bibleclubkids

Watch What You Say

2007-07-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Hey guys have you ever seen your moms make iced tea? What does she do? She takes water and then adds iced-tea mix to it right? But can you tell me something? Once we mix the powder and water can they be separated? No!! right?

Did you know that very same thing is true of the words we speak? Have you ever said something that hurt someone's feelings? Once you have said it, it is said. You can't take it back just like you can’t separate the water from the iced-tea mix. That is why we need to be very careful about the things we say. The Bible says, "He who holds his tongue is wise."

All of you know the children's rhyme that says, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me." That sounds nice, but it just isn't true. Words can hurt. The Bible says, "Reckless words pierce like a sword." Our words can cut others heart like a knife. We all know that God hears every word we say and he knows every thought we have in our mind. It is very important for us to be careful about the things we think and say.

The Bible says, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Once we have said it, we can't take it back, so let's make sure that our words are pleasing to God.

Activity For The Day - Find Me

Source : unknown / Picture : biblicalwomanhoodonline.com / Activity : sermons4kids

Don't Miss Out

2007-07-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

Theme: Don't miss out on God's invitation.
Scripture: Luke 14:16-24

Have you ever given a party and at the last minute no one you invited showed up? How did you feel? What did you do? When we have a party or plan a special dinner we only send one invitation to each person we want to invite, but in the time that Jesus lived, people sent out two invitations. The first was to tell everyone about the event and let them know they were invited. The second was to tell them everything was ready and it was time for them to come.

In our Scripture today, Jesus tells a parable about a host who is preparing a great feast. The invitation was sent and those who were invited said they would come. When everything was ready, the host sent his servant to those who had been invited. The servant said to them, "Everything is ready! Please come to the feast." One guest after another began to make all kinds of lame excuses as to why they could not come. "I have bought some land and I have to go and look it over," said one. "I have bought some new oxen and I need to try them out," another said. Still another said, "I have just gotten married, and I can't come."

The host became very angry and told his servant to go out into the streets, the alleys, and the fields and invite the blind, the crippled, and the poor until every seat at the table was filled. Guess who didn’t get to come? That’s right. The ones who had been invited the first time. "Not one of those I first invited will get one bite of my food," the host said.

In this story, the host is God and the feast is at his heavenly banquet. The Jews accepted the first invitation that was sent by Moses and the prophets. The Jews were God’s chosen people. But when Jesus came with the second invitation, they chose not to accept it. They were too busy doing other things that they felt were more important than giving themselves to God and serving Him. So God decided to invite us - the Gentiles. God has invited us to His Heavenly banquet and it is the most important invitation we will ever receive. We don’t want to miss it because we let little things become more important to us than attending his banquet. If we keep making excuses to not accept His invitation, even if we think they are good excuses, one day He will pull His invitation from us and we will miss out on all He has prepared for us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for inviting us to your banquet. Help us to not let anything seem more important than accepting your invitation today. Amen.

Activity For The Day - Find Me

Sources : sermons4kids, Submitted by Laquita Ward / Picture Source - Click

God Does Exist

2007-07-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

Scripture : Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists." "Why do you say that?" asked the customer."Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things. "The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist. "How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!" "No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside." "Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me." "Exactly!" said the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's! why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."God loves you and me but we need to learn to go to him with our problems and needs. So kids let us learn to talk to God everyday and ask him to help us with our needs.

Activity For The Day - CrossWord

Sources : Story sent through email, activity - sermons4kids, Picture Source - Click

Walking With Jesus

2007-07-27T23:58:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading John 10:22-30
And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

The men had a question for Jesus that was bothering them. They wanted to know if Jesus was the Christ, the "anointed One" of God, and they wanted a simple "yes" or "no" answer. Jesus told them plainly that he was and the works of healing and other miracles he had performed were proof that God had sent him.

Jesus explained that his followers understood the truth of what he told them. Jesus said he would give eternal life to those that believed in him. I would think that would have made them glad -- imagine being able to live forever because you trust Jesus as your Savior! But his words made these men angry because Jesus made himself equal with God. When Jesus said he was the Son of God they did not believe him.

Today the claims that Jesus made then are still true, because no man in this world have ever claimed to be God other than Jesus, he says that I'm the Truth the Way and Life. He is the Son of God. He is the Savior. We must choose if we will walk with Jesus or not. I hope you will choose a life of walking with Jesus. Let us dedicate ourselves to worship Jesus as our Savior and to follow him.

Let's pray. Dear Lord Jesus, Help me to follow you and walk with you every day. Amen.

Activity for Today: Love The Lord Your God

Source:Jim Kerlin picture:Phoenixmasonry.org

Who is Greatest?

2007-07-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

Scripture : Mark 9:33-37

One day Jesus and his disciples came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

So if you want to be the greatest then you should be the least. How can you be the least? It is by serving others by putting their needs before us like our parents, brothers, sisters etc. By helping them we please our Heavenly father and become the greatest in the kingdom of God.

By Ss.

Activity For The Day - Decode The Messege

Source for activity : sermons4kids

The Prize

2007-07-25T19:17:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading:Philippians 3:7-14

Paul the apostle wrote this........

There is nothing better than knowing Jesus.

I consider everything I have achieved in this life worth nothing compared to the greatness of knowing Jesus my Lord. And I would gladly give up everything in this world for the joy of having Christ call me his friend and brother.

Not that I could ever earn or deserve that. But Christ calls me his friend and brother because I believe in him. He makes me good and holy, and worthy of his friendship and love because of my faith in him.

And so, one thing I do. I forget what happened yesterday, and I keep my eyes on what is ahead. I press on to win the prize that God is keeping for me - and that is to share in an everlasting life overflowing with love and happiness with Jesus.

There is nothing better than that on earth or in heaven.

So, kids let us run a race in order to win, which means to live a life worthy for Jesus and no turning back........ and then you will recieve the prize of eternal life!

Paul from his letter to the Philippians..........

Activity for Today:Crossword Puzzle

Source:Paul Dallgas-Frey

Dinner On The Ground

2007-07-24T21:43:00.000-07:00

Theme: God provides for his children.

Scripture:"I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'" Exodus 16:12 (NIV)

Do you like chicken nuggets and biscuits? I do! Wouldn't it be great if every evening at dinner time, we could open our front door, walk out into the yard, and pick up boxes full of chicken nuggets? All the chicken nuggets we could eat! And what if every morning we could open the front door and walk out into the yard and pick up boxes full of the hot biscuits with honey for breakfast? That would be great, wouldn't it?

Did you know we can read in the Bible about a time when something almost exactly like that happened? God's people, the Israelites, had been held as prisoners in Egypt for many years. When they were finally freed and left Egypt, they were looking for the land that God had promised them. After they had been wandering around lost in the desert for a couple of months, the people started to grumble and complain against their leaders, Moses and his brother Aaron.
"We had it better when we were in Egypt," they complained. "At least we had plenty to eat. You have brought us out here in the desert to starve us to death!"

God heard the people complaining and told Moses that in the evening he would send quail to cover the camp so that the people would have meat to eat. Not only that, but in the morning, after the dew was gone, there would be bread on the ground for everyone to eat. All they had to do was go out, pick it up, and eat it. Why did God do this for those grumblers and complainers? He did it so that they would know that he loved them and that he would take care of them. God hadn't brought them out of Egypt to let them starve in the desert! He was going to see to it that they made it to the land which he had promised them.

Sometimes you and I grumble and complain, don't we? We forget that God loves us and that he provides us with everything that we need. Instead of grumbling and complaining, we should be saying, "Thank you," and I think we should do that right now!. Heavenly Father, sometimes we grumble and complain. When we do, help us to remember that every good thing we have comes from you. Amen.

Activity For The Day - Search Me

Source : sermons4kids

The King Is Coming

2007-07-23T20:23:00.001-07:00

Portion For Reading John 14:23

Theme: Preparing our hearts for Christ's.

Even though our house always looked just fine to me, I can still remember what it was like around our house when my mother found out one day that a important guest was coming. She brought out the broom, the mop and pail, sponges, window cleaner, bathroom cleaner, dust rags, and furniture polish. Then she called me and my two sisters together and assigned each of us the job that we were to do. When we were finished, mother always checked to make sure that not a speck of dirt or dust remained.

Can you imagine what it would have been like around our house if we had been expecting a visit from a king? Well, that is what I want to talk to you about this morning. A king is coming -- not just any king -- the King of Kings!

Same way our hearts are like a house even though our heart looks clean but the Holy Spirit knows what is not clean, like the mother, he will instruct or assign the works to us to clean those area of our life which do not please the king who is our God. So get ready and here is the good news that Christ the King wants to visit you today, please clean your hearts by obeying his words and commandments so that he can be enthroned in your hearts.

And if you already have Jesus in your life, then prepare yourselves for his II coming, which will occur very soon, in which the king will take us to his home. It will be a great fun then!

Lord Please visit me!

Activity for Today: John the Baptist

Source:sermon4kids.com

The Ten Lepers

2007-07-22T21:22:00.000-07:00

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well." Luke 17:11-19

Leprosy was a feared and horrible disease, and still is. To this day, it is incurable. Because it was easy to catch, lepers were not allowed in the city, and were not allowed to approach others. That is why these ten lepers kept their distance and called out to Jesus. These lepers were, in all, a good bunch. They were obeying the laws: they stayed out of the city and did not approach Jesus or his followers. They believed in Jesus' ability to heal. They obeyed Jesus without question when he told them to go to the priests, even before they were healed.*

*In Leviticus Chapter 13 in the Bible explains how leprosy was handled under Moses' law. The priests were the men who decided whether leprosy was contagious or not. The priests had the power to declare these men healed and clean.

So these men were respectful, obedient, and trusting. What they weren't was thankful. Only one of the men, when they learned they were healed, was grateful enough to return and praise Jesus. Do you think he was the only one that was happy? I doubt it. Do you think it was easy for him to be the only one to return to Jesus? Probably not. He wanted to be declared clean by the priests so he could return to his family, his job and his friends. But he was thankful enough to stop right then and thank Jesus and praise God for this wonderful gift.

Today we might not have leprosy but we do get sick such as fever, chickenpox, etc. There so many kids around us who are sick and get sick. But Jesus has healed from all our sickness and problems whenever we have had them. Have you thanked Jesus for them? He not only heals our sickness but also gives us all we need. So next time for anything do not forget to thank Jesus for all he does.

Activity For The Day - Be Thankful

THE WOLF AND HIS SHADOW

2007-07-21T20:53:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Rom 13:1,2
A WOLF left his lair one evening in fine spirits and an excellent appetite. As he ran, the setting sun cast his shadow far out on the ground, and it looked as if the wolf were a hundred times bigger than he really was.

"Why," exclaimed the Wolf proudly, "see how big I am! Fancy me running away from a puny Lion! I'll show him who is fit to be king, he or I."

Just then an immense shadow blotted him out entirely, and the next instant a Lion struck him down with a single blow.

Do not let your fancy make you forget realities.

So, kids let us not rebell against our teachers, parents and goverment authorties, because by doing so we may rebell against God indirectly, as the bible says that these authorites are given above us to protect and guide us for our peacefull living.

Activity for Today: Luke Chapter One

Source:mainlesson.com

Are You Speaking To God?

2007-07-20T22:16:00.000-07:00

Jesus' disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. Prayer is speaking to God. Jesus gave them a sample - or model - prayer. And Jesus said...

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." Matthew 6:9-13

Let's look at what this prayer teaches us.
Who - we are to pray to God - the Father
What - give thanks, ask forgiveness, ask for our daily needs and protection from evil, ask for peace (1 Tim 2:1,2), share our burdens (Phil. 4:6).
Where - anywhere (Matt 6:6 says in secret - or privately)
When - anytime (1 Thess 5:17 "Pray without ceasing")
Why - for peace, forgiveness, health, to know God better, to know ourselves better, to become dependent on God, and because He wants us to.

Do you talk to your parents or friends each time you see them? What would they think if you didn't speak to them? Giving people the "silent treatment" usually indicates that you're upset with them - or that you don't like them. How do you think God feels when we give Him the "silent treatment"? God wants to be involved in our life, like a friend. He wants us to include Him, to be close to us. He is always willing and ready to talk. He leaves it up to us to approach Him. So just like we take and make time to talk to our parents, brothers, sisters and friends let us make time to talk to God through prayers.

Activity For The Day - Prayer

Activity 2 For The Day - Prayer 2

Source : ebibleteacher.

Good Secrets In Life

2007-07-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

Theme : Doing Good Things Privately

Scripture : "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV)

Why do we do things that are good? (discuss: to please God, because it is right, to make others happy) Is it possible to do a good thing in a bad way? Yes, it is. Sometimes people do good things just to gain popularity or to look good in front of others. Has anyone ever seen someone do that in school - helped the teacher only to look important in front of their friends? Jesus said that if we that, we will not be pleasing to God. We must not be good just to show off. Jesus said that if we do good and no one knows about it, God will reward us Himself. Isn't it better to please God than to please men?

So how does one do good secretly? You can do a chore without announcing to everyone that you did it. You can send an unsigned note to cheer someone up. Adults can donate money to people or causes without signing their name. Sometimes people will find out, and that's ok. The point is that you help people without caring whether anyone else knows you did it. God knows, and He will be pleased.

Source : Ebibleteacher

Activity For The Day - Day Of Pentecost

What Kind Of A Soil Are You?

2007-07-18T19:40:00.001-07:00

THEME: Growth depends upon where the seed is planted.

SCRIPTURE: But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. Matthew 13: 23a [NIV]

Have you ever planted anything? Perhaps you took some packages of seeds and planted a garden of vegetables. If so, you know that the type of soil that you have is very important to the success of a garden. If the ground is too hard, or full of rocks and weeds, you probably won't have a very good crop of vegetables.

In our Bible lesson today, Jesus told a story about a man who went out and planted some seeds. Some of the seed fell on the path where the ground was very hard. The seeds just lay on top of the ground and the birds came and ate the seeds. Some of the seed fell on rocky ground. The seeds sprang up quickly, but when the sun came, the plants dried up because they didn't have good roots. Some of the seeds fell among weeds and plants grew for a little while, but the weeds took over and choked them out. Fortunately, some of the seed fell on good soil and the plants grew strong and healthy and produced a good crop.

In Jesus' story, the Word of God is the seed, and we are the soil. Often, when we come to church, the preacher is preaching the Word, but we aren't really paying attention. Perhaps we are thinking about what we are going to do that afternoon or about what we did yesterday. We are hearing the Word, but we are not listening. That is like throwing seed on the top of the ground. It won't ever grow into anything in our life.

There are other times when we hear the Word and we get excited about it, but then our excitement fades and we drift away. That is like the seeds that fall on the rocky ground. The plants spring up, but then die because the roots are too shallow.

Sometimes we hear the Word and we believe what it says, but we want to keep on doing the same things we have been doing. That is like planting the seed in with a bunch of weeds. I can tell you what will happen, the weeds will soon take over!

When we hear the word, and we listen and try to understand what it says and put it into practice in our daily life, then we are like good soil. We are like soil where the seed takes root and grows and produces a plentiful harvest. That is the kind of soil that Jesus wants us to be. What kind of soil are you?

Activity For The Day - Jumble Jumble

Activity 2 For The Day - Color Away

Source : sermons4kids

He Bears Our Burdens For Us

2007-07-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

Theme: We don't have to bear our burdens! We can give them to the Lord.

Scripture: Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Psalm 68:19

School will start soon and I am sure most of you will be back into your daily routine. I know that most of you use a backpack to carry all of your school supplies and books back and forth to school. I have seen some children with backpacks that are almost as big as they are! Sometimes their backpacks are so loaded with all those heavy books that it is just about more than they can carry!

Life is a lot like that too. Sometimes we have some pretty heavy burdens that we try to carry around with us. Some of you may be worried that you won't have any friends in your class, or that the other kids won't like you, or that you just won't fit in. Maybe some of you are worried that you won't have the right clothes. Maybe you are still wearing a "Star Wars" t-shirt and all the other kids are wearing "Pokemon" t-shirts. Maybe some of you are worried that you might not be able to do the work in your new grade and are afraid you might fail. Those can be pretty heavy problems to carry around with us.

