In week three, we discover one of Jesus’ most famous miracles recorded in John 6:1-13. Jesus saw the large crowd that had followed Him and decided to feed them. A boy offers his lunch: five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus took the boy’s gift and used it to feed over 5,000 people.
 
Bottom Line: Use what you have to serve others. Sometimes kids might look at a situation and wonder if they have anything they can offer to help. We hope they remember that God can use whatever they have to do some amazing things. They just need to be willing to use it to serve others.
 
Memory Verse: And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God. Hebrews 13:16 NLT
 
Have a great week!
The Reign Forest Team

We close out the month with another one of Solomon’s vivid word pictures in Proverbs 25:16 and find out what happens when we indulge and eat too much. But this proverb isn’t just about how much we eat. Kids will learn that too much of anything, even if it’s a good thing, can have serious consequences.

Bottom Line: Know when to stop. Knowing when to stop isn’t always easy for kids. A lot of times it’s a parent or teacher who helps them know it’s time to stop what they’re doing and take a break. We hope that kids start to see that stopping something—even if it’s fun—can be the wisest choice. We also want them to know they don’t need to do this on their own. God will help them know when to stop.

Memory Verse: “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.”                                 2 Peter 1:3 NLT

Bundle up and stay warm!!
Blessings,
The Reign Forest Team

Greetings from the Reign Forest!
This week we looked at Proverbs 16:32, where Solomon uses the idea of a fighting warrior to help us understand that, regardless of the situation, being patient and keeping our cool is always the wise choice.

Bottom Line: Think before you lose your temper. God can give us the strength we need to pause and think about the consequences of our actions. Rather than letting our anger get the better of us, God can help us show patience and keep the situation under control.

Memory Verse: “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry” (James 1:19, NLT).

​Blessings
The Reign Forest Team

Hello Reign Forest Friends,
We start the month of January with a word picture Solomon writes in Proverbs 25:28. Solomon uses the idea of giant city walls keeping people safe as a way to show the importance of living with self-control. Kids will discover that having protection, like city walls, is the perfect way to help gain self-control.

Bottom Line: Doing what you should, can keep you safe. When you choose to do what you should, instead of doing what you want, you keep yourself out of danger. We hope kids discover the value of relying on God for self-control even when it is difficult.

​Memory Verse: “A person without self-control is like a city with broken down walls” (Proverbs 25:28 NLT).

​Blessings,
The Reign Forest Team

Hello Reign Forest!
 
Hopefully, you heard that we introduced this year's Christmas Play to your children.  All the leaders read aloud our play titled: The Day That Baby Jesus Came to Town, written by Angela Yardy.  We will continue to build on our production each week in Reign Forest so we are ready to perform for you during the Christmas Program on December 23!  So that children can focus on learning and memorizing lines for the play, as a reminder, we will not have any bible memory verses during the months of November and December.
 
Following the read-through of our play, we watched the video story from our normal curriculum:
 
We kick off the month looking at how God’s people cooperated to build the tabernacle. We read throughout Exodus 28, 31, 35, and 39 how God chose people to work together because of how He gifted them. They combined their skills to create a beautiful place to worship God.
 
Bottom Line: God wants us to work together. Sometimes we think it’d be better if we didn’t have to rely on anyone else to get a job done, but this isn’t how God created us. God created us for community, to work together, and do more than we can do on our own. We hope that kids see the value in cooperation because cooperation starts with God.
 
November's Theme:  Cooperation
 
Blessings,
The Reign Forest Team
 

​We wrapped up our study on contentment in Exodus 16:2-21 and 17:1-7 with a look at how God’s people responded to the wilderness. God rescued them from slavery in Egypt, yet when they found themselves in uncomfortable situations, they complained that God didn’t care about them. They even longed to return to Egypt. In spite of that, God continued to meet their needs in the wilderness providing what they needed the whole time.
 
