The Family Table
Feeding the Faith of LEFC Families
TFT: Watching What Your Kids Watch
March 17, 2024
Dear LEFC Parents,
Jesus is the reason for this season as well! This is the time of year when we think the amazing love Jesus showed us by sacrificing Himself for our sins and the power of His resurrection. What are you planning to do in the next couple of weeks to lead your family deeper into the mystery of the gospel?
Here are some items to set the table for disciple-making in your family in the week ahead:
Egg Hunt at the Ark Park
The Family Ministries Team is organizing an Easter egg hunt on March 30th at 10:00am on our LEFC campus. In addition to the hunt, we’ll be organizing indoor crafts and activities to enjoy. Children ages 0-12 are invited to participate. Registration will begin at 9:30am. Pre-registration is available for children who are attenders of LEFC. We still need a few volunteers to join the team. See Jordyn Skacel, Holly Crumrine, or Vicky Albert with questions, to pre-register, or to get involved!
“Egg Your Yard” Challenge Fundraiser
Our church is currently sending 10 students to Challenge 2024 in Kansas City, MO! We will be conducting some fundraisers for the remaining third of the cost and to give our group opportunities for team building before we hit the road. Our first fundraising effort is an “Egg Your Yard” event. For a suggested donation of $50 (for 100 eggs) or $75 (for 150 eggs), you can wake up to an egg hunt in your own yard on Easter morning! Sign-ups and envelopes are available in the foyer and will be posted on our church’s Facebook wall for family and friends of LEFC. Please see Cody or Holly Crumrine for questions or more information.
Week 8 of “Chasing Love” – Bible Study for Teens
There are only 2 more meetings for our class for youth, Chasing Love: Sex, Love, and Relationships in a Confused Culture (Sunday evenings at 7:00 in the upstairs Youth Room). “Chasing Love” is led by Keith and Heather Hurley and Joan Page. Other parents are always welcome and invited to participate, too. Tonight’s lesson is about Pornography and Abuse.
The Gospel Project at Home
Today’s Bible Study is “Stephen Was Arrested” (Volume 10: Unit 31: Session 3). Ask your kids what they learned in Kids Bible Class this morning and/or do the family devotional you can find at this link.
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 (and sometimes guest preachers?!) about the message.
And for dessert…
Our recommendation for family discipleship this week is a helpful article about vetting our kids’ entertainment choices. After a sobering introduction, Brett McCracken writes:
“It’s a big ask to challenge busy parents—who already stress about screen time and phones as gateways to all manner of intrusive bad influences—to continually monitor otherwise “trusted” purveyors of content. It’s neither realistic nor desirable for parents to peer over the shoulders of their kids 24-7.
Still, to be “hands off” after an initial endorsement is unwise in an age when unbiblical values are everywhere in the media landscape—even (and sometimes especially) in seemingly wholesome content geared at impressionable young people.”
McCracken offers 5 really helpful tips (including periodically watching what your kids watching by watching with your kids!) and then rounds out the article with a discerning and hopeful word about how each time we say no (or have to say no after having previously said yes), we have a new opportunity in discipleship:
“But your “no” is an opportunity to have fruitful conversations about knowing and loving biblical truth, even when it’s countercultural. Your “no” should spark conversation about what it looks like to practice wisdom and discernment as Christians in an age of entertainment overload.”
Read the whole thing: Vetting Kids’ Entertainment Isn’t a One-and-Done.
We hope you eat it right up.
Matt Mitchell, Pastor
Holly Crumrine, Family Table Editor
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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!