Well, I have some good news for you! You don't have to carry all those worries around with you! The Bible tells us that God will carry those burdens for us. So, even before you start your schools with a load of worries and problems, today itself you can give them to Jesus. He will carry them for you and help you through your problems. Pray to Jesus that Lord, we are giving you all our worries and problems today. And we are thankful that we do not have to carry the heavy burdens of life ourselves. We are thankful that you are there for us to help us through and carry our burdens. Amen.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - Jesus The Name Above All Names

Building Bridges

2007-07-16T21:12:00.000-07:00

Theme: Living in harmony
Scripture: "If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him--work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend." Matthew 18:15 (The Message) Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10 (NLT)

Once upon a time, there were two brothers. Their father had a large farm and when he became too old to work, he called his sons to him. "I am too old to work anymore," he said. "I will divide my farm in half and give each of you one half. I know that you will always work together and will be good friends."

When the brothers first started farming on their adjoining farms, they were the best of friends and would share everything together. Then, one day there was an argument between the two brothers and they stopped speaking to one another. For many years, not a word was spoken between them.

One day, one of the brothers was at his house when a carpenter came to his door and said, “I would like to do some work. Do you have any work that I can do?” The brother thought for a moment and then replied, “I would like for you to build a fence on my property. Build it down near the stream there that separates my farm from my brother’s. I don’t want to see my brother any more and I would like for you to build a high fence there please. I’m going into town and I’ll be back this evening.

When he came back that evening, he was shocked to see that the carpenter had not followed his instructions. Instead of building a high fence there, he had built a bridge over the stream. The man walked down to take a look at the bridge, and as he did, his brother walked toward him from the other side. His brother said, “After all the terrible things I’ve done to you over the years, I can't believe that you would build a bridge and welcome me back.” He reached out to his brother and gave him a big hug.

The brother then walked back up to his farmhouse to talk to the carpenter. “Can you stay?” he asked. “I have more work for you to do.” The carpenter answered, “I’m sorry but I can’t stay. I have to go, for I have many other bridges to build.”

Sometimes you and I have a disagreement with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When that happens, we often build a fence between ourselves and them. We stop talking to them. We don't want to see them. We don't want to be around them. That isn't what Jesus wants us to do. Instead of fences, he wants us to build a bridge of love between us.

Dear Father, we know it is your desire for us to live together in peace and harmony. Help us to love one another. Amen.

Activity For Today: Matthew 1

Citation: Author unknown. Adapted from various sources on the Internet.

Fishing for People

2007-07-15T20:00:00.000-07:00

THEME: Telling others about Jesus
SCRIPTURE: Matt 4:18-20
Do you enjoy fishing? Have you ever caught a fish? Fishing is a great sport, and if you have ever been fishing and have caught a fish, you know that there is a great feeling of excitement when you catch a fish. One of the things that makes fishing such a great sport is that it doesn't matter if you are young or old or if you are a girl or a boy -- you can still be good at fishing.

What does it take to be good at catching fish? First of all, you need to be properly equipped. You can't just get piece of string, put a hook on it, and tie it on the end of a stick and expect to catch very many fish, can you? No! If you are serious about fishing, you will make sure that you have all the right equipment. You will want a nice rod and reel, like this one I have this morning.

The next thing you need to know is that you can't sit around talking with your friends about fishing or reading fishing magazines and expect to catch any fish. You have to go where the fish are to catch fish!

Finally, if you want to be good at fishing, you must learn patience. Sometimes the fish just aren't biting. I guess that is the main reason I was never very good at fishing. I thought that you should catch a fish the minute your hook hit the water -- and if I ever went fishing and didn't catch anything -- well, that's why I gave up fishing.

One day, Jesus was walking along the seashore when he saw two brothers named Peter and Andrew. Jesus knew that they made their living by fishing, so he called out to them, "Follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!" Do you know what they did? They laid down their fishing nets and followed Jesus.

Jesus wants you and me to fish for people too. That means that he wants us to tell others about what he has done for us and what he wants to do for them. What does it take to be a fisher of people?

First, we need to be properly equipped. We need to know what the Bible teaches and learn how to share it with others.

Next, we need to remember that we can't just sit around reading the Bible and talking about fishing for people and expect to bring them to Jesus. We have to go out where the people are and tell them about Jesus.

Finally, we must learn patience. Everybody we tell about Jesus isn't going to believe. Some people just won't be interested, but we can't give up. We just have to keep telling people about Jesus and let Jesus take care of the rest. If we will do these things, we can really become fishers of people like Jesus wants us to be. If you think there is a great feeling of excitement in catching a fish, just imagine how exciting it must be to bring someone to Jesus!

Dear Jesus, help us to become fishers of people. Help us to tell others what you have done for us and what you want to do for them. Amen.

Activity for Today: Fishing For People
Source: Sermons4Kids

A Real Taste Test

2007-07-14T21:50:00.001-07:00

Theme: Trusting God

Scripture: O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. Psalm 34:8

I went to the grocery store to buy some cookies. There were so many different kinds and flavors of cookies that it was really difficult to decide which ones to buy. Finally I decided to buy these. Why did I choose these? Well, for one thing, I have heard from other people that these are very good cookies. Then I saw the name of the company that makes them and I know that they have a very good reputation. Nabisco, that is a name I can trust. Finally, the price was right! This big bag of cookies was only $2.69! Well I made my choice, but there is only one way to know for sure if it was the right choice. Can you guess what that is? That’s right, the "taste test." Let me see how they taste. Oh my, they are good. I made a good choice.

Did you know that all of the things that I used to decide on which cookies to buy might be used to decide whether or not to invite Jesus into our heart? We have heard from other people that Jesus is a wonderful Savior. We have all heard of the name of Jesus. We know that Jesus is a name we can trust. And finally, the price is right; it is free! Jesus paid the price when He died on the cross. These are all good reasons to choose Jesus, but the best reason to choose Him is the "taste test." The Bible says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." If we really want to know if Jesus is good, we must take the "taste test" and put our trust in Him.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - Psalms 100

In Everything Give Thanks

2007-07-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

Theme : Give thanks to God for everything.

Scripture : Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

One day a man dreamt that he is in heaven and an angel was giving him a tour of heaven. The angel takes him to a line where angels were very busy. The man asked the angel what are the angels doing, they seems so busy. And the angel replied, this is the place we receive all the prayers as emails, faxes, telegrams etc. The man was very pleased to see how peoples prayers were acknowledge with so much priority.

Then the angel and the man moved on and came to the next place. There the man saw so many angels and they were busy packing and sending boxes. And the man asked the angel what are these angels up to. The angel replied, this is the place where all the prayers are answered and packed up and sent back to earth. The man was so happy.

As they kept going they came to a place where there was an old angel sitting down and sleeping. The whole place was silent and so slow and dead. The man was confused and stopped. He asked the angel in surprise why is this angel sleeping. What kind of a department is this? The angel said this is the place where we receive all the thanks and acknowledgement for all the good things God did and the prayers that were answered. This department is very slow because no one sends a thank you once they receive what they have prayed for such as job, clothes, food, money home etc.

Activity For The Day - Search The Books

Source : Unknown

Tails You Loose

2007-07-13T11:44:00.001-07:00

Theme: The wisdom to make right choices come from above.

Scripture: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Matthew 7: 7

What do you do when you have an important decision or a difficult choice to make? Some people flip a coin and say "If it's heads, I'll do this and if it is tails, I'll do that." I can remember doing that when I was a little boy. If it came up tails and that wasn't what I wanted to do, I'd flip it again and say, "Let's try two out of three." I'd just keep flipping until I got the answer I wanted.
Here's another way that some people make important decisions. It is a fortune cookie. When you break it open, there is a little piece of paper inside that is supposed to tell you what choices to make in your life. I guess if you don't like what it says, you can just keep opening cookies until you find one that says what you want to hear.

Some people use the "eeney, meeney, miney, moe" method to decide what they will do. There are a lot of ways that people use to choose what they are going to do, but I don't think they are very good ways to make an important decision. What should we do when we have to make an important decision? The Bible says, "Seek and you will find, ask and it will be given to you, knock and the door will be opened to you."

"Seek" - the first thing we should do when we have a decision to make is to look for the answer. Where should we look? I think the best place to look is in the Bible. The Bible is God's word and it is true and reliable.
"Ask" - The next thing we should do is to ask. When we have an important decision, we should pray and ask God to tell us what we should do.
"Knock" - We will face many doors of opportunity in life. When there are several doors and we don't know which to choose, we should knock on the door and wait to see if God opens that door. If it is what is best for us, God will open the door of opportunity and let us in.

So, what should we do when we face important decisions? Seek for the answer in the Bible, ask God in prayer, knock and wait for God to open the door.

Dear Lord, help us to remember to ask you for the answers to the difficult decisions that we face each day.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - Find Me

Elijah's Simple Plan For Life

2007-07-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading 1 Kings 17:14

Once upon a time, Elijah the prophet and servant of God walked off to the town of Zarephath, he found a widow there. She was gathering up a few dry, dusty sticks.

Elijah said to her, “Please, would you bring me some water in a jar to drink?” As she was going to get some water for this complete stranger, Elijah called out to her, “And please, bring me some bread!”

Well, that did it! This guy must be crazy! Didn’t he know it hadn't rained for months?! There was barely any water, and hardly a scrap of food left.

“Sir,” the woman said to Elijah, “As sure as the Lord your God lives, I don’t have any bread!” At least the poor widow seemed to know there WAS a God in heaven, she just wasn’t sure who he was, or why he was making life so difficult.

The widow said, “All I have left in this world is a handful of flour and a little jar of oil. I am gathering up these sticks so that I can make one last meal for my son and me. And then we will die.”

Things looked pretty bad.

But, no matter how bad things might have seemed, God was still there.

Elijah said to the widow, “Do not worry. Go home and do just what you planned to do. But before you do, make a small loaf of bread for me. And then, from what you have left, make a loaf of bread for you and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel has promised, ‘The flour will not be used up and the jar of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’ ”

What a simple plan for life!

Don't worry. Make your plans, do what you think is best - but give to God first, and God will take care of the rest.

And so, that is exactly what the widow did.

And day after day there was water to drink and food to eat. The flour was not used up, and the jar of oil did not run dry - just as God had promised!
But there is no end to God and his love for us.

And that is worth more than all the treasures in the world.

Activity For Today: All Sins Forgiven

Source:essex1.com

The Five W's Of Prayer

2007-07-10T19:28:00.000-07:00

Theme: Prayer

Scripture: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16 (NIV)

Every morning I read the newspaper to keep up with what is going on in the world. Do you ever read the newspaper? Did you know that the people who write the stories for the newspaper have a special way of deciding how to write their story? Well, here is what the reporter does. To make sure that the facts of the story are complete, a reporter makes sure that the article answers five important questions. Those five questions are: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. When we read a story, it is good for us to ask ourselves those same questions to help us fully understand the story.

Today, we are going to read some verses from the Bible. These verses were written by James, the brother of Jesus. In these verses, James is teaching about prayer. After we finish, let's see if we can answer the who, what, when, where, and why questions about prayer. (Read James 5:13-16)

Well, let's see if we can answer the five questions about prayer.

• Who should pray? Anyone! These verses tell us that anyone who needs God's help or anyone who has received God's blessing should pray -- and that is all of us.

• What should we pray about? Anything! We should pray for healing when we are sick and for forgiveness from sin. We should offer prayers of thanks when we are happy, and ask for help in times of trouble.

• When should we pray? Anytime! If we should pray when we are in trouble, when we are sick, when we are happy, or when we have sinned, that is just about any time, isn't it?

• Where should we pray? Anywhere! These verses don't come right out and tell us where we should pray, but I figured it out. If we should pray any time we need God's help, then I guess it just makes sense that we should pray anywhere we are, because wherever we are, God is there!
• Why should we pray? Because God answers prayer! These verses tell us that prayer is powerful and effective and that if we will pray, God will hear our prayers, heal the sick, and forgive our sins.

The five W's of prayer. Who? Anyone. What? Anything. When? Anytime. Where? Anywhere. Why? Because God answers prayer.

Dear Father, thank you for hearing and answering our prayers. Help us to remember that you want to heal us when we are sick, help us when we are in trouble, forgive us when we sin, and rejoice with us when we are happy. Amen.

Activity For The Day - Decode The Message

Souce : sermons4kids

Who Do You Trust?

2007-07-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

Theme: We can trust God to provide every need.

Scripture: Psalm 23

A long, long time ago before any of you were born there was a television game show called "Who Do You Trust?" This is how the game is played first The leader will ask you are asked a question that you have to answer for example a Bible question. Then you will be asked "Who do you trust?" And you have to choose a person you trust to answer the question correctly for you.

Playing the "Who Do You Trust?" game can be a lot of fun, but in real life, it is very important to know whom we can trust. I know where to find the answer. We can find the answer to that question in the Bible. Psalm 23 is one of the best-loved passages in the whole Bible. When we read the 23rd Psalm, it sounds as if someone may have just asked David the question,"Who do you trust?" What was his answer? His answer was, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

David was himself a shepherd and he knew that sheep can trust the shepherd in every situation. When the sheep are hungry, the shepherd takes them to green pastures where they have plenty to eat. When the sheep are thirsty, he leads them to a quiet stream where the can drink. When the sheep are in danger of being eaten by wild animals, the shepherd is their protector. The sheep can trust the shepherd in every situation.

Each day we find ourselves facing difficult situations and we have difficult choices to make. We often ask ourselves, "Who can I trust?" The answer is, "Jesus." The Bible tells us that Jesus is "The Good Shepherd" and we are his sheep. Just like David, we can say, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." We can trust him in every situation.

source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - Can You Decode It

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

2007-07-08T21:36:00.000-07:00

ABRAHAM LINCOLN was the President during this dark time in our nation's history,—the Civil War. He was not a handsome man, not an educated man, not a society-mannered man; but a more honest, more loyal-hearted, more grand-souled man than Abraham Lincoln, never stood at the head of our government. He was as honest as George Washington, as sturdy as Andrew Jackson, as brave as the bravest General, and, in the end, as noble as the noblest martyr.

He had had a hard life as a boy. He had been brought up on a Kentucky farm, where he had learned to hoe and to plant, to drive oxen, to build log-houses, to split rails, to fell trees;—everything that a farmer boy away out in a new country would have to do, this boy had done.

But for all his hoeing and his rail-splitting, for all his poverty and his hard labor, for all his rough home and his common companions, Abraham Lincoln soon proved that he had a something in his head and in his heart that any gentleman might well have been proud to own—a something that a world of fine houses and fine clothes could not buy— something which, by and by, prompted him to set all the poor black men and women free.

Psalms 25:9

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

Matthew 18:4
Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Activity for Today: Abraham Lincoln

Source:mainlesson.com

Jesus Can Handle All Problems

2007-07-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

THEME: Jesus will help you carry the load.

SCRIPTURE: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11: 28 [NIV]

How strong are you? How many of you think you could pick up a brick? How about a dumbbell like this one? Well, you must be pretty strong then. How many of you think you could pick up a car? Oh, you don't think you could pick up a car? Well, I think you could if you had some help. Here is something that would help you. It is an automobile jack. If you put this jack underneath the car and pump the handle, you can easily lift a car that weighs over 3,000 pounds like in the picture below! Yes, with the help of a jack, you can lift a car, but you couldn't do it alone, could you?

Some of you have some pretty heavy burdens to carry in life. Perhaps you have a physical handicap that makes your life difficult. Or, perhaps your father has lost his job and your family is having financial difficulties. Maybe someone in your family has some serious illness and you are worried about them. You may be having a hard time making passing grades in school. I don't know what the burdens are that you have in your life, but I do know that there are some that you just can't handle by yourself. Well, guess what? You don't have to!

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." There is no reason for you to struggle with burdens that are too heavy for you. If you will turn to Jesus and trust in him, he will help you.

Does that mean that if we will ask him, Jesus will take all of our troubles away? No. In fact, we may need some of those struggles to help us to grow and become stronger. We may need those burdens to help us to learn to trust in Jesus. But when the load is too heavy, he will help us to carry it. And there is no burden that is too heavy for Jesus.

