Thanksgiving Meal Boxes

As a church one of our core values is foot washing, or service. And just as we strive to worship corporately through service, we also want to worship together as a family through service. One great opportunity we have is the preparation of Thanksgiving Meal Boxes. Providence Church is teaming with Frisco Family Services Center to provide low-income families, families in crisis, and senior citizens with these packages. All you need to do is purchase the items on the list, place them in a box, and bring the box to the church building on Sundays or to the church offices during the week. The deadline for dropping off your box is November 9th.

Now that I have given you the logistics, let me present a few ideas that you could use to involve your children in the process. Be sure to explain to them what you are doing and why. Let them know that one family will receive everything in the box that you choose for them. So on Thanksgiving Day they will be preparing and eating what you have chosen to give to them. Help them to pray for the family throughout the process.

• Read the list aloud as your children look through your pantry for items that you already have (make sure they haven't expired). Several things on the list you may already have such as canned fruit and vegetables, macaroni & cheese, or an extra bottle of mustard. Even children as young as 18 months could help in this way, finding food they know.


• Print out the kid-friendly list, and bring it as you and your children go to the grocery store to choose items for the family. Read over the list together so that they know what all the items are. Using the pictures, your child can help you find everything on the list (the optional items are not included in this list). This will help them be involved in the process and you may find that your preschooler or elementary child has more fun at the store than usual when they have a job to do. Give them a pen or crayon and they can even check off the items as you find them.


• Make a huge pile of all the items on the list you have found or purchased. Get your list and call out the items as you pack them into a box. Very young children can help find things, and older children will be practicing spacial reasoning and logic skills as they try to fit everything into the box and not crush anything in the process.


• Get your family together and make a Thanksgiving card from your family to theirs. Preschoolers can dictate kind words, older children can write their own thought, budding artists can draw pictures of turkeys and potatoes, babies can even add their own scribbling. Have each child sign their first name to the card. Let the family know you will be praying for them.


• Pray for the family that will receive your box. Help your children remember to pray as you gather and shop, as you check and pack, and as you deliver the box to the church (by November 9th). Remember to pray for that family on Thanksgiving Day. And thank God that He has blessed your family so that you can help another family.

Follow-up: Joseph - The Promise Continues

Story: God takes care of Joseph

Fundamental Truth: God is Good

Making it Real: Lots of bad things happened to Joseph. First, he was sold into slavery by his own family. Then his owner didn’t believe him and threw him into prison. Then, the men he helped in prison forgot to help him get out too. What can we learn from Joseph’s life?
Joseph’s life was not easy, but we see how God used so much bad for good. He didn’t allow Joseph’s brothers to kill him. The man who took him as a slave treated him well, until he put him in prison. The prison guards put him in charge of others. When he finally got out, the Pharaoh put him in charge of all of Egypt and made him the most powerful man besides him. In the end, God used Joseph to save the lives of thousands of people during a time of famine. Joseph became the rescuer for many, many people – pointing us to Christ, who was the rescuer to all people who love and trust Him.

Making it Stick: Take a walk with your child and talk about your story. Tell your child of some of the mistakes you made in your life or some of the bad things that happened. Talk honestly about hard times. Talk with your child about how God used those bad things for good. Talk about what you learned during those times and how God brought you out of them. Talk about how you would not be where you are now or the person you are now without having gone through those hard times.

Redeeming Halloween

There's no denying the controversy that accompanies Halloween. Whether or not you choose to acknowledge the day is up to you (obviously) but I'd like to offer some suggestions for those of you who would like to in some way participate in the festivities.
At Providence, we believe in redeeming Halloween. It is the only day in the year where the community comes to you - literally to your door. Because of that, we have a unique opportunity to meet people where they are (on our doorstep!) and bless them.
With a view to that end we take a couple of simple steps:

• Giving away full-size candy bars. We want the children to tell their friends about our house so we give away the best candy. Not only is it big, but it has a large sticker on it with information about the church. We take advantage of the real estate on the candy bar to get a message out.

• Yard Parties - Another way to make your house the best on the block is to do it up big. We do bounce houses, hot soup or chili or burgers and drinks for the parents, face-painting and little carnival games. This way, you're not only seeing the children and interacting with them, but you get face-time with the parents while their children play. No longer are parents waiting at the base of the driveway while their children run up to the door and back down.

