Category Archives: Children’s Ministry

Autism Awareness, Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries

April’s Autism Awareness Day 4

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Today is the post that I read that led me to ask Andrea for permission to share Alex’s story here at Proven Path Ministries. If you follow this blog ministry you probably have realized I don’t have much of a “theme” here other than wanting to help people understand that no matter where you are in life… no matter how lost… no matter how hurt… no matter how confused… no matter age, gender, religious background, ethnicity, etc. The proven path is found on the one that is lit by the Light of the Word. There is hope in Him and a purpose for all things… we don’t have to understand the why to trust the WHO.

Now for Day 4…

Austim Day 4

 

Day 4 of Autism Awareness Month: A Parent’s Heartbreak

As I said on Day 3, Erik and I had figured out that Alex had Autism after seeing Jenny McCarthy on Oprah and after reading some related books. We made an appointment at Vanderbilt so we could get the official diagnosis. It was on October 29th, 2007. Alex was 3 1/2 years old.

I knew he had Autism, and I knew this was just going through the process so he could qualify for services in school, but when I heard the psychologist say, “Alex has Autism and Developmental Delay”, my heart was broken. We, as parents, have these dreams for our children – I think we always come up with the perfect scenario in our heads. I wanted my kids to first and foremost be healthy (poor Alex has had multiple blows in this department). I wanted them to do well in school, have lots of friends, play sports, go to college, meet that perfect mate (at about 30 years old), and live happily ever after and give me grandkids that I can enjoy while I am still senile (since we started a family so late – I was 34 when we adopted Alex).

When I heard those words, I felt like the dreams I had for Alex were shattered. I didn’t want him to be picked on by other kids because he was different. I didn’t want him to get frustrated because he didn’t understand society and because they didn’t understand him. I wanted to hear my son come up to me without me saying it first and tell me he loves me! I wanted him to desire cuddling with his mom – not push me away because he doesn’t have that desire and he doesn’t want me in his personal space. I wanted him to wave at me when he went to school or my parents’ house. I wanted him to actually miss me when he wasn’t around me!

So, yes, I was heartbroken. I still get sad and have bad days, but then I look at Alex and think, “life must be awesome through his eyes because he is always happy and things seem simple”. I often wonder what is going on inside his mind, but I will probably never really know. The “perfect” dreams I had in my head were shattered, but I realized life isn’t perfect. Life is what we make out of the situations (good or bad) that are thrown at us. I got out of the self-pity mode I was in and began researching diets, therapies, and anything else I could start doing to give Alex as great of a life as I could. To be continued…

Autism Awareness, Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries

April’s Autism Awareness Day 2/3

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We continue Alex’s story…

Austism Day 2

 

This is one day late – Day 3 of Autism Awareness Month:

On my previous post, I talked about some of the behaviors that we started noticing in Alex after Lincoln was born. I am sure a lot of you will think that I was naive to not know anything about Autism or consider it a possibility, but I didn’t. I was concentrating on the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and what delays and issues we would be facing with it. I was researching about attachment disorders (common in Russian adoptions). And I was buying every children’s book I could find about adoption so we would know how to explain the adoption to Alex and how I would answer his questions as he got a little older. 

As the next 3 months went on, I knew something was going on with Alex. I would encourage mothers to always follow that “motherly instinct” – it has proved me right several critical times. However, all I would get from the pediatrician was “Alex is a special case”. And yes, he was a special case. When we adopted him at 13 months old, he only weighed 13 pounds. He couldn’t even sit up. He had spent 13 months alone in a crib and was rarely held.

It wasn’t until I was painting our home office one day and Erik came home early from work that we discovered exactly what Alex had. Jenny McCarthy was on Oprah, and she was talking about her son and his symptoms, and it was like she was describing everything about our sweet Alex. Erik and I looked at each other, and we knew. I immediately walked out of the house to go buy her book. I also went to search in our basement for a book that a friend’s mom had given us after we adopted Alex – “In the Eye of the Hurricane” by Juli C Liske (I had never read it). I poured through them, and I soon realized that Alex did indeed have Autism. Now it was time to get ready for that very long road ahead of us…

Autism Day 3

Autism Awareness, Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries

April’s Autism Awareness Day 1

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April is Autism Awareness Month. In honor of this month I am going to begin sharing the post of a family that lives in my community. I am a few days behind so I am just going to get straight to it. I will keep these post in a special category on my website. You will be able to find them and share them any time under the Autism Awareness category link.

