Summer Transitions

Hey Parents,

Now that school's out, it's time to think about group transitions.  If you have a child that will be moving to a new group (Preschool/age 4-K, Kids Church/1st-6th grade, Youth Group/6th-12 grade), here's all the info and dates you need to know:

• If your child completed Kindergarten and is moving to 1st grade in the Fall, he or she will begin attending our Kids Church on Sunday, July 3.

• If your child completed 5th grade and is moving to 6th grade in the Fall, he or she can begin attending Youth Group in September.  There will be a lock-in one night in August to welcome them and introduce them to the other kids.  At Horizons, we consider 6th grade to be a major transition year, and we realize that not all 6th graders make that transition at the same speed.  So, although 6th graders are welcome to be a part of the Youth Group, they are also welcome to remain in the Kids Church.  They can attend either group, or both, based on their comfort level.  If you have any questions about Youth Group, you can contact Scott Mocabee.

• If your child completed 6th grade and is moving to 7th grade in the Fall, he or she can attend Kids Church through the end of August.  Once September begins, they will participate in our Adult Worship service on Sunday mornings.  Beginning in July, your child may start volunteering to be a part of our Ministry Teams.  There are many ways for them to get involved, and many kids have found great fulfillment by joining the Nursery or Preschool teams.

If you have any questions about your child's transition, feel free to contact me by email or at the church office (540-288-0018).

Thanks so much for letting me and my team serve you and your family.

- Pastor Jim

It's All About ME!!

This past Sunday in the Kids Church (1st-6th grades), the kids learned that being a Christ-follower means that we have to battle against our natural instinct to be selfish, because giving our lives to God means we want what He wants.

We talked Judas, and how he was faced with the choice between God's Kingdom and personal gain.  We talked about seeking God's Kingdom first, because nothing else lasts.

In our small groups, we asked:

• What do you love?  We asked the kids to tell us about the things that are important to them.
• What does it mean to seek God's Kingdom first?  We explained that when we make God #1 in our lives, we care about the things He cares about.  We came up with a list of things that God values that people sometimes don't.
• How can you make God #1 this week?  We explained to the kids that we sometimes have to give up something or do things differently in order to keep God #1.  We asked them what they needed to give up or do less in order to show God that He is #1 in their lives.  We encouraged the kids not to let anything take the place of God in their lives this week.

Our verse for this week is Matthew 6:21 (CEV)  "Your heart will always be where your treasure is."

Overcoming Instincts

Over the past few weeks in the Kids Church (1st-6th grades), we've been talking about our Instincts.

More specifically, we've been talking about how to overcome our desire to give in to our sinful instincts.  In week one of our series, we talked about our desire to fit in.  We talked about the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.  When the people shouted and praised him, the religious leaders told him to make them stop.  Jesus told them that if they stopped, then the rocks would cry out (Luke 19:36-39).  He could have hushed them and kept a lower profile, but he knew that their worship was pleasing to God.  We used this story to talk about God's desire for us to be peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9 KJV), not worrying what people think of us when we worship and live our lives for God.

In week two, we talked about our desire to let other people deal with problems.  The kids learned that being a Christ-follower means that we must care about justice (Psalm 11:7), and not just sit by when we see things happening around us that we know are wrong.  We talked about Jesus clearing the money changers out of the temple, because what they were doing was hurtful to others and displeasing to God (Matthew 21:12-17).  The kids learned that when they stand up for what's right, God always stands with them.

This past Sunday, we talked about our desire to take the easy way.  We talked about Jesus praying in the garden before he was arrested.  He knew what was going to happen, and he asked God to find another way.  However, he also submitted to God's will (Matthew 26:36-40).  The kids learned that living life for God is often the difficult option, because it goes against our sinful desires and instincts (Matthew 7:13).  The kids also learned that when we choose the difficult path of following God's will, He blesses us and helps us through it.  When we choose the easy way, we miss out on the great things God has planned for us, and we hurt our relationship with Him.

Instinct

"If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life."  - Galatians 6:8 (CEV)

Just like animals, people have instincts.  Because we are born sinful, our natural instinct is often to do what is wrong.

Beginning this Sunday in Kids Church (1st-6th grade), we will begin a new series, called Instinct.  During this six-week series, we will learn about the Passion week, and what happens when we give in to, or overcome, our instincts.

The kids will be learning that being a Christ follower means that we have to overcome the desire to fit in, inaction, taking the easy way, materialism, popularity, and clinging to our sinful self.

Each week, we will be learning that following Jesus every day is a choice.  Choosing Jesus isn't always easy, but it is the best choice we will ever make!

