How do you keep children safe and secure?Join us on Sunday, August 23, for worship, games, and lunch at Fort Ouiatenon. That morning, we will have our online worship service at 9:30. Then, at … [Read More...]
COVID-19 Resources
Sundays
Join us online at 9:30 on Sundays! l
Watch Sermons on Vimeo!
Parents, please see the RiverKids page
Caring
Helping the LTHC
Community Outreach
Local Service
Many of us have a deep sense that the world is not as it should be and most of us ache for a better world. The Good News is that Jesus came to restore the world and everything in it. One of the ways that Riverside proclaims this Good News of Jesus is by partnering with God to restore our community to the way God intended it to be. We go where brokenness is and work to restore our community spiritually, emotionally, physically, economically, and socially.
Our Community Outreach Ministry is how we work together to be the hands and feet of Jesus in Tippecanoe County.
Riverside currently partners with Habitat for Humanity, Lafayette Transitional Housing Center, Family Promise, Lafayette Urban Ministry, and many other Tippecanoe organizations to meet our community’s needs. We serve meals, collect and distribute food, help house homeless, give away Christmas gifts, mentor, teach job skills, host international students and generally meet needs as they arise. Riverside also has a benevolence fund that provides for the immediate financial needs of Riverside attendees and others within our local community.
You can learn more about the principles that guide Riverside’s Community Outreach here.
You can also find lots of volunteer opportunities in our community here.
Are you ready to help us meet the needs of our local community?
Email us at outreach@rcovenant.org. We need your help.
Family Promise
Family Promise has suspended all in-house volunteer involvement during this time.
You can still support them monetarily or by donating cleaning items like, but not limited to:
- anti-bacterial hand soap
- cleaning spray
- cleaning wipes
- kids school and craft items (nothing very big)
- non-perishable food items
Please email Meg Gustus for drop-off location and directions. Please do not drop any items off directly to Family Promise, there are strict instructions on drop-off procedures.
Habitat for Humanity
Though they’re not accepting volunteers for the builds, they are welcoming and appreciative of all financial donations. You can help here.
Lafayette Transitional Housing (LTHC)
Thank you to all who have contributed to the ‘LTHC Donations’ box on the porch of the white house. Donation drop off’s are done weekly. If you have interest in joining for the drop off’s or have questions regarding donations, please contact Alivia Puterbaugh.
LTHC welcomes donations such as deodorant/razors, underwear (men’s and women’s), food, water, clothing, etc. but also welcomes financial contributions. If you wish to provide monetarily, please visit this link.
If you wish to volunteer in-house, please consider joining the Riverside Team on the second Wednesday of each month from 4:45–6:30 PM. It’s a time of fun, fellowship, and making new friends.
Lafayette Urban Ministry (LUM)
Thank you to all who have volunteered at LTHC with making and serving meal! If you would still like to volunteer, Lafayette Urban Ministry (LUM) is in need of individuals to cook and/or bring meals to them. May has many spots available to serve dinner. The meal times are from 8:00-10:30 PM. Please contact Meg Gustus for this.
Serving size: 44 people
Prayer
Prayer at Riverside
Riverside’s Prayer Ministry encourages us to be a people of prayer.
Because God calls each of us to devote ourselves to prayer (Col. 4:2), prayer is not as much a ministry as it is a movement. Therefore, prayer is the umbrella over all that happens with Riverside.
Riverside wants to be people of prayer. We desire to continually grow in worship and faith and believe prayer is crucial to spiritual maturity. Prayer is communication with God and is essential to relationship with Him, just as communication is in human to human relationships. Prayer includes listening to the Lord as well as communicating honestly with Him about everything in our hearts and lives.
We want conversation with God to be the foundation of everything we do as a church and as individuals, couples and families. Prayer is not a separate ministry but a movement within all the ministries of Riverside. Various prayer practices are offered during worship services, pod gatherings, RiverKids classes, meetings, retreats, etc. We aim to be attentive to the Lord’s voice and align our hearts with His.
