December 4th - What We Learned

This Sunday, December 4th, your two to five year old children learned the first part of the "Christmas Story" that God sent an angel to tell Mary she was going to have a baby, but not just any baby, the Son of God!  We talked about the question why would God want to leave Heaven and become a baby?  And we discovered that it was because He loves us and wants to be our Friend forever.

Since God is completely perfect and holy, He is unable to be close to anything bad or wrong.  The kids talked about some bad things they had done like disobeying their parents or teachers or being mean to their siblings or friends.  Through this discussion time, we realized that the bad things (called sin) that we all do, keep us from being able to be friends with God, and He wants SO BADLY to be friends with us.  So He planned a way that we could be His friends!  He came down as a little baby, and he lived the exact same life we are living.  Did you know that Jesus was once a four year old?  And did you know that when He was four years old, He ALWAYS obeyed his parents and teachers, and He was ALWAYS kind to His siblings and friends?  Wow, Jesus lived a totally perfect life!  He never, ever sinned, not once!  And then, He chose to die on the cross to take our punishment for every sin that we have ever committed and will ever commit.  Amazing!

The whole reason He did this was so that He could be our Friend...forever.  Wow!

Parents received a take home page at the check-in desk with a Christmas story rhyme for you and your child to learn together.  There is one verse for each week in December.  If you take time each day to review the verse for the week with your child, by the end of the month, your child may be able to tell the entire Christmas story on his own!

This week's section goes like this:

The angel came down (make a flying motion)
from God to say (cup hands around mouth like you want to say something)
that Mary will have a baby on Christmas Day. (pretend to rock a baby in your arms)
His name will be Jesus (make a "V" with both arms up and fists closed)
God's only Son. (point a finger and arm straight up to Heaven)
He will show that God loves everyone.  (hug yourself)

Your children in Land of Promise (kindergarten through fifth grade) have started learning about a new character trait this month:  Generosity.  In their first lesson, Jesus tells the parable of a rich man who gets all wrapped up in storing up more stuff and ends up losing everything that really matters. (Luke 12:13-21)  Bottom Line:  People are always more important than stuff.

This man did what we all have a tendency to do—to focus on what Jesus or God can do for us, instead of thinking about ways we’ve already been blessed or how we can bless others. That’s why our monthly memory verse says, “Be rich in good deeds … be generous and willing to share,” 1 Timothy 6:18, NIV.  When we realize that it’s really a lie that stuff makes our lives better, then it’s easier for us to be generous, but we can’t really live generously unless we believe this Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

To reinforce this lesson at home, why not challenge your child to perform one premeditated Random Act of Kindness each week in December.  Yes, I said, "in December."  Why did I pick the busiest month of the year for your kid to do something special for someone else?  (Let's face it, most kids will need some serious parental input with this assignment.  You can all groan now.)  Because this month our kids are more tempted to focus on themselves than during any other month.  It's drilled into them every time they see a commercial, every time we parents and grandparents ask them what they want for Christmas, and every time their friends brag about what they might be getting for Christmas.  So let's drill something better into their hearts like, "What are you giving to someone else?  How can you be generous this Christmas?"

For some great Random Act of Kindness ideas, check out this blog post at What A Ride.  Be prepared to smile!