Family Connection 10.04.2012

Family Connection

10.04.2012

“I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy.  I am happy because you have joined me in spreading the good news.  You have done so from the first day until now.  I am sure that the One who began a good work in you will carry it on until it is completed.  That will be on the day Christ Jesus returns.”-Philippians 1:3-6 (NIrV)

When my boys were younger and I was working on something around the house they would ask to help me.  My daughter didn’t ask me about helping around the house so much but she wanted to learn how to cook so she would ask to help around the kitchen.  Now I knew that if I let them help me it would take a lot longer to get things done.  In fact, my motto used to be, “half the work in twice the time.”  However, I also knew that by letting them help me not only would we spend time together; I would also be teaching them skills they could use later in life. 

I wonder sometimes if this is how Paul felt.  He knew how to teach about Jesus and show them how to follow Him.  However, he also knew the value of letting people work alongside him so he could teach them how to live for God too.  I love how he expresses this in his letter to the Philippians.  I love his care for the people of that city and his desire to see them grow in Jesus.

One of the best things we can do as parents to teach our children how to follow Jesus is to let them see us follow Jesus ourselves.  When we let them see us read the Bible or serve others for Him we can teach them far more with our actions than we can with our words.  When we put God first in our lives and then live this out before our children, it is a great thing and a wonderful way for us to show Jesus to our children.

This week I encourage you to have one “God” conversation with your children.  It doesn’t have to be anything deep or “theological” instead, I encourage you to talk about your own walk with God and what you are learning.  Of course with a preschooler the conversation may be as simple as talking about the things we can be thankful to God for but you can still do this with a young child.  I would really love to hear how this goes for you!!

This week in our 1^st-4^th grade ministry we start a new virtue, Individuality-discovering who you are meant to be so you can make a difference.  We will be looking at the life of Timothy and how he decided to follow Jesus and we should too.  I have a video of the upcoming lesson you can watch here:  http://youtu.be/Tp6Mr_nLdjc

In Early Childhood we are looking at the life of David to answer the question:  Who helps you do big things?  God helps me do big things.  This week we will be looking at 1 Samuel 17:34-37.

Please feel free to go over the material with your child before they come to church if you would like.  We are also taking pictures this week for our new website.  The plan is to take pictures from the back of the rooms to capture the action in the rooms rather than individual children.  However if you do not wish for your child to be photographed, please let one of the classroom teachers know.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be part of the spiritual formation of your children. 

Walking by your side,

Brett Humphrey

Pastor H

And The Rest...

I suppose I am writing this post more for myself than anyone else but here goes.  On Wednesday the 12th, I got to travel to see some of the ministries supported by Orchard Africa.  We first drove to the medical clinic so we could get an idea on the realities of village life.  This clinic, services people suffering with HIV, TB, ante natal care as well as regular medical complaints.  These people will walk many miles to come to this clinic.  The sisters (nurses) who work here are dedicated to the people and providing medical care for them. I was impressed that they were still able to retain their humor even in the midst of difficult circumstances.
The next thing we did was head to a graveyard.  This was very sobering because I think the oldest person in there was 65.  Most people were buried in their 30's - 40's.  Even though HIV is a huge killer in South Africa, the real wave of deaths from AIDS is still to be felt.  What will the country look like, what will the continent look like when there are more child head of households.
We then visited with Lilly a heath care supporter who visits patients in their homes.  We met with one elderly woman who is crippled with back issues and two young women with HIV.  It was a very sobering day.

After that...I went back to the hotel and slept for 15 hours because I started to get sick, and then kept getting sicker.  I made it to a Dr. in Cape Town and was diagnosed with measles.  I had a reaction to the MMR booster shot I received.  For the rest of the trip, I have tried to hang on.  This has been a very difficult experience for me as I haven't ever been this sick, and I was a long way from home, but my experiences pale  in comparison to what these people in Mafikeng face daily.  I will wrestle with what God wants me to learn from this trip and will hopefully come up with some answers in the next couple of weeks.  I write this final blog in Chicago sitting and waiting for my last flight.  I am looking forward to coming home.

