6 Things That I Was Taught By The Preschool-Kindergarten Class At Vacation Bible School
Your pastor was schooled by a bunch of 3, 4, and 5 year old children this week!
1. Children have a natural desire to love the Lord Jesus Christ.
During the lesson time these little bundles of squirming, wiggling, and easily distracted firecrackers, will surprise you with their answers as the shout with the long drawn out version of the Name above all names… Jesus!
I am convicted that as an adult, when I speak that Holy name, I don’t show near the amount of excitement regarding my Savior that these precious little ones do.
May God help us to be as excited about Jesus as our children are.
2. Even when I thought they were not listening, they were!
Trying to teach 3, 4, and 5 year old children will challenge you at so many levels. Teaching these 3, 4, and 5 year old children is much like herding cats! About the time you get one or two to sit in the proper place 6 other children are escaping. Most people have a first name, a middle name, and a last name. When you have a classroom full of 3, 4, and 5 year olds… Suddenly they all are referred to by new names like: sit-down, listen to me, and get in line. Yet when the lesson is reviewed most of them will knock your socks off when they shout out the correct answers over and over! Believe me they receive more than we think. Again I am convicted when I get frustrated thinking “what’s the use” no one is paying attention… They do pay attention, and they will amaze you how much they retain. May God continue to show me it’s not my words that impact others, it’s His words that change hearts! 3. They want to please you… Even if it only lasts a few seconds. Because these children want to please you they will obey just about anything you ask of them. With all my heart I want to please my Heavenly Father. I want to obey Him. I want Him to be pleased with me… But sometimes, I can’t help but wonder if God gets frustrated because my momentary obedience is so short lived? May the Lord help me to stretch the few seconds of obedience into minutes, and minutes into hours, and hours into days, and days into weeks… I so much want to please God by being obedient to Him. 4. Everyone wants to talk to me. When you have 15 or more children in your classroom, you soon discover that each one wants to tell you something or another. Conviction once again rolled over me! I realize that I have access to the very throne of Grace. I can talk with Jesus anytime I want, anytime I need to, anytime… ANYTIME! Yet most of the time I choose not to talk with my Lord. I don’t even try, until it’s often to late, or I need Him to bail me out of the mess I’m in. I want to have what these 3, 4, and 5 year old’s have… The excited, overwhelming desire to talk to my Lord! 5. Every child wanted a turn to walk next to me. I’m not sure why it was so important for them to walk next to me, I’m not all that special. When you are tasked to be the teacher suddenly you become bigger than you are. The closer the child walked with me the more they displayed the traits and actions I was leading them in. Yep, another round of conviction. Lord help me to walk close to You, so I can imitate how You walk, how You talk, how You live… Lord help me walk close to You. 6. The Children are so much more important than the planned curriculum or lesson. I appreciate that our church purchases the finest materials for VBS! The material is vast in resources. It is almost overwhelming to have 10 or more pages for the lesson. In my class there was at least one or more child that would break out into tears. There were one or two who could not sit still, there were some who had a pressing problem that needed addressing immediately, and there was always that one child that needed some extra help. I’m positive that I was not able to communicate the material as effectively as I wanted to this bunch of precious children. I’m not sure that what material I was able to teach will be retained. Because the Lord convicted me, I now know at least one thing for certain… Each of the children the Lord allowed me to have in my room this year is far more important than a few concepts that we could try to teach. My prayer is that the Lord Jesus Christ would help us see others as He sees others… Yes it’s true! Your pastor was schooled by a bunch of 3, 4, and 5 year old children this week!
(Can’t wait until next time!)
Yes it’s |
Community-wide Easter Weekend 2018 Prayer Guide 4
1 Peter 5:5-6
Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Peter reminds us that we are to be in subjection to each other. Peter recognized that there is strength in numbers.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour.
10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Peter was taught the importance of working together for the cause of Christ is better than doing it all by yourself.
John 4:36-38 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
Today’s Prayer:
Pray that we would see the need and the benefit of submission.
Pray that as a church we would practice being subject one to another.
Pray that we be clothed with humility.
Pray that we would not be proud.
Pray that God would give us more grace as we become more humble.
Pray that we would truly be humbled under the mighty hand of God.
Pray that God would exalt us in due time.
Blessings!
Pastor Bob
Community-wide Easter Weekend 2018 Prayer Guide day 3
4 verses to pray today.
1 John 1:3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
Fellowship = Partnership with others
Participation
Social interaction among
Communion together
Sharing together
Benevolence towards each other.
Pray that the fellowship at Hilltop Baptist Church would first and foremost be centered in God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.
Pray that Hilltop Baptist would grow in fellowship one with another, and that we can integrate those whom the Lord sends our way.
Pray that your fellowship would grow.
2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.
Pray that that every member and guest of Hilltop Baptist Church would receive the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace = A kind, affectionate, pleasing nature.
Personal gracefulness.
A courteous or gracious disposition.
A friendly willingness
Pray that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with us all.
Pray that the love of God be with us all.
Pray that the communion of the Holy Ghost be with us all.
Amen = Belief in the trustworthiness of God
Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.
Pray that we glory in the fact that God understands and knows us completely.
Pray that we experience the lovingkindness of the Lord.
Pray for the judgment and righteousness of the Lord to reign throughout the earth, and the members and guests of Hilltop Baptist Church.
Psalm 40:16 Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified.
Pray that we rejoice and be glad in the Lord as we seek Him.
Pray that we are always ready to say the Lord be magnified, because we love His salvation.
Community-wide Easter Weekend 2018 Prayer Guide Day 2
Community Wide Easter Weekend Prayer Guide Day 1
for God’s divine favor to rest upon others. The ancient blessing in
these verses helps us understand what a blessing was supposed to do.
Its five parts conveyed hope that God would (1) bless and keep them
(favor and protect); (2) make his face shine upon them (be pleased);
(3) be gracious (merciful and compassionate); (4) turn his face
toward them (give his approval); (5) give peace. When you ask God to
bless others or yourself, you are asking him to do these five things.
The blessing you offer will not only help the one receiving it, it
will also demonstrate love, encourage others, and provide a model of
caring to others. [Life Application Study Bible]
Community Wide Easter Weekend Prayer Guidehttps://www.hilltopbaptistchurch.com/community-wide-easter-weekend-2018-prayer-guide-day-2/