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Psalm 51

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hello again! This Psalm was a song written by David after he killed Uriah and married Uriah’s wife Bathsheba. His heart was not obeying God. God was not happy and He sent His prophet Nathan to tell David to ask God to forgive him.

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1 Have mercy on me, O God,
    because of your unfailing love.
Because of your great compassion,
    blot out the stain of my sins.

2 Wash me clean from my guilt.
    Make me perfectly clean from my sin.

3 For I recognize my disobedience;
    it haunts me day and night.

4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
    I have done what is evil in your sight.
You will be proved right in what you say,
    and your judgment against me is fair.

5 For I was born a sinner—
    yes, from the moment i started growing in my mother’s belly.

6 But you desire honesty,
    teaching me wisdom from the beginning.

7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Oh, give me back my joy again;
    you have broken me—
    now let me rejoice.

9 Don’t keep looking at my sins.
    Remove the stain of my guilt.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.
    Renew a loyal spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence,
    and don’t take your Spirit from me.

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and make me willing to obey you.

13 Then I will teach your ways to others,
    and they will return to you.
14 Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves;
    then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness.

15 Unseal my lips, O Lord,
    that my mouth may praise you.

16 You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one.
You do not want a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit.
You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

18 Look with favor on Zion and help her;
rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—
with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.
Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.

 

Back before Jesus, people would make a sacrifice when they did something bad. They would find the best sheep they could. Then they would kill it and give it to God. (This was partly because that was one of the most important things to the people back then. The best sheep got them the most money. They could eat the animals or sell them. They were very important. To give them to God meant God was the MOST important.) God would see the blood from the best animal and forgive the people for what they had done wrong.

(When Jesus came, He was God’s own perfect son and He died as a sacrifice too on the cross. Instead of an animal, He was the PERFECT sacrifice because He never sinned…He was the “spotless lamb.” Once He died, we never had to sacrifice animals again. God will forever look on Jesus dying and see that He took away our punishment for us. His blood covers us forever as long as we believe in Him.)

David knew what was most important to God, more than the animal sacrifice, was what was in his heart. We can’t just say “oh, i messed up, but Jesus died on the cross so it’s fine.” Just like people in David’s day couldn’t say “oh i messed up, i’ll just kill a sheep and God will forgive me.” God forgives because of the sacrifice AND because we ask His forgiveness and have a heart that WANTS His forgiveness and a heart that WANTS to follow Him. (We are saved by the grace of Jesus’ sacrifice though faith.)

David was very sorry and he wanted God to forgive him and give him a new, clean heart and he asked God to help him obey from now on. He promised to rejoice and sing praises to God for his fair punishment and for God forgiving him.

 

Keith Green song 

Rend Collective song

Thanks for joining us!

Jesus heals a deaf man

~ hebidsthemcome ~ 1 Comment

Hi all! This story today is from Mark 7:31-37. This is another miracle Jesus did. Remember a miracle is something only God can do. (Sometimes He uses people like Jesus or the disciples or maybe even you to do the miracle…but it is ALWAYS God’s power).

One day Jesus was traveling to a new place and some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk (because it’s hard to know how to talk when you can’t hear other people talking), and they begged Jesus to help him get better. “Please please please!” they said.

Jesus took him aside, away from the crowd, then He put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then He spit and touched the man’s tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Be opened!” Right away the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak! 

Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more He told them not to, the more they kept talking about it! People were overwhelmed with amazement. “Everything He does is AMAZING!!” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

The people were supposed to not make a big deal of it…but they couldn’t help it! They were so amazed by what Jesus had done, they just HAD to tell people. The man had his ears and tongue opened so he could hear and speak, but those watching had their minds and hearts opened–they could see now that Jesus was someone special…God’s son, the Messiah, the One who had come to save them not just from being sick or deaf, but Jesus had come to save their hearts.

 

For our craft today, we cut out a face shape and then made an upside down U cut out. (It serves as a flap so you can open and shut the mouth). We cut a strip of red paper and folded it up accordion style and glued in down inside the U.

