PRIZES!!!

We have introduced a new prize system to our kids' church program. They have four ways to earn points that will then go towards earning prizes. They can earn points by:
1. attending kids' church
2. knowing their weekly memory verse
3. bringing an offering
4. bringing a friend

There are different levels of prizes and the kids have the option of spending their points on a small prize or saving up for a bigger prize. The kids seem very excited about this new system and are eager to do as much as they can to earn points. Our goal for this new system is that kids will be excited about coming to church, that they will begin to store up God's word in their hearts and minds, that they will learn the importance of giving back to God, and how exciting it is to share God's good news with everyone. As a bonus the system is also built in a way that the kids will learn patience as they strive to save up their points for the prizes they want.

The kids seem most excited about their memory verses which is encouraging as I truly believe that putting scripture to memory is a useful tool. It provides wise words to lean on in times of struggle or in times of celebration. Even when scripture isn't directly applicable right away it usually comes in handy at some point and the easiest way to access scripture is if we have it in our minds. So the more we get kids to know scripture now the more it will benefit them down the road. Why not make it a challenge in your household and memorize the scriptures alongside your children? Help them to understand what the verses mean and talk about them throughout the week?

This weeks memory verse came from our bible story this week about Jesus raising a man's son back to life, and it is a reminder to us that we don't need to be afraid when Jesus is on our side. He is able to perform miracles and provide for us in ways we don't even know. Here is this weeks verse:

That's all I have for this weeks kids' church news, but I want to remind everyone of the Halloween party we have planned for Saturday night! Come on out in your halloween costume for some indoor trick or treating, crafts and a halloween themed movie. I hope to see you there :)

- Megan

Fear Busters!

Hi everyone,
Sorry I haven't posted in ages... I will get better at that. We had a great summer hear at Cornwall and the Jr. Church kids spent a lot of time coming up with ideas and planning fundraisers to go towards our building fund. For those who don't know we are planning a major renovation project to update our building facilities so that we can better serve our community, and one of the spaces being renovated will be our kids' space.

Now that we are back into school and fall is upon us we are back into doing lesson series. The past few weeks we have been doing a series called FEAR BUSTERS!! That is all about how God helps us bust our fears. We have learned that we can bust our fears through:
- Prayer
- Faith
- Trusting that God is with us
- Courage
- Trust

A couple weeks ago, we did a children's version of Fear Factor. They had to dig for bugs and snakes and eyeballs in some messy concoctions and eat some worms in dirt and get their toes frozen in ice water. There was a lot of laughs and a lot of mess! Here's some photos of what we've been up to:


 
 
 

 



I absolutely love watching your children learn and applying the lessons to their lives. I had the privilege of hanging out with a couple of families one afternoon and we went hiking in the woods where we found a small stream that we decided to stop and play at. The kids decided they wanted to try to jump from one side of the stream to the other but were scared of falling in. This is a short video that came out of that experience:

Halloween is just around the corner and we are planning a Halloween Party!! There will be trick or treating, crafts and a movie (Hotel Transylvania) :) Come on out and bring a friend, Saturday October 27th 6:30-9:00. For more information about that you can check out the church facebook page: @CornwallCCPEI

I think that is all for now, like I said before I will post more regularly so come back to this site to stay up to date on all the fun things happening in Kids Church at Cornwall!

Family Sunday, Easter, and Everything in Between

It's been a while since I've posted so here is a bit of an update. We finished our Dive In! Series where we traveled through the life of Peter and learned what it really means to follow Jesus. On March 18th we our worship leader and I planned out a family Sunday where we had everyone of all ages worshiping and learning together. It was a great service! There was a lot of laughing, a lot of singing, and a LOT of cookies!! Our worship leader chose some familiar upbeat songs so that the children could dance and sing along, we watched a silly video that had a good meaning (I'll share it at the end of this post), our pastor shared a sermon that was simple enough for everyone to understand but still had a great message, and of course there was cookies because what child, or adult doesn't love to have cookies. We also had worksheets for the kids to fill out and color throughout the service with what they were learning and enjoying. We were all amazed at how well the children behaved, so thank you parents for teaching your children well the importance of respect and listening during church.  Last Sunday was palm Sunday and through some last minute planning the children got to take part in an incredible Easter outreach. In the span of a week our church was able to raise enough money and collect enough donations to provide Easter baskets for 45 children and breakfast foods for their 23 families, so on Sunday morning during Jr. Church we let all of the children put the Easter baskets together. They were thrilled that they were able to help out kids in the community who may otherwise not have received anything for Easter. For some it was a tough lesson to leave the basket behind for another child, but most were super excited that they got to be part of making Easter better for so many households. We also talked about palm Sunday, and Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem for his last week. 

