12-2-22 This Week in Faith
/For Kids in November
Parents Morning Out THIS Saturday, December 10, 2022 from 9AM - 1PM - Faith members and regular attendees can drop off children ages infant through 8th grade at church to practice their performance for Sunday morning and enjoy Christmas games and crafts. This is the only full rehearsal for the Christmas Play on Sunday morning, so it is important for your kiddos to be there! (Due to limited resources, this particular event is not open to the public.) $5 suggested participation fee per family. Snacks and lunch will be provided. RSVP is required, so click here to sign your kids up!
Sunday School EVERY Sunday Sundays from 9:45AM-10:45AM There are classes for 5th grade and under. Check in at the desk in the foyer. This month we are studying:
Dec. 4 & 18 we will talk about Advent. There is NO Sunday school on Dec. 11 [Christmas program] & 25 [Christmas Day].
Children’s Church [8:30AM Service] Children’s Church is available during the 8:30AM service. There’s a kids message in both services. 2nd grade and under will be invited to leave for Children’s Church after that in the 8:30AM service.
* We also have a new Children’s Bulletin that is ideal for 3rd-5th graders. It incorporates the worship bulletin but helps kids track through the service, stay engaged, and worship more fully with us. Look for it on the way into the sanctuary with the other bulletins.
For Students in November
High School Progressive Dinner [5-9PM]- Meet at the church for a fun night of games, food, and a white elephant gift exchange [bring a wrapped $5 or less gift].
Wednesday Nights for Middle School [6-8PM] This Wednesday night will be our last small groups of 2022. Our Christmas Party is Wednesday Dec. 14. We’ll have food, games, and a white elephant gift exchange [bring a wrapped $5 or less gift]. CLICK HERE if you want to help bring some food.
Sunday Nights for High School [6-8PM] This Sunday we will talk about advent and go out to eat at Barberitos on Epps Bridge after.
Sunday School [9:45AM-10:45AM] Students are serving in a kids Sunday school class, attending the MS class [Understanding the Faith] or attending the HS class [New City Catechism]. Serve once a month in Children’s church during the early service. CLICK HERE to sign up to serve.
For Parents in November
Parents Morning Out THIS Saturday, December 10, 2022 from 9AM - 1PM - Faith members and regular attendees can drop off children ages infant through 8th grade at church to practice their performance for Sunday morning and enjoy Christmas games and crafts. This is the only full rehearsal for the Christmas Play on Sunday morning, so it is important for your kiddos to be there! (Due to limited resources, this particular event is not open to the public.) $5 suggested participation fee per family. Snacks and lunch will be provided. RSVP is required, so click here to sign your kids up!
Faith’s Holiday Guide This guide is full of opportunities to serve in our church and community, resources to help your family worship this Advent season, and a full schedule for the rest of the year. CLICK HERE to see the guide online.
Advent Resources Check out the resources on the welcome desk at the entrance to The Grove for ideas on adult and family advent devotionals, books to read with your kids about Thanksgiving/ Christmas, and more. Advent began this past Sunday but its not too late to start!
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Keep an eye out soon for a Christmas gift idea post of Bibles and books for your kids of any age!
For the Burdened Parent of College-Aged and Young Adult Children
I know the title says this is for parents of college-aged kids and older but it’s really for every parent. We all struggle with worry and uncertainty over what is going on in the hearts and lives of our kids. And we all have hopes and desires for our kids that we have no ability to actually produce in their lives. BUT…we have something better. We have a God who can produce his good plan for the life and is actively at work to do it right now because he loves our kids even more than we do. So be encouraged by the reminders of God’s promises to us in this article and find rest for your worried-about-your-kids heart in a savior, Jesus, who loves you too!
Click here to read the article by Kristen Hatton.
25 Tiny Ways to Welcome Kids at Church
It can be so easy to overlook the youngest ones in our church family. We focus on adults and older kids and assume the younger kids will come because they have to. But we have the opportunity, from an early age, to communicate to the kids in our church that God loves them, they belong in our church, and we are excited to have them as a part of our church family. This kind of foundation- a sense of belonging in God’s church- points them to Jesus and communicates his love for them. This is a great list of little practices that can go a long way in the life of our church and in their little hearts.
Click here to read the article by Megan Hill.
Protecting Your Teenagers Online
This is an incredibly helpful article, both in the way he frames the importance of protecting your kids online and in the practical ways we can do it. His 3 levels of protection are a great way to think about what’s most important in this process. This is an area I feel like we’ve been struggling with in our home recently and this was a helpful guide for me to start thinking about what to change and how. In the same way that you will probably buy a protection plan for whatever technology you give your kids this Christmas to protect it from physical damage, consider what you are doing to protect their hearts from the damage that can be caused by that same technology.
Click here to read the article by Kristopher Schaal.
The Common Rule Advent Edition
There are some great ideas and conversation starters on this advent resource page. We used A Christmas Morning Liturgy last year before we opened presents and it was a lot of fun. There are also ideas for hosting Christmas parties for your neighbors, personal advent practices, and more.
Click here to see all of the advent resources from Justin Whitmel Earley.
VIDEO: Christmas According to Kids
It’s not Christmas without this hilarious video of kids telling the Christmas story. We quote this video in our family all year long and it’s time to start watching it again. Enjoy!