Live from Mafikeng

Today I got up, went for a run on the treadmill and had a great breakfast. Then we got into the van and began our treck to Mafikeng, just a short 4 hour car ride.

We got a chance to see some beautiful country and even had an opportunity to see some African wildlife. We saw the elusive African Cow and it was a sight to behold.

Once we got settled into the hotel we took a tour of some local villages where Orchard Africa has made significant impact. At both of these sites they feed children daily (200+), provide grief counseling for children who have lost loved ones, provide medical care for HIV infected patients, and teach HIV avoidance. They are making a huge impact in these areas.

After our tour we drove though a golf community and we did see some Antelope, not quite as exciting as the cows but fun nonetheless.

Tomorrow I get to actually see the ministry in action as I will be in villages and part of a VBS in the afternoon.

Pastor's Training in Lusaka

On Monday, Mike Tessendorf of Orchard Africa held a training for local pastors in Lusaka, Zambia. The purpose of this training was to help pastors understand the impact of extreme poverty and HIV/AIDS infection among adults and children. The statistics were staggering and the impact on this society is staggering. The majority of people in Zambia live on less than $2 a day and a loaf of bread cost $1. We just don't understand that level of extreme poverty or hunger. It was great to see the local pastors respond to the information and the call for the local church to do something about it.

Since we were guests, we were ushered to the front of the church to sit on the platform facing the audience. After the conference we headed straight for the airport for our flight back to South Africa. The flight was less than two hours and was nice.

We checked into our hotel and went to bed.

The next post will be in South Africa.

1st full day in Zambia

Today we traveled about 2.5 hours by car to get to a village partnered with Orchard Africa. We had an opportunity to visit with some of the people who live in the village as well as hear their passion for their community and the extreme poverty the people in the rural area face. After we had Tea we went to church. This was quite a wonderful experience and the music was amazing. With drums being the only instruments, there were a few choirs who led us in singing. Even though I didn't know the words to the songs, I was moved by the people's devotion to God and singing to Him. There was a policeman who got up to give his story. He started out by saying that he used to do all kinds of evil things and many of the people in the room knew who he was and what he had done. He then shared how he came to Christ and no longer does any of the things he used to do. He talked about how his co-workers are amazed at how different he is. He shared about the life changing power of Jesus Christ.

Matt Swartz gave the message and he contrasted the pursuit of happiness with the true joy that comes from God. The message was very straightforward and the people responded. One of the things that struck me was towards the end where Matt encouraged us to finish the race well and not to stop 5K before the end of the race.

After we left the service we went to lunch (the service probably went on for another 1-2 hours after we left) and we had a wonderful meal. I got to try warthog and let me tell you, it's pretty good.

We got to tour a bit more after lunch and then started the long journey home.

Both Matt and I ended our day by working out in the gym after sitting for hours in airplanes and airports. All in all, it was a great day!!

More to come tomorrow.

3/4 of the way through our flights

I am sitting in the South African Airways Lounge waiting for our next flight. We have an 8 hour layover and then we are on to Lusaka, Zambia and our hotel. Thankfully the flight tonight is only about 2 hours long. So far, the travel portion has been tiring.

Tomorrow we will be in a village and will get a chance to see the kind of work Orchard Africa is doing in Zambia. I hope to take a lot of pictures tomorrow.

I'm going to try to nap for a couple of hours, I only slept a couple of hours on the last flight and am feeling pretty tired.

1st Leg of Travel Complete

First of all, I must admit that traveling with someone who can use flyer miles to upgrade seats to Business Class has been wonderful so far. I think Matt Swartz has about 1 billion miles on his account and he was willing to share some with me. Thanks for the upgrade Matt. Not only did we have great seats and wonderful meals, we also got to use the Star Lounge where I was able to take a shower. This is a great way to travel.

We will be here in London for the next 8 hours or so waiting to board our next flight. I am looking forward to that leg of our journey but especially when we finally get to our destination. Please continue to pray for us that God will use us and our time here for His glory!!

I will continue to update as I can.