This is the story of Alex Kallas… his parents are Andrea and Erik Kallas. His story is being told through the eyes and heart of his mother.

Austism Day 1

Today is Day #1 of Autism Awareness month, and I will be sharing various pictures/thoughts/facts throughout the month because honestly, Autism is a growing epidemic in our country! Today I am sharing a picture of our sweet Alex – this is when we noticed a HUGE change in Alex – he was 3 years old and Lincoln had just been born. 

This is a picture that a photographer took of him a couple of weeks after we started noticing the change in our sweet boy. A week after he had his first MMR shot along with a few others, Alex stopped making eye contact and was acting very different. Before that time, he had delays due to his Fetal AlcoholSyndrome and being in an orphanage for 13 months, but he was always happy and loved posing for the camera.

This was the only picture our photographer could get of Alex that day, and this photographer had done multiple photo shoots for us with Alex. His expression just looked blank, and he was no longer our happy boy. Alex officially got diagnosed with Autism in October 2007 at 3 1/2 years old, and that is when our first battle began – the battle to reach inside our precious son and help him learn to communicate with us.

More to come later….

 

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Book Reviews, Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries

Resolving Conflict Learning Honor

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For those that don’t know I am an affiliate with The National Center for Biblical Parenting. I absolutely love their stuff. I truly believe that their material offers the most effective common sense practical parenting help for all ages from every spectrum of the issues of life on the market. There stuff is not filled with a bunch of psychobabble and it teaches you how to use the Word of God as the foundation for your parenting.

Trust me I have read a lot of different parenting books… and these are the best. That’s why I choose to help promote them.

The next few weeks I will be offering free mp3 downloads from their store. Today’s download comes from the book,

Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes, In You and Your Kids

Here is some info on the content:

Families can thrive today. But success is more than just having two cars, a nice house, a dog, and 2.5 children. It has to do with character development and how equipped family members are to relate to others outside the family. It involves creating homes where children and adults are able to make mistakes and learn from them, growing spiritually, emotionally, and relationally with each other. Even families that have broken apart or who have suffered significant wounds can develop the qualities necessary to be successful. Single-parent families, blended families, and reconstructed families are all finding real solutions through honor.

The free download is the audio concerning sibling conflict… click the picture below and hopefully it will send you to the link to download the audio 😉
Honor-CDs

But just in case the picture click doesn’t work… here you go:

Sibling Conflict mp3

I also wanted include the Honor poster and the Character Definitions poster. These will be great to print off and hang somewhere in your home as a reminder on how we need to treat each other.

HONOR POSTER

Character_Definitions_for_Families

And of course here is my link to the Biblical Parenting store so that you may check out more from them, and by using this link to get there, anything you purchase helps support Proven Path as well 🙂

National Center for Biblical Parenting store

Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries

I Go To Church Too

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 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…

Hosea 4:6

There are a few things I am pretty passionate about… one of them is seeking and teaching truth. On Sunday nights at our church we are teaching apologetics to the kids, pre-K through 5th graders participate in these classes. We are using Ken Ham’s Rhyming Books for our Pre-K and Answers for Kids with our Kindergarten through 5th graders.

Now at first this study seemed a little boring and maybe a little mundane to both kids and teachers… but it didn’t take long for the importance of what they were learning to kick in… and now kids and teachers are digging deeper with fire and passion to learn more. My Kindergarten through 5th grade teachers have even decided to go back and review all the past lessons that they went through during the “mundane” time because now they are seeing it with new eyes.

I. LOVE. IT.

This past Monday I just went into their classroom and sat down in the middle of the floor and thanked God for these two women of God who are so excited to be teaching these kids truth. I literally and physically can feel the power of the Holy Spirit in that room… even when it is empty.

The Spirit is hovering over this room like He hovered over the earth and moved over the waters… He is hovering over the minds of those in that room and He is moving over their hearts. It’s glorious I tell ya! Absolutely glorious!

