Chill Out! -May 2010!

Depending on when you read this, you're probably either still bundled up against the winter chill or you've shed your winter woolies for cool cottons, bracing yourself against the bite of the wind or basking in the bright, warm sunshine of late spring. Come May, snow days will have become a thing of the past, but many kids (and parents) will still be paying for the pleasure of a day off with an extended school year. Kids and families (and we church volunteers!) will have to dig down deep, grin, and bear it in order to hang in there till summer vacation. What better time to talk about patience?

So that's what 252 Basics is all about in May: Patience, which is waiting until later for what you want now. Here's the lineup:


If you don't wait, it could cost you. Remember what Esau traded away for a bowl of soup because he let his stomach go to his head? (Genesis 25)

Don't get tired of doing the right thing. If only the Israelites had kept on following God instead of the crowd! (Exodus 19; 32)

Don't miss out because you think you can't wait. Have you ever thought about what Joshua and the Israelites would've missed if they hadn't followed God's marching orders? (Joshua 3; 6)

If you don't wait, it could hurt others. There are "gasoline girls" and there are "water boys." Which one are you? (Proverbs 15:18)



And for the fifth week, we'll depart from the norm and focus on a "faith skill," that of prayer:


Take prayer out of the box. Are you in or out of the box when it comes to prayer? (James 5:13; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Romans 8:26)


By Melanie Williams. © 2010 The reThink Group * www.rethinkgroup.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission

Step It Up

Less is more. We're fond of saying that around here. And much of the time, we're more effective living by it. But sometimes MORE is more. Want a voluminous vocabulary? Read more. Want to nail the lines for your part in a sketch? Rehearse more. Want to master the "Cha Cha Slide" (like for January's large group, grades 4-5)? Practice more. You get the drift. And just like you need to lift more if you want bigger biceps, you need to do some things more if you want to know God better, like:

• Read His Book. Can you think of a more foundational, first-step way to get to know Him? Plus, "God has breathed life into all of Scripture. It is useful for teaching us what is true. It is useful for correcting our mistakes. It is useful for making our lives whole again. It is useful for training us to do what is right" (2 Timothy 3:16, NIrV). What better example of the importance of engaging in God's Word than Jesus as a 12-year-old in the temple? (Which happens to be the Bible story for week 1.)
• Remember His words. "By using Scripture, a man of God can be completely prepared to do every good thing" (2 Timothy 3:17, NIrV). Jesus showed us (particularly that time He was tempted in the wilderness) we not only need to (Step 1) read God's Word, we need to (Step 2) memorize it, internalize it, and take it to heart so that we'll be ready for whatever comes our way.
• Talk to Him. "Don't worry about anything. Instead, tell God about everything. Ask and pray. Give thanks to him" (Philippians 4:6, NIrV). To get to know someone and to strengthen your relationship with that person, you have to talk him or her, right? It's the same way with God. You gotta talk to Him. This week (week 3) will help kids better understand Jesus' answer when one of the disciples asked Him how to pray.
• Talk about Him with your friends. "I pray that you will be active in sharing what you believe. Then you will completely understand every good thing we have in Christ" (Philemon 1:6, NIrV). Saying what you believe out loud helps solidify your beliefs. Could this be one reason Jesus asked the disciples, "But who do YOU say I am?" (The story for week 4.)
• Make Him more important than anything. "Worship the Lord your God. He is the only one you should serve" (Deuteronomy 6:13a, NIrV). This week (week 5) we'll be taking a look at what Jesus said about "the widow's mite" and how it helps us to worship the only one we should serve.

These are all priorities and habits -- disciplines -- that can help us (A) get to know God better and (B) grow stronger. Kids need to understand that they don't have to wait till they're older to get to know God; God wants them to start now. He's ready to help them, every step of the way, NOW. So this January, 252 Basics is designed to help kids see how discipline, which is doing what you need to do now so you can grow stronger, can help strengthen their relationship with God.

But that's not all. Because SOMETIMES more IS more. So in addition to helping kids understand and experience discipline as a godly virtue, each week in January will also offer practical experiences in the 5 Faith Skills we think every kid should master:

1. Navigate the Bible (survey and locate)
2. Personalize Scripture (memorize and apply)
3. Dialogue with God (public and private)
4. Articulate faith (share and defend)
5. Worship with your life (praise and give)


So get your shoes on, lace up, and let's step it up.



