VBS! Power Lab!

This Pig is in Love!

This pig is in love with Matt...actually it is in love with his food.

The kids celebrate meeting their Missions Goal with an ice cream party. Yum!

Pucker Up Matt!

We did it! The kids raised the money to purchase a pig to send to a needy family! They actually raised more than enough! You know what that means! Yes, that's right! Our youth director, Matt Price, will pucker up and kiss the dirtiest, stinkiest pig we can find. (now we just have to find a pig...so if you are a pig farmer let us know)
Be there to see the pig fall deeply in love with Matt on Wednesday, May 28, during our youth!

Will he kiss a pig?

Learn more about this project

The challenge is on...If we can raise the money to buy a Heifer Project Pig our Youth Pastor, Matt Price, will KISS A LIVE PIG!!!

The kids have already done a great job buying rabbits for a family in need, now the fund raising continues as we set our goal on a PIG! Come on kids - you can do it! Pucker up Matt!

A Basket full of Promise and Love

Tonight we rallied our troops for our first week of our Heifer Project. We have challenged the kids to raise money to buy chickens and rabbits and other animals for families in need around the world.

A Basket of Promise and Love...Our money can help to provide struggling families the promise of a secure future.

Rabbits are easy to care for and reproduce quickly, allowing their owners to sell the offspring for extra income once they've fulfilled Heifer's "Passing on the Gift" promise; and chickens lay eggs and provide manure for vegetable gardens. That's why this gift of Hope goes on and on, lasting much longer and helping more families than the usual gift basket filled with pastries or presents ever could.

Our challenge to the kids is to find ways that they can sacrifice, earn or raise money. Not by simply asking mom and dad, but by using their own lives, their own ideas and their own giving.

When we have so much abundance it is hard for us to imagine what other kids our own age go through everyday just to survive. Let us share what God has given us. How will you raise money to share?

Up all night at the Overnighter!

The kids in RIOT and their friends had an overnighter on April 4th. Here is the night by the numbers

• 21 kids ages 9-12
• 4 adults
• 2 "amped" up teenage chaperons
• 14 pizzas
• 48 cans of soda pop
• 4 teams that went on a treasure hunt
• 1 sticky game that involved 11 tubes filled with jello!
• 72 balloons (25 filled with water!)
• 21 wet behinds (when they sat on the balloons filled with water!)
• 2 games of dodge ball
• 2 injured feet (not belonging to the same person)
• 3 people that had ice packs on some part of their body during the evening
• 42 paper airplane launches off the sanctuary balcony
• 2 movies
• 14 crazy hours
• 1 kid that actually slept

Jr High loves Taco Bell!

The Jr High Class were treated "to all the tacos they could eat" this Wednesday!

Since October 18, 2007 when the tornado struck our little town we have been taco-less. The kids waited an entire week since the grand re-opening...but tonight they rejoiced in crunchy, crispy and cheesey delight at the brand new Taco Bell/KFC.
Here is a picture of the old Taco Bell after the tornado wiped it out.

What are you waiting on?

IMPORTANT MEMO

FROM: PETER, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ

TO: US, those who love God and have faith in Jesus our Savior

Reminder, Be Holy, Keep your mind on Jesus, Have faith - even though you cannot see Jesus, believe what He has promised. Someday He will return. No matter what anyone says, the Lord does not break his promises, Jesus will return and evil will be destroyed. You can look forward to this day, but while you are waiting make yourself prepared. Read the bible, try to do what Jesus would have done and spread the Word that Jesus is coming!

"Though you have not seen him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls" 1 peter 1:8-9

SPRING BREAK is next Week!! WOO! HOO! We will be praying for those of you who will be traveling. Remember that Spring Break does not mean you take a break from being a Christian!

LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR ANSWER...What are you doing for Spring Break???

RIOT Report - Roll away the stone!

The arrest... Why did they bind Him with rope and take him away. Did they really think that rope could hold Him?

Jesus goes on Trial...

"What is a trial" I ask

"My mom watches Law and Order, and they have those in court" one answers.

"when you are arrested and you prove you did not do it." another says

They tried to charge Him with a crime. They tried to prove he was guilty...but He was sinless.

Crucified. Jesus is whipped and beat. We scrunch our shoulders and squint our eyes as we cringe of the thought... We imagine the hammer...the nails. We know the end of this story but we try to think of what it is like if we didn't.

3 days in the tomb...

"Why was the stone rolled away?" I ask.

"So Jesus could get out!" one says.

"Nope. Don't you think Jesus could walk through stone if he wanted to? He did not have to move the stone to get out. " I say.

" The stone is rolled away so they could see it was empty." another says.

Ahhh, yes, so we could see the empty tomb. Let us roll away our stones to see the empty tomb.