Our text reads: “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak!” Mark 7:31-37

 

I struggled to find decent media for this one, but if I do, i’ll be sure to add it later

Thanks for joining us again! Love to you all!

Proverbs-Wisdom

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hi all! The next few days we’ll be talking about the book of Proverbs. King Solomon (David’s son wrote a lot of this book, but some other people helped too.

If you remember, Solomon asked God for wisdom. Wisdom is knowing a lot of things and being able to make good choices. God was happy that Solomon asked for wisdom. The book of Proverbs tells us a lot about how God wants us to live….and how to make good choices.

Proverbs tells us how God wants us to live and then we can obey it!

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Our first lesson today is about wisdom. Proverbs 1:1-4 says (TLB for easier understanding)

“These are the proverbs of King Solomon of Israel, David’s son: He wrote them to teach his people how to live—how to act in every circumstance, for he wanted them to be understanding, just, and fair in everything they did.”

v. 7-9 “How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord!” (The way to be wise is to love and obey God!)

Chapter 2: 6-14: “For the Lord grants wisdom! His every word is a treasure of knowledge and understanding. He grants good sense to the godly. He is their shield, protecting them and guarding their pathway. He shows how to distinguish right from wrong, how to find the right decision every time. For wisdom and truth will enter the very center of your being, filling your life with joy. You will be given the sense to stay away from evil men who want you to be their partners in crime—men who turn from God’s ways to walk down dark and evil paths and exult in doing wrong, for they thoroughly enjoy their sins.”

Chapter 4:7 “Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And with your wisdom, develop common sense and good judgment.”

4: 23 “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” 

That means put good things into your mind and heart–think about good things, learn the things God wants you to learn. Whatever you put into your mind and heart is what will come out. (Luke 6:45) If you think about bad things and learn yucky things, then you will make yucky choices. If you learn about God and love and obey Him, then you will make good choices and have a good life. (Not always an easy life, or even a happy life…but the best kind of life is a life that follows God.) (1:33, 2:6-8, 11, 12-15, 20-22, 9:11-12, 11:5, 12:28, 19:8, James 3:13)

So the next few days we’ll be learning about wisdom and what makes a good choice. We will read more of Proverbs and see how to follow God and how to guard our hearts so we can love and obey Him.

THIS VIDEO is the wisdom song posted by CelestinoZ.

Thanks for joining us! Love to you all!

Psalm 51

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hey all! Welcome again!

This month we are learning about Psalms–a book of songs. We’ve already learned about songs that praise God and songs for when we are frustrated with God. Today’s song is a song to tell God I’m sorry.

King David had done a bad thing. He wanted to marry a lady but she was ALREADY married to someone else! So he sent her husband to war so he would die and then David could marry her. God was not happy that David wanted to kill her husband and the priest (church leader) named Nathan said “God is NOT happy with you. You sinned and disobeyed God’s words, David!”

David realized he had done a terrible thing and he wrote this song asking God to please forgive him and help him do better.

 

1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
so that sinners will turn back to you.
14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
you who are God my Savior,
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15 Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart
you, God, will not despise.
18 May it please you to prosper Zion,
to build up the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,
in burnt offerings offered whole;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

 

When we write this in simplified kid-version it reads like this:

Please don’t give me the consequences I deserve, O God,
 but because of  Your love;
and because of how much You care about me, 
wipe away the bad things I have done.

Wash away all my bad choices
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know what I have done wrong,
I think about it all the time.
Against You, God, have I sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight;
so You are right in whatever you decide to do with me.

I was sinful since I was a baby,
even when I was inside my mom’s belly.

If YOU cleanse me I will be clean;
 wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;
It’s like my bones are crushed to pieces because of my sin….let my body celebrate again.
Hide your face from my sins
and wipe away all my bad choices.

Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and give me a right spirit within me.
Do not send me away from you, or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Bring back to me the happiness of You saving me,
 and help me always follow you.

Then I will teach other people who disobey You, Your ways,
so that lots of sinners will turn back to You.