Activity For The Day - Come To Jesus

Source : sermons4kids

Don't Get Cheated

2007-07-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

Theme: Don't be deceived by Satan's tricks

Scriptures: "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3: 5 [NKJV]

How many of you have ever eaten Cracker Jacks? Cracker Jacks have been around for a long time. I used to eat them when I was a boy so you know they have been around for a long time. Do you think I ate Cracker Jacks because I liked them? Well, the taste pretty good, but that isn't why I ate them. I ate them because of what it says right here on the box. "A prize inside!" I wanted that prize! You know, after I got the prize, I was always disappointed because the prize was some cheap little toy that wasn't worth anything. You could say, the prize wasn't what it was "cracked up to be!" But I kept on buying those Cracker Jacks and hoping that some day I would get a really great prize. I never did.

Do you know that it is the oldest trick in the Book? It is the same trick that Satan used on Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan went to Eve and said to her, "If you will eat of that tree over there, you will be like God. You will be as wise as He is." So, Eve ate the fruit and gave some to Adam, and it sure wasn't like Satan promised. In fact, they lost their place in that beautiful garden. That is one of Satan's very best tricks and he still uses it today. He will promise us great things if we will just do what he wants us to do, but the prize is never what he promised. In fact, it may just end up costing us our place in God's kingdom.

Always remember that Satan will use every trick he knows to get us to do what he wants us to do. But let us pray that Lord, help us to remember that nothing he promises can compare to what we have in You.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - CrossWord Puzzle

Daily Bread

2007-07-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

Theme: God supplies our every need.

Scripture: When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. Exodus 16:15 (NIV)

Do any of you know what this bread above that you see is called? It is called Monkey Bread. I don't really know why it is called Monkey Bread, but I have heard some people say that it is called Monkey Bread because when you eat it, you pull it off and eat it one piece at a time much the same way that a monkey eats his food.

When I saw the Monkey Bread, it reminded me of a story in the Bible. It is a story about something that happened to the Israelites when Moses was leading them out of Egypt. The Israelites had been wandering around in the desert for many years. Things were difficult and the people began to grumble and complain to Moses that they didn't have enough to eat. Moses told God about their complaining and God said, "I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you, and each day the people can go out and gather enough bread for one day."

The next morning when the people went outside their tents, the ground was covered with a fine, flaky substance. When they saw it, they asked, "What is it?" Moses answered them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat." God told the people to gather only enough bread for one day. Do you know why he told them that? He said that because He wanted them to trust Him to send the bread that they needed each and every day.

God still provides what we need for each and every day just like he did for the Isralites, doesn't He? That is why Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread."

Dear Father, just as you provided daily bread for your children in the time of Moses, you provide all our needs each and every day. For all of your goodness, we give thanks. Amen.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - RIDDLES FOR YOU

O Yes You Can

2007-07-04T19:53:00.000-07:00

Theme: If God tells you to do it, you can do it.

Scripture: But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. Jeremiah 1:7-8 (NIV)

"I just can’t do it!" Have you ever said that? Of course you have, we have all said that at one time or another. Maybe you said it when the soccer coach asked you to take the penalty shot that would win the game, or when your piano teacher asked you to play a difficult piece on a recital. Maybe it was when the teacher called on you to give a book report in front of the whole class.

Jacob was a good student. Oh, he wasn't the smartest kid in class, but he worked hard and made pretty good grades. His worst subject was arithmetic. Addition and subtraction didn't give him any trouble, but when it came to long division, he just didn't get it. One day as he sat struggling with his assignment, he finally threw down his pencil and cried out in frustration, "I just can't do it!" His teacher, Mrs. Davis, smiled at Jacob and said, "Can't never could do anything. Here, let me help you." Mrs. Davis went over to Jacob's desk and showed him step by step what he had to do to solve the problem. With his teacher's help, suddenly long division didn't seem so hard after all.

Our Bible lesson today is about a man named Jeremiah. One day, God spoke to Jeremiah and said, "Before you were even born, I chose you to be my prophet to all the nations." Jeremiah answered, "I can't! I'm not a good speaker, and besides, I'm too young." "Don't say 'I can't'" the LORD answered Jeremiah. "If I tell you to go and speak to someone, then go! And when I tell you what to say, don't leave out a word!" Then the LORD reached out his hand, and touched Jeremiah's mouth and said, "I am giving you the words to say, and I am sending you with authority to speak to the nations for me."

There will be times in your life when God will come to you, as he did to Jeremiah, and ask you to do something special for him. He may call you to be a preacher, a missionary, or a Sunday School teacher. Whatever it is that God calls you to do in this life, remember what he said to Jeremiah, "Don't say, 'I can't!'" If God calls you to do something, he will reach out his hand and touch your life to give you the ability to do it.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - WORD SHAPES

Mustard Seed And Yeast

2007-07-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

Theme: Size doesn't matter in the kingdom of heaven.

Scripture: He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." Matthew 13:31-33 (NIV)

Today we will talk about two things that may not be familiar to some of you. Do you know what mustard seeds are? Take a look at the picture above to see what these mustard seeds look like. See how tiny these mustard seeds are? They are the smallest seeds I have ever seen. The other thing I have brought today is some yeast. Yeast comes in very small packets. Both of these things are very small, yet, in our Bible lesson today, the mustard seed and yeast are used by Jesus to describe what the kingdom of heaven is like

Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." What can we learn from the mustard seed? Well, I think we can learn that we are never too small to be important in God's eyes. You and I may be small, but we can help to grow the kingdom of God.

Look at this small packet of yeast. Do you know what happens when you take this small amount of yeast and mix it with water and flour and a little salt and sugar? It grows all through that mixture and gives us big loaves of bread. Large, soft, fluffy, delicious loaves of bread. The flour and water and sugar and salt just can't do it alone. The yeast has an affect on everything - just from a tiny piece of it. Jesus said: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened." That is what Jesus wants us to do. He wants us, as part of his kingdom, to change the world around us and make it better.

We may be small, but like the mustard seed and the yeast, we are important in the kingdom of heaven.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - ARRANGE IN ORDER

Flock Of Geese

2007-07-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

THEME: Using our gifts to serve and encourage others.

SCRIPTURE: We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Romans 12:6-8 (NIV)

You have probably heard someone call another person who has done something Silly, "A silly goose!" Well, I can tell you that geese are not silly! We can learn a lot from the goose. For example, when geese fly, they fly in a "V" formation. Have you ever wondered why the geese fly in a "V" formation? Recent scientific studies have given us the answer. It has been learned that as each goose flaps its wings, it gives a lift to the one immediately following. It has been determined that flying this way gives the geese about 70% more flying range.

Of course, that means that the lead goose is working harder. When the lead goose gets tired, he falls back into the formation and another takes his place. Now, that's team work!If you have ever seen a flock of geese flying, you have also noticed that all the time they are flying, the geese are "honking." They do this to encourage one another. It is always easier to do something difficult when you know you aren't flying alone, isn't it?

Sometimes, a goose becomes sick or is injured and falls to the ground. When that happens, two other geese go down and stay with it until it is well. Do you think the geese are silly? It sounds to me like they are pretty smart!

We can learn a lot from these geese like that it is important for all church members to share the responsibility within the church rather than letting the same loyal ones work until they drop! We can learn that it is important to "honk" encouragement to other workers in the church. We can learn that it is important for us to look after those who are sick or in need.And in that way we can also use the gifts that God has given us to serve and encourage others.

Source : sermons4kids Submitted by Geoff Wilson

Activity For The Day - SEARCH AND FIND

The Trinity Snowman

2007-07-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

When you see a snowman

Three snowballs round,

He is reminding you

That in God, Three in One are found.

The bottom reminds us of God the Father,

Our strong rock and foundation,

The Creator of all living things,

People, tribes and nations.

The middle shows us God the Son

With His arms spread open wide.

Who died on the cross for each of us

Our sins Jesus’ blood did hide.

The head reminds us of God the Holy Spirit

Who is our counselor and friend,

He speaks to our hearts and minds

Transforming us in the likeness of Him.

So when you see a snowman

In the midst of all the wintertime fun,

Listen carefully and he’ll tell you,

“Remember God is Three in One”

By: Maureen Spell

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - UNSCRAMBLE IT

A Bird Story

2007-06-30T21:32:00.000-07:00

Theme: God gives blessings to share and be satisfied

Scripture: "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." Luke 3:11 (NIV)

It was one hot summer day. A lone bird wanted to experience the time of his life: have a nice, good bath and indulge into a fine dining. Armed with desire and craving, he headed for a beautiful spot. He landed by the blue, calm lake nearby the village. And vala, it was teeming with fish!

He immediately plunged his beak into the water and after a second, a fish was seen. He took it into his mouth and …. “That was luscious,” he commented.He started for a Second…. Third…. Fourth…. Numerous rounds of diving and eating followed, and despite the fact that his tummy was already full, he was not satisfied. He was actually hankering for more.Soon after, many birds of his kind joined in. They also started diving and eating…. Diving and eating…. Diving and eating… Boy, what an appetite!

And when the lone bird saw this, he immediately sidetracked every one of them. He ran after them, one after another, flying to and fro to distract their attention but there were many of them! Some of the birds did the diving; others did the flying while the other group just stood by. The multitude of birds grouped themselves into three! When the lone bird was the gazing birds diving, he began to chase them, so the birds on standby did the diving part. When the lone bird saw it, he was very angry that he trailed after them and again the flying group put into position of diving and still the lone bird pursued them.

By this time, it was getting dark nevertheless the chasing continued. Unfortunately, he cannot convince the birds to fly into other lakes to do their hunt. He realized he cannot continue the chasing, so he immediately withdrew himself from the crowd feeling tired, exhausted and mad.Sometimes, we are like the lone bird. We wanted to have more and yet not satisfied. We began to crave for more until our desires be fulfilled. And if people around us want to have their shares, we become nutty that we drive them away. Not knowing that the lake of blessings is too big for us!

So let us pray to Jesus to please help us to be satisfied with all the things we get. Help us to share with the needy ones, the poor and the less fortunate. Help us to put a smile on each person’s face through giving and sharing.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - FIND YOUR WAY OUT

Christ Inside Us

2007-06-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

THEME: It is Christ in us that produces good works.

SCRIPTURE: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20

One day I had some work to do around the house so I went to the store and bought some work gloves. I don't know why they call them work gloves -- they don't do any work. Look at them...they are flat and lifeless. What do you think it will take to get these gloves to do any work? That's right! I have to put my hands inside the gloves. They won't do a thing until I put my hand inside them.Once I put my hand in the work gloves, they can do all sorts of things. They can hammer nails, rake leaves, and hoe in the garden. They can open doors and lift and carry all kinds of heavy objects. As you know, of course, it isn't the gloves that are doing the work. It is my hands inside the gloves that are doing the work.

You know, that is the same way it is with being a Christian. The apostle Paul explained it this way, "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."Sometimes we may start thinking that we do some pretty great things. We may brag about how many people we have told about Jesus or we might tell everybody about how much work we do around the church. We might say, "Look at me. I do this and I do that, I, I, I..." We have it all wrong! "It is not I, but Christ who lives in me."

The next time you start to thinking that you have done something great, remember the work gloves. They can do nothing without a hand inside. You and I can do nothing without Christ inside. So let us ask Jesus to come into our lives and use us to accomplish a great work through us.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - CROSSWORD PUZZLES

Shine Like New

2007-06-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

THEME: Jesus removes the stain of sin from our lives.

SCRIPTURE: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn. Psalm 37:6

The picture above is a vase that we use as a decoration piece in our home. It is made of a metal called brass. As you can see it is bright, shiny, and very beautiful. That isn't always the case. When brass is exposed to the air, it becomes dirty, dusty, and tarnished. That means that the bright golden color becomes dull and lifeless.

See, here is a beautiful table that has become tarnished and has lost its shine. It is no longer very pretty to look at. When a piece of brass becomes tarnished, we take some cleaner and put it on a clean, soft cloth and then we rub the vase. Soon it will be shining like new.

That same thing can happen in our lives. When Jesus comes into our hearts, his light shines through us and our life is bright and beautiful. But as we live our day to day life, we become exposed to all of the bad things in the world around us and our lives sometimes become tarnished by sin. When that happens, our life no longer shines for Jesus, so we have to ask Jesus to clean us up and make us shine again. The Bible says that when we ask him to, "He will make us shine like the morning sun!" Is your life shining as brightly as it once was, or do you need to ask Jesus to forgive you, polish you up, and make you shine like the morning sun? So let us ask Jesus to pick us up and polish us so that we shine like a new.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - CROSSWORD PUZZLES

THE FARMER AND HIS SONS

2007-06-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Psalms 119:9-11
A RICH old farmer, who felt that he had not many more days to live, called his sons to his bedside. "My sons," he said, "heed what I have to say to you. Do not on any account part with the estate that has belonged to our family for so many generations. Somewhere on it is hidden a rich treasure. I do not know the exact spot, but it is there, and you will surely find it. Spare no energy and leave no spot unturned in your search."

The father died, and no sooner was he in his grave than the sons set to work digging with all their might, turning up every foot of ground with their spades, and going over the whole farm two or three times.

No hidden gold did they find; but at harvest time when they had settled their accounts and had pocketed a rich profit far greater than that of any of their neighbors, they understood that the treasure their father had told them about was the wealth of a bountiful crop, and that in their industry had they found the treasure.

Some time we feel that what's the use of reading the Bible, and often we go down and even miss to read bibleclub portion. But let me tell you through this story the bible is like the field which the sons of the richman ploughed, they thought that literally they may prosper by recieving hidden treasures. But infact they recieve the hidden treasure by recieving very high profit on the labour they did, similarly we will recieve eternal life & heavenly blessings by reading and obeying the word of God.

Activity for Today: Crown

Source:Mainlesson.com

THE FARMER AND THE STORK

2007-06-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Psalms 1:1
Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

A STORK of a very simple and trusting nature had been asked by a gay party of Cranes to visit a field that had been newly planted. But the party ended dismally with all the birds entangled in the meshes of the Farmer's net.

The Stork begged the Farmer to spare him.

"Please let me go," he pleaded. "I belong to the Stork family who you know are honest and birds of good character. Besides, I did not know the Cranes were going to steal."

"You may be a very good bird," answered the Farmer, "but I caught you with the thieving Cranes and you will have to share the same punishment with them."

You are judged by the company you keep. Sometimes we need to cut of relationship with bad kids in order to be saved by a discipline, because as the stork was not left with out discipline so will be our case. If we do not walk in the cousel of the wicked and but make friendship with good children and then you will be called BLESSED.

Activity for Today: Blessed Is He

Source:Mainlesson.com

Masters Touch

2007-06-25T21:18:00.000-07:00

In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work. 1 Tim 2:20-21

Once an auction was going on and all the stuffs kept were auctioned for very high prices. Then came the turn of a violin to be auctioned and it was dusty and out of tune. The auctioneer with an expression of repulsion picked it up and asked the public, how much would they bid for it. There was a deep silence since no one was interested to buy it. Then one person in the crowd feeling pity and out of his mercy bid one dollar and then two more dollars. Which brought up the price of the violin up to three dollars. And the auctioneer began to count going once, going twice and before he could say three an old man got up from the back of the room and walked up to the front. He took the violin in his hand wiped it down clean and tuned it. He then started to play a well known melodious tune and in a moment there was only the sound of the violin to be heard and all the congregation was captured by it. When he was done playing the tune there was a great cloud of applaud, and tears rolled down some cheeks.

Then the auctioneer asked once again who would like to bid for this violin. People pounced to bid for it, one by one the voices rose and finally the bid ended. The cost of the violin came to $ 3300. Yet astonished at this some began to murmuring and questioning that what made a violin so dirty and worth only $3 rise up to the cost of $3300. And slowly from the crowd itself came a whisper it was nothing else but the Master’s Touch.

So today if you find yourself like this violin and you think that you are not good enough or smart. Just ask Jesus Christ our Master to touch you and help you to grow in Him. So that he can make you useful and beautiful just like the violin.

By : Ss

Activity For The Day - Finding Bible Verses

There Is Power in a Touch

2007-06-24T18:38:00.000-07:00

Theme: Feeling the power of Jesus in our life

Scripture: When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, "If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed." Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. Mark 5:27-29 (NIV)

As you may know, we have five senses. The five senses are sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. Each of these senses is very important to us. This morning we are going to test our sense of touch and discover the power that is ours in the sense of touch. The sense of touch is very important, isn't it? We can often tell what an object is by its size, shape, and texture -- all of which can be learned by using our sense of touch. Today I want to tell you about a woman who experienced the power of Jesus -- just by touching him.

