“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
As You Forgive
Nov 29, 2016 05:00 pm
Jesus teaches that God can forgive us only if we forgive others. It is God’s love that draws us to Him, and that love cannot touch our hearts without creating a love for those around us. If we don’t forgive, we cut off the channel through which God can forgive us. Just because someone hasn’t confessed or asked us for forgiveness doesn’t mean that we are justified to withhold our forgiveness. [And] we should offer him the same kindness, the same forgiveness, whether or not he does. No matter how badly someone has hurt us, we shouldn’t hold on to our offended feelings. We should forgive that person the way we would want God to forgive us.
*Today is my first day back after being off for a few days over the holiday. Somehow those vacation days need to be used or you lose them. Isn’t that wonderful? Today is December 1st and Christmas and all the festivities are around us. My goal is to finish this year strong. Jesus is the way and the truth and the life…my life. I trust He is yours too. As I was going thru my emails I came across some great ideas to use in our churches and families to remember the Season. Hopefully you will find them useful too.
Object Lessons for the Season:
For All ages Christmas Lights
Use Christmas lights for a Christmas object lesson that teaches about the light of Christ!
Bring a string of Christmas lights to plug in and light up.
Ask kids why we have Christmas lights. Ask them to think about what light is good for.
One of the greatest things about light is that it helps us to see. The Bible calls Jesus the “light of the world.”
John 8:12: “When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
You can also use the color of the lights to expand this Christmas object lesson and remind them of what Christmas is really about. The red reminds us of God’s love and how much He loves us as He sent Jesus to shed His blood to cover our sin. The yellow reminds us of Heaven’s streets of gold and the hope Christ brings to us. The blue reminds us that He has given us His Holy Spirit to live in and through us; He is always with us! The green reminds us that we are to be growing in Christ. Our day of salvation is just the beginning of a wonderful life process of becoming more like Him. The white reminds us of the purity and holiness of Christ. If we trust in Him, our sin will be washed as white as snow.
He is the one that shows us the way to Heaven because He is the only way. We must follow Him.
John 14:6: “Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
For Kindergarten Holding Baby Jesus
Before class write words from the song “Away in a Manger” on index cards. Don’t write the words “the” or “and.” Stick with the main words like manger, crib, bed. As children arrive in class, tape the cards to their shirts and tell them not to remove them; one card per child.
Wrap a baby doll in a blanket and hold him. Lead the class in the song, “Away in a Manger.” Explain to children that as the words of the song are sang, they must pass the baby to person who matches the word. Tell them to be careful holding the pretend “baby Jesus.”
For Pre-teen Ornament: The Power of Christmas
PREPARATION
Obtain a Christmas tree ornament. A bulb will work great, one that is NOT glass. Make sure it is a bulb that you can write on with a sharpie or some other pen.
Take the hook out of the ornament, and set both the ornament and hook on the table separately.
Place a sharpie on the table.
Mark a Bible at John 15:5.
DEMONSTRATION
Show the preteens the ornament and say, “Somebody created this Christmas tree ornament with a specific purpose. What is its purpose?” Gather responses until somebody explains that the ornament is made to hang on a tree. Say, “This ornament has a problem. It cannot do what it was created for. I’ve tried hanging it on my tree at home and it just falls to the ground.” As you are saying this, hold the ornament in the air like you are trying to hang it on a tree and let it fall to the table. Say, “I’ve tried it 100 times, and it never seems to be able to do what it was created for! (pause) Can somebody tell me the problem here?” Wait until somebody explains that the ornament is missing the hook. As you plug the hook into the ornament say, “Isn’t that something? In order for this ornament to do what it was created to do, it has to be attached to this hook!”
OBJECT LESSON
Say, “You and I were created with a purpose, too. We were created to know God and to show the world who He is. We were created for God’s glory! But look what it says in John 15:5, and think about how you and I are like this ornament.” Have the students draw the connection between the ornament and us, namely that we must be connected to Christ to fulfill our purpose, just like the ornament must be connected to the hook to fulfill its purpose!
Challenge your students to brainstorm ways that they can “plug into” Christ, and write these on the ornament using a sharpie.
WRAP UP
Say, “This Christmas whenever you see an ornament hanging from a tree, think of the fact that the ornament is doing what it was created for (hanging from a tree)…and it can only do that by being connected to a hook! And when you think about that, remember that you can only do what you were created for when you are connected to Christ! Use Christmastime as a time to connect with Jesus! After all, God sent Jesus to Earth in order to connect with us.”
If you like this object lesson, be sure to like this on Facebook and share it with all your friends!
Calendar for 2017
January 14 Adventurer Program Northwest Dade SDA Church
January 24-27 Children’s Pastor’s Conference Orlando, Fl
February Georgia Cumberland Conference Children’s Ministry Conf
February 1st 3 weekends Women’s Retreat Ministry Expo
March 11 VBS 2017 Showcase @ Fla Conference Community Room
March 18 Creative Ministry /Children’s Day @ 1st SDA Church WPB
March 31-April 2 Young Adult/Couples Weekend @ Community Room /Florida Conference Office
A quote from Robert Louis Stevenson: “To forget oneself is to be happy”. Remember this when you get to busy and wonder why you are trying to rush to get things done.
Prayers for you and your family/ministry are with you today. I know that Lord is already looking ahead to lead you thru the future ‘2017’.
Have a great rest of the week.