Other Great Kids Resources

I have posted in the past several books that we have used and are using with our children. I wanted to share a few more for those of you that may be looking for presents or for your own kids/toddlers. These are all solid in doctrinal truths.

We love to read this with our toddlers. The stories are just the right length, without too much text, and the pictures are beautiful.
You can go here to get your own.

Here is the Publisher's Description: No child is too young to begin learning about the greatest love story of all God's love for his people, as portrayed in the Bible. David R. Helm and Gail Schoonmaker collaborate to create a beautifully illustrated book of Bible stories especially for children, written with simplicity. Rather than simply retelling the most familiar short scenes from the Bible, this book presents the "big picture", the unified story running through the Old and New Testaments. This delightful book will help children learn the Bible's whole story and begin to appreciate the fulfillment of God's promise to his people. The Big Picture Bible Story Book is perfect for parents to read to their children, and eventually, for children to read on their own. It is an excellent way to introduce them to a book that will guide them through all of life.




My husband got these books at a conference. Our daughter loves them. They are teaching her about who God is. I would say that they are great for young toddlers- they are board books. Click here to see them all.

Great New Children's Books

My husband just gave me some great books that I thought I would share. They are amazing. The series is all titled: Big Thoughts For Little People. Joey Allen has written books for children on the Trinity, the Gospel, the Mission, and the Scriptures. It is hard to find books that teach children Doctrine and he has done an excellent job of communicating difficult doctrine so that children will understand it (with the help of the Spirit). 

I would highly recommend that if you have young children you should get these books to read with them. On the bottom of each page he gives scripture references that you can look up and talk to your children about. Each page is jammed packed with truth.

Others have reviewed them here .

You can look here to see the books.

Lesson 10: We can worship Jesus on earth and in heaven.

Here is the last lesson I wrote for the children's musical.

Lesson 10: We can worship Jesus on earth and in heaven.
References: John 3:16-18, Romans 6:23a, 2 Peter 3:13, Romans 6:23b, Revelation5:11-13

John 3:16-18 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” God sent Jesus to the world. The world was lost and dying in sin because people chose not to follow after God. Adam and Eve were the first sinners and ever since then all people have sinned. Sin leads to death. Romans 6:23a says, “For the wages of sin is death”. But God is rich in mercy and love for His people. He did not want for us to die in our sins, so He provided a perfect sacrifice for our sins and that was Jesus Christ. If we believe in Jesus and follow Him in obedience, then we will not die, but will live forever with Him in the new heavens and the new earth. 2 Peter 3:13 tells us that is our hope, and what we are waiting for, “But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” If we believe, then one day we will live with God in a new heaven and a new earth that will be perfect - the way God planned it to be. As it also says in John, God did not send Jesus to condemn the world, but to save it. The way we are to be saved is through faith, in believing that Jesus is God’s Son and that He came to take away the punishment of our sins. This is the gift that God offers, the gift of eternal live (life that never ends). In Romans 6:23b it says, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Those who do not believe will be punished and condemned as it says in John; but for those who do believe they will not be condemned. They will live forever with Jesus! That is why Jesus is worthy of our worship and praise. He paid a great price to save us. He gave up His life so that we could live.

We praise Jesus now while we are on the earth, but we will also praise Him in the new heavens and the new earth with the rest of His believers. In Revelation5:11-13 it says, “Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” These praises are about Jesus. He is worthy of our praise because He was killed for our sins. He was forsaken by God because when He died He took our sins upon Him. Then He rose again and ascended to where He is seated next to God in heaven. All this happened so that we could believe in Jesus and be God’s children forever. Jesus has the power to overcome all things, and He has, even death. This is what God’s amazing love is about.

Lesson 9: Everything Jesus did showed He was a humble king.

Lesson 9: Everything Jesus did showed He was a humble king.

References: Matthew 8:20, Luke 2:7, Philippians 2:5-8, Romans 10:9-11

Jesus is God. He is the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, and there are so many more wonderful things that could be said about Him. But He never lived His life as an earthly king would while He was here on Earth. He never lived the life of a king, in a great palace. He was very humble. That means He was not proud, but He was modest, respectful, and meek. He was not in fabulous clothes. He did not live in a big house with servants and slaves, eating and drinking all the time. He did not treat people cruelly or unkind, nor did He use the power that He had to get what He wanted. He could have had lots of those things, but that was not what Jesus was here for. His life had a different purpose than what we would expect a king to have.

