Home Connect, July 24, 2011

Date: Sunday, July 24, 2011
God Protects Daniel in the Lions’ Den

Link:

http://www.wilderdom.com/games/gamesspecific.html

Browse this group activities site, paying special attention to the trust-building and peace education activities. You may want to try some of the games that are given when you click on those designated links. What can you learn about trust and peace by playing these games as a family?

Link:

http://www.mapquest.com/

Click on the “Directions” icon at the Mapquest website. When the next screen appears, enter any two addresses or locations to get driving directions from one place to another. You might want to try getting maps from your home to famous landmarks such as the Grand Canyon or the Golden Gate Bridge. Think about how driving directions might be similar to God’s plan for our lives. Do you think God has our lives all “mapped out?” Why or why not? How likely are you to trust these driving directions? Explain your answer.

Considering all that you have learned about trust, peace, and mapping out a plan, discuss these questions as a family:
• Is trusting someone with your physical safety difficult for you? Explain your answer.
• What about emotional and spiritual matters? Is it hard to trust someone with the private and personal challenges of your heart? Why?
• Do you find it difficult to trust God with your life? How can knowing you are following God’s plan give you peace?

The evidence is in! Check out this piece of evidence you can make to remind you about faith. It’s in the “Faith Is…” activity on page 1217 of your Hands-On Bible™.

http://teachersupport.group.com/faithweaver/homeconnect/summer-2011/week-8-(july-24,-2011)

Home Connect, June 5, 2011

Date: Sunday, June 5, 2011
Elisha Helps a Widow and Her Sons

Link:

http://www.childrenstory.info/biblestoryforchild/chdbbllazaruswakeup.html?cPath=55

Link:

http://www.lifeofchrist.com/

Read the illustrated presentation at the Child Bible Story Online page. Then go to the Life of Christ website where you will find articles, maps, charts, and studies about Jesus. As you browse both websites, look for examples of Jesus meeting needs. Each time that you find a time when Jesus showed that he cared, make a star on the left-hand side of a piece of paper, lining the stars vertically one under the other. Then discuss these questions as a family:

• How has Jesus shown that he cares for people?
• In what ways has Jesus shown his love for you by meeting your needs?
• Explain what it means to you personally to know that Jesus cares for you. Does it affect the way you look at needs in your own life? How?

Take the paper with the stars and write “Jesus Cares for Us” at the top of it. Mount the page in a visible spot in your home such as the refrigerator. Encourage family members to write or draw an example next to a star of how they have experienced Jesus caring for them throughout the week.

How is Jesus like a life preserver? Find out as you make this reminder of today’s Key Verse on page 1202 of your Hands-On Bible™!

http://teachersupport.group.com/faithweaver/homeconnect/summer-2011/week-1-(june-5,-2011)

Home Connect, May 15, 2011

Date: Sunday, May 15, 2011
Christians Care for One Another

Link:

http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/global/foodashumrgt/kracht.htm

Link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/asia_pac/04/japans_homeless/html/1.stm

Link:

http://www.fightpoverty.mmbrico.com/stories/stories.html

Browse these websites that show pictures of people from many different walks of life. Some are homeless. Others are hungry. Some are poor. Discuss what it would be like to trade places with any of these people.

Read Acts 2:42-47 as a family and discuss the following items:
• What were some of the activities in which the people in Acts 2 participated?
• How did the believers in the Acts 2 church take care of each other?
• How should Christians care for one another today?

http://teachersupport.group.com/faithweaver/homeconnect/spring-2011/week-11-(may-15,-2011)

Home Connect, May 1, 2011

Date: Sunday, May 1, 2011
Peter Explains Belief in Jesus

Link:

http://www.woodruff-fp.co.uk/inheritancetaxwills.htm

Link:

http://money.guardian.co.uk/tax/factsheet/0,1456,611866,00.html

Link:

http://www.legal-database.com/legal-requirements-will.htm

Consider the various tips regarding wills and inheritance that are offered at these websites. Then think about your “heavenly” inheritance.

Read 1 Peter 1:3-9 as a family and discuss the following items:
• Describe the inheritance that is explained in this passage of Scripture. How is a heavenly inheritance different from an inheritance on earth?
• What promises does God make regarding heaven? Why should this give us hope?
• How can we obtain this “heavenly” inheritance?

Spend a few moments in prayer, thanking Jesus for paying the price of salvation so that we could be the children of God and inherit eternal life.

http://teachersupport.group.com/faithweaver/homeconnect/spring-2011/week-9-(may-1,-2011)

Partnering with Parent’s through Awana

Parents!

Below you will find a few resources from Awana.

Our hope is that you will find these resources encouraging to you as you parent your child.  We are only a month away from celebrating this year’s Awana season.  Check your child’s progress through his or her Awana book.  Your child maybe close to completing a book, earning a jewel or an award.  Just spending 5 minutes each day by listening to your child recite his or her verse can increase your quantity of quality time for your family.  I am praying for your family as this year in Awana.

