Ministry to Children & Families

VBS Lessons for Grown Ups
By Jeannie Lyles

The week of June 8, St. Michael’s Church was underground and under cover; prayer cover that is. Our VBS theme was Paul and the Underground Church in Rome. Our children traveled back in time to a typical Roman market square, worshiped and learned of Jesus in a hidden cave, and even visited Paul in a Roman prison. Many wonderful youth and adults took on rolls as teachers, actors, artisans, and apostles. I’m over 40 years old, but the Lord taught me a great lesson this year at VBS.

Meredith Myers and I were Parent Liaisons. Our sole objective was to assist the parents with any need that arose during the week. We took prayer requests and invited the parents to join us for Bible Study. Together we used the time to study His word and pray as He led us. He taught us that we are called to be either a Proverbs 31 Woman or a Psalm 112 Man. The hallmark of such a person is “fear of the Lord.”

I certainly understand fear, but despite being a Christian since infancy, fear of the Lord, was not a concept that I completely understood. I learned during VBS that “fear” and “fear of the Lord” are two entirely different concepts. Fear of the Lord brings life to the believer, while fear robs us of life. The ultimate fear is eternal death, which is eternal separation from God. Thus, without fear of the Lord, the unbeliever has everything to fear.

The scriptures are clear that each one of us will face a final judgment day. (Hebrews 9:27; Acts 17:30-31; Rev. 20:12) This day may not be pleasant for any of us. I know my heart will grieve when I stand before God and have to account for all that I have and have not done. I need not fear the outcome of the day, however. On that day I will stand with Jesus Christ as my advocate. His righteousness will cover and save me. The unbeliever has only his own righteousness to cover him. He cannot measure up to the righteousness of God, even if he was a good person, a good citizen, or at least better than most people. Thus, that day will surely bring him fear and dread.

Fear of God is something much different. “The believer’s fear is reverence of God… This reverence and awe is the motivating factor for us to surrender to the Creator of the Universe.” http://www.gotquestions.org/fear-God.html Reverence and awe are not part of our daily experience in the twenty-first century western world. In ancient times, they were a way of life. Even a few hundred years ago, royalty inspired reverence and awe. Regular folk fell to their faces, genuflected, bowed and curtsied before a king because he had the power to cast them in prison or behead them. Many kings exercised that power at a whim. I cannot think of anything in our culture that is afforded such regard.

If I want to learn reverence and awe, I need to know God. That means more than just knowing about Him. I can know about someone without ever meeting them. A trip through the grocery check-out aisle, and I know about the celebrities of the day. But knowing about someone and knowing them are as different concepts as are fear and fear of the Lord.

How can I get to know God? I must have a desire to know Him, He must be willing to reveal Himself to me, and I must pay attention and accept what He reveals. God is pleased to reveal Himself to us. He gave us His only Son, Jesus, as the perfect revelation of who He is. When we spend time with Jesus in prayer we listen to what He reveals to us; we reveal our true selves to Him; we examine our hearts, confess and repent; we seek His strength and guidance. Through the scriptures we learn what He has revealed throughout the ages. We deepen our knowledge of our Lord by spending time in His presence enjoying Him in worship, the sacraments, and in the fellowship of Spirit filled Christians. Then we see that He is true to His promises. We learn of His righteousness, majesty and power. We develop “awe and reverence.”

In Isaiah 59, God reveals how much He hates sin. God very clearly lays out what the sin of a believer does to others.God says that my sin is like a spider, weaving webs that ensnare others and laying eggs that hatch vipers. Those who come near, or eat the eggs, die! (Isaiah 59:5) I see that my sin endangers others! God cannot and will not tolerate sin even in the believer. He will discipline those He loves. (Hebrews 12:5-11). As a mother, I know that a loving parent will consistently administer discipline. It is done for the child’s benefit so that the child will remain within the boundaries set by his parents. Those boundaries are for the child’s own good.

Like a child, I fear the Lord’s discipline because I know it will hurt. It definitely draws me closer to Him, but it is painful. I would rather stay close to Him and seek a right relationship, than suffer the discipline. I have also learned that what God calls sin does harm me. His laws are to protect me from the damage that sin causes in my life. These laws also protect the ones I love from the damage my sin will cause in their lives. The word “sin” literally means to miss the target. I find sin in my life is usually the result of aiming at the wrong thing and not the Lord’s goal. I have to stay in prayer and study to be able to know what His goal is for my life and to check if I’m aiming at that target.