We seek to cover every aspect of Riverside in prayer with the following prayer teams:
- Pastor’s Prayer Shield—daily personal prayer time for our pastor
- Congregational Prayer Team—daily personal prayer time for requests we receive
- Sunday Worship Prayer Warriors—weekly prayer during the worship services on Sundays at 9:00 or 10:45
We want you to join us!
If you are interested in helping the Prayer Movement, praying for others regularly, or simply have a prayer request, contact our Prayer Ministry at prayer@rcovenant.org.
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know,” Jeremiah 33:3.
As COVID-19 sends the globe into crisis, it also sends us to our knees.
In recent days, as COVID-19 has been declared a global pandemic and countries have taken urgent measures to stem the spread of infection, I wish I could say that my first impulse has been to pray. It’s probably more honest to say that I’ve obsessively refreshed my feeds.
The crisis is urgent, and I feel powerless. But perhaps feeling small is the best reminder to pray. Prayer is how we actively practice believing, so simply, so confidently, that God has the whole world in his hands. It’s where we “let petitions and praises shape our worries into prayers, letting God know our concerns” (Phil. 4:6–7, The Message). Prayer is never the last resort of God’s people. It is our first point of action.
With that in mind, I’ve put together a list of 20 prayers to pray during this pandemic. Each one addresses the specific needs of a specific community. I’m fortunate to be a part of a church with many medical professionals, some of whom gave me advice on how best to pray for them at this time. I’ve included their responses here. I’ve also tried to think broadly about how the rest of us are impacted by the current crisis.
This list isn’t comprehensive, of course, but it’s a good place to start. My hope is that it can provide words for us as we pray collectively (if also virtually!) as a church body. We believe there is a God who bends his ear to listen, and so we pray:
-
- For the sick and infected: God, heal and help. Sustain bodies and spirits. Contain the spread of infection.
- For our vulnerable populations: God, protect our elderly and those suffering from chronic disease. Provide for the poor, especially the uninsured.
- For the young and the strong: God, give them the necessary caution to keep them from unwittingly spreading this disease. Inspire them to help.
- For our local, state, and federal governments: God, help our elected officials as they allocate the necessary resources for combatting this pandemic. Help them to provide more tests.
- For our scientific community, leading the charge to understand the disease and communicate its gravity: God, give them knowledge, wisdom, and a persuasive voice.
- For the media, committed to providing up-to-date information: God, help them to communicate with appropriate seriousness without causing panic.
- For consumers of media, looking to be well-informed: God, help us find the most helpful local information to equip us to be good neighbors. Keep us from anxiety and panic, and enable us to implement the recommended strategies, even at a cost to ourselves.
- For those with mental health challenges who feel isolated, anxious, and helpless: God, provide them every necessary support.
- For the homeless, unable to practice the protocols of social distancing in the shelter system: Protect them from disease, and provide isolation shelters in every city.
- For international travelers stuck in foreign countries: God, help them return home safely and quickly.surroundsurround
- For Christian missionaries throughout the world, especially in areas with high rates of infection: God, provide them with words of hope, and equip them to love and serve those around them.
- For workers in a variety of industries facing layoffs and financial hardship: God, keep them from panic, and inspire your church to generously support them.
- For families with young children at home for the foreseeable future: God, help mothers and fathers to partner together creatively for the care and flourishing of their children. For single mothers and fathers, grow their networks of support.
- For parents who cannot stay home from work but must find care for their children: God, present them with creative solutions.
- For those in need of regular therapies and treatments that must now be postponed: God, help them to stay patient and positive.
- For business leaders making difficult decisions that affect the lives of their employees: God, give these women and men wisdom, and help them to lead self-sacrificially.
- For pastors and church leaders faced with the challenges of social distancing: God, help them to creatively imagine how to pastor their congregants and love their cities well.
- For college and university students, whose courses of study are changing, whose placements are cancelled, whose graduation is uncertain: God, show them that while life is uncertain, their trust is in you.
- For Christians in every neighborhood, community, and city: May your Holy Spirit inspire us to pray, to give, to love, to serve, and to proclaim the gospel, that the name of Jesus Christ might be glorified around the world.
