All posts tagged Modern Day Joseph

6 Teaching Tips for Children’s Ministry

By Lindsey | November 17, 2010 | Resources, Volunteers | 2 Comments

Flickr by CarbonNYC

1. When you tell Bible Stories, keep the focus on God.

For example, yes Daniel was brave when he was thrown into that lion’s den, but it was God’s power that closed the mouths of the lions.

2. Encourage men to get involved in Children’s Ministry.

This helps to show kids (even preschoolers are forming expectations about church) that church is for women and men alike. If you know of a guy that would be great in the Children’s program, talk to him and encourage him to sign up for the Team!

3. Be intentional about telling children that God loves them and people in the church do too.

Create a sense of belonging and community so that kids want to return again and again.

4. Be enthusiastic

Welcome children and parents when they come to the program. Make sure you arrive before the children do. Play with the kids before the program starts and have fun!

5. Show respect for God during prayer time by encouraging quietness.

If someone is praying in the room, don’t huddle in the back and talk about your day. Engage in the prayer with respect and reverence and encourage the kids to do the same.

6. Use the Bible

Show the kids the Bible as you teach. Remind them that the Bible is God’s message to us. Read from the Bible whenever you can. Use the kids’ Bibles to teach from. This helps them to realize they can find the same story while at home too!

These tips are from the book, “How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph”. Check out other posts related to this book.

Developing a Family Plan for your child’s spiritual growth

By Lindsey | August 26, 2010 | Parents, Resources | 1 Comment

Making a Family Plan

(From the book How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph, page 59-63)

The school year is approaching, which makes right now a great time for thinking about your family plan for the year. Sound a little overwhelming? Just take it one step at a time. Think about what you want your kids to learn or experience by this time next year and start jotting down some ideas. Having a plan keeps you from feeling to have to cram everything in your children’s little heads at once.

You can take it nice and slow and enjoy learning about God together.

Ready?

List your Spiritual Goals for the Year:

(Examples: Our child begins to pray regularly, he can tell the life story of 2 Bible characters, memorize 5 family verses, make a creation mural for the play room, etc)

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Family verse: __________________________________

We will learn about the following people from the Bible:

_______________________________________________________________________
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As a field trip to learn more about God, we will go to: ____________________________________________

(Examples: planetarium, boat ride, mountain, field, etc)

Getting Started Right Now

Now, go to your calendar and write in WHEN you will work on these things. For example, every two months, you’ll learn about a new Bible character. Even if you don’t have next year’s calendar yet, start writing your goals on this years and just fill in the rest in the New Year.

Want this in PDF form? Click here for a Family Plan.

Preschooler Checklist for Spiritual Growth

By Lindsey | August 24, 2010 | Parents | Comments Off

What Should I Be Teaching My Preschooler about God?

Are you a checklist oriented person?

Want to make sure your “on the right track” with teaching your preschooler about God?

The following guide (starts on page 55 of Raising a Modern Day Joseph) will help you to evaluate your child’s growth and perhaps choose an area to focus on.

KNOWLEDGE: My child understands…

___ God created the earth

___ Dad and Mom also have to obey authority
___ God talks to us through the Bible

___ God knows everything and is everywhere

___ God is different than us

___ God is in charge
___ Dad and Mom also have to obey authority

___ God talks to us through the Bible
___ Sin is thinking, saying, or doing things that God doesn’t like
___ Jesus died for our sins and came back to life

LOVE: My child…

___ knows God loved us so much he sent Jesus to die for our sins
___ knows prayer is talking to God, and prays with the family
___ is thankful to God for things

___ enjoys attending church

___ wants to obey God out of love

___ memorizes simple verses

SERVICE: My child…

___ sings songs of praise to God

___ respects the possessions of others
___ makes pictures or cards for those who are sick

___ listens to parent reading the Bible
___ is learning to sit quietly in church

___ shows kindness to others
___ prays without prompting

___ thanks others without prompting

Lists aren’t for everyone, but if you like to check things off, this newsletter entry is for you! Just remember, spiritual development takes time. Each child progresses at their own pace. This is a guide, not a list of requirements. Use it as a tool, but don’t feel guilty if you don’t check everything off. You should be proud of what you’ve already accomplished!

Want this in a PDF version? Click here for the Preschooler Checklist.

More Modern Day Joseph Posts:

Book Review

Teach Your Preschooler to Respect God

Ideas for Helping Your Child Love and Respect God

Can You Teach a Baby about God?

Key verses and stories for Preschoolers

Developing a Family Plan

Teaching Your Preschooler about God: Stories & Verses

By Lindsey | August 4, 2010 | Parents | 1 Comment

Looking for a way to learn more about God as a family?

Wondering how you start to teach your child about God and the Bible?

Here’s some ideas from How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph:

Pray in front of your children (p47): Let your child hear you talking about God about everything, not just rote or memorized prayers. Pray together about jobs, neighbors, friends, family, and more.
Read the Bible to your children (p48): You don’t have to read a whole lot. Choose a few verses that your preschooler can understand. (For ideas on reinforcing the lessons they learn at Kids for Christ, see front of Newsletter). Practice looking up verses in the Bible together.
Encourage your children to have an attitude of thankfulness: Remind your child to say thank you when they receive a treat from a friend or another adult and remember to thank your child when they help you with something (like setting the table or picking up clothes). Even very young children can draw thank you cards for gifts they’ve received. Thank God for things when you are praying as well.

