Tag Archive for: Cornerstone Kids

Children’s Church Reflection (1 Nov 2016)

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As we continue to discuss and learn how to truly worship God, this Sunday our focus was on worshipping God with our bodies. It is amazing to see how children use their bodies to display their thoughts and emotions. If a child is angry, they stamp on the floor or roll on the ground. If a child is excited, they might spin around or literally jump for joy. Children use their bodies to express themselves and they use their bodies in worship too. Children love the opportunity to learn actions to worship God or to remember a verse from the Bible. Witnessing this made this lesson really fun to teach.

Our Part
The message was simply that we can use all of who we are to worship God. We can jump, clap, dance, spin or run to worship God. We can worship God in our everyday actions that are part of our daily routines. We can also worship God in sitting silently and thinking about God and His wonder. But in all of these ways, we still emphasised that above the many actions or use of our body, we must make sure our hearts are worshipping God. If our hearts are not in a place of worship before God, then our actions can turn out to be just simple exercise.

We looked at some of the Hebrew terms from the Bible that teach us different ways of worshipping God too. You can view these in our curriculum if you like.

Your part
Your part stays the same: enjoy worship with your children. Be the example and also learn from your children. See them dance and move and sing freely – and enjoy it.

Some children created their own songs that are simply amazing. Their lyrics are so honest and heartfelt towards God. Ask your child to sing their song if they made one. Some children made some instruments. Listen beyond the noise and see a heart in worship.

– The Children’s Church team

Children’s Church Reflection – 23 October

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We continued this week with our series, A Heart of Worship. Our focus was on how everything that has breath is called to worship God. We checked and yes, our children and teachers do have breath – and so they are called to worship God. Why? We worship God because He deserves it.

Our Part
As mentioned, our hope this week was to show what scripture teaches us about worship, and one of the key lessons is that everything that has breath must praise the Lord (Psalm 150:6). We have approximately 23,040 breaths a day. To apply this scripture another way, we are called to worship God with every breath we have and that means that we can worship Him all of the time. Our children learnt that they can worship God from morning to evening, whether they are eating or doing homework, when they are on the sports field or about to go to sleep. They can worship God all of the time.

Your part
Do your children see you as a worshipper or is that only seen on Sunday mornings at Church? Have your children ever seen you worshipping God? Be the best example to your children, not because it benefits your children but rather because it benefits you to worship God. Your relationship with God will grow and that is our emphasis too with our children – to see that their relationship with Jesus grows. Create times and ways for you to worship with your children. Allow God to be acknowledged in all that you do. Find joy in worshipping God and let that be seen by your family so that they can want it too.

Don’t forget the memory verses each week and to keep collecting your medical sticker.

– The Children’s Church team

Children’s Church – Term 4 begins

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This Sunday, you may have arrived at Cornerstone thinking you somehow landed up at a casualty ward with all of the doctors and nurses roaming around. Well, you were at the right place, and those incredible doctors and nurses were our Children’s Church teachers prepared to teach on this term’s topic, The Heart of Worship. The idea is that we need to check our heart and body to see how with everything, we can worship God.

Our Part
This week we started off looking at why we worship God. We looked at who He is, what He has done, and we realised that He is worthy of our worship. As the term unfolds, we will look at how we can worship God with a true, real worship that scripture teaches us and that God deserves.

Your Part
Firstly, try to download the curriculum to use at home. We only see your children for two hours a week, and so you need to continue with the lesson throughout the week. Speak to your children about worship, about why we do it and why we worship God. Look at scripture in the Bible. Try to read a Psalm together as a family and talk about it. And don’t forget to remember the memory verse.

This term each child will receive an “immunisation chart” and each week they will receive a sticker to check off what they have learnt. Even our Grade 7s are excited about the idea of collecting stickers.

Enjoy the term. There are some new teachers leading this term. Try to meet them.

We are looking forward to the journey!

