April 12, Palm Sunday

This past weekend we incorporated the children into our Palm Sunday celebration by having them walk through the sanctuary waving palms like the people of Jerusalem had done as Jesus entered the city. The kids had a great time taking part in the service!

EASTER SUNDAY is a Family Worship Day. This means that we will only have the infant room open for children under 3. We will provide color sheets and crayons to keep little ones busy during the service. Good Friday service is this Friday at 7pm and we will have the infant room open. Looking forward to celebrating together!

Click the image above to see how you can make your own Easter Story in an egg carton!

LASTLY, check out the link to see a simple but creative way to discuss the story of Jesus with your children using an egg carton, some plastic eggs, and some small items you may have around the house. We may have a few Easter stories in a carton to hand out on Sunday but feel free to make your own!

HAPPY EASTER!

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JESUS' CRUCIFIXION AND RESURRECTION

LESSON RECAP

KEY POINTS

BIBLE PASSAGE: Matthew 26:36–28:10; John 18:1–20:18
MAIN POINT: Jesus died on the cross to save people from sin, and He is alive. KEY PASSAGE: Luke 24:5-6
BIG PICTURE QUESTION: Who saves us from our sin? Only Jesus saves us from sin. 

God’s law for the people was plain. Read Deuteronomy 6:5. But God’s people, and all people, have broken the law. We have loved other things more than we love God. That is sin.

Jesus’ purpose for coming to earth was to save us from our sin. (Matt. 1:21) Why did Jesus have to die? Why couldn’t He just say, “You are forgiven”? God is just and requires due payment for sin. To simply forgive sin without requiring a payment would be unjust. According to God’s Word, the payment of sin is death. (Rom. 6:23) But not only is God just, He is also loving. That is why Jesus was willing to die in our place.

Jesus came to live and die to show God’s love to us (Rom. 5:7-8) so that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16) Jesus came to die so that we would be forgiven. (Eph. 1:7) Jesus came to die to bring us to God. (1 Pet. 3:18) Jesus died on the cross to satisfy the wrath of God toward sin. Jesus’ resurrection proved that God was satisfied with Jesus’ sacrifice, and forgiveness and life are found in Him. (See 1 Cor. 15:17.) If Jesus had died but not been raised up, He would have been like military leaders who died without a throne. (Acts 5:33-37) But Jesus conquered death, just as He said He would. (John 2:19-21)

Jesus’ resurrection gives us hope for our resurrection. (Rom. 6:5) And Romans 8:1 ssays that the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will raise our bodies to life. 

Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection are not the end of the story, but the center of it.

The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is the center of the gospel. We deserve to die because of our sin, but Jesus died in our place. He was the blood sacrifice made once and for all for the forgiveness of sin. God was pleased with Jesus’ sacrifice and raised Jesus from the dead to reign as King over all creation. We are forgiven only through Jesus. (Acts 4:12). Celebrate this truth with your children this Easter!

April 5, EASTER SERIES

Dear Parents,

This week we began our Easter series at Restore Kids! It is a short 2 weeks series, beginning with Jesus's Triumphal Entry (check out our recap below) and ending with the Crucifixion and Resurrection. In addition, this weekend to celebrate Palm Sunday the children will have an opportunity to walk through the church carrying palm fronds before heading to their classrooms. Please be on time so your child doesn't miss out! 

Make note that Easter Sunday, April 16, is a family worship day so we will only have childcare available for children under 3. We will provide crayons and coloring sheets for the rest of the children to use during service. 

Lastly, please stop by the check in Kiosk this weekend and fill out a form updating your children's information. We need to make sure every family gets entered into our new system.

In His Service, 

Christi Mulder

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JESUS's TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

Bible Passage: Matthew 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:28-44; John 12:12-19

Main Point: People welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem as their King.

Key Passage: Romans 10:9

Big Picture Question: Who saves us from our sin? Only Jesus saves us from our sin.

NEXT WEEK  “Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection” (Matthew 26:36–28:10; John 18:1–20:18)

LESSON RECAP 

The Sunday before Easter is Palm Sunday—the day Jesus entered Jerusalem as the King of kings the week of Passover. Many of God’s people traveled to Jerusalem for Passover. Jesus and His disciples traveled to Jerusalem as well. Near Bethphage (BETH fayj) and Bethany near the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples ahead into a village to bring a donkey to Him. 

Jesus made a spectacular entrance into the city. He rode the donkey, and people laid palm branches and their robes on the ground in front of Him. The people welcoming Jesus into Jerusalem believed He was the promised Messiah, but they expected Him to overthrow Roman oppression and set up an earthly throne. Jesus sent a different message. 

The next day, Jesus entered the temple and turned over the tables of the money changers and those selling doves. Jesus referred to Isaiah 56:7, declaring that His kingship would not just be over the Jews but over all people. While Jesus was in the temple, He healed the blind and the lame. Jesus’ actions declared, “I am not just your King; I am also your God” (Isa. 35:4-6). 

Finally, the priests and the scribes heard the children in the temple worshiping Jesus as their King. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked. Jesus replied, quoting Psalm 8:2. Jesus gladly received their praise because He was worthy of their praise. Jesus is the Son of God who came to overthrow sin and set up an eternal throne. During Jesus’ triumphal entry, the people welcomed Him as King. Jesus was the Messiah spoken about by the prophet Zechariah: “Look, your King is coming to you; He is righteous and victorious, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). One day, Jesus will return to earth on a white horse as King over everything. (Revelation 19:11)

As you prepare for and celebrate Easter, help your kids connect the dots between God’s promises of a Messiah and Jesus’ coming. Help them understand why Jesus came: to save the world from sin!

March 26, 2017

Unit 18, Session 6: Malachi the Prophet

Dear Parents, 

This week was our final week in the Old Testament as we looked at the Book of Malachi. After many years living as prisoners in Babylon, God’s people had returned to Judah. They had worked hard and overcome opposition to rebuild the temple and the walls around Jerusalem. Surely God would restore them ... finally! But nothing happened. As they waited, they faced drought and economic uncertainty. God’s people probably didn’t feel like God had blessed them at all.

“It is useless to serve God,” they said. “What have we gained by keeping His requirements?” (Mal. 3:14).

Did God still care? It wasn’t long until they fell back into the same patterns of sin that led to their exile in the first place: idolatry, covetousness, hypocrisy, arrogance, and abuse of the poor.

But God did still love His people. He had been working out His divine plan of redemption, and He never gave up on them. God sent a message to His people through the prophet Malachi.

Malachi was the last of the Old Testament prophets. He spoke to God’s people approximately 100 years after the end of the Babylonian captivity. Malachi’s message from God was a wake­up call.

God communicated through Malachi that the people’s lack of blessing didn’t mean that God didn’t care. God exposed His people’s sin and made clear that their actions merited a curse. God’s people needed to repent and turn back to God. “But for you who fear My name,” God said, “the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings” (Mal. 4:2). 

Malachi was a messenger—a prophet—who told God's people to repent. Malachi also told about another messenger God would send. This messenger, John the Baptist, would call people to repent and get them ready for a final Messenger, Jesus Christ. Jesus would bring good news of salvation.

Help your kids understand that 400 years of silence followed Malachi’s prophecy; God did not communicate to His people. This period brings us to the New Testament, when the silence would be broken by the last prophet before Jesus, John the Baptist. His words about Jesus in John 1:29 offered hope to all who heard: “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”

Check this session’s Activity Page and Big Picture Card as well as the Gospel Project for Kids Family App for ways to interact with the Bible content this week.