These ideas might be hard to achieve based on limiting variables. The point is, there are steps we can make to get out into the neighborhood, meet both parents and children, and show others that Halloween can be redeemed for God's glory. A day that is taboo to some and downright wrong to others has the potential to bring people together and open up opportunities for the gospel.
So, should you choose to partake, make the most of your opportunities.

Happy Halloween!

Sharing our Stories

I was writing the Bible Story Follow-up application steps for parents and got to thinking about how parents dialogue with their children. We want spiritual language and topics to be the norm in our homes. We want the words of Scripture to be familiar words of comfort and training to our children. We want songs, Bible stories and Christian values to be a part of the foundation of our homes. But how practiced are we at telling those stories as a backdrop to our own stories? How well do our children know exactly what God did in Mom's heart to make her love and trust Him? Do our children know what it was that brought Dad "out of the darkness and into the light"? (1 Peter 2:9).
Depending on the age of our children and the nature of our salvation stories, being honest to tell our testimony may be difficult. But let me encourage you to, as much as is appropriate, share your stories with your children. Our testimonies can be the most powerful tool we have for evangelism because they are our stories. So talk with your children about why you love Jesus. Tell them what He saved you from. Be honest about the life you now lead because of the saving work of our glorious Lord.
Let your children hear the stories of the God who saved you. May He be the God who saves them also.

Follow-up: Jacob - The Promise Continues

Fundamental Truth: Jesus Came to Save Sinners

Making it Real:
In our story this week, Jacob had a dream. He dreamt about a ladder where angels were going up and down from the earth to Heaven. What can this dream show us?
Just like we see all throughout the Old Testament, here God is giving us a picture of Jesus Christ. Jacob’s ladder bridged the gap between Heaven and earth. It showed us that there was separation between us and God and that God would provide a way to bridge that gap. It helps us look forward to the time when God would forever bridge that gap by sending Jesus to die on the cross. The Cross was the New Testament picture of Jacob’s ladder and it gave us access forever to God through the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins.

Making it Stick:
Give your children guidelines to make a bridge. It can be a small bridge for dolls or a life-size bridge in the yard or at the park. Give them a list of materials they can use to make their bridge – make it a good-sized list, consisting of more than one type of material. Give them a time limit to complete their bridge, but one that they cannot stay within. Once they have run out of time, test their bridge and talk about why it failed. Give them more time, enough to finish, and test their bridge again. Talk about how we can remember that the cross is the perfect bridge to Jesus and that God, in his perfect wisdom, not only gave us the cross, but gave it to us with Jesus at the perfect time that God had planned. Talk about how God’s timing is perfect and how God’s plans are perfect.

Learning Like Our Children

One thing I love about leading a Children's Ministry is hearing my teachers say week after week, "I think I learned more from that lesson than the kids." And so often I feel the same way!
It is amazing to me how much I can learn by writing or teaching a children's lesson. The Bible says this about itself in Hebrews 4:12:
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
When we are teaching the Bible to our children, there is so much we can learn ourselves. Regardless of how many times we may have heard the stories, they are new! So my challenge to you as you teach your children is to search the Scriptures both for lessons and truths to communicate, but also for lessons and truths that you yourself can learn.
May we never be a people who think they have gotten all they can from any particular story or passage. May we always come before Scripture ready to learn.

Follow-up: Abraham wk 2

Fundamental Truth: The Bible is God’s Perfect Word

Making it Real:
God gave Abraham and Sarah a baby when they were very old. Why didn’t God give them the promised son sooner?
We can never know why God does things the way He does. What we can do, is remember that God is in Charge of Everything. So no matter what He does, we can believe that He is doing it the best way possible. We can also learn from Abraham and Sarah’s story that even when it’s hard to trust God or remember His promises, He keeps them. Abraham and Sarah had to wait for a baby and it can help us remember that God’s people had to wait for Jesus to save them – but He came and with His death on the cross, the work of punishing sin was completed.

Making it Stick:
At the beginning of the week, make a promise to your child. You can promise a special meal or treat, a special outing or anything that gives your child something to look forward to. Tell your child that in order to receive the special thing, they need to trust and obey you throughout the week, just like Abraham had to trust and obey God. During the week, when your child disobeys, tell them that at times, Abraham doubted God’s promise and tried to do things his own way, but in the end, Abraham remembered and believed God. At the end of the week, give your child the promised treat and talk about how God kept His promise and gave Abraham and Sarah a baby and began Jesus’ great family.