– The Children’s Church team

Children’s Church Reflection (18 September)

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As the Children’s Ministry team, we cannot believe this term has already come to an end. We are confident in saying that this term has been an incredible one for the children and the teachers. This week we rounded off the teachings on who God is to us by concluding with the truth that my God is my life. In the previous weeks we discussed how God is so many wonderful things to us: our courage, faith, joy, hope etc. This week we concluded with how God is ultimately our life. God gives us life, He sustains our lives, He is so involved in our lives and because of this we can live our life for Him.

Our Part

We used a metaphor comparing us to a tree to try to emphasise how we find life in Jesus. We are just like a tiny seed. We may seem small but we have a lot of potential. If we are not seeking life from the right sources, well, then we will never grow and become who God created us to be. A seed will simply remain a seed. But, if we turn to God, find our life in the Gospel of Jesus (who represents the water and sunlight to the seed) we will begin to see growth. Eventually we will begin to grow to heights we never imagined and ultimately bear fruit for God.

Fruits have seeds that when dispersed allow more seeds to begin the journey of life and growth to become a tree; and so the cycle continues. Our children have such great potential. They have a journey of growth to live and great fruit to bear. But the source of life is essential and our only source is Jesus. In all that we do we should do it as for Jesus. Our children can live this way. In everything they do, wherever they are, they can do it with Jesus and for Jesus. There is no better life to live than a life in obedience to Jesus.

Your Part

As previous letters have mentioned, keep reminding your children who God is to them. This week’s lesson emphasised that Jesus is our source of life. Keep explaining this to them. Tell your children the Gospel and see how they respond. We never desire to see children forced to have faith in Jesus and we never want to take our children’s salvation for granted. Many children can talk about Jesus but are they finding their rooting in Him and their life in Him? Keep chatting to your children and let God reveal these truths more and more to your family.

We have loved this term and the wonderful truths we got to teach. We pray that you continue this journey with your children. Next term we will look at the Heart of Worship and the wonderful ways we get to glorify God in all that we do. We are looking forward to it.

– The Children’s Church team

Children’s Church Reflection for 5 September

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We have our hope in Jesus as an anchor of the soul. These few words have been ringing in my head and my heart (Nicole) for a few months now. In such uncertain times: the crime stats, terrorist attacks happening in the world, all the political changes locally and in America and all over the world, we can lose our hope. We become so focused on the problems that we take our eyes off Jesus and find ourselves wallowing in fear.

Anchors date back by millennia. The first anchors were most likely made out of rock. Ancient Greeks most likely used a basket filled with large sacks of sand and stone to anchor their boats. It was only in about 1813 where it got the shape which everyone knows these days.

Regardless of how the anchor has been made, its function has always remained the same. It prevents the ship from moving around when the waters are unstable.

Hebrews 6:19 says, “We have this as a strong and trustworthy anchor for the souls, a hope that enters us into the inner place behind the curtain. How wonderful that God is our hope. We can put our hope and trust in Him because He keeps His promises.”

Our part
This week we focused on “God is our hope”. He is that anchor that keeps us secure. In our children’s church lesson we looked at many people in scripture who were given a promise by God. Abraham, Daniel, Esther and even the disciples. They were given promises of God’s protection, His promise that He will give us strength, His promise that He sent Jesus to save us. The amazing thing with all these characters is that God kept His promise and He still does. Knowing that God always keeps His promises and He can not lie makes it all so much easier for us to find our hope in Him.

Your part
As families let’s be encouraged to put our hope in God. Where God has given you as a family promises, write them up in your house, remind yourselves of them. Rejoice with your children that God says He will protect us, He will provide for us, He will save us, He will give us boldness and courage. Acknowledge as a family when God answers His promises and when the tough times come, put your hope in Him.

Much love! – The Cornerstone Children Church team

Children’s church reflection for 14 August 2016

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Earlier this year as a church we felt God encourage us to challenge the effect of fear in our lives and how we should respond to fear by keeping our eyes and faith on God and His promises. The reality is that children are challenged with fear all the time. Have you ever wondered where we actually learn the idea of fear? God doesn’t tell us to fear. So this week our focus was on how God is our courage.

