Children's Department News
September 6, 2011, 3:22 pm
CrossTraining begins on Wednesday, September 21st!! CrossTraining is for all ages 3 years (as of September 1st of 2011) to adult. The children's classes teach kids a Bible lesson and how it applies to their lives. The evening begins at 6:15 to 6:45 pm with a meal for a suggested donation of $1/person. At 6:45 pm, there will be music in the sanctuary. From 7 to 8 pm, will be the actual CrossTraining teaching time. To register your children for this program, please pickup a registration form at the welcome center or fill it out by following the link
https://westbrookbaptist.ccbchurch.com/w_form_response.php?form_id=85
Registration is not required to attend but is beneficial for ordering material and for class size.
The Fall Festival is scheduled for October 31st from 5 to 8 pm at the Kansas State Fair Grounds!!! There will be games, inflatables, prizes and food. Please plan to attend and invite your friends. If you are interested in volunteering with setup, tear down, or running a booth, please contact me, Shivawn Garcia, at shivawn@crosspointnow.net.
The week's in our current children's series "The Great Race" are just zooming by! Our kids are learning the importance of never giving up and maintaining Godly character.
The children's team is preparing for our next theme "Power Up". We are looking for some items to borrow for the eight week series. If you have any of the following please let me know: video game systems (old, new, broken, all would be useful), pinball machines, hand held games, anything that looks like the inside of a video game, control panels, or arcade games.
Our preschool department is overflowing at both locations. This is an awesome problem to have. We are looking at starting two classrooms at both Hutchinson campuses. In order to do this we will need many more volunteers.
There are many opportunities for service in children's ministry. If you are interested, please contact me. If you have contacted me in the past and I have forgotten, or not responded, please contact me again. If I have sent you a volunteer application and you have not returned it, please send it back and we will work at getting you plugged in.
Uzzah's lesson
July 20, 2011, 11:52 am
Sometimes when reading in God’s Word, I come across something that I think just doesn’t seem fair. That was how I felt about the story of Uzzah in 1 Chronicles 13 and 2 Samuel 6. In case you are unfamiliar with the story, let me try to give you the jest of it.
The Philistines had taken the Ark of God, or God’s dwelling place, but they soon found that they were struck with an outbreak of tumors. So they decided they did not want the Ark because of the anger of the Israelite’s God. (1 Samuel 5&6) The Philistines built a cart to transport the Ark. The Ark ended up being left in Kiriath Jearim at the house of Abinadab for 20 years. God richly blessed Abinadab and his household.
David is now king instead of Saul. Saul had worshipped many false gods, leading Israel to do the same. David has decided that Israel needed God back in His rightful place, being worshipped by Israel as the one true God. David had a team of men bringing the Ark home!! Yay! They were cheering, praising, celebrating when the oxen tripped, the cart began to slip, and Uzzah took a dip to the ground dead! My thought was, “How could God do that? Kill Uzzah? He was trying to worship Him.” Then I took a closer look.
In my closer look, I found disobedience and disobedience has consequences. Take a look with me.
First, as I already mentioned, the Israelites were worshipping the false gods set up by Saul.
Second, they were transporting the Ark on a cart. This not only followed the Philistines example, but went directly against God’s orders found in Number 4. The ark was to be carried on poles to be carried up on the shoulders of the men carrying it, not on a cart drug around by oxen.
Third, the men carrying the Ark were to be Levites. Uzzah was not a Levite (1 Chronicles 15:13).
Fourth, the Ark was not to be touched. (Numbers 4:15)
Fifth, I question the Israelites motives. God had richly blessed Abinadab’s household, were they possibly thinking, what’s in it for me?
So, now I must look at myself.
Have I removed God from His rightful place, as the one true God? Have I set up the asherpole of self, only focusing on what I want, want I need, what I have time for? Have I been enthusiastic and praising God but lacking full obedience? As a Christian, God resides inside of me, am I carrying Him up loud and proud for all the world to see? Or am I dragging Him around in the dirt? Do I just go to God when I want something for me? Am I forgetting His holiness? Disobedience has Consequences. God is just.
