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Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Why do we do what we do?

Why do we do what we do? That was a question that we tried to answer at our Family Vision Dinner in September. Part of the answer: We VALUE the children that the Lord has given us to relate with and minister to on a weekly basis. Yes, we only have several dozen weekends a year to impact their lives for the Kingdom of God, but what an opportunity to come alongside the families and impart Kingdom principles.

Over the past several months we have endeavored to connect with the children in positive, fun ways.


At the end of July we held our 4th Sports/Art Camp. Ninety children from all over the MOV participated in the camp, along with over thirty volunteers. We offered six different activities for them to choose from: basketball, soccer, baseball, cheerleading, art, and woodworking. Our evenings were filled with singing, Bible lessons, sports’ stories, art and sports’ instruction, snacks, object lessons, and Truth verse memorization. Steve Hill ( Alex and Gina’s brother-in-law) did an awesome job presenting the Gospel to the children on Thursday evening. Nine children prayed with him to receive the Lord in their heart for the first time. We ended the camp with a sports and art exhibit for the parents to see what the children had been doing all week. Every sports’ group had a chance to show-off their skills in an organized drill routine, while the art and woodworking projects were displayed during the refreshment time. With much anticipation, I am looking forward to next year and how the Lord wants to use us to impact the MOV area through this ministry.

A few days after our camp, we had a pool party. ( It was a fun way to recover from the week before)



To kick off our Freedom Kids program that is held on the first and third Saturdays of the month throughout the school year, we had a bowling party.



Now we are in full swing with Freedom Kids, and we had a great time at our last rally. We continue to impress upon them that they have a mission to bring heaven to earth. They don’t need to wait until they are grown-up to start, and because they have a relationship with Father God, their life can be an amazing adventure….and they don’t need to do it alone because John 14:16 says: “ I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper that He may be with you forever.”


Please continue to pray for us as we take every opportunity that we have, to show the children that we value them and even more so…that God values them.


Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Teaching Kids FUNdamental Bible Truths



In just a few short weeks, Valley Harvest will have the opportunity to be a part of some child-hood memories of children around this valley at our Sports/Art camp. We will have an opportunity to give them a week of fun; but more important, we will have a week to teach them some fundamental Bible truths that can change their destiny and the destiny of their family. We need God's wisdom and creativity to simplify but not water-down God's Word that brings change and life to those that receive it. This year's focus for the camp is "Breaking Free". We will be talking about breaking free from self-doubt, from lying, from bad choices, selfishness, and fear. These teachings will include Bible stories about Gideon, Rehoboam, Peter and others. Please be in prayer this month as we prepare for this camp and the ministry that will take place during the week of July 29th - August 2nd. 

 

Here is an excerpt from an article that John Piper wrote: " Teaching doctrine to a six-year old."

It uses a simple story to explain "Justification"

" My daughter, Talitha, is six years old. Recently she and my wife and I were reading through Romans together. This was her choice after we finished Acts. She is just learning to read, and I was putting my finger on each word. She stopped me in mid-sentence at the beginning of chapter five and asked, "What does 'justified' mean?" What do you say to a six-year-old? Do you say, There are more important things to think about, so just trust Jesus and be a good girl? Or do you say that it is very complex and even adults are not able to understand it fully, so you can wait and deal with it when you are older? Or do we say that it simply means that Jesus died in our place so that all our sins might be forgiven?
Or do we tell a story (which is what I did), made up on the spot, about two accused criminals, one guilty and one not guilty (one did the bad thing, and one did not do it)? The one who did not do the bad thing is shown, by all those who saw the crime, to be innocent. So the judge "justifies" him, that is, he tells him he is a law-abiding person and did not do the crime and can go free. But the other accused criminal, who really did the bad thing, is shown to be guilty, because all the people who saw the crime saw him do it. But then, guess what! The judge "justifies" him too and says, "I regard you as a law-abiding citizen with full rights in our country (not just a forgiven criminal who may not be trusted or fully free in the country)." At this point Talitha looks at me puzzled.

She does not know how to put her finger on the problem but senses that something is wrong here. So I say, That's a problem isn't it? How can a person who really did break the law and do the bad thing, be told by the judge that he is a law-keeper, a righteous person, with full rights to the freedoms of the country, and doesn't have to go to jail or be punished? She shakes her head. Then I go back to Romans 4:5 and show her that God "justifies the ungodly." Her brow is furrowed. I show her that she has sinned and I have sinned and we are all like this second criminal. And when God "justifies" us he knows we are sinners and "ungodly" and "law-breakers." And I ask her. "What did God do so that it's right for him say to us sinners: you are not guilty; you are law-keepers in my eyes; you are righteous; and you are free to enjoy all that this country has to offer?"

