Christmas Eve Service 2013

We invite you to join us for a Family Christmas Eve Candlelight Service tomorrow night at 6:00 pm. We would love to see you and your family at this Christmas Celebration. Please know that there is no childcare for this event, and we encourage you to ring in Christmas as a family.

Merry Christmas from all of our BBC Leaders and Staff.

Numbers 6:24-26

The Gospel Project Devotion-Week of 12/22-12/28

Our BBC Students participated in the Annual Christmas Breakfast this past Sunday. However, here is a devotion for the session of The Gospel Project that we missed. All classes, SS, DC, and KZ will resume on December 29 with Josiah's Reform. 

Volume 6 Adult/Kids Connections
Unit 17: Session 1: Micah, Prophet to Judah
Micah 1–7

Christ Connection: The prophet Micah gave Godʼs people a message of hope: a leader was coming who would free God's people. He would be a shepherd and a king. The righteous ruler promised through Micah is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Adult Connection Point: The Bible is a historical book. The events it describes took place in history. The Bible does not contain theological truths unrelated to history. History matters! We have many reasons to believe the Bible is what it claims to be—the very Word of God. Here is just one way: we trust the Bible 
because of its unity. The biblical story is one grand story from Genesis to Revelation. This story unfolds through multiple plots and subplots. In the midst of all the themes, all the people, and all the stories, there is one central theme through the Scriptures—the promise and fulfillment of a messianic King who is 
establishing an eternal kingdom for God. This grand story points to one Person, Jesus Christ (Luke 24:27). 

In the Old Testament, Christ is promised to the people of God. In the New Testament, He arrives (Matt. 5:17-18). The detailed nature of the prophecies fulfilled in Jesus is one of the clearest signs that the 
Bible is no ordinary book.

Family Devotion: 
Direct your family to tell about their favorite book. Who are some of the characters? Why do they like the book? If the book is easily accessible, bring the book back to the group and show it.

Challenge your family to find the Book of Micah. (Use the table of contents, if necessary.) Then recall the story. Ask: “What wrong things were Godʼs people doing that deserved His punishment?” Micah told the people that they did not love and obey God, worshiped idols, took what was not theirs, and listened to 
false prophets.

Remind your kids that God is always providing a way for His people to come back to Him. God sent Micah to warn His people of their punishment, but He also gave them a message of hope. Micah said a ruler would come out of Bethlehem, and He would shepherd the people. Jesus is the only Person who fulfilled this prophecy in Micah. Jesus is the One Micah spoke of who would free us from our sins.

Ask: “What makes the Bible different from our other favorite books?” We can know the Bible is true because it is the very Word of God. When we find prophecies spoken in the Old Testament and fulfilled in Jesus Christ, we can know the words in the Bible are true.

Pray, thanking God for sending a ruler and shepherd. Sing a Scripture song and continue to learn it throughout the week.

Christmas Breakfast's 5th Sunday Stay

This Sunday, at BBC, will be a special Christmas breakfast and worship in the Family Life Center. All children will have a 5th Sunday Stay this Sunday for this special service. 

There will be nursery provided  for ages 3 and under during this time if you choose to use it. 

• Nursery for Birth-24 months will be downstairs in the FLC
• Nursery for 2 & 3 year olds will be upstairs in the FLC

We look forward to this time to worship together. Join us Sunday at 9:30 and invite your friends!

Exciting Training Offered in the New Year

There are so many exciting opportunities for training in the New Year. Make sure you do not miss a single event! 

• Awana Training: There will be Awana Training for all Awana leaders on January 5, 2014 at 4:30 pm at BBC. Discussion will include the new Awana Semester, Awana Derby, and Awana Sunday 2014. 

• Family Ministry Field Guide Seminar @ The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,Thursday, January 9, 2014: Chuck Sumner and Elizabeth Horne invite all of BBC's Parents and Youth & Children's Workers to attend this seminar on January 9. We will meet at the church at 8:00 am and travel together. Lunch is provided. We will return to the church at 4:30.  There is no cost, but you must sign up to attend. Sign up at the Welcome Center or email Chuck at Chuck@BBCLife.org or Elizabeth@BBCLife.org. Check out http://events.sbts.edu/alumniacademywinter/ for more information. 

• Imagine Children's Ministry Conference 2014: All parents and BBC Kids Leaders are invited to attend Imagine this year in Bardstown on January 31-February 1. The cost is $50 which includes the ticket and hotel room. The deadline to sign up and pay is January 22. Please make all checks out to Ballardsville Baptist Church, and sign up with Elizabeth Horne or at the Welcome Center.

• VBS Training, February 7 2014: VBS Training for International Spy Academy VBS is at 10:00 am at the Creation Museum on February 7. The training is free and lunch is provided, but registration is required. Please sign up with Elizabeth Horne, Elizabeth@BBCLife.org, or in the Welcome Center. 
  

