Posted by Sue Peniston | Posted in Parents and Kids, Weekly Update | Posted on 08-07-2011-05-2008
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Through the Bible Family Challenge: I have been thinking about our experience in the Old Testament and how many prophets the Lord communicated the message of “change your ways…remember your God…judgment will come.” I have read them all before…but somehow this time through – I see all these men given the task of telling the people the truth. There are 17 books of Prophecy in the O.T. and there are more prophets recorded in other books that did not write a book. God’s energy toward communicating with us amazes me and He still does today. Oh that we will hear him and listen.
We are now ready for a walk through the New Tesament. The first section is known as the Gospels. The word gospel means good news. The four gospels are the books called Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These books tell the good news that Jesus came to be our Savor. They are written by different men who were all eye witnesses to the life of Jesus here on earth. And yes, the names of the books are once again the names of the men that wrote them. So, why four books about the time Jesus was on earth? If you took a picture of your house, would I be able to see it all in one picture? No. You would have to give me some different angles….these four men, gave us four different views of the same time frame with Jesus. This week we are going to look at all four, then we will do each book individually. I want you do a compare and contrast. Read Matthew 26:17-35, Mark 14:12-31, Luke 22:7-38, John 13. Find what is the same and what is different. Then conclude with 1 Corinthians 11:24-26. We remember Jesus and what he did for us today…through the same “sharing” he did 2000 years ago with these men. Our God is so near.
Unborn and babies: read out loud to them from one of these books.
Preschoolers: Teach them the word “communion” and what it means. It is an “act” of sharing. Have some grape juice and bread. Break apart the bread together…dip into a cup of juice together…and read 1 Corinthians 11:24-26. Emphasize the words “remember me”. Then use their chilren’s Bible or yours and take them to one of the Gospels and show them the story of Jesus having the his last supper with his friends…and talk about what Jesus was getting ready to do – die on the cross. We “remember” always what Jesus did for us.
Sue Peniston
Children’s Director
Posted by Bryan Worthy | Posted in General | Posted on 30-05-2011-05-2008
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First round of pictures from our day of service this past Sunday, May 29th. Hope House and Three Streams Family Health Center
Posted by Sue Peniston | Posted in Parents and Kids, Weekly Update | Posted on 07-05-2011-05-2008
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Through the Bible Family Challenge: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. We are going to look at the last three books of the Old Testament this week. Congrats! After this week, your family will have walked through all of the Old Testament. If you have missed some, you have still done some good reading….right! Awesome!!! These prophets all had messages for the Jews returning to Jerusalem after their captivity. Once again, let’s look at the meaning of their names: Haggai – festival of Yahweh, Zechariah – God remembers, Malachi – messenger of Yahweh. Let your fingers do the walking through these books. Haggai and Zechariah had messages to call the people of Israel to rebuild the temple like the prophet Ezra. Zechariah has more promises about the coming of Jesus than any other book, except for Isaiah. He talks about the first coming and the second coming. Read the following and look for facts that are recorded in the New Testament….700 years later: Zechariah 9:9, 9:16, 11:11-13, 12:10, 13:1-6, 14:1-21. Also, look for which verses talk about Jesus’ second coming. The book of Malachi also speaks about the coming of Jesus the first and second time.
I just love reading the hidden nuggets in the O.T. that speak of the revealed events recorded in the Gospels and Revelation. God is so wonderful to let us in on the story that is so much bigger than us. To read of Jesus’ second coming, gives me such hope and courage. It will be so wonderful to be with Him!
Unborn and babies: read out loud to them from these books.
Preschoolers: You will not find these books in most children’s Bibles. Use your Bible and let them look at these books at the end of the OT. Then find Zechariah 9:9. If they are learning their numbers or sizes, you can have them look for the big 9 and then the little 9. Read the verse. Then get their children’s Bible and find a picture of how Mary rode into Bethlehem. What was she riding? Go forward to what is called The Triumphal Entry…what was Jesus riding then? Wow….God knows everything! And sometimes he tells men what is going to happen! Awesome! Write the word donkey and put it into the book of Zechariah. God talked to Zechariah. Did you know that God talks to us? He does….he talks to us through the Bible and through His Spirit. I am so glad He talks to us too! Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Sue Peniston | Posted in Parents and Kids, Weekly Update | Posted on 30-04-2011-05-2008
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Through the Bible Family Challenge: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah. Remember, prophets are messengers to people. And the people of God were not remembering Him or obeying what they had once known to be right. They were going into captivity or already in captivity. These prophets are all speaking in the same span of time. The men wrote the books called by their names. Their names mean: Micah – Who is like Yahweh/God?, Nahum – comfort of Yahweh, Habakkuk – embrace (hold onto God), Zephaniah – Yahweh has hidden.