Our Part

On Sunday we addressed some of the fears that our children are facing. Fears are real, they exist and so we need to address them. We showed a clever object lesson that helped the children see how in God we can overcome our fears and handle them.

We then looked at some of the characters in the Bible who clearly faced fear but by keeping their faith in God, they overcame their fears and saw incredible victory (think of David’s many stories, Joshua, Daniel and his friends). We focused on how God is greater than our fears. God promises that He will watch over us and care for us, and so He won’t let our fears have victory over us. With that, the focus of our craft and stories all tried to encourage our children that when they feel afraid, they can remember that God is all-powerful and He will give us courage when we need to gain the victories for God.

Your Part

When your children display fear, address the fear they are experiencing and then point to Jesus. Remind your children constantly how God loves them and longs to protect them and so he will give us courage to overcome fear. Keep encouraging your children with God’s promises that they feel confident and when fear comes again and again, your children can face their fear head-on with their faith in God and His character and promises.

– The Children’s Church team
Please don’t forget that you can download the curriculum to view all of our content for this term.
Children’s Church team

Children’s Church reflection for 7 August 2016

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This Sunday at Children’s Church, as we continue discovering who God is and who He has called us to be, we looked at how God is our faith. Without faith we find that we cannot be in relationship with God. It is therefore vital that we fully grasp the faith we need and the faith we are given by God. The privilege we as the teachers had is that we got to speak to children and, as Jesus emphasises, there is such great faith in children. Their will and desire to believe in a living, all-powerful God who loves us unconditionally is the perfect foundation for us to teach them more truths about our awesome God. We encourage you not to take for granted or downplay the faith your children have.

Our Part

Our emphasis came from Hebrews 2 where we are told to keep our eyes on Jesus, the perfecter of our faith. Across the sites we are teaching a series on bearing much fruit and we are clearly hearing God’s desire for us, His church, to return to intimacy with Him and, out of that place of intimacy, we can bear much fruit. This is the same emphasises God is making to our children. Our games, the stories and the craft (making binoculars at some sites) all encouraged us to remember to keep our eyes on Jesus. One of the biggest points we wanted to make was that when life gets tough, and it will get tougher for our children, only God is faithful to stay true to us and strong enough to help us. We are called to therefore keep our faith in Him.

Your Part

Your children watch you constantly and a lot of their learning comes from observation (mostly observing you). So who are your eyes on mom and dad? Our kids were taught how the distractions of this world (money, fame, objects etc.) are not worthy of our faith. Instead we are to keep our eyes on Jesus, who is always faithful and always seeking to care for us. Challenge yourself to fix your eyes on Jesus. Whatever situation you and your family are facing, let your children see and hear you declare that you will keep your eyes on Jesus. When times get tough for your children, our prayer is that their first response would be to put their faith in Jesus and rely on Him. And when we lack faith, God will give us more faith.

Help your children grow in their faith by reading the Bible more with them, point out God’s promises and His miracles, look at prophecies made over your family and your children and remind your children of all God has done. Our children will surely believe it.

The Bible is full of stories of people who become heroes because of their faith in God. We pray our children become the next generation of heroes for God’s kingdom.

– Children’s Church team

Children’s Church Reflection for 31 July 2016

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This Sunday was the second week of our new curriculum, ‘God is my God’. Before the reflection, a big well done must be given to our teachers across the sites. The heart and passion our teachers are displaying for the themes and focus of each Sunday lesson has been astounding. Your children will notice a group of explorers waiting for them in the midst of make-shift environments as they are led to seek for God as explorers themselves. Khaki, hard hats, binoculars, garden plants acting as forests are some of the ways our children are being introduced to the fun of seeking God.

Our Part

This Sunday the focus was on “God is my Love”. Our little explorers would have been encouraged to try and measure several things such as lengths of slides or the width of a window or the height of a plant, etc. However, they were then asked to measure God’s love. Although we can measure the tallest mountain and the length of the longest river, God’s love is immeasurable. What an incredible truth to tell our children. Someone loves you with so much love that that amount of love cannot even be measured. That someone is our one and only God who, as we learnt last term, wants to be called Father.

