Surrender Stuff

We started out Francis Chan DVD series tonight called Surrender. Tonight's lesson was how to surrender stuff. He who dies with the most toys most certainly does not win, especially when he dies without the greatest gift of all...a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. For a sneak peak at what the kids will be learning over the next four weeks, see the video below.

Heroes and Skits

We took time out tonight to recognize our heroes who graduated from this summer's hero class. They were awesome and each received their very own superhero cape for graduating! Too cute! Then we did our memory verses and treasure box and spent the rest of class practicing our skit, with full make-up tonight.

Important Reminders:

• THERE IS NO CLUB OR YOUTH NEXT WEEK ON 8/24 SINCE IT IS KIDS' FIRST WEEK BACK AT SCHOOL!!!

• We NEED everyone in the skit to stay after on Sunday for about 10 minutes so we can run through the skit two full times since it'll be our last practice before performing it for our TPCC family on 8/28. I promise we'll be quick.

• Sunday morning, 8/28, if the kids could be at church by 9:30 for some final preparations to perform their skit, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much parents and awesome ZG youth!!

LOCK-IN LUAU!!!!!

Oh my! The long anticipated, much hyped-up ZG annual lock-in was last night. Our theme was Hawaiian, complete with fruit smoothies, fruits, nuts,.....and of course some good old-fashioned junk food! Hey, it was a party!

The kids were greeted at the door with Hawaiian necklaces and leis and then asked to choose a Hawaiian name for themselves to wear on a name tag and be called throughout the night. We started off the evening then with the incredible Mr. Walt. Walt is a Hawaiian neighbor of ours who was born and raised on the islands, speaks the language, knows the culture, and plays the ukulele and sings to share his background with others. He graciously volunteered to come and share with the kids and answer any questions they may have about Hawaii. Very cool! Walt and his wife Linda also taught the kids a popular Hawaiian hula.

We did Diet Coke and Mentos volcanoes, decorated wooden surfboards and picture frames for our group pic, had a limbo contest, hula hooped, and the kids had to guess how many goldfish crackers were in the fish bowl (Kirsten won). Of course, we had a costume contest, as you can see by our new blog pic. I think being in a group of mostly girls has gone to Ben's head a bit, ya think? Miss Jennifer was the judge and Ben and Rachel were our contest winners. Miss Jennifer also prepared a super challenging scavenger hunt of beach items for the kids that spanned both buildings. Not only did they have to find the items, but they had to unscramble each item's name to know what they were looking for in the first place! Miss Jennifer also provided the musical entertainment for the night right from the sound booth....The Monster Mash during sardines was classic!

We played beach volleyball in the sanctuary with a real volleyball-style net. And no lock-in would be complete without a rousing game of sardines. And the girls taught everyone our Hawaiian version of marshmallows and hot chocolate, a game that they learned at the girls' retreat this past week. We called our version lava rocks and hot lava.

We weren't all play and no work though. We made it a priority to practice our skit with props and music all the way through three times. Our plan is to perform it for our TPCC family on August 28th. So far, the kids are really impressing us with how quickly they are learning their parts and how seriously they are taking performing the skit.

Our night wound down with movie candy, popcorn, ice cream, and fruit smoothies for all in front of the big screen to watch Soul Surfer, the true story of Christian surfer Bethany Hamilton. Overall, we had a very blessed night of fellowship and fun, making memories and bonding as a group. And we got six hours of sleep! Shocking!

Sleepy heads were eager to help out in the morning after breakfast...cleaning, putting chairs back, taking down decorations, and getting the church ready for Sunday morning services.

As always, thanks for sharing your kids with us. God is amazing and so are they!

The Temple of the Lord

The Old Testament Temple

Our New Testament Temple

We started out tonight by reading Acts 6:8-7:1. We asked the kids then what they consider Terrace Palms...a church, a place to hang out with their friends, a place where they can come to talk to God, a place to learn more about God, a place where they can come to ask forgiveness for their sins, etc...

Then we started talking to them about the Old Testament Temple. The Temple was the place where God promised to meet with the people. The priests served in the Temple. They sacrificed animals there for the sins of the people. The people actually saw the Temple as the very presence of God in their lives.

And that's why the people were so angry with Stephen! He preached what Jesus taught...that Jesus would destroy the temple and raise it again in three days. The people thought Stephen meant that the actual Temple building made of stone and wood and gold would be destroyed. The Temple meant so much to them that the very thought of the Temple being destroyed made them feel like God would abandon them if that happened. They became very angry with Stephen for this. Stephen also preached that it was not necessary to follow many of the Old Testament laws anymore, the laws of Moses. There were no more food restrictions or sacrifices necessary for forgiveness of sins. This also angered the people because they were all about following the law.

And that's why Stephen was killed! He was the very first martyr...Christian who died for his faith in Jesus Christ. Acts 7:54-60

We discussed with the kids then what they consider Jesus to be to them...Savior, friend, Lord of their lives, sacrifice for their sins. We talked to the kids about how Jesus became our High Priest when he died on the cross for our sins and rose again three days later. He became the final sacrifice. No longer were animals being sacrificed necessary for forgiveness. And Jesus is the glory of the Lord. God's glory is Jesus. It doesn't have to live in some building made by man anymore. And what building could ever house so much glory anyway? Acts 7:48-50

Therefore, a Temple made of stone and wood and gold is no longer necessary. Our Temple is a living Temple. It is Jesus Christ! And can that Temple ever be destroyed? NEVER! But the physical Temple was...in 70 A.D. when God sent the Romans to destroy it.

The Temple of the Lord is always being added to also, stone by stone....every time a new Christian is added to the family of believers. 1 Cor. 3:16 We gave the kids stones then that they could write their names on as a visual reminder that, if they have put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, they are one of those stones in that glorious Temple!

In closing, we reminded the kids how easy it is to let things distract us from Jesus. The enemy is the master of distraction. The Pharisees, Scribes, and other teachers of the "law" were good at focusing on the Old Testament laws and they and the people were so distracted by and focused on them, they missed out on the truth of Jesus. We illustrated this for the kids with Ben's shadow puppet theater. Cool visual! Thanks Pastor Billy!

Pool Party & Picnic

We had a great time! Thank you Mrs. Helen and Mr. Victor!!!!

Crazy, Messy Night!!

Oh it was crazy! And messy? Well, I think that may be too "clean" of an adjective for this night. The amazing Mr. Wes struck again! There was the no hands, no spoon, ice cream eating contest...complete with ALL the toppings! Then there was kickball with the world's largest kickball. This was followed by mud tug of war, which got even some of the teachers/adults involved....as well as shaving cream and silly string! Last, but certainly not least was the wet, soapy, muddy, and wild slip and slide. Don't think this crazy and messy night can ever be topped! Stay tuned to see if Mr. Wes is up for the challenge!

These are just a few of the pictures from tonight. For a complete show of them, visit the Mission 659 website photo album.