this week in Kids church

For this devotion, think of some skill that your kids have recently

You want me to do what?

“Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. " – Isaiah 26:4
One of the most important things you can teach your kids is that they
need to obey you when you tell them to do something. This not only makes
for a more peaceful household, it also prepares them to learn to obey God
better as they grow older. A good principle to put in place is First Time
Obedience (FTO), which means that whenever you call your children’s names,
they come to you immediately so they can find out what you want them to
do.
To teach your kids FTO, start by playing a game. Tell them that you
want them to go to different parts of the house and when they hear you call
their names, they are supposed to say, “Coming, Mom,” or something similar
and come to you. When they get to you, you’ll have a treat for them. Send
them throughout the house, wait a few minutes, and then call them loudly by
name. When they come to you, thank them for obeying and give them a small
piece of candy.
Play the game again, but this time, hide the piece of candy. Call their
names, and when they come to you, give them directions on how to find their
candy. Once they find it, tell them that learning to come when they’re called
and then doing what you tell them to do is obedience, and it’s what God
expects them to do. Tell them you’re going to practice this for a few days, and
that sometimes they’ll get a piece of candy for obeying, but sometimes they’ll
get a hug or a kiss. Continue to practice this for several days, making sure that
you only give one instruction at a time (for example, “Take your shoes to your
room,” not “Pick up your toys, turn off the light, brush your teeth, and go to
bed.”) Over the course of several weeks, if you’re consistent, you should see
the level of obedience in your kids rise.
Tell your kids that God expects them to obey him, too, and that by
learning to obey you, they’re learning to obey God. Pray together that God
will help you all learn to obey better, and to trust God that he loves you
enough to give you good instructions.
Pre-teens
How easy is it for you to obey people in authority, like your
parents, teachers, or pastors? Better yet, how easy is it for you to obey
them when you don’t understand why they’re asking you to do
something or they say, “Because I said so!” when you ask them why you
have to do it? For a lot of people, it boils down to a matter of trust: do
you trust the person who is giving you an instruction even if you don’t
know why you’re supposed to do it? Talk about the following questions:
* Why should you obey your parents, teachers, pastors, etc. even if
they don’t give you the reason behind their instruction?
* Are there any situations when you shouldn’t obey them? Name some
of these situations.
* How does it make you feel when you don’t know why you have to
do something?
* Do you think you always have the right to know why you have to
obey? Why or why not?
* Can you think of some reasons why someone in authority might not
tell you why you’re supposed to do something?
*Can you think of any times God has asked you to obey him without
knowing why he was asking you to do something?
God often asks us to trust him enough to obey him without
understand the reason behind his instruction. One of the reasons he does
this is to strengthen our faith—our ability to believe he’s in charge even if
our circumstances don’t look like he is. Sometimes talking to a trusted
friend, parent, or pastor can help us understand why God ask us to do
certain things. While it’s okay to question him, however, we ultimately
have to learn to do what he says whether we understand it or not.
Ask God to help you learn to trust him even when you don’t
understand the why behind his instructions. Thank him that you can

Crossing the river Lesson #6

this week is going to rock we are talking about putting God in the place that he belong in the front in the driver seat of our lives - I hope you take advantage of this family devotions and share it with your kids & friends.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear…, but of

power, love, and self-discipline.” - 2 Timothy 1:7

For this devotion, you’ll need 12 objects you can use to build a memorial.

It may be stones, blocks, boxes, or even simple sheets of paper that you

fold. The objects don’t have to be large. You’ll also need some way to write

on the objects.

Read the following out loud to your family:

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites,

one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD

your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on

his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, to serve as a

sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these

stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark

of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the

Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel

forever.” (Joshua 4:4-7)

Then ask your kids the following questions:

* What is a memorial? (an object used to remind people of someone or

something that happened)

* What are some memorials you’ve seen before (think about statues,

markers, etc.)

* Do you have any memorials—objects you keep because they remind you

of something?

* How valuable are these memorials to you? Why are they so valuable?

* Why do you think Joshua wanted people to remember this particular

situation?

* Why do you think Joshua wanted people to pass this story along to

their children?

* Can you think of a time in your life when you weren’t sure what was

going to happen in the future? How did you feel then? How did you

feel once the future arrived?

Tell your kids that one of the best ways to fight the fear of the

future is to remember the past. Keeping in mind what God has done for

you in the past helps build your faith so you can trust him without fear

for the future.

Then take the objects that you gathered. Divide them as equally

as possible between all of your family members. Tell them that as a family,

you’re going to try to come up with 12 events in the past where God

helped your family. Give everyone a few minutes to think about this,

and then use the following questions to help you come up with more

ideas:

* Has there ever been a time when someone in your family was really

sick and then recovered?

* Can you think of a time when money was tight and someone unexpectedly

provided you with money, food, clothes, etc.?

* Can you think of a time when you were really afraid of something

that might happen, but you prayed about it and God helped you

through it?

* Can you think of things that at the time seemed like coincidences, but

as you look back on it, you realize God was setting things up to work

out a certain way?

Have each person write one of the things you came up with on

their object. If you can’t come up with 12, no problem; add to the

memorial in the months to come. Set the memorial in a place where the

family can see it, and then use it to remind each other that God has

always taken care of you in the past, and he always will in the future.

Thank God that he’s in control of the future. Thank him for the

blessings of the past, and ask him to help your faith to grow so you can

trust him with the things to come in your life.

"Following the leader" Lesson #5

take advantage of this resources for your family devotions

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.” - Isaiah 43:5

For this devotion, you will need some hand weights or something

heavy for each of your kids to lift. It needs to be heavy enough so that it’s

hard to lift, but not so heavy that it’s impossible to lift. Place the weights in

front of your kids and give your kids these instructions: “Pretend like these

weights are something you’re afraid to do. I want you to lift them up to your

chest at least 20 times. If you think you can’t do it, just ask me and I’ll help.