In case you are wondering what happened to “turn the lightbulb on” let me share it with you. Well, first let me start with this… There is this beautiful crazy thing that happens when vocabulary and knowledge meet.

Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
And apply your mind to my knowledge

Proverbs 22:17

One of the things that I do when I teach the Bible is ask the kids if they know what a word means. I teach them the definition, not just the English definition, but the Greek and/or Hebrew as well. Lack of vocabulary and knowledge of the definition of a word keeps you from grasping the totality of its meaning. It also keeps you from asking questions and distinguishing differences.

Here’s an example to consider. When we are children, just beginning to speak, we learn several colors… orange, red, blue, green, yellow, purple… so then everything we see is grouped into this color wheel according to our known vocabulary and knowledge.

A maroon car is red and a scarlet dress is red and a burgundy bag is red…

The ocean is blue and a navy coat is blue and a turquoise bracelet is blue…

However once you learn the vocabulary and combine that with the knowledge of these colors… then it is very easy for you to distinguish between turquoise, navy, blue, burgundy, scarlet, and maroon. These are all very different and unique colors… but apart from knowing the vocabulary of what to call them, they are just red or blue.

This is the way our mind works…

 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

Acts 8:30-31

We have passed through a generation in the church where we did little real teaching for our children and youth… the goal was really just to keep them entertained. We also have came through a generation here in the church that did very little real teaching of Scripture… it was more of a read a verse and spend an hour going around the room philosophizing that verse and asking what does it means to you, instead of just flat out what did God mean and what do I need to do to line myself up with what God said.

With the lack of real teaching in the church kids didn’t have the vocabulary or knowledge to even question what they were being taught in schools or in church.

I believe this was by our enemy’s design.

What happens when we, including our kids, do have the vocabulary and knowledge… exactly what happened in our small town Bible belt public school happens.

Two kids who had been faithfully attending our Sunday night apologetics class where siting in their 3rd grade classroom when the teacher assigned the science lesson reading. These two children read in their lesson things that were the exact opposite of what they had learned in their apologetics class. These two students took their book up to their teacher and told her that these books were wrong. They did not just say they were wrong because of what their momma said… these two had the vocabulary and knowledge to boldly explain scientifically and biblically the errors contained in this book. The teacher’s reply: “I go to church too, and you are just 3rd graders and have no clue what you are talking about” That was her “educated” response.

These two knew what they knew and as the other children in the classroom asked them questions they were able to share truth, scientifically and biblically, with the other children in their class. What did the teacher do when she heard them doing so… she pulled one of them out in the hallway alone and told her that she was to stop teaching that stuff to the other kids.

Here’s the thing people. EDUCATED PEOPLE CANNOT BE DECEIVED.

Those who KNOW what they know cannot be controlled.

For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

2 Timothy 1:12

It is hugely important in this day that our children know truth.

Real. Biblical. Truth.

If you profess to know Christ and believe His Word and you teach children in your church… then teach them… teach them faithfully and fervently… or get out of the way so God can put someone in there who will. These are eternal lives we are dealing with… and this is indeed an evil day.

O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— which some have professed and thus gone astray from the faith.

1 Timothy 6:20-21

Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries, The Romans Study For Kids

Romans Study For Kids (Romans 11:25-36)

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WOW! Here is the last post of the section of Romans that we have titled The Scope of Salvation!

Romans 11:25-36

25 For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;

26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.” 

27 “This is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.”

28 From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers;

29 for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

30 For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience,

31 so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy.

32 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?

35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?

36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

 

We have just learned in Romans 11:1-24 how God is able to graft Israel back in again if they believe. What we are shown again in Romans 11:25-32 is that this was God’s plan all along.

Read Romans 11:25. What does Paul not want us to be?

__ __ _i_ _n_ __ __ _r_ __ _e_ _d_

 

What does he not want us to be uniformed about?

this  __ __ __ __ __ __ __

 

What is this mystery? Look up and read Matthew 13:11-17 and Ephesians 3:1-10 to find out. Use what you read to answer True or False to the statements below.