This coming week is Easter Sunday and we hope that many people will join us as we learn about what Jesus did for us on the cross and even more excitingly, what happened three days later! 

Here are some snapshots of the past couple weeks and the video that was shared on Family Sunday:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydf4gqjapBE 

Family Sunday

Packing Easter Baskets

Packing Easter Baskets

Some Proud Kids With Their Finished Products

The Rooster Crowed!

In the book of Luke chapter 22: 54-62 we read the account of when Peter denied Jesus, repeatedly. Peter spent a ton of time with Jesus, travelling with him, learning from him, eating with him and now he has just witness him be arrested right in front of him. Peter was scared, upset, mad, and frustrated. He didn't know what was going to happen to his friend, he didn't know what was going to happen to himself, and that led him to make a great mistake. Peter's fear drove him to a place where he lied, he denied ever being acquainted with Jesus. He denied his friend, his brother, his Lord, his Savior! The one who loved him unconditionally and would die for him in a moment, the one who did die for him. Not a moment too soon and the rooster crowed! Just like Jesus told Peter it was going to happen, the rooster crowed right after he denied Jesus for the third time. As soon as the rooster crowed Peter was made aware of what he had done. He was overthrown with shame, disappointment, and regret.

This is what we talked about in Jr. Church on Sunday. We mess up all of the time, and sometimes in the moment we don't realize it, but at some point we always do. There is always a rooster that crows that makes us aware of our mistakes. But thankfully we serve a gracious, forgiving Lord. Peter didn't let his mistake stop him, but instead it pushed him forward. He was able to see the mistake he had made, asked Jesus for forgiveness and then pushed forward with his life where he became the rock on which the church was built. He became one of the greatest preachers/teachers of all time. He was an eye witness to Jesus' ministry, to his death, to his resurrection, to his unfailing and unconditional forgiveness. Peter became a better man after his mistake. Our mistakes don't define us, Jesus does. In Jr. Church we talked about different scenarios and how to make them better if we do something wrong, or how to make the right choice when want to do something wrong. We talked about how the more we know about Jesus, and the more we know Jesus, the more we can be like Jesus. We talked about how because Peter followed Jesus and spent all of his time with him he was able to become like him, and that we could do the same by reading our bibles, praying, going to church, spending time with other people who love Jesus, etc.

I find that every week as I prepare lessons for your children, I am also learning new things, or relearning old things that I have forgotten or chosen to ignore and from this week I am noticing the importance of the rooster's crow. It wasn't before that moment that Peter truly realized what he was doing and I think we find ourselves far too often in that same position. We find ourselves falling into sin without noticing until it's very obvious, until the rooster crows and then we have a choice to make. Do we choose to listen to the warning cry of the rooster and turn from our bad ways or do we continue down a path of destruction ignoring the rooster altogether? I think the more we ignore the rooster's crow the quieter it gets, and the easier it is to ignore the warning signs altogether. Don't quiet your rooster's crow, instead listen to his loud crow and act! Listen to the warning signs and turn to Jesus who will forgive you. That's what I took away from my preparation last week and thought I would share with you.

The memory verses that your kids worked on this week were the same as last week,
Younger kids:
"Come and follow me." Jesus said,
"I will send you out to fish for people."
Mark 1:17

Older kids:

“Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right,
because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you
ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done
to you.  

John 13:12-15

Please take some time to work on these verses with your kids this week, make it a challenge and see

if you can memorize them too. Spend some time worshiping with your kids too, whether it's through

prayer, singing, dancing, reading scripture, serving, etc. spend some intentional time with your children

focusing on God. If you want some music to dance and sing too you can find the worship playlist that

we use in Jr. Church here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW1XM9341lIbwDUQYbJvUVp6n1BUSNNhI

Have a great week!

-Megan

The Big Denial

As we continue to Dive In! to the life of Peter and what it means to follow Jesus we have learned that we aren't always going to get it right. This past Sunday we took a look at the story of when Peter denied Jesus, not once, not twice, but THREE times the night that Jesus was arrested. We talked about how Peter would have felt after doing this, as well as how Jesus would have felt. We discussed how even though Peter messed up it didn't change the way that Jesus saw him. Jesus gave showed Peter grace and forgave him, and that same grace and forgiveness is offered to us every time we mess up.

The kids seem to be doing quite well with their memory work. The little kids have almost all got their verse down pat! But as a reminder and so they can work on it at home this is the verse:

"Come and follow me." Jesus said,
"I will send you out to fish for people."
Mark 1:17

And the older kids' verse is:

“Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right,
because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you
ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done
to you.  

John 13:12-15

Just like last week, I want to encourage you to memorize these verses with your children. It is

important to instill in them now the spiritual disciplines that we want them to carry through life

and having God's word on their minds is one of those disciplines (it will also be good for you).