Gospel Project Parent's Help: Week of December 15-21, 2013

Volume 6 Adult/Kids Connections
Unit 16, Session 3: Jesus Was Dedicated
Luke 2:21-40

Christ Connection: Throughout the Old Testament, God promised the arrival of  a king who would redeem God's people. When Jesus arrived, Simeon and  Anna knew He was the promised Messiah. Today, we have faith that Jesus is  Godʼs Son. We can trust Jesus for our salvation.

Adult Connection Point: How do we know so much about the birth of Jesus? 

God not only revealed Himself in creation, He chose to reveal Himself in the Person of Jesus Christ and in the written Word that testifies to Christ. How did  He give us His Word? God inspired the authors of Scripture so that the very words they wrote down were the Word of God. Inspiration means that the words themselves are the words God spoke, and the human authors wrote down what  God spoke. The Apostle Peter wrote that the authors were “moved by” or  “carried along by” the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:19-21).

When we hold our English Bibles in our hands, we should recognize that we are the beneficiaries of selfless men and women who committed to preserve  Godʼs Word by copying manuscripts, translating it into the common language, and ensuring that Godʼs people would benefit from hearing His voice. At every point in history, Godʼs Word has been protected for and provided to Godʼs people. The message of Godʼs grand plan of salvation—the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—is the same message we have today. 

Family Devotion: 
Materials: paper, pencils

Pretend to be scribes and print in your best handwriting Luke 2:28-32. (Give fewer words for younger members of your family.) When you are finished, exchange papers and invite others to look for mistakes. 

Think about all the writers and how painstakingly they wrote down Godʼs words.

Tell your family that they can trust Godʼs Word to be true. Godʼs Word has been  protected and preserved over thousands of years so what we read today is exactly as God told Moses, Luke, John, and others to write it. Even though the writers were human, they wrote exactly what God told them through His Spirit.

"Born" Schedule for Children (December 15, 2013)

December 15: Born-A Christmas Worship Experience at 9:15 and 10:45 am. Many of our children are participating in Born this year, and we are very proud of all of the hard work that they have put into preparing for this special morning of worship. Due to Born, our Sunday Morning Schedule is a bit different. Parents have several options on this Sunday Morning for their children. (Those singing are welcome to attend any of the following after they sing.):

    Ø  9:15-10:30-Children may attend Born with their parents or they may attend Sunday School on the Children’s Hall. Nursery is provided and Sunday School is 2 years through 5^th grade.
    Ø  10:45-12:00- Children may attend Born with their parents or Preschool-2^nd grade may attend Kid’z Zone. Kid’z Zone will be having a special Christmas “hang time” featuring Merry Larry and the True Light of Christmas movie. Children who are in Born and are in Preschool-2^nd grade may attend Kid’z Zone late.

The Gospel Project Parent's Help: Week of 12/9-12/14 2013

Volume 6 Adult/Kids Connections
Unit 16, Session 2: Jesus Was Born
Luke 2:1-20

Christ Connection: The birth of Jesus is good news! Jesus was not an ordinary baby. He is Godʼs Son, sent to earth from heaven. Jesus came into the world to save people from their sins and to be their King.

Adult Connection Point: See Luke 2:14,20. 
When we want to know about Godʼs glory, we often try to picture something intangible. But Godʼs goodness is rooted in reality. The glory of God is most  easily distinguished for us through His work. The work of God, in this case sending His Son, is the expression of Godʼs character through His perfect 
execution of love and truth. We experience Godʼs glory in every activity of  His work. 

If you are in Christ, you are a mirror, an ambassador, a carrier of Godʼs glory. We who have been given the Spirit of God and can see “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4) can always be in the presence of God in worship and prayer and always have Christ within us. When we turn to the Lord,  we reflect His glory like Christ Himself. And we are transformed by it. 

“The deepest passion of the heart of Jesus was not the saving of men, but the 
glory of God; and then the saving of men, because that is for the glory of God.”
–G. Campbell Morgan (1863-1945)\

Family Devotion: 

Materials: mirror

Pass the mirror to members of the family and, as they look, invite them to say one thing they like and dislike.
Tell your family members to skim Luke 2:1-20 and find the number of times  glory, or a root form of it, is repeated. Ask: “What do you think the word glory means?” Look up glory in a Bible dictionary or English dictionary to develop a fuller understanding.

Read 2 Corinthians 4:4 and Hebrews 1:3. According to these passages, Christ is the exact representation of Godʼs character and a carrier of Godʼs glory. Those who believe that Jesus is Godʼs Son and accept that Jesus can save us from sin, are also carriers of Godʼs glory. When the world looks at you, they should see Godʼs glory reflected in you. When we continue to follow Jesus day  after day, we will be transformed more and more like Jesus.

Pass the mirror around again, and direct each person to say, “I am a reflection of Godʼs glory.” When you worship God, pray to Him, and follow Christ, more and more of Godʼs glory will be reflected in you. When Jesus was born, the fullness of Godʼs glory was revealed in Him. No wonder those who visited Baby Jesus fell down and worshiped Him, and returned home glorifying and praising Him.

Pray, asking God to reveal more and more of His glory in your family.