The River: Knowing Jesus (Bedfordview AM)
Sunday morning at Bedfordview, 20 August – David Gadelkarim asks: do we really know this God that we say we worship?
The River: Knowing Jesus (Bedfordview AM)
Sunday morning at Bedfordview, 20 August – David Gadelkarim asks: do we really know this God that we say we worship?
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The River: The Reach of the Gospel (Rosebank)
Sunday morning at Rosebank, 20 August – Nathan Gernetzky and Marco Broccardo share on the reach of the gospel, as part of our “River” series.
The River: The Reach of the Gospel (Rosebank)
Sunday morning at Rosebank, 20 August – Nathan Gernetzky and Marco Broccardo share on the reach of the gospel, as part of our “River” series.
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Children’s Church: The Good Shepherd
If your child is not sure of a future career path, we may have swayed them to consider being a shepherd. We apologise if that worries you. This past Sunday we looked at what Jesus meant when he said that He is the Good Shepherd. Once again, Jesus caused some dispute with those listening to Him. How can a carpenter claim to be a shepherd, one who will lay down his life for his sheep? We had a wonderful time exploring what Jesus meant when He said that He is the shepherd and we are His sheep.
Our Part
Our memory verse this week was, “I am the good shepherd. I know my own sheep and they know me” (John 10:14). Across the sites some teachers tried to dress like fake shepherds. There were even some wolves trying to act like sheep. The children had to identify that only Jesus is the good shepherd.
We then looked at characteristics of sheep and of shepherds leading us to discuss why Jesus would compare himself to a shepherd. We learnt that Jesus desires to lead us, to protect us, to search for us when we are lost and even lay down His life to save ours. The incredible truth is that this is exactly what he did: Jesus died for us so that we can live. He truly is the only good shepherd.
Your Part
The challenge to the children is that we need to want to be Jesus’ sheep. We need to want to follow Him and not wander our own way. We need to learn to identify His voice, discerning His voice in the midst of many voices. You can help your children in learning to trust Jesus, to choosing to follow Him and in learning to hear His voice. Reading the Bible is so vital for this. Spend some time reading with your children and learn to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd.
If your children are put off lamb for a while, we apologise for this too. 🙂
– The Children’s Church team
Children’s Church: The Light of the World
This past Sunday we continued with the next ‘I AM’ statement that Jesus made, which is in John 8:12 – “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.”
Isn’t it fascinating how fear and evil are associated with darkness? Without someone even telling our children, they learn to fear the dark and what it can represent or contain. How encouraging it is then to hear Jesus announce that he is the Light of the world, and that in him, we will never be in darkness.
Our Part
We explained what Jesus meant by saying that he is the light. No, he doesn’t mean that he is a torch, or a solar charged lantern. Light is the source of life. We need light to live. Plants need light to grow. Light reveals truth. It does not allow something to hide. When there is light, we feel capable of doing things. So the same applies to Jesus. He gives life to us and he reveals all truth. He is our only source of life. We all need to know how much we need Jesus.
We also explained how we can be stuck in darkness. Our sins can leave us in darkness. Distance from Jesus makes us feel like we are in darkness without much hope. But the joy of the Gospel is that Jesus brings light into our life, he removes the darkness (sin) and he gives us life.
We had fun exploring this using glow in the dark paint, solar jars and items hidden in dark boxes.
Your Part
You can continue exploring this I AM statement with your children. Use solar lights or teach them about plants needing the sun. Remind your children when they may be feeling down or discouraged that Jesus is our light and if we come to him, we feel life.
We have a Lesotho Big Weekend coming up in September. Please pray with your children for this time.
We are looking forward to the next ‘I AM’ statement from Jesus.
– The Children’s Church team
The River: The Power of the Gospel pt 2 (Rosebank)
Sunday morning at Rosebank, 13 July – Nathan Gernetzky shares on the power of the gospel, as part of our “River” series.
The River: The Power of the Gospel pt 2 (Rosebank)
Sunday morning at Rosebank, 13 July – Nathan Gernetzky shares on the power of the gospel, as part of our “River” series.
DOWNLOAD THE MP3
(Right-click and choose ‘save target as’)
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Children’s Church: The Bread of Life
In John 6 we read how Jesus feeds 5,000 people and performs many miracles that amaze them. He soon has many followers who are ready to crown him as their king, but Jesus sees their heart in why they are following him. Most of them simply want more miracles and more food. They want their bellies to be filled with more bread. That is why Jesus says He is the bread of life and if any want life to the full, they need to eat of Him.
That sounds both confusing and challenging. Therefore many of His followers abandon Him after that. Jesus’ statement “I am the bread” led the people from wanting to crown Him king to rejecting Him in a moment.
Our Part
We looked at what Jesus meant when He said “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). As much as we long for food every day to fill us, we must desire Jesus even more. We wanted our children to see that there can wrong motives for “following” Jesus: forced by family, wanting blessing etc. We wanted them to hear how Jesus promises that He is all we need for a full life: He is the bread of life. With Him in our lives, we will never hunger or feel lacking in life.
To help the lesson, some sites baked some bread which was both creatively made and tasted delicious.
We also gave each child a reading plan for the next few weeks. To know Jesus more they need to read about Him. Please support and join them in this reading plan.
Your Part
Look at the curriculum and re-emphasise what the lesson taught. Read the story again in John 6. Ask your children why the want to follow Jesus.
We have a Lesotho Big Weekend coming up in September. Please pray with your children for this time.
We are looking forward to the next “I Am” statement from Jesus.
– The Children’s Church team
Faith and the Word
Keir Tayler ends our week of “Encountering God” on Sunday night, 6 July at Bedfordview, speaking on how faith and the Word work together.