Kids of the King, Arise!

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.

A few weeks ago we spoke about “Living Stones” and also how God has given each of us gifts. Here is a “Spiritual gifts survey” that Jo-anne Hollander sent in. It will help you see in what area God has gifted you. Go ahead and unwrap the gift

1 Peter 2:5
You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

God Has a Special Gift for Me!

Name: _____________________

Let’s find out what it is!

Circle the best answer.

Catagories	3	0	1
A.
1. I like to tell others about Jesus.	Yes	No	Maybe
2. God helps me tell others about Jesus	Yes	No	Maybe
3. I pray for people who don’t know Jesus	Yes	No	Maybe
4. I love to meet new people	Yes	No	Maybe
B.
1. I enjoy speaking in front of people	Yes	No	Maybe
2. I can explain things to people	Yes	No	Maybe
3. I think God wants me to be a preacher	Yes	No	Maybe
4. I want to tell everyone to get ready because Jesus is coming back soon!	Yes	No	Maybe
C.
1. I like to study	Yes	No	Maybe
2. I think about what I am going to say before I say it.	Yes	No	Maybe
3. I like to look thing up in the dictionary	Yes	No	Maybe
4. Details interest me	Yes	No	Maybe
D.
1. I think facts are boring	Yes	No	Maybe
2. I like to help people understand stuff	Yes	No	Maybe
3. I like to encourage people to do the right thing	Yes	No	Maybe
4. I love to talk to people	Yes	No	Maybe
E.
1. People say I am a leader	Yes	No	Maybe
2. I always notice how others are doing	Yes	No	Maybe
3. I like to be with people & I care a lot about them	Yes	No	Maybe
4. I notice when people are not here	Yes	No	Maybe
F.
1. I notice when someone needs help	Yes	No	Maybe
2. I understand how other feel & try to comfort them	Yes	No	Maybe
3. I don’t yell at others	Yes	No	Maybe
4. I stick up for others	Yes	No	Maybe
G.
1. I like to buy things for others	Yes	No	Maybe
2. I like to give money at church	Yes	No	Maybe
3. I love to give presents to people	Yes	No	Maybe
4 . When I hear about someone in need, I want to help	Yes	No	Maybe
H.
1. I love to help other people by cleaning up	Yes	No	Maybe
2. I don’t like to be the person up front, I like to be behind the scenes	Yes	No	Maybe
3. I help out without being asked; I know what needs to be done.	Yes	No	Maybe
4. When I get something for myself, I ask others if they wants some too	Yes	No	Maybe
I.
1. I am a good organizer	Yes	No	Maybe
2. I get upset when thing are not well planned	Yes	No	Maybe
3. I like to finish what I start	Yes	No	Maybe
4. I like to help get things started	Yes	No	Maybe

 

Add up the scores for each section & enter below:

A. Evangelist (Philip- Acts 21:8, Acts 8:27-40)

- Like to tell people about Jesus & follow Him

B. Prophet (John the Baptist)

- Teaches what is wrong and how to change it

C. Teacher (Aquila & Priscilla Acts 18:24-26)

- Plans & researches to teach great lessons

D. Exhorter (Barnabas Acts 11:22-24)

- Encourages people to obey & live for God

E. Shepherd (Timothy)

- Looks after the spiritual needs of others

F. Mercy Shower (The Good Samaritan Luke 10:30-37)

- Understands & comforts others

G. Giver (The Widow Mark 12:41-44)

-Generously shares his or her money & things

H. Server (Dorcas Acts 9:36)

- Helps other & does small tasks

I. Leader (Moses)

-Leads other to accomplish their goals

Your highest score will be your strongest gift.

The next highest score will be your secondary gift.

As you grow in Jesus & mature your gifts will develop.

Jesus is our perfect example of ALL the gifts:

Jesus was an EVANGELIST when He told the woman at the well of His living water.

He was a PROPHET when He taught the Scriptures to people in the temple and on the hillside.

He was an EXHORTER when He used parables to clearly explain His message.

He was a MERCY SHOWER when He healed the sick and raised the dead.

He was a SERVER when He washed Peter’s feet.

He was a GIVER when He gave His life by dying on the cross for our sins.

He will show that he is the greatest LEADER of all times when He returns as a King of Kings & Lord of Lords.

