Jesus's Light Shines in Me (10/28-10/30)

"When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'" (John 8:12) ELP chapel this week is all about letting our light shine. The Bible tells us that before our light will shine, we must be plugged in and turned on. We must be plugged in to God’s power supply and we must be turned on for Jesus. When we put our faith in God and say, "I love You, I believe You, I trust You Lord," we have the power. When we invite Him into our hearts, come to church to worship and praise Him and study His Word, we get turned on for Jesus. He tells us in Matthew 5:14-16, "You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." The children will get to play in our light tunnel/fort that has been constructed out of oversized boxes and outfitted with mini Christmas lights and glow sticks. After that, they'll sing and dance to Great Big God and Jesus Loves Me Rock. Dear Lord, thank you for Your light. We ask You to help us to remember to let it shine in everything we do, everywhere we go, so others can see who You are. In Jesus's name we pray, AMEN!!! Melinda

Walls of Jerico (10/20-10/22)

We traveled a little further through the desert with the Israelites this week as we learned about how God used their faith to reduce the massive walls around the city of Jerico to a pile of rubble. God's people were weary, cranky, and skeptical way before they reached the land God promised them. Now that they were finally there, all that stood between them and Canaan was Jerico. Big problem for the Israelites. No problem at all for God. This was to be His battle, not theirs. All He needed was to see if His people would finally humble themselves by submitting to His authority. The instructions The Lord gave Joshua for winning the battle made absolutely no sense, but this was God's way of seeing if the Israelites finally recognized Him as boss. Seriously, if someone today told you to march around city walls once a day for 6 days, then 7 times on the 7th day while blowing trumpets and shouting at the top of your lungs, what would you think? What would you do? Thankfully, the Israelites recognized Joshua's integrity and trusted his judgement enough to do as God had instructed him to do, thereby proving to the Father that they could be obedient to His word. This story proves that no matter the situation, God always wants what's best for us, He needs us to trust Him, and He always keeps His promises. After our story, the children got to build a city wall around their teacher. Next, we marched around her 6 times and on the 7th time, we let loose with some mighty trumpet noise and shouts as the city walls came crashing down. Then we celebrated by singing and dancing to My God and Praise The Lord Every Day. God bless you and your family this 3rd week in October! Melinda

Let My People Go! (10/13-10/15)

Moses and the Plagues.
"A friend loves at all times." Proverbs 17:17 This week we learn about Moses, the man God used to deliver the 10 Commandments to the people. He was a good guy: strong in faith and strong in character. Just the right man God could use for the big job of leading the Israelite slaves out of Egypt and away from oppression. From the beginning, God had special plans for Moses. After many years of being shaped and refined through life experiences (both good and bad), Moses was ready to to stand before Pharaoh and demand, "Let my people go!" After we read the story, we'll reenact the 10 Plagues by demanding to our Pharaoh doll, "Let my people go!" and inflict plagues on him each time he says, "No!" Finally, we'll celebrate God's power and the ultimate freeing of the Hebrew slaves by singing and dancing to GOD'S NOT DEAD and PHARAOH PHARAOH. Reading about Moses's life teaches us something about total reliance, total faith, and total obedience. It shows that God sometimes leads us through the long, difficult path towards salvation so we'll grow and be prepared for what is planned for us. That's an important lesson no matter how old we are! Bluebirds and Owls get a different lesson this week, one that is more meaningful to them. In these classes we will read/sing the book, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" then play a fun parachute game, bouncing various stuffed animals around. God bless you and your families as you go about your week! Melinda

Jonah's Wild Ride (10/6-10/8)

We continue to learn about how much God loves us as we hear a story about how there's no place we can go to get away from His careful watch. Our Father always knows where we are, what we need, and He never gives up on us. Jonah was a prophet who thought his way was better than God's way. In trying to avoid doing what The Lord had called him to do, Jonah tried to hide on a boat that was sailing into the open sea. You see, God wanted Jonah to go to the wicked city of Nineva and tell the people that He disapproved of their behavior. But Jonah forgot three very important things. 1. God is always with you 2. God always equips you with the tools you need to get His job done. 3. You can never hide from God. Jonah soon would learn the hard way that The Lord cannot be ignored or avoided. So instead of riding in a wooden boat, Jonah got to enjoy 3 days of first class accommodations in the dark, slimy, stinky belly of a giant fish. Sure enough, after three days of praying and thinking, when Jonah was ready to submit his life to God's will, the fish finally spit him out onto the beach very near the city where God wanted him to go in the first place. After our story, every girl and boy gets to pretend to be Jonah riding around for 3 days inside the giant fish. They'll crawl inside a whale tent set on wheels and I'll pull them around the room. At the end of the ride the whale will spit them out onto the shore...patooie!!! It's a fun one......lots of smiles and giggles. Our songs this week are Oh I Know and The Lord's Army/Father Abraham. Enjoy this first week of October and be sure to tuck our new bible verse in your heart too, "A friend loves at all times." Proverbs 17:17. Melinda