Kids Programming at Liquid New Brunswick

Bringing it home!

On Sunday Pastor Bill touched on what it looks like to bring our faith home to our families. In ancient Hebrew culture parents were given numerous tools and instructions to aid them in teaching their families about faith.

In Deuteronomy 6, Moses writes the following:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Pastor Bill was right; it can be intimidating to try to share these truths with our kids, especially when we don't feel qualified to do so. I mean, who am I to try to teach a child about being honest when I struggle with constantly lying? Or cheating? Or losing my temper?

But God isn't asking us to be perfect, he's asking us to love him. Love God first, and then you'll have what it takes to teach your children about your faith.

And don't be afraid to talk about it all the time. Like the verse says, "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

Every Sunday we give you material to help you talk about faith with your children during the week. That's a great place to start opening discussions with your kids. If you'd like to go even deeper, we can offer you more resources to engage your children. Let us know if you'd be interested by sending an email to me or Hyo Sil.

We love serving your families!

~Nate

Making an investment. . .

One of our desires at Liquid Kids is to see the family strengthened by what we're sharing with your kids. While we're experiencing many changes here at Liquid Kids, one thing remains the same: our mission to share Christ's love with children and help them experience Him through everything we do.

I was listening to a message from Reggie Joiner about the responsibility we have as leaders in children's ministry to invest what we're doing in the small amount of time we get to spend with your children into the much larger amounts of time you as parents get to spend with them.

Check this out, parents: on average, you have more than 10 times the opportunities to discuss spiritual issues with your kids in one year than we do in 10 years.

That's HUGE! So, with that in mind, our responsibility as a church is to invest in that time because we have comparatively limited potential to impact your children for Christ. So, in a lot of ways, what happens at home is far more important than what happens at church.

At Liquid Kids, we've got a great team of volunteers who love sharing Jesus' love with your kids, but without your help, we're almost completely ineffective! We need YOU!

Here are ways that you can help us turn Liquid Kids into an effective program.

1. Bring your kids to Liquid Kids.

This seems like a bit of a no-brainer, but if you really think about it, without consistently bringing your kids into our program, they won't be able to receive the full impact of our program. From the progression of their lessons to the relationships they're building with their mentors and teachers, they're gaining so much just by being at Liquid Kids.

2. Make attending Liquid a priority.

Being at church as often as possible gives your children something consistent to observe in your life. They'll see how important it is for you to be at church, and that will translate into their making it a priority in their own lives.

3. Talk about church at home.

Believe it or not, you and your children can really learn from each other's experiences at church. Whether you're discovering something about a Bible story that you didn't previously know (Did you know what a coney was or that it was forbidden for the Israelites to eat one?) or teaching your child a slightly deeper concept from Scripture, a lot can be gained from interacting with your children at home.

We offer you material every week as you pick up your children. These cards are great ways to engage your kids during the week and help them apply the lessons they learned on Sunday to the rest of the week.

Once again, thanks so much for sharing your kids with us. We love sharing Jesus with them!

~Nate
Liquid Kids New Brunswick

Kids Programming on June 28th!

Hey parents!

I'm so excited to announce that (if you haven't heard by now) Hyo Sil Siegel will be stepping in as the new Liquid Kids Director! Hyo Sil brings with her a wealth of knowledge, experience, and creativity, as well as a love for church and for children.

Hyo Sil will be guiding the direction of Liquid Kids for all of our campuses and setting up a "base of operations" for the program at Liquid New Brunswick.

I just wanted to take this moment to say thank you for sharing your children with us and for supporting me during this transition time. It's been such an exciting time, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity God has given me to serve you and Him in this capacity.

See you guys on Sunday!

~Nate

Oh, to download the lesson material, check out the Liquid Kids Morristown blog!

Kids Programming on June 21st!

Hey parents!

I'm so excited about what's happening at Liquid Church this year! We're having a blast learning about faith and science with Pastor Tim, and as we do that, our kids are learning about faith as well.

