"The Spring in Review!"

Hello Good News Club Families!

We loved seeing your kids smiling faces in their t-shirts ready to have fun today!  That we did!  The kids started off with memory verse unscramble.  The groups got one colored set of cards that had one of our three verses on the cards.  They had to speedily put the words in order. Then, the groups would pass the next verse around, and so on. We'd love for you to keep enforcing those verses.  

2 Timothy 4:7 - “I have fought the good fight; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!”

Ephesians 4:2 – “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love…”

Psalm 139:14 – “I praise you Lord for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Next, We asked our awesome 5th and 6th grade helpers to come up in front of our group so we could thank them for their excellent servant's heart as they have helped in the small groups consistently thru the fall and spring!  Then, we saw if they learned the moves and words to the songs as we did our worship!  Our kids should have some great words of truth floating thru the tunes we learned this spring. 

We also recognized our kids who took the Challenge to Walk with God!  They should have a pencil that says excellent work.  I hope this exercise inspires them to want to continue spending regular time with God and His word and praying.   

Thanks to our Watermark Children's team that came today to help and especially lead our review 4 corners game!  All the kids were given a sheet with questions and multiple choice answers.  The speaker, D.K., read the questions and answers and the kids would go from the middle to the corners deciding if it was A,B,C, or D.  All the corner folks were dressed up in costumes that reminded us of our Godly characteristics we had studied this spring.  We had scuba girls with porpoises on shoulders to remind us of purposeful,  camo army girls for perseverance, tie dye guys and wigs for peace, white snow princess for purity, and red light lady for patience.  The kids were hysterical listening and running around the gym to their correct answers of the Bible story review of Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Enoch, and Noah.  

Then we summed it all up with small group time where we tried to ask reflective questions about what all these stories mean to the kids.  We had the kids act out the main characters of the Bible and their Godly trait they learned about while we asked their questions.  Here is an example:  Even when it’s tough – Read James 1:2-4 “My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.” – Why should we want to persevere even when it’s tough?- Ask your kids.

Devotionals!  The little green book should have come home with your kids form GNC.  The theme is Jesus, God's Son.  This goes along with our desire for the kids to live like Jesus and see His characteristics that the kids can model in life.  Please take the time to encourage your readers to independently do this quiet time each day or as a family read it out loud at dinner time.  Our focus is for your kids to know that Jesus is the Son of God who died for their sins and to grow in this truth by spending time reading, praying, and learning God's word.

Lastly, look for information on the spring family picnic.  This will be on a Tuesday at 5PM after spring break so we can warm up a bit.  

Thank you for letting us love on your kids in Jesus' name!

Good News Club Team!

Walking with God!- DO THE CHALLENGE!

The focus through Tuesdays club was not only knowing God but walking with him.  What does that look like?  We take it  several levels.

*First, we reviewed our memory verse Ephesians 4:2 "With all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love..."  The kids had verse scramble on cards on snack time and we did motions to it in bug group.  Knowing God's word and how to treat others was the start.

*Second, we played a game called "God Says..." like Simon says is about listening to God's instructions and obeying them.  Being aware if God did not say to do something.

*Third, we worshipped in song and our 4th graders did a super job leading us!

*Fourth, we heard from Jenny Bindra who from the Bible walked well with God- Enoch in Genesis 4:16-5:29.  For 365 years, the bible recorded that Enoch was faithful and had a close peaceful relationship with God.  Jenny had Mrs. Bone & Mrs. Keaton (twin sisters and best friends 30+ years) demonstrate through questions how well they knew each other and how they could could walk well together in a three legged race.  Then, Jenny had Mr. Silva & Mr. Gentile (barely know each other) demonstrate how little they knew each other and how they could not figure out how to to do the three legged race well at all.  Jenny concluded her talk with the emphasis of learning peace from God when we walk with Him and  a challenge to spend every day this week doing a devotional with God.

*Lastly, Small groups, showed pictures of things that draw us to God and distractions from him.  The kids need to figure out the right balance.  Ask them!  We handed out the challenge devotional cards to encourage the kids to read God's word by themselves or with your help and do the application question.  Please encourage them in this effort.  You and your child will be blessed to have God as your focus!

