CHANGE IN DATE : NPM PARENT MEETING NEXT SUNDAY! SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2023 (10:50AM TO 11:20AM) PRAYING & PREPARING FOR THE UPCOMING EVENTS! Parents, come partner with us in loving, leading, and growing together! Our NPM Sunday Worship for our little ones can't happen without MORE Volunteers who will SAY YES to Serve with GHC NPM CLICK BUTTON To Partner with us in sharing the Gospel with our little ones! Save the date for Vacation Bible School, VBS 2023 – coming this summer! Prepare for a Stellar adventure through space and learn how we shine Jesus’ light in the world! Watch for more details including sign-ups for participants and volunteers coming later this spring. Dear families,
Moments of distress or pain and moments of rebellion or wandering often function as God’s classroom for His children to learn to trust Him. These experiences force us to either lean in to God or to leave—to turn from God or to trust in God. These moments are not obstacles to our faith but opportunities that God provides to grow our faith like no other. In 1 Kings 8:22-53, King Solomon was praying at the dedication of the temple. God had fulfilled His promise to King David, and the people had a tangible reminder of God’s faithfulness and provision. In Solomon’s prayer, we see several things that He believed about God. Among those, we learn that Solomon believed the only right response to feeling far from God is to turn the direction of our focus from ourselves to God as our only hope and to turn the direction of our lives from rebellion toward obedience to the Lord. The temptation for believers when we feel far from God is not to move toward Him but rather to sit at a distance or move further away, in fear that what has caused our sense of distance prevents Him from wanting us near. But this is simply not true. Solomon’s prayer reveals that God wants His people near. Even amid rebellion or trial, the Lord is the only way to turn. When you hit moments of distress, pain, rebellion, or wandering, is your tendency to move away from God or remain at a distance? Or do you find yourself turning your focus away from yourself and toward Him? If there is any rebellious way in you, turn toward God’s gracious hand of forgiveness. “LORD God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below, who keeps the gracious covenant with your servants who walk before you with all their heart” (1 Kings 8:23). This is the God who wants you near when you wander and wants your heart when you are hurting. Do not doubt Him, for He longs for us to draw near to Him as He has drawn near to us through Christ. Because of the work of Jesus, who drew near to us by humbling Himself, taking on the form of a man and enduring death on a cross, we too can humbly draw near to God. Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities. FAMILY TALKING POINTS CHRIST CONNECTION This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: Solomon’s Sin Divided the Kingdom (1 Kings 10–12)
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Our NPM Sunday Worship for our little ones can't happen without MORE Volunteers who will SAY YES to Serve with GHC NPM CLICK BUTTON To Partner with us in sharing the Gospel with our little ones! SAVE THE DATE - GHC VBS 2023! COMING THIS SUMMER! Launch our kids on a cosmic quest where they’ll have a blast shining Jesus’ light to the world. Our VBS THEME is Stellar VBS! VBS 2023 rockets kids on an out-of-this-world adventure that’s light years of faith-building fun. Dear families,
What exactly do you pray for the next generation? When you ask God to move and work in the coming generations, what is it that you are asking Him to do? You may hope for them to be good and productive citizens. It may be that you hope to see them make good decisions, marry the right person, and raise a beautiful family. It may be that you hope they will become committed to the local church and even show evidence of their love for God in how they serve others. In 1 Kings 2, we see an incredible example of how to pray for the next generation. Whether your own kids, your future kids, the kids you are investing in through your church, or others that you influence, consider David’s desire. David’s hope for his son demonstrates what we ought to hope and pray for the next generation. The first four verses of 1 Kings 2 contain David’s dying words to his son Solomon. David knew his days were few, and he took the opportunity to call Solomon to what he knew would be best. Ultimately, David told Solomon to grow into a godly man who is faithful to the Lord in every way. Specifically, David called Solomon “to walk in his ways and to keep his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees.” When you think about the way you pray for the next generation, does it sound like this? Does it sound like the words of a dying father who knows his child’s only hope is to trust in God and follow Him faithfully? Or does it sound more like a hopeful fan who wants a good, moral societal participant that they will be associated with and maybe even reap the benefits of their success? We ought to want what God wants for our own lives and the lives of the next generation that we are investing in. It shouldn’t matter if they are our biological kids, adoptive kids, foster kids, or church kids. Our hope should be that they would faithfully follow God as they grow into godly people who are faithful to the Lord in every way. Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities. FAMILY TALKING POINTS CHRIST CONNECTION This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
Our NPM Sunday Worship for our little ones can't happen without MORE Volunteers who will SAY YES to Serve with GHC NPM CLICK BUTTON To Partner with us in sharing the Gospel with our little ones! SAVE THE DATE - GHC VBS 2023! COMING THIS SUMMER! Launch our kids on a cosmic quest where they’ll have a blast shining Jesus’ light to the world. Our VBS THEME is Stellar VBS! VBS 2023 rockets kids on an out-of-this-world adventure that’s light years of faith-building fun. Dear families,