One day Jesus was walking through a large crowd of people. The people were crowding around so that he could hardly move. There was a woman in the crowd who had a very bad sore that had been bleeding for twelve years. She had been to many doctors, but none had been able to help her. She had heard about Jesus and she believed that he could heal her, but there were so many who were people crowded around him that it seemed hopeless.

The woman thought to herself, "If I could just get close enough to touch his robe, I would be healed." So she pushed through the crowd and reached out and touched Jesus' clothes. Her bleeding stopped immediately and her suffering was ended.

The Bible tells us that as soon as the woman touched him, Jesus felt the power go out of him. He turned to the woman and said, "Your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free from your suffering."

Just like the woman in this story no matter what you are going through Won't you reach out to Jesus today? If you will, you too can feel his power in your life today.

Activity For The Day - Alphabet Soup

Source : sermons4kids

The Widows Mite

2007-06-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

Theme: It isn't the size of the gift that matters.

Scripture: Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on." Mark 12:43-44 (NIV)

Today I want to tell you the story of a little girl named Hattie and how her gift of fifty-seven cents helped to build a great church.

One Sunday morning, the pastor of a church went outside to find a group of children who were unable to get in to go to Sunday School because the building was too crowded. One of those children was a six year-old named Hattie. When the pastor saw her, he lifted her up in his arms, put her up on his shoulder, and carried her into the church where he found a place for her to sit in the Sunday School class.

The next morning as he walked to church, the pastor saw Hattie again and stopped to talk to her. He told her that he hoped that some day the church would be able to build a building that was large enough so that there would be room for all the children who wanted to attend.

Two years later, little Hattie died and the pastor was asked to preach the funeral service. After the service, Hattie's mother handed the pastor a small purse containing fifty-seven cents. She told him that Hattie had been saving her pennies to help the church build a new Sunday School building. The pastor took the fifty-seven cents back to his church and told the people about the little girl who had been saving her pennies to help them build a new Sunday School building. The people were so inspired by Hattie's gift, that they gave faithfully until they built a wonderful new building with plenty of room for all of the children who wanted to attend.

Each Sunday in our worship service we take an offering. Do you think Jesus is interested in how much money we put in the offering plate? You see, Jesus is more interested in what is in the heart of the giver than he is in the size of their gift. I am sure that Jesus would say that Hattie gave more than anyone to build this great church. She gave all that she had. Everything we have is a gift from God. And we should give back to God always with a cheerful heart.

Note: The story of Hattie Wiatt is a true story. It is taken from on a sermon by Russell H. Conwell delivered December 1, 1912.

Activity For The Day - The Widow's Mite

Source : sermons4kids

Turn To The Source

2007-06-22T22:23:00.000-07:00

Theme: God will supply all our needs if we will look to Him.

Scripture: Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17 Unto Thee lift I up mine eyes, O Thou that dwells in the heavens. Psalm 123:1

One night I decided I wanted to check on the scores of some of the football games in our area. I got out my little portable radio and turned it on. I tuned it to a station that I know gives high school football scores. This isn't a very powerful radio and when I turned it on, the signal was very weak and there was a lot of static and interference. I discovered that if I turned the radio around until it was facing the direction of the radio station, the signal was much stronger and I could hear it much better.

The Bible teaches us that "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights." If our Heavenly Father is the source of all that we need, we will be better able to receive His gifts if we will keep our hearts turned toward Him. The Bible tells us to lift our eyes to Him who lives in the heavens. He is the one who supplies all of our needs.

So let us ask God to help us keep our hearts always tuned to him because he is the source of all our blessings.

Activity For The Day - Turn To The Source

Source : sermons4kids

A Heart Check

2007-06-21T21:47:00.000-07:00

Theme: God knows your heart

Scripture: Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10 (KJV)

I am sure that all of you have seen one of these. It's called a stethoscope. Who uses a stethoscope? That's right, a doctor. And what does the doctor do with it? Right again! The doctor listens to what is going on inside of our bodies. A person might look very healthy on the outside and yet have something wrong on the inside.

Many doctors want to see their patients once a year for a checkup . Do you ever go to the doctor for a checkup? If so, you know the routine. They check to see how tall you are and how much you weigh. They look in your eyes, ears, nose, and throat. Then, the doctor takes the stethoscope, which feels as if it has been kept in the refrigerator, and listens to see if your heart beat is strong and steady. Any unusual sound may tell the doctor that something is wrong with your heart. If the doctor finds something wrong, you might need some medicine to make it well. Sometimes a doctor finds something wrong and has to operate to fix it. There have even been some cases when a person needed a whole new heart. Isn't it wonderful that God has given us doctors who can fix our heart when something goes wrong?

Our Bible story today is about a man named David. David had heart trouble. Oh, it wasn't the kind of heart trouble you could hear with a stethoscope, but David knew he had heart trouble. He knew that he had sinned and done wicked and evil things in God's sight. So, what did David do about his heart problem? He went to the One that he knew could fix it -- he went to God. David prayed to God and said, "O God, I have sinned against you and I have done evil things in your sight. Create in me a clean heart, and give me a right spirit."

Sometimes you and I have heart problems too. We might have some things in our heart that shouldn't be there. Things like bitterness, anger, jealousy, selfishness, pride, and greed. When we come to church, everything may look great on the outside, but God may look inside and see that our heart isn't right. When we know that we have a heart problem, we need to do what David did. We need to pray to God and say, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Do you have some things in your heart that shouldn't be there? I do! Let's ask God to fix it!

Activity For The Day - A Heart Check

Source : sermons4kids

THE LION AND THE MOUSE

2007-06-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Gal 6:9-10

A LION lay asleep in the forest, his great head resting on his paws. A timid little Mouse came upon him unexpectedly, and in her fright and haste to get away, ran across the Lion's nose. Roused from his nap, the Lion laid his huge paw angrily on the tiny creature to kill her.

"Spare me!" begged the poor Mouse. "Please let me go and some day I will surely repay you."

The Lion was much amused to think that a Mouse could ever help him. But he was generous and finally let the Mouse go.

Some days later, while stalking his prey in the forest, the Lion was caught in the toils of a hunter's net. Unable to free himself, he filled the forest with his angry roaring. The Mouse knew the voice and quickly found the Lion struggling in the net. Running to one of the great ropes that bound him, she gnawed it until it parted, and soon the Lion was free.

"You laughed when I said I would repay you," said the Mouse. "Now you see that even a Mouse can help a Lion."

A kindness is never wasted. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all
all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Activity For Today: Love Your Enemies

Source:2000-2007 Lisa Ripperton

He Sees Our Every Step

2007-06-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

THEME: God sees everything we do.

SCRIPTURE: His eyes are on the ways of men; he sees their every step. Job 34:21

How many of you have a pair of binoculars? Binoculars are really amazing. You can look at something that is very far away and it brings it right up to you. A lot of people take binoculars to ballgames so that they can see the action better. Some people take binoculars when they go hunting to help them find the animals they are hunting. I have a friend who likes to watch birds. She can look through a pair of binoculars and she can watch birds from a great distance and watch what they are doing. The birds don’t even know that she is watching.

This reminds me that we are all being watched. Other people are watching us to see what we are doing, but more important to remember is that the Bible tells us that God is watching us. It says “His eyes are on the ways of men; he sees their every step.” That means that He sees us when we are fighting with our brother or sister. He sees us when we don’t act the way we should act in school. He sees us when we talk back to our parents. He sees every thing we do.

Since God is watching us and sees everything we do, we should be very careful and make sure that we are doing things that will please Him.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - He Sees Our Every Steps

THE BUNDLE OF STICKS

2007-06-18T21:48:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Psalms 133:1

" How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!"

A CERTAIN Father had a family of Sons, who were forever quarreling among themselves. No words he could say did the least good, so he cast about in his mind for some very striking example that should make them see that discord would lead them to misfortune.

One day when the quarreling had been much more violent than usual and each of the Sons was moping in a surly manner, he asked one of them to bring him a bundle of sticks. Then handing the bundle to each of his Sons in turn he told them to try to break it. But although each one tried his best, none was able to do so.

[21] The Father then untied the bundle and gave the sticks to his Sons to break one by one. This they did very easily.

"My Sons," said the Father, "do you not see how certain it is that if you agree with each other and help each other, it will be impossible for your enemies to injure you? But if you are divided among yourselves, you will be no stronger than a single stick in that bundle."

In unity is strength.

Activity for Today: Exodus People

Source:mainlesson.com

Three Wishes

2007-06-17T21:16:00.000-07:00

Theme: A sorry son and a forgiving father.
Scripture: "But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. Luke 15:22-24 (NIV)

I am sure that most of you have read the book or seen the movie "Aladdin." As you know, in the story Aladdin found a brass lamp. There was some writing on the lamp, but the lamp was so dirty that Aladdin could not read it. When he rubbed the lantern to clean the dust and dirt off of it, a genie came out of the lamp and told Aladdin that he would grant him three wishes.

Well, we have a similar story today, but it doesn't have a magic lantern or a genie. It is a story that Jesus told about a young man who had three wishes.

1. He wanted a lot of money.

2. He wanted to travel and see the world.

3. He wanted to be his own boss.

The young man got his wishes, but they were not granted to him by a genie. The young man went to his father and asked him to give him the inheritance that would be his when his father died. Even though the father was sad that his son wanted to leave, he gave him his share of the family fortune and the young man left home and traveled all around the world. He visited all of the places he had always wanted to visit and did whatever he wanted to do. He was happy that no one was telling him what to do. Since the young man had a lot of money, if he saw something he wanted, he bought it, and since he had a lot of money, he also had many friends.

This sounds like very happy story, doesn't it? Well, that isn't the end of the story. After a while, the young man ran out of money. When he ran out of money, his friends ran out on him. He was so desperate that he went to work for a man who sent him to feed his pigs. The young man was so hungry that he would gladly have eaten the food he was feeding to the pigs. As he looked at the filthy pig pen, he thought about the mess he had made of his life. He thought about his father and the home he had left behind.

"Even a servant in my father's house lives better than this," the young man said to himself. "I will return to my father and tell him that I am sorry for the way I have behaved and ask him to give me a job as one of his servants."

Do you think the father was willing to take him back? Yes, but not as a servant. He welcomed him back home as a son. He called his servants together and told them, "Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was lost, but now is found."

Well, the story had a happy ending after all, didn't it? This story that Jesus told is really a story about you and me and the way we sometimes behave.

Sometimes you and I make bad choices -- just like the young man in our story. We sometimes wish for things that are not good for us. We sometimes don't want to listen to God and obey what the Bible tells us we should do. When we act that way, we really make a mess of our life, Well, I have good news for you! Just like the father in our story, God, our Heavenly Father, is always willing to take us back if we will admit that we were wrong and return to Him.

Dear Father, we sometimes make bad choices. Thank you for being a loving Father who will always take us back when we come home to you. Amen.

Activity For Today: Prodigal Son

Source: Sermons4kids

How Much Are We Worth?

2007-06-16T21:22:00.000-07:00

THEME: God's love.

SCRIPTURE: This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:10 (NLT)
In my hand, I have 3 dollars: one Sacajawea gold dollar, one Susan B. Anthony dollar, and a Washington paper dollar. Which one is worth the most? Why? What makes one more special than another?

But aren’t they all worth $1.00? Yes, they are all worth the same. They each look different, but all have the same value when we try to spend them. People are just like that in God’s sight. We all come in different sizes, heights, weight, have different hair & eye color, some are smarter, some are prettier, etc. But when it all comes down, we all have the same value to God.

He gave His precious Son Jesus for our sins so that we could be close to God. He sent Jesus to die for our sins. To me, that makes me feel very valuable to God--worth more than anything money could ever buy.

Dear Father, we are thankful that though we are all different, you love us all the same. Amen.

Activity for Today: Old Testament Books
Source:Submitted by Chris Dickens/ sermons4kids.com

Don't Bury Your Talent

2007-06-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Portion for Reading Matt 25:29

Today, our Bible story is a familiar story that Jesus told. It is called the Parable of the Talents. In the Parable of the Talents, a very wealthy man was going to go on a trip. He called his three servants together and told them that he would be gone for a long time and that he was leaving them in charge of all of his wealth. He divided up his wealth and gave it to the three servants.
To the first servant, he gave five talents. Now, that might not sound like much to you, but in Jesus' day, that was a lot of money. To the second servant, he gave two talents. To the third servant, he gave one talent.

The first servant took the five talents his master had given him and put it to work and earned five more talents. The second also invested his two talents wisely and earned two more talents. The third servant took his one talent and buried it in the ground for safe keeping.

When the master returned, he was very pleased when the first two servants told him that they had doubled his money. "Well done," he said. "Because you had been faithful with what I have given you, I will give you much more."

"How about you?" he asked the third servant. "What did you do with the money that I left with you?"

The third servant said to the master, "I knew that you were a hard man and I was afraid, so I went out and hid your treasure in the ground so that it would be safe. See, here it is."

The master was angry. "You are a wicked and lazy servant. You could have at least put my money in the bank where it would earn more." He then took the one talent from the lazy servant and gave it to the one who had ten talents.

In this Parable of the Talents, God is the Master and you and I are his servants. The talents that the master gave to his servants in this story was a form of money. But God has given us talents too, hasn't he? God created each of us with special gifts and he expects us to use those gifts for the purpose for which he gave them to us.

Sometimes you and I may look at the talents that God has given to others and think that God hasn't given us very much talent. We might even be tempted to hide our talent. But when we use our God-given talent to be all that God intended for us to be... boy, can we fly!

Dear Father, help us to use the talents that you have given us to be what you intended for us to be.

Activity For Today: Parable Of The Talent

Source:Sermons4kids.com

The Fighting Cocks And The Eagle

2007-06-14T20:30:00.000-07:00

Memory Verse: Prov 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

ONCE there were two Cocks living in the same farmyard who could not bear the sight of each other. At last one day they flew up to fight it out, beak and claw. They fought until one of them was beaten and crawled off to a corner to hide.

The Cock that had won the battle, flew to the top of the henhouse, and, proudly flapping his wings, crowed with all his might to tell the world about his victory. But an Eagle, circling overhead, heard the boasting chanticleer and, swooping down, carried him off to his nest.

His rival saw the deed, and coming out of his corner, took his place as master of the farmyard.

Pride goes before a fall.

Prov 16: 5,19
*The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go
unpunished

*Better to be lowly in spirit and among the oppressed than to share plunder with the proud.

*Pride goeth before destruction, and anhaughty spirit before a fall.Better it is to be of an humble spirit withthe lowly, than to divide the spoilwith the proud."

*"...God resisteth the proud, but giveth graceunto the humble."

*"The Lord will destroy the house of theproud: but he will establish the borderof the widow."

"When pride cometh, then cometh shame:but with the lowly is wisdom."

*"The fear of the Lord is to hate evil:pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way,and the froward mouth, do I hate."

*"An high look, and a proud heart, and theplowing of the wicked, is sin."

*"Though the Lord be high, yet hath herespect unto the lowly:but the proud he knoweth afar off."
*Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Activity for Today: Crossword Puzzle NT People
Source:mainlesson.com

Hope for the Hopeless

2007-06-13T20:22:00.000-07:00

Theme: When you have nowhere to turn -- turn to Jesus.

Scripture: A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Mark 1:40-42

Do you know what this is? It is a bottle of medicine called calamine lotion. Calamine is a medicine that is sometimes used to help stop itching. Have you have ever had the chicken pox? When you have chicken pox, it starts out like a cold -- you feel lousy, have a runny nose, and run a fever. Then, all of a sudden, itchy red bumps start to break out all over your body. The itching drives you crazy, but you can't scratch, because that just makes it worse. It is a very uncomfortable feeling, but it isn't hopeless. Rubbing on some calamine lotion may help to ease the itching. In a few days, the sores go away, the itching stops, and life is back to normal again.

During the time when Jesus lived upon the earth, leprosy was very wide-spread and was a dreaded disease. When someone had leprosy, they were covered with sores all over their bodies. Unlike chicken pox, these sores didn't just go away. When someone had leprosy, it was hopeless, because there was no cure. To make matters worse, other people considered them to be unclean and were not allowed to touch them. Many people believed that people who had leprosy got the disease because of some terrible sin they had committed.

One day a man with leprosy came to Jesus. The man knelt down before Jesus and said, "If you will, you can make me clean." Jesus looked at the man and he felt love and compassion for him. He reached out his hand and touched the man and said, "I am willing, be clean." Immediately, the leprosy left the man and he was cured.

