Anticipate Jesus Arrival POWERSOURCE. December 2014 ASK GOD:

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1 December 2014 Community Covenant Church W. 87th St. Pkwy Lenexa, KS Anticipate Jesus Arrival POWERSOURCE ASK GOD: 1. To bless your family s Christmas preparations and to prepare your hearts for his arrival. 2. To replace stress and busyness with peace and calm. 3. To help your family stay focused on Jesus and his joy during the holiday season. The Advent season, which begins this year on November 30, offers four weeks to prepare our hearts for Jesus birth. It s also a reminder to prepare for Jesus second coming, when everyone who believes in him will go to heaven to live with God forever. Advent s special meaning and purpose often get lost in the Christmas shuffle. But your family can take fun steps to focus on what the season truly means. Pre-Christmas faith boosters needn t be elaborate or time-consuming. Instead, use material you have on hand to reinforce the good news the angels shared on that first Christmas Eve: Jesus, our Savior, is born! In the weeks leading up to Christmas, you can engage in old and new traditions, make crafts, have discussions about Jesus birthday, and worship him as your newborn King. Look for ways to spread joy as a family. From caroling and delivering cookies to sending cards and inviting neighbors to church services or programs, there are many ways to let your light shine as you celebrate Jesus, the Light of the world. One popular way to prepare for Jesus arrival is to make and light an Advent wreath as a family. The symbols and colors will add meaning to your devotional time together. Turn the page for easy instructions to make a special wreath.

2 Homefront Magazine: Homefront is a great spiritual parenting resource magazine FREE to all parents. This publication contains great ideas for fostering spiritually-forming times in the home, in the midst of already active family lives. Articles and activities cover everything from marriage to family and food time to blessing. This resource seeks to equip parents with fun, practical ideas for creating space for the Holy Spirit to spiritually form their kids but with no pressure! It s not about doing more; it s about framing the things parents naturally do with space for God to work. This month you will receive a hard copy mailed to your house for you to preview and use as a great parenting resource. In the upcoming months you can: Download this magazine by searching homefrontmag on your iphone/tablet or Android. Pastor Jess Jessica.s@cccks.org that you would like to continue to receive a hard copy of this resource. Beginning in December we will print out a limited number of these resources and have them available at the children s check in station for those who have requested this option. Christmas is coming soon, and we are excited to continue our annual tradition of gathering as a church family to celebrate together! On the evening of Sunday December 14th, we will have two awesome opportunities to experience the Christmas story together! At 5pm, we will have the Illuminate concert. This will be a traditional concert featuring our choir directed by David Zoschke. They will be performing beautiful arrangements of some powerful Christmas music that you won't want to miss. Following the concert at 5:45 there will be hors d'oeuvres upstairs in the fellowship hall providing time to connect and enjoy time together. At 6pm, the Illuminate experience begins. The Illuminate experience is an interactive journey through the Christmas story from Mary's perspective. Participants will travel in groups of no more than 25 through a series of stations where you'll interact with the shepherds as they await the Messiah, Gabriel as he shares the good news, Joseph as he commits to walking with Mary, the townspeople of Bethlehem, and finally you'll enter the manger for the birth of Jesus. While you are waiting for your interactive tour, there will be a marketplace to enjoy various activities that you would have found in Bethlehem. You can sign up in the foyer for your specific time to walk through our illuminate experience, you can also reserve a group of spots if you are inviting neighbors and friends in the community to join you in this experience. Groups will begin this journey every five minutes beginning at 6:00 pm. We hope you'll join us as we celebrate the birth of our Lord! Prayer Team: Each week the children in kworship write and share prayer requests. If you are interested in becoming involved in this prayer team, committing to pray weekly for these children and their requests, please respond to jessica.s@cccks.org khub Preschool Assistant Needed: We are looking for a person who would be willing to assist our 3 year through prekindergarten children on Wed. evenings from 6:30-8:00 pm (January May). If you would be interested in helping and building relationships with these children, please contact Jessica.s@cccks.org.

