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Nathan Oates posted on May 10, 2012 11:28
Other than identity - who you are - the most important factor in effectively passing on the faith to the next generation is message: What you say – specifically, what you say about having a relationship with God.
Almost every week I’m in a conversation with a coach or a parent or a friend who is trying to figure out how to talk to someone about having a relationship with God.
Here are 10 ideas, specifically focused on talking to kids:
· Read the Bible with Your Kids
· Read Christian Allegories (Pilgrims Progress, Narnia Chron...
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Morgan Zerwas posted on May 05, 2012 20:15
This week the children at Emmaus will be learning about how God wants us to be kind. The kids will be hearing the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37). They will be discussing the verse: “Love your neighbor as yourself” Luke 10: 27. And they will be exploring the idea of “Neighbor.” Who is their neighbor? Who does God want them to be kind to?
Please help your child throughout the week to try to remember to be kind to family members and friends and even people who they don’t know. Encourage your child to pray f...
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Nathan Oates posted on April 26, 2012 07:07
Our community received 24 new people into membership in April: 24 people who simply said, “I will share life and discover Jesus in this community. I will live a life marked by transformation, community, and compassion.”
While we don’t make a big public display of this experience, I value this expression of commitment so deeply. In joining a local church community, a person is making one of the most significant statements: I am with you.
Life is easier - and better - when you know you are not alone. ...
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Nathan Oates posted on April 18, 2012 11:54
There's another shift that needs to take place if we're going to pass-on the faith to the next generation:
We must truly believe that love is stronger than fear.
I think this is always true.
But it is especially true in terms of Biblical character development. In the Christian story, love is the starting point, not fear of punishment.
Some of us would probably say that our faith development was very much motivated by a fear of punishment – as in eternal punishment. And I realize some fearful threats exist in scripture, that there are Bibl...
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Nathan Oates posted on April 17, 2012 21:28
We need to believe and embrace that intuition beats intellection. When it comes to religious formation:
meaning our character, our ethics, our beliefs,
the things that ultimately form the way we live,
Intuitive Development matters
far more than intellectual development.
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Nathan Oates posted on April 04, 2012 15:17
"Israel ate the meat of a dumb lamb to complete the Passover. Having done so, they smeared their doorposts with blood and laughed at the destroyer." - Athanasius 4th Century
Amidst the pain
Of suffering
Of deceit
Of injustice
Of sorrow
I Stand
Behind the Blood
And proclaim:
"You can kill my body but you cannot have my soul.
I am purchased by the Redeemer who Rose Again.
And when sin's tantrum is finally exhausted I will stand with my King,
Fully alive.
Carmen Oates posted on March 31, 2012 15:55
During Bonus Round on Sunday, the kids will make a book about the sermon series that we have just finished. Read the book together, and ask your child to tell you more about each of the 8 meals from the book of Luke. Read the passages from the Bible to put each story in context.
Thay will learn about two disciples who met the resurrected Jesus while taking a long walk from Jerusalem to a town called Emmaus. Take a long walk as a family this week and talk about what it might have been. Consider asking questions like these:
Was...
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Denise Alves posted on March 31, 2012 13:48
A four-week series of Sunday morning classes is headed our way. Starting the Sunday after Easter, 4/15, and running through 5/6, all kids will be able to join in on a collection of fun elective style classes. The courses will include: cooking, babysitting certification, sports, dancing, and missions themed crafts. There will be NO charge to participate! Each class will be held from 9:00 to 9:45 in rooms or outdoor spaces through out our location. And, parents will be able to relax and visit in the adult/paren...
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Nathan Oates posted on March 29, 2012 12:26
Why are Christians failing to pass-on the Faith even to our own children?
The value of one generation sharing the story of God with the next is one of the highest in scripture. But we don’t do this well.
I think one of the reasons we often strike out here is that we fail to appreciate our children’s capacity for spiritual insight. We dumb down spiritual mystery so dramatically that our stories lose their capacity to captivate.
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Angela Henning posted on March 21, 2012 06:37
In the midst of listening to this week’s sermon, I thought about certain attitudes we see in our culture. For some reason, we have adopted this idea that everything has to be positively phrased. Telling people “no” is deemed judgmental. Some might say it infringes on our freedoms. Then the Ten Commandments were mentioned. I could hear people I know complaining about the negative nature of these rules. Eight out of the ten tell us what not to do.
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