In Preschool, our kids learned that obedience is always the best way to respond to our parents and to God.

 

(click the image to download the Small Talk card)

In Elementary, our kids learned that sometimes we might doubt who Jesus is, but hearing about what He has done often helps us trust in who He is.

(click the image to download the Fridge Door card)

In SURGE, the kids learned that God is trustworthy even in the middle of life's hardships.

Here are some questions you could ask your kids:

1. What does it look like to “have a storm in your life”? Why is a “storm” a good description for those events?
2. Have you ever been through a difficult time that you would call a storm? What was it like?
3. The speaker said we are all in one of three places. Which one of these best describes you right now?

• You are currently in the middle of a storm.
• A storm is coming and you don’t know about it. 
• Or you are just walking away from a storm that has blown through. 

1. Would you say that you believe God is in control? 
2. Do you feel like God is in control even in the middle of your storm? 
3. Read John 16:33. How can this help you remember God is in control—even in the storms of life? 

“I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world” (The Message).

On behalf of our entire Liquid Kids team, thank you so much for the opportunity you've given us to serve you and your family!

Kids Programming on June 14th!

What a fantastic day we had at Liquid Kids! I'll avoid my usual discourse ;-) and just give you the info you're looking for!

Here's what we learned in Preschool:

Here's what we learned in Elementary:

And here's the GodTime card:

Here's what we learned in SURGE:

Following Christ was never meant to be done alone—we need Community.

A.  Feeling this way, acknowledging that need for other people—for connecting with people in a deeper way—is normal. 

It is even healthy. God Himself made us that way intentionally. 

B.  When I say the words, “In the beginning,” many of you know exactly what book of the Bible I am referring to— 

Genesis. And many of you here could tell me everything that God created, and how long it took Him to do it, and 

how He said everything was “good” at the end of each day spent creating. And a lot of you could tell me that the 

next to the last thing the book of Genesis tells us God made was man, and that God named him Adam. Does any of 

this sound familiar? 

C.  Right there in the second chapter of Genesis we read: When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens—and 

no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for the LORD God 

had not sent rain on the earth and there was no man to work the ground, but streams came up from the earth and 

watered the whole surface of the ground—the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed 

into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:4-7 NIV). 

D.  For the next eleven verses Adam is alone. In those verses we read about the garden that Adam is placed in. We 

read about this incredibly sweet deal he has—he can eat anything he wants, except from one tree, and he knows 

what is expected of him—to work and care for this paradise. Now think about this. At this point, there was the 

garden, there were the animals, there was Adam and there was God. In theory, it sounds like Adam has no reason 

to complain about anything. What else could he possibly want? If Adam had said he was lonely, God had every right 

to respond by saying, “Lonely? You’re lonely? What about Me? I’m here, you can hang out with Me. Don’t you know 

that all of Me is more than enough for all of you? You have no reason to be lonely, get over it.” 

 

We don’t know if Adam complained about anything to God. Adam may not have even known what loneliness was, or 

realized that what he was missing was other people. If existing as the only human was all he knew, he may not have 

known his experience was incomplete. But God knew. God knew that this picture of humanity was not done with 

just the one human. God knew that like every other creature in the garden that had a suitable partner, Adam was in 

need of something more. Adam needed community with another person. 

E.  Listen to this:  

The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” Now the LORD 

God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man 

to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man 

gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper 

was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of 

the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out 

of the man, and he brought her to the man.  

The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken 

out of man” (Genesis 2:18-23 NIV).

Kids Programming on June 7th!

Hey parents!

What a week we had! I don't know about you guys, but I'm having trouble getting my feet moving like a gazelle's, but I know I have to RUN! (If that analogy is lost on you, check out the latest in our Life. Money. Hope. series on the iCampus at 1pm on Wednesday June 10.)

Sometimes it's tough to have faith that God will provide for us (and it can be easy to trust FICO), but He's always going to provide. That's the promise He made to us! And we can see it all around us. He's always showing us that He's there for us. We just have to look for the signs and have faith that He'll be true to His word.