Fear of the Lord brings great fruit. We learn that Jesus is the best friend we can ever have. When we see how much He loves us, it is not hard to understand that He wants the best for us. Thus, we experience freedom from fear of anything else. This is true peace. Scripture tells us our peace is found when we dwell in the word of the Lord because it begins to take root and become part of us (Colossians 3:15-16). We learn to fear the Lord by dwelling in His word, but we find peace when His word dwells in us.

The psalmist said it best when he wrote, “Thus I have gazed toward You in the sanctuary to see Your power and glory, for Your love is a greater good than life.” (Psalm 63:3-4)

Fear of the Lord exposes us to the truth: nothing of this earth can compare to Him. His love is great than life!

A Note from a Parent on VBS
My kids had such a wonderful week at VBS this year! I am amazed at how much their little hearts absorbed in just one week about the Lord’s amazing love! On the last day of VBS, as we were leaving, “Paul” charged Margaret and Robert to go and tell the Good News of Jesus Christ to strangers, family, friends, etc. I also think that Martha spoke with the children about this in the cave. A few days later, we were at the Publix buying a plant and the woman working there starting telling Margaret how God made plants to need water, etc. Instantly, Margaret’s eyes got real big and in an excitable voice she exclaimed, “Do you know Jesus?” the woman said “why yes I do!” Margaret said, “Me too!” Then Margaret said, “I want to share with you a verse that I learned from Paul at VBS” (I wasn’t sure what verse she was referring to and felt terrible that I couldn’t help)...she thought about it and then all of a sudden she said, “God’s love changes us!” The woman almost had tears in her eyes and she went on to thank Margaret for reminding her of that promise. Margaret then proceeded to say, “I wanted you to know that!”

I also wanted to share with you what happened during our trip to NYC this weekend with Margaret. My mom took me, Margaret, my sister and nephew for the weekend and Margaret evangelized the entire weekend! It was incredible! She asked one young girl in her 20’s who was working at the Broadway Theatre while we were there at Mary Poppins if she knew Jesus and the girl responded, “Not personally” and Margaret said, “Can I share some verses with you?” She graciously agreed and Margaret proceeded to share the 5 things that she learned at VBS: God’s love saves us, God’s love is eternal, God’s love is everywhere, God’s love is worth sharing and God’s love changes us. The young girl was so touched! Margaret then met another young girl in her 20’s to 30’s who she asked if she knew Jesus and the young girl replied, “Yes I do! and then she said, “Well, I grew up a Christian and used to know him, but ever since I moved here, I don’t really know him as well.” Margaret said “Ohhh! Well, can I share with you some verses that I learned from Paul at VBS?” so Margaret continued to tell her the same verses and then I asked her if I could pray with her and she said “yes!” Margaret and I then prayed with her right then. It was such a blessing. There were 2-3 more times where Margaret boldly and lovingly shared the Good News to this hurting coast and it was amazing how well they received it! She kept on saying that “Paul and Jesus would be so proud!”

This teaching soaked into her little heart and I want to thank all of you for what you put into the VBS week. I also know that our intercessory time of prayer for the kids was powerful and that the Lord heard our prayers for these little hearts to receive all He had for them!

Thank you for coming along side Mike and I in raising our children to have a heart to know and love the Lord. We are blessed to be a part of this St. Michael’s family.
Blessings, Meredith Myers

Who does what?
Schedule for Children’s Ministry Volunteers
God bless you for assisting in this ministry! If you have a schedule conflict, please find a replacement and contact Amy Smith at amy@stmichaelschurch.net with the schedule change. The full summer 2009 schedule is available..

