Hope Kids Preschool October 2016 - Adventure!

From Rethinkgroup.org:

Hello, First Look Friends!

This month is all about one man, one GREAT adventure. This month we’re talking about Moses! What a guy. What a life. What an adventure! God spoke to Moses through a burning bush. (You don’t see that every day.) And, Moses watched God part a sea. (You don’t see that every day either!)

Think about all that Moses would have missed if he had said “no” to God’s plan?

No pillar of cloud in the day.
No fire at night to guide him.
No water from a rock when he was thirsty.
No leading God’s people.

He would have missed out on the greatest adventure he could have ever imagined. One thing is for sure, we don’t want you or your preschoolers to miss out on one moment of the great adventure God has planned for you and them. That’s why we have filled an entire month with activities and stories and music that will help us all remember that God’s way is perfect. That’s right, God’s way is perfect! God’s way is right! God’s way is awesome! And, God will show us the way.

Hope Kids Elementary October 2016 - Courage

From Rethinkgroup.org: 

One of the most difficult things we will ever learn to overcome is fear. In fact, it’s unrealistic to expect anyone to become completely fearless. That’s why our goal as leaders and parents should be to help our children not become paralyzed by those fears, but learn what to do in the face of them.

That’s why we’re taking the month of October to discover what God says about courage as—being brave enough to do what you should do, even when you’re afraid.

Think about that—even when you’re afraid. The truth is, you WILL be afraid. So, the question is, when fear is present, where do you find the courage to stand up, or push through, or keep going?

The Bible is filled with passages reminding us that we can and should be strong and courageous.

Throughout the Psalms, we find that God is our refuge and strength. We can put our trust in Him because He will deliver us.

Paul, in his letters to the churches, tells us to be anxious for nothing, to be strong in the Lord, and to remember that if God is for us nothing can stand against us.

Jesus comforts us when He tells His disciples they have nothing to fear in this troubled world because He has overcome the world.

Our goal as parents and leaders is not to raise superheroes, but to raise everyday heroes. We want our children to grow up facing the world with a different kind of courage—courage to stand up against the bully, courage to speak out for the sake of others who may not have a voice, courage to refuse to do the wrong thing even though the crowd seems to be pushing them in that direction.

We need our children to understand, because they believe and trust in God, they have a unique source of strength and courage. There will be times when we’re going to be afraid. But we can trust in a God that is bigger than us. And put our hope in a God who is with us and is in control of every situation. Because of God, we can find the strength to be courageous, every day heroes.

This month we’ll take a look at some everyday heroes from the Old Testament, men and women who had no superpowers except for the fact that they knew God had a mission for them and they trusted in His promise to always be with them. We can’t wait to hear how God shows up in the lives of families and kids when they study these stories, trust God, and show courage in the situations they face.  



WEEK 1
In Exodus 2:1-10, we discover that Moses was born during a time when Pharaoh feared that God’s people would overthrow his reign. He enslaved them and commanded that all of the Hebrew baby boys be killed. Moses’ mother and sister wouldn’t obey Pharaoh’s decree. They had courage to keep Moses alive. God rescued him with help from Pharaoh’s own daughter who ended up bringing him to live in the palace and raising him as an Egyptian.

Bottom Line: You can do what you should even when you don’t know what will happen next. Most of the time our fear comes from assuming something about the future that may or may not happen. Courage doesn’t mean our fear is gone. Rather, courage is choosing to act even though we are afraid. We’ll never know what will happen next, but we can trust God to give us the strength we need to move forward.



WEEK 2
We continue our look at courage in Exodus 3–6:12 and 7–12:42. God calls Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. Moses gives excuse after excuse for why he’s not the person God should use. But Moses doesn’t have a choice; God has chosen him. Even though Moses is frightened, he trusts God and confronts Pharaoh to let God’s people go. In the end, God’s power triumphs and Pharaoh releases his hold on the Israelites.

Bottom Line: You can do what you should even when you don’t feel ready. We all face times when we feel like we’re supposed to do something, but fear that we won’t have what it takes to get it done. We can have courage to follow through knowing that God can give us what we need to get the job done.