She knows it has something to do with Jesus and his coming and dying in our place. That much she has learned. But what more do I tell her now? The answer to this question will depend on whether mom and dad have faithfully taught about the imputation of Christ's righteousness. Will they tell her that Jesus was the perfect law-keeper and never sinned, but did everything the judge and his country expected of him? And will they tell her that when he lived and died, he not only took her place as a punishment-bearer but also stood in her place as a law-keeper? Will they say that he was punished for her and he obeyed the law for her? And if she will trust him, the Judge, God, will let Jesus' punishment and Jesus' righteousness count for hers. So when God "justifies" her – says that she is a forgiven and righteous (even though she was not punished and did not keep the law) – he does it because of Jesus. Jesus is her righteousness, and Jesus is her punishment. Trusting Jesus makes Jesus so much her Lord and Savior that he is her perfect goodness and her perfect punishment.

There are thousands of Christian families in the world who never have conversations like this. Not at six or sixteen. I don't think we have to look far then for the weakness of the church and the fun-oriented superficiality of many youth ministries and the stunning fall-out rate after high school. But how shall parents teach their children if the message they get week in and week out from the pulpit is that doctrine is unimportant? So, yes, I have a family to care for. And therefore I must understand the central doctrines of my faith – understand them so well that they can be translated for all the different ages of my children."

©2013 Desiring God Foundation. Used by Permission. By John Piper. ©2013 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org


Friday, May 3, 2013

Teaching Kids About The Abundant Life

Growing up, I often heard people close their prayer with the phrase "Lord willing” or "If it is your will." That phrase in itself leads to the question in one's mind, "Is it the Lord's will for that person to be healed?" And....if that person was not healed then we have a reason why they were not healed...a very simple one....It was not the Lord's will for he/she to be healed. If that is our mindset, then we come before the Lord not really knowing whether or not He wants to heal those that we pray for.

During our last Freedom Kids meeting, we made it clear that it is the Lord's will for people to be healed and to walk in health. Jesus came that we may have life and have it more abundantly....health is a part of that abundant life. Many times over, Jesus went around healing those who were sick because that was the Father’s will. You see....whatever is in Heaven is suppose to be here on the earth...and since sickness is not in heaven then sickness is not suppose to be here on the earth....pretty simple.

We visually demonstrated with props that there was a great exchange that took place when Jesus went to the cross. He took our sins so that we could be forgiven. He took our sickness and pain so that we could walk in health. He was separated from the Father for a short time so that we could be with Him forever. What a great deal for us!!!

We also discussed that when Jesus went about healing those who were sick and when He heals people today, He is demonstrating His love and power; He is destroying the works of the devil; and He is bringing heaven to earth.

If our children know that it is the Lord's will for people to be healed, then they can pray for people with great resolve and faith....and then watch what great things the Lord does through them.


Empowering a young generation,

Stephanie

Monday, April 1, 2013

Go Further Go Higher


Isn't it every parents' desire that their children go beyond what they themselves were able to participate in and accomplish...to go further, to go higher. Is that part of the motivation of why we do the things we do? Why do we as parents spend the money, the time and energy to allow are children to participate in the activities that they are in? Is it because we do not like to be at home or we have nothing else to do or we are trying to keep from doing the laundry? or Is it because we want them to be able to experience more than we did as kids?

Even Jesus wanted us to go further.... to go higher...... to do greater.... than He.

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.(John 14:12)

There is something about wanting the next generation to be more awesome than we ever were:) So why do Jen, Carla and I spend hours preparing for Freedom Kids? We want this young generation to go further, to go higher, to go deeper into the things of God than we ever did as children. Hearing God, prophesying, interceding, walking in power and anointing....I heard about those things as a child and at times would experience them. There is always more revelation,more understanding, more anointing,more power,etc. for us to walk in. Therefore, we do what we do so that we and this young generation can go higher, go further, go deeper in God together.

Stephanie


Friday, March 1, 2013

Children Experiencing The Presence Of God


As we have stated in the past, our desire is to see the children at VHC experience the presence of God, because it is His presence that changes us and then we can change our culture as we demonstrate the Kingdom of God. We want Freedom Kids on Saturday night to be a place where the children can learn Bible Truths and where they can have fun together; but what will change their life is a place and time where they can experience the Holy Spirit personally. We anticipate the Holy Spirit to move in our FK meetings each time we meet.

Here is a portion of an article from Billy Burns Ministry of why we need to have a children's ministry where the Holy Spirit moves freely: 



Many children’s leaders have settled for good services with good lessons when God is calling them to allow His Spirit to have freedom to move as He desires. We can no longer settle for just being good. We must strive for a move of the Holy Spirit.