Save me from the guilt of killing that guy, O God,
You who are God who saves me from my sins,
and my tongue  will sing of Your righteousness (all the perfect things you do and are).

Open my lips, Lord,
and my mouth will yell Your praise.
You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
You do not take pleasure in gifts.
What I give you, O God, is a broken heart;
You, God, will not forget me.

May it please You to prosper us, your people,
to keep us safe and protect us.
Then you will be happy with the gifts we bring, when we bring them to You with hearts that love and obey You.

For today’s craft, we cut out and decorated hearts with verse 10 written on them. Then we learned THIS SONG.

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Thanks for joining us! Love to you all.

God looks at the heart

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hey everyone! Welcome back! Today’s story comes from 1 Samuel 16. Last year’s lesson can be found HERE.

 

So God was unhappy with Saul as king and He told Samuel to go pick a new one. God would show him who should be king next.

God told Samuel to go to Bethlehem (that’s the city where Jesus would later be born). There he should find a daddy named Jesse. One of Jesse’s boys would be the new king. So Samuel found Jesse and he found Jesse’s biggest boy. The biggest boy was VERY big..and handsome and strong…everything a king should be.

“This is him, right God?’ asked Samuel.

“No” answered God. “I have not chosen him….don’t just look at how big and strong he is. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

One by one Jesse brought each of his boys before Samuel (just like the step sisters in Cinderella) but every time God said no.

“Are these ALL of your boys?” Samuel asked.

“Well…” Jesse said, “There’s my youngest boy…but he’s out taking care of the sheep.”

Samuel said “Go get him.” So they went to get David, the littlest boy and God said, “THIS is the one!” Samuel poured special oil on David’s head and declared him the new king. (I wonder how his brothers and his dad felt!?)

God knew that David would love him. God doesn’t always pick the biggest, smartest, prettiest, or tallest. God doesn’t care if you have yellow hair or black hair, purple skin or blue skin, if you wear glasses or braces, if you can’t speak very well or if you’re not very good at school work. What matters to God is what is in your heart. Do you love God? Will you obey Him?

God chooses people who will love and obey Him. He chose little David. God had big HUGE plans for David, and He has big plans for you too if you will love and obey Him.

For our craft today, we cut out people shapes and decorated them. Then we took a heart sticker and added it and our text which reads: Man looks at what’s on the outside, but God cares about what’s in our hearts! 1 Samuel 16

 

Thanks for joining us! Love to you all!

I choose God!

~ hebidsthemcome ~ Leave a comment

Hey all! Today’s lesson is based off of Joshua 24. Last year’s lesson and craft can be found HERE.

After Moses died, God had Joshua lead His people into the promised land. They divided up all the land so that each tribe (or big family) got their own part.

When Joshua was very very old and about to die, he called the leaders together and reminded them of all God had done for them and all He had taught them.He reminded them of how many times He had saved them and fought for them. (Sometimes we don’t even KNOW God is helping us! Sometimes we forget! Maybe take a minute to think with your family about some of the great things God has done for you, or things He has taught you!)

He told them to be strong and not to be afraid. He reminded them to always love and obey God.

Lastly, in Joshua 24:15, he told the people they had to choose for themselves if they would serve God or not. “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” he said.

Your mom and dad can tell you about God and about Jesus’ love and how He died for your sins. You can sing songs and your family can go to church. But YOU, in your heart, have to choose to follow God. You don’t just love God because mommy and daddy do. You have to choose in your heart to love and obey God. As you grow up, you will learn more and more what it means to follow and love God and you’ll also understand more and more how much He loves you!

And we don’t just choose to love God one day and then forget about it. (That’s what happened to the Israelites a LOT!) We choose to love God everyday…we pray…and read our Bibles…and obey what He tells us. We worship God everyday with the choices we make. But just like Joshua told the people they had to have faith of their own, you have to choose too, if you want to follow and obey God.

 

For our craft today, we made hearts and then added the text: “As for MY heart, I choose God!” Then we made a space to write our names and added some heart stickers.

 

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Thanks for joining us again! Love to you all!