Check back here each week to follow along with our new series, Instinct.

A Hero is Selfless

This week in the Kids Church (1st-6th grades), we continued our Be The Hero series by learning that heroes are selfless.

The kids learned the value of putting others first, and not making everything about themselves.

We talked about John the Baptist, who chose to deflect any praise that came his way so that Jesus was given the honor he deserved.  We also discussed what the Bible says about being humble, and that every person is equally important to God.

Our verse for this week is Philippians 2:3 (CEV): "Don't be jealous or proud, but be humble and consider others more important than yourselves."

Here's what we talked about in our small groups:

• Who do you know that is selfless?
• We talked about people in our lives who are selfless, and how those people make a difference in our lives.
• Why is important to be selfless?
• God wants us to see others as important, because they are important to Him.  When we are focused on ourselves, we can't do that.
• As a group, we listed some examples of times that we put ourselves first.  We talked about how the lives of the people around us would be changed if we were selfless in those situations.
• How will you be selfless this week?
• We asked the kids to come up with some ways that they will be selfless this week.  We encouraged them to show their friends how important they are to God this week.

Next week, the kids will learn that The Hero is Cool-Headed.

The Hero Honors Others

This week in the Kids Church (1st-6th grades), we continued our Be The Hero series by learning that heroes honor others with the things they say.

The kids learned the value of being encouragers to their friends and families, and that we should use the things we say to build people up, rather than tearing them down.

We talked about Barnabas, who traveled with Paul, encouraging new believers as they began their lives as Christ-followers.  We also discussed what the Bible says about the power of our words, and that everything we say, good or bad, has a long-lasting impact on the lives of others.

Our verse for this week is 1 Thessalonians 5:11a (NIV): "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up..."

Here's what we talked about in our small groups:

• What is it like to be an encourager?
• We talked about times that we have encouraged others, and how we thought that encouragement impacted them.
• How does being an encourager make us a hero?
• A little encouragement can go a long way.  When we build people up with our words, we help them to see how special they are to God.
• As a group, we talked about some scenarios in which a person might make a difference.  We talked about how that encourage could make a difference to someone.
• How will you be an encourager this week?
• We asked the kids to think of a friend or family member that needs encouragement this week.  We talked about what they would say to build them up this week.

Next week, the kids will learn that The Hero is Selfless.

Be The Hero!

In every story, there is one person who stands out from the rest.  This person is the one that lives by a different code, makes sacrifices that others won't, and makes the world a better place.  This person is the hero. 

This past Sunday, we began a new series in the Kids Church (1st-6th grades) called Be The Hero.  Over the next 6 weeks, the kids are going to be looking at the attributes of a hero, based on the definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13.  The kids are going to learn that the hero is content, honoring, selfless, cool-headed, forgiving, and protective.

Our goal in this series is to teach kids that God has called us all to be heroes in the lives of our friends, families, and acquaintances.

In our first week of the series, we learned that The Hero is Content.  We talked about how jealousy hurts our relationships with others because it means instead of wanting good things for others, we are focused on ourselves.  We also learned that jealousy hurts our relationship with God because it means we are not satisfied with the blessings he has already given us.

We talked about Jesus' teaching on Treasures in Heaven (Luke 12:13-34).  The kids learned that Jesus wants us to focus on the Kingdom of God, rather than material possessions that do not last.

Our memory verse for this week is, "It's healthy to be content, but envy can eat you up." -Proverbs 14:30 (CEV)

Here's what we discussed in our small groups:

• Have you ever felt really jealous?
• Why is important to be content?
• When we focus on what we don't have, we lose sight of the ways that God has blessed us.
• As a group, we came up with a long list of the ways that each of us are blessed.  We pointed out that every kid is blessed in different ways.
• How can jealousy keep us from being true friends?
• When we are jealous of our friends, we don't truly want what's best for them.  A true friend wants others to be blessed.
• We asked each kid to think of a close friend and then come up with a way to pray for that friend to be blessed.  We encouraged the kids to pray that their friends would be more blessed than they are.

This coming Sunday, the kids will learn that The Hero Honors Others, as we discuss what it means to encourage and build people up, rather than tearing them down.

Repent

This past Sunday in Kids Church (1st-6th grade), we continued our Build-a-Prayer series.  The focus of this series is to teach kids how to communicate and connect with God through prayer.

In this third week of our series, we talked about repenting.  The kids learned that when we talk to God, we need to make sure that we deal with any sin in our hearts.  We explained that repenting means to ask for forgiveness for our sins, and then stop doing it.

