Kids of the King, Arise!

September-October always begins a new year for the Jewish people, but the Bible never calls these special days "Jewish " feasts. in Leviticus 23 they are called the "Feasts of the Lord". So they are feasts for anyone that believes in the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob and as well anyone who also believes in Jesus Christ, the Messiah. So I thought it would be a neat idea to look a bit as to what these feasts are all about and join in celebrating.

The fall holidays begin with the celebration of Rosh Hashannah. It means the "head of the Year". It is also known as the "Feast of trumpets" and the "Day of blowing"...the shofar... which is blown all over Israel and anywhere else that these days are remembered.

Today, marks the beginning of the holiest time of year in the Jewish Calendar. The 10 days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (the day of atonement) are called the 10 days of Awe. These 10 days are a time to ask God to search your hearts and to make everything right between you and God as well as your brothers and sisters and friends. Are there relationships that need fixing? Do I need to apologize to someone? What is God speaking to me about? The good and bad times of the previous year are remembered, much like at our New Years where we think about the good things of the past year and the ones that are not so good and make New years resolutions. It is a time when God "Judges".

The passage of the Bible that is read on the first day of Rosh Hashanah illustrates the idea that God is in control and answers prayer and also is a God of Justice.

It tells the story of Samuel's mother Hannah who couldn't have children and how her husband's other wife Penina tormented her about this fact. And then it tells how her prayers were finally answered on Rosh Hashanah when she was informed by the prophet Eli that she would be blessed with her first child. (1 Samuel 1)

As with all holidays there are special food eaten that day. Like at Thanksgiving many people in North America eat turkey right? What kinds of special foods do you eat on special holidays?

The foods eaten on Rosh Hashannah are symbolic or have a meaning..Sweet foods are eaten, usually apples dipped in honey, to indicate the wish that the next year be sweet. Round foods are eaten to symbolize the cycle of the year, and there is always LOTS of food to symbolize the hope for a good harvest and prosperity in the following year. Fish cooked with the head left on is often the main course, symbolizing the head of the year. Hmmm.






This week set aside time in your secret place to ask God to search your hearts and get things right between you and God and your friends. Follow through on what He shows you.

ACTIVITY:
Take some apples and cut them up and dip them in honey. Greet each other with L'shannh tovah tichatevu (may you have a good year and your name be inscribed in the book of life) Pretty neat greeting hey? That is in Hebrew, and what Jewish people say to each other all over the world. If you know a Jewish person, surprise them and give them this greeting today. When you greet someone that way, let them know what it means too.

*Material taken from "Bridges For Peace magazine Oct 2008

When you play hide and seek what do you do? You try and find a place where you would be hard to find. Like, you wouldn’t stand right behind the person that was "it", now would you, or in the middle of the room totally visible? No you find a place under something, or behind a closed door or under the bed. The idea is that it is "secret."

Now to have a secret time with God it is much easier if you find a spot that isn’t in the middle of the traffic in your house. Where are some busy places in your house?

Look up Matthew 6:6. In this verse you will find the secret of where to meet with God.
Do you have a hard time sometimes praying and feeling as if God is really listening to you? Is it easy to get distracted? If your answer is “yes “ to these questions then guess what, God already has given us the key to coming close to Him...

Jesus gave us a clue when he said, “your Father who is in the secret place.” What does that mean? He is saying that the Father has already gone to the secret place and is waiting for you. What do you think about that? Cool hey! To show you that He really meant it He says it again in the same chapter. Read further on in Matt. 6 and see if you can find it.*

…but to ____________who is in____________.

Now this is a great idea but WHERE is this secret place? Look at verse 6 again. Can you figure it out? (Try to guess before you read on)

When you enter your room, and shut your door, you are in the presence of your Father in Heaven. O.K. now you say you don’t have a door to your room, or you have to share your room with 3 other people…yes that could be a problem. But the point to shutting the door is to shut out the business of the day and the distractions and the T.V. and Nintendo and your homework. It is a quiet place away from it all.
I know of a lady Susanna Wesley who had a lot of kids. She was very busy and didn’t have a large house, definitely not one were she could go into a separate room by herself, and shut the door. So you know what she did? She would sit down in the middle of the kitchen and put her apron over her head. The kids all know that when she did that she wanted “time out” to meet with God, and so were quiet.