I’ll also make sure you don’t hurt yourself. Feel free to ask any questions you

have along the way.”

Tell your kids to start lifting the weights. Help them as much as they

need until all of them have lifted their weights 20 times. Then discuss the

following questions:

* How hard was it to lift the weights?

* How do your arms feel?

* What happens to your muscles when you lift weights like this?

* How did you feel knowing that someone would help you whenever you

asked?

* How do you think you’d feel if you knew someone would help you like

this whenever you had to face one of your fears?

Explain to your kids that while dealing with fears may be hard, it helps

make them stronger, just like lifting the weights did. Then read Hebrews 13:5

to them: “For God has said, ‘I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.’”

Tell them that whenever they have fears, they can always ask God to help

them and protect them while they face them. He will always be there for

them, and he will never fail to help.

Pray together, asking God to help each of you with the fears you face

every day. Ask him to give you courage and strength, and thank him for his

promise to always be with you.

What are you afraid of? Most of us are afraid of something, or at

least have some concerns about things in our lives. Our fears may not

affect us much on a daily basis, or they may paralyze us in certain circumstances.

Regardless of what kinds of fears we have, though, we can learn

how to deal with them effectively with God’s help. Discuss the following

questions:

* Can you think of things you used to be afraid of that you’re not

afraid of anymore? How did you get over those fears?

* What’s the difference between being afraid of a thing (like snakes,

heights, etc.) and situations or circumstances (like the future, relationships,

obeying God, etc.)?

* Do you think there’s a difference in the way you deal with the fear of

things and the fear of circumstances? If so, what are some of the

differences?

* What are some things you do now when you have to face something

you fear? How effective is that strategy?

* How much of your fear do you think is mental? That is, you just

can’t get your mind to believe that there’s nothing to be afraid of?

* What are some scriptures you can use to help your mind believe

God’s truth about your fears? (Google “Bible verses about fear” for

some ideas.)

Developing the ability to deal effectively with our fears is a lifelong

skill we should develop. Learning to look at our fear objectively

rather than emotionally helps, but it’s hard to do. The more faith we

have in God, though, the more we’re able to believe he’s able to deliver

us from the things we fear. By believing he’s always with us, always

protecting us, and always directing our lives, we can conquer the fears

that come our way.

Thank God that he’s promised to help you in all of the fears you

face. Ask him to help you believe his promises the next time you’re

confronted with a fear.

Joshua "spies like us"

SPIES LIKE US

this week we are doing something a little bit different we want to make available to you a family devotion to reinforce this week lesson in kids church - please take advantage of this resource

Read the following list aloud to your kids. Ask them to keep track of
how many things on the list they’re afraid of.
* Some kind of animal, like a snake, big dog, or spider
* Speaking in front of a group of people, like giving a book report
* Being somewhere really high up
* Being in a very small space
* Loud noises, like fireworks or jackhammers
Ask your kids to talk about the things on the list that they’re afraid of.
Explain that these are called irrational fears, because we’re usually afraid of
them for no reason; most of us have never been attacked by a dog, been
locked in a tight place, etc. Ask your kids if any of them even seem funny to
them—a lot of times, the things that other people are afraid of seem funny to
us.
Then discuss this next list of fears with your kids. Tell them that they
don’t have to tell you which of these they’re afraid of.
* Not having any friends
* Not being picked to be on a team
* Failing a class
*Getting really sick
* God doesn’t love me
* Not having enough money
* Dying

Ask your kids to think of other things they’re afraid of that aren’t
on the list. If they want to share them, that’s fine, but don’t force them
to. Then talk about one or two fears you’ve faced in your life—one that
might be silly, and another one that’s more serious. Tell them how you
overcame your fear, or admit to them that you still struggle with it
occasionally. Then talk about the following questions:
* What happens to your fear when you keep it to yourself and never
let anyone know you’re afraid?
* What do the things you’re afraid of have in common?
* What happens to your fear when you think about it all of the time?
* Is it hard or easy for you to trust God when you’re afraid? Why?
Tell your kids that most of the things we’re afraid of in life are
things that we can’t control. Ask them to think about the things they’re
afraid of and decide whether or not they can control them. Then ask
them the following questions:
* Who really is in control of the things and situations you’re afraid of?
* How can focusing on God instead of on yourself and your fear make
your fear easier to face?
* What fears do you have that you’re not ready to trust God to handle
yet? What can you do to learn to trust him more?
Finish the devotion by reading the following two verses: Psalm
56:3, “When I am afraid, I will trust in you,” and Romans 8:31, “If God is
for us, who can be against us?” Tell your kids that while our fears may be
real, God is always on our side, ready to help us conquer them.
Pray together, thanking God for his promises and that he’s
always in control. Ask him to help you focus on him when you’re afraid
and learn to trust him more.

If you need creative ideas on how to start having devotion in your home please send us an email or call the church office

milton@cpchurch.net

321-609-1269

The more I see my life and the things that I been through - knowing that God was in the midst of it all - as I look at it from a distance I can see his finger prints all over

Moses spent a lot of time with
God. He would regularly go to the Tent
of Meeting and speak with God face to
face. When he would leave the tent,
Joshua would stay. Joshua knew that he
needed to spend time in God’s presence.
In today’s busy lifestyle, it is easy
for us to come up with all kinds of reasons
why we can’t spend time in God’s
presence. But, if we want God to use us
to do EXTREME things for God
tomorrow, we must spend time in His
presence today.
In this lesson, we will learn another
lesson from Joshua’s time of
preparation to be the leader of Israel.
The children will learn the importance of
spending time in God’s presence.