Thursday Morning Coffee Break

This morning, how about a Grande Triple-Shot Sugar-Free Vanilla Carmel Machiatto.  Freshly steamed milk with vanilla-flavored syrup, marked with espresso and finished with caramel sauce.  This is my personal favorite drink from The 'Bucks.  Enjoy! 

Our final week of TwentyEight.  Hopefully, you were able to keep up and finish the Acts Challenge with us: read through one chapter of the Book of Acts each day and pray the date.  For example, today, February 28, we will read Acts 28 and pray for 28 minutes.

This Week: The Conversion

The story of Saul's conversion in Acts 9 is one of my favorite passages of Scripture.  Saul was present when Stephen was killed in Acts 7.  He actively imprisoned and killed men and women who worshipped Jesus Christ.  His hatred for Christians was such that he ventured out from Jerusalem and sought to kill Christians several days journey away.  And yet, this man would become one of the greatest Christians and preachers the world has ever seen.  He would go on to write over a third of the New Testament.  He'd have more books written about him than any other character in the Bible, except Jesus.  He founded churches.  He could go to a place for three to four weeks, start a church and appoint leaders.  He was thrown in prison and beaten half to death.  He risked it all for the sake of the Gospel.

Take a moment to read about Saul's conversion in Acts 9:1-19.  What's so special about this story?  What can we learn from it?

1. It teaches us that Christianity is about change, and that God can change anybody.
2. It teaches us that there's a difference between having a relationship and being religious.
3. It teaches us that there is something significant about the patience, mercy and grace of God.

Parent-Teen Connect
Take turns answering and discussing the following questions with your teens this week. Create meaningful conversation. Adjust questions as needed. Use one or two of these to begin a conversation. Look for teachable moment - at home, in the car, wherever. Pray and ask God to provide you opportunities to have spiritual conversations with your teens.

1. Tell about the moment you came to know Jesus Christ.  Tell about your conversion. 
2. Did God save you from a life of sin, or did He keep you from a life of sin?
3. Read Acts 9:16, Acts 20:22-23, and 2 Corinthians 11:23-27.  How have you "suffered" because of your decision to follow Christ?

PS - Given today's cup of coffee, this seems appropriate! 

Accept

Sometimes we expect a person to act like a Christian just because they go to church.  Going to church doesn't make someone a Christian any more than going to the beach makes someone a fish.

It's dangerous when people think they are Christians merely because they act like one.  The Bible talks a lot about what it takes to become a Christian.  It's not about being good or acting like a Christina would act.  It's about ACCEPTING what God has done for us and knowing that He will do the same for others.  He ACCEPTED us.  We can ACCEPT others.

Becoming a Christian means admitting we have not lived up to God's expectation, asking for his forgiveness, and then ACCEPTING Jesus to be the leader of our life.  Admit, Ask, and ACCEPT are the steps to beginning a new friendship with God.

Seeing is believing - sometimes.  Remember the story of Saul?  He had given the Christians such a hard time, no one believed he had become a Christian.  Check it out in Acts 9:26-28.

Connecting Points

Take turns doing the following items with your kids this week.  Create meaningful conversation.  Adjust as needed.  Use one or two of these to begin a conversation.  Look for teachable moments - at home, in the car, wherever.  Pray and ask God to provide you opportunities to have spiritual conversations with your kids.

1. If someone offered you a gift, would you ACCEPT it even though you didn't know what it was?  Why or why not?  How do you think it would make them feel if you rejected their gift without opening it?
2. What does ACCEPTING others look like?
3. Why should we ACCEPT someone if they are not a Christian yet?
4. How does Jesus make a person a Christian?
5. How can I show others I ACCEPT them?

BGMC Challenge for February:  Who can bring the most pennies on March 2?

Thursday Morning Coffee Break

How about a Nutella Latte from Café Con Leche Espresso Bar in Toronto's Junction neighborhood.  Brewed coffee, almond milk, and a teaspoon of Nutella, this drink is rich and sweet, but not too sweet, with a dark hazelnutty finish.  Enjoy!

Week three of our series: TwentyEight. Don't forget our Acts Challenge: Read through one chapter of the Book of Acts each day and pray the date. For example, today, February 20, we will read Acts 20 and pray for 20 minutes. 

After leaving the basketball, playing baseball, then returning to basketball, a reporter asked Michael Jordan if he thought he could still play at the level he left, making 32 points per game.  His response was, "That's only eight points per quarter!  I can do that!"  If praying 20 minutes a day seems like an impossible task, how about five minutes, four times a day?

