Super Saturday @ UPWARDinToledo & LifeWay!

Read about this week's practice devotional HERE.

Tomorrow is our second day of games!

Reminder!!

Kindergartners are in the other gym (Dunbar) at 8:30 & 9:30

The following 1st/2nd grade teams are in  the Dunbar Gym

Hornets vs Hawks @ 10:30 am

Pelicans vs Bucks @ 11:30 am

Plan to be in the locker room about 10 to 15 minutes before the game time.

Full schedules are available @ upwardintoledo.com

After the game plan to head over to Lifeway on Talmadge

for their Super Saturday activities and sale.

If you didn't see the pictures from last week, go to 

www.facebook.com/upwardsportsintoledo/

Respect: Devotional for January 26 & 27

Here is this week's devotional.  We want to encourage you to talk with you child about this virtue, verses and devotionals.  Be sure to check back here tomorrow for more about RESPECT and this weekend's game day.




Virtue: RESPECT - Showing others they are important by what you say and do.

Scripture Verse: Show proper respect to everyone. 1 Peter 2:17a (NIrV)

Bottom Line: Respect God because He’s in charge of everything.

All right, guys. At our last practice, we talked about respect. Respect is showing others they are important by what you say and do. How did you do with your respect challenge? Did you follow through? Did you make choices to show respect to the people who are in charge of you? I’d love it if a couple of you would share how you showed respect this past week. (Allow one or two athletes to share.)


Sounds like you guys are really learning a lot about respect. Today, I want to share a story with you about an encounter Jesus had with a Roman commander. The commander was in charge of many other soldiers in the Roman army, so he definitely understood authority and how it worked. After all, if his soldiers didn’t follow his orders in battle, it could be a matter of life and death.

But this commander had a problem. His servant was sick. Very sick. The servant was suffering so much that the commander knew he needed to do something. So he went to see Jesus, believing that Jesus could heal his servant. Check this out. Here’s the conversation between the commander and Jesus that’s recorded in Matthew chapter 8: “Lord . . . my servant lies at home and can’t move. He is suffering terribly.” Jesus said, “Shall I come and heal him?” The commander replied, “Lord, I am not good enough to have you come into my house. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. I myself am a man under authority. And I have soldiers who obey my orders. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes. I tell that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my slave,  ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. He said to those following him, “What I’m about to tell you is true. In Israel I have not found anyone whose faith is so strong.” And Jesus healed the commander’s servant!  This is the only time in all the accounts of Jesus’ life on earth where He was “amazed” by
someone’s faith. And it was all because the commander really understood what respect for authority was all about. He recognized who Jesus really was—that Jesus is God. The commander knew that because Jesus is God, He can heal sickness because sickness answers to Him. The commander knew that Jesus was in authority over all things, so he trusted that Jesus could heal his servant. The commander showed unbelievable respect for God.

You and I can learn something really important from this passage in the Bible. The One who deserves the most respect is God. He created the entire world. He created you. He is an all knowing, all loving, mountain-moving, storm-controlling, miracle-working God. He is in control over all things. There is no one more powerful or more worthy of our respect.  And get this. God loves you. He’s not just a powerful God who is uninterested in us. He knows every single thing about you. The Bible says He even knows exactly how many hairs are on your head. He has a good plan for your life. But He wants and He deserves your respect. We need to respect God because He’s in charge of everything.

Let’s pray and tell Him how much we love and respect Him today.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, You are an awesome God. There is no one like You. You are the one true God and the only one worthy of our respect and praise. We want everyone around us to see You for who You really are—a mighty God who loves us more than we could ever imagine. Thank You for loving us, God, and for giving us

Family Worship 101 resource

Free & Convenient Training that will impact you and your family!

 
Family Worship 101 with Don Whitney from Crossway on Vimeo.

Here is a brief description of the course 

God deserves to be worshiped by your family in your home.  

Join Donald S. Whitney for a free, 5-day email course designed to teach you how to lead your family in worship every day.  You’ll learn the 3 key components of family worship and practical tips designed to help you actually make it happen on a daily basis—taking the mystery out of leading your loved ones in worshiping God together.  After the course is over, you'll continue to receive encouraging, gospel-centered content delivered directly to your inbox once a week— helping you walk closely with God each and every day.

Here are some action steps 

1. Sign up for the email course at www.crossway.org/familyworship101/.  This link also has some graphics you can share on facebook.
2. Learn and begin applying things you learn in the course.
3. Share lessons you have learned and life stories with others in conversations and on social media using #EBCdiscipleship

1st UPWARD Game Day!!!

Tomorrow is our first game day for the 2016 season.