- For frontline health care workers, we thank you for their vocational call to serve us. We also pray:
- God, keep them safe and healthy. Keep their families safe and healthy.
- God, help them to be knowledgeable about the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, as well as the changing protocols.
- God, help them to stay clear-minded in the midst of the surrounding panic.
- God, deliver them from anxiety for their own loved ones (aging parents, children, spouses, roommates).
- God, give them compassion for every patient in their care.
- God, provide for them financially, especially if they fall ill and are unable to work.
- God, help Christians in health care to exhibit extraordinary peace, so that many would ask about the reason for their hope. Give them opportunities to proclaim the gospel.
God, we trust that you are good and do good. Teach us to be your faithful people in this time of global crisis. Help us to follow in the footsteps of our faithful shepherd, Jesus, who laid down his life for the sake of love. Glorify his name as you equip us with everything needed for doing your will. Amen.
Jen Pollock Michel is the author of Teach Us to Want, Keeping Place, and Surprised by Paradox. She lives with her husband and their five children in Toronto. This piece was adapted from her recent blog.
Giving
Giving to Riverside
Start Giving Today!
Riverside depends on and is grateful for, the consistent generosity of our people to support our mission and ministries. We seek to faithfully share and steward our financial resources to God’s glory and appreciate all who partner with us.
If you are interested in reviewing Riverside’s annual budget and understanding how we steward our financial resources, our budget is published in our Annual Report each year. You can also learn more about the biblical call for generosity through our loving and giving brochure and the Evangelical Covenant Church’s resolution on stewardship and generosity.
You have several options when giving to Riverside:
You can place a check or cash in the seed spreader by the sound booth on Sunday morning (Riverside does not pass offering plates during Sunday worship) or drop off a gift directly during office hours at the church office.
You (or your bank through Bill Pay) can send a check to our office through the mail to the address below:
Riverside Covenant Church
1850 Woodland Ave.
West Lafayette, IN 47906
You can give online through your checking account using our online giving system accessible via the links below*:
*Our online giving system is limited to $5,000 per transaction to ensure minimal fees are incurred during your donation. If you would like to give more than that amount at once please contact our Office Manager to arrange a wire transfer or one of the first two options.
If you have any questions about your giving or need documentation related to your gifts, please contact Riverside’s Office Manager, Babby Porter, at the church office. The other Riverside Staff and Leadership Team do not have access to individual giving information.
If you have general questions about giving or questions about how your gifts are being utilized, please contact Riverside’s Treasurer, Kevin Jones.
RiverKids
RiverKids Online!
Weekly Lessons
This week we learn:
God keeps His promises.
Attribute:
God is faithful.
Scripture:
The whole book of Genesis
Key Verse:
The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does.
Psalm 145:13b
Video:
Activity:
If you have coloring kits, print off this page.
Then do this activity together.
Crossing the Divide
Say: In the Book of Genesis, we learn that God created us to have a perfect friendship with Him, but then sin wrecked everything. Sin created a separation between us and God. We’re going to do an activity that will help us picture that.
Directions:
Lay 2 pieces of rope or tape parallel to each other on the floor with about 6 inches between them. Instruct your kids to stand along the edge of one rope while facing the other rope. Say, “1, 2, 3… Jump!” and have everyone do a standing broad jump over the gap to the opposite side of the other rope. Next, move one of the ropes 6 inches further away so that the gap becomes bigger. Repeat the instructions above. Continue moving the ropes further away from each other until no one can jump all the way across. Ask the following questions:
Question:
How did this activity remind you of sin?
Question:
What did Jesus do to help bridge the “sin gap” that separates us from God?
Directions:
Using tape, create a cross that stretches from one rope to the other. Have your kids walk along the cross from one side of the gap to the other and have a seat.
Say:
Romans 8:39 says, “Nothing at all can separate us from God’s love. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.” When Jesus died on the cross, he defeated sin. Now there’s nothing that can separate us from a friendship with God.
This week we learn:
God makes us new.
Attribute:
God is faithful.
Scripture Verse:
Ephesians 4:22-24 and John 3:1-21
Memory Verse:
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds.