Brett

Family Connection 09.05.2012

Family Connection

09.05.2012

“Don’t worry about anything. Instead, tell God about everything. Ask and pray. Give thanks to Him. Then God’s peace will watch over your hearts and minds because you belong to Christ Jesus. God’s peace can never be completely understood.’” Philippians4:6-7

Tomorrow I will board a plane headed for South Africa and Zambia. Another pastor and I will be heading out to Orchard Africa, the ministry we support in as a church as well as our children’s ministry. I am excited about the trip, but I was worried about whether or not I was going to be able to go this morning.

You see, last night as I was making sure I had everything I started looking for my passport. I couldn’t find it where I normally kept it. I kept looking, still no luck. I then enlisted the help of my wonderful wife, still no luck. We went to bed with the conviction that I must have left it in the office here at church. However, once I got to church this morning I couldn’t find it. Jennifer began systematically looking through every drawer and desk in our house; all to no avail. I finally called to make an appointment with the passport expediting service in Tucson and prepared to make the trek to get a new passport. I went home to change cars with my wife and get the supporting documents I would need. As I got out of the care I prayed, “Well, Lord this isn’t exactly what I wanted to happen but thank you that I can at least get a new passport today.” Just as I was about to put the car in reverse to make the trek, Jennifer came into the garage and said, “I found it!” Somehow the passport had slipped behind a drawer in the dresser and made its way to the bottom of the dresser. Thankfully Jen thought to remove the drawers. Needless to say I was thrilled.

I wish I could tell you that during the time I was looking for the passport I had unwavering faith, a calm disposition and was worry free. Since I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to lie to you I will let you know I failed miserably. However, I can say that as I look back on my minor ordeal, God’s peace was with me.

Just as I am sharing this story with you I believe it is important to share with our children the struggles, joys and triumphs we experience as we follow God. It is a way for us to be real and transparent with our children so they can see what a relationship with God looks like. Following God is not always easy, but it is always best!!

This week we will be wrapping up The Cure series and will provide talking points for you and your children as we want to build in Faith @ Home.

We will teach the children that the prescription to stay healthy this week is grace. Here are the Parent Talk discussion sheets we will hand out to your children this weekend:

We Can Love Others No Matter What

Basic Truth: God Loves Me

Key Question: Who loved us first?

Bottom Line: We love because God loved us first.

Memory Verse: “We love because he first loved us.” 1John 4:19, ESV

Story Summary:

Joseph helped his brothers get food when they were hungry and
welcomed them even though they had been mean.

(Based on Genesis 42-46)

Family Activity:

Talk with your child about all the people in your family, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, siblings, and parents. Talk about things those people like to do. Act them out. If a sibling likes to play soccer, pretend to kick a ball, for example. Then help your child thank God for their family. Remind your child that sometimes we have fun together and sometimes we make each other sad, but we always love and forgive one another. Remind your child that We Can Love Others No Matter What.

In our K-4 ministry, we will be handing out the following God Time questions:

Questions for children to take home to parents-Grace

Ask your parents these questions:

What does it mean to show grace to someone?

Ask your parents to help you understand how God has shown grace to you.

Ask your parents for specific ways you can do better at showing grace to others.

Ask your parents what they learned about grace from church this week?

This week we learned, I can show love to others when I give them the love God has given me. Could you please help me understand how to apply this?

Ask your parents to read Matthew 18:21-35 with you and discuss with them ways you can apply this to your life.

Ask your parents to help you understand what it means to be a Christian.

Ask your parents to help you make a list of people you are refusing to forgive and then ask them to pray with you so you can forgive them.

Ask your parents if they would be willing to memorize our verses for this month with you: ^“Love your neighbor as yourself.”-Matthew 22:39 and “We love because He first loved us.”-1 John 4:19 (NIV)

We are very excited about this series and the at-home discussions that will come about because of what everyone is learning together. I would love to hear how it goes!

Since I will be gone until September 17, I will not send out a Family Connection until I return. I will however try to update my blog as well as the Sun Valley Kids Facebook page with stories and pictures. Please feel free to follow along if you wish.

http://bretthumphrey.blogspot.com/

Thank you for allowing me to be part of the spiritual development of your children.