Biographies to Consider:

Joseph in Genesis 37-39: Preschoolers will be able to understand Joseph’s brothers being jealous of the colorful coat and extra attention from dad. Joseph was obedient to his dad when he asked him to check on his brothers. This would be a great story for sibling rivalry.
Josiah in 2 Chronicles 34: Josiah was crowned king when he was only 8 years old! Ask your children what it would be like if they were king or queen. Josiah was a good king because he followed God’s way. How does following God help us to make good decisions?
David (Psalms, 1 & 2 Kings): David is a key character in the Bible. There are all kinds of things we can learn from David like bravery, obedience, importance of prayer, and forgiveness.
Pick up a Read and Share Bible. The kids I’ve been providing childcare for (ages 4 & 5) have been loving it. We read 30-50 pages every day and they are still asking for more!

Bible Verses to Consider:

Genesis 1:1 This verse is a great way to remind kids that God is the creator of the world. When you’re building with blocks or play-dough, talk to your child about how God creator the world in a similar way, only He did it out of nothing!
Matthew 28:20 Help kids learn that God will be with them everywhere – at school, church, on the playground, and at a friend’s house.
Ephesians 6:1 God wants kids to obey their parents. They don’t have a choice. Teach your children this verse to reinforce your authority and God’s authority.

Teach your baby to love God: Spiritual Formation starts at Birth

By Lindsey | July 16, 2010 | Parents | 4 Comments

Great Tool for Parents:

Modern Day Joseph Series

In connection to our church’s upcoming BIG EGYPTIAN EVENT: Joseph’s Journey to Egypt, we’ll be running a summer series in our newsletter (I’ll also post it here) from the book, How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph.

Life Threads

We’ll be focusing on five main character traits (called Life Threads in the book) and how to develop them at different ages. They are: (1) Respect for God, (2) Wisdom for living life based on a knowledge of God, (3) Grace in relationship with others, (4) A sense of purpose that comes from God and (5) Perspective for a life based on the sovereignty of God. As we dig into this book, page references will be given. Feel free to pick up your own copy and follow along. As we journey together, I’d love to hear your feedback, experiences, and growth as a family.

Introduction

What parents wouldn’t want their children to grow up like a modern day Joseph? Some are already going a great job nurturing their children’s spiritual life. Some have handed the job over to the church. The majority of Christian parents are somewhere in the middle. They want to be the spiritual leaders, but are not sure how. They might be intimidated by the important task before them. They might not know how to make a plan. This series will give you a starting point.

Fitting it into the Schedule (p17)

When, where and how do we spend time training our children in the ways of God? This gives us a pretty clear picture:

Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. (Deuteronomy 11:19-21)

So, it’s an all-the-time thing — finding moments to talk about God, and it’s a scheduled thing. Whether you take a few moments at breakfast, at dinner, before bed — it’s important to find a time to have Family Devotions. Don’t worry about what other families are doing, and don’t worry about being spiritual champs the first week. Just get started. You’ll be glad you did.

The Starting Line (Ages 0-2)

Did you know that spiritual training can begin before you child is born? As your waiting for your bundle of joy to arrive, think about the main goals you want for your child. When they are 18, what do you want people to say about them? Start carving out a time for family devotions now. Even though you’re little one won’t be able to understand for a few years, they’ll grow up knowing God is important. Decide now if spiritual growth will take precedence over other activities. Will your child miss a soccer game for church or church for a soccer game? Will you work as hard at teaching him memory verses as you are math?

Baby is here! Now what?

Pray with baby before meals and bedtime.
Read Bible stories from brightly colored, high quality books.
Take your baby to church.
Start checking out the Children’s Ministries in your church.
Don’t underestimate your little one. Babies begin to learn morality early!

Help Your Preschooler Love and Respect God

By Lindsey | July 14, 2010 | Parents, Preschoolers, Resources, Reviews | 3 Comments

In connection to our church’s upcoming BIG EVENT: Joseph’s Journey to Egypt, we’ll be running a summer series in our weekly Kid’s Club newsletter from the book , How to Raise a Modern-Day Joseph

Preschoolers and Respect for God

Young children respond to the gospel when they hear a consistent gospel message every day. So how can we bring the good news of Christ to these little ones day after day in a way that teaches them to respect and love God? Here are some ideas:

Choose a Family Verse for the Year

It should be centered on the awesomeness and authority of God. Choose a short one and repeat it often.

Explain God’s character traits

We talk about the character of God, but children often don’t know what we mean. Play a family game where you describe other family members (nice descriptions!). Remember that younger children won’t understand a lot of descriptive words yet. An example might be “Dad is strong. Mom is happy. Sister is smart”. When you see your children understand this, talk about God the same way. “Grandma is loving. God is more loving than anyone.” (p44)

Go on family trips

Head to the planetarium, the mountains, the lake. Talk about how God is the Creator of everything you see.

Go Outside

Talk about how God made all the stars, planets, and everything in space.

Make crafts with God’s creation

Go outside and gather twigs, flowers, leafs, etc. Arrange everything on a piece of construction paper and then place contact paper over top. Write a verse on the construction paper (before the contact paper step), or glue a verse over the contact paper.

Be consistent in your discipline

Children learn the meaning of authority from their parents. We should expect children to obey when we ask them to do something. When we laugh or ignore disobedience we are teaching them that obedience isn’t important. Without this understanding of the importance of obedience, children won’t learn to respect God.

Sing!

Choose songs that talk about the holiness of God, his creation, or his love and sing them together. Encourage your child to make up their own praise song (p45).

Teach the difference a lie and the truth

Play a truth and lie game with your kids. As your sitting at the table, make a true or false statement (i.e. I didn’t eat that cookie). Ask your child if your statement is a lie or not. Also, check out the book “Tell the Truth, Tyler!”