Our preschoolers learned this week that the words in the Bible are God's words and that they're all true. Here's the Small Talk card:

Our 1st through 5th graders learned about faith, and seeing evidence of God's hand in nature. Here's the Fridge Door card:

In SURGE our kids learned about parables, the lessons Christ taught here on earth that were, in a nutshell, stories about earth that revealed something about heaven. The particular parable that we talked about was the "Parable of the Prodigal" (found in Luke 15:11-32).

Here are some questions you may want to ask your middle-schooler:

Why do you think Jesus spoke so often in parables?

Has anyone in your life taught you something in this way?

Can you name other parables in the Bible?

Many people can relate to the lost son parable. Discuss what each character might be feeling? (Father, older brother, younger brother)

Once again, I want to thank you all for giving us the opportunity to teach your kids. We love doing this Sunday after Sunday, and I hope our program has helped your family in some small way. I look forward to doing it all again next week!

Until then, have an awesome week!

~Nate

Kids Programming on May 31st!

Hey parents!

What an amazing two weeks we've had at Liquid! With the FMO in two cities and the start of the Life, Money, Hope series, it's been one of the most exciting two weeks we've ever experienced here at Liquid.

It's been no less exciting (and informative) for your kids. In Preschool we learned about God's providence for Abraham and his family as he moved from his hometown of Ur to a new land of God's choosing.

In Elementary we learned that if we stand for what's right, God will always be with us, even when no one else is. Stephen faced this challenge and was stoned for his beliefs, but God rewarded Stephen for his conviction.

In SURGE we learned about prayer. We learned about the importance of cultivating a strong one-on-one relationship with God and a "place" where we can get alone with Him. We talked about some misconceptions about prayer, common practices, and the "Why" behind it. God invented prayer for us to cultivate a relationship with Him. And this relationship is characterized by closeness and connection.

Kids Programming on May 17th!

Hey Parents!

This weekend at Liquid New Brunswick we had an awesome time at the Heldrich! While you guys were downstairs hearing from Pastor Tim, we were upstairs learning about some pretty great stuff.

If your children are in our Preschool Program (3 years old - Kindergarten), they learned that "God will take care of me." They learned the story from 1 Kings 17 about how God provided all of Elijah's needs even in the middle of a famine.

Here's the info from your Small Talk card for this week.

"My God will meet all your needs." ~Philippians 4.19, NIrV

Key Question: Who will take care of me?

Bottom Line: God will take care of me.

Every Child Needs to Know: God made me.

Bible Story Reference: 1 Kings 17.7-16

Teachable Moments: We often have the opportunity to be used by God to meet the needs of others. The widow in today's story was able to help Elijah by feeding him her last loaf of bread and was blessed by God for it. This week find time to do a little baking for someone in need with your preschooler. It could be as simple as baking some biscuits for a neighbor who just had a baby to baking a cake for someone who needs some cheering up. While you are baking, pray for the person for whom you're baking and ask God to shine in their lives.

If your children are in our Elementary Program (1st Grade - 5th Grade), they learned more about our month's theme of Stewardship." They learned that good stewards of God's blessings trust that He will provide all our needs.

Here's the info from this week's Refrigerator Door card.

We are learning about Stewardship this month.

Bottom Line for week 4: When you trust God, He will give you everything you need.

Memory Verse: "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." ~Psalm 24.1 NIV

Stewardship is: Taking care of what you have because it all belongs to God.

Talk About it: Talk about these questions as a family on your way home or during a meal.

Kid's Question: What things cause you to worry?

Parent's Question: Has God been faithful in providing everything you've needed?

Today's Bible Story: Seek God's kingdom first from Matthew 6.25-34

Our SURGE kids learned that as Christians we must be able to follow, obey, and trust. One of the more important pieces that make up a good Christian is the ability to serve others. Having a servant’s heart can enable for us to grow with God and help others find him. Giving all of ourselves to the greater good of others is what God calls us to do. Today in our small Groups we are going to discuss a way you can help. It doesn’t mean you have to give up everything you own but it is a step towards being a true Christian.

