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Big Concept: Be certain when you are in a place of teaching because there are higher expectations.
Those who help form others are in a special place of influence over those who need good care. We should not envy those positions of teaching and take them seriously when we have them. Leading Questions: 1.Do you think the world holds teachers to the same standard that God does? 2.How can anyone do it well if we are so flawed and imperfect? 3.What are some issues to be aware of? Ignorance, hypocrisy, being wrong? 4.How can we avoid these pitfalls? 5.How much of a good impact can a good teacher have? Prayer of the week: God, we give You praise right now for everything that You give us and how gracious You are to Your kids. Would you place on our hearts and minds an understanding of Your ways for us to daily walk in. Thank you, God. Activity: Thank you note. Help your kid think of someone they are thankful for who teaches them. Allow them to be creative with making a simple thank you card.
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Big Concept: What we do makes our Faith whole. We see the examples of Abraham (who is one of the fathers of our faith) and Rahab (who was a foreign person living an unrighteous life) whose faith was shown true by their actions. Both are great examples of faith due to a small understanding of who God was at the time and the possibility of great personal cost for acting in faith. Both would have been unknown and considered unfaithful if they had not acted as they did. Leading Questions: 1. Would you be ready for such a big show of faith if it was asked of you? 2. Why were Abraham and Rahab different from their peers? 3. Why do we prioritize either faith or actions over each other? 4. What are other examples of faithful people - In the bible or in your life? 5. Is it possible to have actions without faith? What would that mean? Prayer of the week: God, we give You praise right now for everything that You give us and how gracious You are to Your kids. Would you place on our hearts and minds an understanding of Your ways for us to daily walk in. Thank you, God. Activity: Let them draw a picture, then cut out the pieces and reassemble it.  
YEAH! Church - Sunday, November 28, 2021"Heroes of the Bible” – Cyrus the Great allowed the Israelites to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Temple, but it took three groups of people, under three leaders almost 100 years to completely rebuild the city. Today’s Lesson - “Zerubbabel, Ezra & Nehemiah - Rebuilders” Video Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2mHeaHjWlI (Pastor Landon – Ezra – for adults and older children) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJokkRQ1eBk (Pastor Landon – Nehemiah – for adults and older children) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlXqTBIys7s (Lifekids – Nehemiah) Today’s Hero – Zerubbabel, Ezra & Nehemiah (Ezra & Nehemiah) • Zerubbabel – Zerubbabel was the first leader that took a group of people back to Jerusalem; under his leadership they rebuilt the Temple • Ezra – Ezra was a priest who helped the people better understand how to obey God’s Laws • Nehemiah – Nehemiah helped the people rebuild the city walls and he brought about some needed reforms, so that others would treat each other in a way that pleased God Not everyone was happy to see the city being rebuilt…many enemies tried to stop these leaders. But they all trusted God and He helped them succeed. Engage: When Zerubbabel and the people returned to Jerusalem, they found a big mess and it took a long time to finish rebuilding the Temple. With such a large job, how do you think they managed to keep motivated? • Ezra saw that the people needed to be taught God’s Laws. Why do you think this was so important? • By Nehemiah’s time, the walls of the city were still not rebuilt. Why was it important to have good walls around a city? Theme verses: Ezra 13:14, NLT – “Remember this good deed, O my God, and do not forget all that I have faithfully done for the Temple of my God and its services.” Prayer – Dear God, thank for the examples of these brave men who faithfully served you. Help me obey you, too, no matter how others might try to discourage me. ~ Pastor Jane 
Big Concept: Faith without action puts us in the same category of belief as evil spirits. Really bad people have had an understanding of what they were or were not doing. Here we see that even the evil spirits knew who Jesus was but continued to be bad. We cannot just think that knowledge of Jesus will be enough, because it isn’t for evil spirits. We need to act like Jesus, live for Jesus, and be dependent on Jesus. Leading Questions: If we know who God is and what we are to do but do not do it are we doing something neutral or bad? i.e. If our parents ask us to clean up and then we don’t, are we then going against them? How can bad spirits know who God is but still be bad? What does this mean about a overly knowledge based faith. What are bad spirits and should I be worried? (not to be anxious or scared because God is bigger and stronger, but to be cautious and not foolish). Prayer of the week: Father God, Would Your word encourage us. Would Your voice give us courage, strength, and call us into a closer walk with You. Thank You for your grace and love.  
T’s and P’s. James 2:14-17.