A couple of things to know about the day!!!

• Talk to child about respect, which was this week's virtue.  Click HERE to read this week's practice devotional.
• Schedules can be found at upwardintoledo.com
• ALL games start at the bottom of the hour (8:30, 9:30 and so on).  This is different than the rest of the weeks.  Plan to be there before the start time.
• There are 2 corrections to the schedule for tomorrow.  On the 3rd-4th grade boys schedule the Heat & Clippers play @ 10:30. On the 3rd - 5th grade girls schedule the Liberty & Sparks play @ 10:30
• There is no concession stand tomorrow.  Please plan accordingly.
• ALL games will be played in the Parmelee gym (the big double gym)
• Before the game be sure to follow the signs to your assigned locker room
• Here are 10 cell phone photo tips for game:  www.upward.org/blog/articles/10-cell-phone-photo-tips-for-game-day

Respect!! This week's virtue.

Before the game on Saturday be sure to talk to your child about respecting the referee, the coach and other players.  You might even want to mention respecting parents : )  Here is this week's devotional.

Virtue: RESPECT - Showing others they are important by what you say and do.

Scripture Verse: Show proper respect to everyone. 1 Peter 2:17a (NIrV)

Bottom Line: Respect those who are in charge.


I’ve got a question for you guys. Can you name some people who are in charge over you? Go ahead and shout them out. (Pause for responses.) Yep—you’ve got it. There are lots and lots of people who are in charge of us. From parents to teachers to coaches like me. Even I have people who are over me. I have a boss at work who’s in charge. It’s my job to listen to what he (she) has to say and follow his (her) leadership. That’s what respect is all about. Respect is showing others they are important by what you say and do.

Now, who’s in charge out on the basketball court during a game? It’s not the coaches, and it’s not the players. Any guesses? (Pause for responses.) Yep, it’s the referee! The ref’s job is to enforce the rules of the game and maintain order on the court. Now, what would happen if you guys all headed out on the court and decided to completely ignore the authority of the ref? (Pause for responses.) That’s right. Things would probably be kind of a mess. As players and coaches, it’s our job to respect the referee and follow their lead on the court.

Have you ever seen a player or a coach on TV who didn’t respect the referee? Maybe it’s a guy who got a foul and then made a face and lifted his hands up like he’d been robbed. Or maybe it was a coach who didn’t like a call, so he tossed his clipboard and threw a giant tantrum. Think about it—how did those guys look? Did they look cool? Or ridiculous? (Pause for responses.) Yep—when we show disrespect to the people who are in charge, we just embarrass ourselves. But the opposite is also true. Let’s say you don’t agree with the call the ref made . . . but you still nod your head and say, “Yes, Ref.” That shows the ref that you know their job is important. It shows that you respect them, just like you’d want someone else to respect you.

Interaction Questions:

1. Why do you think God wants us to show respect to people in charge? (He’s the One who placed them over us. When we respect them, we’re showing that we trust God.)
2. Can you disagree with someone who’s in charge and still show them respect? (Yes.) How  (Body language, eye contact, tone of voice)
3. What are some ways that people show disrespect? (Rolling their eyes, raising their voice, speaking out of turn, complaining behind someone’s back)
4. Do you think other people notice how you act toward those who are over you? Why is that important? (You can be a leader and an example of how to treat others.)

So, I have a challenge for you this week. I want you to think about the people who are in charge of you—the ones we mentioned earlier. And I want you to think about choices you can make that will show them respect. Maybe you can show them respect by choosing kind words instead of disrespectful ones when you talk to your mom or dad. Maybe it’s really listening to your teacher instead of goofing off or talking during class. Or, hey, maybe it’s respecting the ref’s calls out there on the court. Are you guys up for this respect challenge? Awesome! Why don’t we pray and ask God to help us respect those who are in charge this week?

Prayer

God, thanks for this great reminder about showing respect. We love You, and we want You to know how much we respect You! Help us to follow through and show respect this week to the people who are in charge of us. We know that when we respect those in charge that we’re also showing You respect too because You are the One who put them in charge. We love You and we ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Kids learning about the importance of Soul Care this Sunday.

This Sunday, Pastor Duke concludes his 2 part message on the 8 Principles of Biblical Soul Care.
Not Soul Care Groups, our small group ministry, but rather the Biblical command to care for and help one another grow.
The 1st - 3rd grader will be in the service with their families.
There are two reasons we have kids in church this Sunday.


The first reason is because it is part of our regular, quarterly schedule.  For more click HERE

The second reason is because of the specific topic being preached this Sunday.  Pastor Duke is going to continue preaching about the need for the church, each member to care for and help one another grow.  Our children need to hear this message.  They need to be reminded that church is not about them.  It is about God and His glory.  You can click HERE for resources to help before, during and after the service.