Walking by your side,

Brett Humphrey

Pastor H

Family Connection 08.30.2012

Family Connection

08.30.2012

“He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God. I will be honored among the nations. I will be honored in the earth.’” Psalm 46:10

I have a confession to make, I am terrible at this. I struggle with resting in God. I don’t have a problem doing, but I do have a problem resting in Him. This isn’t a new problem; it’s something I have always struggled with. I was reminded of this yesterday when someone recommended a book to me on this subject. I remembered that someone else recommended that same book to me back in 1985. I remember starting the book but then I put it down because I didn’t like what it was telling me. Maybe I should buy it again, read it and actually put it into practice. One of the best things I can do for my children as I try to teach them how to live a life pleasing to God is to actually model that life myself. If I can’t be authentic and transparent with my children about my own struggles, it will be hard for me to urge them to have an authentic and transparent relationship with God. I would appreciate your prayers for me in this area.

This week we will be talking about humility in big church and with the children. We will be focusing on loving others by putting them first and urging the children to avoid selfishness. We will be doing this in our Early Childhood ministry as well as our K-4 ministry. One of the biggest ways we can remain humble is to admit when we need help and consider others as more important than ourselves. I would encourage you to talk to you children about these things this week.

We will teach the children that the prescription to stay healthy this week is humility. Here are the Parent Talk discussion sheets we will hand out to your children this weekend:

God Loves Me No Matter What I Do

Basic Truth: God Loves Me

Key Question: Who loved us first?

Bottom Line: We love because God loved us first.

Memory Verse: “We love because he first loved us.” 1John 4:19, ESV

Story Summary:

Joseph helped his brothers get food when they were hungry even though they were mean.

(Based on Genesis 42-46)

Family Activity:

At bedtime read the story of Joseph with your child from a children’s story Bible. The Beginner’s Bible and The Jesus Storybook Bible are both excellent. Remind your child that just like Joseph with his brothers, God Loves Me No Matter What I Do.

In our K-4 ministry, we will be handing out the following God Time questions:

Humility-Questions for parents to children

Today your children learned: “I can show love to others when I put them first.” Ask them, “What does this mean to you?”

Read John 13:1-9; 12-17; 34-35 with your children. In this passage, Jesus washes his disciples’ feet and then teaches them that they should do the same if they are His followers. Talk with your children about how Jesus showed humility before His disciples.

Talk with your children about humility and pride. Try to help them understand that the pride the Bible warns against is when we think we are better than everyone else and how that can change the way we look at people. Ask them to give examples of pride and humility from their perspective.

Read 1 Peter 5:5-7 with your children. Talk with your children about ways they can show humility rather than have a “me first” attitude. Try to come up with a way to point out positive examples of humility around the house this week.

The verses we are memorizing for this series are: ^“Love your neighbor as yourself.”-Matthew 22:39 and “We love because He first loved us.”-1 John 4:19 (NIV) Why don’t you work on these verses together this week?

We are very excited about this series and the at-home discussions that will come about because of what everyone is learning together. I would love to hear how it goes! In our K-4 ministry we will be focusing on Jesus washing the disciples’ feet and how we can make the wise choice when we choose to show love to everyone.

Here is the link for the video of this lesson. http://youtu.be/7kaUfvQoEjw

Thank you for allowing me to be part of the spiritual development of your children.

