The Family Table

Feeding the Faith of LEFC Families

The Family Table – December 4, 2022

December 4, 2022

Dear LEFC Parents,

I hope you are taking advantage of the Advent season to focus your family on the coming of Christ–both at the first Christmas and His second coming still on the way. Today is the second Sunday of Advent, and the LEFC Advent Reading focuses on how Jesus’ Kingdom will be marked by peace. I can hardly wait (though waiting is exactly what we must do right now)!

Sign Your Kids Up for the LEFC Christmas Program

Today is the deadline for telling Emigh Modzel if your kid(s) will be participating in this year’s Christmas Program scheduled for Sunday December 25th. I hope they have a great experience sharing the story of the birth of Christ with the church family!

Christmas Caroling

Bring your family along for our LEFC Christmas Caroling event on Sunday, December 18th 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 8, Lesson 3 – “Joshua Challenged the People.” 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. The next class is this evening. I hope your teen can participate.

And for Dessert…

This week’s recommended resource is an Advent playlist for kids. Have you discovered the musical collective Rain for Roots? They have a number of great albums with high quality Christian-themed music written specifically for kids. (They often feature one of my all-time favorite singer-songwriters Sandra McCracken.) Rain for Roots’ 2015 Album “Waiting Songs” is all about Advent. [SpotifyYouTube.] I especially like the plaintive bluesy-country song “It’s Hard to Wait” based on Isaiah 40. 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!