3 4th 5th Grades DATE CHANGE: Our next klead training is December 21 st from Noon-2:00 pm. Please bring $5 to help cover the cost of lunch. We will be playing Christmas games and making gingerbread houses. Shutterfly Account: kteam Meetings: On the first Thursday of the month at 7:30 pm, we hold our kteam meeting which is open to all parents and volunteers. In these meetings we discuss our various ministries and create vision for future Kaleidoscope Kids Ministries. This is a great opportunity for those of you that would like to know more about what is going on in Kaleidoscope Kids Ministries, share your input or be involved in future direction. Our next meeting is Thursday, December 4 th at 7:30 in Room 124 Kaleidoscope Kids Ministries has launched a Shutterfly web page. On this website, you ll find our calendar, blog discussions and pictures/video clips of our various events. You can even purchase pictures or download pictures to your own computers. This site will be for active church members only. To access this website, please click here. You ll be asked to create a Shutterfly account (if you already have a personal one, login as you normally do or create a new one); then a request will be sent to Pastor Jess to approve. Only those who Pastor Jess approves will be allowed to view this site. On the CCC registration card when you initially registered your child, there was a photography release information. We have a printout report of all families and their response to this information. If you didn t sign the photography release, we will not put your children s pictures on this site. Your child s safety is extremely important therefore none of the information linked to this account will be available on a facebook or more public view area. The goal is to provide families with a way to see what we do in Kaleidoscope Kids Ministries and allow you to enjoy watching as your child is engaged in worship and ministries at Community Covenant Church. On Wednesday s khub is open for children infant through 5 th grade. This year we will be going through the What s in the Bible? curriculum in connection with our monthly service projects. Children 3 yrs through 5 th grade will being in the k and be divided into two groups (3 years-1 st grade and 2 nd -5 th grade) Nursery is available in rm 104. Dec 3: 6:30-8:00 pm Moses Stories Dec 10: SERVE DAY (3 years-1 st grade ON-SITE Service Project; 2 nd -5 th grade COVENANT PLACE *Off-site permission form will be needed to go on this outing-1 per year) Dec 17-Dec 31: Holiday Break (NO khub)

4 Christmas Adventures As with any birthday celebration, much of the fun of Christmas is planning for and awaiting its arrival. Traditions are an important part of Christmas for many families. They provide opportunities to keep your unique legacy going, while focusing on the true reason we observe December 25. From the simple to the silly to the sentimental, traditions can impart key lessons and create meaningful memories. For example, you might buy a new ornament for each of your children each year. If you don t already have an Advent wreath, you can make the one described below. TEACHABLE MOMENTS Follow the Star Hang a trail of yellow construction-paper stars throughout your house, and near each star, place a nativity-scene figure. Hang the last, largest star over a cake with candles on it, and place the baby Jesus figurine by it. As a family, follow the stars. Stop at each one and talk about that figure s role in the first Christmas. At the final star, light the candles on the cake. Say: These candles represent the star of Bethlehem that shone brightly over baby Jesus when he came to earth to save us. Read aloud John 8:12 and talk about ways that Jesus can shine brightly in our lives each day. Close in prayer: Dear God, thank you for sending your only Son, Jesus, to be born for us on Christmas. Amen. Family Advent Wreath By making this craft together, you ll have a cherished tradition for years to come. Using a low-temperature glue gun, secure a white tea candle in the center of a pie pan. Then glue four purple (or blue) tea candles around it evenly. Adults can use wire cutters to cut flame-resistant greenery to glue around the pan s lip. Use this wreath as the centerpiece of your family s Advent devotions. The wreath s circular shape reminds us that Jesus has no beginning or end. The candles signify that he s the Light of the world and remind us to live and shine for him. Traditionally, each candle has a special meaning. Week 1 The first candle is called the candle of hope. People in the Old Testament knew that God had promised to send a Savior. And we re filled with hope because we know that Jesus came to earth on the first Christmas to save us from our sin. Light one colored candle on your wreath and read aloud Romans 15:13. Then share some ways you re filled with hope because you know Jesus. Week 2 The second candle represents preparation. Getting our hearts ready for Christmas is more important than decorating our home or even our church. Light two colored candles, and read aloud Mark 1:3-4. As a family, brainstorm things you do to get ready for house guests. Talk about what you d do differently if Jesus were coming to stay at your house. Week 3 The third candle, sometimes pink, symbolizes joy. Light three colored candles on your wreath. Read aloud Luke 2:10-11 and discuss the angel s big announcement. Then encourage each person to share one thing they re especially joyful about this Christmas. Week 4 The fourth candle represents love. Christmas happened because of God s great love for all people. Light all four colored candles and read aloud John 3:16. Talk about why we give nice things to people we love and why Jesus is the best gift ever. Close in prayer, thanking our loving God for sending Jesus as a baby on Christmas. The white center candle is called the Christ candle. Light it on Christmas Day (along with the other candles in your wreath) to celebrate Jesus birthday! Then sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and share the cake! I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior yes, the Messiah, the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! Luke 2:10-11