Sometimes, we may find ourselves in a situation where we are uncomfortable, like when we had the chicken pox. But there may come a time in our lives when we find ourselves in a situation that is truly hopeless. When that happens, where can we turn? How do we find hope in a hopeless situation? We can turn to Jesus. When the situation is hopeless, Jesus is our only hope. Dear Jesus, you came to bring hope to the hopeless. When we find ourselves in a hopeless situation, we put our hope and trust in you. Amen.

Activity For The Day - Hope For The Hopeless

Source : sermons4kids

Five Smooth Stones

2007-06-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

Scripture: Then he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine. 1 Samuel 17:40 (NIV)

I'm sure you probably know the Bible story of how a boy named David fought and killed a giant named Goliath. Now, Goliath was a mighty warrior who was more than nine feet tall! He was protected from head to toe by a suit of armor made of bronze and with a sword and spear.

David, on the other hand, was a young shepherd boy. He had no armor for protection. David's weapon was a sling and five smooth stones which he picked up from a nearby stream. And yet, David was able to defeat a giant that all of the soldiers of the Israelite army were afraid to face. You and I may never face a giant such as Goliath, but we face giants of another kind in our daily life. We face giants such as fear, insecurity, loneliness, and failure. How can we overcome those giants that want to defeat us? These five stones can help us to remember the story of how David defeated the giant he faced and how we can defeat the giants which we face.

• The first stone represents COURAGE - David was not afraid to face the enemy. "Don't worry about a thing," David told Saul. "I'll go fight this Philistine!" (1 Samuel 17:32 NLT) It also takes courage to fight the giants you will face in your life.

• The second stone represents CONFIDENCE - As a shepherd, David often had to protect the sheep from wild animals. This gave him the confidence he needed to face the giant. "The LORD who saved me from the claws of the lion and the bear will save me from this Philistine!" (1 Samuel 17:37 NLT) Like David, you can have confidence that God will help you overcome the problems you face each day.

• The third stone represents PREPARATION - David didn't go to face the giant unprepared. He went down to the stream and picked out five smooth stones and put them in his shepherd's bag. Then, armed with his shepherd's staff and sling, he started out to fight Goliath. (1 Samuel 17:40 NLT) It is important for you to do everything possible to be certain you are prepared to face the challenges which you will meet in your daily life.

• The fourth stone represents TRUST - David did not trust in his own ability to slay the giant. When Goliath shouted at David, cursed him, and was ready to kill him, David said, "You come to me with a sword and spear, but I come to you in the name of the LORD God Almighty." (1 Samuel 17:45 NLT) When you face problems, put your trust in God, not in your own ability.

• The fifth stone represents VICTORY - "It is God's battle, not ours," David said. That is why David was able to win the victory over the giant with only a stone and sling. (1 Samuel 17:50 NLT) When you turn your battles over to God, you will have the victory over the giants in your life.

So, the next time you are facing a giant in your life, remember the story of David and Goliath --and five smooth stones.

Activity For The Day - Five Smooth Stones

Source : Sermons4kids

Be a Swan, Not a Duck

2007-06-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

Theme: Being in the world but not of the world

Scripture: If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. John 15:19 (NIV)

How many of you know the story of The Ugly Duckling? In the story, a mother duck sat on a nest of eggs waiting for her babies to hatch. Time after time she heard the sound, "Craaaak!" When she looked, there was a baby duck hatched from one of the eggs. One by one the eggs hatched until only one was left. She sat down on the egg to wait... and wait... and wait. Finally she heard the sound again. ‘Craaaack!’ And there it was -- another baby. Somehow, he didn’t look like the other baby ducks. In fact, she thought he was rather ugly. But he hatched from her nest so she thought he must be her baby and so she took him to the pond to play with the other ducklings.

When the other ducklings in the pond saw the ugly duckling, they all laughed at him, made fun of him, and told him he was ugly. The little duckling was so sad he left the pond, but everyone he met treated him the same way, even the farm animals.

The little ugly duckling kept walking and finally came to another pond. In it were beautiful swans. The little ugly duckling wished he could be like the beautiful swans. By now it was winter and he was cold and lonely. It got so cold that the ugly duckling's feet became frozen in the pond. An old farmer saw him and felt sorry for him. He finally got him unstuck, but the duckling thought he would make fun of him too, so he went off to hide. He didn’t know there was a better future waiting for him.

When spring came, the ugly duckling went back to the pond. What did he see? The beautiful swans were swimming in the pond! The ugly duckling thought to himself, “I sure wish I was beautiful like those swans and not just an ugly duckling.” He looked in the water and saw his reflection. Guess what? He was not an ugly duckling anymore! During the winter he had grown into a beautiful swan. The other swans saw him and invited him to join them. They all flew over to the duck pond. The other ducks saw that the ugly duckling had turned into a beautiful swan while they had remained ducks.

You and I are like the "ugly duckling" in this story. If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we are like beautiful swans. We don’t fit into this world any more than the ugly duckling belonged in the duck pond. Those who won’t accept Christ as their Savior will be like the ducks. They will make fun of us, call us names, and not let us hang out with them; stuff like that. They won’t like us because we don’t look like them or act like them. But do you know what? That doesn’t matter because a better future awaits us in Heaven while the ducks will just be ducks in a pond.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Son Christ Jesus and for choosing us as your swans. We long for a better future with you in Heaven. Help us to not be like ducks while we wait. Amen.

Activity For Today: Find Out The 28 Animals

Source : sermons4kids Submitted by Laquita Ward

A Different Kind of Freedom

2007-06-10T20:41:00.000-07:00

Theme:
We are called to be free, but not free to do whatever we want.
Scripture:
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13

Good Morning! Have any of you ever gotten a dog from an animal shelter or dog pound? How about a cat? Why did you want a pet? Was it for companionship; to give you comfort when you are sad; maybe to protect you and your house from robbers?

I love dogs and all of my dogs, for at least the last 25 years, have been rescued animals.If you’ve ever gotten a pet from a pound or shelter, sometimes you have to pay like $5.00 or maybe more and when you get them home, you know how they act at first! Once they are freed from their cages and brought home, they go nuts! They jump up on you, get on the furniture, potty in the floor, dig holes in the flower beds, bark and howl all night, etc. Cats usually scratch the furniture, climb the curtains, get on the counter and try to eat the fish in the fishbowl! They are so happy to be free from their former lives they think they can do whatever they want. They have to learn that that is wrong. They have to learn they have a different kind of freedom now. Apart from us, they can’t do that. We have to teach them the right way to behave because they can’t learn on their own.

Christians are kind of like that. You see, we were once bound by guilt and sin and it was sort of like being in a cage. Jesus purchased our freedom from sin by his death on the cross. But just because we have freedom in Christ doesn’t mean we can just go out and do whatever we want. Did you know there are a lot of Christians today who think they can? (I don’t mean climb the curtains or bark and howl all night!) We have to learn the right way to behave. The Bible teaches us in Gal. 5:13 says, ‘You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love.’ In other words, we have a different kind of freedom now and we are to live like Jesus lived.

Just as we paid the price for, and freed, our pets to serve us, we are to live to serve God. He will teach us because we can’t learn on our own. Apart from Him, we can do nothing.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for paying the price and freeing us from guilt and sin. Teach us how to live like you want us to. Amen.

Activity For Today: Genesis

Submitted by Laquita Ward

THE TOWN MOUSE AND THE COUNTRY MOUSE

2007-06-09T21:35:00.000-07:00

Portion for Reading Psalms 37:16

A TOWN MOUSE once visited a relative who lived in the country. For lunch the Country Mouse served wheat stalks, roots, and acorns, with a dash of cold water for drink. The Town Mouse ate very sparingly, nibbling a little of this and a little of that, and by her manner making it very plain that she ate the simple food only to be polite.

After the meal the friends had a long talk, or rather the Town Mouse talked about her life in the city while the Country Mouse listened. They then went to bed in a cozy nest in the hedgerow and slept in quiet and comfort until morning. In her sleep the Country Mouse dreamed she was a Town Mouse with all the luxuries and delights of city life that her friend had described for her. So the next day when the Town Mouse asked the Country Mouse to go home with her to the city, She gladly said yes.

When they reached the mansion in which the Town Mouse lived, they found on the table in the dining room the leavings of a very fine banquet. There were sweetmeats and jellies, pastries, delicious cheeses, indeed, the most tempting foods that a Mouse can imagine. But just as the Country Mouse was about to nibble a dainty bit of pastry, she heard a Cat mew loudly and scratch at the door. I n great fear the Mice scurried to a hiding place, where they lay quite still for a long time, hardly daring to breathe. When at last they ventured back to the feast, the door opened suddenly and in came the servants to clear the table, followed by the House Dog.

The Country Mouse stopped in the Town Mouse's den only long enough to pick up her carpet bag and umbrella. "You may have luxuries and dainties that I have not," she said as she hurried away, "but I prefer my plain food and simple life in the country with the peace and security that go with it." Poverty with security is better than plenty in the midst of fear and uncertainty.

Proverbs 16:8

Better is a little with righteousness (uprightness in every area and relation and right standing with God) than great revenues with injustice

Psalms 37:16

Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked;

Source: Milo Winter

Activity For The Day - Find Me Among The Jumble

The Five-Finger Prayer

2007-06-08T18:17:00.000-07:00

Theme: Prayer

Scripture: We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you. Colossians 1: 3

Do you ever have trouble thinking of something to say when you are talking to a friend? I do. I have a friend that I walk with every day and sometimes we go for a long time without either of us saying anything. We just can't think of anything to say.

Sometimes that same thing happens when I am praying. I start to pray and then I just can't think of anything to say. Does that ever happen to you? Well, today, I want to show you something that will help you when that happens. It is called the "Five Finger Prayer."

First, I want you to put your hands together in front of you as if you are praying. Keep your eyes open so that you can see your hands. You will notice that the closest finger to you is the thumb. Since it is the closest to you, the thumb reminds you to pray for those that are closest to you. Pray for your parents and your brothers or sisters.

The next finger is called your index finger. It is used for pointing. Let this finger remind you to pray for those that point you in the right direction. Pray for your teachers at school, your Sunday School teacher, and your pastor.

The next finger is the tallest finger. This finger reminds us to pray for our leaders. Pray for the president and other leaders in our government and those who are leaders in our town.

The fourth finger is the called the ring finger. Did you know that this is the weakest of all the fingers? Just ask any one who plays the piano and they will tell you that is true. Let this finger remind you to pray for those who are sick.

The next finger is the smallest finger. The Bible says, "Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought." Let the little finger remind you to pray for yourself.

So the next time you are talking to God, and you can't think of anything to say, let the "Five Finger Prayer" help you.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - THE PRAYER OF FAITH

Just Do it

2007-06-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

THEME: Don't talk about prayer -- just do it!

SCRIPTURE: "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Luke 11:9-10

What do you think of when you see this symbol? Right! You think of Nike. As you know, Nike is one of the world's leading manufacturers of sport's equipment. At one time, they were just known as a running shoe company, but now they make sports equipment for just about every sport you can imagine. Probably just about everyone in the world would recognize this Nike symbol.

Whenever we think of Nike, we also think of their slogan, "Just Do It!" What does that mean? Well, since Nike is in the business of making sports equipment, it means that when it comes to sports, don't talk about it -- just do it! Don't just talk about running, go out and run. Don't just talk about basketball, go out and play the game. Don't just talk about...well, I think you get the idea.

One day Jesus was with his disciples and they asked him to teach them how to pray. Jesus didn't say, "Well, first you get down on your knees, like this; then you fold your hands like this; then you close your eyes; and then you start to pray. After giving them an sample prayer, he said to them, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." In other words, Jesus told his disciples that the most important rule of prayer is -- "Just Do It!"

When we come to church, we talk a lot about prayer, don't we? When someone is sick, we say, "We need to pray for the sick." When someone is having financial problems, we say, "We need to pray for the poor." When there is war in the world, we say, "We need to pray for peace." We talk a lot about prayer, but what we really need is to "Just Do It!" In fact, I think we should stop talking about it right now -- and "Just Do It!"

Source : sermon4kids

Activity For The Day - JUST DO IT

THE TWO GOATS

2007-06-06T19:27:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Rom 12:10
TWO GOATS, frisking gayly on the rocky steeps of a mountain valley, chanced to meet, one on each side of a deep chasm through which poured a mighty mountain torrent. The trunk of a fallen tree formed the only means of crossing the chasm, and on this not even two squirrels could have passed each other in safety. The narrow path would have made the bravest tremble. Not so our Goats. Their pride would not permit either to stand aside for the other.

One set her foot on the log. The other did likewise. In the middle they met horn to horn. Neither would give way, and so they both fell, to be swept away by the roaring torrent below.

It is better to yield than to come to misfortune through stubbornness.

Rom 12
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Activity for Today: Who Said That?

By Milo Winter

The First Aid Kit

2007-06-05T20:30:00.000-07:00

Theme: Jesus heals our hurts. The Bible is our "First Aid Kit"

Scripture: Psalm 119:50 My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.

A first aid kit is a very important thing to have around. We should all have a first aid kit in our home, in our work place, and in our car. We have several of them around the church so that they will be handy if someone gets hurt.

What are some of the things you might expect to find in a first aid kit? Usually, there are some cotton balls to use to clean a wound. There should be a spray or ointment to kill germs so the wound won’t get infected. There may be another spray or ointment that is good for burns. And, of course, there should be bandages to put on the injury to keep it clean. When someone is hurt, it is important to have a first aid kit and to know how to use the things that are in it.

The Bible is a lot like a first aid kit. It has the answer to all of the hurts that we have in our life. If we get into a scrape, the Bible has the answer. If someone makes a cutting remark and it really hurts us, the Bible has the answer. If we have a burning question and just don’t know what to do, the Bible has the answer. Everyone is or have gone through a painful time in their lives. And when you are hurting, it is important to have God’s first aid kit and to know how to use it. The Bible says, “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” Knowing how to use God’s first aid kit will save your life!

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - God Is Watching Over You and Me.

How Do You Look?

2007-06-04T20:35:00.000-07:00

Theme: Man looks on outward appearances, God looks at the inside.

Scripture: Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. 1 Peter 3: 3-4 Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16: 7

Some of you have probably seen one of these before. It is an x-ray. Many times when we go to the doctor, he cannot tell if we have something wrong just by looking at us. We may look just fine on the outside, but there might be something wrong on the inside. To see what is on the inside, the doctor takes an x-ray. By looking at the x-ray, the doctor can see what's on the inside and helps us to get well. You can't always tell by looking at the outside.

The Bible tells us that man looks at outward appearance, but God looks on the inside. You can't always tell what a person is really like by looking at the outside. Some people may be beautiful on the outside, but they may be very mean, selfish, and hateful on the inside. Some people may not be very beautiful to look at, but on the inside they are loving, gentle, and kind.

We spend a lot of time making sure we look good on the outside, but what are we doing to make sure we look good on the inside? (Read 1 Peter 3: 3-4) When we look at people, we need to remember that we can only see what's on the outside, but God can see what's on the inside - and it's what's inside that counts.

So let us pray Lord, help us to be more concerned with our own inner beauty than with our outward appearance and help us not to judge other people by what we see on the outside.

Activity For Today : Blessings & Woes

Source : sermons4kids

Who Is the Minister in Your Church?

2007-06-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

Theme: Every Christian is needed to do their part in the ministry of the Church.

Scripture: There are different kinds of gifts, but they are all from the same Spirit. There are different ways to serve but the same Lord to serve. And there are different ways that God works through people but the same God. God works in all of us in everything we do. Something from the Spirit can be seen in each person, for the common good. 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (NCV)

Today, we have a special treat. We’re going to listen to some music played by an orchestra. Who knows what an orchestra is?Well, an orchestra is a big band. There can be as many as 70 people playing over 20 different instruments! Let’s listen (play about a minute of the music).What kind of instruments did you hear? (Show them pictures of the instruments from the book)(Strings: Violin, Viola, Cello, Bass, Harp, etc.)(Brass: Trumpet, Trombone, French horn, Tuba, etc.)(Wind: Piccolo, Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon, etc.)(Percussion: Timpani, snare drum, triangles, cymbals, etc.)(Keyboard: Piano, xylophone, Glockenspiel, etc)So there are many people playing many different instruments.Do you think they have to work together?Do you think they need to know their part and do their part well?Do you think it took a lot of practice alone and together to make such beautiful music?The Church is like an orchestra, too. In the Church we have many people. And God has given every Christian special abilities to serve others. Like an orchestra we have to do our part and work together with others to get the work done that God has for us.So it’s important for you to know that a part of becoming more like Jesus is that we serve others alongside of other Christians.Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to know that my part in the Church is very important. Show me ways that I can serve others. Amen.

