray for your child.

April 1st - What We Learned

No foolin', here's what your Reign Forest child (ages 2-5) learned on Sunday, April 1st:  ANYONE can praise Jesus, because He wants to everyone's Friend forever! (Matthew 21:1-16)  The children waved palm branches and cheered loudly for Jesus, acting out the scene as He rode into Jerusalem on His donkey.

We also began learning a new Bible verse for the month of April - "A friend loves at all times." Proverbs 17:17.

To help your child remember this lesson at home, go outside and have a praise parade with your child. Grab a small leaf or branch from a tree or bush, and do like the people did when Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a donkey. They waved their branches in the air and shouted “Hosanna!” Cheer for Jesus as you march around your yard. Shout out, “Hosanna! Yay Jesus!”

Your Land of Promise child (kindergarten through fifth grade) learned that when bad things happen in life, it is important to remember God's promises (John 14:1-14, 18-19, 27-29).  The children reviewed Jesus' miracles from the disciples point of view.  They watched as Jesus did the impossible: feeding 5,000 people with very little food, healing a blind man, raising Lazarus from the dead.  So when they saw Jesus die on the cross, they needed to remember His promises that He would come back to life, that God could make something good come out of this something bad just like they had seen Him do over and over in the past.

Our new Bible verse for the month of April is "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33b, NIV

To help your child digest this lesson into their life, have a discussion at your dinner table this week.  Ask them what things they can remember that seemed very bad at the time, but God made something good come out of it.  Then share a few times like that that you can remember.  Help your child see, this is not just something their teachers at church are saying, it is something that you and they have proof of in real life.  It is truth!