Oak Crest Kids

Looking ahead…Mark your calendars!
 
November 2:    Youth Fundraiser Family meal before service
November 12:  Youth Parent’s Night Out Fundraiser, 6-8:30 pm
November 20:  Thanksgiving Meal and Service, 6pm (No TeamKID)
November 23:   No Kids’ Choir
December 11:   Kids’ Choir Christmas program during morning service
December 18:   Oak Crest Kids’ Christmas Party
  
TeamKID, Sundays @ 6pm
Bible Story: God Relieved Nehemiah’s Sadness (Nehemiah 1-2:10)
Memory verse: Psalm 120:1 (ESV)
Application: God’s care and concern exist in spite of people’s circumstances

 Kids' Choir, Wednesdays @ 7pm
 (Note that our Christmas performance will be December 11th during the a.m. service
 Hymn of the month: 
Soon and Very Soon
Songs of focus:
Victory Chant
Shout to the North
Alleluia, Amen
Happy Birthday, Jesus
 
THE GOSPEL PROJECT FOR KIDS, Sundays @ 9:30am
 
 Unit 14: God the Pursuer
 
Unit Description:Despite His people’s continued sin, God continued to pursue them. God used Hosea’s life to show that He still loved Israel, though she was unfaithful. God called Jonah to the capital of a godless nation, showing that no one is beyond the reach of God’s compassion. God used Joel to remind Judah that judgment was inevitable but that God is merciful and was ready to welcome them back.
Key Passage: Joel 2:13
Big Picture Question: What is God like? God is slow to anger, merciful, and loving.
Bible Story: Joel, Prophet to Judah
Bible Passage: Joel 1–3
Main Point: God warned His people to repent before the Day of the Lord.
  
This week we turned our attention back to Judah and picked up the big story with God’s
people in quite a bind. The prophet Joel spoke to the Southern Kingdom of Judah at a
time when the nation faced a crisis. The land had been invaded by locusts; swarms of
the insects had devastated the plants. Judah was also affected by a severe drought.
Joel looked back on these events and announced that these were not mere natural
disasters—the Lord was judging the people for their sin.
 
In Deuteronomy 28, God told His people, “If you do not obey the Lord your God by
carefully following all His commands and statutes I am giving you today, all these curses
will come and overtake you … You will sow much seed in the field but harvest little,
because locusts will devour it” (vv. 15,38). That is exactly what happened.
These disasters were a wakeupcall. Joel told the people to repent. He told them to fast.
He told them to gather and repent together, crying out to God and asking Him to show
them mercy. Then Joel looked ahead to the future. In essence he said, “You think this is
bad? This is only the beginning!”
 
God’s judgment of Judah was not over. The Day of the Lord was coming, a day when
God would show His strength through an invading army. For those who were not right
with God, this was bad news. God’s power would be against them. So Joel implored
them, “Return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to
anger, rich in faithful love, and He relents from sending disaster.”
God had pity on His people and promised to restore them. God would rather forgive His
people than punish them.
 
Joel warned God’s people about the Day of the Lord—a day when God will judge
His enemies, free His people, and make the world right again. Those who trust in
Jesus will escape God’s punishment for sin. Jesus was punished in our place, and
we share in His righteousness.
 
Help your kids see that God takes sin seriously, but at the same time, He showers grace
upon those who trust in Jesus. God sent His Son, Jesus, to die for sins so people could
be right with God. An ultimate Day of the Lord is coming, and everyone who calls on the
name of the Lord will be saved.
 
Check this session’s Activity Page and Big Picture Card as well as the Gospel Project for
Kids Family App for ways to interact with the Bible content this week.
 
FAMILY STARTING POINTS
● Babies and Toddlers
○ God loves people.
○ Joel was God’s prophet.
○ Joel said God wants to forgive people.
○ God forgives us through His Son, Jesus.
● Preschool
○ What is God like? God is merciful and loving.
○ God warned His people to repent.
● Kids
○ What is God like? God is slow to anger, merciful, and loving.
○ God warned His people to repent before the Day of the Lord.
 
UNIT KEY PASSAGE
● Joel 2:13
 
NEXT WEEK
● “God Called Jeremiah” (Jeremiah 1)
 
In Christ,
Stephenie