HERE are Pastor Duke's complete sermon notes.  These are very helpful in discussing the sermon before and after Sunday.

Do More Better for EKIDZ workers and others who help families.

Click HERE for Do More Better resources and videos.

We have great opportunities to Glorify God by Serving the Kids and Families God brings to EBC.  

During these Do More Better meetings, we are going to 

CELEBRATE what God did in 2015.

ANTICIPATE what God is going to do in 2016. 

This anticipation time will include two sections:

• some general resources such as security matters and online resources.
• specific times for those who work in the nurseries and those who work with 2 years old through 5th grade.

We are going to have three different DO MORE BETTER meetings for our EKIDZ ministry.

Sunday, January 17th @ 6:00 pm

Tuesday, January 19th @ 9:30 am

Exclusively for teens during the Teen Leadership meeting time on Sunday, January 24th.

Bring your DO MORE BETTER NOTE colored in a creative way. 
There will be some prizes for the "winning" pictures.

Here is the DO MORE BETTER guarantee.

Something from this Training Time will impact your life and/or your ministry!

If it doesn't you will get 100% of your registration back (by the way the training time is free)

Questions to Review the First 5 points

Here some questions to help you review the first 5 points from the sermon two weeks ago. 

While some of the answers may seem very obvious, 

have you child answer them and think about the significance of each one.

What does "all" mean?

What does "must" mean? 

What does "DISCIPLED to disciple mean?

What does "sufficiency" mean?  

What is "the work of the ministry" mean?

 What does "authoritatively" mean?

What are different ways people teach?

What does "practically" mean?

Talking with your kids before Sunday.

Before this Sunday plan to talk with your child about the first 5 points from last week's sermon.  They are in the previous post.  

Here are some questions to talk about with your kids.
Remind your children that the church is not a building or a meeting time.
The church is a collection of believers.

1. Why should we get together with others as a church?
2. When we get together as the church, what should we do?
3. Why do we sing?  What are some songs you remember and/or like that we sing in the church services?
4. Why do we listen to preaching?  What are some things you can do to listen better during the sermon?

Caring for One Another because God Loved Us! Kids in Church 01.17

Here are the first 5 of 8 Principles for a Biblical Philosophy of Soul Care Pastor Duke preached on Sunday, January 10, 2016.  

1. All the church must be DISCIPLED to disciple
2. Our SUFFICIENCY must be from Christ
3. All the CHURCH must do the work of the ministry
4. The Bible must be authoritatively TAUGHT
5. The Bible must be practically APPLIED

In thinking about Pastor Duke's mission clarifying message, here is how we have simplified our mission for the kids!

Love God. 

Live out the Word. 

Love others.

As you and your child prepare for Sunday.  You should review your notes from last Sunday's sermon and begin talking to your child about why church is important.

For more general resources about kids in church
and for more specific resources about this upcoming Sunday,
click on the Kids in Church logo to the right. 

Not your ordinary Sunday! January 10, 2016

This Sunday was not your ordinary Sunday in our children's wing,

and I am talking about more than that crazy snow!

Here is what two class did a little different this morning.

During the 9:00 hour, the kindergarten class had a Baby Shower. 

They played some baby shower games.  

Each child received a "It's a Boy" rattle and the room was decorated with baby blue decorations.

Why?

Today's lesson was "God sends Baby Isaac."

What better to celebrate God sending a baby than having a baby shower.

During the 10:30 service time, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd graders watched 

the Torchlighter's DVD on the life of Jim Elliot.  

You can see a clip from the video and find several other resources at

at the Torchlighter's site

Friday, January 8, was the 60th anniversary of the death of Jim and 4 other missionaries.

To find out more about what we talk about in class you can click HERE.

Remember,

God is faithful to His promises

So you can expect Him to do what says!

Check back tomorrow and throughout the week.

We Worship God because of God! (01.03)

You may have heard the saying 

"Wise Men still seek Him!"

This week, in the 1st - 3rd grade class we talked about the fact that

We worship God because of God, who He is and what He has done,

not because of our wisdom.

We are to have a child-like faith in a basic truth.
God sent His promised Messiah to sinners!

Let us live with this great expectation this year!

Let us live with an attitude of sacrificial worship.

Memory verse: 

2 year olds through kindergarten:  

Deuteronomy 7:9a

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, 

1^st through 5^th grade: 

Deuteronomy 7:9

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, 

the faithful God who keeps covenant and 

steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 

to a thousand generations,