It is in the secret place that we are able to talk to God and listen to His voice for ourselves. It is the place where we get fueled up so we have the strength, courage, and love to walk in Jesus footsteps the rest of the day. You will also be equipped to face any difficulties that the day may bring.

So don’t forget the secret: shut the door.
*Matt. 6:18

The secret place #1



Now it was interesting but the very morning that we met together at the cottage I had a time of prayer and the Lord told me, that He wanted me to “go deeper” in knowing Him, that I wasn’t to waste time, but to meet Him in the "secret place." THEN the next day I started reading a book for my devotions and this is what I read.

*Chris and Dee Ann Abke were feeling overwhelmed by a looming financial challenge. In desperation they took some time late one evening - after the kids had gone to bed, to pray and seek the Lord’s help. As they sat together on their living room couch, praying, suddenly an audible voice began to speak, “If you need help, call 9-1-1. If you need help call 9-1-1”
They heard this voice say this about 4-5 times, and then it stopped. Puzzled, Chris and Dee-Anne just looked at each other. The voice seemed to be coming from the garage, so they cautiously opened the door and flipped on the garage lights, not sure what they would find. Everything was in its place except for a small toy ambulance, belonging to their son, that lay by itself in the center of the garage floor.
Chris picked up the ambulance, pushed a button next to its emergency lights and the voice began to speak again, If you need help call 9-1-1.” As they wondered aloud how the toy had activated itself of its own accord, the Holy Spirit seemed to nudge Chris with these words, “If you need help, call 9-1-1, Psalm 91:1 Going to the Bible the,
verse had a completely new meaning to them as they read it together.:

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty..

What Chris and Dee Ann felt God saying to them was that if they spent time in God’s presence, in the secret place, he would direct their steps and help them in their financial problems. And God did just that.

Do you think maybe that God is trying to tell us something? "Uh Duh you bet" as my daughter would say!


This week when you read your Bible and pray ask God to show you what it means to spend time in the "Secret Place" . What could it mean to "Abide under the shadow of the Almighty?" I will be writing a few "keys" about that in the next while, but would love to hear what God shares with you!
e-mail me at kkarise@shaw.ca

* Quote taken from "Secrets of the Secret place, by Bob Sorge"

God chose to visit Thornbury, but when He did He didn’t send a famous evangelist or a wise prophet to “wake up” the people in the area. Instead He chose some kids that were in a berry field picking berries to start something amazing. One day, some little girls, ranging from eight to twelve years of age, went out to pick berries. While they were picking, one of them spoke of a sermon she had heard on the previous Sunday, in which something was said about children coming to know Jesus as savior. They talked on for a while, and then they decided to hold a prayer-meeting RIGHT THERE and ask the Lord to convert them. They gathered into a thicket of berry bushes, and started to sing and pray. Before long God heard and answered their prayer to be saved, and all of them were filled and were made as happy as they could be.

Some men who were passing by on the road heard the noise and went to see what the children were doing. They found them in a "perfect ecstasy of joy" and quietly left them without disturbing them. But the story of the children's prayer-meeting soon spread through the village. Some laughed but others were seriously impressed by it.

I had only been there a short time and was a stranger to most of the people, but after a business meeting at the church I made arrangements for an all-day meeting, to be held in a nice field not far from our church. A large crowd showed up and at the service, one woman was converted, and many of the old professors, both from town and country, were “abundantly blessed”. We started a series of revival meetings in the church at once. The people came out in crowds, and many people gave their hearts to the Lord. The kids that had met Jesus in the berry –field was a great help to me. Everybody wondered at the purity of their testimony, and the fervor and earnestness of their prayers. For a few days these little ones did a good share of praying for penitents at the altar.

During the first week we recorded twelve conversions, and a number more were earnestly seeking the forgiveness of sin. The work went on with increased power from day to day, so that at the end of the fourth week some sixty said they had been converted, and the community was impacted for miles around.