One of the most glorious ways God shows us His grace is through salvation. Though there are many common graces that apply to everyone—life, breath, relationships, and more; salvation is a gift of God’s grace experienced by only some. In Psalm 51, David recalled the holiness of God, repenting of his sin and ultimately seeking to enjoy the nearness of His gracious God once again. Amid this confession, David asked God for many things, one of which was to restore to him the joy of salvation. Why, in the middle of this moment of confession and repentance, did David ask God to bring back the joy of salvation? If you’ve ever felt the true weight of your sin, you know that these moments can bring the temptation to lose all joy. Sin can take you to a place that brings misery and heartache more than a sense of nearness and happiness. In David’s lowest moment, he knew what he needed was not just forgiveness for a sin, but a reminder that through faith in the Lord, he had total forgiveness. David had come to know the depth of his own sin. He understood the implications of the thoughts and actions derived from his wicked heart. And as he discerned these things, he couldn’t help but realize that he needed God’s full forgiveness. And so David asked the Lord to take him back to the elementary principles of God’s salvation. In moments of failure, it is good for us to return to the cross. It is good for us to return to the salvation that God has given us. When we do, we can recall the fullness of God’s forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ—the shed blood of our Savior who has provided what we need for every moment. Would you pray today for God to restore the joy of His salvation to you? Ask God to help you remember with gladness the blood of Jesus shed to pay for your sin. Jesus takes our sin and completely frees us to live for Him. God is good to give grace, and He is worthy of all praise. Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities. FAMILY TALKING POINTS CHRIST CONNECTION This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: God Gave Solomon Wisdom (1 Kings 2–3) Our NPM Sunday Worship for our little ones can't happen without MORE Volunteers who will SAY YES to Serve with GHC NPM CLICK BUTTON BELOW To Partner with us in sharing the Gospel with our little ones! SAVE THE DATE - GHC VBS 2023! COMING THIS SUMMER! Launch our kids on a cosmic quest where they’ll have a blast shining Jesus’ light to the world. Our VBS THEME is Stellar VBS! VBS 2023 rockets kids on an out-of-this-world adventure that’s light years of faith-building fun. Dear families,
Why is it that we can be so quick to see the sins of others, but have such a hard time seeing our own? In 2 Samuel 12, after David had grievously sinned against Bathsheba, Uriah, and ultimately the Lord, he was confronted by Nathan and forced to see the disgust of his own failure. Nathan came to David with a word from the Lord intended to help him see the significance of his own sin, but David’s response suggests that he wished judgment on another for the very same thing he had done himself. David’s sin had snowballed as he tried to cover it up. Ultimately, David’s sin escalated to the point of murder. David quickly moved on to the next phase of his cover-up operation and seemed to have satisfactorily dealt with his failure, keeping the circle of those who knew the truth as small as possible. But Nathan was able to confront David in his sin. Nathan helped David see the sickness of his own heart and actions, and he shared with David what he could expect as a consequence of his sin. David needed what each of us needs as well: someone else to help us walk with the Lord and show us what we are sometimes unwilling to see about ourselves. What Nathan did for David was painful but powerful. Nathan helped David see sin in his life that needed to be dealt with. Who in your life has the Lord used or could the Lord use to help you see the dark places in you that no one else knows? Who in your life that the Lord might use to help bring about true repentance? Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.” Iron is sharpened by one surface rubbing against another so that the imperfections can be broken away. As we follow Jesus, we need one another to walk in the light and find forgiveness in the Lord. Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities. FAMILY TALKING POINTS CHRIST CONNECTION This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: God Is Good to Give Grace (Psalm 51) Our NPM Sunday Worship for our little ones can't happen without MORE Volunteers who will SAY YES to Serve with GHC NPM CLICK BUTTON BELOW To Partner with us in sharing the Gospel with our little ones! SAVE THE DATE - GHC VBS 2023! COMING THIS SUMMER! Launch our kids on a cosmic quest where they’ll have a blast shining Jesus’ light to the world. Our VBS THEME is Stellar VBS! VBS 2023 rockets kids on an out-of-this-world adventure that’s light years of faith-building fun. Dear families,
David is described in the Bible as a man after God’s own heart. (1 Sam. 13:14) Though at times David showed the depth of his depravity, he also demonstrated a love for God that was radical. In 2 Samuel 6, we see this take the form of David dancing with all his might before the Lord. There was much external evidence of David’s love for God, including his praising and rejoicing, dancing, and playing instruments. We also see in David’s life a depth of love for God as evidenced in the way that he prayed. In 2 Samuel 7:18, after David heard from the Lord through Nathan, we find the beginning of an incredibly humble prayer of thanksgiving to God. David’s first response to the great things that God had promised Him was to say, “Who am I, Lord GOD, and what is my house that you have brought me this far?” David didn’t stand up taller or display an attitude that suggested he deserved God’s blessing. He did just the opposite of that. David recognized that he simply didn’t deserve the good things that God had done and had promised to do. When you think about God’s great work in your life or when you read His Word and recall His precious and very great promises, what is your response? Do you find yourself believing you deserve it and wishing there was more, or do you rightfully understand that God alone has brought you this far, leading you to respond in praise and thanksgiving? This week, take the time to remember some of the great things that God has done in your life, how He saved you and others in your life. Remember how He has given you victory over sin. Remember the things you’ve seen God do in the lives of friends and family members. Humbly thank God for what He’s done, and boldly ask Him to continue to work—not because you deserve it but because you desire to see, know, and love God more. Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities. FAMILY TALKING POINTS CHRIST CONNECTION This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.
BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.
KEY PASSAGE This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.
** Next week: David Sinned and Was Forgiven (2 Samuel 11–12) |
GHC NPMPARTNERING WITH PARENTS Archives
August 2023
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