Godstruck Ministries 4 Kids December 2015 Newsletter

Blessings Blog: Always Near

Little children are trusting, fairly innocent, and pretty creative when allowed to let their imaginations soar. Jesus recognized these traits in little ones when He welcomed them to His side against His disciples’ inclinations to keep them away. He also told them that people who have the faith of a little child would enter the kingdom of heaven. While there are other Scripture passages that address maturing in faith and not remaining like an infant in our walk with the Lord, it is clear that childlike faith is warranted for a true relationship with God.

I was raised in a church that read the Scriptures in Liturgical fashion every Sunday, but the beauty of a personal relationship with Christ was not emphasized as much as following church doctrine and ordinances. I was taught about Jesus, but not necessarily about Jesus’ sacrifice for me that purchased eternity for all who believe in who He is and receive His magnificent gift of salvation. Still, I hold a precious memory of an action that I took as a child that may have been key in my future walk with the Lord.

When my brother and I were growing up, we adored one type of toy above all others – stuffed animals. They all had names, personalities, and even unique voices that we bestowed on each. We took them on sailing adventures on our couch-boat, had them do telethons with our little reel-to-reel recorder, and treated them like family. Because they were so near and dear, I’d say about ten occupied my twin bed space with me. We were a cozy bunch. There was one other occupant, however, whom I invited to spend the night with us. I remember scooting over as close to the wall as possible with all my animals squished in between and inviting Jesus to occupy the space next to me. I guess I thought He needed a place to rest His head, and as my teddies, bunnies and other varied stuffed animal friends already knew how to share limited quarters, we certainly had room for just one more, especially God’s Son. It was very special to think that He could be so near and that perhaps He could spend the night with a little girl like me.

Little did I know then that Jesus desired for me to ask Him to occupy another space – the room in my heart. My journey toward a saving faith in Him was long and slow, though because of His diligent pursuit of me, very sure. It is interesting to think that while I welcomed Him to be near when I was young, He was near all along. He stayed by me, patiently waiting for me to respond in the way that He intends: to become a part of His family through faith in Him.

Psalm 145:13b-19 (ESV) assures us that He is near and that he is ever watching over us and caring for us.

“The LORD is faithful in all His words and kind in all His works.
The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
The LORD is righteous in all His ways and kind in all His works.
The LORD is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear Him;
He also hears their cry and saves them.”

In this season that focuses on Christ’s entrance into the world, let us remember that He is still near. He came as Immanuel, God with us, and He remains so today. James 4:8 (ESV) says, “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” Celebrate how He came to always be by your side. And if you have never accepted His gift of salvation, make this the time when you receive the greatest gift ever given, by employing childlike faith to have a relationship with the God of the universe through His precious Son. May God bless you with a wonderful Christmas holiday!

References:

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Bible Prophecies

Family Activity: Bring Him Near and Hold Him Dear

By celebrating the birth of Christ we remember not only that He is near, but we are able to renew our excitement over the time when He came in the flesh and anticipate the time when He will come again. With this in mind, you and your family will be participating in a very simple activity. It will be a special reminder of His advent, and it can also serve as a visual countdown to Christmas day.

For this activity you will need a manger scene of some sort. It can be as minimal as Mary, Joseph and Jesus, with either a separate crèche, or one in which Jesus and the manger are a solitary piece. Set up the entire Nativity, minus the baby, using as many pieces as you have or want to use (shepherds, angels, animals, etc). Let one of your children find a place in a location far from the manger to set the baby Jesus.

If you do not have a Nativity set, another fun option is to use a small infant doll. Wrap it in a cloth. Use a basket big enough to hold the doll as the crèche, and put some rags in the bottom. Place the basket in the location where you will finish this activity on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.

Come together as a family every day for fourteen days before Christmas. Give one child per day an opportunity to hold and relocate the babe making sure to move Jesus closer to the Nativity set. Here is a two-week list of Scriptures that can be read daily along with this activity as the baby is moved toward the Nativity scene. These are all Old Testament prophecies that spoke about the Christ:

Genesis 49:9-10 (The Savior would come from the tribe of Judah.)
Deuteronomy 18:15-19 (God would raise up a prophet like Moses.)
Psalm 45:6-7 (Jesus will reign forever.)
Isaiah 7:14 (A virgin will bear a Son; He will be Immanuel.)
Isaiah 9:2-3 (Jesus would be a light to the people.)
Isaiah 9:6-7 (The Messiah will be a wonderful ruler to all people.)
Isaiah 11:1-2 (Jesus, the heir to David’s throne, is empowered by the Holy Spirit.)
Isaiah 11:3-5 (Jesus will be a fair and righteous ruler.)
Isaiah 28:16-17 (Jesus will be the sure foundation for all people who believe in Him.)
Isaiah 35:4-6 (Miracles would be a part of Jesus’ ministry.)
Isaiah 40:3-5 (A messenger would prepare the way for Jesus.)
Isaiah 61:1-2 (Jesus will set people free.)
Jeremiah 23:5 (Jesus will rule and reign wisely.)
Micah 5:2-5a (Jesus’ birthplace would be Bethlehem.)

Encourage discussion of these different prophecies about Jesus on a level appropriate for your family members. Take a few minutes to pray and thank God for these characteristics of our Lord and Savior. Make sure to speak words of praise to Him, perhaps even in a song or favorite Christmas carol.

