The Grinch part 2

Hey guys! We continued our Grinch series talking about "The Arrival" of Jesus.

Joseph and Mary got married, but they didn’t live as husband and wife until after the baby was born.

Shortly before the baby came, the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, said everyone must return to their hometown for a census. That is how they counted the people that lived in the region.

Joseph and Mary both came from the family of King David, so they had to travel to the town of Bethlehem, even though she was pregnant.

Bethlehem was super-crowded with people, and all the inns were full. The only place they could find was a shed with some animals.

That night Jesus was born. Mary took him and wrapped him in warm clothes and put him to bed in a manger, which is where the animals usually ate from.

There were also some shepherds in a nearby field. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and said, “Glory to God! Peace on earth! A Savior has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David. You will know this is true when you find him, warmly wrapped and lying in a manger!”

After the angels left, the shepherds went to go find Jesus. They went into town and searched until they found Jesus with Mary and Joseph.

After the shepherds had gone and visited Jesus in the manger, they went out and told everyone about the good news!

God sent Jesus to the earth and that is the true meaning of Christmas!

Bible Reference: Luke 2:1-20

Memory Verse: “…they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him…” Matthew 1:11

Q's for the family:
1. Why did God have to send Jesus to the earth?
2. How does it make you feel that Jesus actually came down to the earth as a baby, so that he could experience life just like us? Why does it make you feel that way? What does it make you think about?

The Grinch part 1

We kicked off our new series where we will spend 3 weeks looking at the true meaning of Christmas.

This week we talked about "The Promise" that was made to Mary:

God sent Gabriel, one of his angels, to a town called Nazareth, in Galilee, to give a message to a woman named Mary. Mary was not married, but she was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph.

When Gabriel went to Mary he said to her, “I’ve come to congratulate you, Mary. You have been chosen for a great honor…” Mary had no idea what the angel was talking about!

He told her, “Don’t be afraid. This is a great blessing. You will soon become pregnant, and when your baby boy is born, you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will have the throne of his ancestor David. His kingdom will never end.”

Mary was confused because there was absolutely no possible way that she could be pregnant

Gabriel told her that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and that her child would be a holy child—the Son of God. Nothing that God promises is impossible!

Mary told the angel, “I’m God’s servant, and I’m glad to do whatever he wants me to do. I’m ready for this to happen!”

Then the angel left her.

Just as Mary was promised this amazing gift, that she would give birth to the Savior of the world, we get to benefit from that gift. Jesus didn’t just come to this earth to save certain people… he came to give everyone an opportunity to go to heaven. Jesus is the gift that Christmas is all about!

Memory Verse: "...they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him..." Matthew 1:11

Q's for the Family:
1. What is the coolest present you've ever received for Christmas?
2. What are some things that take our focus off of what Christmas is all about?
3. How do we benefit from the gift that God promised Mary?

STUFFed part 4

Well, I hope you guys all had an awesome Thanksgiving! This week we finished up our STUFFed series talking about selfishness and jealousy!

In Matthew 20:1-15 Jesus tells a story about the kingdom of heaven. He said that the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire some people to work in his field. He found some men, told them that he would pay them about $20 for the day and sent them to go work in his field.

Three hours later the landowner went back to the marketplace and saw more men that were looking for work. He told them to go work in his field, too, and he would pay them whatever was right. So they went.

He did this every three hours, finding more men to go work his field. About the eleventh hour of the day, he went out one last time and found more people looking for work, so he sent them to work in his field as well!

When evening came the landowner told the man who ran his field to call all of the workers together and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired, going on down to the first ones hired.

When they all came together, the man who ran the fields paid all of the men the same amount of money. This really upset the men who had been there the whole day because they had worked longer and harder, so they expected to receive more than the men who had only worked an hour!

When they received their pay they began to complain to the landowner.

The landowner said, “Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for the pay that you received? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same amount that I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you jealous because I am generous?”

Wow! Isn’t it amazing how the man’s jealousy of others took his focus off of what he had right in his own hands? He received the money that he agreed to work for but he was so mad, because of jealousy, that he wanted more than the others.

Jealousy will completely destroy a thankful attitude!

Memory Verse: "Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Tune in next week for our brand new series The Grinch!