From the way He was born, we could see that He was going to be a different kind of King. Jesus was born in a stable in a manger, where all the dirty animals live. In Luke 2:7 it says, “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” He lived with his parents. They were not rich; He was a carpenter with his father. When He started doing His ministry, He did not even have a home to live in anymore. Matthew 8:20 says, “And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Jesus’ life did not show that He was a King, as we would expect a king to be. He would have been poor in many people’s eyes, but we know He was great. All of His life was devoted to doing what God had planned. He did everything so that people would know God and believe in Him. That was what His life was about. He did not care about the things of this world (money, clothes…) - He cared about the things that matter to God. Jesus had a purpose. He was to die for the sins of His people. This was one of the greatest acts of humble obedience, when Jesus died on the cross to take away sin. Philippians 2:5-8 tells us that Jesus humbled Himself and was a servant, being obedient to what God had called Him to do. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Jesus was God’s Son and He came to be one of us. He made Himself nothing, and was born in the likeness of men. If Jesus had not been a humble king, we would have died in our sins. But He did come to earth and died on the cross so that we could be saved if we believe in Him. Romans 10:9-11 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Lesson 8: God loves us to praise Him.

Here is lesson eight.

Lesson 8: God loves us to praise Him.

References: Matthew 21:1-11, Psalm 18:3, Mark 16:16, Hebrews 12:28-29

God is worthy of our praise. Jesus is worthy of our praise. The Holy Spirit is worthy of our praise. Praise is to show you approve of, to show admiration or respect, to give grateful homage (honor, worship). God is worthy of all of these things. Psalm 18:3 says, “I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised.” There are different ways that we can praise God. We can praise Him by singing, dancing, praying, reading His Word… there are many different ways to show God that we honor Him and love Him. All that we do should be worship and praise to God. When Jesus came into Jerusalem the people praised Him. In Matthew 21:1- 11 we see how they showed Jesus respect with hearts full of praise. Matthew says, “Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.” 4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’” 6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. 8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” 10 And when he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, “Who is this?” 11 And the crowds said, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee.”

The people were shouting and speaking praises about Jesus. They laid down their cloaks (jackets) and branches from trees on the road for Him to ride on the donkey over. It was as if they were laying down a carpet for Him to walk on. They were treating Him as King, which He was. They did not understand all of who Jesus was, but they gave Him praise, which His is worthy of. Today we know more about Jesus than they did because we have the Bible that tells us about His life, death, resurrection, and future coming. We should praise Him too for the King that He is. We cannot see Him or lay down branches for Him to walk on, but the way we live can be a form of praise and worship to Him. But before we can praise God, we have to believe in Him. Mark 16:16 says, “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” So, let us believe in Jesus and praise God with how we live our lives. Hebrews 12:28-29 tell us, “Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire."

Lesson 7: We can be Good Samaritans every day.

Here is lesson seven.

Lesson 7: We can be Good Samaritans every day.

References: Galatians 5:13b, 1 Corinthians 16:14, Romans 13:10 Romans 12:9-10, John 15:12-14, 17, Ephesians 5:1-2, Romans 5:5b

God wants us to love others, it is a commandment that we are to obey if we are His children. Loving others and doing things for them is not always easy to do. We usually want what is best or easiest for us. Just like in the story of the Good Samaritan (you can review the story); people did not want to help the hurt man because it would have been inconvenient or too hard for them to help. But if we have believed in Jesus and are living our lives in obedience to Him, then He is helping us to love others. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to live inside of us. Romans 5:5b says, “God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” This means that we can love other people by the power of the Holy Spirit. God’s love has been poured into our hearts if we have faith in Him. Because God loved us, we can love others. The Bible is full of verses that tell us to love others. Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” John 15:12-14, 17 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” Romans 12:9-10 “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.” Romans 13:10 “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” 1 Corinthians 16:14 “Let all that you do be done in love.” Galatians 5:13b “but through love serve one another.”

All of these verses tell us to love others, so what does that look like? How do we love people around us? Those verses say that we are to serve one another, love as God loved us, do not do wrong to someone, and hold fast to what is good. Love can look like many different things. Love can be obeying your parents, doing something nice for someone, picking us trash, raking leaves, washing the car, writing a card to tell someone how much they mean to you, helping someone clean up or make something or just saying I love you ... Love can take many different forms, it is hard to make a list of what love looks like. What do you think loving your neighbor would look like? Who is our neighbor? Our neighbor is not just the person that lives next door to us.

