This week, we met Paul, who was a tax collector. Paul decided he wanted to join the disciples when he arrived in Jerusalem, but they doubted Paul’s sincerity as a disciple of Jesus. Up until his experience of meeting the Lord on the road to Damascus and his experience of blindness and healing, Paul was an enemy of Christianity and a persecutor of those who practiced the faith. The disciples do not trust that Paul has changed. Barnabas brings Paul to the apostles and serves as a witness that Paul has changed. Paul makes a large impact on the new church. The church grows in strength and reverence for the Lord, as well as the number of people. This growth is attributed to the Holy Spirit.

Since it was Mother’s Day, the boys planted flowers in a pot to take home. These were even more special because each one made their handprint, cut it out and, with Miss Vickie’s help, glued it on the flower pot. This made their Mother’s Day gift even more special. Hopefully, you had a wonderful Mother’s Day. See you in church on Sunday.

Blessings

This Sunday we learned about one of my very favorite ladies in the Bible!  Maybe you have heard of her. Tabitha was her name.  She was one of the poorest ladies in the town of Joppa.  In Bible times, women were completely dependent on men for their survival. If a woman’s husband died, the woman’s life took a drastic turn for the worst.  Women were not allowed to own property, so if the husband died, they would be at the mercy of others to be able to live.  Tabitha somehow had the resources to sew for others who were less fortunate. 

Unfortunately, Tabitha became very sick and died.  When the other disciples heard about Tabitha’s death, they sent for Peter. Peter went right over and went upstairs where Tabitha’s body lay. Many community members were there, crying and showing one another tunics and other clothing Tabitha had made. The presence of the community showed how dedicated Tabitha was to loving and serving others.

Peter asked the people to leave the room, and he knelt down and prayed. Peter commanded Tabitha to get up, and she opened her eyes and sat up.  Her friends were astounded and overjoyed at the same time. Through this story, we can learn that the exchange of loving gestures is part of being in the community of believers. See you in church. Blessings

Our story begins with a conflict between two groups in the early church. The issue involves the case of some widows not receiving enough food during the daily distribution of food.

The twelve call a meeting of all the disciples. They realize they need to focus on prayer and proclaiming God’s word rather than serving food, so they ask the community to select seven disciples from among them to serve.

They specify that the “new disciples” must be wise and filled with the Holy Spirit. This proposal pleases the whole community. The community selects seven people and presents them to the twelve, who pray for them and lay hands on them. God’s word continues to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increases.

Children may wonder why the disciples needed more help or why they couldn’t do it on their own. We might have this problem too. Sometimes children say “Don’t help me, I can do it myself!” But sometimes we need the help. It is okay to ask for help and work together to spread God’s love.

This shows that the disciples were paying attention; they wanted to provide more help for the community and then moved forward to organize that work.

We are all called to find ways to unite and act in love for one another, each sharing our gifts and talents to benefit the larger goals of the faith. We use our talents at church for the benefit of everyone.

This week we had a nice lesson about a community of believers who worked together for the good of everyone in their community. They held everything in common—meaning that they shared and looked out for one another.

By doing this, they created a community where no one was needy. They even sold their properties and houses to add to the wealth of the community. Their shared resources were managed by the apostles, who distributed them to those in need. This was not mandatory, but people did this to share and honor God. Sharing was a way of showing love and friendship.

As Christians today, we are called to share what we have with those in need. Sharing is hard sometimes for kids. It can also be hard for adults as we might feel ill-equipped or unable to help those who need the most. We often want to hold close to the things we have worked hard for.

This story reminded me of our very own Mr. Bill Parker, who donates so much time and energy to Eastside Ministries. We all have a chance to help Bill by donating our good used clothing to Eastside. They are always in need of donations of food and clothing.

I learned that they give out sack lunches, lots of bottled water, and boxes of food donated to them by stores to those in need. If you would like to volunteer to help Eastside Ministries, they could use your help — see Mr. Parker at church on Sunday for more information.

Blessings, see you in church Sunday….

This Sunday, we heard one of the amazing stories of Jesus’ wonders and his amazing power to heal.

During biblical times, poor people who needed assistance would sit by the gates of the temple and ask for help from people who passed by. People sometimes would give them money, food, or clothes. Jesus instructed people to give to anyone who asked.

In this story, when a man who is crippled sees Peter and John, he immediately asks them for money. However, Peter tells the man they have no money for him but offers something better. Peter commands the man to rise in the name of Jesus and then pulls him up by the hand. The man is healed by the power of Jesus and begins to walk, leap, and praise God. He even joins Peter and John in the temple. People are amazed to see the man who was unable to move on his own for so long up and able to move freely.

Children also encounter people who need help. They may not know what to do, but we can all help with a small task or assist one person at a time.

This story includes amazement and surprise, common responses to these kinds of healings. When we don’t know what to do, we can pray. Our kids made prayer jars to remind them that they could write prayers and put them in their jars to be taken out when they needed to pray. See you in church.

Blessings