______  Jesus came to save only the Jewish

______  The Gospel is just for good people

______  The church is made up of Jew and Gentile

______  Gentiles can never be a part of God’s family

______ Jews and Gentiles are saved by grace

______ Jews were hardened so Gentiles could hear

 

Read Romans 11:25 again. How long will the hardening of Israel last?

until the __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __  of the Gentiles has come in

 

Read Romans 11:26. What will happen when the fullness of the Gentiles comes in?

__ __ __   Israel will be __ __ __ __ __

 

Read Romans 11:26-27 and then look up and read Zechariah 12:10 and Jeremiah 32:38-42. When did God make these promises that He would save Israel. Circle either before or after.

Before or After — Jesus came to the earth

Before or After — Jesus died on the cross

Before or After — Jesus rose from the dead

Before or After — Israel disobeyed God

Before or After — God brought them out of Egypt

 

Read Romans 11:28. Did God stop loving Israel because they did not believe Jesus when He came the first time?

Yes        No       I don’t know

 

Read Romans 11:28 again. For whose sake did God allow Israel to become enemies of the gospel?

for the  __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

 

Does the gospel mean that God isn’t going to keep the promises He made before Jesus died on the cross?

Yes        No      I don’t know

 

Read Romans 11:29. What do you learn about the gifts and calling of God?

They are __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

 

THINK ABOUT IT…

That’s a BIG word isn’t it! Do you know what it means? In the Greek this word is ametamelétos and it means not to be repented of, about which no change of mind can take place, not affected by change of mind. 

Have you ever had someone give you something and then come back later and say they wanted it back? How did that make you feel? Not good I bet. 

Well this word, irrevocable, means that once God has said it, once God has given it, He doesn’t take it back. Not ever.

 

Read Romans 11:30-31. Fill in the blanks to complete the verses and answer the questions below the verse with either Jew or Gentile.

For just as ______ once were disobedient to God,

(you who? _____________)

 

but now have been shown mercy because of _______  disobedience

(whose disobedience? ____________)

 

so __________ also now have been disobedient,

(these who? __________)

 

that because of the mercy shown to ________

(you who? _____________)

 

________ also may now be shown mercy.

(they who? _______________)

 

Read Romans 11:32. Who has God shut up in disobedience?

all of us          no one         just a few   

 

Why has God shut us all up in disobedience? 

so that He may show __ __ __ __ __  to all

 

Look back and read Romans 3:9 and Romans 3:19-20. Who all is under sin? Circle all that apply.

Jews       Gentiles       You        The World

 

Look up and read Galatians 3:21-29. Answer the questions below.  

Why did the Scriptures shut everyone up under sin?

________________________________________

(answer is found in verse 22)

 

What is the purpose of the Law of God?

_________________________________________

(answer found in verse 24)

 

Who can be saved through faith in Jesus?

_________________________________________

(answer found in verse 28)

Read Romans 11:33-36. Read this passage several times out loud. 

THINK ABOUT IT…

Paul concludes these first eleven chapters of Romans with this awesome praise to God. If you have made it through this study you have studied some of the hardest passages in the Bible and also some of the most important. Romans 1 through 11 lay out the full doctrine of salvation. 

Paul then concludes these chapters with a reminder to us that we don’t have to understand it all. We just need to trust God. We need to remember who He is. 

It doesn’t matter if we are not sure we like what we have read in these chapters. God doesn’t ask us to like it, just to obey it. He also doesn’t ask us to explain Him, but just to trust Him. 

We are also reminded by Paul that God does not owe us anything, so we need to be thankful always. Below is a U shape. Use this U shape to help you understand Romans 11:33.

Romans 11-36

Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries

The Difference Between Respect and Honor

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In our parenting class this past Sunday we discussed the importance of teaching our children honor. With this lesson came the question from one of the parents, “What is the difference between respect and honor?”

In the commandments God tells us to honor our father and our mother (Exodus 20:12) and in Ephesians 6:1 we read, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.”

This parent had a great question. How do we teach honor to our children and how is that different from teaching them respect? Who do you respect and why? Who do you honor and why? How do you show respect and how do you share honor?

In the Hebrew honor in verse Exodus 20:12 is kabad and the short Strong’s definition is to be heavy, weighty, or burdensome. According to the Vine’s Concise Dictionary in its verb form used in Exodus 20:12 it means to give high praise and status to another in word and deed. 