Thanks so much for the opportunity to serve your kids and see them grow!

Kids programming on April 19th!

Here's what your kids learned about this weekend, while you were elevating your hands in worship!

    Preschool spent more time this week talking about best friends! There’s nothing like a best friend. And there’s no one like our best friend, Jesus. We’ve been talking a lot about Jesus this month, because we like to remember all Jesus has done for us every Easter.
    Two of Jesus’ friends were walking down the road feeling very sad. Someone began walking with these two friends. It was Jesus! Jesus walked up to His two friends and talked to them, but the friends didn’t know it was Jesus. The friends told Jesus all that had happened and how their very best friend was gone. 

    The friends were having such a good time with Jesus that they wanted to spend more time with Him. They asked Jesus to stay and eat, and that’s exactly what He did. They all sat down to eat together. Jesus took the bread, He prayed and thanked God for the food and then began passing it out to His friends. That's when they knew that it was Jesus with them all along!

    Elementary learned a little bit about Peter & John from the book of Acts. Remember Peter and John as they stood before the Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish council in the first century? They were strong, immovable, decisive, unwavering. But consider their situation. Frankly, they had a lot to fear. 

    They had just watched their dear friend and Savior, Jesus, be arrested, tried, convicted, and crucified on bogus charges. Even though they later came to understand this was part of God’s plan, they likely feared a similar fate. But, when the time came, they boldly declared they would choose to obey God over anyone else. That's the kind of conviction that comes from God. He fueled Peter and John with it, and He wants to fuel us with it as well. Why? Because Jesus is not physically present on the earth anymore, but we are! 

    So what moves us from just holding convictions to acting on them? Two things: reflecting on what our convictions are and why we hold them, and spending time with the one who gives us the courage to stand. When we do that, we’ll show others who God is, revealing Him to be strong, immovable, decisive, and unwavering.

    Surge's lesson this week was about STEPS: When you read the Gospels—the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—and go through the words and actions of Jesus, it seems like following Him is anything but a little step. He’s asking people to take some major leaps.

“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it” (Mark 8:34-35 NIV).
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48 NIV). 

    But Jesus’ expectations seem very high for His followers. Every big thing that Jesus asks us to do starts with a step. The challenge to love our enemies? A step. The challenge to forgive? A step. The challenge to be thankful? The challenge to be patient? The challenge to pray or read the Bible? Step, step, step. Even following Him begins with a simple step. Jesus extended the invitation time and time again to those around Him with two little words, “Follow me.” For some, those words seemed huge and they were reluctant to step. Others just simply got up and followed. But regardless of the weight of those words, the reality is that following Him requires a step. Then another step. Then another step. 

    We encouraged your middle schoolers to take small steps of faith. Want a fun movie to watch with your kids this week? They saw a clip from What About Bob - this clip, in fact:

Have a great week, parents - we'll see you Sunday!

Kids Programming on April 12th!

Hey Parents!

Happy Easter!  This was an awesome week for Liquid Church - make sure you head to your campus pastor's blogs for the latest scoop on baptisms!  A couple of kids from Liquid took the plunge, too...something that will melt even the coldest heart.  While you were hearing stories of life change at Liquid, Liquid Kids was celebrating the resurrection!

Elementary school AND Preschool kids learned about the most important and exciting event in all of human history! The resurrection was unique in so many ways - it was the day that Christ conquered death! It was the day that sin's hold over humanity was broken! It was the day that Mary got TOTALLY freaked out by Angels in the tomb, and when Jesus told her to go and tell people the good news! Jesus came and died, and we talked about that last week...the GOOD NEWS though, what we celebrate on Easter, is that Jesus is ALIVE now!

Click here for the elementary school GodTime cards, and happy Easter!  See you next week!