Ephesians 4:22-23
Video:
Three questions:
- What did you hear in the story?
- What did you learn about God's Heart?
- How does this connect to you?
Activity:
Give kids a large piece of paper to draw themselves in the colors and clothes that they are wearing today. Write I AM A NEW CREATION on the shirts or socks or at the top of the paper. Decorate with buttons or ribbons or sequins to glue on to their creation picture.
This week we learn:
God's word teaches us.
Attribute:
God is faithful.
Scripture Verse:
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Memory Verse:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.
2 Timothy 3:16
This week we are learning about some verses from 2 Timothy, this was a letter from Paul to his friend Timothy. Who was Timothy, watch the video to find out a little more.
Video:
Three questions:
- What did you hear in the story?
- What did you learn about God's Heart?
- How does this connect to you?
Activity:
This lesson is an excerpt from Creative Bible Study, it can be found in complete form, here.
2 Timothy 3:16 explains how the Bible can become God’s GPS for us in life. It’s profitable for: teaching (telling us how to get to where we need to be), reproof or rebuking (telling us when we have taken a wrong turn), correcting (getting us back on track going the right direction), and training in righteousness (continuing to guide us towards God’s best for us)!
Take out your GPS App on your phone and type in destination “Heaven”. Mine tells me “No results.” Only God’s Word of Truth can direct us there. Jesus said it very plain and simple in John 14:6 – “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes the the Father but through Me.” God not only told us the way, He came to earth to show us the way; He doesn’t want any of us to remain lost!
Take a Drive!
Type in a close by location into your GPS and take a walk or drive. Crank up the volume so your kids can listen. Make sure to make a wrong turn or two to hear it correct and then redirect and discuss how the Bible does that in our lives too. When you get to your destination discuss how God's Word is to point and ultimately direct us to eternal life with Him.
Play Simon Says
Play a game of Simon Says to remind us that God gives us instruction through the Bible, but we must be listening and paying attention.
This week we learn:
God desires for all people to follow him.
Attribute:
God is forgiving.
Scripture Verse:
Psalm 119:57-64
Memory Verse:
I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws.
Psalm 119:59
Video:
Three questions:
- What did you hear in the story?
- What did you learn about God's Heart?
- How does this connect to you?
Activity:
This week we learn about Zaccheus, you might be wondering what that has to do with Psalm 119. Psalm 119 talks about loving God with all our hearts. And turning from our own sinful ways to follow Gods. Zaccheus is a perfect example of that. This week find yourself a good climbing tree and climb on up there. Once you're there, shout this week's memory verse as loud as you can!
This week we learn:
God is going to make the whole world new again.
Attribute:
Jesus is King.
Scripture Verse:
Revelation 7
Memory Verse:
For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water. ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Revelation 7:17
Video:
Three questions:
- What did you hear in the story?
- What did you learn about God's Heart?
- How does this connect to you?
Activity:
Time to get creative! Spend some time talking as a family. What will it be like when Jesus returns. Think of all the sad things that will be undone. THen grab some Legos or playdough, Markers, crayons or sidewalk chalk. Re-Create the world the way Jesus might. A world where there is no sadness, not sickness, and living water, Where God's glory lights the world like the sun. Be encouraged that one day all will be made new. If you want to hear another version check out the https: Jesus Storybook Bible
This week we learn:
We don't go to church, we are the church!
Attribute:
God is powerful.
Scripture Verse:
Acts 2:42-47
Memory Verse:
And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had."
Acts 2:44
Video:
Three questions:
- What did you hear in the story?
- What did you learn about God's Heart?
- How does this connect to you?
Activity:
Blank paper—Scissors—Markers
- Grab 2 sheets of blank paper. Draw an outline of a house on one Leave space inside the house and together draw your family or write their names, depending on your kids coloring engagement. 🙂
- Talk about what makes a family. Talk about how you live together in a house, but the house doesn't make a family.
- Now draw an outline of a church building on the other paper. Inside the outline draw or write as many church friends as you can think of. If they are engaged, really challenge them to think of as many people as they can.
- Pick up the house paper. Start cutting inside the outline. Once the house is cut away ask your kids if this is still your family.