In the Greek obey in Ephesians 6:1 is hupakouó and the Strong’s definition is acting under the authority of the one speaking, i.e. really listening to the one giving the charge (order), (“to hearken, obey”) suggests attentively listening, i.e. fully compliant (responsive).

So this is what it means to honor and this is what it means to obey.

Now what about respect?

As I look through the New Testament Scriptures… the word respect is not used in connection with a child parent relationship… and it is used only once in the husband and wife relationship.

Nevertheless, each individual among you also is to love his own wife even as himself, and the wife must see to it that she respects her husband.

Ephesians 5:33

This word, respects, in the Greek is phobētai and it means to reverence, venerate, to treat with deference or reverential obedience. It is usually translated as fear or being afraid and is most often used used in relation to man’s relationship with God, that we are to fear GOD alone and not any other man. This is the only verse in the New Testament that uses this Greek word for respect in the context of the relationship of husband and wife. It also is the only occurrence in the New Testament that uses this Greek word as a verb in present tense, subjunctive mood, middle or passive voice.

The present tense means this is a continuous action. The subjunctive mood means that this a conditional clause, strong suggestion, or a polite command. It implies some doubt regarding the reality of the action from the speaker’s point of view and shows that this is an action that may or should happen. Middle voice means that the subject was acted upon and passive means that the subject initiates the action and participates in the results of the action.

In Ephesians 5:33 it looks to me that Paul is saying husbands if you will love your wife she will respect you, but wife you should choose to respect your husband even if he is not loving you as you think he should and if you do you will reap the results of this choice.

When God uses the word respect in Ephesians 5:33 I believe that God politely requests that a wife respect her husband… because by doing so it shows that she respects herself. 

I’ll let you ponder on that… 

In Ephesians 6:1 the word obey, or hypakouete, is in the present tense, imperative mood, and active voice. This means it is to be a continuous action and is used to express a command and it is the subject that produces the action.

Now in Luke 18:20 Jesus quotes the Hebrew command and in its translation into the Greek He uses the word timaó and it means to properly, assign value (give honor), as it reflects the personal esteem (value, preciousness) attached to it by the beholder. In this verse this Greek verb for honor is also in the present tense, imperative mood, and active voice.

Now in the English, the word respect in the verb form means to admire (someone or something) deeply, as a result of their abilities, qualities, or achievements. In the English the word honor in the verb form means to highly respect.

So as we look at honor and respect in our English language we don’t see much difference in the two words… but in the language used by God to originally record His Word they hold very different meanings.

According to our English language respect and honor are conditional. They are reserved for those we have decided are worthy of receiving them according to their abilities, qualities, and achievements. We respect the position and the person who is able to get to that position or through that performance that we have placed on a pedestal is the one who gets that respect… but those below that… we don’t think we have to respect. Therefore respect is conditional according to what we deem as achievements within our own personal context.

Great fighters respect other great fighters. However those who believe fighting is animalistic and cruel have no respect for anyone who does that for a living. Great hunters respect other great hunters, but those who believe hunting is wrong have no respect for those who do it. Thus the reason some stand and applaud something that others choose to get up and walk away from.

In God’s Word there is a big difference between respect and honor. (Actually I don’t really recall God using the word respect at all in the same way that we do.) We are to submit to authority because we respect God. So our submission as wives to our husband, as employees to our employer, or as citizens to our government is out of respect or fear of our God. We show our trust in Him as we choose to willingly obey in these areas… even when we might not agree or find it easy to do.

As we look at the parent child relationship… God never uses the word respect. He uses obey and honor. At the very least a child is to obey their parents. Teaching our children obedience to us, is teaching them to really listen to what we say and to be fully compliant to our instructions. We also need to note that according to the tense, mood, and voice… this is not a polite suggestion to our children. It is a command.

I believe that when we look at Exodus 20:12 and Luke 18:20 at the word honor, this is God’s heart for our children. To Honor. Honor is something that has nothing to do with the one being honored. It has everything to do with the beholder. Honor is placing value on someone because of who they are, not because of what they do… or don’t do. Honor is saying someone is priceless to you. Honor is saying this person has value and worth. Honor means that you carry a weight and burden for this person within yourself.