WEEK 3
In Exodus 13:17–14:31, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, but found himself up against an impossible scenario: the Red Sea in front of them and Pharaoh’s army chasing them down from behind. Only God could save them. Moses stood strong in the face of fear and trusted God to do what only God could do—part the Red Sea and create dry ground for the Israelites to escape. Our God is truly the God of the impossible.

Bottom Line: You can do what you should even when things seem impossible. We may not face the Red Sea or an army of angry Egyptians, but we will face moments where what we need to do will feel impossible to us. When that happens, we can remember that we can trust God no matter what. God is bigger and stronger than anything we face. Just like Moses and the Israelites, God can do the impossible in our lives too.



WEEK 4
Next we head to Numbers 13–14, Moses sent 12 spies to scope out the Promised Land of Canaan. They discovered the land was perfect with one exception: the people who already lived there were strong and powerful. Most of the spies were intimidated and wanted to give up. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, spoke up and said that God would provide a way for them to conquer the land. God rewarded Joshua and Caleb’s faith and courage. They were only men of their generation to see the land God promised to Abraham.

Bottom Line: You can do what you should even when others are afraid. We will face times when the people around us are scared or making unwise choices. When that happens, we should trust God. He can give us the courage we need to do what we should and be an example that points others to Him.



WEEK 5
We finish up the month with Joshua and the famous battle of Jericho. God promised Abraham that he would receive the Land of Canaan. In Joshua 5:13–6:27, we find the Israelites taking their first steps towards the fulfillment of the promise. God was faithful to the Israelites. In this story, God’s battle plans seem unconventional for conquering a city, but Joshua knew that if they obeyed God’s plan, the land would be theirs.

Bottom Line: You can do what you should because God is with you. Even when what we’re asked to do doesn’t make sense, we can have courage to do it knowing that God is helping us. We should remember that God is near and He is for us. We can trust God no matter what and have courage to do what we should.

Bless The Little Children

"Jesus loves the little children,

All the children of the world.

Red and yellow, black and white,

All are precious in His sight,

Jesus loves the little children of the world."

Many of us remember these song lyrics from our childhood. The idea that Jesus, the creator God, savior of mankind, loves and cares for little kids should be sobering to us as adults. Too often our world gets "too big" for little ones to be in the way, and we often forget to take time and invest in them as we should.

In Matthew 19 we read a story of how the disciples were trying to keep these pesky little kids away from their rabbi and master.  His response is priceless - Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Wow! We should be bringing our children to the feet of Christ to learn, to grow, and to be blessed.

Blessings are a special occurrence in the Bible. Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology  gives us an understanding of what a blessing is. First, a blessing was a public declaration of a favored status with God. Second, the blessing endowed power for prosperity and success. In all cases, the blessing served as a guide and motivation to pursue a course of life within the blessing.

Favor with God and power for success? Who doesn't want that for their kids? But how can we bless our children? David Gortner and Heather VanDeventer of buildingfaith Chrsitian Formation ministry has an excellent blog post with practical but powerful ways for Blessing Children in the Home. Take a few minutes to read and enrich your spiritual time with your kids this month!

Remember, Jesus "grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man." Let's help our kids grow as Jesus did!

Resource Article For Grandparents May 2016

Grandparents Give the Gift of Faith
by Carolyn Moomaw Chilton 

Are you a grandparent?
What do you like to share with your grandchildren? 
How do you share your faith with them?



Tapping Trees with my Grandfather

My grandfather and I shared a birthday. He was a quiet man, full of kind words and strong deeds. He shared his time with me, and by doing so, shared who he was and what was important in his life.

When I was about 10 years old he gave me time and stories that have been formative throughout my life. Every afternoon for about 2 weeks, my grandfather would meet me at the bus stop, put me on the tailgate of his red pickup truck, and we’d drive around to gather the sap from the maple trees we’d tapped. He had hand-whittled the spigots – or spiles – that you put into a hole near the base of the tree. The sap drips out and into a bucket on the ground. We’d drive to our trees, he’d stop the truck, and I’d hop off the back and get the bucket. The he would pour the sap into a larger container.

Finally the weekend came when we put all that sap into big black kettle in the backyard, lit a wood fire, and boiled it. And boiled it some more. At the end of the day, we took it inside and my grandmother boiled it some more on top of the stove. When we were finished, we had two cakes of maple sugar and a small jar of maple syrup. I was extremely disappointed. All that work and time, and this was all I got?

