The Gospel Project Family Devotion-May 25-31, 2014

Volume 7 Adult/Kids Connections (SPR 2014) 

Unit 21, Session 6: Esther Saved Her People 
Esther 1–10 

Christ Connection: God was in control over Haman’s evil plan to destroy the Jews. Like Haman, Satan wants to destroy believers. He thought he had won when Jesus died on the cross, but God raised Jesus from the dead and defeated Satan once and for all. 

Adult Connection Point: 
God is gathering people from all nations, tribes, and tongues to be the beneficiaries of His Son’s redemptive and atoning work. This is the foundation of our hope. The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world will establish a kingdom without end, and all who believe are certain to receive the blessings that have been promised by our loving Heavenly Father. And so we say, “Come, Lord Jesus.” 

Ours is a mission of invitation, a mission to compel those who find themselves on the outside of the kingdom to be reconciled to God through Christ, to have their robes washed in His blood, and to have their guilt removed. This is the condition of entry, for no evil will be tolerated in the perfect kingdom of God. 

So what does this mean for you? If you are not a believer, then you are invited to come. You do not have to find yourself on the outside, for Jesus calls you to repent of sin and enter His kingdom. 

If you are a believer in Christ, then you have a responsibility to call out for whosoever will to “come,” receive the Living Water, and be born again. You should plead with others to be saved through the blood of the Lamb. You are a member of the priestly kingdom, and you represent the Savior to everyone you encounter. The thought of people being on the outside should create an urgency that shakes us from complacency and apathy and motivates us to share the hope that we have in Him. Won’t you share the Living Water today? 
See Revelation 7:9-17. 

Family Devotion: 
Materials: finger food, tablecloth or blanket, napkins, paper plates 

Plan your own family feast and include your kids in setting up the “table.” Keep it simple by providing finger foods. Gather your family around the “table” (a blanket on the floor with your feast of foods). Continue to enjoy your feast as you recall the Bible story. 

Ask, “What was the problem in today’s Bible story?” Remind your children of the evil plan hatched by Haman to kill all the Jews. It was up to Esther to approach the king and expose evil Haman’s plan. The king received Esther and after two feasts she finally had the courage to tell the king the truth and put a stop to Haman’s plan. 

Recall how Mordecai and the Jewish people fasted and prayed for Esther before she approached the king to invite him to her feasts. Because of their prayers and Esther’s courage, Satan’s plans were foiled and the Jewish people were saved.  

Conclude your time by reassuring your kids that God knew of Haman’s evil plan all the time. Today you have an enemy that wants to plan evil for your lives, too, but when Jesus died on the cross and rose again he defeated Satan once and for all. Satan still prowls around wanting to defeat us, but remember He has no rule over us! 

Pray, thanking God for sending Jesus to defeat Satan. Ask God to help you be strong when the enemy attacks. 

Not Cookies and Kool-Aid...From your Children's Minister

A friend of mine contacted me because she had decided to throw her hat in and try Children's Ministry. She accepted a full-time CM position, and she very quickly because frustrated. "Do people see you and run because you might ask them to help?" She asked. She left children's ministry not too long there after.

What my friend very quickly realized is that Children's Ministry isn't anything like daycare. And the comparison to being a glorified childcare work or "events coordinator" is something that sends every CM I know into rant mode. Why? Because we aren't babysitting your children. And not everyone can do this. It is a calling to lead children deeper into the Word of God through age appropriate Bible Accounts, Apologetics, theology, and interactive activities that lead the focus back to Christ and the Word.

If you think it is a show up, sing a song, eat a cookie, and make a craft (EEEK Crafts!), you don't know BBC Kids!

Every week, our leaders study, pray, train, read, prepare, and pour over the Word, our lesson books, and mountains of materials to walk in and take our kids deeper.

And we are growing! 

 We averaged 97 in the Children's Ministry on Wednesday Night and 50-60 on Sunday Morning. Discovery Club has 10-15 preschoolers and Kid'z Zone has 30-34 kids! 

But those numbers mean nothing if real life discipleship isn't happening!

This past week, the 50th child in 4 years accepted Christ as their Savior. That is a number that will last eternity. 

So Elizabeth, what is your point?

In Savannah, there is a radio station that does "share-a-thon" where they spend a week barely playing music and begging for funds to make it. It was known on the side as "beg-a-thon."

I don't want our Children's Ministry to be in beg-a-thon! The summer slump is already hitting BBC Kids. Oh the family is coming in, the lake is calling, and while the kids are still pouring in, our leadership is fading. 

I find myself begging for someone to please just stand in the gap. But I don't want someone to just fill a position in Discovery Club on Kid'z Zone. I want someone who is on fire when they walk in that room, ready  and believing that what they are teaching makes an eternity difference...Not just someone to is in a holding pattern with kids. 