The next task was to try to understand a little bit of God’s love. We looked at how God reveals His love, how God’s love is unconditional, how God wants us to embrace His love, and how we are to show the world God’s love too.

Your Part

Firstly, it is of great benefit that you download our curriculum and use it to re-emphasise what we only have two hours to share with your children. Secondly, spend time asking your children about what they are learning, thinking about and understanding. Remind them and yourself of the memory verse. Importantly, as life happens, keep reminding them how much God loves them and how they are to love others too. This is our hope: to receive from God but then give to the world. Imagine if our children actually understand how much God loves them. Poor self-esteem, fear of not being accepted, feelings of insecurity would all vanish as they hold onto the absolute truth that they are so passionately loved by our all-powerful God.

Memory verses have been laminated and the expectation is that they can join onto a keyring which can be attached to your child’s school bag. It will be really exciting to see our kids explain these verses to their classmates.

We cannot wait to continue this exploring with your kids.

– The Children’s Church team

Children’s church reflection (12 June 2016)

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This Sunday was the final part of our ‘Jesus taught us how to pray’ curriculum and what an incredible term it has been. We have heard such encouraging feedback from our sites. Our children want to pray and are feeling confident to speak to God privately, even in a group, in small whispers and also out loud. The prayers are also reflecting sincerity and a true desire to communicate with God. It has been so wonderful to hear the testimonies from children of how God has answered prayer requests in the past few weeks. All glory to God.

Our Part

In this final week, we reminded the children of the past lessons learnt. We shared stories of how God answered prayer and even did the miraculous. We shared stories of how God revealed where a lost wedding ring could be found to how healing was given. Our children learnt how in James it says that we ought to pray, pray and pray. Pray when we are sick and well; pray when we are sad and joyful; pray because God so longs to be with us in all we experience. What an amazing God we serve.

We also used a metaphor of a sponge to tell our children how God wants to use them. Just like a dry, hard sponge feels like it lacks purpose until it has been wet and soaks up water, so we can feel useless without God filling us with His living water (His Spirit). God fills us with His presence and we get to show Him to the world like a sponge dripping out water.

Your Part

Moms and dads, your role is most important now. Prayer is not simply a topic for one term, but is a lifelong action that we need to do every day for as long as we live. Please continually speak to your children about prayer. Please continue to pray with them and ask them what they are speaking to God about. Our children have such great faith in what God is capable of doing. Let them pray, create time for them to pray, give them personal areas to pray into, and glorify God together as you witness the fruit of your prayer.

We will continue in the new term with the topic of ‘God is my God’. We are really excited for what God wants to impart into our children’s life. Thank you for a wonderful term.

– The Children’s Church team

Children’s church reflection for 5 June 2016

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“For yours is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”

This week with our children we came to the final lines of the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught. Remember, Jesus is teaching us how to pray and also what to pray about. These final lines emphasise the supremacy of our God. This is an incredible conclusion that we are to make in all of our prayers: God is in complete control, He carries complete power and in all that happens, in however God answers our prayers, He will have the glory.

Our Part

A key point we focused on this week was the power that Jesus displayed in overcoming sin and defeating death and the grave in his resurrection. In his resurrection we find our victory and because of his resurrection we can confidently pray to God and trust him to hear and answer our prayers as he wills. We truly want our children to come to the understanding of why Jesus went to the cross and the significance of his resurrection. Once we understand the incomparable power of our God, our faith in him grows when we pray.

Your Part

Remind your children that Jesus is alive. Remind them that our God has all power and that all things are possible for our God. Because of this knowledge, we need to pray, pray and pray. Keep reminding your children of the previous lessons taught. We hope that you are seeing more life in your family prayer life. We have definitely seen great growth in our children praying this term.

There are two more weeks to go for this term which we know will be as exciting as the previous eight.

– Children’s Church team