Source : sermons4kids Submitted by Rev. Michael Brinkley

Activity For The Day - CROSS WORD PUZZLE

The Potter and Clay

2007-06-02T20:20:00.000-07:00

"O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. JEREMIAH 18:6

Hey do you know who a potter is? He or she is a person who uses clay to make pots. And before the potter makes a pot, the potter plans and makes each pot in a unique way. Even though the pots are made with different colors of clay, but when we look at them they all might seem the same to us. But when ask the potter if there is any difference between the pots? The potter would tell us the differences and the purpose they are made for.

Just like a potter makes some pots for noble use and some for common use, in the same way God has made us for common and for noble purpose. And just like the potter used different colored clay in the same way God has made us also all in different colors. Every person you see around you is a beautiful but unique creation of God. As each of our finger prints and eyes are unique, in the same way each one us has our own identity and personality.

God has made us all for a purpose and he has given us all unique features and talents. We should always pray to God to show us the purpose that he needs accomplished through us. And how to use our unique talents he has given us.

By SS

Activity For The Day - Cross Word Puzzle

Beach Exploration

2007-06-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

Keep Trusting in Jesus
Theme: We must continue to trust and obey our Savior and Lord

Scripture: For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Hebrews 3:14 NLT

How many of you like to go to the beach?Well, this weekend my family went down to the beach. And whenever David went into the water he had to wear this.What’s this? That’s right, it’s a life vest.What is a life vest used for?Do you think you are safe when you wear one of these?This life vest is no good to David unless he puts it on.If David goes into the ocean water without this life vest on he’s most likely going to drown, because he can’t swim.Can you swim?All it takes is one wave or for that water to pull him under and David would be gone. That’s very scary.But you know what? Jesus is like a life vest. He’s there to protect us and rescue us from trouble.But like a life vest we have to trust Jesus. Just like we have to put on and keep on our life vest to keep us safe, we have to put our trust in Jesus and keep it there so we can be safe.Remember whatever Jesus says in the Bible believe it’s the truth. And always remember you can trust in Jesus.He always loves you and He always wants what is best for you.

Source : sermons4kids Submitted by Rev. Michael Brinkley

Activity For The Day - THE MAZE

The Trash Collector

2007-06-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

Scripture: The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 (NIV)

What do you do with garbage at your house? Put it on the curb for the trash collector to pickup.

What happens if you don’t put the trash out. Smelly, dirty, yuk.

Do you ever worry about what they are going to do with your trash? No. They just take it away. Sometimes they bury it, but now they recycle it. They give it new life by turning it into something useful.

We have trash inside us that we call “Sin”. It is the bad things that we say and do. And just like the garbage in our homes we have to put Sin out on the curb for the trash collector.

John said that Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Jesus is our trash collector. He wants us to put all the bad things in our lives out for him to pick up and take away. We don’t have to worry about them anymore once we give them to Him. So today search your heart and lives, if you have done any bad stuff like not obeying your parents, getting angry, being mean to someone ask sorry to Jesus and give your mistake to Him. Let him take it away, clean us and help us to be good person.

Source : Article from sermons4kids Submitted by Bryan Clements

Activity For The Day - CROSSWORD

Off with the Old, On with the New

2007-05-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

Theme: Put on a godly way of life, take off the bad way of life

Scripture: Throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 4:22-24 NLT

Do you like to wear new clothes? When do you get new clothes? (Birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Back to School) I like to wear new clothes. Did you know that Christians are like people who put on new clothes? When we become Christians, God makes us into new people. Before we can put on new clothes we have to take off our old and dirty clothes, right? To become new people in Christ, we must take off our old bad ways and put on God’s ways. Let me give you an example: God tells us to control our anger and don’t desire bad things. God also commands us not to say bad things about people, we should not say bad words, and we should not tell lies. Those are some of the old ways that we must get rid of. After we have taken off our old ways, God can clothe us with His ways. We can love one another and be kind, polite, obedient, and helpful. We can become more like Jesus every day.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - CROSSWORD

Power from Above

2007-05-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

Theme:
God is our POWER source.

Scripture: God is my strength and power; and he maketh my way perfect. 2 Samuel 22:33

What do I have with me this morning(pointing to the blowdryer)? Let the children respond. What is the purpose of a blowdryer? Wait for answers. Will this blowdryer work if I don't plug it in? No, the blowdryer has to be plugged into a power source to work. Then plug the blowdyer into an outlet to show that it works and even blow the air on the kids' heads. We even have to pay for electricity or the power to use this blowdryer.

This blowdryer represnts us as Christians. If we don't give the blowdryer power, it can't be used. The same is true with us. God is our power source...we need to plug ourselves into God so we can be used for his purposes. The Bible tells us in 2 Samuel 22:33 (read scripture). To use God's power is free of charge. We stay connected to him after we accept him into our hearts, through continuous prayer. Then God can use us for his purposes...to teach, sing, play an instrument, encourage, etc..Prayer: Dear God, thank you for promising to be our strength and power source. Help us to use your power for your purposes. Amen.

Activity for Today: L O V E

Submitted by Amanda Belue

Riding a Bike

2007-05-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

Scripture: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans3:23
I brought my bicycle this morning. How many of you boys and girls like to ride a bicycle? Can all of you ride a bike? I just love to ride my bike. The trail out at Veterans Lake is a great place to ride.There are lots to look at, and fresh air to breathe.Riding a bike is a lot of fun. One thing I have found out though is that if I quit peddling, I will come to a stop and fall off. Now, that is the way with life. We can go to church each Sunday. And then Summer comes.

We say, "This Sunday I'll just go to the lake." Very soon we forget about God. We get into the habit of not going to church. We don't read our bible. We just fall off. The bible in Romans 3:23 says that we have all sinned and have fallen short of God. That means we all stop peddling and fall off a one time or another. What do we have to do? Get up. Start peddling again. Get with it. Yes, we need to tell God we're sorry and ask him to help us. God is always ready to give us another chance and help us go again. I thank God that He is just that way! Prayer: Dear God, along the way, I just quit peddling. Help me to get up and get started again. Thank you, Lord God. Amen.

Activity for Today: Psalms 23

Submitted by Jack Melton

Learning to control our anger

2007-05-27T19:19:00.000-07:00

Reading : Ephesians 4:26

There was a boy that was having a terrible time with anger. Every time he got angry, he said ugly things, "I hate you" "You're ugly" "I don't want to be your friend any more". These were things that were said in anger and the boy often regretted saying them later.

One day his father took him out to the fence out back and gave him a bag of nails and a hammer. He told the boy that every time he lost his temper, he should come to the fence and pound in nails until he was no longer angry.

The first week there were a bunch of nails (hold up block of wood full of nails, and comment - "He must have had a very bad week"). But the next week, there were not quite so many, and after a while, hardly any at all (hold up a block with only 1-2 nails.)

So he went to his father and showed him the fence and told him that he hadn't had to pound in a nail for one whole month. His dad told him that was wonderful, now what he needed to do is that every day the boy could keep his temper, he should go and pull the nails out of the fence until they were gone.

It took awile, but soon all the nails were pulled (hold up a block of wood that has alot of nail holes), and the boy went to his father again to show him the fence.His father told him he was proud that the boy had learned to keep control of his temper, "but look at all the scars that the nails left in the wood. Every time you lost your temper, you left scars like that in the people that you love. These scars are not healed easily."

Resource : Sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - WORD SEARCH

The Apple and The Worm

2007-05-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

Reading : Matthew 4:1-11

An apple tree grew in an orchard. The apples on the tree were still small, but they dreamed of the day that they would grow to maturity and become tasty. Then they would be pleasing to children help them to grow healthy and strong. One day a small worm appeared on the tree and began to speak to the apples about how boring it was to hang on a tree all day with nothing to do. "Look at the birds," said the worm. "They can fly everywhere. There is so much to see and experience. " One of the apples became interested in what the worm had to say. "I wish I could learn to fly!" the apple said. "What is necessary for me to learn to fly?" "It is very simple!" said the worm. "I will teach you, but I am afraid that the birds will eat me. Let us be friends and let me live inside of you and then I will teach you to fly!"The apple agreed and the worm began to live inside of him. Every day they talked about learning to fly. The worm asked the apple, "Who had told you that you could not fly? And who told you that you should give the vitamins that you have worked so hard to produce to help others?"

"God told me that was why he created me," answered the apple. "That is very unfair," replied the worm. "Well then, when will I fly?" asked an apple. "Wait, it's not time yet," answered the worm while continuing to eat away at the inside of the apple. Finally, one day the worm said, "It's time now! You are fully grown and there is no reason why you should not fly. The only thing that prevents you from flying is this apple tree! The apple tree is jealous because its roots grow so deeply in the ground that it cannot fly, so it does not want you to fly either. You must break loose from the apple tree and then you will be able to fly!"

A gust of wind came and the tree was shaken. The apple turned loose from the tree."I'm flying, I'm flying," the apple happily cried. But the flight soon ended as the apple crashed to the ground. After a short time, the apple began to spoil. The next day some children came to the garden and began to collect apples, but the apple that wanted to fly was thrown into the trash. "Who would want a worm-eaten, spoiled apple?" the children asked.

In the same way satan tries to deceive us and tries to take us away from the purpose and plan God has for our lives. Never listen to satan when he lies to you and says why you can’t do something that others are doing. Pray at that time and ask God to keep you safe and in his plan.

Activity For The Day - CROSS WORD

Masters Vineyard

2007-05-25T23:13:00.000-07:00

Reading : Matthew 20:13-15, Psalm 103:10-11

Jesus told a story about a landowner who was hiring men to work in his vineyard. He hired some of them early in the morning, some in the middle of the day, and some he hired just before quitting time. When it was time to pay the workers, he paid them all the same. The workers who were hired early in the morning began to complain, "Hey! That's not fair! You paid the workers who worked only one hour the same as those of us who worked all day." The owner of the vineyard said, "I am not being unfair to you. I paid you what I agreed to pay you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Are you jealous because I am generous?"

What is the point of the story that Jesus told? The point is that there are some people who trust in Jesus and serve him all the days of their life. What is their reward? Their reward is eternal life in heaven. There are other people who live most of their life in sin. They don't serve the Lord at all. Then, just before their life comes to an end, they put their trust in Jesus and accept him as their Savior. What is their reward? Their reward is the same as one who has served the Lord all their life -- eternal life in heaven.

Is that fair? We might not think it's fair, but if we got what was fair, none of us would go to heaven. The Bible says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." I don't know about you, but I'm glad that God doesn't give me what is fair, but gives me his love and grace, in spite of what I deserve!

Activity For The Day - Activity One & Activity Two

Resource : Sermons4kids

Ten Bridesmaids

2007-05-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

Reading : Matthew 24:42

Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were wise, and five were foolish. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil in their vessels with their lamps.

As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, "Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him." Then all those bridesmaids got up, and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil; for our lamps are going out." But the wise replied, "No! There will not be enough for us and you: you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves."

And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came; and those that were ready went with him to the wedding: and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us." But he replied, "Truly I tell you, I do not know you". Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour (that the Son of man cometh). [NRSV]

How many of the bridesmaids knew the bridegroom was coming? All of them. Then why weren't they all ready? They got sleepy and weren't prepared for the long wait. The foolish bridesmaids didn't bring enough oil. Jesus says we must be like the wise bridesmaids that were prepared. We must be ready for the wait. What are we waiting for? For Christ to come. The bridesmaids knew what they were supposed to do - to participate in the wedding and have themselves and their lamps ready when the bridegroom came. We also know what we are supposed to do. We are to have ourselves ready and our tasks ready when Christ comes.

Source : Copyright: Sunday School Sources at eBibleTeacher.com © 2000-2006

Activity For The Day - FIND THE WORDS

Pentecost

2007-05-23T19:52:00.000-07:00

Text: Acts 2:1-8; Leviticus 23:15,16
Summary: The Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost. The disciples were able to preach in different languages to the people in Jerusalem and many people were saved.

Today I want to tell you what happened ten days later after Jesus ascended to heaven that is almost forty days after he rose from the dead . Something wonderful happened on Pentecost, the Jewish feast of harvest. The word Pentecost means "fiftieth day" because this feast was held fifty days after Passover. The feast was at the time when the first ears of the corn crop were gathered and the people thanked God for providing for their needs. (Leviticus 23:15,16) Listen to what happened on this particular day.

Read Acts 2:1-8] When I imagine a rushing mighty wind I think of the noise made by a tornado, which is loud and makes a roaring sound. There was no wind blowing in the place where the disciples were, but something was making a loud noise. It was the Holy Spirit descending, or coming down, from heaven to be with the believers. It happened just like Jesus said it would. Jesus went up to heaven and the Holy Spirit came down.

In our story today God was using the Holy Spirit to allow the disciples to speak different languages to bring people together. These people in Jerusalem had come from many different places for the feast and they spoke different languages. They were amazed when they heard the disciples speak to them in their own language! For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit.
1 Cor 14:2

Then Peter stood up to preach his first sermon. When he was through about 3000 people were saved! (every preacher's dream) Wherever the Holy Spirit is at work people will come to a saving faith in the Lord Jesus. It is the job of the Holy Spirit to teach you about Jesus and give honor and glory to Him (John 16:14). The Holy Spirit comes to live inside you when you ask Jesus into your heart. He marks you as God's child and will never leave you. We can be thankful that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit after he went up to heaven.

Activity For Today: Bible Quiz
©2000 by Jim Kerlin.

God Provides For All

2007-05-22T21:42:00.000-07:00

Reading For The Day : Matthew 6:25-26

In this lesson, Jesus compares God's children to birds and flowers. Do birds work for a living? No - they find food rather than buying it like we do. Who provided for the food that the birds find? God did. Could birds get food if not for Him? No. If God makes sure that the birds have food to eat, will He take care of us, too? Yes. We are much more important than birds. God will always provide for His children, because He loves us.

Jesus also talks about another need we have - clothing. He says that if God made the flowers of the field so beautiful that even Solomon couldn't compare to them, why would he ignore our need to be clothed. He won't. God provides for the flowers and He provides for us.

So my dear ones always remember that no matter what comes in your lives, God is always watching over you and he will provide for all your needs. All you need to do is ask God through prayer. For it says in Matthew 7:7-8 that "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Resources : ebibleteacher

Activity For The Day - TRUST IN GOD

Welcome

2007-05-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

"He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." Matthew 10:40-42 (NIV)

Good morning .... Have you ever seen one of these? Where have you seen something like this? Usually we'd see a mat like this outside the door to our home, wouldn't we? A mat such as this usually has two purposes. Do you know what those two purposes are?

Well, for one thing, it is a friendly reminder for people to wipe their shoes off so that they won't track dirt or mud into your home. And second, it is placed outside your door as a sign to let people know that they are welcome in your home.

Welcome -- what does the word "welcome" mean? It means to receive someone in a warm and friendly way. Are people always welcome in our homes? Do we welcome people into our home if their skin is a different color from ours? Do we welcome people into our homes if they don't have as much money as we do?

How about in our church? Do you think that we make everyone feel welcome in our church? Do we speak to those people who are visiting our church that we do not know? If someone comes to our church and they are not dressed the way we are dressed, do we make sure that they are made to feel welcome?

Jesus said, "He who receives you receives me." If we turn that around, we will understand that if we do not welcome others into our homes and into our churches, it is the same as if we are refusing to welcome Jesus. We wouldn't do that, would we?

Well, let's put the welcome mat out -- and let's be sure that we mean it!

Dear Father, help us to remember that when we refuse to welcome others to our homes and to our church, it is the same as refusing to welcome you. Amen.

Activity For Today: W E L C O M E

Source: Sermonsforkids.com

Believing

2007-05-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

Passage For Reading John 3:17-18

A young man who had been raised as an atheist was training to be an Olympic diver. The only religious influence in his life came from his outspoken Christian friend. The young diver never really paid much attention to his friend's sermons, but he heard them often.