Awana Resources for Parents: (Just click on the links.)

kidsprint

parentpause

sparkles

Home Connect, March 13, 2011

Date: Sunday, March 13, 2011
Jesus Feeds Thousands

Link:

http://wvi.org/wvi/wviweb.nsf

This is the home page of World Vision, an international relief organization. Your family can sponsor a needy child overseas.

Link:

http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/PageServer?pagename=homepage

This is the home page of Church World Service, another agency that works to provide relief in poverty areas.  CWS has sponsored CROP Walks for decades to raise money to help others in need.

Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6XSjwOyoi4

YouTube has many offerings when you search “Jesus Feeds 5000,” such as the animated clip in this link.

Other than the miracle of The Resurrection, this passage, usually called “The Feeding of the 5,000″ or “The Miracle of the Five Loaves and Two Fish,” is the only miracle present in all four Gospel (Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:10-17 and John 6:5-15).

Use the links above and your own creativity as a family to find ways to offer your own “five loaves and two fish” to Jesus. God can use us in amazing ways if we are willing to give God our time, talents, and resources. Consult also with your pastor to find out what your own denomination is doing to help relieve hunger in the world.

Group Publishing: http://teachersupport.group.com/faithweaver/homeconnect/spring-2011/week-2-(march-13,-2011)

Home Connect, February 20, 2011

Date: Sunday, February 20, 2011

Zacchaeus Climbs a Tree to See Jesus

Link:

http://www.perrya.com/articles/001.htm

Read this article about accepting people for sweet rewards. What do you think the “sweet” rewards actually are?

Link:

http://halife.com/halife/halife02.html

After you have read the short story on this site, ask yourself what things about your appearance or personality you wish you could change. What things can’t be changed? Can you accept them? How do you think Jesus feels about those things?

Allow each family member time to give an answer to the following questions:

Why did Jesus give his time to Zacchaeus? What about Zacchaeus was Jesus willing to accept?

Why was Jesus willing to die for Zacchaeus? Why was he willing to die for you? Explain what being accepted by Jesus means to you.

Read Luke 19:1-10.

Group Publishing: http://teachersupport.group.com/faithweaver/homeconnect/winter-2010-2011/week-12-(february-20,-2011)

Home Connect, January 30, 2011

Date: Sunday, January 30, 2011
Jesus Gives the Beatitudes

Link:

http://www.christianitytoday.com/history

Browse through some of the issues of Christian History magazine to find examples of people who have shown attitudes that please God. What specific attitudes do you find that would make God happy today? How can we learn more about how to live in a way that pleases God?

Link:

http://www.tracysbooknook.com/childrens_books/christian/jabez_for_little_ones.html

Click on this site to read the review of the book, The Prayer of Jabez for Little Ones. Ask a family member to read the verse on the screen aloud. What can you learn about an attitude that pleases God from these lines?

Take a few moments to consider these questions:
• What have you learned about attitudes from these web sites? Which attitudes please God? Explain your answers.
• How can attitudes affect the things that you do for others? Can good things be done for wrong reasons? Explain. What can you do to develop good attitudes that please God? Talk about this as a family.

Group Publishing: http://teachersupport.group.com/faithweaver/homeconnect/winter-2010-2011/week-9-(january-30,-2011)

Home Connect, January 16, 2011

Date: Sunday, January 16, 2011
Peter and Andrew Meet Jesus

Link:

http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/04/9.16.04/photo-JGSM_potluck.html

Look at the picture at this Cornell Chronicle site. The caption says that they will “meet, greet, and eat.” Talk about what it is like meeting someone for the first time. Is it exciting? Scary? Both? How do you think Peter and Andrew felt when they first met Jesus?

Link:

http://www.billygraham.org/SH_StepsToPeace.asp

Read the list of “Steps to Peace with God” at the Billy Graham site to learn what happens when we get to know God. If you have never taken the steps to get to know Jesus, consider doing so. You can click on the audio icon and pray with Billy Graham. Check out the rest of this web site for more information on how Jesus can change our lives as we get to know him.

Group Publisher: http://teachersupport.group.com/faithweaver/homeconnect/winter-2010-2011/week-7-(january-16,-2011):

Home Connect, December 26, 2010

Date: Sunday, December 26, 2010
Foreign Visitors Worship Jesus

Link:

http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictionaryhome.aspx

Go to this dictionary site to look up the gifts that the foreign visitors brought to the baby Jesus: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. One by one, place the words in the Find Box and see what definitions a search yields. Then discuss the following questions as a family:

• Why do you think the visitors brought gifts to Jesus?
• Do you think it mattered to Mary and Joseph that the visitors were from a foreign land? Why or why not?
• What do you have to offer Jesus in worship?

b>Link: 

http://directory.crosswalk.com

Use this site’s directory to learn about denominations, ministry organizations, and mission trips. Try clicking on “Ministries.” Go to some of the web sites listed and look at the variety of people who worship Jesus. What kinds of differences do you see? What do the people have in common? Who can worship Jesus?

Group Publishing: http://teachersupport.group.com/faithweaver/homeconnect/winter-2010-2011/week-4-(december-26,-2010)