Children’s Ministry

February 2015

Put Love Into Action

“Love” is a theme seen throughout the month of February, but it

doesn’t mean much unless we put it into action. As Christians,

we have the perfect example of love in action: God sending his

only Son, Jesus, to die for our sins and rise again to give us new

life.

God, who is love (1 John 4:8), calls his followers to love one

another as he has loved us (John 15:12). That includes people

of different skin colors, cultural backgrounds, physical abilities,

and even religious beliefs. Kids notice differences and may be

unsure how to treat people.

But no matter a person’s appearance or situation, Jesus loves

and values him or her, and he calls us to do the same.

As parents, you play an important role in teaching your children

how to love others in both word and action. Here are some

helpful tips to follow.

Acknowledge the differences that kids notice in people, and

allow them to explore those differences.

Encourage children to look for positive qualities in others.

Focus on what makes each person special and unique. Kids

who feel secure in themselves are more likely to embrace

other people with love.

Be a role model of love and acceptance. If you want your

kids to express love, you need that same approach yourself.

As your role model, remember Jesus, who befriended

outsiders and outcasts.

POWERSOURCE

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 1 John 4:16 God is love. Love does not exist apart from God. It can-not because He is love. God loves you simply because He loves you. It is not based on what you’ve done or how you’ve earned it. You can’t earn it. He loves freely and unconditionally. It is who He is. This is so beautiful and real, and yet we easily forget it. We often live daily not acknowledging Him at all. We puff up with pride when we are corrected, we judge others that think differently than us. We react in anger and selfishness more often than we’d like to admit. To love as Christ loves us is easily forgotten. This is not the way He longs for us to live. He wants us to love intentionally, selflessly, and without hesitation. But we are only human and this is impossible without first looking to Jesus. In scripture, there is a disciple known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” He doesn’t give his name, but it is often believed that John wrote this about himself. Maybe this was a way to remind himself of the simple truth we often forget. We are loved greatly and unconditionally, no strings attached. Maybe John felt like a screw-up most of the time. Maybe he needed to remind himself of this truth often. His heart needed it – to say it loud as a reassurance. He wanted to keep his focus on Jesus, so not to fall to his selfish nature. It is easy to be selfish, to love ourselves and serve only ourselves. It’s easy to love those that love you… but God calls us higher. Suppose you love those who love you. Should anyone praise you for that? Even sinners love those who love them….. But love your enemies. Do good to them… Then you will receive a lot in return. And you will be children of the Most High God. Luke 6: 32 – 26 We cannot give something to others that we ourselves do not possess. Spend time with God this week and ask Him to reveal His great love for you. Allow God’s love to pour over you like a healing balm for your heart. Allow Him to show you what love should look like, so you can love others.

Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

TEACHABLE MOMENTS

God’s Heartbeat With masking tape, create a heart out-line on the floor. Say: Let’s read what the Bible says about love. Read aloud 1 John 4:8. Ask: What do you think it means that God is love? When you think of his love, what words come to mind? Have family members stand on the heart outline and hold hands. Say: I’ll squeeze the hand of the per-son to my right. When you feel a squeeze, pass it on to the next person. Continue until there’s a good rhythm of squeezes. Say: Think of this as God’s heart-beat. When we receive his love, we can give it away and keep that love going and going! Ask: What are some loving things people have done for you? What are some ways you pass along God’s love to other people? Close in prayer.

“Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for

love comes from God…If we love each other, God lives

in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”

—1 John 4:7,12

Love One Another

Exchanging cards and treats on Valentine’s Day is a small reminder that love is

meant to be given away. Use that tradition as a springboard to discuss how

much God loves each of us—and how we, in turn, get to share that love with

other people. Remind your children that God’s love isn’t performance-based. In

other words, he doesn’t love us more or less depending on what we do or don’t

do. Instead, our loving actions are merely a grateful response for the love that

God gives us so abundantly. Try a few of the fun activities below to reinforce

the importance of loving others—inside and outside your family.

Living Valentines—Give each family member a heart-shaped candy, and

share the messages written on them. Read 1 John 3:18, and discuss what it

says about showing love. Put that love into practice by exchanging candies with

another family member, giving them a hug, and saying, “Jesus loves you—and

so do I!”

Woven With Love—If you have a chain-link fence (or can obtain permission to

decorate one at or near your church), create a symbol of God’s love. Weave

red and white crepe-paper streamers in and out of the fence to make a design,

such as a white heart with a red cross in the center. Pray together, asking God

to use the image to remind your neighbors of his great love for them.

Secret Valentines—Have family members choose names so each person has

a Secret Valentine. During February, surprise one another with encouraging

notes, treats, and help with chores. At the end of the month, reveal the names

of Secret Valentines and express appreciation for all the love that was shown.

A Cool Valentine—If there’s snow on the ground near Valentine’s Day,

go on a chilly mission to send lovely greetings to special people.

Fill a squirt bottle with water and some red food coloring. (Or buy snow

markers, available at Target.) Locate a large area of fresh, untracked snow in

your valentine’s yard. Stomp the outline of a large heart, beginning at the

bottom point, keeping your footprints close together. Then squirt the snow in-

side the heart with colored water. Leave a valentine card (and some cookies!)

on the porch.

Name Game—Come up with ways to show God’s love to other people based

on the first letter of your first names. For example, Tristen can “tell” people

Jesus loves them. Hannah can “help” someone carry groceries. Read John

13:35. Say that other people know us by our names, but Jesus knows us by

how we love one another.