Walking by your side,

Brett Humphrey

Pastor H

Family Connection 08.01.2012

Family Connection
08.01.2012
“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all
in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through
Him…Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord,
not for men.”-Colossians 3:17; 23
When my children were younger I would sometimes send one
child out to get the others when it was time to stop playing and come
inside. That child would usually come in
a few moments later informing me that they had done what I asked them to do but
their siblings refused to believe them.
I would then ask that child to go back outside and say, “Dad says it is
time to come in.” And within a few
moments, all of the children would be in the house. The child had authority because they would
pull out the “Dad says…” card.
When I read the verses in Colossians I think about
this. Paul is encouraging us to do
everything as though we were doing it for Jesus, just as though He had asked us
to do it. In essence, Paul is pulling
the “dad” card as a reminder that we are working for the Lord and not for
men. If I truly remember that I am
honoring God by my work, then my attitude should be better and I can do my
best, even if I don’t want to do what has been asked of me.
I would encourage you to go over these verses with your
children. I suggest that you help them
understand what God would have them do as they work but I would also encourage
you to share how these verses impact you personally. As followers of Jesus we should all be
learning how to move towards authentic Christian living and I believe we can
help our children grow when we share our struggles with them. I’m sure you have plenty of examples of times
you have been asked to do something you didn’t want to do but did it anyway
because of who was asking you to do it; I know I do!
This weekend in K-4 we will be talking about John 3:1-16
and how: When you believe in who Jesus
is you will live with Him forever. If
you would like to watch the teaching video for this upcoming weekend, here it
is http://youtu.be/z87eMdhMoS0
In Early Childhood we will be learning
about how God Takes Care of Me and learning about baby Moses in Exodus
1:21-2:10.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to walk with
you and your family as we learn how to follow Jesus together.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H

Family Connectinon 07.26.2012

Family Connection
07.26.2012
“During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to
them, walking on the lake. When the
disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost,’ they said, and cried out in
fear. But Jesus immediately said to
them: ‘Take courage! It is I.
Don’t be afraid.’ ‘Lord, if it’s
you,’ Peter replied, ‘tell me to come to you on the water.’ ‘Come,’ he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked
on the water and came toward Jesus. But
when he was the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, ‘Lord,
save me!’ Immediately Jesus reached out
his hand and caught him. ‘You of little
faith,’ he said, ‘why did you doubt?’.”-Matthew 14:25-31
When I was a boy and I would have a nightmare I just knew
I had to get to my parents room in order to be completely safe. As tough as it was to get out of bed and take
that first step, I knew I had to do it or the monsters were going to get me. I remembering running into my parent’s room
and heading over to my dad to tell him I had a bad dream. He would scoot over
and give me room to lie next to him. He
would put his arm around me and I could go back to sleep.
I imagine it was like this for Peter as he stepped out of
the boat. This was a terrifying situation
but he knew he had to get to Jesus to be safe.
And he stepped out of the boat.
Peter started to walk towards Jesus but then he took his eyes off of Him
and started to sink. Thankfully Jesus
was right there to keep him from going all the way down. I often wonder what the other disciples were
thinking as they sat in the boat.
I believe one of the most important things we can pass
along to our children as we teach them how to follow Jesus is that following
God is not always easy but it is always best.
There will be some times that Jesus will ask us to get out of the boat
and put us in scary situations but we can still trust Him, no matter what. One of the things I teach children on a
regular basis is that just because we follow Jesus doesn’t mean we won’t have
troubles; but it does mean He will be with us in those troubles.
This weekend in K-4 we will be talking about the above
passage in regard to faith and how we can trust in God’s promises because we
can see the promises He has already kept.
If you would like to watch the teaching video for this upcoming weekend,
here it is: http://youtu.be/Glcg4DPEkJI


In Early Childhood we will continue
teaching about creation and will be focusing on Genesis 2:1-3 and the Creation
Celebration.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to walk with
you and your family as we learn how to follow Jesus together.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H