- Then pick up the church drawing and cut away the outline of the building. Talk about how the building is like a house for the church. But the church is the people. You can take away the building but the church is still there. The church is God's people.
This week we learn:
Jesus came to rescue sinners.
Attribute:
God is merciful.
Scripture Verse:
Mark 2:13-22
Memory Verse:
When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Mark 2:17
Video:
Three questions:
- What did you hear in the story?
- What did you learn about God's Heart?
- How does this connect to you?
Activity:
Can you draw the following people at Matthew’s dinner or use Legos to recreate the party: Two guests, one of Jesus’ close friends and Jesus. Talk about the fact that the tax collectors and sinners were not really nice people to have as friends or to go to parties with.
Ask your kids why they think Jesus wanted to mix with this sort of person. (Jesus cared for people from a very wide selection of society, including lots of outsiders and social misfits.)
Ask the children if they’d been at Matthew’s meal where they would be in the room – sitting with Jesus and Matthew’s friends or standing in the corner with the Pharisee.
This week we learn:
God wants all people to know Jesus.
Attribute:
Jesus Rescues.
Scripture Verse:
Acts 17:16-34
Memory Verse:
“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us."
Acts 17:27
Video:
Three questions:
- What did you hear in the story?
- What did you learn about God's Heart?
- How does this connect to you?
Activity:
Enjoy this coloring sheet!
This week we learn:
God always keeps his promises.
Attribute:
Jesus Rescues.
Scripture Verse:
Genesis 12
Memory Verse:
And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
Hebrews 11:12
Video:
Three questions:
- What did you hear in the story?
- What did you learn about God's Heart?
- How does this connect to you?
Activity:
Make a paper human chain. Fold a piece of paper accordion style three times, sketch a rough person similar to the image attached. Cut it out. Talk to your kids about how Abraham was only one person but from that one person God made a whole nation. Make a bunch of paper chain dolls and tape them all together.
Find a scoop of dirt (Or if you're out late spend some time looking at the stars). Try to count the specks of dirt or stars.
- What are some of the promises we are still waiting for God to keep?
- Talk about how long Abraham had to wait for God to keep his promise.
- Does it ever seem like God is too late or too slow?
- Why do you think God waited so long to give Abraham and Sarah a child?
- What can we do when we feel tired of waiting for God to keep his promises?
This week we learn:
God has a plan to rescue the world from the fall.
Attribute:
God is the rescuer.
Scripture Verse:
John 3:16
Memory Verse:
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
Video:
Three questions:
- What did you hear in the story?
- What did you learn about God's Heart?
- How does this connect to you?
Activity:
The Bridge Fold a sheet of construction paper in half. On one half have your child draw Adam and Eve and on the other half draw a heart to stand for God’s love for us. Let your child dip his finger in a cup of water and then run his wet finger along the fold in the paper. He may have to do this several times. When the fold is sufficiently damp, have your child rip the two pages apart. Talk about how the water is the sin that separates us from God just like it separated Adam & Eve from God. Cut out a large cross from construction paper and glue one side to the picture of Adam and Eve and the other to the picture of the heart. Talk about how Jesus is the bridge that connects us with God.
TALK about it...
- What is sin? What was the first sin?…
- What should we do when we sin? (Ask God to forgive us.)
- Will God forgive you when you ask Him?
This week we learn:
God made people in his own image.
Attribute:
God is creative.
Scripture Verse:
Genesis 1:26-31
Memory Verse:
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
Video:
Don't' forget the three questions:
- What did you hear?
- What did you learn about God's Heart?
- How does this connect to us?
Activity:
It's time for Playdough. I know it's every clean house's worst nightmare. But it is a great hands on activity to get creative. If you don't have any, here's a recipe to make some. You can make it with your kids, and talk about how God creates.
Have your kids create a person out of playdough. Talk about God made us in his image. Spend some time wondering what God is like? What parts of God did He put in your child. Talk about how this changes the way we see ourselves, the way we treat each other. We are God's masterpiece. His favorite part of creation. What's your favorite part of creation. Make it out of playdough.
