The Family Table

Feeding the Faith of LEFC Families

The Family Table – December 18, 2022

December 18, 2022

Dear LEFC Parents,

Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent, and this week’s LEFC Advent Reading emphasizes the righteousness of the Messiah. The Prophet Jeremiah says that He will be so full of righteousness that it will actually be His name! He will even share His own righteousness as a gift to His own people–us. We have so much to look forward to in His kingdom. I can hardly wait (but, of course, waiting is exactly what we need to do right now.)!

Children’s Christmas Program

Next Sunday, all of the kids present for morning worship will be invited up front to hear a special Christmas lesson and receive a small gift. There will be a fellowship time with snacks at 9:30, and worship will begin at our usual time (10:00am).

Christmas Caroling

Bring your family along for our LEFC Christmas Caroling event on THIS AFTERNOON 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.

The Gospel Project at Home

Today, our Children’s Church continued their Bible study in The Gospel Project with Volume 3, Unit 9, Lesson 1 – “The People Kept Sinning.” Follow this link to find resources for a family devotional time based on this lesson. [Free one-time registration required.]

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. 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.

Worldview Training for Youth

“Ideas Have Consequences.” Keith Hurley and his team are continuing to offer a worldview training class for youth (grades 7-12) in the upstairs Youth Room every other Sunday evening at 7:00pm. This evening, Keith has planned a Christmas-themed class that should be fun! I hope your teen can participate. Parents are always invited, too.

And for Dessert…

This week’s recommended resource is a website with resources for growing as a disciple-making parent. It’s called (surprise, surprise), “TheDisciple-MakingParent.com,” and it is chockful of free stuff to download and use.

I thought this short article, “The 12 Ways of Christmas” by the website’s primary author, Chap Bettis, was especially helpful for parents to make a simple do-able plan for family worship as Christmas approaches (just one week to go!). I hope your family eats it up.

Blessings,

Pastor Matt

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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!