We talked about the story of the Prodigal Son, and the kids learned that in order to truly repent, that must recognize that they are headed down the wrong road, and then turn around and go the other direction.

In our small groups, we discussed the following questions:

• Have you ever tried to stop doing something?  We talked about times that the kids tried to completely stop doing something that they knew was wrong.

• Why is it so important to repent when we pray?  We explained to the kids that in our relationship with God, sin always gets between us, so we need to repent so that we are talking to Him with a pure heart.  As a group, we came up with a list of sins that are the most difficult for us to stop doing.  We encouraged the kids not to give up, no matter how difficult it is.

• How do you break a sinful habit?  We explained to the kids that getting sin out of our lives takes more than just stopping what we're doing.  Repenting means that we turn and go the other way.  We discussed some steps that we should take when trying to eliminate sin from our lives (ex., pray about it, read Bible regularly, find a new activity to replace the old one, talk to parents, etc.).  We encouraged the kids to repent when they pray this week, and to know that God promises to always forgive us and give us the strength we need.

Our verse for this week is 1 John 1:9 - "But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take away our sins."

Praise

This past Sunday in Kids Church (1st-6th grade), we continued our Build-a-Prayer series.  The focus of this series is to teach kids how to communicate and connect with God through prayer.

In this second week of our series, we talked about praising God.  The kids learned that when we praise God, we show him the respect he deserves.  We explained that God desires a relationship with us, and when we focus on praising him first, rather than just giving him a list of requests, we express that are love for him is more important than our needs.

We talked about the book of Psalms and focused on Psalm 100, which teaches us to enter God's presence with a joyful song.

In our small groups, we discussed the following questions:

• What's the best compliment you've ever received?  We talked about the nice things that people have said about us and the way we felt about it.

• Why do we praise when we pray?  We explained to the kids that when we praise God, we let him know that we love him and that praise is a sign that we have a real relationship.  We went around our group and had each kid come up with at least one praise for God, and explained that because God is so amazing, it isn't difficult to find ways to praise him.

• How do we give God the honor and respect he deserves?  We explained to the kids that God should be #1 in our lives.  As a group, we talked about things that keep us from making God our highest priority.  The kids learned that when we pray without praising, we are making our wants and needs #1, instead of God.

Our verse for this week is Psalm 100:2 - "Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs."

Build-a-Prayer

Hey Parents,

As we begin 2011, the Kids Church (1st-6th grades) will be taking a few weeks to learn how to pray.

We began our Build-a-Prayer series this past Sunday by learning the importance of everyday prayer.  We talked about Daniel and his willingness to face death by lions in order to maintain his prayer life.

The kids learned that everyday prayer is important because it helps us to communicate with God and connect to Him.  Over the next four weeks, we will learn how to pray by using Praise-Repent-Ask-Yield as our formula.

Our verse for this week is: Colossians 4:2 - "Never give up praying.  And when you pray, keep alert and be thankful."

Have a great week!

Pastor Jim

Fall Family Fun Fest

Every year on or around October 31, Horizons Church holds the Fall Family Fun Fest.

The purpose of this event is to provide a safe and fun evening for families in our church and throughout our community.  Though we give out candy and allow people to dress in costumes, we choose not to associate our event with Halloween (you can read more about why here).

So, if you've never been to a Fall Family Fun Fest, here's what you can expect:

• Candy.  Lots of candy.
• Carnival games for kids to show off their skills.
• Face painting and balloon animals
• Moonbounces
• A fun trip through Treat Street.  As you arrive, your kids can visit cars with decorated trunks and receive candy.
• Some people in costumes.  We don't encourage or discourage kids in costumes, but we do ask that they stay away from anything that celebrates Halloween or evil (witches, monsters, etc.)
• Youth group bonfire at 8pm.
• Food.  We will have hot dogs, nachos, and other food available throughout the night.
• Many people that you don't know.  This event is open to the community, and it is a great chance for us to meet our neighbors.  Please invite everyone you know.

The Fall Family Fun Fest is a great opportunity for fun and fellowship, and we look forward to seeing you there.

If you have questions, call the church (540-288-0018) or contact Jim Black (jimb@horizonschurch.com).

The Electric Pickle

Don't try this at home!

What is the Electric Pickle?

Well, it's a pickle that is connected to 120v of electricity.  It lights up, much to the delight of all who witness it.

I wanted to share it with you because it is a great example of what the kids are going to be learning in Kids Church over the next couple months.

Throughout the Fall, we're going to be teaching the kids about spiritual fruit.