Childcare says throw a movie on and eat an Oreo. Children's Ministry pours time, effort, and energy into every lesson.

So here is my challenge to you this summer...

1. Pray for BBC Kids, the leaders, the children, the camps, VBS, and special events.
2. Pray for yourself. Maybe the reason why we are short on leaders is because God is calling you to step up to the plate.
3. Pray for your staff. It is discouraging when we struggle to fill classes with the right teachers. And it is discouraging when we take on too many kids alone. 
4. Step in:

Discovery Club needs teachers who work just one Sunday every two months. And you don't even miss your Sunday School Class or the Worship! Just 45 minutes is all you give out of your Sunday plus prep with The Gospel Project. 

I don't teach, Elizabeth. I'm telling you! It is scary!

That is okay!  But can you hang with kids? Maybe take them from class to class or help a lead teacher in Kid'z Zone? Willing to assist? This past weekend, I was alone with 27 kids. I needed an assistant! Can you be that assistant on a rotational basis? 

Why don't you make every parent serve?

As my friend learned, Children's Ministry is a calling. If you put me in a room full of senior adults, I choke unless I'm talking about Children's Ministry. Why? Because I'm called to kids. 

1 Peter 4:10: "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."

Just because you have a preschooler doesn't mean you can teach a class of 6 preschoolers. And I get that! Just because I am an adult doesn't mean I can teach a room of 20.

I believe God is a big God. He says in His Word many times that we are all gifted by His Spirit. 

"A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church."-1 Corinthians 12:7 (NLT)

God does not give us children to not provide us the leaders to lead them. So pray, seek, and volunteer! 

Join us! You'll learn, we aren't cookies and Kool-aid. 

Elizabeth

To volunteer or get more information about BBC Kids' ministries, contact Elizabeth Horne, Minister to Children, Elizabeth@BBCLife.org. 

CentriKid Updates for all Parents and Campers

Camp is quickly approaching! And we have a great group of students and leaders joining us as CentriKid this year. Remember that camp is June 16-20.

We are having a special CentriKid "Hangout" on June 1 after church. Lunch will be provided. At this hangout, we will eat, talk about camp, watch a few camp videos, and your students will fill out some paperwork for camp.

Each student will decorate their own special CentriKid Door Hanger with their name to go on the door of our rooms. They will pick their top choices for tracks. They will turn in roommate requests. And they will sign their Discipline Policy Agreement.

This hangout is going to be a great time of bonding for our campers. Please be ready

to pick them up at 2:00 on June 1 from BBC.

Our parent meeting is June 4 at 6. A notary will be here to sign all the forms. Please bring your child's insurance card!

At the Parent Meeting, we will do the following:

Sign and fill out all official camp paperwork

Go over the camp's parent packet

Go over discipline policies and transportation

Packing needs

Answer any questions you might have

Also, if you have a child that may need special attention, IE: has a special need, medication, physical needs, etc, please let me know. You will also need to fill out a special attention card at the Parent's Meeting.

Campers are welcome at the Parent's Meeting. There will be a few childcare folks for them to hang with and watch a movie, "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs."

I am excited about camp. If you have any questions, concerns, or anything you would like to discuss, please don't hesitate to give me a call at 502-222-9165 or email at Elizabeth@BBCLife.org.

Elizabeth J. Horne

Minister to Children

Ballardsville Baptist Church

Numbers 6:24-26

The Gospel Project Family Devotion: Week of May 18-24, 2014

Volume 7 Adult/Kids Connections (SPR 2014) 

Unit 21, Session 5: The Temple Was Completed 
Ezra 4:24–6:22 

Christ Connection: God's people rebuilt the temple so they would have a place to worship God. Years later, God sent His Son, Jesus, to be with His people. Now God dwells not in the temple, but directly with His people. Because of Jesus, we don't need a temple anymore. 

Adult Connection Point: 
In the most holy place of the temple was the ark of the covenant, the top of which served as the mercy seat, where the blood of the sin offering was to be sprinkled. The ark signified the presence of God. A great curtain separated the most holy place from the rest of the temple and all those outside to observe the offering. Only when the high priest returned could they know that God had accepted the sacrifice. 

According to the author of Hebrews, the death of Jesus ushered in a new era. At the moment Jesus died, the curtain separating the most holy place from God’s people was split from top to bottom. This signified that God Himself was giving open access to His presence (Matt. 27:50-51). 

The author of Hebrews points back to the events of the cross as the “new and living way” by which God made this possible. Jesus the High Priest offered Himself as the full and final sacrifice, and the symbol that served as a constant reminder that more sacrifices were needed—the curtain—was removed. 

