Howdy! This past meeting was a little different...in several ways! First of all, we held our meeting on a Friday evening, May 7th, as Sunday was Mother's Day and we wanted all of the kids to enjoy the day with their mothers. We also planned the meeting a little longer than usual. Our original idea was to do our lesson and learning activities for the first hour, then enjoy ice cream sundaes, make keychains, and play games for the second hour. As it turns out, God had a different plan for our evening...and it somewhat involved our first "test" of what we'd learned that night!
Our night started out with our usual large group gathering, involving singing our awesome theme song and hearing a Bible story about what Moses and the Israelites did when they faced a problem. Our Main Point was: When I have a problem, I will focus on God. We learned that, while the Israelites focused on the problem they faced when they were trapped between the Red Sea and the approaching Egyptian army, Moses chose to focus on God. Moses remembered that God is powerful and can do anything. He also remembered that God loves him and he can trust God, and as it turns out, Moses got to see God do a pretty amazing thing when He parted the whole sea in half! We talked about how we can do the same things when we face problems in our lives, and we can trust God to care for us. What a good lesson for ALL of us!
Our memory verse for the night came from the book of Psalm: " I prayed to the Lord, and He answered me. He freed me from all of my fears." (Psalm 34:4). We quickly got a chance to put this lesson into practice when our delicious ice cream sundaes were interupted by a tornado warning and an approaching severe thunderstorm (*also interupting any photo opportunities! We'll work on that for next time*)! Thankfully, God did indeed take care of every detail and we were all able to get to our different destinations safely. It was certainly an opportunity to practice focusing on God when we were facing a problem, knowing that He is trustworthy and faithful to care for our needs, and able to calm our fears.
Our next meeting will be on Sunday, May 23 from 6:30-7:30, just like normal. We will be learning to thank God and see more of what Tex and Cookie are up to on their trail drive. I hope y'all can join us!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Week 2
Howdy! We have pictures this week, y'all! Many thanks to Maddie (not to be confused with Madi), one of our fabulous youth helpers. (and while we're at it, many thanks to Madi for all of her help with registration and for cheerfully doing whatever she's asked to do!).
This past week, we followed Moses in Exodus chapters 5-11 as he faced the tough task of confronting the Pharaoh and asking him to let the Israelites go. Moses received a decisive "NO!" each time, and each time God sent Moses back to the Pharaoh. We learned that it must have been hard for Moses not to give up and want to be disobedient, but because he loved God, he obeyed. This was also our main point. We practiced saying this with motions and your child should be able to teach them to your family, too!
Our memory verse was from John 14:15 and says "If you love Me, obey My commandments." The time spent in small groups further focused on obeying God because we love Him, and a way that we obey God is by obeying those in authority in our lives; parents, teachers, grandparents, caregivers, etc. Both groups practiced using Bibles, did some role playing, and wrote "Obedience Contracts". We then had a review game and showed off all that we learned. We've got some smart kids!
We once again had a great time and are looking forward to our next meeting...which will be on FRIDAY MAY 7TH (due to Mother's Day on Sunday May 9th) FROM 7-9PM. That's right, two hours of fun!!!! Hope you can giddyup and join us!
The younger small group works on an activity called "Texas Tracker", tracking down different verses in the Bible.
Did I mention that we do lots of singing and dancing? =)
Practicing our Main Point with motions. We're all pointing to God.
Making a heart symbol as we sing about loving the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength.
This past week, we followed Moses in Exodus chapters 5-11 as he faced the tough task of confronting the Pharaoh and asking him to let the Israelites go. Moses received a decisive "NO!" each time, and each time God sent Moses back to the Pharaoh. We learned that it must have been hard for Moses not to give up and want to be disobedient, but because he loved God, he obeyed. This was also our main point. We practiced saying this with motions and your child should be able to teach them to your family, too!
Our memory verse was from John 14:15 and says "If you love Me, obey My commandments." The time spent in small groups further focused on obeying God because we love Him, and a way that we obey God is by obeying those in authority in our lives; parents, teachers, grandparents, caregivers, etc. Both groups practiced using Bibles, did some role playing, and wrote "Obedience Contracts". We then had a review game and showed off all that we learned. We've got some smart kids!
We once again had a great time and are looking forward to our next meeting...which will be on FRIDAY MAY 7TH (due to Mother's Day on Sunday May 9th) FROM 7-9PM. That's right, two hours of fun!!!! Hope you can giddyup and join us!
The younger small group works on an activity called "Texas Tracker", tracking down different verses in the Bible.
Did I mention that we do lots of singing and dancing? =)
Practicing our Main Point with motions. We're all pointing to God.