Honor is huge.

I believe honor is something that is directly connected with love. Honor is more than our English definition of having great respect. Honor is about having great love.

Honoring someone means that you care so deeply for them that it comes out in your words and deeds. It’s not lip service and it’s not obedience out of a command and submission to authority… It is so much more.

Honor goes above and beyond and does more than is expected because they value the relationship and the person.

I believe the only way to teach honor is to first show honor. Jesus did not just show respect for people… He honored them. He showed by His words and deeds that He valued people. Look at His example with His disciples. I believe we need to use this same model with our children.

Honor is not coddling them. Jesus did not coddle His disciples. He taught them by example and He expected great things from them and He called them to do great things.

I don’t believe God wants our children to obey us out of fear any more than He wants us to obey Him out of fear… He wants HONOR and so should we.

Teaching kids to honor others
We love to teach about honor. One of the parts of our honor definition is that we do more than what’s expected. That means seeing what needs to be done and doing it. It means solving problems instead leaving them for others. One family had a sign in their kitchen that read:

If it’s broken, fix it.
If it’s empty, fill it up.
If it’s open, shut it.
If it’s out, put it away.
If it’s messy, clean it up.
If you can’t, then report it.

That’s honor.

Take time to teach kids that they don’t have to wait for an instruction in order to do a job. Honor means that we’re looking for what needs to be done and take initiative. In fact, you may instruct a child to go around the classroom or house and look for one job that needs to be done and do it, then report back to you.

~ The Christian Parenting Handbook

And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits; and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a mere staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt— but to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two tunics.” And He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town. Any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” They went out and preached that men should repent.  And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

Mark 6:7-12

******************

The apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught.

Mark 6:30

 

Have you ever considered the importance of teaching your children honor and not just obedience?

If you have, what are some ways that you have done so?

 

 

 

Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries, The Romans Study For Kids

Romans Study For Kids (Romans 11:17-24)

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The last post in this Romans Study For Kids we looked at Romans 11:7-16. Today we will be digging into Romans 11:17-24.

Romans 11:17-24

17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,

18 do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you.

19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”

20 Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear;

21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either.

22 Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off.

23 And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.

24 For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?

Before we dig into our next section of Scripture, let’s watch this video on grafting.

 

Now as we dig into these next verses in Romans we will be able to use this grafting lesson to help us understand Romans 11:17-24

But first let’s take a look at what Jesus teaches us in the book of John. 

Read John 15:1-17 and use them to answer the questions below.

 

Who is the true vine?

__ __ __ __ __

 

Who is the vinedresser

the  __ __ __ __ __ __

 

What happens to the branches in the vine that do not bear fruit?

He  __ __ __ __ __   them   __ __ __ __

 

What happens to the branches that DO bear fruit?

He __ __ __ __ __ __ them

pruning

Who is the “He” that does all this to the branches?

__ __ __

 

Why does He prune the branches that bear fruit?

so that they will  __ __ __ __     __ __ __ __  fruit

 

Can the branch bear any fruit if it is not in the vine?

Yes           No         I don’t know

 

Can we bear fruit if we do not abide in Jesus?

Yes             No           I don’t know

 

Look at John 15:16. Who chooses who? Circle the correct answer.

you choose Jesus

Jesus chooses you

No one chooses it just happens

 

What does Jesus choose us to do? What does He appoint us to do?

to go and __ __ __ __    __ __ __ __ __

 

THINK ABOUT IT….

We have been looking at God’s choice over and over in Romans 9-11 and we have also talked about what it means to bear fruit… and not just any fruit, but good fruit. 

Are you beginning to see how important it is to read the books of the Bible from the beginning of the book to the end? We would not begin a letter written to us from out mom or dad from the middle and we would not just read a couple of the words they wrote and not read the rest. 

The books in the Bible are letters that God has written us, so we should not do His letters to us that way either. We will never understand what He wants us to know if we do.

It’s okay to pick out favorite parts of the letter, I bet you do that with other letters too, but not until you have read the whole letter first. Read the whole letter first, then you just might be surprised by how many special and favorite parts you could have missed if you had not read the whole thing.

