My Sabbatical Plan
In about a month from now, I will
be taking my first sabbatical ever. Since I have never done this before, I
don’t know what to expect or what will come out of it. But because it is in our
pastoral staff policy and the Holy Spirit seems to be leading me to this, I am
obeying His guidance.
At first, I thought about
completely staying away and resting from church ministry. So, I planned not to
come to church for any reason even when I am in town. Instead, I thought about
attending different churches to experience different styles of worship and
learn from them. After ...
Ruth and Boaz
Dear Parents,
Only
two books in the Old Testament bear the name of a woman: Ruth and Esther.
Ruth’s story occurs at the time when judges ruled over Israel. God’s people
were characterized by rebellion and immorality. At a time when the Israelites
desperately needed a king to lead them back to God, Ruth’s story of
faithfulness points us to Jesus Christ, a coming Redeemer who will make all
wrong things right again.
Ruth
was the daughter-in-law of Naomi, a woman from Bethlehem who settled in Moab
with her husband and two sons to escape a famine. Naomi’s husband ...
Samson
Dear Parents,
Samson
was the last of the major judges of Israel. He was born to parents who
dedicated him to the Lord as a Nazirite after the Angel of the Lord announced
that Samson would be born to save the Israelites from the power of the
Philistines. Samson grew up, and God blessed him with great strength. But when
Samson requested to marry a Philistine woman, his parents were confused. Samson
was supposed to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines. Why would he want
to marry one of them? But God had a plan in all of this. (See Judg. 14:4.)
As
Samson prepared ...
Gideon
Dear Parents,
Last
week, your kids learned about Deborah and Barak. This week, Judges 6 starts out
in a familiar way: “The Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.”
The period of Judges was not a good time for the Israelites. Their cycle of
sin, bondage, deliverance, and peace clearly showed the law alone could not
save them from sin.
The
Israelites were oppressed by the Midianites, and they cried out to God for
help. God chose a man to save them, and his name was Gideon. Gideon was an
unlikely leader, and he knew this. Gideon said, “Please, ...
Deborah and Barak
Dear Parents,
This week, kids learn that the time of the judges
continued after the death of Ehud. The Israelites fell into a continuous cycle
of sin, bondage, deliverance, and peace. Every judge was imperfect, yet God
worked through the judges. At the time when the Israelites were oppressed by
the king of Canaan, Deborah was the judge of Israel. Deborah sent for Barak and
encouraged him to take up an army and fight the army of Canaan and its leader,
Sisera.
Deborah reminded Barak that God would hand
Sisera and his troops over to him. (Judg. 4:6-7) Barak agreed to ...
Israel’s Unfaithfulness
Dear Parents,
Thank
you for choosing to use the Gospel Project for Kids. Following Joshua’s death,
the Israelites were without a leader. They fell into a cycle of sin that can be
seen during each reign of the judges. The cycle is marked by an A-B-C-D-E
pattern. Let’s look at the first judge, Othniel, to see this pattern.
First,
the people fell into Apostasy. They
turned away from God and served other gods. (Judg. 3:7) Next, they experienced
a period of Bondage. God was angry
with the Israelites, and He gave them into the hand of the king of Aram. (v. 8)
Third, ...
Taking the Land
Dear Parents,
Last week, kids learned that God fought for His people
at the battle of Jericho. When Moses was the leader of Israel, God gave His
people instructions about entering the promised land. Among those instructions
was the command to drive out the nations living in the land of Canaan. (See
Deut. 7.) These nations were corrupt, and God would judge them for their sin.
(Lev. 18)
In the first battle, Israel marched around
Jericho and the Lord gave them the city. As Israel moved to take the rest of
the land, God pledged His presence to Joshua and reminded Israel ...