We do need to remember that we should love our neighbors with a good attitude. We do not always want to help people or love them. That is why we have to pray for God to help us. It is not easy, that is why He gave us the Holy Spirit to help us.

 

Lesson 6: The greatest commandment is Jesus’ law of love.

Here is lesson six I wrote for the kids  at my church.

Lesson 6: The greatest commandment is Jesus’ law of love.

References: Matthew 22:37-39, Deuteronomy 6:5, Luke 10:25-37

We know that God wants us to love Him.  We saw that in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 6:5 God says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” We are to love God, but He says the next greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself.  In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus says: “And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

So what does this love look like? Jesus also tells a story to them about a Samaritan man. The Samaritans were people that most people did not like.  If Jews saw them coming down the road, they would walk on the other side. They were not treated well at all. So that is what makes this story about love even better. In Luke 10:25-37, we see what Jesus tells the people about love. “And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” 29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

This story can have many different meanings, but one thing we can learn from it is what loving our neighbor looks like. God used the Samaritan to help this man who was hurt. He bandaged his wounds, put him on his animal, gave him a place to stay, and took care of all the bills. This was something that took a lot of time and money. The Samaritan gave sacrificially to help this man. That means that he gave all he had and then some to help him. He was not thinking of himself, but about the hurt man.

We are called to love people this way too. There are lots of things that we can do to love our neighbors. Not all of us will see someone that has been beaten up and help them. There will be other needs that people have for us to help meet. Loving your neighbor is about helping meet their needs, giving them your time, money… anything they may need and to do it in love. We should show love to others with a generous heart, not just because it is something we are supposed to do, but with a heart of compassion. God calls us to love even our enemies; they could be seen as our neighbors too.  Loving our neighbor could even be helping those who may not like you. The Samaritan helped the man who had been beaten up, even though that man may not have ever helped the Samaritan. It is about loving others with the kind of love that God shows us. A love that looks past all the good and bad others do and still loving them, wanting what is best for them. God wants us to show other people who He is through our love for them, so that they may one day come to know Him. This is not an easy love, but it is what God has commanded us to do.

 

Lesson 5: We believe in Jesus by faith as we read about Him in the Bible.

Here is lesson five.

Lesson 5: We believe in Jesus by faith as we read about Him in the Bible.

References: John 20:31, Hebrews 11:1-11, John 3:36, Romans 1:5

The entire Bible was written for us, so that we might believe in Jesus and be saved. The Bible is a beautiful love story of God and His people. John 20:31 says, “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

Believing in Jesus means that we have faith in Him. Trusting that He is who He says He is. To have faith is to have a confidence in something, to trust in it and to believe it as truth. So if we have faith in God then we believe Him and trust Him with everything. We can see in the Bible lots of people who trusted God; there are also lots of people who did not have faith in Him too. But God wants us to believe in Him. In Hebrews it talks about many people in the Old Testament that believed in God and how God took care of His children. Faith is hoping in God even though we do not see Him. Listen to this Scripture passage and see some of the people who had faith. It is not all of the people in the Old Testament, but a few. (Read and explain as you go) Hebrews 11 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. 7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. 8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had promised.”

God wants us to believe in Him through our faith. Hebrews 11:6 said that without faith it is impossible to please God. We have to have faith in God to please Him. But believing is the first part. Then out of our faith we have to obey God and follow Him. All of the people that were spoken about in Hebrews had faith, but they also obeyed what God told them to do because of their faith. In John 3:36 it says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” That means that we need to obey what He has commanded us, or we do not believe in Him. The Apostle Paul said that his mission was to "bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations" (Romans 1:5).

God has made Himself known to us through the Bible, through His creation, and through other people. God has given us the Bible, so we might know Him. We can read about Jesus and see all the things He did in the Gospels. All of this was written down, so that we might believe in Him and have eternal life. Eternal life means that we will never die. Our body will die, but our spirit will live forever with God if we believe in Jesus and put our faith in Him.

Lesson 4: God used children throughout the Bible and God can use you.

Here is  the 4th lesson that I wrote for the kids at my church.

Lesson 4: God used children throughout the Bible and God can use you.