Of course, that wasn't all I got, was it? My grandfather took something that was important to him – that he loved to do – and included me in it, teaching me along the way. And that boils down (pun intended) to the important role of grandparents in the lives of their grandchildren and other children. Grandparents have many things to share. I believe the most important are stories and time.

Grandparenting in Action

How does one learn to be a member of a family? Very simply: you hang out with that family. Grandparents are an important part of that. You hear the stories, you look at photo albums, you share meals, and you do all sorts of things together. Children learn their identity as a member of that family – they know where they belong, who loves and cares for them, who will spend time with them, and whom to go to when life is hard.

As a grandparent, what experiences and stories can you share? What are your grandchild’s interests? How can you participate in those? Even if you live far from each other you can do these things on vacations, and through the internet with online classes or Skype.

Grandparenting Faithfully

How can you share your faith with your grandchildren? The same way as you share other important parts of your life, through stories and time. Share what you love with your grandchildren. Talk to them about your faith, why it is important to you. Tell them biblical stories, read to them from age appropriate Bibles. Tell them stories about church from your childhood. What was it was like to go to church; what were celebrations like? What is church like now for you? Go to church with them if they have a faith community.

Grandparenting in the Gap

What do you do, as a grandparent, if the parents are not involved in a church; or perhaps even are averse to organized religion? I think you still start with stories. But include the parents in your stories. Tell stories about things you’ve done at church. Stories from your childhood are important, and may seem less like you’re trying to convince them of something. Craft your stories so that you are inviting your grandchildren into the experience and community. As a wise friend of mine said: "People come to church today looking for community and experience, and along the way they find God."

If you want to take your grandchild to church, consider starting with events or programs, rather than Sunday worship. This can be less threatening and seem less like you’re inserting yourself between parent and child. Perhaps your grandchild can join you at a church dinner or picnic, a local service event, or a bowling night, etc. Perhaps your grandchild would like to join the children’s choir at your church. And remember: children are amazing evangelists – they may bring their parents along to one of those church picnics!


________________________________________
Carolyn Moomaw Chilton writes and blogs as a spiritual discipline and an invitation to conversation with others. You can follow her on Twitter @episcoevangel and Facebook as EpiscopalEvangelist. She is currently on staff at Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia as the Assistant for Evangelism and Stewardship.

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Hope Kids Lesson Preview April 2016

Click HEREfor video preview of this month's lesson.

April Editor’s Notes
By Dan Scott

This month, we’ll spend most of our time in the book of Hebrews where we’ll discover more about what the Bible says about perseverance. We define perseverance as refusing to give up when life gets hard. We have the chance to lean in to them and say: “Don’t give up. Persevere in your faith. Trust God no matter what.”

Throughout Scripture, the writers continually point people of faith to continue their journey relying not on their own strength, but God’s supernatural power. Take our memory verse for example. Isaiah 40:31 (NIrV), “But those who trust in the Lord will receive new strength. They will fly as high as eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not grow week.”

Isaiah offers hope to those who persevere and trust in God. They will find strength even when they feel like giving up. Going through those tough times will teach us that God is always there.

When it comes down to it, we all have experienced things that we would have never experienced if we didn’t push through the difficult times. When you get to the other side, you’ll see something that you would have never seen before—if you just believe in what God can do and what God can do in you.



WEEK 1
We start off our month on perseverance with Jesus’ last words before He ascends back to heaven. In Matthew 28:20, we have the huge task Jesus gave His disciples to share His story throughout the world. In Acts 1-2, we discover how Jesus’ sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to help the disciples accomplish that task.

Bottom Line: When life gets hard, remember God is with you. Because of the Holy Spirit in our lives, God is always with us. No matter what happens, we can continue to persevere because God can give us the strength we need to continue.



WEEK 2
In Hebrews 12:1, the author of Hebrews reminds us that when life gets hard, we can look to the heroes of the faith and see how they trusted God through some extremely difficult circumstances. God brought them through those trials, and God will help us through ours.

Bottom Line: When life gets hard, remember how others persevered. It’s comforting to know that others have made it through to the other side of difficult times. When we see how God helped them, it’s helps us trust God more with our own circumstances.



