Scripture

Happy Resurrection Day!

IT’S SUNDAY MORNING!

“Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!
Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!”
Up from the grave He arose;
with a mighty triumph o’er his foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
and He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!”


I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said.
1 Cor. 15:3-4

Rejoice for this validates everything that Jesus did and said! It also grants us a confirmed hope! We who are alive in Christ will one day be reunited with those who are asleep in Christ!

The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over us, but all who receive God’s wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:17

Make Easter a family time of worshiping together and thinking about the risen Lord:

  • Read the Easter story together from Matthew 27-28, Mark 15 – 16, or Luke 23-24.
  • Sing praises together.  Hooray is one song that children really love about the empty tomb.  It is from Every Song a Bible Story from Maranatha Music.

Happy Easter from my family to yours!

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Benefits of Teaching Children the Truths of Scripture

 

The following comes from the latest post by Discipleland (Check out their great resources.)

 

“Four Key Benefits of Teaching Children the Truths of Scripture:
  1. Makes kids wise for salvation (2 Timothy 3:15)
  2. Thoroughly equips them to do good works (2 Timothy 3:17)
  3. Prepares them to respond to those who ask about their hope (1 Peter 3:15)
  4. Readies them to withstand the culture’s onslaught that attempts to indoctrinate and deceive them (Ephesians 6:10-18)

 

After the Lord freed the Hebrews from slavery, Moses knew that God’s people needed a dramatic paradigm shift regarding parenting. He implores parents to do whatever it takes to train their kids about walking in God’s ways: ‘Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and your gates’ (Deuteronomy 6:7-9).


Why was Moses so concerned that successive generations observe God’s laws? The Lord had promised His people that effective parenting would lead to these wonderful rewards:
  • His people would live safely in the land (Leviticus 25:18)
  • All would go well with them (Deuteronomy 12:28)
  • God would bless them in the land (Deuteronomy 30:16)

Training children to know and obey God is the primary way believers access God’s long-term blessing and rewards—for the family, for the church, and for the whole society.”

 

 

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Putting God First


Exodus 20:3
You shall have no other gods before Me.

Here’s a simple way to illustrate the meaning of this verse.  I used these cards with my children 30 years ago, so don’t laugh at the TV with rabbit ears 🙂  We made cards illustrating things we might be putting before God such as friends, money, and TV.

We also read from The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes, the Bible story recorded in Exodus 32:1-6 about when God’s people turned away from God and started praying to a golden calf that they had made.  We talked about how this caused God much sorrow,  just as it makes Him sad when we put other things or people before Him in our lives.

Let your children help make your own cards with pictures of things that tend to take your family’s time and attention away from God.  Place the cards face down and mix them up.   Then take turns choosing a card to see who picks God first.

God will give you all the things you need and enjoy if you give Him first place in your life and live as He wants you to. (Matthew 6:33)

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Sing, Sing, Sing!!!

He has put a new song in my mouth– Psalm 40:3

Do you have a new song to sing each day? I have to admit that lately I have not had a song in my heart or in my mouth because of negative circumstances in our lives. But singing can bring physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual refreshment to individuals of all ages, even beginning in the womb. The unborn child’s ears at 20 weeks are structurally equivalent to an adult’s ears and the amniotic fluid is an excellent conductor of sound.

God knows what He’s doing when He encourages us numerous times throughout Scripture to sing. He desires our songs of praise to Him, but He also designed music for our good – to promote our wellness, to help us manage stress, to encourage us to express our feelings, to help enhance our memory, and to help us improve communication.

It is easy to sing when all is right in our world, but we should not sing only when things are going well for us. My mentor that I mentioned in a previous post, Jo Bevington, is recuperating from a stroke, is almost blind, and is now unable to work with children, but she always has a new song in her heart and mouth when I talk with her. She recently sent me this scripture: I will be glad and full of joy because of You Most High God. I will sing praise to You.” Psalm 9:2

Scriptures gives us examples of ways God used music in difficult times. In 2 Chronicles 20, God instructed the singers to lead the way as the army marched toward the enemy which lead to their ultimate victory. In 1 Samuel 16:23 David’s harp playing soothed the troubled spirit of the king.

With all this in mind, we should sing often with our children. Don’t worry if you are like me and can’t carry a tune . . . God nor your children will care. It will bless God, your children, and you. God has designed children to give Him the best praise and you as their parent get to have a part in that as you guide them to sing. (Psalm 8:2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs that drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.)

Here are a few examples of songs that you can sing to familiar tunes. One mother recently wrote me that she was learning to make up songs each day with her children…what fun! Let’s all keep singing

Blow, Blow, Blow the Wind (Psalm 147:18)

(tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Blow, blow, blow the wind

Gently through the trees

God causes His wind to blow

How I like the breeze

A Helper I Will Be(1 Corinthians 3:9)

(tune of The Farmer in the Dell)

A helper I will be

A helper I will be

I will help my mommy

A helper I will be

Be Ready to Share (1 Timothy 6:18)

(tune of 3 Blind Mice)

Be ready to share

Be ready to share

It’s more fun when we share our toys

So let’s share with the girls and the boys

Be ready to share

Be ready to share

It is Better to Give Than Receive (Ephesians 4:28, 2Cor. 9:7)

(tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb)

It is better to give than receive

Give than receive

Give than receive

It is better to give than receive

Giving makes us glad

Brush Your Teeth

(tune of Row, Row Your Boat)

Brush, Brush, Brush your teeth

Brush your teeth each day

Then you’ll have a pretty smile

And healthy teeth to stay

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Me too Joe!

Here is another video teaching aid using Joe. Children are concrete learners so using visuals with them is very helpful in getting a point across. You can easily adapt Joe to help you teach many things to your children.

In this video Joe learns that he is special just the way he is. Self esteem is a foundational character quality that we all need to have. We as parents need to feel good about ourselves before we can help our children learn to value their own uniqueness. God wants us all to know that He loves us just the way we are. Romans 5:8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

If you can’t get the video to play, try clicking this link.

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