References: Genesis 1, Numbers 22:1-35, Ephesians 2:10

God is the creator of all things (Genesis 1). He is in control of all things- everything you can see and things you cannot see. God uses all things for His Glory. He can use storms, accidents, sickness, health, plants, animals, creation, adults, kids…anything that He wants to use. He even used a donkey in the Old Testament to stop Balaam. In Numbers 22 we see the story. (Read and discuss this story)

Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. 2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. 4 And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the people of Amaw, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. 6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” 7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak's message. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the LORD has refused to let me go with you.” 14 So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.” 15 Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, 17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.’” 18 But Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more. 19 So you, too, please stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.” 20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. 22 But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. 24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. 25 And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again. 26 Then the angel of the LORD went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” 30 And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.” 31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. 32 And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” 34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” 35 And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.

God chose to use many different people to do His work all throughout the Bible. We saw in this story that He even used a donkey to save Balaam. Balaam was not being obedient to God- he was sinning, yet God saved him by using his own donkey. God does not choose to use us or love us because we are special or because we have done anything good to deserve His affection. It is only by His grace that He uses us or loves us. So we do not have to be the best, prettiest, smartest, or funniest; we just have to be who we are and God can use us for His glory. God has special works for His children to do that He prepared for them before they were even born (Ephesians 2:10)!

Lesson 3: Before the Bible was written, God spoke to His people in many different ways.

I had posted two lessons I wrote for children earlier and then just forgot to post the rest, so here is lesson  three.

Lesson 3: Before the Bible was written, God spoke to His people in many different ways.

References: Genesis 3:8, Genesis 35:9-13, Genesis 46:2, Exodus 3:2-4, Genesis 6:2, Acts 3:18-21,  Hebrews 1:1, I Kings 19:11-13

God speaks to us most clearly through His Word, the Bible. But there was a time before the Bible was written down and God chose to speak to His people differently than just through His written words. Because He loved His people, He wanted to protect them and provide for them, so He told the people how they should live and what they should do.  It was still God communicating (talking) with those whom He loved. People actually got to hear God’s voice! I bet that was amazing and scary. To hear the voice of God!

God spoke to some people directly, in a voice they could here. In the garden of Eden God walked and talked with Adam and Eve. (Genesis 3:8) Later on in the Bible, “God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.” Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him” (Genesis 35:9-13).  In Genesis 6:2, God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the Lord." God also spoke in visions (Genesis 46:2) “And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here am I.”” He spoke through a burning bush (Exodus 3:2-4) “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.””. God spoke many times through the prophets to His people in Acts 3:18-21 it says, “But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled… that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you… all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” And also in Hebrews 1:1 we see, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,”. He even spoke in a whisper to the prophet Elijah. (I Kings 19:11-13) “And he [God] said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?””.

God was powerful enough to make the storm and to speak through it, but He chose to speak in a whisper to Elijah. He still speaks to us today, though most of us do not hear His voice like they did in the past, we have His Word- the Bible. God is still the same as He was back then; He just speaks to us differently. We are very fortunate (blessed) to have God’s word so we can always hear from God and know Him.

Great Presents

Happy First Birthday to my precious baby boy!!! He got some great presents for his birthday. It is often very hard to find quality children's curriculum that teaches sound theology, but he got two great CDs for his birthday.

The King, the snake, and the promise is excellent. It has songs that teach through the complete story of the Bible. It also has lessons that you can teach.

Teach Me While My Heart is Tender is great too. It sings through catechisms.

Love God With All Your Heart: Lesson Two

Here is the second lesson I wrote for our church's children's musical:

The Bible is full of verses that speak about God’s steadfast love for His people. Steadfast means that it is fixed, not moving, firmly established. He loves His people with a never failing, keep going, constant love that cannot be broken. That means that if you are His child then He will always love you no matter what! That is great news for His children, for those who stay faithful to Him until the end. Some verses that tell us this are: Lamentations 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” And Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing can take away God’s love for His children!