WEEK 3
In Hebrews 12:2-3, we will talk about what it means to run the race of life with perseverance. It will get hard, but we can focus our attention on Jesus. He is the ultimate example of someone who endured death itself to accomplish the rescue mission God set out for him.

Bottom Line: When life gets hard, remember what Jesus did for you. Jesus persevered through the most difficult life had to offer. He did that for us. We pray kids discover that they can trust Jesus with their whole life from now until eternity. When life doesn’t go as planned, kids can look to Jesus and remember how His life and death overcame the world.



WEEK 4
Finally, through Hebrews 12:12-15, kids will learn that others are watching us as we persevere through difficult times. When our friends or family members are having trouble persevering, they can look to our example and be encouraged to stick with it.

Bottom Line: When life gets hard, remember you can help others persevere. After we go through a difficult time, we often have a chance to help others through similar situations. We want kids to learn that as they trust God and persevere, they will set an example and encourage others to do the same.

FOR A VIDEO PREVIEW OF THIS MONTH'S LESSON CLICK HERE. 

April 2016 - Connect With Sunday's Lesson At Home

Parent Resource Article April 2016

Parenting involves a lot of teaching. When we bring home our child from the hospital they literally know how to do nothing. It is our job to teach them everything they will need to know to function in society as and adult. In addition to teaching them how to dress, do algebra (yuck!), drive, balance a checkbook, and a million other things, one task we often teach by example but should be taught with intention is the art of respect.

Jill Rigby Garner and Sheila Seifert have written a wonderful article on teaching our kids respect starting at an early age. You can read this article on the Focus On The Family website by clicking HERE. Take a few minutes to learn more about this important part of parenting. Investing in this area will someday produce great benefits for your child!

March 2016 Resources For Home

Looking for ways to interact with your children during the month to reinforce the lessons learned at church? Print these pages of parent cues to communicate with your little sponges! By taking interest in their world, they will feel loved, learn more, and explore their place in the Big Story that God is writing for the world. Take a few minutes and make a huge impact! 

Hope Kids March 2016

Click HERE for preview video.

March Editor’s Notes
By: Dan Scott


Hope is believing that something good can come out of something bad. It’s important to help kids know what to do when life throws them a curveball—when their picture doesn’t pan out the way they think it will—to let them know that life will get messy at some point. But no matter how confusing, God still has a plan. He is powerful enough to make something good come out of something bad.

That’s why a great verse to get your kids to memorize is John 16:33b: “In this world you will have trouble. But be encouraged! I have won the battle over the world,” (NIrV)


Those are actually the words of Jesus. And if you want a demonstration of how God can use pain and suffering and do something powerful, just think about Jesus. More specifically, think about the message of the Gospel. The life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is enough to give us all the hope we will ever need, which becomes especially important this month as we get to celebrate and discovery more about Easter.


WEEK 1:
We start our month on hope in John 11. Here we discover a moment when Jesus brought hope to two sisters who thought all hope was lost. When Lazarus died, his sisters were devastated. But Jesus used the opportunity to point people to God. Jesus was stronger than even death itself and raised Lazarus back to life four days after he was dead. Through this story, we want kids to remember that whatever happens, then can remember that how powerful God is.

WEEK 2:
Next, we’ll look at several passages throughout John 14-16. We get the chance to eavesdrop on the last conversations Jesus had with His disciples before He was arrested. At the Last Supper, Jesus takes one last chance to encourage His disciples with the promise of heaven, the Holy Spirit, and that He will always be with them. Through this moment in Jesus’ life, we pray kids will realize that whatever happens, they can remember what Jesus promised. It’s such a comfort to know that God is always with us and wants to be with us forever.

WEEK 3:
On Palm Sunday, we celebrate how Jesus was worshipped as He rode into Jerusalem. Yet, as we’ll see through passages in John 18-19, less than a week later, Jesus went to the cross for us. It was painful, but He endured all of it for us. We know that now, but when Jesus died, His disciples must have thought it was over—that everything they had hoped for would never come true. But, God wasn’t finished yet. Just like the disciples didn’t yet know the end of the story, sometimes our kids can’t see how there story will turn out. We pray that as they go through those times, they’ll remember God is always at work.