This week we learn:
Loving others shows love to God.
Attribute:
God is love.
Scripture Verse:
Luke 10:25-37
Memory Verse:
Jesus asked: “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him."
Luke 10:25-37
Video:
Don't' forget the three questions:
- What did you hear/see in the story?
- What did you learn about God's Heart?
- How does this connect to you?
Activity:
As a family come up with two specific people in your neighborhood or near you who you could show love to. Make a plan to show love with action. You can make cookies, cards, pull weeds, bring flowers, have a driveway party, etc. Share your plan and pictures of it's execution on facebook/or instagram with your Riverside family. It's not bragging, it is a way to encourage each other and spur one another on to love and good deeds.
This week we learn:
God wants us to be quick to listen.
Attribute:
God is patient.
Scripture Verse:
James 1:18-27
Memory Verse:
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.
James 1:199
Activity:
This week the activity is first. You will need a plate and spoon for each participant and toothpaste (one tube for each or you can share). Once you have these, click the video and do it together.
How to be a good listener:
Parents, we teach our kids how to listen through modeling. Watch this video with your kids and make an effort to show warmth, respect and empathy as you listen to them, and others this week. Practice with each other. YOU are teaching your children how to be Jesus followers.
They are watching. Now more than ever.
This week we learn:
God is doing something new.
Attribute:
God is personal.
Scripture Verse:
Isaiah 43:1-21
Memory Verse:
But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
Isaiah 43:18-19
Bible Story
Activity:
Keep building your paper chain. Your paper chain should tell the story of God's faithfulness in the life of your family. Parents, ask the Lord to bring to mind moments in your life where God really showed up for you. Big or small.
If you are able carve out some time with one of your kids and share with them a time of God's faithfulness in your own life.
This week do something you've never done before. God is doing a new thing. Eat a food you've never tried, try to learn a new skill (cartwheel, or learn a new song). Remind your family that God is always on the move! Doing new things, ask for eyes to see!
This week we learn:
God wants his children remember how he rescues them.
Attribute:
God is Ominiscient.
Scripture Verse:
Exodus 13:14-22
Memory Verse:
In days to come, when your son asks you, ‘What does this mean?’ say to him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
Exodus 13:14
Bible Story
Activity:
Make a paper chain with your family. Write about ways that God has come through for you. Parents share stories from your past about God rescuing you. Build your chain all summer long!
This week we learn:
God is with us in hard times.
Attribute:
God is Omnipresent.
Scripture Verse:
Daniel 3
Memory Verse:
Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him.
Daniel 3:28
Three Questions:
- What did you hear in the story?
- What did you learn about God's heart?
- How does this connect to you?
Bible Story
Activity:
If you want to, act out the story with your family. You can have a narrator or you can just replay the video and act it out. Here is a link to a coloring page. Some of your kids love to color if you have a printer, print it out, after you color it you can cut it out and turn it into a puzzle.
This week we learn:
God always has a plan and we can trust Him.
Attribute:
God is Omnipresent.
Scripture Verse:
Jeremiah 29:1-10
Memory Verse:
This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.
Jeremiah 29:10
Bible Story
Activity:
Play Hide and Seek OR "Hot & Cold" (hide an item in the house and only one person can give Hot or cold clues to the guesser).
Gather around and discuss...
- Who was the best "hider"?
- What is the key to being a good "hider"?
- (Find a place you think no one will look or know about.)
- If you were playing "Hide and Seek" or "Hot and Cold" with God--who would win every time?
- (God) Why? (There's no place we can hide where God is not already there.)
- Who was the best "finder?"
- What is the key to being a good "finder?"
- If you played the "Hot and Cold" game: How did it feel when you weren't the "hider" or the "seeker" and you had to be quiet while the "seeker" was looking?
- Was it hard not to give hints?
- Was it frustrating watching the "seeker" get close to the object but still not see it?
- How do you think God might feel when He sees us looking for help, love, friendship or strength and He is right there ready to help, but we keep looking at the wrong things and don't see Him?
- Sometimes people want to play "hide and seek" with God. Why do you think a person would want to hide from God?