We need to desire a children’s ministry where the Holy Spirit moves freely because:

1. It is biblical. 
God’s Word promises that the Holy Spirit will move on our children.

"This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy’ " (Acts 2:16—18).

"Peter replied,…‘And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off’" (Acts 2:38,39).

God wants to make this a reality, not just a promise.

2. It is historical. 

What God has done before He can do again. Here are examples of the Holy Spirit touching and flowing through children.

Cane Ridge Revival, Kentucky, 1801. "Little children, too, were brought visibly into the kingdom of God, like the 7-year-old girl, sitting on her father’s shoulder, who exhorted the crowd for a time and then slumped down in weariness."

Maria Woodworth-Etter, St. Louis, Missouri, 1890. "One day, a helpless little girl was brought to me. She could neither talk nor walk. After I prayed for her, I told some of the folks to take her out and let her try to walk…. After a while, they brought her back. She was walking and talking, but they couldn’t understand a word that she said. Praise the Lord. She had the use of her whole body; she was walking and talking in a strange language or tongue. She was filled with the Spirit and was bold as a lion. I stood her on the platform, and she began to walk about and preach. With hands uplifted...she preached to the astonished multitude, showing what great things the Lord had done for her."

Welsh Revival, Evan Roberts, 1904. "While this was a revival of youth, children were so taken up with the things of God that they held their own meetings in homes, barns, yards; many from about the age of 10 would exhort, sing and pray with great power. Many young children took part in public meetings as well."3 "Children began to pray and sing for hours."

John G. Lake. "I was sitting one day in the home of the DeValeras in Krugersdorp, South Africa, when a man arrived who had...been following me from place to place, trying to catch up with me. He...had developed a large cancer. He came into the house and...in a little while a 6-year-old child who had been sitting near me went across the room, climbed on the man’s knees, put her hands on his face, and prayed. I saw the cancer wither. In half an hour, the thing had disappeared."

3. It is essential.

The Pentecostal movement’s future leadership is now sitting in our children’s ministry. It is imperative that our children learn to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s presence and know how to flow with Him. It is critical that they be allowed to see and hear Him work in their services. During these foundational years, it is our responsibility to create an atmosphere where children echo the psalmist David’s words, "I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory" (Psalm 63:2). This ensures that future generations will desire to flow with the Holy Spirit.

How can the typical children’s ministry change into a Spirit-filled children’s ministry? It is not a matter of what you know as much as who you know. No curriculum or Spirit-in-a-box methodology will produce a Spirit-filled children’s ministry. No conference will produce this type of ministry. It comes from what I call the "know and glow" principle. After Moses had been alone with God, his countenance was changed. After spending time on our faces in His presence, we won’t be able to contain His glorious presence.

About Billy Burns
Billy Burns Ministries


Tuesday, January 29, 2013

February 2013 Freedom Kids - Power/Authority


What If we could have a young generation who believes that they (even at their age) have the Power and Authority to destroy the works of the devil and bring Heaven to Earth.  It is in our heart to raise up that generation. Learning that we not only have the anointing to do so, but we have been given the authority to do so is what our sessions have been about at Freedom Kids.  Hopefully the truth about Jesus dying on the cross and being raised from the dead to recover the keys that the enemy stole in the garden is laying a foundation for our children to know that they have an assignment, and that assignment is to rule and reign here on the earth 

Near the end of our FK meeting , we had our quiet time with the Lord. I directed the children to use their God-given imagination and see the Lord handing them the keys of power and authority.... and to be listening because the Lord may have something to say to them.  We had a time of sharing what God had spoken to  them and several responded with what they saw and heard.  One child saw the Lord handing him the keys and heard the Lord say " I trust you"  and  another heard " You deserve it", and a few others shared what they had  seen.

Needless to say, I can't wait for what the Lord wants to do in all of our children's classes on Sunday and Saturday nights at Freedom Kids.  Continue to pray and believe for God to move by His Spirit as we train this young generation to hear and see and do what God wants them to do.



Wednesday, November 28, 2012

December 2012 Update



The Holy Spirit has been front and center at our Freedom Kids meetings on Saturday evenings. We have learned that the Holy Spirit is a gift for us to receive and one that we need to carry out our Royal Mission-- Bringing Heaven to Earth!!!

Over the past few weeks we have have had a couple of the intercessors to come and share with the children on prayer. Our desire is for the children to... Yes....come before their Father with their needs but also to pray "outside" their needs and pray into the 7 mountains of culture. So, thank you Marian and Sandy Hayhurst. for sharing your passion of prayer with the children. Thank you for investing in a younger generation who will be all about praying "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth" and "Lord, here am I, send me," Watch out world!