Happy Easter!

I hope that everyone had a great Easter! This Sunday we spent some time celebrating and it was a great wrap up to our 8 week series highlighting why we need Jesus, and how we can have salvation through Him alone. Next week we will start a whole new series, and I can't wait to have the kids learn more about what it means to follow Christ.

A few parents have been wondering about Action Bucks here are just a few ways your child can earn them:

Attending on Sunday morning = 1 Action Buck

Bringing your Bible to Church = 2 Action Bucks

Memorizing the weekly verse = 5 Action Bucks

Going to the Blog = 5 Action Bucks

Perfect Attendance for the month = 10 Action Bucks

There are almost alway bonus bucks each week, for things like winning a game, answering a question or staying on task. The Action Buck Store is open EVERY Sunday, so please encourage your children to earn Action Bucks!

The word for this week is: LOVE

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!!!

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.

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!

God Will Help Me Stand Up Against Temptation!

Today in 123 Go your children learned about the dangers of temptation and how to stand up against it. In this series we are following Kit and Andi on a Treasure Quest, Kit and Andi had their own problems with temptation this week. Andi saw an opportunity to attack some nearby monkeys and retrieve all of the stolen items from previous weeks. Kit cautioned Andi against this idea explaining that this was the monkeys’ territory and attacking them would only make things worse. Andi had a choice to make; do the right thing and listen to Kit or do the wrong thing and ambush the monkeys anyway. Andi gave in to temptation and was soon captured by the monkeys. Eventually, Andi was allowed to return but not before being tied up and covered with banana peels. Kit found the Temptation Stone and puzzle and the newly humbled Andi helped explain the Bible story.

The Bible story for today is found in Matthew 4 and tells the story of Jesus being tempted by Satan. The story begins with Jesus out in the wilderness, fasting and praying to God. He’d been fasting for forty days and was extremely hungry. Satan comes to Jesus and tempts Jesus to turn some rocks into bread. Jesus says, “no,” and quotes scripture as his reason for refusing. Next, Satan tempts Jesus to jump off the roof of the temple, saying God will send angels to rescue Him. Once again, Jesus refuses and quotes scripture saying that we should not test God. Finally, Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and tells Jesus that he will give all of it to Him if Jesus will bow down and worship him. Jesus refuses again and quotes scripture saying that we are to worship God and God alone. Andi learned first hand the danger of giving in to temptation. Through the Bible story we learned how to stand up against temptation by using scripture. Knowing what the Bible has to say will help us in any tempting situation we come across.

This Week's Bible Story:

Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11)

This Week's Memory Verse:

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

This week, remind your children to make a habit of reading their Bibles and memorizing verses! It is a great opportunity to memorize this weeks verse together. The code word for next week is: SELFISH. Tell me this word next Sunday and you will receive 5 Action Bucks! Don't forget that if you memorize the verse for next week, you will receive 10 Action Bucks!

Church is Where I Learn About God!

This week was week 3 of our 8 week series of Treasure Quest, where each Sunday we learn important things about who Jesus is and what He taught us. We are also following Kit Windswept and her assistant Andi as they search for the treasure. This week Kit and Andi’s journey got off to a rocky start today when Andi unwittingly took a bite of a fruit that takes away a person’s voice. Soon after, the two discovered the “Knowledge Stone” and its puzzle. Normally, Andi was the one who explained the Bible story and solved the puzzle, but without a voice it was impossible. For the first time on this journey, Kit had to read the Bible story and solve the puzzle.

The Bible story this week is found in Luke chapter 2 and it tells a story about Jesus when he was 12 years old. Jesus and His family had traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover festival. When the festival ended, the family started traveling back home. Jesus’ parents thought that He was with the rest of the group, but it turns out that He wasn’t. They didn’t know where Jesus was. Eventually His parents headed back to Jerusalem and looked all over the city for three days. They finally found Jesus at the temple sitting with the religious leaders, asking them questions. He was learning about God. He explained to His parents that he was supposed to be there. Jesus showed us that it is important to learn about God, and church is where we can accomplish that. Eventually, Andi’s voice returned and they set out on the rest of their journey.

This Week's Bible Story:

Jesus in the Temple as a Child (Luke 2:41-49)

This Week's Memory Verse

"To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge." Matthew 13:12a (NLT)

Church is an extremely important part of your child’s life. It is here that your child will make friendships, have fun, and most importantly, learn about God. This will help them have the best life possible. Please help them come each and every Sunday!

This Sunday, Treasure Quest will begin for 123 Go!

Last week, we learned that Heroes are Generous and we should use what God has given us to help others. We looked at three stories from the Bible; Abraham and Lot (Genesis 13:1-11), Five loafs of bread and two fish (John 6:1-13) and the woman who gave everything she had (Mark 12:41-44). Each of these stories shows generosity in different ways, through giving money, giving a choice and giving of what you have. Do you know which way goes to which story? Our memory verse for this week is 2 Corinthians 9:7c, if you have it memorized on Sunday, you get 5 Action Bucks!

This coming Sunday February 7th we will start an 8 week series in 123 Go! The theme is called Treasure Quest, it is an adventure through the life of Jesus leading us to the Cross and Easter Sunday. I would like to encourage you to not miss a week of this important series into the life of Jesus!

The secret code word is: SIN

123 Go - and be Generous!

This week in 123 Go, we learned that God is Generous: I Should Give Back to Him!

We talked about the importance of giving and went through the story of Jacob found in Genesis 28:10-22. In this story Jacob promised to give the first tenth of everything he had back to God. Our memory verse for this week is James 1:22, help your children memorize it and they will receive 5 Action Bucks this Sunday!

Reminder: This Sunday January 31^st is the last Sunday of the month, this means that the store will be open so make sure you have all of your Kosmic Kid (yes they are still good) and Action Bucks ready to spend!

Here is a hint to our theme this Sunday

Secret code word: Superheroes

The chase is on!

Picture from

Continuing our study of the prophets, this week we spent some time talking about Elisha. We discovered that we can have peace when we are afraid because God is with us! Parents if you would like to explore this more with your children you can find the story in 2 Kings 6:8-23 and you can use this tool. The secret code word for the kids this week is earwax.

Parent's Night Out is an event that we do to allow parents a night out without the kids. Children ages birth - 12 are welcome to come from 6-9 pm the first friday of every month. The cost is just $5 per child and includes dinner for them. The next one is on November 6th so mark your calenders now, because you don't want to miss it!