Go and Tell Everyone About Jesus' Power!

Today in 123 Go was the final installment of the Treasure Quest series. This week your children learned the story of the Resurrection of Jesus and what that means to us. On stage, we said goodbye to Kit and Andi but not before joining them for the last chapter of their adventure. Kit was depressed after hearing about how Jesus died last week and was anxious to get back home. Andi encouraged Kit to stick around for the final stone because Jesus’ story wasn’t finished. Soon they found the “resurrection stone” puzzle, and Andi shared the Bible Story. In the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John, is the story of the resurrection of Jesus. After Jesus was crucified, He was buried in a tomb. To seal the tomb, a large stone was rolled in front of it. After three days, some of the women that Jesus knew went to visit the tomb. When they arrived, the women saw that the stone had been rolled aside and an angel was sitting on it. The tomb was empty. The women didn’t know where Jesus was. The angel told them that Jesus wasn’t in the tomb because He is alive! Jesus conquered death! Jesus later appeared in person to His disciples. He gave them the task of telling the rest of the world about Him. That task belongs to us as well. It is our task to tell people everywhere about Jesus and His power.

After telling the Bible story, Andi and Kit found a letter from Professor J. Bartleby O’Conner, the man who had sent them on this quest. The letter explained that it is now Kit’s job to continue on and tell the people about Jesus on every quest from now on. Andi is also congratulated on a job well done and rewarded with the responsibility of taking care of the Professor’s pet monkey, Archibald. Today, your children learned about what should now be their lifelong mission: To tell others about Jesus and to live the life God wants them to.

You can find this weeks story here:

The Resurrection of Jesus (Matthew 28:1-10; John 20:19-23; Acts 2:14-41)

This weeks Memory Verse:

"And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere..." Acts 1:8b (NLT)

Next Sunday is Easter, and we will be having a special celebration each service. We will be hunting for easter eggs and reminding the Children of the true meaning of easter. The code word this week is: HAPPY EASTER . See you Easter Sunday!

Highway 45- March 28, 2010

Last week the kids did such an amazing job memorizing the books of the Bible, everyone participated and was excited to share all that they had learned! It was a fun day for all of us, I can only hope that they will take everything they've learned and really apply it to their everyday lives.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, as many of you know, and I have a couple fun projects and lessons planned for the kids. We will be making crosses made of palm leafs, during this project I'll be telling them the importance of Palm Sunday and how it correlates with the story of Jesus. My goal is to get them excited not only Easter, but for everything that leads up to that wonderful day like Palm Sunday and Good Friday.

Kids Night Out!

We are launching our new Kids Night Out program with Hero Adventures. This is going to be seven weeks your kids don't want to miss! Every Wednesday night April 14th - May 26th from 6:30 - 8pm your children will learn about a Hero from the Bible and they will be able to apply what they have learned about that Hero to their life.

There will be skits, games, snacks, activities and more each night. The cost is just $10 for the 1st child and $5 for each additional child for the entire 7 weeks! This means that if you have two kids, your total cost is $15 and that includes a t-shirt and snacks each week. Registration is now open, to download the registration form please go to here.

Jesus Took My Punishment!

This week was a very important week for your children in 123 Go! Today your children heard the story of how Jesus died on a cross for their sins and how that gives all of us a choice. On stage, Kit and Andi’s journey got off to a great start as they discovered the “cross stone” puzzle right away. Also, Kit was in a good mood after picking a beautiful flower. Andi realized that the flower was actually an endangered species, meaning it was against the law to pick one. The punishment for picking one of these rare flowers is life imprisonment. Kit quickly panicked, but Andi made a generous offer. Andi offers to take Kit’s punishment and go to prison instead. When asked why, Andi responds that, “someone did that for me once.” Andi proceeds to tell the Bile story.