At the end of the third week of our meetings, the altar was somewhat crowded, and we were trying to find a way to make more room. Some of the leading workers said to me:
"We shall have to put these children in a corner by themselves, so as to make more room for grown-up people."

I told them that I was afraid to interfere with the Lord's way of doing His work. But they seemed to insist on it, and I let them have their way. The children were put in a corner by themselves, and the altar left for older people.

For two nights this arrangement was kept. The meetings were cold, and dull, and dry, and lifeless. Next night I called the little workers back to the altar and all went well again."


Thornbury is in Ontario Canada


Adapted from "Experiences of a Backwoods Preacher", written by Rev. Joseph H. Hilts
First published in 1887 by William Briggs of Toronto. It was republished by The Bruce County Historical Society in 1986 - reprinted by Echo Graphics & Printing of Wiarton, Ontario. The Bruce County Historical Society had the assistance of the Ministry of Citizenship and Culture - Minister Lily Munroe. The story came about shortly after Rev. Hilts was assigned to Thornbury. page 139.

Akiane is a 13 year old girl that has an incredible story. Since the age of 4 she has drawn awesome pictures and since she was 6 she has written poetry. She has recently started playing piano and is composing her own pieces. Watch this You- Tube clip to hear her tell her story. Afterwards check out her website to see more of her work http://www.artakiane.com/home.htm

After you watch it What talents has God given you? How can you use your gifts to encourage, comfort, challenge or tell others about Jesus? You may not have a gift like Akiane but God has given each of us gifts and each of us has a piece of the puzzle so to speak. We are all a part of the family of God. This week think of a way to use the gift God has given YOU to SHINE for Jesus!

Whatever your
hand finds to do, do it with all your might Ecc.9:10

Goals:
Everything we have is a gift from God
.
What kinds of gifts do you have that you could use for God?
-singing
-being a good friend
-playing an instrument
-reading
-art
-soccer
-cooking
-being friendly
-helping
-speaking
-encouraging
-making things
-being able to know what is right and wrong

Read the parable of the talents: Matthew 25:14-30
1. The Responsibility- develop our talent/gift to use for GOD.
2. The Response- used the ability God gave us & not be lazy and it shows that we love God.
3. The Reward- God will be pleased
4. The Lesson- Jesus told this story to teach us that each person has at least one special gift, and He wants us to use these gifts for Him. Not using our gifts is like burying it in a hole as the lazy servant did!

Ask the kids:
Have you ever had a friend who was really good at a lot of different things?
Did you compared yourself to them?
Did you ever think poor me I can’t do anything? How can God use me?
If we have the attitude that we can’t do anything, we will become like the 3rd servant in out bible lesson.
God give us everyone of us at least one gift and expects us to use it.
It doesn’t matter what the gift is it ONLY matter that we use it for GOD!
God know us so well He will give us the perfect ability for who we are.
We are obeying God by using our gift.

Goals of the church:
1. Training you
2. To help people come to know Jesus.

We are going to help you find out what your special gifts are.
(If you haven't done so go back to Living stones #2 to do a spiritual gifts survey to help you out.)

Materials needed:

• Beforehand make a large paper cut out of the body, OR have one of the kids volunteer to lie down on a piece of butcher paper and trace the outline of his/her body.

• Markers

We have looked at the different gifts that God has given out. Isn't it neat that EACH of us has something special we can do for God? When we all work together we can make a difference. Lets look at it from a different angle

What is the church? Read Romans 12: 4-8
O.K. So think about it, if we are to be like Jesus what should our body be doing?

Take out the paper cut out of the body and take turns writing different ideas of how that part could be used to serve God and each other, on the different parts of the body

ASK: what are hands used for and how can they be used
eg...giving what? (Tithes, offerings, meals, )

Continue with the other parts of the Body.
-feet? Going where?
-brain? (thinking up ways to help people in our neigbourhood, memorizing God’s word)
-back? Helping people lifting
-mouth? encouraging

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might Ecc.9:10

ACTIVITY:
This week take one of the ideas you came up with and show God's love to someone that you hang out with.