December 6, 2020
Grove Kids
Sunday Service
Message to Parents
I remember when my girls were growing up, I bet we played The Little Mermaid and Lion King videos at least a thousand times (I think the songs are permanently embedded in my mind…”Look at this stuff, isn’t it neat, wouldn’t you think my collections complete. Wouldn’t you think I’m a girl, a girl who has everything.”)! Sometimes these movies enabled us to do things around the house. Other times, it was catching up with work but if I’m honest, many times it wasn’t. Out of sheer exhaustion or impatience I would give in and say, “Fine, watch the movie” or bribe them with a treat or any number of things that I knew probably wasn’t the best thing to teach our girls. Then I’d turn around and justify it by saying, “They’ll be fine, it’s not hurting them”…but was it? Are we creating a short term happiness with a long term problem?
There’s a fine line in all this, I know. We all need a break every once in a while but have we made that break a crutch, an easy out that we use more frequently than we should? Here’s a solid article that brings us back to center when we think we’re doing the right thing in our parenting style by giving in, when in reality we’re really just SPOILING our kids.
Now for your Kids...
Grab your Bible, your crafty baking skills, and get ready to experience Jesus with your kids! Here’s your theme…Christmas: Celebrating Jesus, God’s greatest gift!
Grab these easy ingredients:
Advent Ornament Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup table salt
- 1 1⁄2 cups warm water
- Cookie cutters
- A toothpick
- Paint or paint markers for decoration
- Ribbon for hanging
Remind your kids that we are celebrating Advent (coming) of Christmas all month in December. Tell them, “each week at church we’re looking at Hope, Joy, Peace and Love…and to help us remember what Christmas is all about we’re going to make ornaments for the tree!!!”
With them, preheat the oven to 300° Fahrenheit. Stir together the flour and salt. Slowly add the water, stirring constantly. Knead the dough until soft, about five minutes. Place the dough between two large pieces of parchment paper. Roll out until 1/8 inch thick.
Use the cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Use the toothpick to write the words “HOPE,” “LOVE,” “JOY” and “PEACE” on four separate ornaments. Poke a hole in the top of every ornament for hanging. Transfer the parchment paper to a baking sheet. Bake for one hour.
Once cooled, decorate the “HOPE” ornament and other blank ornaments with paint or paint markers. Thread ribbon through the top and hang on the tree. Save the “LOVE,” “JOY” and “PEACE” ornaments to decorate in the weeks to come.
Now read Isaiah 40:1-5 with them. Share with them, “Do you know who Isaiah was? He was a prophet of God, which means that God told him what was coming. In these verses he’s talking about the coming of Jesus. That’s what we’re doing too! These ornaments remind us of all the wonderful things that Jesus brings into our lives and we only get to do that because God sent His only Son Jesus to be with us and we celebrate His birth on Christmas!”
Pray that your family will remember the reason for the season because that’s when we truly start to see the hope, love, joy and peace in our own lives. HAVE FUN!!!
Grove Kids | Sunday Notes
High Hopes
Jesus Is Promised
Isaiah 9:6
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is the Messiah, the Lord.
Luke 2:11, NIrV
We can have hope because God keeps His promises.
Christmas—Celebrating Jesus, God’s greatest gift
I can trust God no matter what.
We kick off Christmas with one of them most hopeful passages in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 9:6, we read, A child will be born to us. A son will be given to us. He will rule over us. And he will be called Wonderful Adviser and Mighty God. He will also be called Father Who Lives Forever and Prince Who Brings Peace, (NIrV). As God’s people were about to head into exile, God delivered hope through a promise. Someday, this will all be over—a King would come who would make all things new. Christmas celebrates the hope that God sent Jesus to fulfil that promise and rescue creation once and for all.
Bottom Line: We can have hope because God keeps His promises. Throughout the Bible, we see time and again how God followed through on what He promised His people. Knowing that God has kept His promises in the past, gives us hope that God will continue keeping His promises in the future. In a world of uncertainty, we pray that kids discover the hope that through Jesus, God is making all things new.
Return to Grove Kids Online
Have a question we haven’t answered?
Take your next step!