July 2014

Religious Freedom

As we celebrate our many freedoms this summer, it’s important to

remember those less fortunate, including those who can’t worship freely. Three

quarters of the world's population lives in areas with severe religious restrictions,

the most persecuted being Christian, according to the Pew Research Center.

Christian persecution is any hostility as a result of one’s identification with

Jesus, from verbal harassment to imprisonment, even violent death. Around the

world, more than 100,000 Christians are murdered each year for their faith, says

the Vatican. Christians are forced to hide their faith in more than 60 countries,

including North Korea, India, and Somalia, but mostly in the Middle East, where

Christianity was born. There, the number of Christians has dropped significantly

even in the past three years, from 25 percent of the population in 2011 to just 10

percent today, says the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Politicians and religious leaders are working to stop violence against

Christians, using legislation, sanctions, and public visits to affect change. Pope

Francis recently made a trip to the Holy Land to draw attention to those

persecuted for their faith.

To learn more how your family can pray for and support efforts to

combat Christian persecution, visit Opendoorsusa.org and Opendoorsca.org.

POWERSOURCE ASK GOD:

1. To fortify world leaders working to

overcome religious persecution.

2. To guide you as you strengthen

your kids’ faith foundation.

3. For opportunities to teach your

kids about the freedom we have

in Jesus.

Growing Kids

In Christ!

TEACHABLE MOMENTS

Hope-Scotch

Here’s a quick game you can play at

home to teach your children how poor

choices weigh us down. Start with a sturdy

backpack, a sack of potatoes, chalk,

25-30 index cards, and pens.

To Prepare: As a family, write positive

and negative choices on the cards, such

as “lying about doing my chores” or

“giving my friend the first turn.” Create a

hopscotch path on your sidewalk or

driveway.

To Play: One at a time, choose a card

from the pile and read it aloud. If your

family decides it’s a good choice, the

person gets to do the hopscotch without

the backpack. If it’s a bad choice, add a

potato to the backpack and wear it while

doing the hopscotch.

When the pack gets too heavy,

discuss how bad choices add up. Talk

about how Jesus’ sacrifice frees us from

the heavy burden and how his love helps

us make good choices.

Our lives are busy. As parents, we want to

prioritize our children. We want to do everything

we can to invest in them relationally, to guide

them developmentally and to help them grow in

their faith in Christ. But it’s just so easy to get

caught up in the urgent day-to-day business of

life.

Parent Cue is a resource that you can use at

home to reinforce what your child is learning at

church! Along with filling you in on our monthly

Bible verse and our weekly Bible lessons, it includes

great "meal time" questions for you to use to keep

the conversation going. Make sure your K-5th

grade child has their God Time paper for the

week also. These are devotional activities just for

them! (God Time papers are passed out each

Sunday at the end of 902 Kids for K-5th graders).

Beginning in July we will send the Parent Cue

via email each Sunday following our 10am

service.

Please let us know if you do not receive your

Parent Cue email, as I may not have your

email address on file.

Abby Chadwick: Children’s Ministry Director

abbychadwick@902church.org

“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set

you free.” —John 8:32

MEDIA MADNESS

MOVIE Title: Planes: Fire & Rescue Genre: Adventure, Animation, Comedy Rating: PG (for adventure action and some peril) Cast: character voices by Dane Cook, Julie Bowen, Corri English, Ed Harris Synopsis: Dusty is a world-famous air racer who learns that his racing days may soon be over. When he joins forc-es with an elite firefighting team includ-ing a veteran rescue helicopter and some brave all-terrain vehicles to battle a massive wildfire, he learns what it means to be a true hero. Our Take: This sequel to Planes from last year does a respectable job in teaching kids that success isn’t about fame but using your gifts to help oth-ers.

MUSIC Artist: Taylor Franklyn Album: Breathe In Artist Info: From Denver, CO, this 23-year-old fearlessly combines electronic dance music with Christian lyrics. Summary: Taylor has reached the Top 100 Electro and Trance singles on Beatport with this release. Our Take: While electronic dance mu-sic has a hint of a negative reputation, its popularity is undeniable among kids. Taylor Franklyn’s Breathe In re-lease has a bright, relaxing beat and features positive lyrics such as this: “If you’re fallen and have nowhere to go…breathe in my lungs and have life ever-lasting.”

Games, Sites & Apps

Mario Kart 8 Players can drive on almost any surface and even upside-down with the new anti-gravity fea-ture in this version, which debuts a market-ing partnership with Mercedes. Kids will love the reliable action in Mario’s world. Rating: E; Wii U

Faithgirlz.com “Being a Faithgirl isn’t about rules and people who lived thousands of years ago,” says the site publisher. “It’s about knowing you’re loved, sharing with oth-ers, and resting in God’s promises.” Find crafts, recipes, devo-tions, blogs, and re-sources for parents.

