Kid'z Zone Reminders!

Some Kid’z Zone Reminders!

·      Don’t forget that Kid’z Zone is only for children currently in Kindergarten, 1^st, or 2^nd grade. 3^rd-5^th graders remain in worship.

·      Sunday, March 30, it 5^th Sunday Stay so all KZ students will be staying in 10:45 worship for the entire time!

·      The Great Egg Race is on for all of our children! Do not forget to bring in your filled plastic eggs for the race to 4,000 eggs! Sign them in at the Welcome Center with the number of eggs, your child’s or your name, and the grade!

·      Gospel Project Cards have gone home for this quarter. If your child did not get a set of Gospel Proejct Cards, please see Elizabeth Horne.

·      Easter 2014: This year, we are offering Easter Devotions to every family to do the entire week of Holy Week. These fun devotions will feature a craft that coordinates with devotions. Everything you need will be in the Easter Devotion Kit. Add to your craft culminating in Easter Sunday at BBC! Post pictures of your family devotions each day for your children to be entered for a special Easter Surprise! You can tag Ballardsville Baptist Church, BBC Kids of Ballardsville Baptist, or Elizabeth J. Horne on Facebook or send us your pics via Twitter with @BallardsvilleBC or @elizabethjhorne. Pick up your Easter Devotions on Palm Sunday, April 13. (Please only one per house!)

·      Easter Sunday Egg Hunt: Don’t forget to make your calendar for the 2014 Easter Egg hunt after 10:45 am service on April 20, Easter Sunday. All children through 5^th grade are invited to attend!

TGP Family Devotion for 3/16-3/22, 2014

Volume 7 Adult/Kids Connections (SPR 2014) 

Unit 19, Session 3: God Gave Daniel Wisdom 
Daniel 5 

Christ Connection: God used Daniel's wisdom to get the king's attention about his pride. The king acted like he was better than God. God humbled the king. Jesus humbled Himself by dying on the cross for our sin. God raised up Jesus and gave Him honor. When we humble ourselves and trust in Jesus, God will raise us up too, and we will be with Him forever in heaven. 

Adult Connection Point: 
It’s the kindness of the Lord that will lead us to repentance, not merely His majesty. How is God’s kindness demonstrated? In His provision of protection. God has made a way for us to be protected from His own righteous wrath and to pay for sin that would keep us out of heaven. 

How much money do you think it would take to cover the United States in one-dollar bills? If you guessed 1 trillion dollars, you’d be way off. It would take 886 trillion dollars; that’s 2.8 million per person in the United States. That’s a lot of green! What would you do with 2.8 million dollars? 

According to Ephesians 1:7-8, we are even richer. God has lavished all His wealth on those who are redeemed by the blood of His Son. Just imagine! The God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Ps. 50:10) and all the storehouses of heaven is saying that His wealth is yours. In fact, the riches that you possess in Jesus Christ—on earth and in heaven—are so encompassing that the sum of them can never be accurately calculated. 

When we trust in Jesus Christ, who has been slain for us, we have everything we need forever!! Take a look: “We have redemption in Him through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” 

Family Devotion: 
Materials: glove 

Give a glove to one child and direct him to print a word in the air using one finger from the gloved hand. Direct the rest of the family to guess the word. Continue the game until everyone has had a chance. 

Recall the story then ask, “What did the words MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN mean?” God gave Daniel the wisdom and understanding he needed to uncover the meaning of the words. Because Daniel worshiped and obeyed God, God revealed to him that Belshazzar would soon die because he had not humbled himself before God, thus the kingdom would be taken over by two other nations. 

Ask, “What was Belshazzar's main problem?” Belshazzar had a problem with pride. Pride is simply exalting oneself to a high position, in this case, above God. His other problems included using the silver and gold containers for parties and worshiping foreign gods. Belshazzar did not learn from king Nebuchadnezzar’s mistakes, thus, God had to humble him, too. 

Remind your kids that Jesus is the example we want to follow. He humbled himself to death on a cross—always following God’s plan for His life. When one humbles himself and trusts in Jesus, God will raise up that person. 

Bow down, humbling yourself before God, asking Him to help your family trust Jesus in all circumstances so you can live with Him forever in heaven. 