On Christmas Eve, or early on Christmas day, have the head of your household place the baby Jesus into the Nativity scene. If you have a special guest joining you for the day, perhaps he or she could do the honors. Read the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-20. You can do so from a Children’s Bible or an accurate Christmas storybook if this is best for your family. Once again, pray and thank the Lord for Jesus coming into the world in such a humble way, and give Him praise as a family.

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased.” May His peace be yours as you worship Him together.

Living the Word: Share the Joy of His Coming

It is such a blessing to share with others the happiness and joy of the season. There are so many ways that this can be done throughout the holidays. Possibly you have already been able to bless someone’s life in Jesus name. Here is another small way to bring the message of the nearness of Christ to those around you.

Have your family take an hour or two to make cupcakes and decorate them with a small crèche (manger holding the baby Jesus) to proclaim that Jesus is always near. Here is what you will need:

Any flavored cake mix and required ingredients for baking, or a “from scratch” recipe and the necessary ingredients
Vanilla frosting - either canned or homemade
Food coloring or gel to tint the frosting
Small taffy-type candy colored brown, orange or light pink
Several plastic sandwich bags, or a simple decorating set with bags, tips and couplers
Small pretzel twists (four per cupcake)
Small, round sprinkles or the tips of Hershey’s Kiss candies

Have your children help make the cupcakes, and when thoroughly cool, frost them.

For each cupcake to be decorated take four mini twist pretzels and push them down into the frosted cupcake at right angles to each other, with the two rounded edges of each pointing up. This will make a square to rectangular shape. (Slant each out slightly.)

Color some of the frosting yellow. Cut a small piece from a corner of one of the plastic bags. Place the yellow tinted frosting in the bag. Seal, and use pressure to make continuous strings in the bottom of the pretzel crèche and in lines going up and over the pretzels to make it look like hay. If you are doing this with an actual decorating set and have a tip with more than one hole, use that tip for this process.

Take the taffy candy. Pinch off a portion to roll into a ball that is about one-half inch in diameter. This will become baby Jesus’ head. Take a very tiny portion and roll into another ball and place on the center front of the bigger ball as a nose. Roll two more small portions into ovals and flatten. Attach to the sides of the large ball as ears. Place the head nose side up at one end of the crèche.

Tint about an eighth of a cup of frosting light blue. Use a pastry bag and a large round tip or a plastic bag with a large hole cut in one corner to pipe the blanket, starting at the “chin” of the head and filling in the entire bottom two-thirds of the manger. Smooth the blanket with a knife that has been sprayed with a baking spray, or pat it down with a finger that has been dipped in cornstarch.

For the eyes, if you have used a brown candy head, pipe two small spots of white with a bag like the one for the yellow frosting. Place a small eye-colored sprinkle in each of the whites. If the head is a light color, you can use the tips of Hershey’s Kiss candies for brown eyes. You can pipe white underneath, or just use the candy tips alone. As you work with them they will become soft and will stick to the taffy.

Color a small amount of frosting red/pink. Use this in a bag with a small hole to make a mouth.

Give your special cupcake to a neighbor, friend, or family member to share the news that Jesus is near. “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel” (which means, God with us), Matthew 1:23 (ESV).

What's New?

Verse for December – Luke 1:34–35 (ESV)

³⁴And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” ³⁵And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Stuffies Makeover

Over the next couple months, our M.C. and Joni Microphonie Stuffies are undergoing a makeover. We will keep you posted. We're looking forward to seeing the results!!

1,000+ Facebook Fans!!!

We've shared in the last couple newsletters that we have accumulated over 1000 likes on Facebook. We appreciate how you are sharing news about us with others. To celebrate with you, we continue to provide a download to the song, "The Knight Is Coming." (Clicking on the song title will download it to your computer.) Thank you for your support, and please continue to share our page with your friends and family. (Words and Music by - Karen Langdon, Instrumental Arrangement by - Marty Hamby)

Major Recording Announcement

We've shared in the last couple newsletters that we are currently in discussions with a recording company from Germany who desires to translate Sing God's Word - Psalms in Tune CD #1 and Sing God's Word - Way to Praise CD #2 into the German language. This is a huge step of faith and commitment on our part, so we ask for your support through prayer! We should have more concrete information early in 2016.

Christmas Holiday Discount

Purchase one or more products and enjoy a 15% discount on your entire purchase from Friday, 11 December – Thursday, 31 December 2015;use coupon code CHRISTMAS15 at checkout! Coupon expires 31 December 2015.

Ministry Partners

Living to Worship - promotes wellness and fitness in your spirit and body, all for the glory of God

Little Giant Steps - provides life-changing solutions for accelerating learning abilities in individuals whether they are gifted, typical or challenged

MY HOMESCHOOL ROADMAP - provides life-changing solutions for parents to homeschool their children without fear of failure

Verse for December – Luke 1:34–35 (ESV)

Stuffies Makeover

1,000+ Facebook Fans!!!

Major Recording Announcement

Christmas Holiday Discount

Ministry Partners

Look for us at the following venues in the upcoming months:

2015

2016

As the theme verse for Godstruck Ministries 4 Kids, Colossians 3:16 speaks to the heart and soul of why this ministry exists. Our mission is to help children hide God’s Word and principles in their hearts through His wonderful gift of music.