July 14, 2011, 2:42 pm
Here it is the week of my birthday. I find myself half way to ninety!! Yikes!! In the last few weeks I have been reminded several times about how God so intricately weaves our lives together with other people. I struggle even now to put my words down. Tears are streaming down my face as I think about years gone by and how many people have touched my life.
I have been very fortunate to be able to say that I have had a personal relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ for over 40 years. It is first and foremost because of Him and His great love for me that I am being shaped and transformed to His image. I am not finished, I am still a work in progress, as long as I stay in the Craftsman’s hand.
The family that I was born into laid the foundation for me to begin my relationship with Jesus. Growing up I regularly attended church, learned to tithe, hid God’s word in my heart, and developed a love for singing praises to Him. It was also at a young age that I began to serve in the nursery of our church. Over the early years of my life I would have to say that by far my parents were my biggest spiritual influence. Thank you Mom and Dad!
As I entered my teenage years, I faced a very big time of trials in my life. Practically everything I knew was changed or challenged. It was during the next ten years that my grandparents, Dillon and Tish Morrow, made their impressions on me. I owe them so much!
There have been so many friends and family members that have loved, guided, supported, prayed for, cried with, and laughed with me over the years. I started to list them out but I know that I would forget some because I have been so richly blessed.
God has given me a wonderful, fun, loving family. I know that they see me at my worst. When I am stressed out, grouchy, or discouraged they are always faithful to ask; “Mom, are you wearing your patch?” I love you Jeff, Aundraya, Alyssa, and Arika!!
I am so thankful for God taking me and working on my rough spots. I am so amazed at His grace towards me. I am nothing apart from Him, and yet He has given me so much. I am 45 this week, and I have already been blessed beyond my years.
Let me hold you
May 25, 2011, 9:56 am
As a children’s pastor, I often see children at the weekend services trying to hold on a little longer to mom or dad. I remember one of my girls standing with their arms in the air saying “let me hold you Mommy”, when she didn’t want me to leave.
Today in my Bible reading I conjured up those feelings of fear and anxiety as I began reading the account in 2 Kings 2 of Elisha and Elijah. Here is a little background.
Elijah was a mighty prophet of God (his story is told in 1 Kings 17 – 2 Kings 2). God had Elijah anoint Elisha as his successor in 1 Kings 19. Now it is time for Elijah to leave Elisha.
Elisha knew it was time for Elijah to leave to go be with God but he couldn’t let him go. He kept walking with him from Gilgal to Bethel to Jericho to the Jordan River. Each step of the way probably thinking about the inevitable, that Elijah was going to leave. Was his refusal to leave Elijah because he hoped to go with him, or fear of being in the role alone? I often find myself afraid to step out or do something alone. Were Elisha’s fears because he was concerned about what others would think or say? That is usually the cause of my inability to go alone.
Elijah knew he had to go and recognized Elisha’s attempts to change or put off the inevitable. Elijah asked what can I do for you? Elisha’s response was a request to inherit Elijah’s role as leader of the prophets of God. Why would he have asked this when he knew from the beginning that he was Elijah’s chosen successor? Maybe he wasn’t so much asking but submitting to his role of prophet alone. Maybe he was saying that he wanted to do a good work for God and realized on his own he couldn’t do it. Whatever the case, God allowed him to see his mentor taken to heaven. This visible display of God’s power and glory confirmed in Elisha that God had chosen him and that he would be used for God’s glory.
Elisha rent his clothes. I don’t think he was showing grief for Elijah leaving but more so showing reference, humility and submission to God. Maybe it symbolized dying to self.
What hard thing or easy thing for God have you been putting off, telling God, “let me hold you”, for fear of self? What have you been relying on a person to help you do rather than trust God to help you do?
It is great when a child takes the risk, goes into the classroom, and finds that mom or dad always come back to get them. It reassures that the child is capable and the parent trustworthy.
Don’t try to figure out God’s plan, just submit to being used. Put your best out there. When God calls you and you submit, God is faithful to complete His work through you. (see Philippians 1:6)