One night the diver went to the indoor pool at the college he attended. The lights were all off, but as the pool had big skylights and the moon was bright, there was plenty of light to practice by.

The young man climbed up to the highest diving board and as he turned his back to the pool on the edge of the board and extended his arms out, he saw his shadow on the wall. The shadow of his body was in the shape of a cross.

Instead of diving, he knelt down and asked God to come into his life. As the young man stood, a maintenance man walked in and turned the lights on. The pool had been drained for repairs.

Remember kids God will never harm you but will always save you, he has come into this world to save us and not condemn us. So, please tell to all your class mates that God is not harmful nor a destroyer of your soul but a source of your salvation, believe Jesus Christ as a saviour and thou shall be saved.

John 3:17-18

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

Activity For Today : John 3:16

The Farmer's Donkey

2007-05-19T20:59:00.000-07:00

Reading : Galatians 5:1

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less

Activity For The Day - CROSSWORD PUZZLE

THE DUCK AND THE DEVIL

2007-05-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

Reading : 1 John 1:8-10

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods; but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved! In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile; only to see his sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing.

After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the dishes." But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes. Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make supper." Sally just smiled and said, "Well that's all right because Johnny told me he wanted to help." She whispered again, "Remember the duck?" So Sally went fishing and Johnny stayed to help.

After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's; he finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.

"Thought for the day and every day thereafter?"

Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done... And the devil keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad habits, hatred, anger, bitterness)...whatever it is...You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness; He not only forgives you, but He forgets. It is by God's grace and mercy that we are saved.

Activity For The Day - Confessing Sins

THE TORTOISE AND THE DUCKS

2007-05-17T21:06:00.000-07:00

Prov 26:4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.
THE TORTOISE, you know, carries his house on his back. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot leave home. After many years, Tortoise began to wish he had gone to that wedding. When he saw how gaily the birds flew about and how the Hare and the Chipmunk and all the other animals ran nimbly by, always eager to see everything there was to be seen, the Tortoise felt very sad and discontented. He wanted to see the world too, and there he was with a house on his back and little short legs that could hardly drag him along.

One day he met a pair of Ducks and told them all his trouble.

"We can help you to see the world," said the Ducks. "Take hold of this stick with your teeth and we will carry you far up in the air where you can see the whole countryside. But keep quiet or you will be sorry."

The Tortoise was very glad indeed. He seized the stick firmly with his teeth, the two Ducks took hold of it one at each end, and away they sailed up toward the clouds.

Just then a Crow flew by. He was very much astonished at the strange sight and cried:

"This must surely be the King of Tortoises!"
"Why certainly—" began the Tortoise.

But as he opened his mouth to say these foolish words he lost his hold on the stick, and down he fell to the ground, where he was dashed to pieces on a rock.

Prov 26:4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest thou also be like unto him.

Matt 10:16 I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

Activity for Today : People & Places

100 Points

2007-05-16T22:02:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Titus 2:11-14

A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the pearly gates. St. Peter says, "Here's how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven.You tell me all the good things you've done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in."

"Okay," the man says, "I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart."

"That's wonderful," says St. Peter, "that's worth three points!"
"Three points?" he says. "Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service."

"Terrific!" says St. Peter, "that's certainly worth a point." "One point? Golly. How about this: I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans."

"Fantastic, that's good for two more points," he says. "TWO POINTS!!" the man cries, "At this rate the only way I get into heaven is by the grace of God!"

"That's right!, Now you have got it!" said St. Peter.

What a nice expression - "the grace of God." It prompts pleasant and peaceful thoughts about our Father, the great Creator But Paul's use of "the grace of God" phrase in Titus 2:11 appears to be with a specific purpose There the expression refers to the Savior of mankind. That four word phrase "the grace of God is a synonym for Jesus: "For the grace of God has appeared for the salvation of all men." (RSV) How beautiful! The sequence of phrases puts in good perspective the reality of His manifestation. He is the gift of God's grace by which all men may be saved. How wonderful to know it! "The grace of God has appeared!"

Activity for Today: Fruit Of Spirit

Go Fly a Kite

2007-05-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Matt 6:19-20
Yesterday was a beautiful day! The temperature cooled down (just a little) and the wind was blowing steady but not too strong - the perfect conditions for God to teach me a very important lesson.

For the past three weeks my two youngest girls have been asking (begging) to fly a kite. They found an old kite in the back of a closet and have been taking turns running around the house and even occasionally "flying" in front of a big fan. They continued to ask but the conditions were never quite right. You understand, don't you? First we didn't have enough string; then it was either too hot or not enough wind...or dad was too busy doing more "important" things.
Well, for over an hour yesterday afternoon I finally stepped into God's classroom and I watched two little girls stare in awe as their kites sailed high and sometimes dove back toward the ground. Our six year old said that kite flying was even more fun than she imagined.
Matthew 6:19-20

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal."

One day we will close our eyes to this life and, if we have believed in Jesus, we will open them in the true presence of God. If we're allowed to look back, we will all be saddened to see how much we wasted on things with no eternal value. As I walked in that open field and saw the pure and unrestrained joy of two little girls, I was struck with a new understanding of what really lasts.

The physical will certainly pass away, and things like worry and anxiety about the future will have no place in Heaven. The only thing with eternal value is that which brings glory and honor to God; and my lesson for the day was that God was more glorified in that laughing, breeze-filled hour than in many of my quiet times of study. Our hour of kite flying had eternal value!
I never intend to diminish the importance of good quality study and prayer. But I believe we need to rethink and expand our idea of what glorifies God. Yesterday afternoon I believe God was glorified simply because I enjoyed the life He's given and praised Him for every precious moment.

If today you realize your priorities have become too focused on the temporary things of the world, or even if your strongest desire is to glorify God but you struggle with what this really means, then I suggest you continue to seek Him through times of quiet. But even more strongly I urge you to continually praise and make the time to go fly a kite.

Activity For Today: Creation

Steve Troxel
God's Daily Word Ministries

Narrow and the Wide Gates

2007-05-14T21:51:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Matt 7:13-14
What Jesus tells us here is so important. God gave us a choice. We can either be good or we can be bad. We can be right or we can be wrong. God isn't going to make us do anything. That choice is up to each of us. God tells us the right way but if we chose not to do it, that is our choice to make.

Jesus tells us that in our life here on earth we must use the narrow road for our life in heaven. It is small and narrow and hard to find but Jesus asks us to look very hard for that gate. The wide road is the road that leads to bad things, away from Jesus. He told us that is the road that many choose. I guess that might be because it's easier.

Wouldn't it be easier disobey your parents?
Wouldn't it be easier to do as you wanted?
Wouldn't it be easier to not be nice to people you don't like?
It might be easier but is it better?

Jesus tells us no, it isn't better. Jesus tells us that we must do those things that are not easy, but that are right. It isn't easy to be nice all the time, but it's the right thing to do. It isn't easy to obey your parents all the time but it is the right thing to do. Are you going to follow the narrow road with the small gate? That would make Jesus very happy.

Source: Ainglkiss@aol.com

Activity For The Day - FIND YOUR WAY

The Wise and Foolish Builders

2007-05-13T21:58:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Matt 7:24-27

Jesus said, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

Kids i hope you all understood what Jesus wanted to tell you, if you have not understood here is what he meant, that if you obey the Bible and its teachings which is the word of Christ, you are like the man who builds his house upon the Rock and if you disobeys the Truth and the teachings of the bible then you are like the foolish man who builds his house upon the sand and when the rain came down it fell with a great crash.

So build your your houses on the Rock the Christ.

Activity for Today : The Wise & Foolish Builders

By SS

THE PLANE TREE

2007-05-12T21:51:00.000-07:00

Gal 5:22-23
TWO TRAVELLERS, walking in the noonday sun, sought the shade of a widespreading tree to rest. As they lay looking up among the pleasant leaves, they saw that it was a Plane Tree.
"How useless is the Plane!" said one of them. "It bears no fruit whatever, and only serves to litter the ground with leaves."

Do You Bear Fruit?
Matt 7-15-23
But their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Same way the Tree is our hearts, and the fruit is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which represents our characterstics. If yor are a Good child you will bear good fruits, and if not, you will be plane tree and without fruit or even bear bad fruit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. But you are a Good Tree planthed beside the streams of water, and who beard fruit all through the seasons.

Activity For Today : John 15 And 16

Source: SS

Pray And Then Work

2007-05-11T20:53:00.000-07:00

Reading : Psalm 141:1-3

A mammoth 747 jetliner, while flying over the Pacific, sustained a gigantic tear on its side, ejecting nine passengers to their deaths, and threatening the lives of all. When the pilot, Captain David Cronin, was interviewed, having brought the craft back safely to Honolulu, he was asked,

"What did you do when the place ripped open? How did you cope?" Captain Cronin replied, "I prayed, then went to work."

My brethren, this is an inspired plan for each of us to follow:

"Pray, and then go to work."

Same way we need to pray before we leave our house and go for our classes and tutions and evening activities, so that God can save us from all the calamities that can come on the way, because no accidents and calamaties comes by prior appointments, so prayer is the answer that can shield us from all.

"Pray, and then go to work."

Activity for Today: Week End Special

Source:Thomas S. Monson

Test of Faith

2007-05-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Col 3:1-2

This is a true story told by one of the first missionaries to enter Russia:
In Russia before the Berlin Wall came down and freedom to worship freely was against the law, many Christians were forced to get together in secret to worship the Lord.

One group of Christians were gathered together in a simple house studying the Bible when suddenly the door was thrown open violently and three Russian soldiers burst in with rifles. One of the soldiers bellowed out that anyone who wasn't a Christian could leave immediately but anyone who had come to worship God should stay.

After a moment of silence many of the people filed out of the house leaving a few people behind. One of the soldiers closed the door behind them and locked it, then the soldiers all put down the rifles and explained to the remaining few that they also were Christians but they only wanted to worship with true believers. Could you pass such a test of your faith?

Isn't it too hard for all of us to be in the same condition, we might choose to deny christ rather getting killed by some one. But wait kids there is something more to this, Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Col 3:1-2) So that at any cost you may not deny christ who is the King and Saviour of our lives.

Activity for Today: Blessed Is He

1 Dollar and 100 Dollar Bill

2007-05-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Matt 6:33
One day, a one dollar bill and a hundred dollar bill got folded together and began talking about their life experiences. The hundred dollar bill began to brag: "I've had a great life," he said.

"I've been to all the big hotels, Donald Trump himself used me at his casino, I've been in the wallets of Fortune 500 board members, I've flown from one end of the country to the other! I've even been in the wallet of two Presidents of the United States, and once when Princess Diana visited the US, she used me to buy a packet of gum."

In awe, the dollar humbly responded, "Gee, nothing like that has ever happened to me, ...but I have been to church a lot!"

Same way many times some childres boast about Spider Man, Super Man or Harry Porter and many things in this world, and even about there Dad who might be a CEO of a Company or may be they stay in big Mansions or more about there dresses and offcourse all about how they look.

But by the God's Grace do not worry like the One Dollar bill, who answers wisely, likewise we may also answer by thanking God, and say ...i may not have the world, but i have Jesus Christ in my heart, who has cleansed my sins and made me Holy and still forgives all my sin, and Jesus has promised through his word that if i promise to seek his kingdom and righteousness, then he will add all that i needed in my life. So, lets boast about Jesus Christ!

Activity For Today: Matthew Chapter One

Source: inspirationalstories.com

Footprints

2007-05-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Heb 13:5-6

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the Lord. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand; one belonging to him, and the other to the Lord.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the Lord about it. "Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."

The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Activity for Today: ALL SINS FORGIVEN

Daniel in the Lion's Den

2007-05-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

Portion for Reading Daniel 6

Daniel,as a young man and a faithful Hebrew, was taken captive to Babylon. During the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar Daniel interpreted a dream for the king with the help of God! As a reward the King gave Daniel a place of honor as ruler over the kingdom for he saw that Daniel was very wise. After many years, Babylon was captured by the Medes and Persians and King Darius was the ruler. He liked and trusted Daniel and made him his chief ruler! This made the others in high places very jealous of Daniel and they plotted against him. They knew that Daniel prayed 3 times a day for he would open his window toward Jerusalem and prayed to God.

These nobles thought that in Daniels's prayers they could find a chance to do him harm and even cause him to be put to death. Therefore, they tricked King Darius into signing a law that no one could pray to any god for thirty days and if they did, they would be punished by putting them in a den of lions! Daniel continued to pray three times a day with his window opened. He did not try to hide and pray in secret! The nobles saw him praying and went before the king telling him about Daniel and he would have to put Daniel in the lion's den! The king was very displeased with himself and tried to save Daniel but he was not successful for it was a law that no one pray to any god.

They put Daniel in the lion's den!

During the night King Darius did not sleep but prayed to Daniel's God. At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"

Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king."

The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had God. Then the King ordered the nobles who had planned to put Daniel in the lion's den were thrown into the same den of lions. They were torn to pieces for their mouths were now opened!

Same way God sends his angels and shuts the mouths of the lion's the Devil, who wants to devour you because you pray to God daily three times which the Devil do not like. So pray daily to God and also as Daniel said to the king let it be your testimony "they have not hurt me, because i was found innocent in his sight. Nor have i done any wrong before you, O King."

Activity for Today: Daniel in the Lion’s Den

Source:kidsnewspress.com

THE WOLF AND THE KID

2007-05-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

John 10:14-15
"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

THERE was once a little Kid whose growing horns made him think he was a grown-up Billy Goat and able to take care of himself. So one evening when the flock started home from the pasture and his mother called, the Kid paid no heed and kept right on nibbling the tender grass. A little later when he lifted his head, the flock was gone.

He was all alone. The sun was sinking. Long shadows came creeping over the ground. A chilly little wind came creeping with them making scary noises in the grass. The Kid shivered as he thought of the terrible Wolf. Then he started wildly over the field, bleating for his mother. But not half-way, near a clump of trees, there was the Wolf!

The Kid knew there was little hope for him.

"Please, Mr. Wolf," he said trembling," I know you are going to eat me. But first please pipe me a tune, for I want to dance and be merry as long as I can."

The Wolf liked the idea of a little music before eating, so he struck up a merry tune and the Kid leaped and frisked gaily.

Meanwhile, the flock was moving slowly homeward. In the still evening air the Wolf's piping carried far. The Shepherd Dogs pricked up their ears. They recognized the song the Wolf sings before a feast, and in a moment they were racing back to the pasture. The Wolf's song ended suddenly, and as he ran, with the Dogs at his heels.

Guys we are also like this little kid who wants to enjoy more the world, but it is very dangerous right now as you dont know the terrors of the Wolf, the wolf is like the Devil who wants to devour you, and if ever you come across a situation when you are entagled with sin and fallen short of glory of God, pray and make and alarm to God, the wolf who naturuly also makes a noise before devouring , the Shepard's Dogs will here that and come to rescue for they are the angels given by the heavenly Shepherd for your rescue and deliverence.

John 10:14-15
"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Activity for Today : Jigsaw Puzzles
Source: Calvarywilliamsport.com

THE GOOSE AND THE GOLDEN EGG

2007-05-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

Prov 15:27 A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live.

There was once a Countryman who possessed the most wonderful Goose you can imagine, for every day when he visited the nest, the Goose had laid a beautiful, glittering, golden egg.

The Countryman took the eggs to market and soon began to get rich. But it was not long before he grew impatient with the Goose because she gave him only a single golden egg a day. He was not getting rich fast enough.

Then one day, after he had finished counting his money, the idea came to him that he could get all the golden eggs at once by killing the Goose and cutting it open. But when the deed was done, not a single golden egg did he find, and his precious Goose was dead.

Kids same way the world decieves us by telling that to earn more money and wealth of the world is the unlitimate joy, but when we desire to become more rich often we choose short cuts that leads us to wrong paths, like some of our elders who are violent and drug addict and who deals with drugs who things to become rich in no time, but infact looses everything in life. So, do not be greedy and ruin your life and your family, But seek first his kingdom and his

righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matt 6:33)

Prov 15:27 A greedy man brings trouble to his family, but he who hates bribes will live.

Activity for Today:H O U S E–M A Z E

Source:Lisa Ripperton

Blind Faith

2007-05-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

Reading : Isaiah 42:16 And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.