 Voices from Church History 
“Christians approach God confidently, completely at home in the situation created by Christ’s saving work. They enter ‘the Most Holy Place,’ which, of course, is no physical sanctuary but is, in truth, the presence of God. And they entered it by ‘the blood of Jesus,’ i.e., on the basis of his saving death.”  –Leon Morris (1914-2006) [Leon Morris, “Hebrews,” in Hebrews Through Revelation, vol. 12 in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), 103.] 

Family Devotion: 
Materials: interlocking blocks, wooden blocks, or other building material; Bible; computer (optional) 

Recall the Bible story about the Israelites building only a foundation and an altar (Ezra 1-3) upon their return to Jerusalem. Fifteen years had passed and only now were they finally completing the temple. Work together as a family and create your own temple. 

Use pictures from your Bible or online to help get started. 

 Ask, “What was governor Tattenai’s concern about the rebuilding of the temple, and how was it resolved?” Reiterate that although a new king now resided over Judah, God’s plan for the Israelites to rebuild the temple remained. God once again wanted to reside with His people. God not only sent prophets to encourage the people but provided for the supplies from a foreign nation!  

Summarize the Christ Connection by reminding your family that God wants to reside with His people. When He sent Jesus, He did just that. He walked and talked with people. 

Today, we don’t need to go to a temple to spend time with God, but rather we can have a direct relationship with Him through Jesus. 

Sing along with one of the songs from Unit 21, celebrating that God wants to relate directly with each of you. 

Pray, thanking God for sending His Son, Jesus, so you can have a relationship with Him.

Summer Spectacular Schedule 2014-ALL EVENTS ARE FREE!

·    June 19: The Kingsmen Quartet in Concert

·    June 25: US Olympian Dallas Robinson

·    July 2: Animal Tales Live Animal Show

·    July 9: Movie Night-“Frozen”

·    July 16: Christian Illusionist David Garrard

·    July 23: Vacation Bible School

·    July 30: Mission’s Night

All of our Summer Spectacular Events start at

6:00 pm.

The Gospel Project Family Devotions-Week of May 11-May 17, 2014

Volume 7 Adult/Kids Connections (SPR 2014) 

Unit 21, Session 4: Zechariah, Prophet to Judah 
Zechariah 1–14 

Christ Connection: God was going to help His people and give them a different kind of king. Jesus is the King who came and rode humbly on a donkey, just as Zechariah said. Because Zechariah's prophecy came true in Jesus, we can have hope and forgiveness of sins when we trust in Jesus. 

Adult Connection Point: 
Jesus is the true manna, the miracle provision of food from heaven. Because we need life, we go to Him in faith. Because we delight in Him, we continue to believe in Him. We return to this food again and again. We work at believing, knowing that God’s will is for us to be sustained and satisfied by Jesus—the Bread of life. 

Left to ourselves, we are hopeless. If the weight of salvation were upon our shoulders, then no one would be saved. It is indeed impossible with man. But Jesus answered with some of the most comforting words in the Scriptures: “What is impossible with men is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). The reason our plight is so utterly hopeless outside of the Father’s initiative to draw us to Christ is because of our passion for self-preservation. 

We don’t want to die. We don’t want to give up the things we believe give us life. Even when the Israelites were given the provision of the manna in the wilderness, they grumbled and longed for the days when they ate pots full of meat, leeks, and garlic. They forgot those hearty meals came at the price of slavery. Our problem, like theirs, is that even when we have been delivered from the things that once ruled over us and 
enslaved us, we can still wish we were back in chains. 

Family Devotion: 
Materials: paper, pencil, timer 

Gather your family and instruct them on how to play a game of “Shout it Out!” Allow them one minute to shout and guess 10 things associated with a king. Use the list of 10 things below or create your own. Start the timer and go! 

Things associated with a king: crown, palace, queen, servants, scepter, throne, army, 
banquet, horses, robe 

Recall the Bible story. Ask, “What did God command His people to do at the beginning of the Bible story?” God was angry with His people. The Israelites parents, grandparents and great grandparents had not listened to God. God sent prophet after prophet, but they still kept sinning. God told this generation of people to “Return to Me, and I will return to you.” 

Challenge your kids to recall some of the visions God gave to Zechariah about the future 
of Israel. 

Read Zechariah 9:9 from the Bible. Ask, “What were some words God used to describe this new king to Zechariah?” Remind your kids of God’s promise to bring a special king. 

This king would bring peace to everyone. He would arrive riding a donkey. One day everyone will worship Him. Only Jesus fits this role and position of King! 

Pray, thanking God for sending Jesus so you can have hope and forgiveness of sins through Him. 

Register for BBC's Vacation Bible School 2014

Are you ready to go undercover and join the Truth Force at the International Spy Academy? 

You kids will train to be super secret spies at the ISA at BBC!

Join us July 20-24 from 6:00-8:30 pm.

Ages 4-5th grade!

