CHRISTMAS CARE PACKS BEFORE FRIDAY 7TH DECEMBER

We're collecting items for the St Matts Soup kitchen Christmas Care Hampers!

Our class has been asked to provide biscuits.  Please bring to Scripture or place it in the Christmas Hamper Box in School Office.

 

Feel free to provide other needed items such as toothpaste/toothbrushes/shampoo/lollies (no chocolate as it melts)/sunscreen/lipbalm.

 

Thank you so very much

 

 

 

 

IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU, IT'S ABOUT GOD

There were some big questions and a wonderful discussion about life.  How God is always in control and He created us for HIM.  It's NOT about us, as we so often believe, it's all about God.  He made us for Him.  Not the other way around.  I told them that God made us with free will, we are free to choose Him, otherwise, the friendship is not real.  Imagine having an electronic dog, that never wees on the carpet, who runs to you (only on your command, when you press a button on a remote control), who never chews holes in your socks, but at the same time, never runs to you out of own free will.

Then imagine the dog, that wees on the carpet every now and again, who chews holes in your favourite socks, who doesn't always listen when you call him, but every now and again, you feel him licking your toes and when you look down, he is just looking up at you wagging his tail, ready for a run and play and a cuddle.  Everyone agreed, the puppy who chooses out of his own free will to sit at your feet and have a cuddle is the real deal.  That's companionship.  Everyone was longing for a puppy.  Now THAT is why God made us, he wanted true companionship.  He made us so that He could love us and be friends with us forever.  But for it to be authentic friendship, there has to be free choice.  God is sovereign, He is the Creator and He decided to make friends for Himself. 

So this week, we are remembering, that God loves us with all our mistakes, He made us to just love him as we are. He love us JUST THE WAY WE ARE.  He loves us just because we run to him and acknowledge His friendship.  He loves us.

LET MY PEOPLE GO! EXODUS

Fergus, Laura and Dante opened our day with beautiful prayers.  Fergus also says to God that he hopes He is having a good day.  I tell the class that Laura had a brush with fame - she met Kate Bracks, winner of MasterChef 2011 @ St Matthews Church on the Corso, on Monday evening!

Here is is a pic

Our Lesson: Moses hears God calling him from a burning bush! God sends him to Pharao to demand this: Let God's people go!

Pharao refuses and God sends 9 plagues, but Pharao STILL refuses to let God's people go.  God sends the Angel of Death to the firstborn son of every family, only those who paint their doors with the blood of a lamb, will be passed over.  This points us to what will happen for us in the future, even though all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, Jesus died in our place, He is our sacrificial lamb, therefore death will not stop at our door, but instead, we inherit eternal life.

Wow.  Next week we see how even after all God does for his people, they still keep doubting.  Does it not sound familiar?  Absolutely!  We do exactly the same.  But God still persists and keeps rounding up his lost sheep, he loves us, no matter what.  Thank you God!

EXODUS!

We read Exodus 1-2.  God is about to save His nation Israel from slavery in Egypt.  Moses is born and by divine intervention ends up being the son of Pharao's daughter! So we see how Joseph ended up in Pharaos palace, even though his brothers decided to throw him away and tell his dad he died, and now God saves Moses, even though Pharao ordered all boys born to the Israelites to be thrown into the Nile!  Pharaos daughter finds Moses and decides to keep him.  How amazing is God's power.  This man, Moses will save the Israelites from slavery.  Watch this space...

So we see how God's promises to Abraham, LAND, DESCENDANTS and BLESSING the world through his descendants is still in motion.  Nobody can stop God's plan.  Very exciting stuff. 

JOSEPH & PEACE

GENESIS 37-47

We followed on from Jacob and Esau's story over the past 3 weeks and finished with Joseph, who saved his family from famine. 

Jacob and Rachel had a son called JOSEPH.  Joseph was his dad's favourite.  His brothers were jealous and sold him to Potiphar! They told their dad that he had died.  But God stuck to the promise he made to Abraham, and STILL blessed his people and gave him land through his descendants, of whom Joseph is one.  Joseph ended up being the second in command to PHARAOH! Wow, God really does know what He is doing.  Even though we sometimes look at our situation and think God has lost control, we must know and trust that He knows the big picture.  He is always in control. And it is yet another piece in God's amazing puzzle, just like Abraham and Isaac's story, giving us a clue about the 'lamb' that will be lead to slaughter to die in our place, this story is pointing forward to the Saviour, Jesus Christ to be born from this family - Joseph "died" and "rose again" when his brothers saw him years later so that they could live.  Genius!

OUR MEMORY VERSE FOR THE WEEK:

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6 & 7

DON'T WORRY

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

GENESIS 25: JACOB + ESAU

We have a new bible blackboard in class which will hopefully structure our 30 minutes a week as we always seem to run out of time!
ABCDE
A = Amen (roll call and pray) (5 minutes)
B = Bible reading of the day (5 minutes)
C = looks like an ear listen to the lesson (10 minutes)
D = Discuss and dance (children talk about lesson, we discuss, then sing - we have new CD's with songs that have Bible memory verses built into them, so it makes it easier to learn and remember
E = End = Amen - we pray together and the put their prayer requests and big questions in the mailbox (5 minutes)

Lesson was about Jacob and Esau the twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah, son of Abraham and Sarah. This is the bloodline of Jesus and we are going to follow this family until we get to the birth of Jesus.

Lesson aim: TRUST GOD. God keeps his promises and he uses whoever He wants to fulfil His promises.  Big, small, short, tall, weak, strong.  He is God and anyone can do anything if empowered by God.  .

Also followed on from last week's lesson about Abraham and Isaac, how have been redeemed by Jesus, the Lamb of God, just like Isaac has been redeemed by the lamb that God provided.  We feel so sorry for Abraham who was asked to sacrifice his only son, but it is a sign of things to come, a prophecy about what lies ahead. God's only beloved Son will be sacrificed for each and everyone of us.  We said to the kids, so who is Isaac in this story?  It is YOU!  Put your name in the place of Isaac.  We deserve God's wrath, but Jesus died in our place.  (For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, But John 3:16 God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, and Jesus said John 14:6: I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father, except by me, which also means, everyone comes to the father by ME! which is GOOD NEWS!)

JOHN 3:16

We have a 'mailbox' in class - kids post their prayer requests and big questions.  We pray for them and we answer their questions, however, we do not answer their questions straight away, we research first, so that our answers are Bible based and not our own.

Here are some of the BIG questions these little people have...
1. What is my speciality?
2. How can I have a happy life?
3. How was God made?
4. Where is the proof that Jesus lived?
5. What is the point of life? (2 children asked this question!)
6. When you go to Heaven, can you see God?

and a few prayer requests
1. Please God can I get a horse, cat or a dog mostly a horse.
2. Please God can I have my quad bike I am saving up for
3. Please God don't let me break any bones
4. Please pray for my family and my football games
5. Just Pray for me please.
6. Pray for my grandmother
7. Pray that my grandfather won't have any pain
8. Please God may I have a farm with a lovely horse.
9. Please pray that none of my family get hurt.
10. Pray that Grandma and Grandpa find their dog Coco
11. I don't have a problem, just pray for me.
12. Please just always pray for me.


May you have a blessed week.  Continue to pray for us for guidance and wisdom so that we know how to teach your Children how to know, understand and share God.

NUMBERS 23:19