Now lets get back to Romans 11:17-24! 

Read Romans 11:17. First of all we need to figure out who is the natural branch and who is the wild olive. Draw a line connecting which one you think is which.

Jews (Israel)                                   wild olive

 

Gentiles                                   natural branch

 

When we look back at Romans 11:7-16 we can see that Paul is using the natural branches to describe Israel and the wild olive to describe the Gentiles. Circle which group you belong to.

Jew (Israel)        Gentiles        I don’t know

 

If you are of Jewish descendant and you are a Christian, then you are part of the remnant that we have been studying about… how cool is that!

Now if you are not of Jewish descent then you are a Gentile. Romans 11:17-24 is directed to Christians who were Gentiles. 

 

Read Romans 11:17 again what was broken off?

__ __ __ __  of the  __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

 

What was grafted in to the rich root of the olive tree?

the __ __ __ __   __ __ __ __ __

 

Before we go any further, look up and read Revelation 22:16 and Romans 15:12. Who is the root?

__ __ __ __ __

 

How is the wild olive that is grafted in NOT to act toward the branches that were broken off?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

(To be arrogant means having or showing the insulting attitude of people who believe that they are better, smarter, or more important than other people)

 

Read Romans 11:18. Who supports who? Circle the correct answer.

you support the root          the root supports you

 

Read Romans 11:19-20. Why were the branches broken off?

their __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

 

How does the wild olive stand?

by __ __ __ __ __

 

Read Romans 11:21-24. What will God do if they do not continue in unbelief but believe?

He will __ __ __ __ __ them in __ __ __ __ __

grafting

 

THINK ABOUT IT…

Do you remember the video you watched at the beginning of this lesson? What did the gardener put around the branches he grafted in?

Look up and read 2 Corinthians 1:22 and Ephesians 1:13. How does what the gardner did in the video relate to what God does for us? 

That’s enough for today!

 

Children's Ministry, Proven Path Ministries, The Romans Study For Kids

Romans Study For Kids (Romans 11:7-11)

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In the last Romans Study For Kids post we looked at Romans 11:1-6. Today we are digging into Romans 11:7-16.

Romans 11:7-16

7 What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened;

8 just as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes to see not and ears to hear not, Down to this very day.”

9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, And a stumbling block and a retribution to them.

10 “Let their eyes be darkened to see not, And bend their backs forever.”

11 I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous.

12 Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!

13 But I am speaking to you who are Gentiles. In as much then as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

14 if somehow I might move to jealousy my fellow countrymen and save some of them.

15 For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

16 If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too.

 

Read Romans 11:7. This verse begins with a question. Paul asks “What then?” We then read “What Israel was seeking, it has not obtained…” 

Now what was Israel seeking? Look back and read Romans 9:31 and Romans 10:3 to answer this question.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Who does Romans 11:7 say did receive it?

those who were __ __ __ __ __ __

Who chose them? Look back and read Romans 9:11 and Romans 11:5 to answer.

__ __ __

Read Romans 11:7 again. What happened to those who were not chosen?

they were __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Read Romans 11:8-10. How long ago did God tell us that this would happen. Who is mentioned in Romans 11:9?

__ __ __ __ __

Look up and read Deuteronomy 29:4, Isaiah 29:10, Psalm 69:22-23, and Matthew 13:13. How many times did God warn us about this?

never      once       twice     many

Who are some of the people He used to warn us? Circle all that apply.

President Obama    Moses    David    Isaiah   Oprah

Read Romans 11:11. Once again Paul asks a question, “they did not stumble so as to fall, did they?” How does Paul answer thus question?

__ __ __     __ __    __ __ __ __ __   __ __!

What came to the Gentiles because of the transgression of Israel?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Why did God allow salvation to come to the Gentiles in this way?

to make them (the Jews) __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Read a Romans 11:12 what comparison does Paul make concerning the transgression of the Jews and the salvation of the Gentiles?

their __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

is __ __ __ __ __ __ for the __ __ __ __ __

and their __ __ __ __ __ __ __  is __ __ __ __ __ __

for the Gentiles

Look back and read Romans 5:8-10. Do you see a similar comparison here in these verses?