By Melanie Williams. © 2010 The reThink Group * www.rethinkgroup.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Shake This Planet

What kid can resist it? A fist-sized glass orb filled with water and white particles, enclosing a miniature scene of a favorite vacation spot, Mickey Mouse®, or Christmas. Some play music, some stick to your fridge, others are inflatable yard decorations, but whatever their size or shape, snow globes are fascinating. Maybe it's the appeal of an enclosed world protected from outside danger, or maybe it's the power to really shake things up.

Which is what happened when God sent Jesus to this planet. What is that verse about the world groaning? "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time" (Romans 8:22, NIV). Think about what was going on at the time. For example, slavery was a common and widely accepted practice throughout the ancient world. By the time Jesus was born, one out of three people in the heart of the Roman Empire was a slave. One-third! One of every five people elsewhere on the globe was enslaved. In fact, the Roman economy (among others) was based on slave labor. Some Bible scholars and other historians suggest that the world was nearing a tipping point, that when the enslaved population is greater than the free, civilization becomes unsustainable. But God looked down and shook the planet. "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:6, NIV). He came to set us free, from the most profound slavery, the perfect illustration of God's compassion for us.

So this December, 252 Basics will revolve around Jesus' birth as a perfect example of God's compassion, which is caring enough to do something about someone else's need. Specifically:


Week 1: God saw our need. You have to SEE a need before you can DO anything about it. Compassion requires us to look and see, too. God saw our greatest need. Whose needs do you see?

Week 2: God sent His Son, even though it would cost Him. Compassion costs us something, too. God gave us the greatest gift. What will you give?

Week 3: God gave us hope when He sent us a Savior. Compassion is contagious; it spreads hope. God gave us great news. Who will you tell?

Week 4: God laid bare His great love for us when He gave us Jesus. Compassion demonstrates God's love when we show it for others. God showed the world His love. How will you show the world?


When we work together to show compassion, we can make a difference in this world. So shake it up!

By Melanie Williams. © 2009 The reThink Group * www.rethinkgroup.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Body Building

Geeks. Jocks. Brainiacs. Skaters. The Pretty Committee. Were you a member of one of these crowds? Maybe you carried a membership in THE group, the one that everyone wanted to join. Interesting, isn't it, that no matter how old we are when we join a "club," whether we give it a name or not, that group of people eventually helps us discover who we are or aren't? We discover our likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, how we are similar and how we stand out, whether we belong to that group or need to move on.

But being an individual is more than just discovering how we are like someone else or different from others - at least for believers it is. Being an individual is also about how our heavenly Father designed us to make a difference in this world. After all, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which He prepared beforehand so that we might walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10). God, the master Architect, has a master plan in which He is weaving together all our character traits and experiences in order to shape and mold us into the people He wants us to become, and He's doing this with each of us, twining our lives together in ways that are intricate, beautiful, and mind-boggling.

So in October we'll be talking about individuality, discovering who you are meant to be so you can make a difference. We'll introduce kids to some not-so-well-known individuals, each of whom made a difference in the lives of people around them:

Week 1: THE Onesimus because when you belong to God, you can make a difference.

Week 2: THE Epaphroditus because when you take care of others, you can make a difference.

Week 3: THE Dorcas because when you use what you have to help others, you can make a difference.

And we'll wrap up the month with a look at some verses in 1 Corinthians about how we're one body with many parts: when you do your part, you can make a difference.

* Excerpted and adapted from 252 Basics Editor's Notes*

Do You Feel the Luuuv?

How does that Beatles' song go? "All you need is love ..." When you think about it, just about everything we do with or for others boils down to love. Which, of course, doesn't come as a surprise to God-followers, the Creator of love. He IS love, after all (1 John 4:16), and the reason we can love at all: because He loved us first (1 John 4:19). Jesus said THE most important commandment is to love God and to love Him with all we've got. When we do that, we'll love others--the second most important commandment. The second most important, yes, but so closely aligned with the first that it's impossible to split the two. John put it this way: "If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen ... Whoever loves God must also love his brother" (1 John 4:20-21, NIV). And so on that one "peg" (love God/love others) hang ALL the commandments--the 10 Commandments, the Mosaic Law, and the 600 or so laws the Pharisees added to it.

So in August, we will focus on love, which is choosing to give someone your time and friendship no matter what. We'll begin with the time the Pharisees got their heads together in an attempt to trick Jesus and His reply (which also happens to be our memory verse for the month, Matthew 22:37-39). When you love God, you'll love others.