5 MEDIA MADNESS MOVIE Title: Annie Genre: Musical comedy-drama Rating: PG (for some mild language and rude humor) Cast: Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhané Wallis, Rose Byrne, Cameron Diaz Synopsis: This contemporary adaptation of the popular musical was produced by Jay-Z and Will Smith. The modern retelling adds racial diversity, as well as some new songs. Our Take: After more than 30 years, this beloved movie receives a welldeserved remake. Kids will enjoy the story of a foster child and her encounter with Will Stacks, a Daddy Warbucks -type of politician. By the end, both of their lives are significantly changed for the better. Games, Sites & Apps Super Smash Bros. This popular multiplayer brawling game is being released for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Characters are from various Nintendo franchises. Players try to launch opponents off a stage, so there s lots of cartoon violence. MUSIC Title: The Contract Author: Derek Jeter Synopsis: This middle-grade baseball novel is the first in a series by the recently retired New York Yankees shortstop. Jeter based the story on his childhood, when his parents gave him a contract promising rewards for good behavior and wise decisions. Our Take: With lots of baseball action by a superstar author, this book is sure to be a homerun especially with boys. The Contract contains positive messages about persistence and pursuing one s dreams. It doesn t acknowledge, however, the high level of physical talent required to make it in professional sports. BrainBashers.com On this site, older kids can take simple quizzes, complete puzzles, play games, view optical illusions, and more. The site is free but requires that cookies are turned on. Grandma Loves Bugs With this ios app, preschoolers can practice coloring, counting, simple spelling, and letter matching. Children will enjoy catching virtual fireflies and using the app s magnifying glass on photos of real bugs. This page is designed to help educate parents and isn t meant to endorse any movie, music, or product. Our goal is to help you make informed decisions about what your children watch, read, listen to, and play. CULTURE & TRENDS Comfort Food Children as young as 5 seek solace in food when they re stressed out. Research shows that the more stressful a child s life is, the more sweet foods he or she eats. Girls are especially vulnerable to this habit. Kids said bullying, fights with friends, and sibling issues made them turn to food. (dailymail.co.uk) Enjoying Creation According to a study at Michigan State University, when children get time outside, they also have a greater belief in the creator God. (msutoday.msu.edu) QUICK STATS Birds & Bees In a survey, 80% of parents blamed the Internet for spurring a facts of life talk with their kids at a younger age than when the parents received the same talk. Today, most kids hear that talk by age 10. Half of today s parents remember hearing it themselves around age 15 if they heard it at all. (kvue.com) Mainstreaming Perks Language test scores of kids with disabilities who were placed in classrooms with the most highly skilled peers were about 40% better than scores of kids with disabilities who were placed with the lowest-ranked peers. (news.osu.edu)

6 December SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY :30 8pm khub kteam 7:30pm Family Worship Service :30 8pm khub SERVE NIGHT Worship Worship 12 2pm klead Worship Illuminate: the Traditional Concert 5:00 pm Illuminate: the Experience 6:00-7:30 pm NO khub HOLIDAY BREAK Christmas Eve Christmas Eve Services 5pm Family Modern Worship 7pm Family Traditional Worship 11pm Contemplative with communion New Year s Day 25 Christmas Day 26 27