April 5, 2020

Worship Songs for You and Your Family:

We encourage you to take some time to worship God through song. Whether you are by yourself or with your family, take some time to sing praises to Him.

Standing on the Promises

Love Come Down

Yes and Amen



For families with young children:

Hosanna Rock

Jesus, You’re My Superhero

Offering:

The Lord’s Supper:

We encourage you to take time with your loved ones to remember the death and resurrection of our Lord through communion. As you likely do not have communion wafers and grape juice, be flexible- use crackers, fruit punch, etc. The most important aspect is the remembrance of His gift to us.

Palm Sunday Meditation:

(shortened from a meditation by David Sunday)

         The Bible only tells us of two specific times that Jesus wept. Once was when He came to the tomb of his friend, Lazarus. And the other was at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

         Luke 19:41-42

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.

         At this time, Jesus was fully aware of the nature of His execution, including the great pain, the mistreatment and rejection, and the weight of sin He would carry. Yet as He approaches the place of His death, He does not express anger or gloating over His persecutors, nor are His tears shed for Himself. Rather He weeps for the lost that will stubbornly refuse Him.

         We can only attempt to fathom the goodness and love of a God Who, when faced with the harshest rejection imaginable, thinks primarily of the good of His enemies and desires their salvation. This is the love we cling to and hope in. This is the love that took Jesus to the cross for us.

Home Study: Prayers During the Pandemic

Read Psalm 91

Watch the Intro:

How is a frightening scenario experienced differently by a person who “dwells” with God vs. one who only “occasionally visits”?

Knowing that many of these protections are “principle not promise”, how can we still find peace and comfort in them?

Read through these scriptures that do give promises:

  • Philippians 4:7
  • John 10:27-29
  • Romans 8:1
  • Hebrews 13:5

Reread v.9
What does it mean to make God your “refuge”? What does that look like in day to day life?

Reread vs.14-16
What does this say about God’s attitude toward His people?

The Greek word for “crisis” was often used medically to describe a critical point in treatment where a patient would begin to decline or improve. What are some ways God could use this crisis to improve us and our world?



For Families with Young Children:

Bible Verse:

Isaiah 41:13
“For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”

Have you ever heard the story of Daniel? Daniel was a very good man who loved the Lord and prayed each day. He worked for the king and was good at his job. He was so good that people started noticing and the king was planning on putting him in charge of the other people that worked with him. This made the other guys who worked for the king very jealous. They tricked the king into making a law that they knew Daniel would break because it meant not praying to God. The king had no choice but to throw Daniel into the lion’s den. 

Can you imagine being Daniel? First, he was told if he prayed to God, he would be killed. Then when he prayed anyway, he was thrown into a pit with hungry lions. Is that kind of like your house right now… Locked in with hungry lions? Just kidding!! Anyways, back to Daniel. Can you imagine how scary it would have been to pray even though you knew it could mean being killed? Can you image how scary it was to be in that dark pit with lions? But you know what Daniel did? He prayed! He knew that God was with him. He was brave and prayed anyway even though he knew it could mean being killed. He was brave because he knew that whatever happened, God was with him and was in control.

Being Brave doesn’t mean that we aren’t afraid. It means that we keep going even though we are afraid. Having faith is a lot like that. When you have faith, you trust that God will be with you and help you. Does that mean we aren’t going to face scary or difficult times in our lives? No. It just means that we trust that He is in control. 

Imagine riding a bike. When you first learn to ride without training wheels, it can be scary. Imagine if someone just said, “Go ahead and ride. You can do it all by yourself.” Would that be hard and scary? Now imagine someone you trust was holding onto the bike seat and ran alongside you and said, “I promise I won’t let you go. I won’t let you fall.” Does that make it less scary? Would you still be a little afraid? Maybe, but probably not for long. When we realize that person is there helping you and you won’t fall, the fear goes away. 

God tells us the same thing in our verse for today. Just like He helped Daniel, He will help us. That doesn’t mean that things always turn out the way we want, but it does mean He will be with us no matter what happens. We don’t have to tackle this life alone. We need to have faith that God is with us and in control so we can overcome our fears.

“Digging” deeper:

1. Think of a time when something happened that scared you. Maybe you were out with family or friends and you turned around to find they were missing. Maybe you had to try something new. Sometimes things that are scary can help us learn a lesson. We should learn from those times, so we don’t have to be scared of that situation anymore. What did you learn from that time you were scared? Next time you are scared, try saying a prayer for God to help you.

2. What words would you use to describe a superhero? What words would you use to describe God? God is much more powerful than any superhero. You want to know the best part? He is real and He is always with us!!

3. Today is a day called Palm Sunday. That is the day Jesus rode into town on a donkey and people praised him saying “Hosanna!!” Did you know that even as they praised Him, Jesus knew what was coming next? Just like Daniel, Jesus knew that if He rode into town that day, he would be arrested and killed. Do you think Jesus was afraid to do what God wanted Him to do? The Bible tells us that Jesus went to a garden alone and prayed for God to be with Him and help him through the scary thing that was about to happen. Just like Jesus, we can pray to God and He will help us!

4. Have you been feeling different lately with all the changes? Even if the changes are good, it can be hard to handle a lot change at once. Sometimes it is hard to name the way you are feeling. Out of control? Uneasy? Overwhelmed? Sad? Maybe a little scared? Talk with a grown up about how you are feeling. Say a prayer and ask God to help you feel calm and find joy even though things are different right now

Activities:

** Please share some photos and videos from your study time at home

1. Watch Jr Asparagus from Veggie Tales tell us about how God is bigger than the things that scare of us: 

2. Here is a little object lesson about faith. Watch it and try it for yourself if you are brave. 

3. Build a fort and pretend you are Daniel in the lion’s den. You could even put some stuffed animals in there with you to be pretend lions.

4. Use Playdoh to make a lion and a lions’ den to act out Daniel’s story.