Victory!

Jesus was rejected by Pilate, by the crowd, by the scholars, by Judas, by many...Do you accept or reject Jesus? If you accept Jesus how can you show it? Leave a comment with your answer.

Wednesday Weeklys from FROGS and ROWDY

Tonight we combined classes- FROGS AND ROWDY- what fun! We looked up Mark 15 in our Bibles and talked about Jesus' death on the cross and about God's forgiveness. Jesus' death definitely shows us God's love! Now we can be forgiven and live with God forever in heaven!

Here is a picture of some of the sins we wrote down to confess. Then we drew a big red cross on them and threw them away because we are forgiven!

Why Is This Night Different From All Other Nights?

We had a great turn out for our Passover meal. As our four groups reclined at their tables we learned about how we can see Christ in the Passover.

The children listened as we answered the traditional questions...
"Why on this night do we eat only matzah, which is unleavened bread?
Why on this night do we eat bitter herbs especially?
Why on this night do we dip the parsley in salt water and the bitter herbs in haroseth?
Why on this night do we all recline at the table? "

Our Christian Seder combines The Four Questions with the explanation of the Passover symbols on the Seder plate to answer the questions and tell the Passover story. The words Jesus spoke in the upper room came alive as each Hebraic item was carefully explained.

We learned that Matzah, the unleavened bread symbolizes the haste with which the Israelites had to flee from Egypt. Since they did not have time for the bread to rise in order to have food for the journey, they had to bake it without yeast (Ex 12:11, Deut 16:3).

During the Seder three matzahs are put together (representing the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The middle matzah, the Afikomen, was broken, wrapped in a white cloth, and hidden, representing the death and burial of Jesus. The matzah itself is designed to represent Jesus, since it is striped (by whips) and pierced (by a soldiers sword). At the end of our Seder meal, the "buried" matzah was "resurrected," when a child found the hidden matzah.

We prepared for the meal by washing each others hands. We dipped our parsley, a sign of new life, in salt water. Salt water represents tears of sorrow shed during the captivity of the Lord's people.

We brought tears to our own eyes (and some funny faces to the kids) by dipping our matzah in bitter herbs (horse radish), and then we dipped again this time adding Haroseth (apples, cinnamon, honey and grape juice), which sweetened the bitterness. Just as our hope in Christ will sweeten the bitterness in our life.

We praised God at the end our Seder by saying "Dayenu", a Hebrew word meaning, "it would have been enough."
"If God had only brought us out of Egypt, but not punished the Egyptians — Dayenu!"

We also enjoyed a taste of lamb as we remember the Lamb of God. The Messiah who has saved us, and who is continually redeeming us through His blood.

Wednesday Weeklys from the FROGS and ROWDY

ROWDY had 7 kids!




There were 9 in the FROGS!

The kids got ready for Palm Sunday by learning about Jesus' triumphant

entry to Jersulem.

Wave your palm and shout Hosanna!

The R.I.O.T. Report - Taking our punishment!

R.I.O.T. had 16 kids in our group this Wednesday!















As we continue to learn about Jesus' journey to the cross we reviewed Palm Sunday and looked ahead to the last supper, and thought about how Jesus felt in the Garden of Gethsemane as he prayed.
When asked if they would sign up to take the punishments of a friend or sibling for the week, most of the class decided that it did not seem like a good deal. Tilly definitely did not want to take Cooper's punishments this week. Nor did Alec want to get in trouble every time Austin acted up. (However Nick N. did say he was willing to take Nick S. 's punishments :)

We are thankful that Jesus was willing to take our punishment for us so that we can live forever with God in Heaven.





This week we learned what Jesus asked us to do in remembrance of Him at the last supper. I asked the kids to write what they remember about Jesus.




Here are some of the answers:

"He died on the cross."

"He didnt sin!"

"Jesus Died for are sins he came back to life."

"Jesus knew he was going to die."

"He is the son of God."

"He loves us."

"I remember when he told peter to walk on water. I remember when he fed 5000 people with like 2 pieces of bread and fish."

"Jesus sat down with his disiples and said Judus you will betrade me."

"He turned water into wine"

"Jesus will love you forever"

"He healed people"

"I remember that he rose from the dead"

Acquire the Fire!

24 Jr. and Sr. High and adults from our Youth Group drove to Grand Rapids on the last day of February for a weekend of music, message and fellowship. We rocked out to David Crowder, Krystal Myers, and Fire Flight, we Survived the hotel, sang, danced and worshiped. Many recommitted themselves to Jesus.

Father will you come and open up our eyes. Fill us with your heart, renew us with your life. Consume us with your majesty. Consume us with your majesty.

If you were there with us at Aquire the Fire leave a comment that tells the highlight of your ATF experience!