I have re-posted part of this entry as it fleshes out the “Living Stones” theme

Prayer Focus: The Church

Materials:
• Lego Blocks.
• White board
• printed out scriptures as indicated in lesson
• Picture of a cornerstone
• Pictures of different churches,
• Basket with names of city churches.
• Kids to each bring a picture of their church.
• A pastor of a church
• Construction paper “bricks” or
• Photocopies of individual bricks
• Large sheet of paper
• Glue and markers

When Kids arrive have Lego blocks available.
Divide the kids into 2 groups and instruct them each to build a church out of Lego blocks.

Start with the Lord’s Prayer. When finished call out “Your Kingdom come!”

Go back to the “Lego churches”
• Have the kids point out the differences. Remark that both were church buildings.
• Show pictures of different churches. Have the group articulate the differences in appearance both inside and outside the building.

Once I read about a lady named Hannah. She and a few others went to a conference in Switzerland. The meeting was held in one place and everyone was billeted in homes around the mountain. When they came together they were all sharing how beautiful the area was and how the view where they were staying was the best. One said, “The mountain peak is just SO majestic, it is the loveliest view I have ever seen!” Another said, “Oh no the valley is the most gorgeous, as it has wild flowers that looks like a rich carpet”. Another said, “But my view really is the best. It has this rushing stream pouring over rocks and the sun shines on it just so that it often has a rainbow.”
The speaker got up and said, “I agree these are all beautiful views but they are all a part of the same mountain.”

The same way with church, there are different ways we worship, but they are all love Jesus.

But wait a minute, are ALL churches everywhere Christian?
What makes a church a CHRISTIAN church?
A Christian church has to believe certain things. A long time ago a group of people met, looked at the Scriptures, talked about this question and this is what they came up with.

It is called the Apostles Creed and is said in many churches even today.

Listen carefully as someone reads this out.
ASK: What do we believe as Christians? Write down the responses on a white board.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.

Hand out a copy of the following two verses and have someone read them out loud.

Ephesians 2:20 LB
What a foundations you stand on now: the apostles and the prophets; and the cornerstone of the building is Jesus Christ Himself. We who believe are carefully joined together with Christ as parts of a beautiful constantly growing temple for God. And you are joined with him and with each other by the Spirit, and are part of this dwelling place of God.

1Peter 2: 5-6
And you have become living building stones for God’s use in building His house.
As the scriptures express it: “See I am sending Christ to be the carefully chosen, precious cornerstone of my church, and I will never disappoint those who trust in Him.”

Ask:
What is Jesus called in these Bible verses?
What is a Cornerstone? Show Pictures of cornerstones and explain the function of a Cornerstone.

Now let’s read the verses again.

Ask:
What are we called? Living stones

We are the living stones that make up the Church. Not a building. But a Church with feet that moves because it is alive, big feet and little feet. As these living stones grow to be more like Jesus the cornerstone, we bring Jesus into our schools, the shopping center etc.

Now God gives these stones (us) many special abilities, or ways He works in our lives to do this.

Hand out these verses.
In small groups see how many different gifts the Holy Spirit gives to help us serve God. Come back together in 10 minutes and share the results.

1 Corinthians 12: 8-11LB
To one person the Holy Spirit give the ability to give wise advice; someone else may be especially good at studying and teaching…he gives special faith to another and to someone else the power to heal the sick. He gives power for doing miracles to some and to others power to prophesy and preach, He gives someone else the power to know when an evil spirit is at work. Still another person is able to speak in languages he never learned; and others who do not know the language the power to understand what he is saying.

Eph 4: 11LB Some of us have been given special ability as apostles; to others he had given the gift of being able to preach well; some have special ability in winning people to Christ, helping them to trust him as their savior; and still others have a gift for caring for God’s people as a shepherd does his sheep, leading and teaching them the ways of God

Romans 12: 7LB ..if your gift is that of serving others serve them well…If God has given you money be generous in helping others with it…if God has given you administrative ability and put you in charge of the work of others, take that responsibility seriously.

ASK: Are all these gifts important?
Is one more important than the other?
No they are all important and all play a part in building up the church. But it is VERY important that they all work together.

ASK: Why does God give out these gifts?

READ Ephesians 4:12LB
Why is it that he gives us these special abilities to do certain things best? It is that God’s people will be equipped to do better work for him, building up the church, the body of Christ.

So WHO is head of the church? Who? Shout out JESUS

WORSHIP:

I will build My Church
By Graham Kendrick, 1988
Make Way Music

I will build my church.
I will build my church (echo)
I will build my church
And the gates of hell
Will not prevail
Against it.