Yes        No        I don’t know

Read Romans 11:13-14. Who is Paul specifically addressing in these verses?

the __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

What ministry is Paul magnifying? Look up and read Acts 9:15 and Acts 22:21 to help you answer this question.

the ministry God gave him to __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

Who is he wanting to move to jealousy by magnifying his ministry?

the __ __ __ __

Read Romans 11:15. What did Israel’s rejection of Jesus bring?

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ of the world

What will their acceptance of Jesus be?

__ __ __ __ from the __ __ __ __

Look up and read John 3:16-17, Romans 3:19. Romans 5:10, 2 Corinthians 5:18. Who did God send Jesus to save? Circle all that apply.

the Jews

the Gentiles

You and Me

the World  

all who believe

Read Romans 11:16 and fill in the blanks to answer the questions below.

(1) if the __ __ __ __ __ piece of dough is __ __ __ __, the __ __ __ __ is __ __ __ __

(2) and if the __ __ __ __ is __ __ __ __,

the __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __  are __ __ __

THINK ABOUT IT…

Do you have any play-doh or molding clay? Or if your mom has time you could mix up some cookie or biscuit dough to help illustrate what God is teaching us in the first part of Romans 11:16. 

Get the dough all ready and pinch a piece off. When you pinched it off did it change any?

Now mix it back into the dough. Can you tell where you removed it?

No you can’t. When we make cookies we begin with one dough and then we take from that dough an if that dough is good, then the cookies will be also.

Now let’s think about the second part of Romans 11:16.

Did you hear in the news about a man named Harvey Updike who poisoned the trees at Toomer’s Corner at Auburn University? 

Take a moment to look up this story. How did he poison the trees? Did he pour it on the branches? 

No, he poured it on the roots. 

Why? 

Because what ever happens to the roots effects the branches.

That’s enough for today. We will look at Romans 11:17-24 tomorrow.

 

Children's Ministry, Confessions of a Christian Wife, Proven Path Ministries

Really, You Don’t Have To Apologize

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I read this blog post just a minute ago, The Blessing of Boundaries. In this post was this story:

In the world of parenting, sticking to consistent boundaries can be one of the most rewarding, yet tiring battles. During daily routines such as shopping, school, interacting with friends, or taking care of the house, it is easy to lose heart.

For Will and Carissa, this situation played out one spring evening during small group—just after their three small children had gone to bed. For the previous two weeks, their three-year-old had been throwing a fit almost every night about going to bed. This particular night was no different; he was mad about being in bed and missing out. Mom and Dad had a distinct choice—stick to their convictions, or appease their son just to get through small group. Will smiled ruefully at the group of twenty friends, “I know the crying is distracting, but we’d love your grace as we stay consistent with our son!” With the full support of the group, Will and Carissa proceeded with the discussion amidst the background protests and crying. The group supported their determination to make progress with their headstrong son.

The following week, Will and Carissa greeted the group with smiles and a testimony of praise. “Several days after small group we finally broke through! One evening he got tired of fighting and protesting, and just fell asleep. He’s fallen asleep like a rock every night since!” Their persistence to hold their son to their expressed boundaries paid off. The commitment to train in obedience and right attitudes would serve their son the rest of his life.

This reminded me of the many times that I have heard parents apologize for having to get on to their children in front of others. I always look right at them and say, Oh no don’t apologize to me, I am back here cheering you on. Go Mom! Go Dad! I have them too. Especially any time you are holding the line.

When you are walking through the isles of Target and your child is having a throw their head back fit because you won’t let them have that new Elsa Doll and Dress combo after you clearly explained to them that you are entering this section of the store to buy their cousin his birthday present and were not shopping for them… Honey, keep your head held high and let them scream their little lungs out… and I will even play look out for you if you decide some other form of traditional discipline is needed.

But whatever you do please don’t apologize to me for doing the work of being a parent. Don’t look at me with that apologetic yet trying not to be mortified look in your eyes, but if you do all you will get from me is a smile and an encouraging “as long as you win, just don’t let them win”

Hold that line! And be like Will and Carissa above and surround yourself with others who are going to be there to support you as you do.

As I shared in our parenting class last Sunday… you gotta be the stone wall!