MH Kids
December Family Time
December Word
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. John 3:16
Week 1– Thanksgiving
It’s easy to be thankful when things are going good but do we always remember every good and perfect gift comes from God…James 1:17. What about when life is hard, when your feelings are hurt, you don’t get something you want, or you are afraid?
Attitude Check
- Do you complain more than you are thankful? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. We can always find things to be thankful for, and we can always find things to complain about; which do you want to do more of.
- Living in step with The Spirit will keep us grateful and aware of God’s Presence. When we are aware that He is with us we will be less likely to be afraid, complain or worry.
- Take some time this week to catch yourself when you are complaining, and voice out loud something you are thankful for in its place.
Thanksgiving Is A Weapon
Week 2-As a family take some time to read 2 Chronicles 20:18-25.
King Jehoshaphat takes up the battle position to help God’s people who have been captive again. They are called to go to a very unique war, however. We don’t see any mention of swords, shields or spears.
What we do read is praise, worship and thanksgiving. Their weapon against the enemy was worship. They went into battle declaring how great God is and giving Him thanks. Their worship confused the enemy and they won!!
Praise is Powerful
- The Bible talks about giving thanks over 70 times. The enemy can’t be around praise. He hates our praise to God. When you feel afraid, praise God. When you feel worried, praise God. When you don’t know what to do, give Him thanks and wait on His direction.
- Worship music in our homes invites the Presence of The Lord to overtake the atmosphere. Take some time this week to listen to your favorite worship songs as a family. It’s fun to talk afterwards about the words, phrases that the Spirit spoke the most to each of you.
- When we are building and growing the enemy will always be opposing us. Ask the Spirit to reveal to you as a family places you see or sense opposition. When the army praised God, He confused the enemy. The same can happen for us when we don’t agree with the enemy but bring a sacrifice of praise.
Week 3-The greatest gift, choice, decision we will ever receive, make is putting our faith in Jesus. Our memory verse this month is the focal passage for the entire Bible. God sent His Son to the Earth so that we could have relationship with Him. I remember growing up not ever really understanding that I had the privilege of really “knowing” Jesus. I always felt like I wasn’t good enough, and that He was either disappointed or way too busy for me.
I was always afraid I wasn’t really saved because I thought it was about me more than about Him. I probably asked Jesus to be my Savior 30 times.
Just like we have family relationships, friends…we build our relationship with Jesus. We know our family because we spend time with them. Kids know when their parents are calling their name, and they can tell when it isn’t their parents, because they know their voices.
We want our kids to KNOW that they KNOW Jesus. They should not have to doubt their relationship with Him. We get the privilege of helping them cultivate their relationship with Jesus at this particular age. They are beginning to decide right now who they believe they are, and what they believe about God and the World.
Relationship
- If your child has not received Jesus, now is a great time to begin praying and watching for opportunities to talk about the most important relationship in their lives (salvation, baptism sheet attached).
- If your child does know Jesus as their Savior, helping them cultivate their relationship is vital. Just like we teach our kids how to handle relationships with siblings, friendships…We have to teach them how to be in a relationship with Jesus. This means always pointing them to Him. This also means not just giving them rules to live by but the Truth (God’s Word). Every priniciple for life is found in God’s Word. Kids that grow up knowing how to apply the Word to their daily lives will live more victorious.
- Examples of situations kids (and adults I might add) can be in on a daily basis:
Lying, bullying, insecurity, performance, fear, depression, disappointment….Take time to look up what the Word says and apply it to whatever the problem is. “For the Word is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
We need the Word and The Holy Spirit to help us sort through our soul and spirit. To help us get our thinking and attitude right.
Week 4- This week read Luke 2:1-20 and take some time to meditate, soak your home in the celebration of Jesus. Choose as a family to stay focused on Jesus as The Great Gift. We look forward to getting gifts at Christmas. Some of us have had our lists ready for months.
If we really believe every good gift is from God (and it is) than we will give Him praise for the good things we have. We will love Him, honor Him and praise Him more than we do anything else.
Fear Will Always Try to Rob Good News
Luke 2:10
- When you open a present or receive a gift this week, train your mind to automatically thank God for it (then the person who gave it to youJ). This is a part of Hebrews 4:12, applying the word to our everyday life. An attitude of thanksgiving will rise up automatically when we realize first off, that we have, what we have, from God.
- Have you wondered why the news of Jesus birth first went to the shepherds? Shepherds were not considered important at all. In fact, they were even looked down upon. Typically, they were poor, uneducated and dishonored by society. Jesus was born into very humble circumstances, and it was the will of God for the announcement of His birth to also come from a humble community. In the Kingdom the first are last and the last are first. Rich, famous and powerful people are not more important than anyone else. He loves the whole world and came to the Earth for us all.
