Preschool (2yrs to PreK)

“God loved the world so much that He gave His only Son.” 
John 3:16 GNT 

This weekend we discover God’s love for us in how He announced the birth of Jesus.  In Luke 2:6-18, we learn about a group of shepherds just hanging out in the fields like any other normal night.  But that night was ANYTHING but normal.

I love to close my eyes and try imagine moments like this in scripture.  I try to put myself in the shepherds place to imagine how they felt when this angel appears out of nowhere.  I imagine for a moment what it was like for the angels just before they made the announcement.

I mean… if you stop to think about it… that moment was ripe with anticipation.  The angels knew that this was God’s plan at work.  The angels understood how mind-blowing it was that the Creator God could fit into this tiny baby body that was just born.  The angels had some news and they couldn’t wait to share it.

Stepping from behind the curtain of stars, the angels appear to the shepherds to announce the birth of Jesus.  It was an awesome moment in history.  This is another clue that shows us why Jesus is so special.  He is God’s Son!

This week, Make It Personal, by investing some time imagining what it was like to be in that moment.  To be an angel who has seen God in all His glory suddenly wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a feeding trough.  What was it like to know how important this moment was to all the world.  To hold news that you knew would change the world.

Placing ourselves in moments of scripture like this help to bring us closer to the awe of what God is doing.  This is a season where your preschooler needs to grasp the wonder of our Heavenly Father.  Leverage this season in your child’s life by regaining the wonder in your own heart.  You’ll find ripe opportunity to connect your preschooler to a God of wonder.

Elementary (K-3rd grade)

In this week’s Bible story, the shepherds visit Jesus (Luke 2:8-20) after having heard the good news from a host of angels! After the shepherds saw the baby Jesus, they wanted to tell everyone they met about how God was meeting our greatest need.

The good news the angels sang about wasn’t just for the shepherds. It was for each person we cross paths with every day. Our Bottom Line is: God gave us great news. Who will you tell?

Every person has the same great need to be rescued. We can help meet that need by telling them the good news of Jesus.  What’s that good news?  Our memory verse sums it up:

God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son.
Anyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life.
John 3:16, NIrV

Whether it’s through telling others the good news, or sharing other moments in your life about when God revealed Himself, tell others about God’s compassion.

This weekend, Create a Rhythm, by tapping into the power of quality moments together.  Take a walk through your neighborhood with your family.  Talk about why God placed you in that neighborhood, how you can be a light in that neighborhood and who God wants you to share this great news with in 2013.  Write those names on a piece of paper and begin asking God for opportunities to share the great news of God’s love with them.

Club 45 (4th & 5th grade)

Immanuel:  A New Kind of Christmas

God has a way of showing up when we least expect it.  And in ways we wouldn’t anticipate.  But He always shows up.  And He always keeps His promises.

This weekend in Club 45 we are focusing on Luke 2:1-20: 24:13-35.  The moment of Jesus’ birth.  We look through the eyes of the shepherds who ran through the streets of Bethlehem announcing “Immanuel, Immanuel!!”

Emphatically spreading the news that God-With-Us is here… finally!

Put yourself in that position.  All your life you’ve heard about the coming Christ.  The One that would finally make everything right.  The One that would finally set everything straight again.  And yet this Savior doesn’t come in the way that Israel is expecting.  They were expecting a King.  A powerful ruler.  And yet… God sent a baby.

As an Israelite shepherd, this didn’t match up with the stories you heard around the campfire.  But what you saw is undeniable.  Thousands of angels in the sky telling you that Immanuel is here… he is born and lies in a feeding trough in the quiet, little town of Bethlehem.  And He’s here to make everything right again.

This weekend, Imagine the End, by focusing your energy and effort on the issues that will make a lasting impact.  Just as God revealed Himself to the shepherds.  Help your preteen discover the ways God wants to reveal Himself to them.    Write down the God-Moments that you each experienced this past week.