​Hi Wonderful Parents!

This week our lesson is about Solomon...his request for wisdom and the 
first example of that wisdom. Our passage is 1 Kings 2:1-4 and 3:3-28.
In chapter 2 David charges Solomon to follow all of Gods rules and 
reminds him of God's promise to keep David's family on the throne.

In chapter 3 we are told that Solomon showed his love to God by 
following His rules. Solomon went to Gibeon to sacrifice to God (the 
Israelites were not to do this anywhere but Jerusalem yet God seems to 
overlook this and many Israelites did this...it was a kind of middle 
ground between idol worship done by other nations on high ground and 
worshiping the True God.) God appears to Solomon in a dream and tells 
him to ask for whatever he wants (notice God doesn't say He will give it 
to him but I'm sure God knew his answer). Solomon asks for wisdom to 
rule God's people wisely and God blesses him with more. Then we are 
shown Solomon's wisdom when he settles a dispute between two mothers.

Please read and discuss these verses with your children and teach them 
God' love. We will use this story to show the youngest ones that God 
teaches us. We will show the older kids that God gives us wisdom.

May God bless you week in a special way!
Mr. Chuck

Happy Monday Dear Parents!

I was blessed yesterday!
First...just about every 'kid' was at church and came down for our classes. It is so nice to see so many chairs filled with smiling faces!
Second...the kids taught ME something and I'm kind of ashamed to say so. The morning started great. I loved the worship service and the songs we sang. I even liked the Hebrew lyrics we learned (though I was disappointed at first to hear our language may not be the language we speak in heaven...silly me). Kids are cool because they will show love so easily. If you treat them right...being kind, listening, giving them attention...they return that love 100 times over. A couple of the younger ones came over to hold my hand and be near me while we were singing. It seemed they were so happy to be next to me. They were smiling and hanging on tight. Simply put I felt loved and it made me feel good. That's what I love about children...they lack some of the social inhibitions we have learned over the years (especially introverted me). Then I felt God's hand on my shoulder. He said, "Chuck...notice the children. That's how I want to be worshiped; with hearts filled with love and overflowing with joy." Do you feel like reaching out and grabbing God's hand when you are worshiping Him? Do you want to throw your arms around Him and squeeze as hard as you can? Are you 'on cloud 9' because you are in His presence? I'm sure it will be like that in heaven and I can't wait for that time. I want to worship Jesus like that now! 

Thanks for letting me share that, and thanks for sharing your kids with me. They teach me so many things. In fact it was so nice to see all the kindness (the topic of our lesson) all around. I saw examples of kindness  everywhere I looked.

Our lesson this week is about sin and what we do about it. The lesson title is "God Forgives David" and the focus is that God wants us to repent when we sin. Repent is a big word for kids. It's more than saying you're sorry. It's a heart felt awareness that you have done something wrong that hurt someone else with a desire not to do it again. It is not saying your sorry because you got caught and are told to apologize.

David sinned what we would call some very bad sins. But sin is sin. All sin hurts God and separates us from Him. It's the darkness in our hearts that makes it hard to see and feel God's love for His love never ends, never diminishes. We like to justify our sins, especially the ones we like most (they are the ones that cause us the most grief but the same ones we keep repeating over and over). David was a sinner too. He was married to a woman whose husband he had killed after having an affair with her. Some how he was justifying all this as God had to send Nathan to help him understand what he had done wrong...adultery and murder. David's actions cost him dearly but God's love and forgiveness never stopped. When David realized he had offended God He was heart broken and wrote a beautiful psalm. David repented...he realized he had hurt God and he wanted to restore his relationship with God.

The text for our lesson is 2 Samuel 12:1-7 and Psalm 51:1-12. You will find the story of David, Bathsheba and Uriah in 2 Samuel 11. Please read and discuss these verses as you feel appropriate with your children and help them begin to understand God's love for sinners (that's all of us) and His hope that we will repent. It is also a good time to help them understand the difference between forgiveness (an act done by the one offended) and repentance (an act done by the offender). I don't have my lesson planned yet but think I will be touching on the sin David committed. I'm not sure How God wants me to do this yet but I know I need to be sensitive to the details but also help the kids understand what David did was so wrong. Yet God never stopped loving David and never stopped called him a man after His own heart. 

One of the very best things about God is that it does not matter how heinous our sin is, He forgets all about it once we accept Jesus as our Savior.

Blessings!
Mr. Chuck

Hi Parents!

A new king did not treat the family of the old king very kindly, in 
fact, there was usually torture and death involved. David did not treat 
Saul's family this way. David asked if there was anyone in Saul's family 
to whom he could show kindness. This led to Mephiboseth, one of 
Jonathan's sons. Read 2 Samuel chapter 9 with your family and find out 
more about this story.

Our King is a very kind King. So kind He sent His own Son to save us 
from our biggest enemy...SIN. David knew His God was a kind God and he 
knew he should reflect that kindness. For the youngest class, the lesson 
is "God helps us be kind." for the other 2 groups it is "Being kind 
honors God and others." This story about David is a wonderful example of 
this.

Have a great week!
Mr. Chuck

Happy Monday Dear Parents! ​

The people wanted to be just like all the other nations...they wanted a king. God tries to persuade them not to go down this trail but they insist. Saul is chosen and soon disobeys God.
Young David is anointed as the next king, but God isn't done with Saul yet. David knows God's timing is perfect and even though Saul is hunting him down to kill him, David spares his life. When God is ready to make David king...He will. David does not take things into his own hands like Saul did many times. David relies on God's timing and eventually Saul dies in battle. There is still trouble in the land as Saul's House tries to maintain rule. David becomes king over Judah and about 7 1/2 years later will become king over all Israel.

Our lesson is about David becoming King and the way he relied on God to bring His plan together. That is so unlike me. I want things my way now. That is like Israel was when they demanded a king in rebellion against God. The passages for our lesson are 2 Samuel 5:1-5 (this is when David becomes king over all Israel) and Psalm 37 which is written by David and talks about trusting God and being patient as he waits for God to act. This is a wonderful Psalm to teach our kids.

Vs 3...trust in the Lord and do good
Vs 4...delight in the Lord
Vs 5...commit your way to the Lord
Vs 7...wait patiently for the Lord
Vs 9...hope in the Lord

Please read our verses as a family and begin to discuss their impact on our lives.

I will bring the kids up to speed on David (give them context). The easiest way to do this is to scan 1 Samuel. I looked at the headings throughout the book. It refreshed my memory which is a good thing!

I am SOOOO excited to send time with your children again. Please pray each week that God will use the teachers and me to help the kids learn what HE wants them to learn and that we encourage the kids to love God.

God Bless you all! Enjoy this week.
Mr. Chuck