iWorship part 3

Well, this past week we finished part 3 of our iWorship series. We talked about why its important to worship God through our actions.

Jesus said that the world will know that we are his followers by our love... and love is an action! How else can we show the world that we love Jesus if our actions don't match up with our words?

This week we talked about Paul and Silas, and how they were put in prison in the city of Philippi. The Bible says that around midnight, Paul and Silas started praying and singing to God!

When they did this a violent earthquake came that shook the foundations of the jail causing all of the cell doors to fly open and the prisoner's chains to fall off.

When the jailer saw this, he was really upset because he thought that all the prisoners had escaped, but Paul yelled for him and assured the jailer that they were all still there. The jailer was shocked that they were still there and because of their actions, he knew that there was something different about Paul and Silas.

He asked them, "what must I do to be saved?" They told him about Jesus and he believed.

The jailer and his whole family came to know Jesus that night because of Paul and Silas' actions. His life was forever changed!

Actions speak louder than words, and if our actions aren't telling others that we love Jesus, then we are not worshipping God through our actions!

Bible Story: Acts 16:16-34

Memory Verse: "Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.'" Matthew 22:37-38

Q's for the Family:
1. Have you ever been in a situation where you had a poor attitude? What happened as a result? Were there negative consequences? Was the way you acted showing worship to God?

2. Choosing to worship God is an everyday choice and some days it is easier than other! Why is it important that we worship God in the midst of the tough things we go through?

3. What is one thing that you are GOING to do this week, to worship God through your actions?

[Challenge]
Lower Elementary: Go home this week and draw a picture of what today’s story made you think about. If you bring it back to church next week you can get a prize!

Upper Eelementary: I want you to go home this week and think about a specific situation that makes you mad. I want you to pray about it and ask God how he can use you in that situation. Talk to your parents about it and if you bring back a slip of paper, with a parent signature, saying that you talked to them about the situation, you can get a prize!

iWorship part 2

Yesterday, we continued with part 2 of our iWorship series. We talked about how we worship God when we desire to know more about Him.

It is important, as followers of Jesus, that we build a strong foundation for our lives; and we can do that through learning more about our God.

We talked about the story of the two builders that Jesus shared in Matthew 7:24-27.

Jesus said, "...everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall..." The way that we "hear" his words is by reading what he said in the Bible.

He also told a story of a foolish builder. The foolish builder built his house on the sand and when the rain came and the wind blew against the house it fell down because it was not built on solid ground.

The way that we build that solid foundation is by hearing, and reading what God says.

Bible Story: Matthew 7:24-27

Memory Verse: "Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.'" Matthew 22:37-38

iWorship part 1

This past week we started a brand new 4 week series called iWorship. During iWorship, we will be uncovering four different aspects of worship: Praying, Reading, Acting, and Yielding.

Last Sunday we discovered prayer and really what it's all about. We talked about the story of the apostles Peter and John. They had been arrested for healing a crippled man outside the temple gates.

After Peter and John had been released from prison the next day, the Bible says that they went home and reported what had happened. Acts 4:24-31 says, "When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God... After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the Word of God boldly."

There is definitely power in prayer. Even though we go through tough situations, sometimes, God can still do powerful things when we choose to worship him through prayer!

Bible Story: Acts 4:23-31

Memory Verse: "Jesus replied, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment." Matthew 22:37-38

Q's for the Family:
1. How do you worship Jesus through prayer? Do you go by yourself? Do you pray with your parents? Do you pray throughout the day? Do you pray at all?

2. What is something that God can help you do when you pray to him?

[Challenge]
Take some time this week to pray by yourself, or with a parent, for five minutes.

Prayer tips:
Thank God for what he has done for you
Ask him for forgiveness for the things that we do that don’t make him happy
Ask him how he can use you to help other people come to know him

Knockout!

Well, we just finished up our Knockout! series... a two week study on David and Goliath!

Week 1 we talked about how, even though David wasn't liked by his own family, God told the prophet Samuel to go to Bethlehem and anoint him as the next King of Jerusalem (1 Samuel 16:1-13.)

The world had one view of David, a small, weak, shepherd boy. But God had great plans for David no matter what the world thought of him.

Week two we talked about the actual battle between David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1-50.)David went to the front lines of the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines. He went only to deliver some food to his brothers.

Well, when he heard Goliath saying bad things about God's army it upset him.

David winds up being the one man who goes to battle this giant, and defeats him with a single stone. Wow... that's unbelievable!!!

It's really cool how God can use us even when we think that we're too small, or too young, or not cool enough. He can use us to do great things in spite of those things. And our Scripture Verse tells us why!

Scripture Verse:
"The Lord does not look at the things that man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7b

Questions for the Family:
1. It didn’t matter that David was just a boy, and it didn’t matter what he looked like on the outside. God still used him to do some awesome things. What are some things we can do so that we have the same attitude that David did?

2. What are some cool things you think God could use you to do?

That's all we've got for you this week, but stay tuned for any new updates or subscribe to this blog so that you will know when new things are posted!