Hoogle Boogle Express Test 10/31

Sunday October 31st.-

This Sunday is our Hoogle Boogle Express Test. Hoogle Boogle is a review game that we play at the end of each series to go over what we learned throughout the month. Here are some review questions:

1. The first part of our Catch Phrase is: "Our mission is to spread ___ _______ __ _____." (the message of Jesus)
2. What does ABC stand for? (Admit, Believe, Confess)
3. Who were Jonah and Alexis following? (a possible team member, Evangeline)
4. Finish the second part of our Catch Phrase: "Our mission is to spread the message of Jesus, To share Jesus' love through ___ _______." (our example)
5. Share a time when you were a good example to someone else.
6. What do you call a friend who helps you to be more like Jesus? (an accountability partner)
7. Finish the third part of our Catch Phrase: "To show them Jesus' love through ___ _______." (our service)
8. What sort of service project did Evangeline do? (gave food to the homeless)
9. How should our service be different than community service that a lot of people do? (we serve people to show them God's love for them)
10. What is a good way to lead people to Jesus? (share your story of how Jesus changed your life)
11. What is another name for "your story"? (your testimony)

HARVEST PARTY!!!

You can still preregister for the Harvest Party this Sunday morning!

Bringing It Home 10/24

Hello Parentz!
I hope this can be a meaningful tool for you to help your children apply what they learn in Kidz Express. Below is a brief summary, main verse, "Catch Phrase" and a few discussion questions you can use to reinforce what we're learning this Sunday.

Sunday Oct. 24th.

GO!
Your Story. We have been learning all month the importance of going and sharing the message of Jesus with the people in our lives, but how exactly do we do this? This week we are going to learn how to write out our testimony in 4 sentences so when people ask about our relationship with Jesus we can be prepared with a quick, simple answer for them.

Verse:
Acts 22:15 "For you are to be His witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard."

Catch Phrase:
Our mission is to spread the message of Jesus
To share Jesus' love through our example
To show them Jesus' love through our service
To lead them to Jesus by telling our story

Discussion Questions:
1. If you have made Jesus the leader of your life, share how you first came to know Jesus?
2. How has your life been different since making Jesus the leader of your life?

Share Your Story

All of this month in Kidz Express we have been talking about going into all of the world to share the message of Jesus. As I have been preparing for this Sunday's lesson I realized what a value it is for us as believers to be ready to share our testimony and to be able to do it in a quick and effective way. But how many of us would be able to say exactly what we want to say if someone were to ask us the why and how questions of what we so wholeheartedly believe? We know that it is a good thing to share our testimony with others, we even find that the Bible tells us to be ready for this to happen, (1 Peter 3:15). But how many of us actually prepare? How many times has someone asked about your faith and you walk away not feeling confident that you  said what you needed to say? 

This week I am going to be challenging our grade school students to write out their testimony so they can "be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks them to give the reason for the hope that they have." As their leaders (and parents) I want to challenge you to do the same so we can help them be ready to share their faith. Below are a few great tips in sharing our faith with others that I took from David Staal's Leading Kids to Jesus.

Bill Hybels says about sharing your testimony, "The greatest gift you can give someone is the story of Jesus and how He changes lives- especially yours" He also says there are three things to keep in mind when sharing your faith: make it clear, use the right terminology, and keep it short. To help you write out your testimony follow this 4 sentence outline:

1. BC - What was life like before becoming a Christian
2. Cross - what happened that highlighted your need for Jesus
3. Cross - your conversion
4. AD - life after becoming a Christian

In the comments I will post a couple of example testimonies to give you some ideas of what it looks like. Feel free to post your 4 sentence testimony in the comments as well!

Bringing It Home

Hello Parents!

I hope this can be a meaningful tool for you to help your children apply and practice the lessons they learn in Kidz Express. Below is a brief summary, the main verse, "Catch Phrase" and a few discussion questions you can use to reinforce what we are learning this Sunday.

Sunday Oct. 17th-

GO!
Your Service. As followers of Christ we are called to reach out to people around us through acts of service in love. It is through our love for others that the world will experience the love God has for them. And it is through this same love that the world will know that we are His disciples. We can be Jesus' hands in feet by reaching out to the poor and the hurting.