We began a couple weeks ago by learning that God's Word in us is like a seed.  This past week, the kids discovered that being connected to Jesus causes that seed in us to produce spiritual fruit for all to see (pickle connected to electricity = awesome / us connected to Jesus  = way more awesome).

Over the next couple of weeks, the kids will learn that we need to make that fruit grow by strengthening our relationship with Jesus.  During the months of October & November, the kids will be learning the Fruits of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, & self-control).

As you pray for your kids in the coming months, please pray that they will learn to produce spiritual fruit in their lives.  Most kids are pretty open to accepting Jesus into their lives, but the step from planting the seed to producing fruit is a big one, and it can especially difficult for kids as it can be a pretty abstract concept.

This is going to be an exciting series, and I pray that your children will be changed and will grow spiritually as we finish this year.  Thanks for allowing our Kids Ministry team to be a part of your family's spiritual journey.

Pastor Jim

Only 51 Weeks to the Next Backyard Blast!!

Another week of Backyard Blast has come and gone.  Only about 51 more weeks until we do it again.

We started doing the Backyard Blast a few years back.  At the time, we didn't have a building, and we were looking for a way to reach out to kids during the summer.  When we moved in last year, we decided to keep ministering to kids in backyards, rather than bringing them into our building.

Although there are benefits to having events at the church, there is nothing quite like the Backyard Blast.  Every year, we have kids and parents show up and learn about Jesus all because they heard something exciting going on as they walked past.  My favorite this year was a young family who had just moved to the area that started talking to us through a fence while we were setting up.  They enjoyed it so much that we saw them again the next night.

We haven't finished adding it all up yet, but we had at least 100 different kids who learned about God throughout the week.

So now, while I start planning the next kids event (Basketball Camp, August 9-13), I am so thankful knowing that every ounce of energy that I put into it will be worth it.  If God uses our efforts to change one life, it's all worth it.  He did far more than that last week.  It's honor to have been involved.

Thanks for bringing your family out to be a part of the Backyard Blast last week.  Now we've got about 51 weeks to pray for the next one.  It's going to be amazing.

-Pastor Jim

Summer Transitions

Hey Parents,

Now that school's out, it's time to think about group transitions.  If you have a child that will be moving to a new group (Preschool/age 4-K, Kids Church/1st-6th grade, Youth Group/6th-12 grade), here's all the info and dates you need to know:

• If your child completed Kindergarten and is moving to 1st grade in the Fall, he or she will begin attending our Kids Church on Sunday, July 4.

• If your child completed 5th grade and is moving to 6th grade in the Fall, he or she can begin attending Youth Group in September.  There will be a BBQ in late August to welcome them and introduce them to the other kids.  At Horizons, we consider 6th grade to be a major transition year, and we realize that not all 6th graders make that transition at the same speed.  So, although 6th graders are welcome to be a part of the Youth Group, they are also welcome to remain in the Kids Church.  They can attend either group, or both, based on their comfort level.

• If your child completed 6th grade and is moving to 7th grade in the Fall, he or she can attend Kids Church through the end of August.  Once September begins, they will participate in our Adult Worship service on Sunday mornings.  Beginning in July, your child may start volunteering to be a part of our Ministry Teams.  There are many ways for them to get involved, and many kids have found great fulfillment by joining the Nursery or Preschool teams.

If you have any questions about your child's transition, feel free to contact me by email or at the church office (540-288-0018).

Thanks so much for letting me and my team serve you and your family.

- Pastor Jim

Bad Days

We are starting a new series in Kids Church (1st-6th grade) this week.  We are going to be talking about people in the New Testament whose terrible days were made great by God.

Through this series, the kids are going to learn that God takes care of us, saves us, expects action from us, and is not limited by what we consider possible.

Our new Kids Church series begins this Sunday, June 21.

Encourage the Discouraged

This past Sunday in Kids Church (1st-6th grades), we continued our series called "Imagine". We are learning about Joshua's imaginative leadership and discovering the Promise, Protection, Pathway, Picture and Power that God  provides His people.

This is a video series, brought to us by Kidmo. We try to use video lessons a few times throughout the year to keep things fresh and to give us time to plan creative elements for our live stuff.

This week, the kids learned that God wants us to encourage the discouraged. We learned that it is important to know that God makes pathways for us, and that we need to share that knowledge with our discouraged friends.