Time Line: 750-600 BC
Let your fingers do the walking through these books. As a family, list the contrast of words you find in the headings like, weeping and mourning, deliverance and destruction. Then read, Micah 4:1-3, Nahum 1:1-7,Habakkuk 1:1-5, 2:18-20, Zephaniah 3:14-17. As you read from these different prophets, look for the different images and traits you see of our God. He is real and active. He cares about what is good and just. And he allows man to choose and walk a distance in evil and destruction.
The older I get the more I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, our God keeps his promises. He answers when we call. He may make us wait…which we hate to do. But Yahweh is…and we live in His Creation and are created ourselves. We are walking in the pages of His Story and He will bring the story to a beautiful place. Happy endings only exist because He does. Evil will be dealt with and ended. What a beautiful day that will be! If you have been wounded deeply by the evil in this world, you bring it to the Healer and He will heal you. Oh Lord! Help our unbelief…it robs us of the more that can be found in you.
Unborn and babies: read out loud to them from these books.
Preschoolers: You will not find these books in most children’s Bibles. Give your child the picture ofZephaniah 3:17 by words and actions. Take your child to a moment he/she has been hurting or afraid and ask, what do we do when you are hurt or afraid? I hold you and bring you close and take care of you. When I do that to you…, Mommy/Daddy is being like God. God does that for us. He “quiets” our hearts with his love. He sings over us like a parent does their child. Cut out a heart. Add a wrap like a blanket and put it in the pages of Zephaniah. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Sue Peniston | Posted in Parents and Kids, Weekly Update | Posted on 16-04-2011-05-2008
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Through the Bible Family Challenge: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah & Jonah. We are now to the last section of the old testament-the minor prophets. The terms Major Prophet and Minor Prophets have to do with the length of the books not the importance of the prophets. We will be taking the last 12 books in groups. These men wrote the books called by their names. Their names mean: Hosea – Salvation, Joel – Yahweh is God, Amos – To Lift/ Carry a Burden, Obadiah – Worshiper/Servant of Yahweh, Jonah – Dove.
Time Line: 815BC-540BC
Let your fingers do the walking and find these books and read the headings. Last year, Jason did an interpretive presentation/teaching on Hosea. You can go into our archives on the website and listen to it…very powerful and clear about what the Lord asked of Hosea in his life given to God (Ownership). In these minor prophets, you see God speaking judgement and holding the line for righteouness and the grace factor: man repents, God relents. The prophets reveal God’s justice with his patience and everlasting love. Read the book of Jonah. It is a good short read and reveals the humanity of one of God’s messengers. Look for all the attitudes of Jonah’s heart, how he responded to God – good and bad, and God’s heart toward people. Some writers refer to Jonah as the “grumpy” prophet.
Unborn and babies: read out loud to them from the book of Jonah.
Preschoolers: Jonah’s book is usually in all Children’s Bible story books…so, you can read it from there or read the basic story from the Bible…it is pretty good. 
Jonah is a pretty grumpy guy about what God wants him to do. Yet, God and he keep talking. Do you know the Eeyore character in Winnie the Pooh? Jonah is an Eeyore. He doesn’t quit or leave the story. But he just isn’t happy about things. Cut out a picture of Eeyore and stick him in the book of Jonah. Jonah finally obeyed God…but he still wasn’t happy about it. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Bryan Worthy | Posted in General, Lent | Posted on 14-04-2011-05-2008
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Family Reading: I Corinthians 6:17-20
Prayer Emphasis: Glorifying God in Our Bodies
“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, who you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price:therefore glorify God in your body.’” (I Corinthians 6:19-20)
Devotional Thought
If you were given a few adjectives to describe your physical body what would they be? Fit? Out-of-shape? Sinful? Worldly? Or would you describe it as sacred? Holy? Set-apart? As Christians, our inclination is to view our body (our flesh) as something that holds us back from the Lord’s service, but the Bible teaches us that our bodies are beautiful and holy temples.
Through the work of Jesus on the cross, our need for the Temple in Jerusalem became obsolete. Jesus decentralized the temple, and placed it firmly within each and every one of his followers. Just as the Lord’s presence dwelled within the Temple in Jerusalem, so the Lord’s presence dwells through the Holy Spirit within all of us who proclaim Jesus as Lord. This beautiful truth has the potential to change everything! If our bodies our thought of as sacred and holy temples it means that what we do with our bodies really matters to God. On the one hand, our bodies can exist as sacred and holy vessels demonstrating beautiful acts of service and worship. On the other hand, when we choose to do evil with our bodies, we are desecrating a temple that is meant to be holy. Paul reminds us that we “are not [our] own” and that we “have been bought with a price,” and so what we do with our bodies must “glorify god.” (I Corinthians 6:20)
Dear friends, the very Spirit of God himself dwells within each of you; and regardless of whether or not you can believe it, your bodies are sacred, holy, and set apart to His service. Therefore, don’t live your lives defeated by sin, but do as Paul encourages and “glorify God in your body.” (I Corinthians 6:20)