Family Connection 07.19.2012

Family Connection
07.19.2012
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they
follow me. I give them eternal life, and
they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”-John 10:27-28
I have a special whistle for my kids. When they were younger I used to whistle for
them when they were out playing and they knew it was time to come in. I can whistle loudly so there have been many
times I couldn’t even see them and they would still come when I whistled for
them; even in crowds because they knew it was me calling for them.
In the above verses Jesus makes it clear that His sheep,
His followers know His voice and follow Him.
I have a confession to make; there are many times I’m just not
listening. I get distracted by the
business of life and don’t take the time to listen. But those times I do, it’s great! I just need to do it better.
As parents, we have wonderful opportunities to help our
children follow Jesus if we take the time to use our voice to teach them about
Him. Believe it or not, even though our
children are bombarded with many influences through culture and media we still
have the greatest influence on them; even if they are teens. If we understand this we can be intentional
on how we show the children in our lives we personally follow Jesus.
I would encourage each of us to take the time this week
to talk to our children about God this week in some way. I’m sure you will be glad you did.
I could use your help with something. We are updating our website and need some
quotes we can post on there. Would you
please send me a quote, from you or your child, about the Children’s Ministry
here at Sun Valley? If you would like to
be specific about a certain ministry (Early Childhood, K-4, Special Needs)
please indicate which one. Also please
indicate who is making the comment?
Please reply to this email with the quote. If you could also please fill out the media
release form and either email it back or bring it to church, I would appreciate
it.
This weekend in K-4 we are starting a new series about
faith and “I Can Trust God No Matter What!”
You can watch the lesson if you
follow this link: http://youtu.be/FSdPdgwZ_Fc

In Early Childhood we will continue
teaching about creation and will be focusing on Genesis 2:8-15 and how God
provides for us.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to walk with
you and your family as we learn how to follow Jesus together.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H

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Family Connection 06.07.2012

Family Connection
06.07.2012
“Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother
spoke up, ‘Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but
how far will they go among so many?’
Jesus said, ‘Have the people sit down.’
There was plenty of grass in that place, and the men sat down, about
five thousand of them. Jesus then took
the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as
they wanted. He did the same with the
fish. When they had all had enough to
eat, he said to the disciples, ‘Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’ So they gathered them and filled twelve
baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had
eaten.”-John 8:8-13
Last April my son Josh and I had an opportunity to travel
to Uganda, Africa to visit some friends who are missionaries. They have a specific ministry to orphan
children who have HIV/AIDS. All of these
children have lost parents to this dreaded disease and in order to come to Cherish
they have to be hopeless and on death’s door.
Each of these children are fed, clothed, housed, given proper medical
treatment but most importantly they are loved.
It is estimated that there are 1.2 million people in Uganda who have
HIV/AIDS but these children are Cherish are cared for and God is doing a
miracle. Cherish cannot care for every
person in Uganda who is sick, but they can care for the children they have been
given; they can use what they have and leave the rest up to God.
Like the disciples in the above passage we may be
overwhelmed with the need and our apparent lack of resources. After all, Jesus wanted the disciples to feed
thousands of people and they only had enough food for a small lunch. The amazing thing is what this boy was
willing to do. Even though it seems like
he was the only one who had food, he was willing to give it to Jesus. It was though he said, “Jesus, I’m not sure
what you can do with my small lunch, but here you go!” This boy gave what he had to Jesus, and Jesus
did a miracle with it.
Many times children may not feel that they can do much
for God because they are so small. Well,
one of the things we can do as parents is to help the children in our lives
understand that we can give God what we have and then let Him do the rest. The boy in our passage wasn’t expected to do
a miracle, he couldn’t; he just gave what he had and Jesus did the rest.
This week we are going to start asking the children to go
through their closets at home and bring extra clothes, toys, shoes, etc. to
give to people in need. We will take
care of the distribution; we are just asking children to do what they can to
help others. This might be a great way
of you to interact with the children in your life and help them start to make a
difference for others.
This weekend in Elementary we are talking about John
6:1-14 the boy who gave his lunch to
Jesus. You can watch the lesson if you
follow this link: http://youtu.be/YrTL7XtsuZE
In Early Childhood we will be spending
the month talking about creation and God’s creation station. This week we will be looking at “God made sky
and water” from Genesis 1:6-8.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to walk with
you and your family as we learn how to follow Jesus together.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H

