Love and Conviction

Here's what's happening in kidSPACE this March!

Preschool:

March is the month of love in preschool. Kids will continually hear that “Jesus loves everyone.” He does. He loves us even when we feel like nobody else does as He shows the woman at the well. He loves us even when we’ve made some very poor choices like Zacchaeus. Jesus loves us. Wow! Think about how the little hearts of our preschoolers can be impacted by that information. Even when we mess up, He still loves us. And, Zacchaeus shows us that accepting His love can transform us.

Later in the month, we will introduce the idea that because Jesus loves us, we should spread His love through  the story of the Good Samaritan. This is a favorite story among the preschool set (because of the Band-Aids I think), and such a great lesson for them. The love of Jesus needs to be shared. Our final week encourages them to go and tell others about Jesus’ great love. What an amazing month!

Elementary:

Over 2000 years ago Jesus came to Earth and He lived a perfect life. When the right thing meant hanging out with tax collectors, Jesus did it. When the right thing meant blessing the little children, Jesus did it. When the right thing meant forgiving someone who had done wrong, Jesus did it.

The right choice wasn’t always easy, and it wasn’t always popular. In fact, doing the right thing often made Jesus stand apart from some of the rich and powerful people of His time. But Jesus never let the crowd persuade Him to go against His Father’s will. Even when it meant going to the cross to die, Jesus knew that it was the right thing, and He did it. People with conviction have a clear sense of God’s will and what their decisions could mean in the future.

Jesus was able to live with conviction because He knew the will of His Father, and that gave Him strength and courage. In the same way, God has given us the ability to know what is right and the ability to do it. You see, when we are fueled by the character of God, we will stand up for the things that matter to God.

Most of the time when we choose not to do the right thing, it’s not because we didn’t know better, it’s because we just didn’t want to. But doing the right thing is important to God. Proverbs 21:3 says, “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” (NIV) It’s important not to be led astray, but to keep doing what God has asked us to do because God’s way is the best way and because by doing the right thing, you are pleasing your God who loves you. Conviction!