Holy Week Family Craft! And Special Prize Giveaway!

This year in celebration of Easter and the resurrection of Jesus, BBC Kids is giving you a special way to celebrate with your family! 

Each child will receive a package on Palm Sunday, April 13,  in Sunday School, Discovery Club, or Kid'z Zone. Inside you will find devotions for the entire week and a craft to work on together as a family. As you work on your craft and do your family devotions, take pictures and send them to our BBC Kids Facebook page, @BallardsvilleBC on Twitter, or you can tag Elizabeth Horne via Facebook. For every picture you post (one per day of the project), your children will be put in a drawing for a prize giveaway!

Winners will be announced on Easter! 

Make sure you and your children enjoy this time of family fun and devotion this Easter Season! 

Discovery Club/Kid'z Zone Newsletter-March 2014

·         Discovery Club and Kid’z Zone Reminders:

o   Discovery Club is for 4 year old Preschoolers.

o   Kid’z Zone is for children currently in Kindergarten, 1^st, or 2^nd grade. 3^rd graders and above stay in worship. Please help us by not sending your older children to Kid’z Zone.

o   Toys: We’ve had an increase in toys being brought to both Discovery Club and Kid’z Zone. Teachers have everything your child needs during these extended sessions. Please do not bring toys to children’s church. They are a distraction to our children.

o   Food: We have many children with life threatening food allergies. Please do not send children with food of any kind to children’s church to help protect our students with allergies.

o   Behavior: We want Discovery Club and Kid’z Zone to be a safe, fun, and exciting environment where our children can grow deeper with Christ in an age appropriate way. Recently, we have had an increase in horseplay that can cause our children to get hurt. And we’ve had a rise in disrespectful and rude behavior towards our leaders and other children. Help us by encouraging your children to listen and be respectful during Discovery Club and Kid’z Zone. We are excited to have so many children in our groups, and we thank you for helping us maintain an environment that is safe and enjoyable for everyone especially the volunteers who prepare to teach each week!

·         THE GREAT EGG HUNT 2014!:  It is time to start collect Easter Eggs again! When you bring in your FILLED PLASTIC EGGS, you will sign them in on the Great Egg Race Sign in Sheet. You will be put your name, child's grade, and number of filled eggs. The class with the most filled eggs will be specially recognized on April 16 at a pizza party!!!! Let the Great Egg Race BEGIN!

·         Holy Week Family Devotions: Next month, Holy Week Crafts and Family Devotionals will be going home with each child in BBC Kids. This craft and daily devotionals are for you to use with your family from Palm Sunday, April 13, culminating in Easter Sunday. We encourage you to add to your craft every day, and post what you are learning to our Facebook, BBC Kids, and our Twitter, @BallardsvilleBC, #BBCKids. Everything you need for the craft and devotionals are included in the pack so make sure you take your family Easter devotions home during Holy Week!

·         The Gospel Project: We started a brand new quarter of the Gospel Project today! So that means your child should have gotten special Gospel Project Cards to take home! If you didn’t get a set of cards, please see Don Wright, Elizabeth Horne, or any Sunday School leader to get your set of cards! These cards are great to use with our weekly family devotions that are posted to our blog, http://bbckidsofballardsvillebaptist.blogspot.com/. We post devotionals for you and your family to continue the conversation each week at home!

·         VBS 2014: VBS is looking for their Truth Force Leaders to lead at the International Spy Academy VBS July 20-24 from 6:00-8:30 pm! All curriculum is in so see Elizabeth Horne to sign up to lead at VBS 2014.

TGP Devotion: Week of March 9-March 15, 2014

Volume 7 Adult/Kids Connections (SPR 2014)

Unit 19, Session 2: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
Daniel 3

Christ Connection: Only God could rescue Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fire. Jesus is the only One who can save us from our sin. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross provided the way for us to be rescued and have eternal life.

Adult Connection Point: See Luke 2:14,20. 

God asked Abraham to do something very difficult—to sacrifice his own son. Abraham was committed to obeying God. He had been obedient in leading his son up the mountain, building an altar, arranging the kindling, and binding Isaac’s hands. And now the time had come to raise the dagger above his head. Abraham was able to obey because, even in the heat of the moment, he believed what he had said to his son: “God will provide for himself” (Gen. 22:8). 