Verse: 
John 13:35, "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

Catch Phrase:

Our mission is to spread the message of Jesus

To share Jesus’ love through our example

To show them Jesus’ love through our service

Discussion Questions:

1. What is something you’ve done to serve your community?

2. When you serve others, how can you show them God’s love?

A Change of Perspective

Have you ever had someone point out a situation to you that completely changed your perspective on that situation? Recently while I was spending some time with God I decided to go for a walk to think and pray about some things that were going on in my life. I was walking to a familiar spot near my apartment and the entire time I was walking couldn't stop thinking about how difficult it was to get to this spot and how much time it was taking. But when I got to the top of the hill and looked back over where I had just been I realized that it really wasn't all that far or nearly as uphill as it felt while I was making my way there. At this moment the Lord started speaking to me about how much my perspective can change the way I view difficult situations.

As it turns out a few days later I received some life changing news and it was then that God reminded me of my walk and our conversation. At that moment I had the opportunity to choose my perspective. Many times our mood is determined by what we choose to focus on. I believe this is one of the reasons the Bible says so many times in the New Testament to be thankful, give thanksgiving and rejoice in all circumstances. Bill Johnson writes in his book, Strengthen Yourself in the Lord, "Thanksgiving is the only proper way to receive what God has given us because it honors our relationship with Him by expressing trust in His goodness, even if we don't yet understand what we've received."

Let me just say that being thankful may not change your situation at all, bad news is bad news. However, being thankful changes our perspective and to repeat what Mr. Johnson said, it expresses trust in God's goodness. It is very difficult for us to be thankful in such situations but the reality is God says to us in James 1 to "consider it pure joy" when we face difficult situations. God invites us to choose our perspective and promises us that He is looking out for our good.

So, what are you choosing to focus on?

Bringing It Home

Hello Parents!
As I mentioned in my first post, one of the ways I would like to use this blog is to communicate with you what we are learning in Kidz Express. I hope this can be a meaningful tool for you to help your children apply and practice the lessons they learn in Kidz Express. Below is a brief summary, the main verse, "Catch Phrase" and a few discussion questions you can use to reinforce what we are learning.


Sunday Oct. 10th-

GO!
This month we are learning that as followers of Christ we are called to not just keep our relationship with Jesus to ourselves, but to GO! and share it with those around us.


Verse:
1 Peter 2:21 NIV, "... Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His steps." (with motions!)


Catch Phrase:
"Our mission is to spread the message of Jesus
To share Jesus' love through our example."


Discussion Questions:
1. What is something from your life that’s a good example of God’s love?

2. How can your choices make you a good example for how Jesus wants us to live?

Purpose

I believe that one of the first things people discover about me is that I am very much a people person. Even though I am a borderline extrovert/introvert, I enjoy being around people, building friendships through hanging out, playing games, making others laugh, and I believe as with most people, one of my greatest desires is to be understood by those around me and who know me.

About Me
That being said, I would like to take this chance, as my first blog, to explain a little about myself and the purpose for creating this blog. First, about me, as you can read in my "about" section, I am originally from Montana, (a bit of information I like to share whenever I get the chance), and I came out to New York to attend a Bible College in Lima. I had planned on attending for one year but as with many instances, the way God has ordered my steps was not exactly as I had planned. In the final semester of my senior year, I started praying and asking God what the exact calling was that He had on my life. I had heard so many times that we all have a calling but it dawned on me as I was about to graduate that I hadn't ever discovered my calling. So my first thought was simply to ask. God responded by giving me a picture: He showed me myself standing at a wall and as people came to me I would give them a boost so they could make it over. He gave me this word; that He has created me to be an "equipper" - someone who would give others a boost into their specific calling. Later I came across this verse which I have adopted as "Rob's Verse"

"To equip the saints for the work of ministry" Eph. 4:12.

Or as Eugene Peterson puts it in the Message Bible,

"To train Christ's followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ's body, the church, until we're all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God's Son, fully mature adults, full developed within and without, fully alive like Christ."

About the BLOG
As for the purpose of this blog, it's rather simple. My desire is to give the parents of Elim Gospel Church and possibly other parents and children's workers a place where they can be equipped to reach and minister to their own children. My goal is to accomplish this through weekly articles, tips and information on what is happening and being taught in Kidz Express. I would love for this to be one more way parents can connect with their children and take an active role in their spiritual development.

I honestly believe that God has placed at least 2 lights on earth that will point people back to Him, the Family and the Church, and if these two established influences can work together, we will see the next generation experience the Kingdom of God like we have never imagined!