Big Concept: Our faith needs to be lived out in this world. God is concerned with the physical world and the spiritual world. There are many examples in the Bible but Jesus is the perfect example of physical world mercy and also fulfilling spiritual needs. What good is it to want good but never do good? Leading Questions: Have you ever been given an empty platitude? If someone really wanted to help but wouldn’t lift a finger would that leave you with a good or bad feeling? What about how you would see your value in their eyes? Do we ever convince ourselves that just wanting to good makes us good? Prayer of the week: Father God, Would Your word encourage us. Would Your voice give us courage, strength, and call us into a closer walk with You. Thank You for your grace and love. Activity: Charades. Play a game of charades. Teach the kids some short hands of “Sounds like” being a tug of the ear, and “On the nose” by touching the bridge of the nose. Point out how difficult it is to guess if they aren’t doing anything. How their actions are just as important as their intentions or knowing what they need to do. Action: Triumphant. James 2:12-13. Big Concept: Live by a new way which leads to freedom. Where mercy is placed over judgement. We live in a world where religion can be accused of being hard, rigid, judgemental, disconnected, and old. Even Jesus makes similar accusations like in Matthew 23:13. Here we hear of a different set of rules which is seen as freeing and merciful. Leading Questions: How does a “law” bring freedom? Do we need to change our understanding of the word “law” Does “mercy triumphs over judgement” mean there is no judgement? How could we be more merciful today? Who can you ask for honest feedback in your own life in regards to how merciful you are? Prayer of the week: Father God, Would Your word encourage us. Would Your voice give us courage, strength, and call us into a closer walk with You. Thank You for your grace and love.  
Big Concept: None of us are perfect and so we need grace. This verse always reminds me of one of the final monologues in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when Charlie is told he “get’s nothing!” because he broke the rules like the rest of his peers. Sure, we like Charlie and he is supposed to represent a good child, but he is not perfect and so he is just as disqualified as his more frustrating competitors. Leading Questions: Does this standard of perfection seem harsh? How silly does it look when you see “a pot calling a kettle black”? How does Jesus impact this realty? Prayer of the week: Father God, Would Your word encourage us. Would Your voice give us courage, strength, and call us into a closer walk with You. Thank You for your grace and love. Activity: Be a bit ridiculous and play an egg race. Make it harder by giving them some obstacles or maybe take the egg for a walk to the mailbox. A downloadable printable copy of the picture can be found below.  
YEAH! Church - Sunday, November 21, 2021"Heroes of the Bible” – When the people of Judah were captured by the Babylonians, they probably thought they’d never see their homeland again…but they were in for a surprise. They were going to have help from a very unexpected source. Today’s Lesson - “Cyrus – The Surprising Hero” Video Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NJEY6cUD0E (The Captives Came Home – Gospel Project) Today’s Hero – Cyrus (Isaiah 45, Ezra 1) About 150 years before King Cyrus came to power, the prophet Isaiah said that God was going to help a man named Cyrus become a great king for the sake of His people, the Israelites. This must have seemed like a strange message for the prophet to give, but like all of God’s promises, it came true. Years later, the Babylonians captured the people of Judah and had taken most of them to Babylon where they lived as slaves to first the Babylonians, then to the Persians and Medes. They were forced to live in Babylon for seventy years until Cyrus the Great, the Medo-Persian king made a declaration…the people of Israel could go back home. Not just that, but Cyrus wanted them to rebuild God’s Temple in Jerusalem…and he expected all their neighbours to help! He even gave back all the items from the Temple that King Nebuchadnezzar had taken when he had captured Jerusalem. God had chosen to work through King Cyrus and, even though he didn’t know God like the Israelites did, he obeyed Him. Engage: • Many years before Cyrus was born, the prophet Isaiah told the people about a man named ‘Cyrus’ whom God was going to make into a great king. Do you think this message made sense to the people of Isaiah’s day? • After the people of Israel were conquered by the Assyrians and Babylonians, they would have been looking for God to help them. How surprised do you think they were when help came from their ‘enemy?’ • The Bible doesn’t tell us how Cyrus knew what God wanted him to do, but he obeyed. Have you ever heard or felt God telling you to do something? Theme verses: Ezra 1:2-3, NLT – ‘This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a Temple at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Any of you who are his people may go to Jerusalem in Judah to rebuild this Temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, who lives in Jerusalem. And may your God be with you!”’ Prayer – Dear God, thank you that we can trust you to make good on your promises…even when they seem impossible. There is nothing too hard for you to do! ~ Pastor Jane Bible Bits & Bites |
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