Last Night: The Message

Right after the Holy Spirit is poured out on everyone on the day of Pentecost, a crowd gathered and Peter stood up, spoke loudly and addressed the people.  This was the first sermon on the day the church was born.  So, what was the message?  It wasn't the Law of Moses.  It wasn't, "if you obey the commandments, if you do this or that, if you don't do this, if you obey enough, you'll go to Heaven."  It wasn't the ceremony.  It wasn't, "you have to go to church three times a week and twice on Sunday, you have to become a member of this church or that church."  No, the message was simply Jesus.  Jesus lived.  Jesus was endorsed by God in the miracles He performed.  Jesus died.  God raised Him from the dead.  Jesus now sits at the right hand of God.  Jesus is coming again.  Jesus.  Jesus.  Jesus.

Parent-Teen Connect
Take turns answering and discussing the following questions with your teens this week. Create meaningful conversation. Adjust questions as needed. Use one or two of these to begin a conversation. Look for teachable moment - at home, in the car, wherever. Pray and ask God to provide you opportunities to have spiritual conversations with your teens.

1. Why is the name "Jesus" so offensive to people today?  I can talk about God all day and not offend someone, but the moment I mention the name of Jesus, someone's going to get upset.
2. Do "Christian" songs on the radio, do worship songs, does preaching reflect the name of Jesus today?
3. What's our role in sharing the message of Jesus with others?

Connected

This week, we started a new series in Kids Church called CATCH, where we'll be focusing on how we can CATCH God's vision to work and grow together! 

 

This week, we talked about the importance of being Connected to the body.  The church is like a body and the body is like the church, it's supposed to work together.

"The way God designed out bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part..."  (1 Corinthians 12:25a, MSG)

God wants us to be connected with other believers so we can support and encourage each other.  A great way to connect with another believer is to share what God is doing in your life.

 

Connecting Points

Take turns doing the following items with your kids this week.  Create meaningful conversation.  Adjust as needed.  Use one or two of these to begin a conversation.  Look for teachable moments - at home, in the car, wherever.  Pray and ask God to provide you opportunities to have spiritual conversations with your kids.

1. What does being Connected look like?
2. How has someone been an encouragement to you?
3. How can you encourage others?
4. Why does God want us to be connected with other believers?
5. How can I connect with others this week?

BGMC Challenge for February:  Who can bring the most pennies on March 2?

Thursday Morning Coffee Break

How about a shot of Caffe Del Sol from Caffe Vida, in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle, WA? This espresso blend is rich and complex with aromas of dark chocolate, butterscotch and praline. A deep, silky, amber crema with a sweet, caramel finish. Enjoy! 

Week two of our series: TwentyEight. Don't forget our Acts Challenge: Read through one chapter of the Book of Acts each day and pray the date. For example, today, February 13, we will read Acts 13 and pray for 13 minutes.

Last Night: Everyone.  In Acts 2:4, Luke records, "And EVERYONE present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, or in other tongues, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability." Later, in Acts verses 17-21 it states, "‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon ALL people...sons and daughters...young men...old men...servants...men and women alike...everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Everyone and all are extreme words. They are absolute. There is no room for exception. The fact is, EVERYONE who says yes to God, EVERYONE who follows Christ, EVERYONE is eligible to receive the power of the Holy Spirit.

Parent-Teen Connect
Take turns answering and discussing the following questions with your teens this week. Create meaningful conversation. Adjust questions as needed. Use one or two of these to begin a conversation. Look for teachable moment - at home, in the car, wherever. Pray and ask God to provide you opportunities to have spiritual conversations with your teens.

1. Have you ever felt left out of something? Like you didn't fit, didn't belong or weren't accepted?  How did that make you feel?
2. How do you feel when you're included?
3. What does it mean that God will pour out His Spirit on ALL people?

Help

When we share the difference Jesus has made in our life with someone else, it’s like we are scattering seeds.  God wants us to share his love with as many people as we can.  The more seeds we scatter, the more hearts will hear it and turn to God.

 

One of the things that can keep us from sharing Jesus with our friends is fear.  We might be afraid of what someone else might think or say . Fear is like a weed.  If we don’t get rid of it, it just grows and grows.  In order to scatter the seeds we must learn to pull the weeds of fear.

God has given you friends who do not know Him.  Helping scatter seeds might mean inviting a friend to come to church with you so they can hear about how to have a relationship with Jesus.

Connecting Points
Take turns answering the following questions with your kids this week.  Create meaningful conversation.  Adjust as needed.  Use one or two of these to begin a conversation.  Look for teachable moments - at home, in the car, wherever.  Pray and ask God to provide you opportunities to have spiritual conversations with your kids.

1. Young or old, sometimes we have to ask for help.  Tell about a time where you couldn't do someone alone and had to ask for help to get it done.
2. What causes you to be afraid to ask for help?
3. How can you overcome fear and share Jesus with others?

BGMC Challenge for February:  Who can bring the most pennies on March 2?

Thursday Morning Coffee Break

How about a chocolate hazelnut breve - rich espresso with steamed half and half - from Caribou Coffee to start our day?  Enjoy! 