In previous weeks we learned about Adam and Eve and how they disobeyed God and committed the first sin. Since they were the first humans, their sin flows into you and me. Since God is perfect, our sin separates us from Him. We also learned that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23a) This sin problem is serious, and God knows that. He had a plan to help us with our sin, that’s why He sent His Son, Jesus. Jesus came to this world lived a perfect life and died on a cross to take the punishment for you and me. Because Jesus took our place, we now have a chance to have forgiveness and a relationship with God. This forgiveness is called salvation, because we are saved from an eternity separated from God. However, we will only receive this gift if we choose to. God places the decision to accept Jesus in our hands. Your children learned that accepting this gift is as simple as A,B,C. Each of these letters stands for a word. A stands for “admit.” We admit to God that we have sinned. B stands for “believe.” We tell God that we believe in Him and His Son Jesus. We believe that Jesus died on a cross for our sins. And C stands for “choose.” We choose to ask for forgiveness, we choose to accept Jesus into our lives and follow Him. Kit prays and receives salvation and Andi explains that Kit has just found the greatest treasure ever. We also learn that Andi misread the manual and the flower that was picked is not endangered after all. No one will have to go to prison. Kit learned that even though they had found the greatest treasure, the story of Jesus isn’t over. They have one more stone to find.

The message your children received today was the most important one they could ever hear. It is the story of how Jesus took their punishment so that they could be forgiven and have salvation. Next week we celebrate Good Friday, please take the opportunity to talk with you children about how Jesus died for their sins, and they can be saved!

You can read the Bible Story together this week:

The crucifixion and burial of Jesus (Matthew 27:32-61)

This Week's Memory Verse:

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still

sinners.”Romans 5:8(NLT)

The secret code word is: ALIVE! Come tell me(Ashley) this word next Sunday and receive your prize!

Jesus Showed Us that He is the Son of God 3/14/10

Today in 123 Go we learned that Jesus is the Son of God. In this series we are following Kit Windswept and her assistant Andi on a Treasure Quest today, Kit started off the day a bit frantic. They hadn’t found the stone yet and Kit was beginning to get worried, but Andi remained calm. Andi spent time reading the Bible and praying before eating. Kit couldn’t understand why Andi was taking time to do these things when there was obviously a bigger problem; finding the stone. Eventually, Kit tried to get the monkeys to help find the stone by bowing down and worshipping them. Andi refused to bow down to a bunch of monkeys and explained that only God and His Son Jesus deserve that. Andi also explained that reading the Bible and praying were all part of recognizing that Jesus was God’s Son. Soon after, they found the stone and Andi proceeded to tell the Bible story.

In John, chapter 9, Jesus and His disciples saw a man who was blind. Jesus spit in some dirt and made mud. He then smeared the mud over the blind man’s eyes and told Him to go wash. After the man washed, he could see! Jesus had performed a miracle and healed the blind the man. Next, in Mark chapter 4, Jesus and His disciples were traveling in a boat across the Sea of Galilee. A storm came up and threatened to destroy the boat. The disciples panicked, but Jesus slept at the back of the boat. The disciples woke Him up, scared that He was just going to let them die. Jesus stood up and told the wind and the waves to be still. And they did. The disciples were amazed that Jesus had the power to control the weather. Finally, in John chapter 11, we heard the story of one of Jesus’ greatest miracles. A man named Lazarus, who was a friend of Jesus, had died. They had buried him in a tomb and he had been dead for four days before Jesus arrived in the town. Many were sad and told Jesus that if He had come sooner, Lazarus would not have died at all. That’s when Jesus had the people open the tomb and he said “Lazarus, come out!” And Lazarus walked out of the tomb. Jesus had raised him from the dead! All of these miracles proved that Jesus is God’s son. Because Jesus is God’s Son, we should listen to Him, obey Him, worship Him, and tell others about Him. Remind your children about this

during the week.

You can read the Bible Stories together here:

1. Jesus healing the blind man (John 9:1-11)

2. Jesus calming the storm (Mark 4:35-41)

3. Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44)

Our memory verse for this week is:

"People of Israel, listen! God publicly endorsed Jesus of Nazareth by doing wonderful miracles, wonders, and signs through him, as you well know." Acts 2:22 (NLT)

This weeks secret word is: cross. Tell me (Ashley) this word next Sunday and you will receive 5 Action Bucks!!!

