The Family Table
Feeding the Faith of LEFC Families
TFT: Jackie Hill Perry
July 2, 2023
Dear LEFC Parents,
Here are some items on the agenda for the days ahead:
The Gospel Project at Home
Today’s Bible Study is “Zephaniah Warned God’s People to Repent” (Volume 5: Unit 14: Session 3). Ask your kids what they learned in children’s church this morning and/or do the family devotional you can find at this link.
Snack and Yack
Snack and Yack will continue throughout Pastor Matt’s sabbatical. When the auditorium empties after worship, girls and boys (grades 3-7) who listened to the sermon (remember to fill out a handout!) are invited to Pastor Matt’s office for a tasty treat and a brief discussion with one of the LEFC elders (and sometimes guest preachers?!) about the message. Parents, if you would like to help host the discussion by providing the snack, see Holly Crumrine to get involved.
Family Bible Week
Family Bible Week starts next week. Make plans now to join us each night, July 10th – 13th at 6:00pm, for dinner, a time of singing, and classes for all. Then come out for our finale Sunday, July 16th at 10:00am. See Holly Crumrine if you have questions or how you might be involved.
And for Dessert…
This week, we’re shifting focus for parents of older children. Jackie Hill Perry is an author, poet, Bible teacher, and hip-hop artist. She writes for the Gospel Coalition, hosts a podcast, and some of our older church kids saw her perform slam poetry at our Challenge conferences in 2016 and 2018 (definitely worth a watch!).
Jackie focuses on the goodness and holiness of God. Her themes center around relationships, sexuality, and womanhood. I highly recommend her first book, Gay Girl, Good God. She recounts her early identification with same-sex attraction, and then her life-changing decision to follow Jesus. As a result, she says, she was forced to believe that if God is good, as he says and as she believed, it meant following him no matter what, giving up whatever God called her to give up. And he’s worth it.
Now a wife and mother of two, Jackie hosts a podcast with her husband, Preston Perry (race and addiction to pornography are occasional topics). She has written a Bible study on the book of Jude, and a book of devotions will be released later this year. For your older teen who appreciates frank conversation about faith and the difficult topics that face Christians, Jackie Hill is a voice to hear.
Holly Crumrine, 2023 Family Ministries Coordinator
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EXPLAINER: THE GOSPEL PROJECT AT HOME
For the last several years, our Children’s Church ministry has utilized The Gospel Project as our Bible study curriculum. The Gospel Project is really excellent–it takes our Little Learners and Bible Explorers chronologically through the whole Bible over the course of three years while always focusing on Jesus as the center of the big story. If your student was in Little Learners or Bible Explorers this morning, they received a coloring page and take-home sheet that corresponds to this lesson. You have also been given a full-color Big Picture Card that you can use to reinforce the lesson with your child, as well.
To reinforce what your kids are learning each week in Children’s Church, you can now access The Gospel Project At Home online. Each week in this email, there will be a link to follow to get this free resource which includes:
1. A guide to using the Gospel Project at Home.
2. Scripture to read and discuss with a recap video of the Bible Story (Preschool and/or Elementary).
3. Scripture memory verses and a song to sing together.
4. Prayer prompts and family activities that correspond to the lesson.
Please consider setting aside at least 10-15 minutes once a week for a family devotional time using this resource as a guide. We are hoping The Gospel Project At Home will help keep all of our LEFC kids “on the same page,” and feed their faith in Jesus.
This might be especially helpful if for some reason your child has to miss a week of Children’s Church. You can show them the Bible story video to keep them up to speed on what the other children are learning.
**Note: The first time you access the link, you will need to register a free account with Lifeway’s Ministry Grid. This will also provide you ongoing access through the “training” tab to many other discipleship resources including the Gospel Project at Home for previous weeks. Many hours of excellent things to absorb for free!