We started a new series in youth last night called TwentyEight.  We've done this for quite a number of years now, where we take the month of February and challenge our youth to read one chapter from an assigned book of the Bible each day of the month.  I also teach from that book throughout the month.  This year, we're doing the book of Acts.  In addition to the reading challenge, we're also challenging our students to pray the date.  For example, today, February 6, we will read Acts 6 and pray for 6 minutes.

Last Night: The Visitation

Last night we talked about four places the Holy Spirit showed up in the book of Acts.

1. Acts 2:1-4 (At the birth of the church.)
2. Acts 3:19-20 (After people turned from their sins and turned to God.)
3. Acts 4:31 (After people prayed.)
4. Acts 10:44-45 (While Peter was preaching.)

Here are a couple of key points:

• The Holy Spirit cannot be manipulated.  He shows up when and where He wants.
• The Holy Spirit is omnipresent - everywhere at one time - but there's a difference in Him being there and showing up; making Himself known, manifesting Himself to a person or group.
• The Holy Spirit was sent to prove to people that God is real.
• God sent the Holy Spirit so that we could experience God.
• God sent the Holy Spirit so we could experience refreshment and restoration.

Parent-Teen Connect
Take turns answering and discussing the following questions with your teens this week.  Create meaningful conversation.  Adjust questions as needed.  Use one or two of these to begin a conversation.  Look for teachable moment - at home, in the car, wherever.  Pray and ask God to provide you opportunities to have spiritual conversations with your teens.

1. The Holy Spirit is often the forgotten Godhead (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit - we even list Him last there.)  Our worship songs aren't often directed toward Him.  Our prayers aren't often directed toward Him.  We don't talk about Him as much.  Why is that?
2. When you hear "The Holy Spirit" what do you think?
3. There's difference between knowing God, or knowing about God, and experiencing God.  How have you found that to be true?
4. Talk about a time you truly experienced God - the Holy Spirit.  When was the last time you had a visitation by the Holy Spirit?
5. Following Christ includes fighting battles, getting tired, experiencing stress, getting hurt, experiencing pain, feeling alone.  In those moments, how have you experienced the Holy Spirit providing refreshment and restoration?

Care - BGMC: Madagascar

Care:

At some point every kid says, "That's not fair!"  To which, many parents will respond, "Life's not fair!"  It's true, life doesn't seem fair sometimes.  God is concerned with how we respond when life hands us disappointments.

When friends don't treat us well, it's natural to want to treat them badly too, but God says if we are Christians, He can help us treat people with care, even when they don't treat us well.

Connecting Points
Take turns answering the following questions with your kids this week.  Create meaningful conversation.  Adjust as needed.  Use one or two of these to begin a conversation.  Look for teachable moments - at home, in the car, wherever.  Pray and ask God to provide you opportunities to have spiritual conversations with your kids.

1. What does being treated unfairly feel like?
2. Have you ever been treated unfairly?  What happened?
3. How can we respond to someone that has hurt us?
4. How does sharing show someone we care about them?
5. How can we show care to others this week?

We can reflect God's love to others by how we care and share with them.  It is especially important to be a caring example to someone who does not know Jesus yet.

BGMC: Madagascar

Caring and sharing are common themes in Madagascar too! 

A well-known Malagasy proverb is "Even one grasshopper is to be shared."  Most Malagasies are quite poor, but no matter how little they have, they share with others.  People share a lot of time together too, just visiting.  When friends come by, Mother sets out mats to sit on and serves tea and some small snacks.

Whenever a cousin or neighbor needs something, the family does their best to help.  Staying close to family and friends is more important to them than money and things . As another proverb says, "Better to lose money than to lose a relationship."

American Assembly of God missionaries came to Madagascar in 1990.  They preached and began new churches.  Today, nine US AG missionaries work in Madagascar.  They teach in the Bible school programs and have helped get a study Bible translated into Malagasy. BGMC helps the Bible school by providing schoolbooks, library books, and other supplies the school needs.

The AG also runs an orphanage for children, elementary schools, and a clinic!  BGMC has been a big help in providing supplies for the orphanages in Madagascar.  BGMC has also provided funding to help put in a cistern for clean water.

Snack: Fruit!
Malagasy kids eat very simply, and they enjoy a lot of fruit. The most popular fruits are mangos, bananas, pineapple, and oranges.

Next time you eat fruit, remember to pray for the Malagasy!

Let's Pray....

• for our missionaries in Madagascar, that God will keep them safe and healthy.
• for the pastors and churches.  Many are very poor, but they don’t give up.  Pray that God will protect and bless them.
• for the kids, that they will learn to love Jesus and to follow the Bible and not false beliefs.
• for the kids in the Madagascar Orphanage and for those who need a home.
• for the Bible schools and training programs.

February BGMC Challenge:  Who can bring the most pennies on March 2?