- “Do not be afraid, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” The good news is: We have a Savior. We have The Holy Spirit and all His fruit. We have freedom from sin. We have healing for our body and our hearts. We have been given and can give unconditional love.
Refuse to let fear rob you of the good going on in your life and family.
Isaiah 61- The year of the Lord’s favor. Comfort for all who mourn. Beauty for ashes. Oil of joy for mourning. Garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. IT’S ONLY GOOD NEWS!
MH Kids
- If your child wants to get baptized, ask questions.Baptism comes after salvation, so start with the basics: Can you tell me who Jesus is? What did He do for you? Here’s one way to explain salvation in a way kids can understand:
- God loves you! He made you and knows everything about you. (Psalm 139)
- When we mess up and do wrong things, it’s called sin. We deserve to be punished for those things, but when we follow Jesus, He takes the punishment for us. (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
- To follow Jesus, you have to admit that you’re a sinner and that you’ve messed up. This is repenting, which means to turn away, to change. Easily put it’s to stop making bad choices and make good ones instead. It’s a change in your heart and the way you think. (Acts 3:19)
- God loves you so much He sent His son Jesus to earth. Jesus took the punishment for the sin of everyone who would believe in him by dying on a cross. But Jesus didn’t stay dead! God brought Jesus back to life. To follow Jesus, you have to believe Jesus died for you and that God brought Jesus back to life. (Romans 10:9-10)
- If your child has already asked Jesus into their life, explain what baptism is and what it means.Here are some suggestions and places to point to in their Bible:
- Now that you’ve committed to following Jesus, you need to let others know by getting baptized. (Matthew 10:32)
- Baptism takes place in the water. It’s a picture of what Jesus did when He took the punishment for you sins. When you go under the water, it shows people that you believe Jesus died for you. When you come out of the water, you show others that you believe God brought Jesus back to life. (Romans 6:4)
- Getting saved and then baptized doesn’t mean your life will be perfect. There will be times when you will sin and make wrong choices. When this happens you need to repent. Repent means we turn away and change the way we think and behave. Jesus took the punishment for all our sin. That means even though you will sin again, you don’t need to be saved or baptized again. (1 Peter 3:18)
- You can continue following Jesus day by day by reading the Bible, praying, doing what Jesus says and building relationship with Him every day. (Psalm 1:2)
To set up a meeting or schedule baptism contact:
| Leanna Craft
MH Kids Children’s Pastor 806-683-4343 |
Cheryl Ince
MH Kids Preschool Pastor 806-681-3676
|
MH Kids
- If your child wants to get baptized, ask questions.Baptism comes after salvation, so start with the basics: Can you tell me who Jesus is? What did He do for you? Here’s one way to explain salvation in a way kids can understand:
- God loves you! He made you and knows everything about you. (Psalm 139)
- When we mess up and do wrong things, it’s called sin. We deserve to be punished for those things, but when we follow Jesus, He takes the punishment for us. (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
- To follow Jesus, you have to admit that you’re a sinner and that you’ve messed up. This is repenting, which means to turn away, to change. Easily put it’s to stop making bad choices and make good ones instead. It’s a change in your heart and the way you think. (Acts 3:19)
- God loves you so much He sent His son Jesus to earth. Jesus took the punishment for the sin of everyone who would believe in him by dying on a cross. But Jesus didn’t stay dead! God brought Jesus back to life. To follow Jesus, you have to believe Jesus died for you and that God brought Jesus back to life. (Romans 10:9-10)
- If your child has already asked Jesus into their life, explain what baptism is and what it means.Here are some suggestions and places to point to in their Bible:
- Now that you’ve committed to following Jesus, you need to let others know by getting baptized. (Matthew 10:32)
- Baptism takes place in the water. It’s a picture of what Jesus did when He took the punishment for you sins. When you go under the water, it shows people that you believe Jesus died for you. When you come out of the water, you show others that you believe God brought Jesus back to life. (Romans 6:4)
- Getting saved and then baptized doesn’t mean your life will be perfect. There will be times when you will sin and make wrong choices. When this happens you need to repent. Repent means we turn away and change the way we think and behave. Jesus took the punishment for all our sin. That means even though you will sin again, you don’t need to be saved or baptized again. (1 Peter 3:18)
- You can continue following Jesus day by day by reading the Bible, praying, doing what Jesus says and building relationship with Him every day. (Psalm 1:2)
To set up a meeting or schedule baptism contact:
| Leanna Craft
MH Kids Children’s Pastor 806-683-4343 |
Cheryl Ince
MH Kids Preschool Pastor 806-681-3676
|
