The Family Table
Feeding the Faith of LEFC Families
TFT: The Christmas Countdown
December 3, 2023
Dear LEFC Parents,
Today is the first Sunday of Advent, and this week’s LEFC Advent Reading focuses on incredible truth of John 1:1.
KBC Handbells – Next Week!
“There’s music in the air!” Our Bible Explorers Class is excitedly practicing a Hand Bell version of the well-loved Christmas classic, Silent Night. Practices take place each Sunday morning during the first few minutes of Kids Bible Class. ALL kids in grades 1-3 are encouraged to participate! The kids will be sharing their selection during the regular 10:00AM Sunday Worship service next Sunday (December 10) and also at the special Christmas Eve service at 7:00PM December 24. Mark your calendars!
Christmas Caroling – Coming Soon
Bring your family along for our LEFC Christmas Caroling event December 17th at 3:00pm! We will gather on campus and practice a few favorite songs before caravaning throughout our community to brighten the holiday season of some of our beloved church families (older folks and shut-ins). No sign-ups necessary. Just show up! The kids that came along last year had a great time.
Talent Night, Holy Night?
Does anyone in your family want to do something special for our Christmas Eve Candlelight service (December 24, 7:00pm)? We would love to have children, youth, and parents sing or play a special song, do a skit, read a poem or Scripture or do some other creative thing. See Pastor Matt with your ideas.
The Gospel Project at Home
Today’s Bible Study is “Jesus Appeared to His Disciples” (Volume 10: Unit 28: Session 1). Ask your kids what they learned in Kids Bible Class this morning and/or do the family devotional you can find at this link. Contrary to what we indicated in the last two emails, our Kids Bible Classes will begin Genesis again next summer, not today. Sorry for any confusion. For more information about our current series, check out the The Gospel Project Big Picture Cards which your family received in your mailbox today.
Send Pastor Matt Your Kids’ Sports Schedules
Winter sports are here! I (Pastor Matt) love to drop in to see the kids of our church family play their sports, but I need to know when and where the games are. It’s hard to keep track of who is on what team. If you could send me your kids’ sports schedules for this new season, it will help me to make it to more games and spend some quality time with your family.
Challenge Conference – Advanced Planning
The 2024 Challenge Conference has been announced for July 1-5 in Kansas City. We’d love to send a group from LEFC as we have in past years. To do that we need interested youth (grades 7-12) and willing adult leaders. That seems like a long time from now, but it will be here before we know it. (Read more about Challenge on the official conference website.)
Snack and Yack
When the auditorium empties after worship, girls and boys (grades 3ish-7ish) 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 their wives about the message.
And for dessert…
This magical new animated poetic video about Christmas from Glen Scrivener is really clever and beautifully done. Share it with your kids today and consider learning about SpeakLife’s new 321 course for a new sharp way to share the gospel with people.
They say, “WHY 321? 321 immerses us in Jesus’ vision for life. Through it, we come to better understand the world around us.
3 stands for God’s three-ness. This is known as the Trinity. God is three persons united in love.
2 stands for the world’s two-ness. The world is shaped by two representatives. They’re Adam and Christ.
1 stands for our one-ness. By default, we’re one with Adam. Through faith, we can be united with Christ.”
We hope your family eats it up.
Matt Mitchell, Pastor
Holly Crumrine, 2023 Family Ministries Coordinator
P.S. Here’s the 2023 Advent Playlist from The Gospel Coalition. Maybe throw this on the speakers when your family puts up your tree?
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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!