Family Connection 05.24.2012

Family Connection
05.24.2012
“Be like the Son of Man.
He did not come to be served.
Instead, He came to serve others.
He came to give His life as the price for setting many people free.’”-Matthew
20:28
When we adopted our daughter Sofie from China in December
2006, she was 7 years old and didn’t know any English (that was okay though
because we didn’t know any Chinese either).
She is amazing and before long she was able to speak well enough so we
could communicate. It was pretty amazing
actually to see how quickly she learned.
One of the first things she started saying to us was, “do you need
help?” It was always heartwarming to
hear her say those words, “do you need help?”
Not only was she learning to speak English, she was learning one of the
values we have in the Humphrey house; the value of serving others.
Jesus thought this was pretty important! Not only did He say the words in Matthew
20:28, He also demonstrated the need to serve others when He washed the
disciples’ feet in John 13. Paul goes to
great lengths in Philippians 2 to communicate how important serving is and how
we should serve if we want to be like Jesus.
My favorite verse is Philippians 2:5 (if you ask me, I will show you the
motions I do with the verse) and I try to live it out as best I can. If we are followers of Jesus, serving is a
pretty big deal.
This is one of the core values we will teach the children
in this ministry as they are with us each week.
Because we are trying to help children become more like Jesus we will
provide opportunities to serve at home and at church. We also have opportunities for adults to
serve as well. What better way to teach
your children about following Jesus by modeling service to them. The wonderful thing about serving in
Children’s Ministry is you have the opportunity to serve where your children
can see you and they will feel special because dad and mom are serving in their
ministry area. I want to share with you
a short message Susan Cable shared with our current small group leaders in the
K-4th program. This will give
you an idea on what serving in this ministry can mean to children and families:
This
week I was asked about the expectations we have for the Trail Guides; what we
expect them to accomplish each weekend. I replied that building relationships
with the kids by showing them the unconditional love, grace, and acceptance of
Jesus is our goal. The activities are really a way for you to interact with
your kids and for them to interact with each other. Do I consider it a “win” if
they are able to recite the month’s memory verse and retell the week’s Bible
story to their parents? Of course. But an even bigger “win” is a child running
down the hall to give their Trail Guide a hug or a high five. Or relating a
story about how they put the monthly virtue or memory verse into action at
school or at home. Or bringing a friend to church because it’s so much fun and
they feel accepted and cared for here. If they stick around church long enough,
they will hear those memory verses and Bible stories over and over again. The
key is making them want to stick around. And when they are in their teen years
and making the decision of whether to follow Christ on their own, it won’t be
the verses and stories that nudge them in the right direction. It will be the
relationships they have built and the memories of those adults who brought
God’s love to life that seal the deal. At Sun Valley, we are about life change
and legacy – and that includes children’s ministry.
If I can be blunt…we need you! We need you to serve and make an eternal
impact in the lives of children and families.
I would ask you to take a free fall of faith and join this
ministry. Pray with your family and ask
God to help you step out and serve in this ministry. Please send me an email, bhumphrey@sunvalleycc.com , tweet
@humphrey_brett or message me on Facebook on the Sun Valley Kids page and I
will get you the information on how you can start serving.
This weekend in Elementary we are talking about Matthew
22:34-40 and how we can use our love to
make a difference. You can watch the
lesson if you follow this link: http://youtu.be/Ho-vLSm-Hto
In Early Childhood we will be teaching
the children the concept of It won’t always be
easy
to
do the right thing by looking at Daniel and the Lions Daniel 6:1-28

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to walk with
you and your family as we learn how to follow Jesus together.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H

