Newsletter 70
Newsletter 70.
Contents.
Story - Cuthbert the Clock.
O.L. 71 - Drawing a picture whilst blindfold.
A brief Halloween explanation.
"Conversations with God".
Can you read this?
Marriage humour.
Story - Cuthbert the clock.
Preparation. To illustrate this story you could show the children two clocks and produce them at the appropriate times. The first (Cuthbert) should be a large, expensive looking one. The second should be a small cheap looking one, e.g. an alarm clock.
Story. Cuthbert was a big, chiming, handsome clock, which the Smith family had purchased for a lot of money. They were very proud of Cuthbert. The problem was, Cuthbert wasn't a real clock, he was a pretend one.
One day Cuthbert thought to himself "I'll have a great time today. I am getting really good at pretending." Only last week he had been slow, and made Mr Smith late for work, and the children late for school. He thought it was great fun. "Today I will be fast" thought Cuthbert. At 6 a.m. Cuthbert chimed 7 a.m., and all the Smiths got up 1 hour too early. They groaned when they switched on the T.V. and found the real time. "Oh that stupid clock" they thought. Cuthbert just laughed, he thought it was great fun. But the Smiths were angry.
When the Smiths looked at Cuthbert, they expected to see the right time. Cuthbert looked like a clock, he chimed like a clock, he had a face like a clock, when they bought him, he even had a label attached, which said "clock". But Cuthbert wasn't a real clock because he didn't keep the right time. He didn't do what he was supposed to do. He was a pretend clock!
The Smiths were going on holiday. They had their aeroplane tickets booked for a 9 a.m. flight. But Cuthbert played "Pretend" once too often. He got everyone up too late, and they missed their flight. They all looked at Cuthbert "He'll have to go" said Mr Smith - and threw Cuthbert away! Cuthbert was replaced by a cheap little alarm clock. It didn't look as handsome as Cuthbert. But it was a real clock and did what it was supposed to do. It kept the right time.
Like Cuthbert, the pretend clock, there are some pretend Christians. They may appear to be good, do and say all the right things, but they are pretending. They don't really know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. But when Jesus returns to earth, only the real Christians will welcome Him, and go to be with Him in heaven. All the pretenders will be found out and left behind. We need to make sure that we are REAL Christians, and not pretend ones.
Object Lesson 71 - Drawing a picture whilst blindfold.
This is a very popular object lesson which children always enjoy participating in.
It has been said that those people who choose to travel through life without reference to God's Word, the Bible are like people drawing a picture whilst blindfold - the picture of their lives will probably turn out to be a big messes, not the beautiful masterpieces that God want's to make of their lives.
Choose some children to come out and draw a picture on the board whilst blindfolded. I choose two at a time, blindfold them, stand them in front of the board, and place a marker in their hands. I get them to draw an object, e.g. house, car, boat, dog etc. as I instruct them. For example, with a house, I would say in turn :- Draw the basic house (a square), a door, a roof, downstairs windows, a chimney, upstairs windows, smoke coming out of the chimney, someone looking out of a window, a tree in the garden, some flowers, the sun. When completed, let the children see their pictures - usually hardly recognisable as houses!
Summary. God wants to make beautiful pictures of our lives. He has given us His Word, the Bible to help us make the right choices, and go the right ways in life. But if we ignore the Bible and go our own way through life, it is rather like trying to draw a picture whilst blindfold, and we will probably end up by making big messes of them, just like these pictures.
--A Brief Halloween Explanation for You and Your Kids!
Many of you have asked how to approach the subject of Halloween with your church kids. We wanted to provide you with some helpful thoughts.
First of all, remember that short, concise explanations are the best for kids. You don’t need to describe in detail all the things that ungodly people may do at Halloween. As with every part of our Christian lives, more emphasis should be placed on the good we should do, as opposed to the bad we shouldn’t do.