WEEK 4:
Then, on Easter Sunday, we celebrate that we can have hope because Jesus is alive! In John 20:1-18, we’ll find out that all the promises that Jesus made are true. Everything that Jesus said and did lead to this moment. He paid the price for our sin on the cross and came back to life making it possible for us to be with God forever! This is something to celebrate! We want all the kids to leave believing that whatever happens, they can know that God loves them.

Here’s the reality: No one knows at what point your kids may be going through a dark time that doesn’t make sense. But as a leader or a parent, you have an opportunity to lay a foundation so that whatever happens in their life they can have hope.


They can have hope—

because of what Jesus said about heaven,
because of what happened at the resurrection,
because God’s story is much bigger than the one they see,
and because Jesus promised that He would always be with them.

February 2016 Resources For Home

Looking for ways to interact with your children during the month to reinforce the lessons learned at church? Print these pages of parent cues to communicate with your little sponges! By taking interest in their world, they will feel loved, learn more, and explore their place in the Big Story that God is writing for the world. Take a few minutes and make a huge impact! 

Hope Kids February 2016

Click Here For Monthly Preview Video

When you have a job to get done, you need the right tool. Hammers and screwdrivers work great for doing the job they were designed for, but sometimes you need something a little more complex. You need a tool that has the right attachment for the job, one that cooperates with that tool to get the job done.

Like a drill.  Without the right drill bit to do the work, it’s just a noisy paperweight.

Or a ratchet. Without the right socket, well, I guess you’ve got a shiny little … hammer maybe?  It’s just not useful unless you have both parts working together.

There are even some tools that don’t need another piece. They need another person, like those lumberjack crosscut saws. The saw won’t work at all unless two people are working together.  That’s cooperation—working together to do more than you could do alone.

When you think about it, cooperation is huge. When you cooperate, you can build more. You learn more. You can do more.

As kids are growing they become more aware of the people around them. They have friends on the playground or in their neighborhood. They have to work in teams to finish projects in school. If they don’t learn God’s plan for cooperation, they’ll have a difficult time getting along with people. That’s why it’s important that we take some time out to discover more about what the Bible says about cooperation.

Cooperation is actually a spiritual concept that originates with God. God designed us as human beings not only to need each other, but also to need Him. Now, it’s not like God was up in heaven desperate for some help, so He made us. No, God is all-sufficient. But, He created us so we could have a relationship with Him, and so that we could participate in His work together. In other words, God put all of us together on this planet to do more together than we could ever do alone, and in some cases—with His help—to do things that might even seem “un-doable.”

Just think about the difference you could make in your church if every parent, leader and child really bought into this spiritual concept of cooperation. The Bible is full of stories of people who came together in faith to do something they never could have done alone. We can’t wait to hear about what happens when kids start understanding God’s design for cooperation.

This month, think about this question: “What can you do together?” What can you do together as a church to demonstrate to your children the way God designed us—not only to need each other, but also to need Him?  How can we cooperate with God on His plan to change the world?

January Hope Kids Study

Anyone else feel like you are constantly reminding your kids to use their napkin instead of their sleeve? Or to stop running in the house? Or to use kind words with their siblings, even when they are upset? Imagine how much less nagging would be required if our kids would simply chose to do what they should  do, instead of what they want to do.

Self-control is a characteristic that's often learned about through example. When our kids see us choosing to set aside what we instinctively want and instead do what we should, they learn that self-control is both helpful and productive in the long run. So, take a minute this week to think about an area of your live where you might need more self-control. Ask God to help you work on that, then talk with your kids about areas they can work on with God's help too!

Welcome To NHCC Thrive Kids!

Welcome to the Hope Kids THRIVE page! In Proverbs 29:2 we read:

"When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice!"

At New Hope we are committed to seeing people grow in Christ through God's Word. To do this, we have set discipleship building as a core value. To help facilitate that goal we are introducing a series of blogs with faith formation material outside of the Sunday morning worship experience.

These blogs will fall under the title of THRIVE. We have selected this title to reflect the idea expressed in the Bible which state that Jesus came to give us life to the full (John 10:10). God would see us thrive, not just survive. In order to promote spiritual growth and see believers thrive, not survive, we will be posting material to help kids grow in their understanding of God, the Bible, and hopefully themselves.

Check back regularly. We will post monthly as well as weekly information! Blessings!