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ELEMENTARY
Celebrate God all day, every day … revel in him! —Philippians 4:4 Msg Inspire
and on His loving actions towards us, we understand better who we are and how we fit in God’s story. And we begin to create a daily posture of celebration, just Every year as my family gathers for like Paul called us to in Philippians 4:4 Thanksgiving or Christmas, my father has us take time to remember and cele- “Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, brate what God has done for us recently. revel in him!” (The Message). We usually spend time as we eat going around the table, giving each individual At an orphanage in Uganda, I learned this opportunity to share. From the youngest saying: “God is good. When? All the time. to the eldest we are reflect on how good Why? Because it is His nature.” That’s what I want to remember. That’s how I our God is. Whether the months had been filled with difficulties or great joy want to celebrate God. we recognized God’s faithfulness. These times of sharing are seared in my Janet Lee memory. Looking back at God’s work in my life and the life of my relatives brought great comfort and confidence. At the end of our time, dad would thank us for taking the time to share and remind us that he and my mom prayed for each one of us everyday. He urged us to pray for Scripture: Acts 2:1-12 Main Point: Remember & Celebrate one another. (for parents)
Getting Started
When God commanded the Israelites to regularly and spectacularly pause and celebrate their life in Him, He wasn’t doing it because He needed the affirmation. He did it because He knew it was good for us! As we pause and reflect on who God is
This resource is designed to allow your family to have time in God’s Word before your children attend church. Because God’s plan is for parents to be the spiritual nurturers of their children’s faith, we know that as you grow spiritually, your children will grow spiritually as well.
Seven times a year the Israelites gathered together for a festival. These seven festivals are: Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of First Fruits, Feast of Harvest, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths). In addition, the Israelites would gather weekly to celebrate the Sabbath. These were times to remember what God had done for His people and to celebrate His goodness. During the feasts, the Israelites ate, danced, sang, played instruments, prayed, and offered sacrifices to God.
REM EMB ER V ERS Acts E But y 1:8 o the H u will re and oly Spirit ceive po y w all Ju ou will b comes o er when e my d n e you a th e e a w nds nd Sam itnesse ; o f th aria, s in e ea r th . a n d to
Support (for parents & kids) Every six weeks, your kids spend time Why do we celebrate? We celebrate to remembering and celebrating. While using the be together as a community—to collec- Israelites’ festivals as a model for celebration, tively look backward so that we can look they will remember what God did in their forward. We celebrate to stop for a mo- hearts during the last few weeks. ment in time and remember what God has done. We celebrate to teach children This week, set aside an evening to what is important—to show what we remember and celebrate as a family. Hopevalue. And we celebrate because God fully this starts to become a fun tradition for commanded it. In Exodus 12:47 He your family. Just as the Israelite celebrations said, “The whole community … must always revolved around a feast, create a feast celebrate.” for your family (e.g., eat ice cream, make milkshakes, get french fries, or build a fire and This Remember & Celebrate we focused roast marshmallows in the backyard). on the feast of Pentecost. During Pentecost, the Israelites thanked God for His Whatever you choose, just do something speprovision for their physical needs. But cial and spend the time remembering what they also thanked him for providing a God has done in the life of your family and in way into relationship with Him. Pente- each of you individually over the past few cost was set in motion as a remembrance weeks. of when God gave Moses the Ten ComSome questions to get you started: mandments on Mt. Sinai. In the New • What has God done in our family Testament, the Holy Spirit descended recently? upon the disciples in the upper room • What have you heard God say to our during Pentecost to symbolize that family recently? Christ fulfilled the law. Spend the evening in celebration, enjoying each other, and remembering and celebrating how big and great our God is. End the evening in prayer, thanking Him.