For your own information, historically there were all-night prayers conducted in the Early Church in Antioch in honor of various martyrs as far back as 270 AD. There grew to be such a large number of martyrs to commemorate that the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics created an All Saints Day in remembrance of all Christian martyrs. This took place the first Sunday after Pentecost. Around 730 AD, Pope Gregory III moved All Saints Day to November 1st, but their “days” began in the evening, just as in Jesus’ day, so on our calendar that makes it the night of October 31st. There was a Celtic pagan harvest festival celebrated on that day as well. Celtic people believed that the deceased could come back and harm their harvest. The focus on things at Halloween that we as Christians view as “evil” is a carry-over from the Celtic harvest festival. However, the Church holiday that has been celebrated on the same day since 730 AD was to honor the memory of Christian martyrs. As mentioned earlier, kids don’t need all that information. The point of our lives is that “all we do, whether in word or action, glorifies God.” Instruct your kids that if they want to do something in their homes on the same day as Halloween, it is important that it does not celebrate evil. Whatever they do, as in every day of their lives, should celebrate what is good and bring glory to God. If you are doing a church event, please do not include anything that celebrates something that, on any other day of the year, is considered evil by your own Christian standards. That would be, though unintentional on your part, instilling an unwanted concept in your children that there are times when evil is okay. Keep your point to your kids simple and clear. As in every day of our lives, whatever we do still needs to celebrate God and bring Him honor.
Gary & Ailsa Linn, Children's Ministry Today.
Conversations with God.
I received an email concerning the books Conversations with God and Conversations with God for Teens, written by Neale D. Walsch. I haven't read them myself, but apparently many Christians are disturbed about them, particularly as they are being distributed by some schools. I quote from my email :-"The books sound harmless enough by their titles alone, and have been on
the New York Times best sellers list for a number of weeks.
They make truth of the statement, 'Don't judge a book by its cover or title.' The author purports to answer various questions asked by kids using the 'voice of God'. However, the 'answers' that he gives are not Bible-based and go against the very infallible word of God. For instance (and I paraphrase), when a girl asks the question 'Why am I a lesbian?' His answer is that she was 'born that way' because of genetics (just as you were born right-handed, with brown eyes, etc.). Then he tells her to go out and 'celebrate' her differences. Another girls poses the question 'I am living with my boyfriend. My parents say that I should marry him because I am living in sin. Should I marry him?' His reply is, 'Who are you sinning against? Not me, because you have done nothing wrong.' Another question asks about God's forgiveness of sin. His reply 'I do not forgive anyone because there is nothing to forgive. There is no such thing as right or wrong and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone, do not judge people. People have chosen to judge one another and this is wrong, because the rule is ''judge not lest ye be judged.' Not only are these books false doctrine, but in some instances quote (in error) the Word of God. And the list goes on. These books (and others like it) are being sold to schoolchildren through (The Scholastic Book Club), and we need to be aware of what is being fed to our children. Our children are under attack. So I pray that you be sober and vigilant about teaching your children the Word of God, and guarding their exposure to worldly mediums, because our adversary, the devil, roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). We know that lions usually hunt for the slowest, weakest and YOUNGEST of its prey."
Can you read this?
I cdnuolt biveiee taht I cluod auiacity uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinevtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
Mruciae Ssueetwr.
Marriage humour
Wife: 'What are you doing?'Husband : Nothing. Wife : 'Nothing...? You've been reading our marriage certificate for an hour.'Husband : 'I was looking for the expiry date.'
-------------------------------
Wife : 'Do you want dinner?' Husband : 'Sure! What are my choices?' Wife : 'Yes or no.'
-------------------------------
Wife: 'You always carry my photo in your wallet. Why?' Hubby: 'When there is a problem, no matter how great, I look at your picture and the problem disappears.' Wife: 'You see how miraculous and powerful I am for you?' Hubby: 'Yes! I see your picture and ask myself what other problem can there be greater than this one?'
--------------------------------------------------------
Stress Reliever Girl: 'When we get married, I want to share all your worries, troubles and lighten your burden.' Boy: 'It's very kind of you, darling, but I don't have any worries or troubles.' Girl: 'Well that's because we aren't married yet.'
------------------------------
Son: ' Mum, when I was on the bus with Dad this morning, he told me to give up my seat to a lady.' Mom: 'Well, you have done the right thing.' Son: 'But mum, I was sitting on daddy's lap.'
________________________________
A newly married man asked his wife, 'Would you have married me if my father hadn't left me a fortune?' 'Honey,' the woman replied sweetly, 'I'd have married you, NO MATTER WHO LEFT YOU A FORTUNE!'
------------------------------------------------------------
Girl to her boyfriend: One kiss and I'll be yours forever The guy replies: 'Thanks for the early warning.'
-------------------------------
A wife asked her husband: 'What do you like most in me, my pretty face or my sexy body?' He looked at her from head to toe and replied: 'I like your sense of humour!'
-------------------------------
Maurice Sweetsur
www.unclemaurice.blogspot.com
Contents.