Chorus:
So the powers in the heavens above, bow down
And the powers in the earth below bow down
And acknowledge, acknowledge, acknowledge
That Jesus, Jesus is Lord; is Lord.
(Taken from Mathew 16: 18)

If you don’t have a CD with the song, you can listen to it on line if you or your church has a CCLI membership.
http://www.ccli.com/SongSelect/ Song Number 30299

ACTIVITY: Chose one or two.

1) Have a pastor come and share some prayer requests. Then gather around and pray for him/her. Ask God for a word of encouragement, and share it.
2) This month go the pastor of your church and pray for him. If God gives you Bible verse to encourage him write it out on a nice card and give it to him.
3) The same way ask God to bring one of the workers at your church to mind. It may be a Sunday school teacher, or a worship leader or the custodian. Pray for that person, and then let them know on Sunday that you have been praying for them and appreciate them and that they are and important part of the body of Christ.
4)Have a basket with the names of all the churches in you city in it. At supper time this month take one out each day and pray for that church that they would be good witnesses of Jesus’ love.
5) If you have a large group, take a large piece of paper and draw an outline of a church. Hand out construction paper bricks or small photocopied pictures of bricks. Have each person write down their name on a brick. Place the cornerstone brick with the name of Jesus first. Fill in the “church” with the other bricks. As each person glues in his/her brick have him/her pray that God would equip him/her to be a living stone to be a witness for Jesus. Have leaders pray over the kids as God leads. Affirm the gifts you see in the children.
6) Pray for each other as living stones, that together we would all be built as living stones into a beautiful “house” where God’s presence would be seen. Pray that these LIVING stones would be a witness from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria to the ends of the earth. Pray that we would appreciate each other’s gifts and affirm the importance that each one plays in the body of Christ.

For 3 weeks from July 21 to August 10th in Canada we are taking extra time to “consecrate” ourselves in a deeper way to God. Wait a minute WHAT is consecrate? Glad you asked.

If you look in the dictionary consecrate means to “with all our heart set yourself apart to worship God.” So what we are sayin is that deep in our hearts our desire is that there is - NO GOING BACK – WE PROMISE TO BE TOTALLY DEVOTED to love God and to love each other as well. Do you remember what the greatest commandment was?

Look up Matthew 22:36-40 and fill in the blanks

________ the Lord your God with all your heart and your _________ as _________.

Have you ever gone to a wedding ceremony? I have many times. What happens there, besides the groom getting to kiss the bride? The bride looks gorgeous and had spent all sorts of time and money to look her best. She was all dressed in white and the groom was in a fancy tux of some sort.

See a wedding ceremony is very important to getting married; you have to have some kind of ceremony in order to have a marriage. It can be a small wedding with only a few witnesses or a HUGE wedding with all the flowers and music like you see in the Sound Of Music. It is a time where the people that are getting married tell every one there, “we belong to each other and we promise to love each other forever…NO TURNING BACK- WE PROMISE TO BE TOTALLY DEVOTED to each other, NO MATTER WHAT. BUT this promise is only the start of a life of living together in a whole new way. The couple is set apart from all other people and the Bible says they are now “one flesh”. You can’t get closer than that!

In the Bible there were a group of people that were set apart to worship God. They were called the Levites. Let’s go check out what set them apart and how that can apply to you and your family.

Levites – Who are they and what did they do?

Deut 10-8-9 tells us how the Levites were set apart from every other tribe of Israel. God chose them to be his special servants and to lead worship. They didn’t have any inheritance (land that belonged to them) in the Promised Land, because God Himself was their inheritance. Wow! That meant that they had to trust God for all their needs.
They took care of the tabernacle or temple, and the priests, who were a special part of the tribe of Levi, were responsible for the sacrifices and offerings and spoke blessings over the people.

Why did God set this particular group of people apart?
Open your Bible and look up Exodus 32:1-26. What happened here?
Here we read the story of the time the Israelites sinned by worshipping the Golden Calf. When Moses came down from the mountain he was stunned when he saw that the people were running wild totally out of control., ESPECIALLY after God had just before given them the 10 commandments and had spoken to them! So he stood at the entrance to the camp and called out with a loud voice, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come to me.”
And what happened? All the Levites came to his side. They had to take a radical stand to follow God. It was this obedience and faithfulness that earned them the special privilege of ministering to the Lord.