Bringing it to a close
The great thing about God is that He doesn't try to hide from us! He is EVERYWHERE all the time, and He wants us to find Him!
We can never escape the presence of God.
This week we're going to talk about the fact that God is EVERYWHERE, all the time. As you go about your day, talk to him, save a place for him at the table. God is already there, invite him to be a part of your day.
This week we learn:
Jesus died on the cross and came back to life 3 days later to save us from our sins!
Attribute:
Jesus is the Rescuer.
Scripture Verse:
John 20:1-31
Memory Verse:
But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
John 20:31
Bible Story
Activity:
Hey families, Did you know that in many countries the week after Easter is called Bright Week? For a week families celebrate the Resurrection, school is cancelled and feasting goes on late into the evenings. Of course the celebrations are done in community. Can I tell you, in our culture, we kind of stink at Bright Week. We have Christmas pretty locked in, but so many times Easter is just a blip on the calendar and we move back into the business of spring. Let’s take advantage of this strange situation we find ourselves in and stop and celebrate the Risen Jesus! Let it go into the week. Here are some ways you might consider doing that.
Let some of the everyday rules slide. On Easter, Jesus turned the world upside-down, and by relaxing household rules we can give children a small taste of that. Maybe kids are allowed to eat anything they want, and watch as much TV as they want. This doesn’t happen at any other time of year, not even for birthdays, which makes it really exciting for them, and helps to make sure the sweets disappear quickly (how convenient!). This may not work with every family the same way, but the principle is to create an atmosphere of freedom and joy. Play together. Show grace to each other. Indulge… make cookies. Make a Bright Taco Tuesday Fiesta! Stay up later, sleep in longer. Be silly. Whatever your family loves.. Do it. Love outrageously.
Christ is Risen!
Miss Megan
This week we learn:
Jesus came to Rescue us!
Attribute:
Jesus is the King of Kings!
Scripture Verse:
John 12:12-19
Memory Verse:
They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,” Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
Watch this video and then ask your kids these three questions:
- What did you hear in the story?
- What did you learn about God’s heart?
- How does this connect to us?
Activity:
Write the memory verse on squares of paper (or palm branches if you are feeling fancy). Play a concentration game. Make a set of cards. Have them take turns turning over the cards. They must turn the cards over in order to spell out the Bible verse. If a person turns a leaf over in the wrong order, the next person takes a turn turning over the cards.
Holy Week activities:
This week is Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter. In our story we heard that if God’s people would not praise Him the very rocks would cry out! Have you ever heard Rocks speak? Me neither.
Artist Patti Rokus has figured out how to make Rocks speak! She uses rocks to tell the story of Jesus.
Watch this video.
This week get outside and find some rocks. Use them to tell the story of Jesus.
You can write praises on them and put them on your dining room table.
This week we learn:
God knows what we need, we do not need to worry.
Attribute:
God is provider.
Scripture Verse:
This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God and I trust Him. Psalm 91:2
Kids,
This week you guys are gonna be the teachers! A lot of adults are really worried and stressed right now.
You can help them by showing them how to trust.
Sometimes grownups learn how to trust and obey God from watching kids!
You guys can show them how to follow Jesus.
Remember King David? He wrote a psalm (Psalm 91) about trusting God when we feel scared or worried.
Jesus also told people not to be scared or worried.
Watch the video called Don’t Worry. Where Jesus tells us how God is our provider.
He gives us everything we need.
Activity:
Parents talk to your kids about things they might be worried about, fears they might have.
Then watch the Guided Prayer Video:
Parents: if your kids are struggling with fear and anxiety, consider checking out these resources.
This week we learn:
Jesus is stronger than Death.
Attribute:
Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. John 11:1-44
Scripture verse:
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die.” John 11:25
Activity:
- Print the Bible verse on a piece of long material in big letters. Wrap up a child with the material starting with the end of the verse. Get creative: toilet paper, an old sheet, fabric scraps, tape paper strips together, old school printer paper. Post online pics of what you are using.
- Hold the material at the beginning of the verse. Have the child turn in circles as you pull gently and back up to reveal the verse.
