Follow-up: The Flood wk 2

Story: The Flood

Fundamental Truth: Jesus Came to Save Sinners

Making it Real:
What does the story of the flood show us about Jesus?
After God saved Noah and his family and set the ark on dry land, He placed a rainbow in the sky, a sign of His promise to never flood the earth again. We can be confident that God will keep that and all promises. The most important promise that God ever kept was His promise throughout the Old Testament to send a Savior to fix the sin problem and reconcile the people, or bring them back, to God. God promised to send someone to pay the price for the sin that we all do that keeps us separate from our perfect God and He did that when he sent Jesus to earth to live and die as a man. Since Jesus was fully man and fully God, he could die a physical death but His death could cover the sins of all men for all time who choose to love and trust Him.

Making it Stick:
God used a rainbow to give His people a reminder of His love for them. With your child, come up with a symbol or picture that represents your family’s love for God. Draw, paint, or otherwise create your symbol or picture and display it somewhere within your home. Feel free to add a special verse or saying that explains that this is a reminder that your family loves God.

Best Children's Bible I've Found

Last week I bought a new Children's Bible for use within our ministry.


The Jesus Storybook Bible is not only my new favorite Children's Bible, it's currently my favorite book! This Bible takes each story, Old and New Testament, and brings it back to Christ and our need for a Savior. In doing so, it presents a theologically sound and beautiful view of God and His love for sinful man and our need for a Rescuer.
This Bible is great for all ages, preschool through elementary.
This is a great read for parents, children, and anyone!

Prayer and Fasting: How your involvement can serve and teach your children

(originally posted on providenceprayerandfasting.blogspot.com)

As we strive to be intentional in the spiritual teaching of our children, I urge you during this season of prayer and fasting to not only participate, but to use your participation as an opportunity to talk with your children about the practice of prayer and fasting and what it means for your relationship with God.

There are seasons in life when we give up things that normally play a large role in our day-to-day activities, in this case eating, in order to more eagerly and deliberately pursue the Lord through prayer. Just as we are intentional in our pursuit of God, so should we be in how we communicate this new season with our children.

Children notice when things change. When mom and dad don’t sit down for dinner, when snacks are left unopened and dessert left unprepared, children understand that something out of the ordinary is going on. Take the opportunity to have an open dialogue about why you and your spouse are not eating. Explain that when we go without, it is so that we can pursue the Lord in a more disciplined and uninterrupted manner. Explain that while food is a gift from God and something that we can partake of in worship, foregoing eating for a season can serve to renew purpose, insight and direction and increase worship and trust.

Instead of catching up on the day over a family meal, think of the testimony as your children watch you come together in prayer for your church. Instead of hearing the latest news or the plans for the coming weekend, imagine how powerful it would be for your children to hear you call out to God for wisdom and direction. Instead of the laughter and casual conversation that may accompany the normal dinnertime, think of the significance in a home in quiet contemplation and sober prayer.

Consider also ways you can encourage your children to fast. Maybe your child can fast from television, video games, or a favorite toy or electronic. Be creative in involving your children and helping them to see the part they can play in prayer and fasting. Walk through this practice with them, helping them to pray and worship as they give up some form of entertainment. What a sweet time you can share with your child as you seek the Lord together!

As with every act of worship, we want to deliberately communicate the heart behind the things we are practicing. As you obediently spend time in prayer and fasting during this season, make sure you are being careful to talk openly, pray openly and worship openly before the God who sees.

May the things you partake of and the things you refrain from serve to reveal to your children your love for God and His glory.

Follow-up: The Flood

Story: The Flood

Fundamental Truth: We Can Talk With God

Making it Real:
God sent a flood to destroy the earth. Why did He do that and why did He choose to save Noah?
The Bible says that, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become…” The people that God had created had forgotten about Him and turned away from following Him. They did what they wanted and gave no thought to God. God decided to destroy the earth and all the people He had made because they were so sinful. But God saved Noah because Noah was, “righteous… blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God.” Noah still loved and trusted God so God saved him and his family. We can see how important it is to follow God and live for Him even when everyone around us turns from Him.

Making it Stick:
Using sand or chalk, help your child create some kind of art project. Make it as elaborate and detailed as time will allow. After you are finished, talk about how much work you put into your project and how much you admire it. Then retell the story of Noah’s ark. Talk about how bad the people God made were behaving and how God had to punish them for their disobedience. Talk about how God destroyed the earth so that He could start over with the one man, Noah, who was obedient to God. With your child, destroy what you made using water and remind your child that we can remember that God is Good and that God is in Charge of Everything.

Singing with your children

One of the little things I look forward to most about being a mother is singing with my children. I have yet to meet a child who does not love to listen to music and sing and dance along.
Music can be a powerful tool to communicate foundational truths, namely, the greatness of God. Children can begin to understand not only who God is, but why we sing to Him and what those songs communicate.
There are numerous CDs with songs that present Scripture, biblical attributes, character values and other spiritually enriching content that are fun to listen to and sing along with.
The great thing about singing with children is that they don’t care how good you are! I have absolutely no musical abilities, but when I sing with or to the children on Sunday mornings, they love it! I think it’s because children hear the heart behind my voice, a heart that loves to sing praises to our Lord.
Singing with the children not only teaches them truths about God, but it models praise and worship. Our children typically do not go to church with their parents, so for them to get to see Mom and Dad singing at home with them shows them what it looks like to come before the Lord in worship through song.
I want to encourage you to make singing with your child a part of every day. Be intentional in your song choices and choose music that reinforces the truths of what you’re teaching about God at home. Play the music during playtime or craft time and take time to sing along. What a great thing for a child to grow up in an atmosphere saturated by the Word of God expressed in word, deed and song!

A couple of my favorites:
Phil Joel
Seeds of Praise, Seeds of Worship

Why a Blog?

One of the main goals of our Children’s Ministry here at Providence is to provide resources to parents that will help them live out Deuteronomy 6:6-7

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

What does it look like for a suburban mom and dad in the year 2008 to talk about the Bible when you “sit at your house” or when you “walk by the way”? How do we make these words come alive so that our children learn to believe, love and revere the Scriptures and the God they proclaim?

We know you’re often pulled in twenty different directions as you go throughout what is probably a hectic day. So we put together this blog to give you quick, applicable and practical ideas for incorporating spiritual lessons into everyday life. Our prayer is that this site would be a valuable resource to help you introduce your children to the God in whom we “live move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).

Blessings,
Your Contributors:
Amanda Shelton
Amy Bowling
Matt & Courtney Rakes
Charity Keldie