Making a heart symbol as we sing about loving the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength.Week 1
Howdy! Well, we're doing a little back-pedalling to cover our first Roundup meeting that met on April 11. Ideally, you will be able to check this blog after every Sunday evening program for a recap of what we did, and possibly some photos or video. However, we have neither for week one! Oops!
The main point for week one was "I obey God because I trust Him". We practiced saying this several times and even had some hand motions to go along with it. Ask your child to show you! Our Bible story came from the book of Exodus, chapters 3 and 4, when God showed up in a burning bush and called Moses to be the leader needed to free the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt. Moses had a tough choice to make, but He chose to obey God, because He trusted Him. Big lessons for all of us! Our memory verse came from Proverbs 3, verses 4-5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will direct your paths." In our small group times, we had the kids walk through an obstacle course blindfolded, forcing them to listen to and obey our directions. We also got more familiar with our Bibles and talked about how the kids would handle various situations.
One of the hi-lights of the night was singing our theme song. It's a fast-paced, fun song with lots of dancing. The leaders were out of breath and mildly wounded, but we all had a great time! Another hi-light was when one of the kids volunteered to an unknown task. Jessica (one of the leaders) asked him if he trusted her. When he said yes, he was handed a mustard bottle and told to drink from it. He was a little skeptical, but when he opened the lid, he found out the bottle was empty! Well, not quite empty. There was a dollar bill inside that this brave and trusting boy got to keep! Everyone was ready to volunteer after that =) In this case, it definitely paid off to trust!
The main point for week one was "I obey God because I trust Him". We practiced saying this several times and even had some hand motions to go along with it. Ask your child to show you! Our Bible story came from the book of Exodus, chapters 3 and 4, when God showed up in a burning bush and called Moses to be the leader needed to free the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt. Moses had a tough choice to make, but He chose to obey God, because He trusted Him. Big lessons for all of us! Our memory verse came from Proverbs 3, verses 4-5 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do and He will direct your paths." In our small group times, we had the kids walk through an obstacle course blindfolded, forcing them to listen to and obey our directions. We also got more familiar with our Bibles and talked about how the kids would handle various situations.
One of the hi-lights of the night was singing our theme song. It's a fast-paced, fun song with lots of dancing. The leaders were out of breath and mildly wounded, but we all had a great time! Another hi-light was when one of the kids volunteered to an unknown task. Jessica (one of the leaders) asked him if he trusted her. When he said yes, he was handed a mustard bottle and told to drink from it. He was a little skeptical, but when he opened the lid, he found out the bottle was empty! Well, not quite empty. There was a dollar bill inside that this brave and trusting boy got to keep! Everyone was ready to volunteer after that =) In this case, it definitely paid off to trust!
Yee-haw!
Well howdy y'all! You've stumbled across the blog for A Fresh Wind's children's ministry. A Fresh Wind is a (relatively) new church located in Lorain, Ohio and we've just begun an "official" children's ministry. Currently, we are meeting every other Sunday evening from 6:30-7:30 for a children's program, as well as Sunday mornings during our weekly gathering. On Sunday mornings, we offer a nursery/toddler room for the little guys and a Children's Church class for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Our Sunday evening program is currently for students in first through sixth grade.
As the blog title states, we're "On the Trail!" on Sunday evenings, as we follow Moses as he follows God and leads the Israelites out of Egypt. This is an eight week, cowboy themed series, made up of a large group meeting time full of singing and dancing, a Bible story by the campfire, a skit, and other fun activities. Following the large group time, we split into two small groups. In these groups we are able to do more activities that allow us to go a little deeper with the night's main point.
We have a great time on Sunday mornings and evenings, and would LOVE to have you join us! Here at A Fresh Wind, we value children and aim to provide an environment that is first and foremost all about Jesus, but also all about kids and what they need to grow spiritually. And, yes, we do like to have some fun while we're doing it.
As the blog title states, we're "On the Trail!" on Sunday evenings, as we follow Moses as he follows God and leads the Israelites out of Egypt. This is an eight week, cowboy themed series, made up of a large group meeting time full of singing and dancing, a Bible story by the campfire, a skit, and other fun activities. Following the large group time, we split into two small groups. In these groups we are able to do more activities that allow us to go a little deeper with the night's main point.
We have a great time on Sunday mornings and evenings, and would LOVE to have you join us! Here at A Fresh Wind, we value children and aim to provide an environment that is first and foremost all about Jesus, but also all about kids and what they need to grow spiritually. And, yes, we do like to have some fun while we're doing it.
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