- Have your children say the words to the verse as the words are revealed. If you have room on your floor, you can place the material on the floor with the verse showing.
- Have a child lay down at the end of the verse and hold onto the end of the material and then roll towards the other end of the fabric to wrap himself up. Have someone hold the end of the fabric as the child unrolls revealing the verse. Have your children say the words to the verse as the words are revealed.
Join the RiverKids Parents Email List
As we get deeper into this, I encourage you to post to our facebook or instagram page your families interacting with the lesson as a source of encouragement to one another. As always, I am only a phone call, text, or email away. Please continue to reach out. Further up and further in. Megan Mills mmills@rcovenan.org 765-463-4600
How is Riverside’s Children’s Ministry structured?
We have two identical teaching times at 9:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. We use Dig-IN Bible Curriculum from Group! both services. RiverKids has free reign of the basement of our building. Come downstairs to find us!
What happens during RiverKids?
RiverKids is a fun, engaging, power packed discipleship time. Dig In Bible Curriculum, is exactly what it sounds like. Kids dig in to the Bible, using fun and exciting activities. These activities don’t just entertain, they teach important Biblical truths and help kids to retain and apply the things they are learning.
RiverKids is for children ages 3- 6th Grade
Children are checked-in and dropped off by a parent to the classroom, where their teacher is waiting to welcome them. Often there are fun activities already waiting for them. If you want to know more about it, check this out!
Kids Worship!
Once the service begins, all the classrooms join together to spend some time worshiping the Lord. During this time of worship, kids pray for each other. They learn and sing songs, and memorize scripture. This time ends with a short and often funny video to introduce the lesson for the week. After this, kids return to their age divided classrooms.
Then what?
Once the children return to their classroom, they begin to dig in to the heart of the lesson. Teachers use a variety of games, object lessons and other activities to teach the Bible Story. RiverKids is not boring. It is engaging, lively, and occasionally a little loud. But don’t be fooled, real learning and real discipleship is happening.
Why Dig In?
One of the things we love about Dig In is every class is studying the same Bible passage and learning the same main Bible point. RiverKids desires to come alongside parents as they endeavor to be the primary source of discipleship in the lives of their children. We only see your kids briefly each week. When all your children are learning the same thing on Sunday it is easier to reinforce those lessons at home. Discipleship is more natural and a part of your whole family. The depth and details of the lesson are different depending on the age, but you can have a vibrant, full discussion with every child in your family. Dig In also offers a supplemental family take home sheet you can find at the bottom of this page. We also love Dig In because your children are DIGGING IN to their Bibles. Your children are learning how to navigate their Bibles and reading God’s Word for themselves. Have your children show you the Bible story they heard each week!
How do you keep children safe and secure?
Children are checked in electronically and given a name tag. Their name tags have a 3 digit number. Each parent will receive a matching tag with the corresponding number. When necessary, teachers will ask to see the matching parent sticker to ensure child safety. If we ever need a parent during the service, the family 3 digit number will appear on the small screen at the front left of the sanctuary. If you see your number, please come downstairs!
Each week you will notice an adult stationed at the entrance of the RiverKids hallway. This is our RiverGuide who helps new parents to check- in and makes sure all children are safe and secure .
In addition, all Children’s Discipleship Ministry volunteers must complete an application and adults complete a criminal background screening before teaching in RiverKids.
You are always welcome to visit any of our classrooms at any time to see how we are doing.
News
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Hi RiverKid parents! For the next 5 weeks, we’ll be diving into the first 5 books of the Bible. And where better to start than in the beginning with the Book of Genesis. I love the Book of Genesis! It has some of the most incredible stories of God’s faithfulness. In fact, God’s faithfulness is […]
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Annual Gathering 2020
We don’t go to church together. We are the church together. Twice each year Riverside gathers to celebrate what God has done and to talk about God’s plans for our future mission and ministry. We are responsible together for God’s work among us and we would love for you to commit to joining us for […]
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Hi RiverKid parents! For the next 5 weeks, we’ll be diving into the first 5 books of the Bible. And where better to start than in the beginning with … [Read More...]
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