Contact Elizabeth Horne, Elizabeth@BBCLife.org, for more information.

Register Your Child Here for VBS 2014!

The Gospel Project Family Devotion-Week of May 4-10, 2014

Volume 7 Adult/Kids Connections (SPR 2014) 

Unit 21, Session 3: Haggai, Prophet to Judah 
Haggai 1–2 

Christ Connection: God’s people struggled to do what God wanted them to do. God chose Zerubbabel to help the people finish the temple. Many years later, God sent His Son, Jesus, to do God’s will. Jesus died and rose again to free us from sin so that we can do His will. 

Adult Connection Point: 
 Voices from the Church “Our job is not to transform people into Christians nor to convict them of their sin. It is not our responsibility to make people do what they ought to do. Our task is to bring them to Jesus, and He will perform His divine work in their lives.”  –Henry Blackaby [Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God Day by Day (Nashville: B&H, 1998), 295.] 

One of the most beautiful truths of salvation is that God has done everything necessary to remove the sin barrier to a relationship with Him. He doesn't simply hide our sins; when we repent and believe, He forgives our sins and removes our guilt through Jesus. We are made pure, and our broken relationship with God is restored the moment we trust in the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. 

Disciples of Jesus must be committed to the mission of their Savior and Lord. Jesus said, “A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). When we enter into a relationship with God through Jesus, we are committing to become like Jesus. His way of life becomes our way of life. His love becomes our love. His mission becomes our mission. The presence of the Holy Spirit in God’s people empowers us to fulfill the mission of God, thus giving us a purpose beyond our own salvation. Through the saving power of the gospel and the filling of our hearts with God’s Spirit, we are empowered to join God’s rescue mission—one person at a time. 

Family Devotion: 
Materials: puzzle 

Direct your family to the puzzle pieces on the floor. Inform them you are going to put the puzzle together while the rest of the family tries to prevent you from completing it. (Note: Give in a few times especially if you have preschoolers.) Feel free to whine and complain. 

Recall or re-read the Bible story and then ask, “What were some problems the Israelites ran into while building the temple?” God’s people were discouraged for several reasons. The neighbors continued to interrupt the people’s progress so the Israelites gave up. Some of the blame went to the Israelites themselves, though. They were not honoring God by putting themselves first instead of God. 

Ask, “How did God encourage the people in his message to Haggai?” Remind your kids 
that God encouraged the people and gave them the strength and resources to do His will—rebuild the temple. Jesus always did God’s will, and you, too, can do God’s will when you ask for His help. 

Share a hard situation you are struggling in with your family. Challenge your kids to think of anything they are having a hard time doing that they know God wants them to do. 

Pray, asking God to give you the strength to do His will. 

The Gospel Project Family Devotion-April 27-March 3, 2014

Volume 7 Adult/Kids Connections (SPR 2014) 

Unit 20, Session 3: Jesus Appeared to the Disciples 
Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-29; Acts 1:3,9-11 

Christ Connection: God made Jesus alive again! For 40 days, Jesus presented Himself to at least 500 people and proved that He is alive. (1 Corinthians 15:3-8) Jesus is still alive today. 

Adult Connection Point: 

Jesus is the only human who “did not know sin.” He never sinned, and both He and His closest followers, Peter and John, explicitly attested to this (John 8:46; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5). God made Him “to be sin.” He identified 100 percent with the sin of the world when He died on the cross (John 1:29). When Jesus arose from the dead, He gave us the opportunity to be reconciled to God. 

Because of the resurrection, those who have been united with Christ are necessarily joined with His mission. We can share that Jesus is alive with others as God’s ambassadors: “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, ‘Be reconciled to God.’ He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:20-21). 

Family Devotion: 
Materials: paper, pencils 

Play a game called “Prove it!” Before your family time, print on slips of paper these actions: I can roll my tongue. I can stand on one leg for 15 seconds. I can whistle “Jesus Loves Me.” I can wiggle my ears. I can lift my dog/cat. I can hold my breath for 10 seconds. Add other activities your family could do. Allow your family members to choose a slip of paper. 

Recall the story then ask: “What are some actions Jesus performed to prove He was alive and not a ghost?” Besides appearing to the disciples, he showed them his wounds, ate food, and allowed Thomas to touch him. At least 500 other witnesses had contact with Jesus before He went back up to heaven! 

Ask: “What did Jesus tell His disciples to do after He ate with them?” Jesus told his disciples He was sending them to be His witnesses and to tell others He was alive. 

Emphasize that Jesus is still alive today. 

Print on slips of paper names of people you know who do not believe Jesus is alive. Be intentional about praying for your list and asking God to give you opportunities to share the Good News of Jesus with them in the days and weeks ahead. 

Pray, asking God to give you courage and opportunities to share Jesus with others.