In our small groups, we discussed the following questions:

• Why do you think grownups get discouraged?  We talked about things that discourage adults, and that kids can use their imaginations to encourage them.
• Being discouraged is a sign that we've forgotten something.  What is it?  We looked at Psalm 32:8 and talked about what it means to say, "God will make a pathway".
• How can you use your imagination to help you trust God in difficult situations?  The kids were reminded that "It will be okay when God leads the way."  As a group, the kids developed plans for encouraging their discouraged friends.

Memorize It

This past Sunday in Kids Church (1st-6th grades), we continued our series called "Imagine". We are learning about Joshua's imaginative leadership and discovering the Promise, Protection, Pathway, Picture and Power that God  provides His people.

This is a video series, brought to us by Kidmo. We try to use video lessons a few times throughout the year to keep things fresh and to give us time to plan creative elements for our live stuff.

This week, the kids learned that God wants us to know His word. We learned that it is important for us to use God's word to help us make good decisions.

In our small groups, we discussed the following questions:

• Why would we choose to memorize God's word instead of just bringing a Bible everywhere we go?  We talked about things that we have memorized (phone numbers, address, the Pledge of Allegiance, etc.) and how it is sometimes necessary to be able to remember that info in a hurry.
• How can memorizing God's word help protect us from making hurtful choices?  We read 2 Timothy 3:16, and discussed the many uses for God's word.
• How can you develop a game plan to memorize God's word?  We talked about different methods of memorizing verses and encouraged the kids to learn at least one verse this week.

Strong & Courageous

This past Sunday in Kids Church (1st-6th grades), we began a new series called "Imagine". We are learning about Joshua's imaginative leadership and discovering the Promise, Protection, Pathway, Picture and Power that God  provides His people.

This is a video series, brought to us by Kidmo. We try to use video lessons a few times throughout the year to keep things fresh and to give us time to plan creative elements for our live stuff.

This week, the kids learned that God wants us to be strong and courageous. We learned that God wants us to live every day aware that He is right by our sides.

In our small groups, we discussed the following questions:

• How can we be strong and courageous when others make us feel weak?  We talked about times that we felt like giving up because of something someone else said to us.
• Why would God tell us to be strong and courageous?  We read Joshua 1:5-9 as a group and discussed why God would tell Joshua to be strong and courageous so many times.
• Why would we need God's courage?  We talked about reasons someone might become afraid, and how knowing God is with us might change that fear to courage.

Happy Mother's Day!

We here at Horizons' Kids Ministries hope that all of you moms had a great day this past Sunday.  You are all so very awesome!

This past Sunday in Kids Church (1st-6th grade), we concluded our Kids at Work series.  We continued our discussion of the jobs kids do, and how God wants to use them.

In this fifth and final week of our series, we learned that one of their jobs is to be a part of their families.  The kids learned that God wants them to be peacemakers in their homes.  We explained that it the responsibility of everyone in a family to demonstrate love and forgiveness to each other.

We talked about being peacemakers and being the first person to apologize and make things right when conflicts arise.  We told the story of Jacob and Esau, which began with Jacob cheating his brother Esau out of his birthright, and ended with forgiveness and reconciliation.

In our small groups, we discussed the following questions:

• Have you ever had a big fight with a family member?  We talked about some of the conflicts we've had with our family members and the things we did to resolve them.

• Why is it important to make things right?  We talked about the danger of unresolved anger and pain, and came up with examples of ways to make things right when we fight with our families.

• How will you be a peacemaker this week?  We asked the kids to think of a way to deal with some of their common conflicts in peaceful ways.  The kids were encouraged to pray for their families and to ask forgiveness from anyone they've angered this week.

Our verse for this week is Colossians 3:13 - "Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you."

BFF's

This past Sunday in Kids Church (1st-6th grade), we continued our Kids at Work series.  We continued our discussion of the jobs kids do, and how God wants to use them.

In this fourth week of our series, we learned that one of their jobs is to be a good friend.  The kids learned that God wants to use their relationships with friends to show the world His love.  We explained that have the power to have a huge impact on each other.

We talked about being encouragers and letting the joy that comes from knowing Jesus rub off on our friends.

In our small groups, we discussed the following questions:

• Who makes you feel good?  We talked about friends that make a positive impact on our lives, and the things they do to make us feel good/happy/special.

• What does it mean to be an "encourager"?  We talked about spreading the joy of Jesus to others around us.  We listed reasons why kids might need encouragement and we came up with ways to be encouraging in those situations.

• How will you be encouraging this week?  We asked the kids to think of a friend who might need encouragement.  We shared our plans for spreading joy with them.  The kids were encouraged to pray for their friends this week.

Our verse for this week is Proverbs 18:24 - "Some friends don't help, but a true friend is closer than your own family."