What are you willing to give?

It is quite ironic that we would be talking about this part of Leviticus at this time of year. As we enter the holiday season and wait for a glimpse of the Baby Jesus,we look at the various offerings God required of the people of Israel. Each of the offerings or sacrifices are a subtle picture of our Savior to come. We have been challenged over the last weeks,"What are you willing to give to Jesus?" A simple story from my childhood comes to mind as I present the kids with this challenge. As the story goes,a little girl sitting with her mom and dad heard the same challenge given to the congregation of her church. As the offering plates were passed moments later,an usher came to the isle where the little girl motioned to lower the plate. With a small smile,the usher lowered the plate. Quietly,the girl motioned for it to go lower. Now with a bit of annoyance,and gaining the attention of the rest of the congregation,the usher once again lowers the plate. Once again the girl motioned to lower the plate. Trying to avoid the embarrassment he was now feeling, holding back a look of anger from his face,he placed the plate on the floor in from of the little girl. At this, the little girl slid off the pew next to her parents and stepped into the plate on the floor. Filled with frustration,the usher asked the little girl why she was standing in the plate. "Pastor asked what we were willing to give to give to God,and I want to give Him me." At this,tears filled the eyes of the usher, followed by everyone else in the room. One girls sacrifice,was heard more loudly than the words moments before,from the podium. In a season anticipating what we will get,what are you willing to sacrifice,what are you willing to give back to God?!

Because I Love You!

"Because I said So!" All of us, Kids and Parents alike, know those words. Just about every child has heard them, and every parent has used them. It is our feeble attempt to persuade our child to obey. However, by this time, we as parents are out to win the war despite the cost. We have forgotten why we made the rule to begin with . . . because we love them. Time after time the Israelites disobeyed, so God set forth rules and standards in order to pull them back in line, because He loved them. As we begin to look into the Book of Leviticus this month in KidzQuest, we will see how God wants to love us by giving us rules and structure to live by.

My child, don't reject the Lord's discipline, and don't be upset when he corrects you. For the LORD corrects those he loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights. (Proverbs 3:11&12 NLT)

Next time your tempted to say, "Because I said So", instead try, "Because I love you." The results may surprise you and you might just win the battle without any cost and win your child's heart in the process!

What are you thankful for?

thanks·giv·ing (noun)

\thaŋ(k)s-ˈgi-viŋ also ˈthaŋ(k)s-ˌ\

1: the act of giving thanks

2: a prayer expressing gratitude

3: a public acknowledgment or celebration of divine goodness

That’s what Mirriam-Webster has to say, but what does thanksgiving mean to you? What are you thankful for? This week I want to make our devotion really simple. I want to challenge you as a family to sit down together and talk about what you are thankful for. Think hard, Dig deep! Sometimes our biggest blessings to be thankful for are hidden in unexpected places. Here are some great verses in Scripture to get you motivated.

1 Chronicles 16:8
Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.

1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

1 Chronicles 16:35
Cry out, "Save us, O God our Savior; gather us and deliver us from the nations, that we may give thanks to your holy name, that we may glory in your praise."

1 Chronicles 29:13
Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

Daniel 2:23
"I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king."

Jonah 2:9
But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD."

Lastly, but certainly not least,

From all of us here on the KidzQuest team to you and your family, have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

oooooohhhh! I'm Tellin'!

The 10 Commandments 

Exodus 20:1-17

Many of us as parents are familiar with the story of the "Boy that Cried Wolf", and have most likely used it to teach our children the importance of not lying. We teach them not to take things that belong to someone else, which starts pretty early in life. Sometimes we get one of those golden nuggets where we get to teach them multiple lessons in one fail swoop. I remember one such incident when I was young. 

I remember wanting a cap gun I saw in a store, but did not have the money to buy it, so I kinda just let it take a ride in my pocket out of that store and into the next store we went in to where it begged me to play with it. Then I heard the inevitable question, "Where did you get that?" I did what any honest red-blooded American kid would do, I shrugged a shoulder or two and said, "I-dunno!" We'll save the typical witty child to parent banter and say that I ended up walking the long road of sorrow all the way next door to face the manager on duty, who held his fate in my hands. I returned the gun, apologized for what I did and if I knew what was in store when I got home, I would have told the manager to "throw the book at me." 

My parents had the wonderful privilege of teaching me about lying, coveting, stealing, and respecting my parents all in one shot. This week in KidzQuest we are learning about the 10 commandments from a special visitor, but don't wait till then to take a moment to teach your kids what God expects of us. Here is a great website that teaches the 10 commandments in "Kidinese" so they will better understand them. It even has a game that allows them to review. So come join us this Sunday as we practice commandment number 2, and worship God together!

Dad likes me best!

Do you ever wonder what it would have been like for those friends of yours that are an only child? They did not have to fight with someone taking their toys, they didn't have to share a room, they did not have to try to out do brothers and sisters for the attention and love of their parents. Sometimes that sounds nice.  A few years ago, my mom made me a pair of lounge pants that said "Mom's Favorite" across the backside. (Gee, Thanks' Mom!) The joke is, my brothers and I, found out later that we each got an identical pair of those lounge pants. My mom wanted to show my brothers and I, in a fun way, that she loved us all the same. However, in this Sunday's lesson, we learn about Joseph, who was given a special gift by his dad, Jacob. But unlike my mom who gave us each a pair of pants as a joke, Joseph was the only one to receive a gift in our story. Come join us this Sunday to find out what this special gift was, and see what his brothers thought about it.

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good . . ."  

Genesis 50:20

What'll ya' gimmy?!

