Happy Together

In this week’s biblical principle, Paul teaches the Galatians to serve each other (Galatians 5:13b). He instructs the believers to use their new God-given freedom to care for the poor, widows, orphans, and others in need.

Our Bottom Line is: friends serve one another. When we get to spend time with our friends, we can serve them by thinking about what they would like to do, eating snacks they would like to eat, and looking for ways to help them.

The monthly memory verse is: “A friend loves at all times. He is there to help when trouble comes.” (Proverbs 17:17, NIrV) The reason we look for ways to serve our friends is because we love them. Jesus showed us that loving our friends means serving them any time we get the chance. And many times, we can add new friends by serving people we might not consider to be our best friends.

Tips for Helping Kids Survive Tragedy

When tragedy strikes, children respond in a variety of different ways. If your child has experienced any sort of loss, it’s important to help that child through the grieving process. True, there’s a big difference between being jilted by a boyfriend or girlfriend and sorting out feelings after a school shooting or a terrorist attack. But the process itself remains fairly consistent.

 

1. Allow your children to acknowledge the crisis. This may not take very long – or it may go on for weeks, depending on the event. But the first step in helping a child work through the grieving process is to encourage them to admit there’s a reason for grieving. This may be a bit unsettling to some kids. They like a sense of consistency and order in their lives. Help them to take ownership of the change.

2. Shelter your kids from graphic video and pictures. In our "24/7 live" news coverage from around the world, be aware that the graphic, often disturbing video and pictures - don't have to be part of conveying the "news" of what's happening to your children. My advice is that when tragic events occur – especially in the immediate aftermath – keep the television news programs off when your kids are around.

3. Give them the opportunity to respond to how they feel about the change. Kids are very creative in finding ways to express pain and grief. Encourage the use of the arts and music in particular. A poem about the event or how they feel about the aftermath can let the healing begin to flow in the life of a young person who can’t really put into words what’s happening in the hearts at that moment.

4. Reassure your kids - as best you can. Since we don't have control over natural disasters, or senseless acts of terror and violence, as parents, we shouldn't promise a child that we will protect them from any harm that such an event may bring. Our job here is to reassure them as best we can. If kids are worried about being caught up in a tragic event, we can tell them how unlikely it is to happen. And, of course, we can tell them, "Mom and Dad will do everything we can to always make sure you are safe from harm."

5. Don’t underestimate your kids’ spiritual depth. If you’ve ever wondered about what your children think about God or faith in Christ, you’ll probably find out in the wake of a crisis or trauma. Be prepared for questions about life and beyond you may never have heard from your child before. Kids really do want to talk about theological issues. Sometimes it takes a crisis to bring those questions to the forefront. Be ready—and don’t be surprised!

6. Do get the help they need. If you don’t have the answers to their questions, find someone who does. Be the grown-up and get the information. Put your pride on the shelf if you must. Your own self-esteem won’t be worth too much if it costs you credibility with your own child.

7. Give your kids something tangible to hold on to. My good friends John and Becky Hart serve a church in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. Their church is literally within eyeshot of what used to be the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in New York City. They saw and heard the 9/11 attacks from their neighborhood, and lost a couple of church members in the attacks. In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, Becky noticed the comfort her own daughter found in a small anchor she had given her. It served as a symbol that her faith in Jesus Christ was her anchor in the midst of the storm that resulted because of the terrorist actions. Crosses, doves, anchors and eagles all serve to remind us that we have a Friend like no other who will never leave us in times of trouble.

Remember the hope that lies in each one of us who believe in Jesus Christ and trust in His Name. Your kids will feel better about surviving a crisis when they see the confidence of God in you!

• Tuesday, April 16th, 2013
• Author: Jim Burns, Ph.D.
• www.HomeWord.com

The Write Stuff

In RiverKidz yesterday, our biblical principle comes from 1 Thessalonians 5:11a. Paul wrote these words to instruct his friends in Thessalonica to give each other hope, even though they faced persecution for their belief in Jesus.

Our Bottom Line or our main point is: Friends encourage one another. It’s important for friends to encourage each other with positive words; to cheer each other on when we’re tired or hurt.

Our memory verse is -->

“A friend loves at all times. He is there to help when trouble comes.” Proverbs 17:17, NIrV

Stuck Like Glue

At Jesus’ final meal, He spoke with His disciples about what it meant to have a lasting friendship with Him. He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13, NIV)

Days later, Jesus allowed Himself to be crucified on a cross to take the punishment for our sins, setting the example for ultimate friendship. But Jesus demonstrated friendship throughout His life. He walked alongside His friends. He helped their hurts. He never shied away from discussing important topics. He surprised them with acts of service.

Friendship is spending time with someone you trust and enjoy. Just as Jesus spent time with His friends so they could get to know Him better, we can build trust and have fun with our friends as we spend time with them.

But we often take friendship for granted. We have friend requests on Facebook and conversations through email that make us feel hyper-connected with anyone on the other side of the Internet connection. However, real friends are Stuck Like Glue and won’t let go when times get tough.
The monthly memory verse is: “A friend loves at all times. He is there to help when trouble comes.” (Proverbs 17:17 NIrV). Everyone needs encouragement, especially in tough times. A friend will be ready with helpful words and simple actions to strengthen his friends.