So how does this apply to you today? There are a lot of things in our nation that look like the people at the foot of Mount Sinai with the Golden calf. Many people and situations are totally out of control and are running wild. Just take a look at the newspapers. Because of this we have felt God say as he did in Joel 1:16
“Gather the people, Consecrate the assembly, bring together the elders. Gather the children and nursing babes…” So this call is not only for the older people but for kids and teens as well.

ACTIVITY
Materials needed:
Masking tape
Bowl of water

We’re going to take part in several actions now, which symbolize this call.
1. Have someone in your family draw a “line in the sand”, with masking tape and ask, “Whoever is on the Lord’s side, come and step over the line in an act of dedication to God”.

Don’t automatically step over the line but ask yourself are you ready to totally follow God and obey Him no matter what the cost?
If you are not ready now, God knows, and He values your honesty. But keep on with the devotions during this time and maybe later on you will be able to make that stand.
Take the words of this song by Brian Doerksen and declare it as you cross over the line.

Today, I choose to follow you
Today, I choose to give my “yes” to you
Today, I choose to hear your voice and live
Today, I choose to follow you
As for me and my house, we will serve you
As for me and my house, we will spend our lives on you
Today

2. Purity (set up some basins with water and a towel)
Another character trait of the Levites was that they were true to God and avoided sin. This heart attitude made them what they were. Outward purity was required as well and when they washed it was a picture of what was happening in their hearts.

A time of consecration is also like getting your “inside home”, or your heart, ready for a special guest. This Special Guest, Jesus you want to have stay. What are the dust bunnies in your inside home that need to be cleaned out? What are the things you have hidden “under the bed” in your heart?

So let’s wash our hands together in these basins to show that we like the Levites want to have our hearts and hands clean before God. (Wash hands) As you do, pray this prayer and wait for God to speak to you. We are asking God to show us anything in our lives, our families that does not reflect the Kingdom of God.
Ps 139: Search me Oh God and know my heart, try me and see if there is any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.

Confess anything God brings to mind and then pray the following prayer:

LET THE WORDS OF MY MOUTH AND THE MEDITATION OF MY HEART (my thoughts) BE ACCEPTABLE IN THY SIGHT O GOD. Ps 19:14

THIS consecration call is also to ask God to help all Christians, as “living stones” come together to each do our part so that Canada really be a place where God’s Glory can be seen. Also our prayer is that we understand more that Jesus is the corner stone and that all we really need to do is to rest and trust in His promises and act on what He shows us to do. You can do the same for the country that you live in.

Over the next while I will be posting things that have to do with “commitment” and “living stones” and stories of God’s glory. If you have any stories or thoughts in these areas please send them to me at kkarise@shaw.ca

THE CHURCH



Game: Pit – object is to save people from the pit.
Tag: 6 kids are it
When they tag kids they must go into the pit.
The only way to save ourselves is to get on your knees & pray
Then you can’t be tagged but you can only stay down for 3 counts then you have to get up & run again.
You can save another from the pit by tagging them out of the pit , but you can’t get caught doing it.

What is the church? Child to read Romans 12: 5

What is another name for the church? Body of Christ
-every person who follows Jesus is part of the church/ body

Write “Church” on the whiteboard- capital C because it is talking about all the people who belong to Jesus.
ASK: What does it look like?
-it is a building,…
ASK: Where is it? can also be church in a store, home, room or school, even be a field.
-big or small?
- anywhere people worship God
Small group Activities:
First we are going to play a game that will show us that we can’t get along without one member of the body.
Puzzle:
Start with all puzzle pieces face down: (one piece removed)
GO! After 3 minutes Stop!
- Was anything missing from your puzzle?
- Do you think your vehicle would work well if it was missing this part?
- A church is incomplete without all it’s members
Each member helps the others to keep focused on the goals (mission) of the church.

A church building is made up of what? Bricks or stones, and mortar, and wood etc. right. Well look at this bible verse and see what we are called here.

1 Peter 2:5
you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Isn’t that interesting. Talk about what this might mean.
Go to google and click on images and google “Living stones” . See if you can find a plant that actually looks like a stone and is called a “living stone”. If you have access to a plant store, see if they carry any of these plants and buy one as a reminder that you are a living stone, a part of the bodyof Christ.

By the Way. The church that is seen is in Resolute Bay one of the northern most communities in Canada. See if you can find it on a map.

Contributed by:
Jo-Anne Hollander
Children’s Pastor
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada Manitoba & NW Ont