MEDIA MADNESS

MOVIE Title: SpongeBob: Sponge Out of Water

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Rating: Not yet rated

Cast: Antonio Banderas, Clancy Brown, Tom Kenny

Synopsis: This is the second feature film starring SpongeBob SquarePants, the popular character from the Nickelodeon TV series. (The first released back in 2004.) SpongeBob and his friends must recover the Krabby Patty recipe from a pirate.

Our Take: SpongeBob has taken some heat from parents because of its rude language, name-calling, and cartoon violence. The movie will likely be more appropriate for older kids—about 8 and up.

MUSIC Title: No Turning Back

Artist: Brandon Heath

Synopsis: This is the fifth studio album for award-winning Christian singer and guitar player Heath, 36. He first heard about Jesus at age 16, while attending a summer camp. Since then, Heath has stayed involved with Young Life. He uses personal lyrics to explore faith’s role in people’s lives.

Our Take: Older kids will enjoy Heath’s radio-friendly hooks and encouraging messages. On “No Turning Back,” he beckons listeners to decide to follow Jesus, like he did. “I made up my mind, I leave it behind,” Heath sings of the world’s distractions.

February 6-8: Global Impact Celebration

February 8: The Deep Family Worship, 9:30 a.m., Gym

February 18: Ash Wednesday

February 26: Confirmands help with Room in the Inn

March 1: VBS Registration opens for church members

March 8: VBS Registration opens community-wide

June 22-26: Vacation Bible School

LENTEN Activity for KIDS Lent is a time of preparation as you take a look at your inner self and make commitments to be more diligent in your prayer life, in giving, and in fasting (giving up something). We encourage you to include your children in all the Lenten preparation your family might be doing during this season. Start Lent off with this devotion below.

SAY: We sin and mess up a lot, and we need forgiveness. God loves you very much, but He doesn’t love sin. Jesus gave His life so you could be forgiven. He wanted to pay the price for your sin, so you wouldn’t have to. Jesus is God’s son and He was nailed to a cross. He did no wrong, broke no law, He was perfect in every way. Yet he was crucified like a common criminal for our sins. He took our punishment.

Far too often, days go by where the only time we’ve thought of Jesus is for the meal-time prayer. He deserves more from us. So, during Lent, we’re going to take a deeper look at our lives – what distracts us? What do we really live for? In our lives, what do we seem to love more than Jesus? Can we give that up for Him?

Below are some examples from families that participated together in Lent:

Whatever fasting you do, include the children and talk about how the Son of God and great people throughout the Bible fasted and prayed as a way to draw closer to God.

Give up meat for Lent. For a family with little ones, you could choose to not do this with the children’s school lunches, but still have the children join in the family dinners with no meat.

Give up movies and TV; make this a family deal (so one person is not tempting another).

Choose a family devotion to read together nightly and talk about your fasting.

Clean out your closets and give away what you don’t need. Participate in the MUMC Consignment Sale as a way to bless the ministries of the church.

Visit a petting zoo with lambs or sheep. Talk about why we call Jesus the Sacrificial Lamb.

Plant flowers, a plant, tree, or Easter grass. Take care of it and watch it grow. Talk about new life and Jesus rising from the grave giving us new life.

Dress in purple and talk about how this color means royalty and Jesus is the King above all kings.

Search for other activities and devotions on sites like Pinterest.com that can be easily incorporated in your family.

Games, Sites & Apps

Hohokum

This artistic PlayStation

game filled with color

and music has a unique

look and a relaxing

effect. The player

becomes a kite-like

creature who floats

through different worlds.

The game is a curious

adventure filled with

nooks and crannies.

(Rated E10+)

BuildWithChrome

Lego and Google

Chrome teamed up on

this virtual playground,

where builders of all

ages can construct their

own projects. Kids can

just start creating or can

take lessons from a

Build Academy, which

get increasingly more

complex.

Dear children, let’s not just talk about love, let’s practice real love.

1 John 3:18

REAL LOVE….the kind Jesus showed us….hands on….hearts engaged…reaching out in service and missions….

Come and share in a wonderful weekend filled with opportunities to celebrate the impact of God’s love in the lives of His people at our 5th annual GIC!

Friday, February 6 Celebration Kickoff 6:30pm Worship 7:00 pm Children’s Celebration Saturday, February 7 5:00 pm Family Friendly Celebration Dinner www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c44afac2d6-family

Sunday, February 8 9:30 am Deep Family Worship

We are very excited about our upcoming Vacation

Bible School! Save the date and join us! We will

have worship, crafts, games and more!

We are always looking for volunteers to serve in

this amazing ministry. If you are interested in

volunteering or if you have any questions regarding

Preschool through Elementary VBS, please contact

Autumn at autumn@matthewsumc.org

VBS DATES

June 22 - 26

9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

Registration begins at the Welcome Center and a

table across from Noah’s Ark in the children’s wing

on March 1 for Church Members and opens to the

public on March 8.

NOTE: Registration will close when we have

reached full capacity, so register early.

The

Lord

is m

y R

OC

K

MY ROCK

WILD and Wonderful

VBS

“Middle School Style”

June 22 - 26, 2015

9 am - 12:30 pm

And my fortress...He is my

STRONGHO

LD. Psalm 18:2