God wants us to depend on Him by faith just as a blind person depends on his guide dog.
The prophet Isaiah foretold of a day when God would lead his people by sending Jesus as a new and living way to follow Him. Jesus is our guide. Many times we are like a blind person: we don't know what to do to please God. We could try to please Him on our own and think of neat things to do. But God wants us to trust Him to lead us. The Bible speaks of walking by faith, that is, by trusting God's Holy Spirit to lead us. We can pray to God expecting Him to answer us. In 2 Corinthians 5:7 it says that “For we walk by faith, not by sight”.

What if we behaved as if we actually were blind spiritually? If we were utterly helpless to know what to do without praying about it first, then we would develop a deep, dependent relationship with Jesus. God wants us to be close to Him. That is why Jesus gives every Christian the power of the Holy Spirit within us. So the next time you see a blind person, remember that God wants us to depend on Him by faith just as the blind person trusts the dog to lead him.

Activity For The Day - SONGS OF PRAISE

Grace of God

2007-05-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Rom 6:15-18

The word favor is the nearest biblical synonym for the word grace. How do we recieve grace of God, but first what is Grace Of God?

Suppose you are very weak in Math and in your final exam you have done very badly, over all you only need 3 marks to pass. Now your teacher sees you and has mercy on you, and she trust that next time you will do well, so she adds 3 marks into your Math paper in order that you can pass.

So, the adding of the extra marks is known as Grace Marks.

Similarly, when God sees man has sinned against him, and man was on the way eternal destruction, God had mercy on us and gave Grace in order to do right things and live sin free life, that is called Righteousness.

Rom 6:17-18But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Activity for Today: Five Steps to Knowing God’s Word

By SS

Flesh and Spirit in Conflict

2007-05-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

Galatians 6: 16-18
Jacob and Esau were the sons of Isaac and Rebekah. These two sons represent the conflict of the flesh and the Spirit. Esau represents that which is natural, whereas Jacob represents that which is spiritual.

The conflict between the natural and the spiritual is present in every believer's heart. It is the conflict of the two natures.

The Scriptures say, "The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (Gal. 5:17).

However, believers are encouraged to realize that, because of the greatness of God, the Spirit will ultimately triumph and the flesh will be brought into subjection.

In Esau we see the profane nature that despises the riches and promises of God. In Jacob we see the desire for that which is godly, even though he used fleshly (carnal) methods to attain the benefit of the promises.

Jacob's life was one of conflict. In him we see the conflict between the flesh and the Spirit. This is the key to understanding his life. Jacob's life strikingly exhibits the power of the old nature, but it also exhibits the power of God's love and grace.

In Jacob we see the utter worthlessness and depravity of the human nature, but we also see the deepest instruction as to God's purpose and infinite grace.

"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit" (Gal. 5:25).

Activity for Today: Fight between Flesh Vs Spirit

by Theodore Epp

David and Goliath

2007-05-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

Portion For Reading Psalms 23:1,4,6
While Goliath was taunting Israel, David was tending his father's flocks in peace, far from the war, meditating upon the Word of God, playing his harp and singing to the Lord. However, David had three older brothers who were soldiers in the army of Israel. One day David's father came to him and said, "Go and visit your brothers on the battlefront and bring me word about how things are going." So David left his sheep with another shepherd, arose early in the morning and left for the battlefield.

(1 Sam. 17) 32-33David said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him." Saul replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from his youth."

David said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord's, and he will give all of you into our hands."

You who are listening today, who are you most like? David? Or Saul and his soldiers? Do you know God personally? Or have you just heard a few things about Him? Do you know the Word of God so well that it fills your heart with joy? Or are you only trying to fulfil your religious obligations? Do you have a solid and happy relationship with the living God? Or do you only have dry religion?

Listen to what the prophet David wrote in the Psalms, concerning the relationship he had with God. He said:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!" (Psa. 23:1,4,6)

How about you? Do you have a close relationship with the Lord God? Do you know Him as your Shepherd? Are you certain that you will dwell in His house in heaven forever? David had that confidence, because he knew the wonderful and precious promises of the Lord God. And he didn't just know them in his head; he believed them in his heart.

David trusted God to help him even though the giant was much larger than he was. Do you have any "giants" in your life? Is there something so big that you don't see a way to overcome it? Ask God for help in meeting this enemy. Go to your parent, teacher, or a trusted adult for their wise counsel. Don't try to solve the problem by yourself.

Activity for Today: David and Goliath
Source: Injel.org

Your Life are Like Roses In the Pots

2007-04-30T19:23:00.000-07:00

Flowers are a great addition to any garden, and/or room's decor. The add color, fragrance, and elegance in what might be otherwise, dingy spaces. Nothing can offer quite as much as a great floral arrangement, especially if those flowers are roses.

Lets assume that we guys are going to plant a rose plant in a pot. Now the question comes how many of know that what all is needed for a plant to grow?
Good you said right! So a plant needs proper lighting and watering, pots and fertilizing.
Same way is our spiritual life, our life is like a rose plant and it need to grow right. So let me tell you what does this all mean:-

1.Lighting for the plant : Light means the presense of Holy Spirit in our life. We should recieve the power of the Holy Spirit which is like a light to rose plant, so that we all may become light. Matt 5:14

2.Watering Plants: A rose plant also needs water daily in order to grow, same way our spiritual life also needs water to grow. The Word Of God is the water in our life. Ps 1:2

3.Pots and Containers: The third thing a rose plant needs is a pot or a container to be planted, same we are also planted in Jesus Christ who lays himself as a foundation of our faith. John 15:1

4.Fertilizing: The last thing that needed for this rose plant is a fertilizer, this means we a prayer life, when ever a rose plant is attacked by the insects and bees and worms, it cry's out to God to save them, same way we too need to pray in times of danger.

So, did you enjoyed planting a rose plant with us. Roses have always been a symbol of peace, love, friendship, and even death to all who see them. For centuries, roses have come to characterize great taste and eternity during events such as weddings, anniversaries, and birthdays.

So shine and smile and let your fragnance fill the garden of heavens with love, which is your own life.

God Bless you!

Activity for Today: Missionary Maze

By SS

What is the Trinity

2007-04-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

What is the Trinity?

In a nutshell, there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit. The three persons of the Godhead are coequal and co-eternal (Genesis 1:26, Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 3:16-17; 28:19, Luke 1:35, Hebrews 3:7-11, and 1 John 5:7).

Example to Understand Trinity Of God.

1. A book has length, width, and thickness. The length is not the book’s width, the width is not the book’s thickness. These three dimensions can be described separately, yet they are connected together. If you remove one dimension, you are no longer describing a book. In the same way, the Godhead has three separate members that are connected together, and if you try to remove one you no longer have the Godhead.

2.The egg fails in that the shell, white and yoke are parts of the egg, not the egg in themselves. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not parts of God, each of them is God.

3.The water illustration is somewhat better, but still fails to adequately describe the Trinity. Liquid, vapor and ice are forms of water. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are not forms of God, each of them is God. So, while these illustrations may give us a picture of the Trinity, the picture is not entirely accurate or complete. An infinite God cannot be fully described by a finite illustration.

Here are the basics of the doctrine of the Trinity:
1. In the one divine nature, there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
2. No one of the persons is either of the others, each is wholly himself.
3. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God.
4. They are not three Gods but one God.

So, Kids next time don't get confuse with questions like who is Jesus, Who is Father and then Who is the Holy Spirit? They are not three Gods but one God. So as we learnt yesturday about how to pray, like wise pray always to your Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus and with the help of Holy Spirit. Amen

Activity for Today: Color the Trinity Picture

Source: Clarifying Christianity & Allaboutgod.com

Come Let Us Learn How To Pray

2007-04-26T20:34:00.000-07:00

Hello! Kids don't we know that we all pray daily before going to bed, eat and before going to school. But today i ask you guys, do any of know how to pray?

WOW! I believe all of us know how to pray, but let see how Jesus Christ wants to teach us how to pray through his Word that is the Bible.

Matt 6:6-8 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

1. Pray in your room were there is no disturbance by others.

2. Pray to your heavenly father simply refering him as father or Daddy.

3.Do your prayer's in secret, like our parents does for all of us without our knowlege.

4.Ask whatever you want from God.

5.Do not babble like pagans means, please do not repeat the same thing again and again.

6.Sometimes your heavenly father gives answer to your prayer's

immediately, but sometime it gets delay, the delay does't means that he has not heard your prayer, but in his time he will give you. For example if you ask God to give a Car, and you are now only 10yrs old, he knows that you don't have a license so now you have to wait to get a car until the age of 18yrs.

7.Conclude all prayers in the name of Jesus.

8.Amen.

Activity for Today: Prayer

By SS

Peter Walks On Water

2007-04-25T18:16:00.000-07:00

Read : Matthew 14:22-33

The disciples had a long tiring day and Jesus sent them out in the boat to go over to another town. It was a dark stormy night and the wind was tossing the waves around. In the middle of the night, they thought they were seeing a ghost when Jesus came to them walking on the sea! Jesus saw they were scared and told them not to be afraid. When they were the most afraid, he told them to cheer up, he was with them! God has to take the storm out of us before He can take us out of the storms of life.

Peter must have wondered if it really was Jesus or just their imagination. He asked Jesus to tell him to come out on the water with him if this was really happening. Jesus didn't say, "I'm sorry, Peter, but water-walking is for Messiahs only." No, he said one simple word: Come. God calls us to do impossible things by faith. It must have taken a lot of faith by Peter to take that first step out of the boat in the middle of the wind and waves. When he did, Peter walked on water!

The Bible says, And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. – (Matthew 14:29,30)

Peter was doing fine until he took his eyes off Jesus. As long as he had faith, he did impossible things to do without God's help. He kept his eyes on Jesus and walked on water. When he looked around at the world, he started believing that the storm was going to defeat him. He lost faith. He took his eyes off Jesus, and he began to sink. If we forget that Jesus is right there to help us, we can let the storms of life cause us to sink. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, we can do mighty things for God by faith.

Then Peter uttered what is probably the shortest prayer in the Bible: Lord, save me. We ALL need Jesus to save us. He is our only hope. Jesus told Peter he should not have doubted. In the same way whenever we have a problem in our lives we should pray to Jesus to help us and never doubt him. For God is more than able to meet all our needs.

Activity For The Day - JESUS WALKS ON WATER

A Hug From God

2007-04-24T19:43:00.000-07:00

Text: John 14:15-21; John 15:12
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. - John 3:16

Summary: We show our love to God by obeying him. The Holy Spirit lives in and helps believers. Your parents love you very much. How do they show their love to you? They may tell you "I love you" or "I'm proud of you." They may give you a kiss on the cheek or a big hug. I like hugs myself. It makes me feel warm and good all over. God loves you too! He loves you so much he sent his Son, Jesus, into the world. God wants us to love him and each other. But how can we show God that we love him? Jesus tells us how in the Bible.

Jesus says if you love him, you will keep his commandments. One of the ways you show that you love God is to obey your parents. (Eph 6:1), Another way we show our love to God is by loving each other. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. - John 15:12

The Holy Spirit is God's way of hugging us. I like a hug from God! He is our best friend. He teaches us about Jesus (John 15:26). He helps us pray (Romans 8:26). He teaches us what is right. He will never leave us. And the Holy Spirit in us is proof that we are children of God (Romans 8:16).

Let's pray right now. Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me. I love you and want to obey you. Thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to help me. Amen.

I hope you will remember the hug from God and go back and tell your parents that you love them and give them a great big hug!

Source: Jim Kerlin.

Activity for Today: Let Your Light Shine

The Parable of the Two Sons

2007-04-23T19:36:00.000-07:00

The Parable of the Two Sons

Matt 21:28-31 "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' " 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go.

"Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered.

The bottom line is: “you can’t talk the talk if you don’t walk the walk.”

Kids i hope you also choose the first as the answered, isn't it true so many times we also tell our parents that yes Mom & Daddy, i'll do as you say, but actually once we go to school we forget all the instruction and become like the second Son. Remember one thing when we obey our parents and elders we please them with Obedience and they become so happy that they even give the most precious gift which you desire the most.

Same way even though sometimes we don't like to do certain things what your father tells,but please do it that's the father's will be done and you will blessed more. Likewise the heavenly father looks down and see which of you do the father's will like the First one by reading the bible and bibleclub portions everyday.

So let's talk the talk and Walk the Walk with the Words of Christ.

By SS

Activity for Today: Trust in God

THE COCK AND THE JEWEL

2007-04-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

Gen 25:31-34 And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.

A Cock was busily scratching and scraping about to find something to eat for himself and his family, when he happened to turn up a precious jewel that had been lost by its owner. "Aha!" said the Cock. "No doubt you are very costly and he who lost you would give a great deal to find you. But as for me, I would choose a single grain of barleycorn before all the jewels in the world." Precious things are without value to those who cannot prize them.

The birthright or precious jewel that is in our lives is Christ Jesus who paid a heavy price to save us on the cross. So my dearest children never be foolish like Esau who gave up his birthright or like the Cock in the story who gave up the precious jewel. Because neither one of them knew the value of what they had. Christ Jesus who is our Precious Jewel. Make sure that you never trade or give up Christ Jesus for anything.

Sing with me the song I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS, NO TURNING BACK, NO TURNING BACK.

Activity for Today: Color Jesus Loves Me

By SS

The Wolf In Sheep's Clothing

2007-04-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

Reading For The Day – Matthew 7:15-23

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”

Some people are like wolves that pretend to be sheep. They act and dress like the sheep, only to destroy the lambs once they are among them. A Wolf found it very hard to get inside a sheep house because of the watchfulness of the shepherd and his dogs. But one day it found the skin of a sheep that had been flayed and thrown aside, so it put it on over its own pelt and strolled down among the sheep. The Lamb that belonged to the sheep whose skin the Wolf was wearing began to follow the Wolf in the Sheep's clothing. So, leading the Lamb a little apart, he soon made a meal off her - and for some time he succeeded in deceiving the sheep, and enjoying hearty meals. Appearances are deceptive. (Aesop)

Jesus said that we can figure out which sheep are true sheep, and which are wolves. He said we'll know, because even if a wolf is dressed like a sheep, it acts like a wolf. A wolf can't baaa like a sheep, it can't chew cud like a sheep, it can't eat grass, or even smell like a sheep. Jesus said that a wolf can try to look like a sheep, but you can tell it apart by its actions.

Jesus also compared people like this to trees. If a tree has apples on it, what kind of tree is it? An apple tree! Will an apple tree ever grow pears? No - that's what a pear tree is for. Jesus said our actions are like fruit. If a man lies, he is a liar, no matter how often he says he isn't. A man can say he is a Christian, but if he doesn't act like a Christian, then you know he is false.

• Someone who cheats on a test. (wolf)
• Someone who is polite to everyone. (sheep)
• Someone who is only polite to people she wants to impress. (wolf)
• Someone who admits when he is wrong. (sheep)
• Someone who is difficult to upset. (sheep)
• Someone who blames others for her mistakes. (wolf)
• Someone who exaggerates. (wolf)

Discuss these questions with your parents or your Sunday school teachers.

1. Are we supposed to be on the look out for those that would deceive us?
2. How do we protect ourselves from evil people?
3. How can we tell if someone believes in Jesus?

Activity For The Day - HEAVENLY TREASURES

A Puzzle

2007-04-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thine soul, and with all thy might. - Deuteronomy 6:4,5

Text: Colossians 2:10
Summary: It takes Jesus in your heart to make you a complete person.

Look at this puzzle. In a way you are like this puzzle. You are made of many parts or pieces. God gave you a soul (or spirit) which is what makes you alive. God gave you a mind so you can tell right from wrong. God gave you bones and muscles so you can be strong. He gave you feelings so you can be happy or sad. But something is missing.

God left an empty space inside you that only Jesus can fill. The Bible tells you to love God with all thine heart. (Refer to Deuteronomy 6:4,5) It is not speaking about the organ that pumps blood around your body. It is speaking about every bit of who you are, your entire person. It means you should love God with all that you are. The Bible also tells you where to find the missing piece.

The Bible says in Colossians 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power. That means it takes Jesus to make you a complete person.

The Bible says that Jesus is the missing piece, the Answer to the puzzle. If you ask Jesus to come into your heart he sends the Holy Spirit inside you to make you a complete person. That simple faith in Jesus is all it takes to make you a child of God. I want to give each of you a reminder of the missing piece: Jesus in your heart!

Source: Jim Kerlin.