Lesson Goal: The children learned that it is important to take breaks from their tasks in order to spend time with others.

Main Point: Disciples of Jesus are Never Too Busy for People!

Memory Verse: "Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others too." Philippians 2:4

In this week's Bible stories, Jesus showed us how important it is to make time for people who need us.  In John, chapter 3, Jesus made time to meet with a man named Nicodemus. It was late at night and Jesus was probably tired, but He also knew that Nicodemus needed his questions answered. Jesus didn't send him away, instead He took time to explain salvation to Nicodemus. Later, in John chapter 4, Jesus took time to speak with a woman even though she had a bad reputation around town. She was also a Samaritan. Jews weren't expected to speak to Samaritans, but Jesus did anyway. In Mark, chapter 10, some parents brought their children to be blessed by Jesus. The disciples thought Jesus was too busy to be bothered by children and tried to send them away. Jesus scolded His disciples and made it a point to spend time with the children and bless them. Jesus never became too busy with tasks to spend time with people who needed Him.

On video, Scooter had a problem with being too busy. Now that Team Steadfast is in first place, Scooter had to work on a book, practice for TV interviews and review product endorsements. Scooter just didn't have time for fans or even for his teammate: Rock Steadfast. Rock needed Scooter's help for an upcoming event but Scooter refused to help and said, "I'm just too busy, I don't have time." Well, Rock lost the event and Scooter learned that not making time for people can do a lot more damage than we know. At the close of the skit, Team Steadfast was in 2nd place with just one more week to go in the competition. We'll see next week if they can regain 1st place and take home the trophy.

Everyone gets busy performing tasks. Many times these tasks are important. However, we need to always be aware of the people around us that need our help, and be ready to stop what we're working on and help them. Remind your children this week to stop and spend time with others.

Pastor Chris' Extreme Nuggets:

Nugget #1 Me (I need to remember it's not all about me...I need to put others 1st and be a servant)

Nugget #2 Myself (I need to put myself in other people's shoes and think about how other people feel)

Nugget #3 I (I need to keep my eye on Jesus...To do that I need to set time aside to spend with Him everyday.)

Lesson Goal: The children learned that God has given us gifts. They also learned that we should use those gifts to help others, that no gift is too small and that when we use our gifts to help others God will bless us even more.

Main Point: "Disciples of Jesus Use Their Gifts To Help Others!"

Memory Verse: Romans 12:6a (NLT) "In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well."

Pastor Chris' Extreme P's: 1) Purpose (God has made everyone with a purpose in mind)
                                          2) Present (We are a gift from God to the world)
                                          3) Presence (When we use the gifts God has given us his presence touches others)

Everyone has a gift. God wants us to use our talents and gifts to help other people. Jesus told a parable about using our gifts in Matthew chapter 25. A rich man was about to leave on a long journey. Before leaving, he entrusted his money to three of his servants. To the first servant, he gave five bags of silver. To the second, he gave two bags of silver. To the final servant, he gave one bag of silver. The rich man left and the first servant used the five bags of silver and was able to double the amount by earning five more. The second servant used the two bags of silver and was also able to double the amount by earning two more. However, the third servant buried the one bag of silver in the ground. When the rich man returned, he was very pleased with the first two servants and vowed to give them even more. However, he was furious with the servant who buried the money in the ground and didn't use it. The one bag was taken away from the third servant and given to the first servant. God wants us to use our gifts. If we are faithful and use the gifts God gives us, we will receive even more. However, if we do not use our gifts, they can be taken away.

During the skit, Rock and Scooter had a chance to get in first place in the overall competition. The event they had to win is "curling". Curling is a sport that involves one person sliding a stone across the ice, towards a target while a second person sweeps the ice in front of the stone. Scooter didn't know much about curling, but Scooter does have a gift for sweeping. Scooter didn't think that sweeping was much of a gift. However, during the event, Rock slid the stone and Scooter's gift for sweeping gave them a perfect score launching team steadfast into first place.

No talent is too small or too strange for God to use. Remind your children that, to be disciples of Jesus, they need to use the gifts God has blessed them with.

Small talk:

Here are some ideas and questions you can ask your child to open up communication about the lesson.

1) What happened to Scooter and Rock this week? Are they still in last place?

2) I noticed that this week's lesson was about gifts. What was Scooter's gift? How did he use it?

3) Sweeping didn't seem like a very good gift to have but it turned out to be a great one for Scooter? Do you
have any gifts that you think are small or not that important?

4) What are some things that you like to do? What are some things that you are good at or that are easy for you to do?

5) It would have been bad if Scooter had chose to hide his gift and not share it. Is there a bible story that talks about what happens when people don't use their gifts? Tell me about it.

6) These are some things I see that you do really well _____, _______, _______. Do you like doing these things? How do you think they can be used to bless others?

Hi Guys,

Everyone likes a good deal...so...I have one for you.

Simply subscribe to this blog and leave a comment on this post with your child or children's first initial and last name and age before April 2nd and receive a $5 discount on Parent's Night Out. That's right you pay only $15 for your family to have an outstanding start to the weekend!!!

Invite some friends with kids to go out with you...This is an outstanding way to reach the unchurched.

Have a blessed day!

PC

Howdy everybody,

Welcome to our 1st weekly blog version of our parent's flyer...Wow that's a mouthful...Anyway I hope this will help some of you guys to reinforce what was taught during our G-Force service on Sunday...In fact if it's easier for you and your child just comment on this blog that you've went over the lesson with your child and they will not have to bring the Parent Flyer with them every Sunday. As a side note, all of our scriptures for this series are from the (NLT) version of the Bible.

Lesson Goal: The children learned that it is better to show mercy than to make people suffer the consequences of their action.

Main Point: Disciples of Jesus Show Mercy!

Memory Verse: "Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience." Colossians 3:12

Our bible story this week was taken from Matthew, chapter 18. In this story, Jesus told a parable about a servant who borrowed the equivalent of millions of dollars from the king. One day the king called in the debt and the servant had to pay back the full amount, or be thrown in jail. The servant pleaded with the king and the king wiped away the servant's debt and let him go. The servant then went and found a man who owed him the equivalent of thousands of dollars. He grabbed this man by the throat and demanded immediate payment. The man couldn't pay back what he owed, so the servant had the man thrown in prison. When the king, who had forgiven the servant millions, found out how the servant had refused to show mercy, he became furious. He brought the servant before him and accused him of being evil for not showing a small amount of mercy after he had been shown a great deal of mercy. The king then had the first servant thrown into prison until the debt could be paid. Just like the king in the story, God shows mercy to us and expects us to show mercy to each other as well.

On stage, despite recent victories, Rock and Scooter were still in last place in the overall competition at the X-Factor games. Normally, the last place team is eliminated halfway through the competition. However, the officials decided to show mercy and allow Rock and Scooter to stay in the competition. During the snowboard race, another racer accidentally bumped into Scooter and Scooter decided to have the guy kicked out of the X-Factor games. Rock convinced Scooter to show mercy because they had been shown mercy by the officials.

Showing mercy isn't always easy. This week we wanted to remind your children that we are expected to show mercy because God has already shown us a great deal of mercy by sending His Son who gives us forgiveness and takes our sin away. Remind your children that true disciples of Jesus show mercy.

I will weekly post the Parent Flyer Handout along with some additional nuggets and questions from our weekly lesson. I will also share some thoughts and ideas that may assist you in the discipleship of your child.

I welcome and encourage you to share your comments, questions, concerns, and testimonies with other parents as we partner together in raising up a chosen generation. Please don’t forget to subscribe to the blog which will enable you to be automatically updated when a new post or comment is made.