Family Connection 05.10.2012

Family Connection
05.10.2012
“Children, obey your parents as believers in the
Lord. Obey them because it’s the right
thing to do. Scripture says, ‘Honor your
father and mother.’ That is the first
commandment with a promise. ‘Then things
will go well with you. You will live a
long time on the earth.’”-Ephesians 6:1-3
Ephesians 6:1 was the first verse we had our children
memorize when they were younger. Sure,
we wanted our children to obey us but my wife Jennifer and I knew that if we
didn’t help our children learn how to respect and obey us as their earthly
parents; they would have a very difficult time coming to respect and obey their
Heavenly Father. It’s nice when our
children obey us, but these verses go deeper than our children picking up their
clothes when we ask them to.
Even though this Family Connection is for everyone, I
want to talk to dads for a moment. You
know that this Sunday is Mother’s Day.
Even though we should make sure our children honor their moms every day
of the year, we have a special opportunity to help them honor their moms on
Sunday. The best way our children can
learn to honor is by our modeling. If
your children are very young, you will really have to help them make mom feel
special. Dads, I want to encourage you
to go for it! Not only will it be
beneficial in the short term, you will also help your children learn how to
respect their mom the way God wants them to.
Please understand I’m not buying into the advertisers’
concept of Mother’s Day (I’m not advocating buying a car or jewelry or
something else you can’t afford) but rather to do something to help mom feel
special. If you’re not sure what that
could be, you might consider asking mom what would make her feel special and
then trying to make that happen.
This weekend in Elementary we are talking about Ephesians
4:29 and how we can use our words to make a difference. What a
wonderful opportunity to have the children practice this by honoring mom (by
the way we will have a special treat for moms this weekend in children’s
ministry). You can watch the lesson if
you follow this link: http://youtu.be/IgeQiR0bngw
In Early Childhood we will be teaching the children the
concept of God wants me to forgive and how Joseph forgave his brothers Genesis
42:1-6; 45:1-46:7.
I also want to give you a couple of other resources to
help you as parents connect with your children so you can teach them how to
follow Jesus. If you are a smart phone
user, please look into the ParentCue app from the Re-Think group. This app will provide opportunities for you to
talk about the things of God with your children as you go throughout your days. There is content for both elementary and
preschool children. I have also started
to tweet and will send out helpful hints on how to teach your children along
the way. You can find me at
@humphrey_brett
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to walk with
you and your family as we learn how to follow Jesus together.
Walking by your side,
Brett Humphrey
Pastor H

Family Connection 04.30.2012

Family Connection

04.30.2012

“When the large crowd of the Jews learned that Jesus was there, they came, not only on account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of Him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.”-John 12:9-11

When you were a child did you ever tell a lie? And then, in order to cover up that lie you told an even bigger one? I did. When I was starting 7^th grade my parents were going through marriage issues and we moved hundreds of miles away to start over. I lost all of my friends and extended family and moved to a completely different area and went to a new school. This school was about 60 miles away from my home and I had to commute daily. I was scared to go to this school so I decided that I would tell everyone that I knew Karate (just so they wouldn’t mess with me). Not only did I tell people I knew Karate, I told them I was a brown belt and then used the knowledge I had gained from watching old Kung-Fu movies to establish my claim. I’m not sure if people really believed me but they never challenged me either. Unfortunately for the three years I went to that school, I lived a lie.

Looking back on that lie may not really seem like a big deal but that did define a part of my life. Not only did I live a lie by claiming to know something I didn’t, I had to invent bigger lies to continue to prove my claim. I never let people get too close because I had to keep up the pretense. This is just one thing I wish I could go back and change, but I cannot.

It is amazing the lengths we will go to in avoiding the truth. Just take a look at the above passage. The religious leaders would rather plot the death of two innocent men (Jesus and Lazarus) than admit that Jesus was in fact who He said He was and came to save us. The leaders were more concerned with the lie they believed about God and the box they had put Him in than to see the truth in front of them. Before I am too hard on these leaders, I must remember my years of lying.

So what do we do with this now? It is important to help the children in our lives know the truth about God and His ways. The best way to do that is by talking about Him with the children in our lives and looking into His Word together. This week we will be looking at the passage found in Matthew 25:14-30 in the elementary ministry. As we focus on Responsibility this month we will be looking at how God can teach us His ways with the gifts He has given us. Responsibility is showing you can be trusted with what is expected of you.

I also want to give you a couple of other resources to help you as parents connect with your children so you can teach them how to follow Jesus. If you are a smart phone user, please look into the ParentCue app from the Re-Think group. This app will provide opportunities for you to talk about the things of God with your children as you go throughout your days. There is content for both elementary and preschool children. I have also started to tweet and will send out helpful hints on how to teach your children along the way. You can find me at @humphrey_brett

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to walk with you and your family as we learn how to follow Jesus together.

Walking by your side,

Brett Humphrey

Pastor H