Bottom Line: Don’t miss out on what you have now. If we’re only thinking about what we don’t have, we’ll miss being able to celebrate how God is taking care of us. It’s easy to find something else we think we need that will make us happy, but contentment is finding the joy in what God has provided right here and now. We pray that kids will start seeing the good in their life rather than complain and miss out.  
 
Bible Memory Verse: I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:12–13)
 
I encourage every child to learn the memory verse this week and come back on Sunday and say it to any Reign Forest Leader. We are off to a good start on our Bible Memory Challenge for 2018-2019. Each child will get to pick a prize out of the treasure box after saying five memory verses. In November and December, we will not have any new memory verses. Instead, we will be practicing for the Christmas play. Now is be a great time to get caught up on memorizing some Bible verses.
 
Blessings!
Reign Forest Leaders

This past week we headed to a story found in 1 Kings 21:1-19, 27, where we discovered what happens when King Ahab finds a plot of land he wants more than anything. But there’s a problem, Naboth owns the land, and this land has been in his family for generations. King Ahab and his wife Queen Jezebel go to extreme lengths to take that land for themselves. In the end, though, King Ahab was miserable. 

Bottom Line: Wanting what others have can make you miserable. Many kids have probably experienced this bottom line first hand. Yet, that doesn’t stop them the next time they find themselves working out whatever scheme they can to get something new that they’ve seen at a friend’s house or at school. We want kids to be aware that this happens and trust God to help them find contentment in what He’s already given to them.
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Bible Memory Verse:  Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5–6)

Greetings from the Reign Forest!
 
This week we looked at Hebrews 13:5. The writer of Hebrews knows something about contentment. He reminds us that nothing we own can ever make us happy. Our focus should be on our relationship with God.
 
Bottom Line: Stuff can’t keep you happy. Getting something new can be exciting, and even make you happy for a time. But as we know, that feeling of happiness doesn’t last forever because what we own was never meant to do that. We hope that kids leave with the idea that only God can satisfy their needs and give them joy in spite of what they do or don’t own.
 
Bible Memory Verse - Hebrews 13:5 NLT  Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
  
Blessings,
The Reign Forest Team

Hello Reign Forest Friends,

In our first week of October, we start in Philippians 4:11-13. In this letter, Paul is writing to the church at Philippi to help them understand more about what it means to follow Jesus. Paul shares how they can be content and even have joy regardless of their situation in life. This is something that Paul has had to learn from experience. His example of contentment in the face of difficulty is a lesson we can all learn from.
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Bottom Line: God can help you be OK no matter what. We can’t promise kids that when they follow Jesus that everything in their life will work out just the way they want it to. However, we can promise them that even if life isn’t okay, God can help them be okay with their circumstances. We pray that no matter what kids are facing, they’ll learn to trust that God will give them what they need to get through it.
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Bible Memory Verse- Matthew 6:26 NLT    "Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?"
 
Blessings
Angie, Anita, Cheryl, Jessi, and Kristin

​Hello Reign Forest Parents and Friends,

On Sunday in RF, we finished up our lessons on initiative (seeing what needs to be done and doing it) from the book of Nehemiah.  We headed to Nehemiah 3-4, 6:15-16, and 8:1-17 and read that God helped Nehemiah and the people finish the wall in only 52 days! They were able to celebrate all that God had done for them, not only during those 52 days but also throughout their history as His people. They heard God's Word and remembered how God had been faithful to them. They had a lot to be thankful for!
 
Bottom Line: Look for ways to celebrate what God has done. When we realize that God is doing amazing things in our lives, we can't help but give Him thanks!  We pray that as we heard Nehemiah's story, kids realized how God also helps them each and every day. We hope the kids learn to celebrate God's continued work in their lives.
On Sunday, each child drew a picture on a paper bag of something that he or she wants to praise God for.  We then filled the bags with treats and made little piñatas to celebrate what God has done!  
 
Bible Verse: I will tell of the Lord's unfailing love. I will praise the Lord for all he has done. Isaiah 63:7 NLT
 
Blessings,
The RF Team