Highway 45- March 14, 2010

We have finally finished learning, exploring, and memorizing the books of the Bible! I am so excited to see how much they have learned and gained from the last few months and Im anxious to put them to the test. So this week is a review week, but not a boring review, that just wont do. We are going to be playing memory games and activities that will help the kids really grasp the importance of knowing and memorizing all the books of the Old and New Testament. Next week they are really going to have to bring their A-game because if they can tell me ALL the books of the Bible, in order, I will be giving each of them a special treat as well as a certificate. So parents this week if you could review with your kids so they are prepared and confident for Sunday.

Jesus Teaches Me That I Should Not be Selfish

Today in 123 Go, we heard a few stories about Jesus and how He taught others to not be selfish.

In this series we are following Kit Windswept and her assistant Andi on a Treasure Quest, this week Kit and Andi stumbled onto stone number 5 right off. However next to the stone tablet was a small treasure chest. Kit believed this was the end of the journey and immediately began imagining what could be inside the chest. Kit believed that the contents would bring riches beyond imagining. And of course all that money would bring plenty of fame as film makers sought to document the adventures of Kt Windswept. Kit also believed that with enough fame would come the power to eventually rule the world! Finally Kit opened the chest to find the Bible verse for today. This lead Andi into the Bible story.

Today’s Bible story was about some of Jesus’ teachings. In Mark, chapter 10, Jesus has an encounter with a rich, young man. Jesus tells the man to sell all of his belongings and give the money to the poor. Later, two of Jesus’ disciples ask Jesus for a favor. They wanted to sit on his right and left when He sat on His throne in glory. They wanted to be greater than any of the other disciples. Jesus explained that God is the one who makes decisions about who is the greatest. Eventually, Jesus gathered all of His disciples together and talked with them. He explained that even though the rulers of this world seek power and lord it over their followers, it is supposed to be different with us. We should seek to serve one another. He said that whoever wants to be a leader must seek to serve everyone.

You can read the stories with your children here:

1. The Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18-23)

2. Two disciples asking for favor (Mark 10:35)

3. Jesus' teaching (Mark 42-45)

Our Memory Verse:

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others..." Mark 10:45a (NLT)

Remember if you memorize the memory verse you get 5 Action Bucks! This week the Treasure Quest clue is: power. Come tell me (Ashley) that word next Sunday and you will receive a handsome reward.

Highway 45- March 7, 2010

This week in Highway 45 we will be focusing on the last few books of the New Testament, wrapping up our lesson of learning about and memorizing the Old and New Testament. We are starting this weeks lesson with Philippians and continuing through to the Book of Revelation. During our lesson we discuss important and influential verses to know and remember. So parents if you could share some of your favorite verses with your kids and let them share theirs with you, I think it will give them more confidence to share with me and their friends/piers in class.

And don't forget next Friday the 12th, we will be having a Pirate Party for ALL fourth and fifth graders. It is from 6:00-9:00 and only $2! So get your little buccaneers in the pirate mood and be ready to find some awesome treasures. Of course friends are always welcome to join us!

March Events

Here are the upcoming events for the month of March, in Children's Ministry. Mark your calenders now, because you wont want to miss any of these fun filled events!

Friday, March 5th from 6-9 pm is Parent's Night Out!

Parent's, enjoy a night out! For just $5 we will feed your kids pizza, play games, do crafts, watch a movie and have tons of fun. It's a night your kids wont want to miss, and an opportunity for you to enjoy a free Friday night! Make sure to sign up by Wednesday March 3rd to reserve your spot! Contact Ashley for more information.

Friday, March 12th from 6-9 pm is Highway 45's Pirate Party!

Fourth and Fifth graders come out for a fun night of treasure hunting, and games with Miss Alexa. The cost is only $2, and includes snacks and prizes. Come dressed as a pirate and ready to look for hidden treasure. Contact Alexa for more information.

Also save the dates for these upcoming events! More details to follow:

April 4th - Easter Sunday, there will be a special Easter egg hunt for all children during the services.

April 23rd - Highway 45 Movie Night from 6-9 pm.

Kids Night Out! Every Wednesday night starting April 14th - May 26th from 6:30-8 pm. More details to follow about this new and exciting event each week for kids of all ages!

Summer Blast will be returning this year June 21st - 25th, mark your calenders now!