But how? At this point in the story, there was no ram in sight. Abraham did not trust himself to obey; he trusted God to provide. That was the kind of faith that enabled his obedience. Just in time God provided a lamb for Abraham to sacrifice. Abraham praised God. Abraham wanted people to remember God’s goodness. He built an altar on the mountain so that anyone passing by would see that it was God’s grace, and not Abraham’s actions, that spared the life of Isaac. 

God provided Jesus as the way to rescue us from our sin. When Jesus was born the heavenly host sang praises to God, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to people He favors!” (Luke 2:14). The shepherds heard the message and then they shared it: “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had seen and heard, just as they had been told” (Luke 2:20). 

Family Devotion: 
Materials: firewood, matches (optional) 

If possible, hold your family devotion near the fireplace or outside by a campfire. Using \materials in the house or outside, build the tallest “idol” you can, and then talk about the differences between an idol and God. Mention God is the Creator—idols are created. God is living—idols are not. 

Choose one of your children to recall the Bible story. Ask, “What is something new or interesting you learned from the Bible story about God?” 

Remind your kids that the men walked in the fire, yet came out untouched. The ropes burned, but the men did not have one flesh wound or even smell of smoke. (You might want to take a smell test to see who smells like smoke at this point!) 

Read Daniel 3:16-18. Ask, “What does this passage say about the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?” Only a living God could save Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from this fiery furnace and only Jesus can rescue us from our sin. No piece of wood, metal or stone, no matter how tall, can save us! Remove or break down your created idol and bow down. Pray to the one true living God, thanking Him for sending Jesus to rescue you from your sins. 

TGP Week of March 2 (Snow Week)

Volume 7 Adult/Kids Connections (SPR 2014) 

Unit 19, Session 1: Daniel and His Friends Obeyed God 
Daniel 1 

Christ Connection: Daniel chose to obey God no matter what. God blessed Daniel and his friends. Daniel wasn't perfect, but he reminds us of someone who was. Jesus obeyed God perfectly and He always pleases God. We please God when we trust in Jesus. 

Adult Connection Point: We know from the first chapters of the Bible that God created the first humans for lifelong communion with Him and with each other. There was nothing to fear, nothing to hide from, no reason to be ashamed. We don’t know how long Adam and Eve lived in sinless communion with God and each other. But what we do know is that this was the original plan of God for His creation. It was this that God saw as “very good” (Gen. 1:31). 

Can you imagine a life without shame? No lies to feel guilty for telling. No stealing, coveting, cheating, or gossiping. A life without shame is a life without anxiety. It’s a life without regret. Instead of disappointment, there is satisfaction. Instead of frustration, there is peace. Is this kind of life even possible in a world so full of chaos and danger? 

God thinks so. In fact, this is exactly the kind of life God wants you to live. And God made a way to take away the shame of His people. Every one of us is called to trust in Christ’s atonement to cover our sin and shame. For “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom.
6:23). 

Family Devotion: 
Materials: variety of fresh vegetables, water, hummus (optional) 

Prepare a Daniel meal. Encourage your kids to try at least one bite of all the vegetables, dipping them into the hummus, if desired. Find out which they liked best and why. 

Recall the Bible story and how God gave specific laws about the types of food the Israelites could and could not eat. Daniel and his three friends obeyed God even though they were in a foreign land and under a foreign king who did not know or care about God’s laws. 

Ask, “What was Daniel’s plan when the king’s servant did not want Daniel to eat different foods?” Daniel responded with a sensible plan—a 10-day experiment eating only vegetables and drinking only water. Daniel
obeyed God even though it was hard to do. 

Remind your children that only Jesus obeyed God completely. When a person obey God, He is pleased. When a person disobeys, shame and guilt quickly follow. Of course, all of us will disobey, but we can trust Jesus to forgive us of our sins when we confess them. 

Try your own 10-day experiment on obeying. Guide each of your kids to think of an area of obedience in which he or she needs God’s help. After the 10 days, see how hard or easy it was to obey. 

Pray, asking God to help you in trusting Jesus each day to obey God’s Word.