In Week One’s Bible story, Paul writes to the believers in Rome teaching them about accepting one another (Romans 14:13; 15:7; Acts 9). Our Bottom Line is: Friends accept one another. Even if someone has different interests than us, has a different background, or makes a bad choice, we can still accept and help them.

All the Small Things

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In this week’s Bible story, Zacchaeus was a thief and considered a traitor to his people (Luke 19:1-10) when he met Jesus. When Zacchaeus trusted Jesus, he decided to change to an honest life. But to earn his community’s trust, he had to make things right by repaying everything he had stolen, and then some.

When we admit we have not been truthful, we can earn back others’ trust. Our Bottom Line is: when you are truthful and make things right, you build trust. So often we think it’s going to pay to tell a lie and cost to tell the truth, but really it often costs to tell a lie and pays to tell the truth.

Our memory verse this month is: “An honest person has respect for the Lord.” Proverbs 14:2a, NIrV Often our relationship with God helps us realize the areas in our life where we need more honesty. Apologizing to others and working to make things right not only builds trust with others, it shows our respect for God.

I’ve Got Truth Under My Skin

In our Bible story this week we meet Gehazi, Elisha’s trusted servant (2 Kings 5). When Elisha helps a high-ranking official, but will not accept payment, Gehazi lies to receive valuable gifts from the official. Then, when Elisha asks Gehazi about the gifts, he lies again to cover it up. Since Gehazi can no longer be trusted, he loses his health and the gifts he wanted so badly.

Our Bottom Line is: when you are not truthful, you lose trust. If we consistently use words that aren’t honest, people start to doubt if any of our words are true. When they doubt our words, it’s difficult to gain their trust. Honesty is also about living truthfully and acting on what we say.

Our memory verse this month is: “An honest person has respect for the Lord.” Proverbs 14:2a, NIrV. A person who respects God uses truthful words, keeps their promises, and follows through with what they say. They earn the trust of others. Truthful words build stronger relationships with others and with God.

Moment of Truth

God told Abraham that he would be the father of a great nation of people and He did. God told the Israelites that He would provide for them in the desert and He did. God told Joshua that the wall of Jericho would fall if the people marched around it for seven days and it did. God told Mary that she would have a baby boy—she did.

Jesus said He would die and rise again three days later—He did!

Honesty is important because it builds trust. Honesty is choosing to be truthful in whatever you say and do. What God says is true; He has shown us that time and time again. And that’s one of the reasons we know we can trust God.

But the same should be true in our own lives. If we want other people to trust us, we need to live honest lives. When we tell the truth and we follow through with our promises, other people learn to trust us. But when we cover up who we are, what we’ve done, or we constantly break our promises, then the people around us stop trusting us. They begin to wonder if, in the Moment of Truth, can you be trusted?

The monthly memory verse is: “An honest person has respect for the Lord,” Proverbs 14:2a, NIrV. Living a life of honesty shows that we respect God and the people we care about. We can find a way to be truthful and still careful of the feelings of those we care about.

The Negotiator

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In Sunday's RiverKidz Bible story, Abigail intervenes (1 Samuel 25:1-35) when her husband picks a fight with David. Abigail immediately knew what was happening and made a plan to present gifts to David and calm his anger. Her quick action promoted peace between the two men.

Our Bottom Line is: prove you care about others by being part of the solution. Peace is sometimes about stopping an argument before it can escalate into something worse. Creating peace between two other people will take time and energy.

Our memory verse this month is: “So let us do all we can to live in peace. And let us work hard to build each other up.” Romans 14:19, NIrV When friends are fighting, do all you can to encourage peace between them. Avoid gossip and taking sides. Help them find a peaceable solution so everyone can remain friends.

 

Get Messy: It is Worth the Risk.

This month in RiverKidz we are talking about "Get Messy."

When sin entered God’s Magnificent Paradise, our relationship with Him was broken. God’s love for us was so great that He was willing to sacrifice to restore the relationship. God proved He cared about peace when He sent His Son to pay for our sins.

Peace is part of God’s character. And He wants us to reflect peace in our relationships with others. Peace is proving you care more about each other than about winning an argument.

Peace is more than just “not fighting” and saying the right things to keep people happy. Peace is living in a way that shows you care more about others than about being right. It’s about building strong relationships through mutual trust.

The monthly memory verse is: So let us do all we can to live in peace and let us work hard to build each other up, Romans 14:19, NIrV. That is exactly what God did for us when He sent Jesus to make peace with us. Peace cost Him something great, but out of His love for us, He gave His all.

In yesterday's Bible story, Isaac dug wells in his new land (Genesis 26:16-22, 26-31). When his new neighbors argued with him, he had every right to stay and fight but chose to walk away. Our Bottom Line is: Prove you care about others by walking away from a fight. Often, it takes a stronger person to have the self-control to walk away.