Camp Judah Recap

Barna did a survey recently that stated that on average, kids learned more about God and the Bible in one week of Christian camp than in an entire year of Sunday School. Now, I don't believe that Kidz Express was involved in that study because we may have swayed that statistic the other direction. However, after seeing what God did among the young people at Camp Judah last week, I wouldn't be too surprised by this finding.

After doing some math I discovered that as a staff, we spend around 575 total hours teaching and ministering to the campers. And when you look at the camp as a whole, we spent nearly 3,300 total hours learning about or spending time in the presence of God! Not to mention numerous salvations and first time baptisms in the Holy Spirit.

As you can see there is a major reason why we believe in camp so much and why we spend a significant amount of time, promoting, fundraising, and preparing for this one week.

Beatitudes

Continuing our series on Blessed, we will be looking at the 8 beatitudes that Jesus teaches us about in Matthew 5:1-12.

Rob's paraphrase:
1. Verse 3 - Blessed are the poor in spirit... You could say it like this, you're blessed when you are ready to give up, because you are so tired and frustrated that it is easy to ask God for help - and God loves it when we ask for His help.
2. Verse 4 - Blessed are those who mourn... God is better at comforting us than our moms, grandma's, dads, whoever. The Holy Spirit is even called "The Comforter."
3. Verse 5 - Blessed are the meek... Meekness is kind of like being happy with who God made you and not being out of control.
4. Verse 6 - Blessed are those who hunger & thirst for righteousness... You could say it like this, Blessed are those who really love God, spend time with Him, pray, sing worshipful songs, and want more and more of God.
5. Verse 7 - Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy... If you plant corn seed what do you get? If you plant forgiveness, or love what do you get?
6. Verse 8 - Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God...You have a pure heart by doing 2 things, first ask Jesus into your life because when you do He promises to give you a new, clean heart. And then by making right choices and fighting temptation.
7. Verse 9 - Blessed are those who don't start fights, who help others get along, who forgive others even if they don't ask for forgiveness, who are nice even when they want to be mean.
8. Verse 10 - Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness... You could say it like this, Blessed are those who are made fun of, teased, hit or left out because they do the right thing by following Jesus.

Blessed

According to Warren Wiersbe the word blessed comes from the latin beatus, hence beatitudes. Which means divine joy and perfect happiness, even despite circumstances. At the time the word was only used for those already in heaven. However, since we now can experience heaven on earth... "You Are Blessed"

This month we are going to be looking at the Beatitudes, how they apply to our lives and what it means to be BLESSED even if our circumstances, moods, health, etc. say differently.

Specifically this week we will be talking about the meaning of the word blessed and that Jesus was talking about our righteousness throughout Matthew chapter 5 and the sermon on the mount. The Pharisees thought that cleaning the outside of the cup was what made the difference, but Jesus teaches us that it is the inside that counts.

No Kidz Quest Sunday Night

Camp Judah coming soon...

One of the greatest opportunities that we have for your 8-12 year old is Camp Judah's Jr. Camp. Studies say that a camper will learn more about who God is and having a relationship with Him in one week of camp than they will in an entire year of Sunday school. So it's easy to see why we value sending our older grade schoolers to camp every year.

If you are interested in more information, we currently have brochures and registrations available in the Kidz Lobby at EGC as you walk into the grade school room. A couple things to remember when registering your child:

• To register we need you to fill out a registration form and a health form which includes a physician's signature. 
• Both of these forms are due by June 3 and need to be turned in at EGC. We will have a table in the kids lobby May 27 & June 3. If they are turned in after June 3, there is a $20 late fee (charged by Camp Judah) 
• The cost of camp is $169 before/on June 3 and $189 after June 3. 
•  All families will receive a discount for each camper through the EGC Open Golf Tournament. (You can plan about $25) 
• We are also still looking for camp counselors and staff, there is an application at the same table. Camp counselors/staff get a $40 one time discount off of their child's registration. 

Sweet & Sour

Our Blank Masterpiece

So far in our series "Mirror Mirror," we have learned that In Christ I am a NEW CREATION, in Christ I am a Masterpiece. Not only do we find our identity in Christ, but we have also learned that God created us unique from everyone else, we each have a specific mission for our lives, and that we can control the thoughts that come into our minds.

This week as we continue to learn about being a new creation and God's masterpiece, we will be talking about the difference between sweet and sour fruit - physical fruit and the type that comes out of our lives. The Bible instructs us to guard our hearts because what we allow in, is what comes out.

Our Masterpiece in Progress

Just like putting fruit into a juicer, sweet fruit = sweet juice, and sour fruit = sour juice. If we are putting sweet fruit into our hearts - helping others, spending time with friends that encourage us, praying and reading our Bible - sweet juices like love, joy and peace will come out of our lives. However if we are allowing sour fruit into our hearts - disobedience, friends that get us into trouble, lying - sour juice will come out of our lives.

Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love... But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, 23 being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. (Gal. 5:13, 22-23)

Preschool Lessons:
3s: This week’s lesson is about Jesus healing a man lowered from the ceiling by his friends.
4s: This week’s lesson is  about Noah and the rainbow in the sky.
5s: This week’s lesson is about God sending ravens with food for Elijah.

No Kidz Quest