The second week of August will be all about what takes "first place" and the fact that when you love others, you give them your time, as Jesus pointed out when He visited Mary and Martha (Luke 10).

In week 3, everything will revolve around Jesus' parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15): When you love others, you're quick to forgive.

Week 4 we'll focus on what Jesus told Peter after His resurrection (John 21). When you love Jesus, you'll treat others the way He does.

In week 5, we'll depart from the norm and examine a "faith skill," the faith skill of prayer (dialoguing with God, both public and private). Jesus modeled all kinds of principles about prayer for us. But ultimately, He showed us that talking to God changes things.

Letting Go

Buckets are a fantastic invention. Simple genius, really. There's almost no end to what you can put in a bucket: big or little things, a lot or a few things, good or bad things. There's no doubt buckets are useful. But what goes IN the bucket is key. We tend to put things in buckets that are important to us. Things that we don't want to let go of, burdensome things, as often as not, like pain, hurt, disappointment, and disillusionment. And we tend to accumulate those things, adding them to the bucket until we need a bigger bucket or multiple buckets. We may even dedicate our buckets, labeling them with people's names, especially if they keep on doing us wrong.

Eventually we are trapped, weighed down emotionally by buckets we can't seem to let go of. We can't move on, enjoying relationships to their fullest and participating with both hands in enjoyable and worthwhile activities, till we let go of the bucket, till we forgive. Forgiveness is all about letting go of the bucket. It may have to be done on a gradual basis, even intentionally done every day. But when you let go of your bucket, you are then free to jump in with both hands and feet and live as God intended!

So this month, we'll be focusing on forgiveness, which is deciding that someone who has wronged you doesn't have to pay. We'll start off with Jesus' parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18): since God forgives you, you should forgive others.

Week 2 is all about Jesus and Zacchaeus (Luke 19) and the fact that when people are forgiven, it can change them.

In week 3 we'll be talking about getting even God's way and what Joseph did when faced with the opportunity for revenge (Genesis 45). When you want to get even, do the opposite.

And we'll end the month with "go first," what Jesus said about forgiveness in Matthew 5: don't wait to start making things right with others.

- 252 Basics Editors Notes

Clue

By faith, Noah built a ship ...

By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God's call ...

By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant ...

By an act of faith, Moses' parents hid him ...

By an act of faith, Israel walked through the Red Sea ...
(Hebrews 11:7,8,11,23,29, The Message)

Don't you love hearing these stories? What is it about the faith of our fathers and mothers that grips us, even after all these years? Is it the adventure that appeals? The risks and thrills involved in not being able to see around the next corner?

For we live by believing and not by seeing. (2 Corinthians 5:7, NLT)

Do we wonder if we could do that?

The simple truth is that if you had a mere kernel of faith, a poppy seed, say, you would tell this mountain, "Move!" and it would move. There is nothing you wouldn't be able to tackle. (Matthew 17:20, The Message)

Is it that we long for an extraordinary life, one fueled by trust that would astonish even Jesus?

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was followinghim, he said, "I tell you, I haven't seen faith like this in all Israel!" (Luke 7:9, NLT)

Whatever the broad appeal of these stories, faith is, by nature, individual. Each of us chooses to put our faith in something, whether it's financial security, people around us, or our own abilities. But there's only one place where our faith is safely "deposited": in our Heavenly Father. Jesus showed us this again and again. He did it when He taught us to look for everyday evidence of God's faithfulness in the world around us. He did it when He revealed His identity and power through His miracles. He did it when He encouraged His followers to be His witnesses, to tell what they'd seen and heard Him do. He did it when He gave Himself for our salvation.

So, in June, we'll be taking a look at what Jesus taught about faith: trusting in what you can't see because of what you can see. Everything around us is evidence, not just that God exists, but that He's at work in our lives and we don't have to live a life of worry and fear. We just have to know where to look, how to spot the clues, and how to collect the evidence.

Week 1: You can believe in a God you can't see because you can see what God has made.
(The birds of the air - Matthew 6)

Week 2: When you see what Jesus can do, it helps you face your fears.
(Peter walks on the water - Matthew 14)

Week 3: When you hear what Jesus has done, it helps you believe who Jesus is.
(Jesus and John the Baptist - Luke 7)

Week 4: When you believe in who Jesus is, you'll live with God forever.
(Jesus teaches Nicodemus - John 3)

Copied from 252 Basics, Leaders Notes, June 2009