Kids, do you like to draw or color? We would love to feature some of your artwork during future HBC videos!!!
Since Pastor Nathan is teaching through the book of Joshua we would LOVE to see your drawings of Joshua. Be as creative as you want and if you rather color a picture then you can use one of the downloadable images below.
Here’s how this work:
1. Draw or color a picture of Joshua. 2. Have your parents take a picture of you holding your picture. 3. Post the picture on the Adventure Kids facebook post or email them to kids@hbclynchburg.com.
It’s that easy! We would love to see kids of all ages get creative!
Psalm 63: 1-4, O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
David is the author of this Psalm and is writing while hiding in the wilderness of Judea. He is wishing, longing, hoping to be back in Jerusalem worshipping. He earnestly seeks the Lord. His soul thirsts for the Lord’s presence.
You may feel like that right now. Wishing, hoping, longing for this quarantine to end and life to go back to what it used to be. Being isolated has caused us to be weary, in a way we may not have experienced before. David called upon the Lord in that weariness and said in verse 2, “So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.” David gazed upon the Lord, water for his soul in a dry and weary time. Proclaiming that the Lord is all powerful and worthy of all glory. Amidst his thirst, he knows that the Lord’s steadfast, covenant love is better than life itself.
In the Old Testament, raising one’s hands was a demonstration of prayers going to the Lord but also a posture that showed readiness to receive from the Lord. It showed that your trust was in God alone. This week, spend time earnestly seeking the Lord in his word. Behold who He is. Allow his love to bring relief to your weary soul.
ACTION STEPS with your kids: Read Psalm 63:1-4 with your kids. Ask them if they have had a time in their lives when they felt weary, or tired. Ask them what verse 2 tells us to do in these moments. Pray together asking the Lord to remind you each day of his power in your life. End your prayer by praising and blessing the Lord for who He is. Raise up your hands to the Lord! When you come to Him praising and asking, He will meet you.
Ananias & Sapphira is a difficult story in the book of Acts. We may not understand all the reasons God acts in the way He does, but we must always take His Word seriously and learn from what it says.
This Sunday Mrs. April teaches us about Jesus’ temptations in the wilderness.
Parents, this will be a great time to talk to your kids about sin and temptation. The definition we often use in kids ministry is – “sin is anything we think, say, or do that displeases God.” This is an easy way for kids to understand this important, biblical concept. As always, make sure to point them to Jesus as the solution to our sin problem.
This week Pastor Mike tries to be reasonable Monkey and Sock only to find himself getting a much-needed haircut. Sunday Pastor Nathan will begin a series on Joshua. Now is a great time to read the first chapter with your child. Your child may also enjoy the resource links below!
In case you haven’t seen it, you should watch Pastor Tony dancing from last Friday! If you have seen it, you should still go back and watch it again. You can’t help but smile. We all need more of that in our life. Not just during this time of social distancing. Pastor Tony did not hold back. Some of you may have thought while watching it that Pastor Tony can dance and rejoice like that because he must have it easy right now. Or you thought, “I am in a really tough place right now, there’s now way I can be that happy.”
I would bet that being quarantined has created struggles or trials for everyone. A great challenge for you and your families is to remain joyful. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
People are happy on many occasions, but as Christians, we should be joyful at all times. We should rejoice always. Why? Because our forever hope is in Jesus and what he did on the cross. Our circumstances or our feelings shouldn’t change where our hope is found.
Three commands:
1. Rejoice always 2. Pray without ceasing 3. Give thanks in all circumstances
These are the perfect trio. Rejoicing in who the Lord is, turning our hearts toward the Lord through prayer, and then giving thanks to the Lord changes our perspective and hearts towards the things that are holy.
Philippians 4: 8 commands us to think on these things. “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Thinking on these things allows our minds to focus on the good and not dwell on what we can’t control or change. It is hard to rejoice when we think about what is hard in our life. But it is never hard to rejoice when we focus our eyes on the Lord and remember who HE is.
Verse 18 in Thessalonians wraps up with, “for this is God’s will.” God wants us to Rejoice. He knows it is good medicine for our minds. He wants us to seek him continually, for big and small. He wants us to give thanks in all things.
ACTION STEPS with your kids: At a level that’s appropriate for your kid’s age, choose a characteristic of God and talk about it. Look up stories in the Bible in which we see that characteristic. A great resource, one that Pastor Nathan recently recommended, is I Am: 40 Reasons to Trust God. Pray and rejoice as a family in who the Lord is, with everyone taking a turn, thanking the Lord for that specific characteristic. Also, pray and ask the Lord to help your family to use this time well, for our joy and his glory.
Today we celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. Do you know why Jesus died? As you hear the story of Jesus dying on the cross, remember that He did that to clean you of your sin because of His great love for you.
Parents, take time this weekend to talk to your children about the Gospel and how they can be part of the family of God through faith in Jesus Christ. CLICK HERE to find a great video about the need for a Savior and what Christ did for us.
Not to overhype this week’s Friday Family Fun but it’s OVERFLOWING with awesomeness, including mischievous monkeys, ‘Lil Tony, and one amazing dancing machine!
Parents, you can find the special Easter worksheet at this link.