Your children have come to love the song "My Lighthouse" by Rend Collective. It is a great

worship song and we found a video with actions so that your kids can dance to it. If you would

like to see that video or any of the other worship videos that we share with your children you

can search on youtube: "cornwall church kids" and a playlist called "worship songs with actions"

will come up (I will attach the link at the end of this blog). Teaching your kids to worship and

letting them see you worship is another great experience to share with your kids and singing and

dancing is a fun way to do that.

Check out our playlist here:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW1XM9341lIbwDUQYbJvUVp6n1BUSNNhI

Turn up the music and have some fun singing praises and dancing for God with your children

this week :)

- Megan

Stinky Feet and BARF

It seems as though I skipped a week, sorry about that! But a lot happened this week. I was away over the weekend teaching at Snowball Camp out at Canoe Cove so I wasn't here to teach your kids on Sunday morning, I do however know exactly what they learned about. On Sunday morning your kids continued on with their Dive In! series diving deeper into the life of Peter. This week they talked about the last supper, and when Jesus washed the disciples dirty, stinky feet. They learned that they are free to follow Jesus and that they can do that by serving others.

The memory verse for the younger kids is the same one for the whole series which is:

“Come and follow me,” (motion hands toward self)

Jesus said. (both hands point up)

“I will send you out (walk in place)

to fish for people.” (cup hands around mouth to make a fish face)

Mark 1:17

And the older kids got a new memory verse this week:

After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked,
“Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right,
because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you
ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done
to you.  

John 13:12-15

We want to encourage your children to memorize scripture so that they think of God's word
often and so when they find themselves in difficult situations, or just want some
encouragement they can have these verses to turn to. Memorizing God's word is
something all of us should be doing so that more of our focus is on Him, so I would
encourage you to memorize these verses with your children.

If your children were at Snowball camp this past weekend, then they had the great privilege
of learning about BARF! BARF was a series of lessons that I created based on the life of
Peter (Peter was on my mind already from preparing for Jr. Church each week). BARF
stands for Believe, Accept, Repent, and Follow. We talked about when Peter first believed
in Jesus, when he accepted Jesus as the Son of God, when he repented of his sins and
how Peter followed Jesus. If your kids have been in Jr. Church and attended Snowball
camp then there would have been a bit of overlap with the stories, but the camp lessons
went deeper and took a bit of a different direction. The kids at camp also heard some of my
BARF story as I shared with them when I first believed in Jesus, accepted Jesus, repented
of my sins and how I follow Jesus. We talked about how following Jesus is doing what he
said as well as what he did and how everyday we need to consciously make the decisions
to BARF, to believe, accept, repent and follow, that isn't a one time thing but that everyday
we need to give our lives to Jesus. I told the children that everyone who follows Jesus has
a BARF story, so if you get asked about BARF this week or in the future, that is totally my
fault and I'm not sorry. I hope that you will share your story with your kids and help them to
write their own as God guides them through life.

I hope you have a great week this week and that your kids who were at camp get well
rested (I know I'm tired from those late nights and copious amounts of sugar!).
See you next week!

- Megan

Can You Walk on Water?

On Sunday in Jr. Church we continued with our Dive In! Series, diving further into the life of Peter. Nicolas shared the story from the time that Jesus was walking on water and asked Peter to join him (Matthew 14:22-33). The kids learned about how Peter lost sight of Jesus and started to sink, but that Jesus was there ready to pick him up. We talked about the importance of trusting in Jesus and how he is always there for us. When we asked the kids if they can walk on water they were pretty quick to say that they could, but after some more thinking they realized that they too would probably get scared and that Jesus walking on water was a pretty cool miracle.

The younger kids (preschool and kindergarten) are still working on this memory verse:

“Come and follow me,” (motion hands toward self)
Jesus said. (both hands point up)
“I will send you out (walk in place)
to fish for people.” (cup hands around mouth to make a fish face)
Mark 1:17

But our older kids (grade 1-5) have moved on to this one:

But Jesus, immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." 
"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." 
"Come," he said. 
Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
Matthew 14:27-29

We have put a challenge out to the older kids that if they can memorize 5 memory verses than they will win a small prize, but if they choose, they can go for a larger prize by memorizing 10. We are keeping track using a sticker chart in our classroom which also has my name and Tayte's name so that they can see that we are memorizing the scriptures with them and to encourage them to do better than us.

So what about you? Would you have been able to walk on water when Jesus called to you?

Also a reminder that Canoe Cove Christian Camp's Snowball Camps are coming up the first (Grades 4-6) and second (grades 7-12) weekends in February. You can register online at canoecovechristiancamp.org.

- Megan