But we do not always have that same love for God. We often let things enter our hearts and love them more than we love Him. Those are called idols. Anything that we love more than God is an idol. It could be toys, money, friends, our house… anything. Those things by themselves are not bad, because God has given us all things. It is when we spend all of our time thinking about those things and loving those things more than God that they become an idol. God tells us many times that we should love Him first! One of the Ten Commandments tells us this. Exodus 20:3 says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” That means we are to love God with all your heart, not other things. He even tells us how to love Him. In Deuteronomy 6:5 God says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” And Jesus even tells us in the New Testament which commandment is the most important. In Mark 12:28-30 “And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’”

So, we have to have a single minded heart. That means that we need to love God above all things. In His Word He tells us that, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”(Matthew 6:24) God is trying to warn us that we cannot love two things the same or we will end up hating one of them and loving the other. We need to serve Him only with our heart. This is for our good and His glory. He is trying to protect our hearts and keep them for Himself. It is easy to let our hearts wander away, but the way that leads us to God is very narrow. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” These verses tell us that many people will run after idols in their life and not love God above all, but the way that leads to God is very narrow. Only a few people will love Him and find the right way. The narrow way is hard, but it is worth it because we will have Jesus.

So we should listen to God and love Him above all things. We must give Him all of our heart so that we may be saved.

Future Scholar!

I know that he is only 9 months old, but I am pretty sure he is brilliant! He loves books, which I am sure is common among small babies. But if he turns out anything like his dad- he will be a brilliant book lover.

God's Word is the Truth! Lesson One

I recently wrote some lessons for the children's musical at my church and I thought I would share them. By God's grace they are full of truth, not just for children, but for all of us. The language is simple, but I think that we often try too hard to explain the truths of God. He is very complex and we will never fully comprehend Him, yet He can be explained for the simplest of minds to understand (all by the Spirit's power). So here is the first lesson and I will post more later. Enjoy!

Lesson 1:

God is Holy. (Lev. 11:45) He has never done anything wrong. He has never sinned! He is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) Because we know this about God, we know that He has never told a lie. He keeps all of His laws and commandments perfectly. So, all of the things that He says are true. From the beginning God spoke and created everything (Gen.1). He spoke and everything was made. God said, “Let there be light’” and there was. He spoke and made the sky, water, land, animals, plants, people…everything. We can see all of the beautiful things that God spoke into existence around us everyday. His words can be trusted. All of His promises, He has kept. From Adam and Eve until today, what God says He will do, He does. We can still trust His words today because God never changes His mind (Numbers 23:19). He never changes!

God spoke to His people through the prophets (Hebrews 1:1) and now He speaks to His people through His Word, the Bible. All of the Bible is true because it is the Word of God. God even tells us, in the Bible, that they are His words and that they are trustworthy. This means that they are worthy to be believed in. As it says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” That means that every word in the Bible comes from God and that it is good for God’s people. It helps us to teach each other, to correct our behavior, to train us in knowing God so that we can do all the good works that God has prepared for us to do. In 2 Peter 1:21, it says’ “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” This means that no man made up the Bible, but that God Himself helped the men that wrote the Bible through the Holy Spirit. God used them to write down His words. Men can make mistakes and do not always tell the truth, but God always does. “The sum of your word is truth,” or all of your words are true. (Psalm 119:160)

Summer Fun

Love You!

The funniest thing happened last night, well I thought it was so funny I about broke a rib laughing so hard! We decided to splurge, which we never do, and go to Dairy Queen. I have been wanting one of the new Blizzards- the Caramel Waffle Crisp one! Yummy!! By the way- it was soooo good.

So, my wonderful husband takes us there to get the great treat. He is just excited because I am wanting ice cream- the poor guy never gets it anymore! So we drive up and he orders the blizzard, the guy tells us the total (all the while Ezekiel is in the back of the car talking and playing, keep that in mind) and Glenn asks for some water too. The guy says, "the free water" and we say yes, so he repeats the total and Glenn says, "love you"! I hit his arm and said what??? His face turned all red, he was not even thinking about what he was saying. He told me that he was thinking about the baby because he was being so cute in the back of the car. But we laughed and laughed. I am not even sure if the guy taking our order even heard him, but it was too funny! Having a baby changes everything!

Great for Kids

My husband got this Bible for my son, who is only eight months old right now, and I love it! It is an excellent Bible that keeps Christ at the center of every story. I love reading it to my son, and he loves looking at the beautiful pictures. The Jesus Storybook Bible tells the beautiful love story about God redeeming a people for Himself, through Christ- which is the heart of the Bible. I have not found many children's books that convey that message. It is also great because it uses child-friendly language and explains the truth without watering it down. This is something I would recommend for anyone to buy a younger child.

I have also used Read Aloud Bible Stories and Leading Little Ones to God in working with children. They are both excellent in content as well.