Hello from Reign Forest
 
In Reign Forest, we are studying kindness during the month of February. God was kind to us even when we didn’t deserve it. Even when we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. Because of God’s great love for us, we can be kind to everyone. Jesus personified kindness in the way He lived and interacted with the people He met. But, as we read the Gospels, we find that Jesus didn’t just model kindness. He commanded it. By treating others the way we want to be treated, we live out the way Jesus taught us to live.
 
Week 2 key question: When is it hard to be kind? If we’re completely honest, we encounter situations when we don’t feel like being kind. Kids will soon start to understand how to think about what they do and don’t want to do. We hope they can work through the difficulties they face when showing kindness when they don’t want to show kindness. If they can identify when it’s hard to be kind, they can figure out a plan to help them show kindness anyway.

In Ruth 1 and 2, we find Naomi and her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Their husbands have died and Ruth has the opportunity to return home to her family. Instead, she chooses to show kindness to Naomi and stay with her. Ruth's kindness doesn't go unnoticed. Boaz notices how Ruth is caring for her mother-in-law. He goes above and beyond to care for Ruth and completely changes her life.
 
Bottom Line: Be kind to your family and friends. When it comes to our family and friends, we often find ourselves taking them for granted. We hope through the story of Ruth, kids will learn to show kindness to those we care about most.
 
Bible memory verse - How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! (Psalm 133:1, NLT)
 
Blessings
The Reign Forest Team

Hi Reign Forest Friends,
 
In Reign Forest, we are going to be studying kindness during the month of February. God was kind to us even when we didn’t deserve it. Even when we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. Because of God’s great love for us, we can be kind to everyone. Jesus personified kindness in the way He lived and interacted with the people He met. But, as we read the Gospels, we find that Jesus didn’t just model kindness. He commanded it. By treating others the way we want to be treated, we live out the way Jesus taught us to live.
 
Key Question: What does kindness look like? While this may seem like a simple question, preteens need to start from a concrete idea before connecting that idea to their own life. When kids can identify the kindness of others, they have a better chance of replicating that in their own life. We want kids to figure out how they can show kindness to others based on the ways people have been kind to them.

We start the month talking about the foundation for our kindness. In Titus 3:4-7, Paul talked about God’s amazing kindness towards us. God poured out His kindness when He sent Jesus to rescue us from the consequences of our sin. We can have life forever because of God’s kindness and love.

Bottom Line: Be kind to others because God is kind to you. We pray that as kids learn about God’s kindness through Jesus, they will see how they can reflect God’s kindness to the people in their life.
  
Memory Verse: Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 NLT  

​Blessings,
Anita, Angie, Cheryl, Kristin, and Jessi

We finish out our month in Mark 12:41-44. Jesus is with His disciples and notices how wealthy people are giving lots of money, but then came a poor widow. She gave just two small coins. While this seemed like such a small gift, Jesus says this woman actually gave more than the rich people because she gave everything she had.
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Bottom Line: Practice living for God. We know that most kids love to sing and worship God. But worship isn’t just something we do when we sing at church; worship is really how we honor God with our whole lives—through how we love others and serve them, how we give of our time and talents, how we obey and praise God, even how we rest. We want kids to practice the faith skill, LIVE, and discover that worship isn’t just singing loud, it’s living loud.

Bible Verse:  Colossians 3:17 - And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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Blessings,
The Reign Forest Team