Dear Parents of Toddlers and Preschoolers,

I apologize for my inability to get this posted sooner. I must confess I have had a hard time making this happen, even though it is something I value immensely. The goal of our monthly Parent Cue is that we put into your hands the curriculum first so that you may be your child’s first teacher. I am sorry that I have not been able to keep it up and provide you with the monthly biblical topics so that you can be your child’s first teacher. So while its a week late here is the month of May.

Memory Verse: Isaiah 1:17 Learn to do what is right.

**If your child is ready to memorize the whole verse please do teach them the entire verse, its a wonderful verse for children to know and understand.

Learn to do what is right; seek justice.
Defend the oppressed.
Take up the cause of the fatherless;
plead the case of the widow.

May Weekly Lessons:

From this verse we learn that God wants us to do what is right; seek justice, defend the oppressed, and take care of those who are vulnerable. This will be the theme that comes out of every story.

May 6th Genesis 37:12-28; 41:36-56. We will learn that because of his great love for God, Joseph will choose to do the right thing.

May 13th Genesis 42:1-6; 45:1–46:7.  This week we will see how God prepared Joseph to forgive his brothers. We will talk about how forgiveness is doing what God asks us to do, even when someone might not deserve it. What a great lesson to learn as we tie this to how God will send us Jesus to rescue us from our brokenness. We are able to forgive others because of God’s great forgiveness for us.

May 20th Daniel 1:1-16. God asks Daniel to obey him by following a specific diet. Once again our kids will see that obedience to God first comes from a deep love for him. Because of Daniel’s love for God he obeys and is blessed. God protects him in ways that are oh so exciting and wonderful.

May 27th Daniel 6:1-28. Its not always easy to do what is right. Daniel knows that it is wrong to pray to anyone but God and so, because of his love for God, he obeys and does what is right! But its not easy to do what is right because for Daniel it might mean death to do what is right. God will rescue Daniel, and continue rescuing His people over and over, and one day He will send another man who will do what God asks, even if it means death on the cross.

Parent’s planning on attending the Maundy Thursday service please read this.

On Thursday evening we are having a time we are coming together as a community to worship on the day Jesus and his disciples gathered before Passover. This is a date on the church calendar that we call Maundy Thursday. It is recognized as the time that Jesus showed his friends what he meant when he said, “Love one another” by doing what needed to be done through the act of washing his friends’ feet. It is also the evening before Passover was to be celebrated. The disciples were remembering how God had delivered them from the Egyptians many years before. It was this evening that Jesus served his friends the first communion meal.

This is a more somber service because while Jesus and his friends are eating together there is still the understanding that it was out of that room Judas would leave to betray Jesus.

We are offering child care on Thursday for children Infants – 3rd grade. While the 0 – 3 year olds are to go to the Toddler room, we are having a special Maundy Thursday worship experience for the 4 years – 3rd grade kids. Please prepare your children for this event. Your children will be in the K-1st Sunday School room (3rd room on the left). They will not be in their normal Sunday School rooms. When they walk into the room they will take their shoes off and have their feet washed, they will then sit around the tables and have a “simple” snack together. We will also read a story about the Big God Story. This will be a story about God’s plan to bring us His Rescuer from the beginning of time. While there will be a brief explanation of why we are washing their feet and why we are eating together, it will not be in detail. Please take time this week to explain to your children what Maundy Thursday is all about.

If you have The Jesus Storybook Bible, read The Servant King together.

Parents of children 0-3rd Grade please read this

Dear Parents,

Easter is just a few days away. We wanted to send you an email letting you know what is going on on Easter Sunday so you can prepare for that day and your time of worship.

If you have an Infant-3 year old, please check them in at the Welcome Station and then take them into the Toddler room. You may check then in up to 15 minutes before the service starts.

If you have a 4 year old – 3rd grader, please take them down to the last adult Sunday School class on the right, at the end of the hall. Their Easter worship service will be held in that room. You may check them in up to 15 minutes before the service begins.

***There will be no dismissal from the Adult worship service. If you want your children to be a part of the special Easter worship experience for children you need to check them in before you worship in the sanctuary. If you want your children to worship with you in the sanctuary they will need to stay with you the entire service. There will not be a time for children’s dismissal from the sanctuary.

In March our younger classes learned that Jesus loves us, even when we are broken (or sinful). We read the story of the “Woman at the well” from John 4. We learned that while she had lived a life that was full of sin and brokenness Jesus still took time to care about her. We spent the month seeing ways Jesus loved people who were not perfect.

A few days ago I heard the following story  The Cracked Pot. Please take 53 seconds to listen to this, it is so wonderful. The Cracked Pot was written by Keven Kling, a story teller and writer. I don’t know the details about Klings faith, I do know that it doesn’t matter for this story to be a beautiful picture of how because of Christ, God doesn’t see our cracks anymore. In fact, He can use us for His glory, cracks and all.

“I think I’ll keep you” said the man. What a glorious God we serve, who loves us and even allows flowers to grow through all our human cracks.

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Here is the text for The Cracked Pot (but if you can listen to Keven Kling read it at the above link, do so, its always nice to have someone read you a story)

“Back in the days when pots and pans could talk, which indeed they still do, there lived a man. And in order to have water, every day he had to walk down the hill and fill two pots and walk them home.

One day, it was discovered one of the pots had a crack, and as time went on, the crack widened. Finally, the pot turned to the man and said, ‘You know, every day you take me to the river, and by the time you get home, half of the water’s leaked out. Please replace me with a better pot.’

And the man said, ‘You don’t understand. As you spill, you water the wild flowers by the side of the path.’ And sure enough, on the side of the path where the cracked pot was carried, beautiful flowers grew, while other side was barren.

‘I think I’ll keep you,’ said the man