Word Creativity Kit App This $2.99 iPhone and iPad app encourages creativity with words and pictures. Kids can make virtual books to share with their friends. The app provides random words on the page to jumpstart the creative process. Available in the App Store.

CULTURE & TRENDS

Doing Vs. Watching—Active tasks such as singing or arts and crafts make children happier, ac-cording to Oxford University re-searchers. Tests show that passive activities such as looking at picture books or watching television, don’t contribute to kids’ happiness. (660news.com)

QUICK STATS @#$&*!—New research reveals that boys are more likely to say bad words than girls. That is, except between ages 3 and 4, when girls outpaced the boys not only in fre-quency but also in the depth of their bad-word vocabulary. (mcla.edu) 7.5%—Approximately 1 out of eve-ry 13 children is taking at least one medication for emotional or behav-ioral problems. Doctors are more likely to prescribe these drugs to low-income kids than their peers in higher-income levels. Over half (55 percent) of parents report that these psychiatric medications help their children “a lot.” (foxnews.com; nbcnews.com)

This page is designed to help educate parents and isn’t meant to endorse any movie, music, or product. Our goal is to help

you make informed decisions about what your children watch, read, listen to, and play.

SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY

1 2

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Independence

Day!

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8 9 10 11

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14 15 16 17

18

Blast Off

VBS

19

Blast Off

VBS

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July

Blast Off Vacation Bible School

Friday, July 18th Supper @ 5:30 VBS 6:00-8:30pm & Saturday, July

19th 9:30am -12 noon with lunch and outside fun to follow!

Pre-register now on our website www.902church.org

Click on Family Ministry then Vacation Bible School.

All children 2 years old through 5th Grade are invited to attend!

If you have any questions contact our Children’s Ministry Director,

Abby Chadwick: abbychadwick@902church.org

Week by Week

WEEK 1 | JEREMIAH 29:12

The Bible is better than gold

and it teaches us that God is

always listening.

WEEK 2 | ACTS 2:45

The Bible is better than gold

and it teaches us to share

our stuff.

WEEK 3 | JOHN 3:16

The Bible is better than gold

and it teaches us that Jesus

wants to be my friend forev-

er.

WEEK 4 | PSALM 119:72, NCV

Review our Clubhouse Pirate

Adventure. The Bible is bet-

ter than gold.

Birth ~ 5 years old

In June we began our Clubhouse Pirate

Adventure! Our little ones in 902 Kids have had a

blast dressing up like pirates with the pirate hats

and eye patches. They even have gone on

treasure hunts!

This month as we continue to find treasures

in the Bible, our toddlers and preschoolers will

learn they can talk to God any time, that God

wants them to share their stuff, and that Jesus

wants to be their friend forever. The final week of

our adventure is review week, where they can fill

out their own pirate map with all the symbols

they’ve discovered along the way.

Elementary

Treehouse:

K-5th Grade

We have learned so much about Harmony and Friendship in the month of

June! In July, we will continue to talk about how to practice getting along and

living in harmony with one another.

Our theme verse for July is Proverbs 17:17, NIrV. “A friend loves at all times.

He is there to help when trouble comes.” This verse is a great reminder that

friends aren’t just there for each other when everything is going well. They also

are there to help when life is hard.

On July 6th, we kick off July back in the book of Romans. We know that it’s

not always easy for us to get along with each other. This was also true of the

believers in Rome. In Romans 12:16, Paul tells them that friends accept each

other regardless of their differences. It’s easy to see how different we are from

people around us. God accepts us as we are. When we accept others, we get

to help them see how much God loves them too. Our Bottom Line is: Friends accept each other.

On July 13th, we’ll take a closer look at how friends forgive each other. In

Colossians 3:13, Paul reminds us that God has forgiven us for everything we’ve

ever done wrong! At some point, one of our friends will let us down. We should

let go of what we’re holding against them and forgive them because God

forgave us first. Putting up with each other means we don’t hold on to the things

people might have done to hurt us. When we forgive them, we get to show

them how much God loves them too. Our Bottom Line is: Friends forgive each other.

On July 20th, kids will discover how they can encourage each other. In

1 Thessalonians 5:11, Paul tells the believers that they should build each other up

with how they speak to one another. Basically, friends encourage each other.

We have hope because of Jesus. When we share that hope with others, we can

encourage them to keep going even when life is tough. Our Bottom Line is: Friends encourage each other.

Finally, on July 27th, we’ll wrap up our summer in the book of Hebrews. This

is another letter full of wisdom from God. We will take a look at how friends

worship with each other. The writer of Hebrews talks about this in chapter 10

verses 24 and 25. Life can be hard sometimes. Don’t try to go it alone. When we

are connected to a community of friends who can encourage us and remind us

of God’s love, it makes those times a little easier. We shouldn’t give up meeting

together with our Small Group and friends at church. Encourage each other to

live out loving God and loving others in every single thing you do. Our Bottom

Line is: Friends worship with each other.