Story - Cuthbert the Clock.
O.L. 71 - Drawing a picture whilst blindfold.
A brief Halloween explanation.
"Conversations with God".
Can you read this?
Marriage humour.
Story - Cuthbert the clock.
Preparation. To illustrate this story you could show the children two clocks and produce them at the appropriate times. The first (Cuthbert) should be a large, expensive looking one. The second should be a small cheap looking one, e.g. an alarm clock.
Story. Cuthbert was a big, chiming, handsome clock, which the Smith family had purchased for a lot of money. They were very proud of Cuthbert. The problem was, Cuthbert wasn't a real clock, he was a pretend one.
One day Cuthbert thought to himself "I'll have a great time today. I am getting really good at pretending." Only last week he had been slow, and made Mr Smith late for work, and the children late for school. He thought it was great fun. "Today I will be fast" thought Cuthbert. At 6 a.m. Cuthbert chimed 7 a.m., and all the Smiths got up 1 hour too early. They groaned when they switched on the T.V. and found the real time. "Oh that stupid clock" they thought. Cuthbert just laughed, he thought it was great fun. But the Smiths were angry.
When the Smiths looked at Cuthbert, they expected to see the right time. Cuthbert looked like a clock, he chimed like a clock, he had a face like a clock, when they bought him, he even had a label attached, which said "clock". But Cuthbert wasn't a real clock because he didn't keep the right time. He didn't do what he was supposed to do. He was a pretend clock!
The Smiths were going on holiday. They had their aeroplane tickets booked for a 9 a.m. flight. But Cuthbert played "Pretend" once too often. He got everyone up too late, and they missed their flight. They all looked at Cuthbert "He'll have to go" said Mr Smith - and threw Cuthbert away! Cuthbert was replaced by a cheap little alarm clock. It didn't look as handsome as Cuthbert. But it was a real clock and did what it was supposed to do. It kept the right time.
Like Cuthbert, the pretend clock, there are some pretend Christians. They may appear to be good, do and say all the right things, but they are pretending. They don't really know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. But when Jesus returns to earth, only the real Christians will welcome Him, and go to be with Him in heaven. All the pretenders will be found out and left behind. We need to make sure that we are REAL Christians, and not pretend ones.
Object Lesson 71 - Drawing a picture whilst blindfold.
This is a very popular object lesson which children always enjoy participating in.
It has been said that those people who choose to travel through life without reference to God's Word, the Bible are like people drawing a picture whilst blindfold - the picture of their lives will probably turn out to be a big messes, not the beautiful masterpieces that God want's to make of their lives.
Choose some children to come out and draw a picture on the board whilst blindfolded. I choose two at a time, blindfold them, stand them in front of the board, and place a marker in their hands. I get them to draw an object, e.g. house, car, boat, dog etc. as I instruct them. For example, with a house, I would say in turn :- Draw the basic house (a square), a door, a roof, downstairs windows, a chimney, upstairs windows, smoke coming out of the chimney, someone looking out of a window, a tree in the garden, some flowers, the sun. When completed, let the children see their pictures - usually hardly recognisable as houses!
Summary. God wants to make beautiful pictures of our lives. He has given us His Word, the Bible to help us make the right choices, and go the right ways in life. But if we ignore the Bible and go our own way through life, it is rather like trying to draw a picture whilst blindfold, and we will probably end up by making big messes of them, just like these pictures.
--A Brief Halloween Explanation for You and Your Kids!
Many of you have asked how to approach the subject of Halloween with your church kids. We wanted to provide you with some helpful thoughts.
First of all, remember that short, concise explanations are the best for kids. You don’t need to describe in detail all the things that ungodly people may do at Halloween. As with every part of our Christian lives, more emphasis should be placed on the good we should do, as opposed to the bad we shouldn’t do.