Nursery Monitor Schedule:
Please be prepared to stay on duty through the entire service.
July 5: Team 9: Gruber ; Phillips; Young, McLaurin; Team 1: Sanders ; Shannon; McGowan
July 12: Team 2: Halford ; Greene; Dillon; Team 3: Sanders ; Holman; Saal
July 19: Team 4: Marchant ; Baker; Polon; Team 5: Hart ; Cave; O’Kelley; Hunter
July 26: Team 6: Myers, M & M ; Team 7: Williams ; Temple; Tillman

Little Lambs Worship Service Monitor Schedule
(3-5 yrs in Youth Room):
Please be prepared to stay on duty until all children have been picked up between announcements and communion. The fourth Sunday of each month is a morning prayer service (indicated by *).
July 5: Team 4: Swan; Myers, R & S.; Temple
July 12: Team 5: Mayer; Waring/Byrne; Smith, E & D; Goehring; Hull
July 19: Team 6: Myers, M & M ; Gruber; Burnett; Severance; Smoak; Tillman
*July 26: Team 1: Stuckey ; Hubbell; Young; Turner;

Big Kids Worship Service Monitor Schedule
(1st–5th Grades) in Kinloch Room:
You will return to the service with the children during the announcements. The fourth Sunday of each month is a morning prayer service (indicated by *).
July 5: Dougherty
July 12: Hull
July 19: Gruber
*July 26: Imbus

The Messenger from June 21 & 28, 2009

“Tell Me a Story”
William Bennett, author of The Book of Virtues, explains how simple stories can transform your child’s faith.
Interview by Lisa Jackson, for the study “Use Stories to Pass on the Faith”

In our culture of high-speed Internet, cut-away video, and rapid sound bites, it’s not easy to get kids to sit still for more than a few minutes. But pull out a storybook and even the biggest kid will curl up next to you on the sofa.

Stories are a powerful way to connect with kids. They’re used to pass down a family’s faith from one generation to the next. They’re used to teach morals and values. And sometimes, they’re just plain fun.

William Bennett knows the power of a story. The former United States Secretary of Education, Bennett recently released The Child’s Book of Faith (Random House), a collection of his favorite inspirational stories. The book is a mix of Bible stories, fables, and historical tales, all with one common theme: building a child’s faith. The author of The Book of Virtues and The Moral Compass (both from Simon & Schuster), Bennett knows the importance of strong faith. His books have played a major role in bringing about the current interest in instilling character in children. He currently serves as co-director of Empower America, an organization devoted in part to rebuilding the moral and educational foundation of this country. We recently sat down with Bennett in his Washington, D.C. office to talk about the value of storytelling.

CPT: Why are you drawn to stories as a teaching tool?
Bennett: Believe it or not, the story is really a very theological tool. God created us as very imaginative creatures. When we read the Bible we read a story. The Incarnation is a story: the Word made flesh. The story of Christ is the greatest story ever told. It’s not a matter of coincidence that stories work for us.

A story is life made palpable. We talk about words coming to life, but what really happens is that words give life to life. We can better understand and deal with life when we see it in story form. We live in space and time, and our lives are narratives. And what’s the most important part of that narrative? It’s that climactic moment in our lives when we come to recognize our Creator.

As a dad, I also know that there’s magic to the phrase “Once upon a time.” If you can then follow up with something that will keep a child’s attention and teach them something valuable along the way, you have a successful story.

Jesus told stories to get his point across. Our ancestors told stories to pass on a family’s history. Filmmakers use stories to entertain and enlighten. Storytelling still works today.

How did you determine which stories you’d share in this book?
These stories are a real mixture of the familiar and the unfamiliar. I used stories that have encouraged me, inspired me, touched me. I tried to find things I remember from my own childhood and stories I remember telling my sons, stories that resonated with them and changed their lives. Most importantly, I included stories that echo Christian faith and beliefs and morals, stories that teach truths that we can pass on to future generations.

Some of these stories are pretty deep. How old does a child need to be before he or she can grasp the real meaning of stories like this?
The book is generally aimed at children in the 4- to 9-year-old range, but older children will like these stories, too. I have an 11-year-old and a 16-year old and I’ve tried out an awful lot of my stories on them. I can tell which ones work and which ones don’t just by the way they react. I really wanted this book to be used by families: moms, dads and kids of every age. It’s illustrated and designed so that a child of virtually any age will be drawn to the colors and the beauty of the pages, and eventually to the deeper meanings of the stories themselves.

You’ve also expanded the definition of “faith” stories to go beyond Bible stories. Some are patriotic; some are fables. What’s the glue that binds them together to make them faith-related?