Two more weeks left.  We hope your kids will be a part of both weeks.  We have loved having them!

Love in Christ, GNC TEAM

What is Pure White?

The kids started with bean bag hot potato to review of our verse.  Psalm 139:14 " I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."    

Carrie asked "What is Pure White?"  Purity was our Godly Characteristic that we focused on today.

This week in Good News Club we focused on the story of Adam and Eve from Genesis 2-3:24.  Carrie taught the kids a song about the beginning of heaven and earth.  Then, God created the Garden of Eden and Eve to be the companion for Adam.  Sadly, next we see the serpent tempt Eve and introduce sin into the world.  What had been been pure and lovely in the garden is now destroyed by sin.  

Sin is anything we say, do, or think that does not please God.  First we had pure white, then darkness was added by sin in our hearts.  But, the Good News is Jesus died on the cross to be our blood covering for our sin.  When we believe that He was the Son of God and ask for forgiveness of our sins, He will cleanse us and make us pure white.  

This lesson was continued with our small group time when the kids had to pick the color swatch of pure white. (We had various shades of white, but only one matched the pure white color paint swatch.)  The pure white reflected absence of blemish, defect, or sin.

Just like in the story, we are like Adam & Eve because we have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  Rom 3:23

 

God gave up His only Son to make YOU AND ME pure. 

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”2 Corintians 5:21

Because..."For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16

He loves you THAT MUCH! He gave up His son FOR YOU!

What do we have to do to be pure and live forever with Him? Believe that Jesus Christ came to die and take the punishment for your sins. 

This is our sole desire for each of the children in Good News Club to believe and grew in His grace!

Happy New Year! - 2010

Glad to see all of your kids at Good News Club yesterday! We had a great turn out, in fact, we are at our cap enrollment.

The kids began club with our Jesus chant/hug song. This works on our counting, coordination, cooperation with others, praising God, and singing all rolled up into one song. Fun to watch too with our 3rd grade girls helping with the motions. David & Lynn led us in worship and our new song this semester will be the "Happy Day Song".- "It's happy day that Jesus washed my sins away and we'll never be the same!"  See the Lyrics below.

"I am...Somebody!" Steve Faris impressed upon the kids that we are purposely created in God's image and we are a wonderfully made by him. We are not somebody because of how fast we are on the soccer or football field, how good looking we are, how smart we are, how many friends we have. God made us and designed us just the way He wanted in order to know Him and worship Him. He is the creator. We reviewed Genesis 1:1-2:4, the story of the creation of the world. Steve emphasized the Godly characteristic of purposeful.










Our memory verse is Psalm 139:14 " I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Please work on this with your kids as our goal is for them to memorize it. We will do this verse one more week. Thanks to Kathryn Keaton leading us and her student helpers- Kaitlyn, Luke, Ella, and Webster.

In small groups, we talked about how God created the earth out of nothing. “Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Genesis 2:7 He was very purposeful in all of His creation. The kids were given Wiki sticks and they created something out of nothing. Ask them what they made. As they worked, their leaders talked about how God made man to love and worship Him. It is the most important difference between man and all other creatures. We are chosen and loved by God.

Help your kids focus this week on the character of God. What does it mean that,"We are God’s workmanship, created in Chirist Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."? Ephesians 2:10 “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

Thanks, Good News Club Team!

HAPPY DAY

VERSE 1

The greatest day in history                       

Death is beaten, You have rescued me

Sing it out Jesus is alive           

The empty cross the empty grave                       

Life Eternal, You have won the day

Shout it out Jesus is alive, HE’S ALIVE

CHORUS

Oh happy day, happy day                       

You washed my sin away

Oh happy day, happy day                       

I'll never be the same

Forever I am changed

VERSE 2

When I stand in that place                       

Free at last meeting face to face

I am Yours Jesus You are mine

Endless joy perfect peace                                   

Earthly pain finally will cease

Celebrate Jesus is alive,  HE'S ALIVE

CHORUS