Can you remember "trading" as a kid? What was your best trade? Mine was a single action BB Rifle. Can you remember how easy the skill of manipulation came as we would try and out trade our friends. Sometimes knowing we were taking advantage of them. This was the case with my BB Rifle. It became my prized possession, but it also became my worst nightmare and the source of fear a few times. Once, at home alone, a group of the neighborhood bullies congregated on my front lawn to taunt me. In hopes to get them to leave, I grabbed my faithful rifle, took aim at the dirt bike one of the  bullies was sitting on. With the intent only to scare them, I quickly ran back inside as the shot hit the bullie's leg instead of the bike I aimed at. Another instance found my brother and I out in a field. Being bored, we were out hunting for lizards, when I realized the rifle was cocked and decided to "un-cock" it by firing it at the ground. Lo and behold, the BB ricocheted off a rock, pelting my younger brother in his back-side. Although, I could not contain my laughter, my brother felt quite differently. In KidzQuest we learn about some bartering that left another set of brothers at odds with each other. But we also get to see redemption and reconciliation as God chose to use this liar and manipulator to become the beginning of a great nation, Israel. 

Who you callin' crazy?!

Have you ever been told that something you wanted to do was crazy, but you did it anyway. The Wright brothers wanted to fly. People scoffed at them, yet now about 42% of Americans travel by airplane. That's almost half! 

Visionaries like Steve Jobs, cofounder of Apple, said their would be a computer in every home, at the time when most computers were bigger than a home. Now, not only is that true, but most of us carry them around in our pocket as cell phones. 

Noah, listening to God, built a giant boat when it was believed that nobody had even heard of, or even seen rain before, let alone enough to need a boat. 

Just as with the Wright brothers or Steve Jobs, people thought Noah was crazy, but he followed through on what he knew was right, and changed the world as we know it. What do you have in mind to change the world? 

Go Crazy!

This week think of some things that you as a family could do to change the world. Maybe it just as simple as helping your neighbor or as huge as raising money to build an orphanage in a third world country. Here is the challenge, once you brainstorm and decide on the best way to change the world. . . do!

Trusting God . . .

How many of you can remember the first time you took the training wheels off your bike? You were excited to imagine the open road ahead of you, but at the same time, terrified at the thought of getting to know that road, up close and personal. When you had your training wheels, you could cruise with confidence, maybe even pulling off a "Look Mom, no hands!" But going from 4 wheels to 2, thatʼs a whole other matter. So you muster up the courage to get on the bike as Dad holds it up. He runs beside the bike as you peddle along, and then says, "Ok Buddy, Iʼm gonna let go now." So you do what any child about to get their first taste of freedom does, you scream and cry and beg Dad not to let go. But eventually you have to trust that Dad is not going to let you fall. He will run beside you, letting go at just the right time as you cruise off down the street. 

This Sunday at KidzQuest we will learn about trusting in our heavenly Dad. Just like when we learned to ride a bike, He is always there beside us, keeping us safe, and when He knows we can handle it, lets us go. But even then, He is never far away, so when we do fall, He is there to pick us up, dust us off, and get us back on the bike.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5&6 (ESV)

Make It Stick

This week, take some time thinking about all the things that you trust God to do for yourself and as a family. Write them down and put them on the fridge so that everyone can be reminded that God is always faithful and we can trust Him no matter what.

And God saw that it was good!

Have you ever heard of Antonio Stradivari? Unless you run in musical circles, (no, not playing ring-around-the-rosy, but are a fan of fine music and more so the instruments) you may not have. Stradivari lived in the 1700s and is known for making the finest violins in the world. Making just over a thousand violins in his lifetime, some with qualities still unmatched today, each was considered a masterpiece. One of the only 600 or so of these violins left was auctioned off recently in London for the amount of 9.8 million pounds, the equivalent of 15.9 million US dollars. What about the infamous Faberge' Eggs. These beautiful works of art were the creation of Peter Carl Faberge', the goldsmith and jeweler to the Russian imperial court in the late 1800s. They began as an Easter gift commissioned by Tsar Alexander III to be given to his wife, Empress Marie Fedorovna. This tradition continued for years accruing a collection of 50 eggs; of the 50 approximately 42 are still in existence. One of these illustriously ornamented eggs called "The Winter Egg", was sold at Christie's, in New York, in 2002 for $9.6 million.

God created everything we see around us with His own hands, and every time, God saw that it was good. We might not be able to "sing" like a beautiful sounding Stradivarius violin, or look exquisite like a Faberge' egg, but when God made us, He saw that we are good. We are a priceless creation, a masterpiece in God's personal collection!

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalms 139:14 (ESV)

Who's Your Hero?!

Is it a bird?  . . . Is it a plane?  . . .

What do you picture when you hear the word "hero?" Most of us probably envision the usual. Multi colored spandex, capes, utility belts, maybe a cool car that has more functions than a Swiss Army knife? What exactly is a hero? Merriam-Webster defines a hero like this;
1. A mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability, an illustrious warrior, a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities, one who shows great courage

2. The principal male character in a literary or dramatic work, the central figure in an event, period, or movement

3. Plural usually he·ros

4. An object of extreme admiration and devotion 

           

            How ironic that this all could define Jesus as well. Although we may never picture Jesus leaping over a building in a single bound, or being faster than a speeding bullet (even though He can and is) the Bible tells us that He is our Hero. Isaiah 42:13 states, “The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero; he will come out like a warrior, full of fury. He will shout his battle cry and crush all his enemies.” (NLT)

            We will never see Jesus with a giant “J” emblazoned across His chest; rather His trademarks are the scars on His hands, feet, and side. Two thousand years ago, Jesus did the most heroic act anyone could do; He gave His life for the better good of all mankind, saving us from the worst villain of all, Satan, and the sin he has plagued the world with.

            So the next you are in distress, unplug the searchlight, hang up the special red phone, and simple call His name, and let Jesus save the day!