For your own information, historically there were all-night prayers conducted in the Early Church in Antioch in honor of various martyrs as far back as 270 AD. There grew to be such a large number of martyrs to commemorate that the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics created an All Saints Day in remembrance of all Christian martyrs. This took place the first Sunday after Pentecost. Around 730 AD, Pope Gregory III moved All Saints Day to November 1st, but their “days” began in the evening, just as in Jesus’ day, so on our calendar that makes it the night of October 31st. There was a Celtic pagan harvest festival celebrated on that day as well. Celtic people believed that the deceased could come back and harm their harvest. The focus on things at Halloween that we as Christians view as “evil” is a carry-over from the Celtic harvest festival. However, the Church holiday that has been celebrated on the same day since 730 AD was to honor the memory of Christian martyrs. As mentioned earlier, kids don’t need all that information. The point of our lives is that “all we do, whether in word or action, glorifies God.” Instruct your kids that if they want to do something in their homes on the same day as Halloween, it is important that it does not celebrate evil. Whatever they do, as in every day of their lives, should celebrate what is good and bring glory to God. If you are doing a church event, please do not include anything that celebrates something that, on any other day of the year, is considered evil by your own Christian standards. That would be, though unintentional on your part, instilling an unwanted concept in your children that there are times when evil is okay. Keep your point to your kids simple and clear. As in every day of our lives, whatever we do still needs to celebrate God and bring Him honor.
Gary & Ailsa Linn, Children's Ministry Today.
Conversations with God.
I received an email concerning the books Conversations with God and Conversations with God for Teens, written by Neale D. Walsch. I haven't read them myself, but apparently many Christians are disturbed about them, particularly as they are being distributed by some schools. I quote from my email :-"The books sound harmless enough by their titles alone, and have been on
the New York Times best sellers list for a number of weeks.
They make truth of the statement, 'Don't judge a book by its cover or title.' The author purports to answer various questions asked by kids using the 'voice of God'. However, the 'answers' that he gives are not Bible-based and go against the very infallible word of God. For instance (and I paraphrase), when a girl asks the question 'Why am I a lesbian?' His answer is that she was 'born that way' because of genetics (just as you were born right-handed, with brown eyes, etc.). Then he tells her to go out and 'celebrate' her differences. Another girls poses the question 'I am living with my boyfriend. My parents say that I should marry him because I am living in sin. Should I marry him?' His reply is, 'Who are you sinning against? Not me, because you have done nothing wrong.' Another question asks about God's forgiveness of sin. His reply 'I do not forgive anyone because there is nothing to forgive. There is no such thing as right or wrong and that is what I have been trying to tell everyone, do not judge people. People have chosen to judge one another and this is wrong, because the rule is ''judge not lest ye be judged.' Not only are these books false doctrine, but in some instances quote (in error) the Word of God. And the list goes on. These books (and others like it) are being sold to schoolchildren through (The Scholastic Book Club), and we need to be aware of what is being fed to our children. Our children are under attack. So I pray that you be sober and vigilant about teaching your children the Word of God, and guarding their exposure to worldly mediums, because our adversary, the devil, roams about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). We know that lions usually hunt for the slowest, weakest and YOUNGEST of its prey."
Can you read this?
I cdnuolt biveiee taht I cluod auiacity uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinevtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?
Mruciae Ssueetwr.
Marriage humour
Wife: 'What are you doing?'Husband : Nothing. Wife : 'Nothing...? You've been reading our marriage certificate for an hour.'Husband : 'I was looking for the expiry date.'
-------------------------------
Wife : 'Do you want dinner?' Husband : 'Sure! What are my choices?' Wife : 'Yes or no.'
-------------------------------
Wife: 'You always carry my photo in your wallet. Why?' Hubby: 'When there is a problem, no matter how great, I look at your picture and the problem disappears.' Wife: 'You see how miraculous and powerful I am for you?' Hubby: 'Yes! I see your picture and ask myself what other problem can there be greater than this one?'
--------------------------------------------------------
Stress Reliever Girl: 'When we get married, I want to share all your worries, troubles and lighten your burden.' Boy: 'It's very kind of you, darling, but I don't have any worries or troubles.' Girl: 'Well that's because we aren't married yet.'
------------------------------
Son: ' Mum, when I was on the bus with Dad this morning, he told me to give up my seat to a lady.' Mom: 'Well, you have done the right thing.' Son: 'But mum, I was sitting on daddy's lap.'
________________________________
A newly married man asked his wife, 'Would you have married me if my father hadn't left me a fortune?' 'Honey,' the woman replied sweetly, 'I'd have married you, NO MATTER WHO LEFT YOU A FORTUNE!'
------------------------------------------------------------
Girl to her boyfriend: One kiss and I'll be yours forever The guy replies: 'Thanks for the early warning.'
-------------------------------
A wife asked her husband: 'What do you like most in me, my pretty face or my sexy body?' He looked at her from head to toe and replied: 'I like your sense of humour!'
-------------------------------
Maurice Sweetsur
www.unclemaurice.blogspot.com
posted by Maurice Sweetsur @ 2:08 AM