We’re trying to help parents build faith in their children and in doing so, we’ve chosen a variety of genres, choosing highly imaginative, unusual stories as well as some classic tales. Some of the stories in this book are fiction; others are true. But every story in the book is true in the most important sense: They are all morally true. And that’s where a child’s faith rests: in the morals and virtues laid down by his parents. If we can teach our kids about these morals and principles at an early age, we’ve won half the battle.

How did stories like these influence your own life?
I was raised on good, hard virtue. I came from a broken home, and my mother was divorced many times. But I always attended Catholic schools and learned about goodness, doctrine and, again, virtue. I learned to work hard. When I come upon a single mother or an inner-city family just barely making ends meet, I want to tell them, “You can do this.” Remember, with a good moral foundation and a strong faith, today’s kids can make it; they can survive.

You’ve made a second career out of passing on these morality tales. Clearly, parents want and need this kind of help. What are you hoping to do for families with these books?

I want to help parents remember that defilement comes from within. Nothing external can defile you. We live in a fallen world. We can’t hide from the world because we need to be in the world and engaged in that world. We can’t make the world go away or do a whole lot toward making the world safe for our children. Instead, our main task as parents should be to make our children safe for this world by teaching them to make a difference. I like to say, “Curse the darkness and light a candle.” This book is one of my candles.

What steps should we take to make our kids safe for this world?
Our kids need more of us now than they ever have before. Be there for them. We need to insulate them intellectually and morally and most importantly, we need to give them a foundation of faith.

Part of insulating them is to hold them close, at least for a while. Then comes the hard part: knowing when to let them go. But letting them go is a lot easier when you’re confident in your own faith and know that you have instilled that faith in them.

It’s still difficult for parents not to worry about their children.

Of course it is. It’s okay to be a little worried. That’s part of being a good parent. My wife is a good example. She’s in a constant state of attention. Note that I didn’t say “constant state of anxiety,” but rather, attention. She’s constantly aware of what’s going on with our sons, who their teachers are, what kinds of friends they’re hanging out with, what music they’re listening to and videos they’re watching. It’s important that we pay attention to our kids and what they’re doing.

It’s easy for parents to look at the world and see only the negatives. You believe there is hope for future generations to thrive as moral and spiritual “candles.” How do you hold on to that hope?

Here in Washington, I work with a lot of the young people. They come here eager and fresh-faced and with very few exceptions, they are all good kids, the cream of the crop. When you meet the ones who have made it here, it doesn’t take you long to figure out why they’ve made it. They’ve been grounded in faith, morality, and decency. They have parents who loved them enough to teach them values and give them direction. When parents take the time to instill real values in their children, kids can overcome the world.

Join us for St. Michael’s VBS Closing Program
Sunday, June 28th at 9:20 am
Your entire family is invited to attend this special program where we will recap what we learned throughout this fun week. Children and volunteers are asked to wear their St. Michael’s VBS t-shirts (can be worn over “Sunday clothes”). The children will perform the songs that we learned throughout the week. Family members will have an opportunity to meet Paul and some of the other characters from Rome.

Nursery Monitor Schedule:
Please be prepared to stay on duty through the entire service.
June 21: Team 5: Hart ; Cave; O’Kelley; Hunter ;Team 6: Myers, M & M
June 28: Team 7: Williams ; Temple; Tillman; Team 8: Severance ; Smith, A & B; Townsend
July 5: Team 9: Gruber ; Phillips; Young, McLaurin; Team 1: Sanders ; Shannon; McGowan
July 12: Team 2: Halford ; Greene; Dillon; Team 3: Sanders ; Holman; Saal

Little Lambs Worship Service Monitor Schedule
(3-5 yrs in Youth Room):
Please be prepared to stay on duty until all children have been picked up between announcements and communion.
June 21: Team 2: Clowney; McLaurin; Collins, B&R; McKinney
June 28: Team 2: Clowney; McLaurin; Collins, B&R; McKinney
July 5: Team 4: Swan; Myers, R & S.; Temple
July 12: Team 5: Mayer; Waring/Byrne; Smith, E & D; Goehring; Hull

Big Kids Worship Service Monitor Schedule
(1st–5th Grades) in Kinloch Room:
You will return to the service with the children during the announcements.
June 21: Brockinton
June 28: Burnett
July 5: Dougherty
July 12: Hull