​Hello RF Friends,
 
Yesterday in RF, our lesson was based on Colossians 3:13, where Paul wrote, "Put up with one another. Forgive one another if you are holding something against someone. Forgive, just as the Lord forgave you."  This month in RF, we have been talking about friendship. Forgiveness is a big part of growing friendships. This verse teaches us that because God forgave us, we can forgive others when they mess up - especially the people we consider our friends. 
 
Bottom Line:  Friends forgive one another. 
 
As kids learn about God's incredible forgiveness through Jesus, we hope they will start to understand more about how they can forgive their own friends. It's not just about accepting an apology and saying everything is all right. We pray that kids will understand how they can forgive others and work to rebuild their friendships that are worth saving. 
 
After the lesson, we made friendship bracelets with red, yellow, and blue beads as a way to review what we learned about friendship this month...
Red beads represent promises. Good friends keep their promises.
Yellow beads represent encouragement. Good friends encourage and stand up for each other.
Blue beads represent forgiveness. Good friends forgive each other. 
 
Memory Verse # 2:  Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. Proverbs 17:9, NLT
 
Have a good week!
The RF Team

​Hi Reign Forest Friends,
 
It’s a new school year, and it’s time for us to begin our Bible Memory verse challenge again! Parents, you should have received the verses for your children in your church mailbox on Sunday, September 17th. If you didn’t, please let Anita or another Reign Forest leader know. Also, like in prior years, the new verse is stapled to the child’s take-home paper for that week. We also include the memory verse in these weekly Reign Forest update emails.
 
This Sunday, week three in September, we head to Acts 9:26-30. Saul had a bad reputation with the followers of Jesus. So when Saul decided to follow Jesus, the other believers had a difficult time trusting that he had really changed. Barnabas went out on a limb and defended Saul. Because of Barnabas, the followers of Jesus chose to help Saul and trust that Jesus had really changed him.
 
Bottom Line: Friends stand up for one another. Of course, we don’t want kids to put themselves in dangerous situations, but there’s an aspect of friendship when we might feel like we need to defend others. It’s important that we find a way to stand up for people who are being treated badly. We want kids to understand how they can encourage others and let them know they’re not alone.
 
Memory Verse #1: A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12 NLT
 
P. S. Today in class, we introduced the Bible memory verse, watched the video Bible story, and had a time of sharing prayer requests & praises. Then we did a “Hot potato” story review game and a freeze variation game of Sharks & Minnows.
 
Have a wonderful week!
Reign Forest Team

​On Sunday, we headed to 1 Samuel 19–20 and 2 Samuel 9 and took a look at one of the most famous friendships in the entire Bible, between David and Jonathan. Before David escaped to hide from King Saul, he promised Jonathan that he would always take care of Jonathan’s family. David had a chance to follow through on that promise and took care of Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, making him feel like a part of his family.
 
Bottom Line: Friends keep their promises. Trust is a crucial part of friendship. One of the most important ways we can build trust with our friends is by keeping our word. When we promise to do something, we should do everything we can to keep that promise. We pray that as kids learn about David and Jonathan, they’ll think about the ways they can keep their promises and show others that they can be trusted friends.
 
We played “Hot Potato” but with an egg (it was hard-boiled - but the kids didn’t know that until after the game). The kids did a very good job and were very careful passing the egg around. Just as we had to be very careful with the egg, we also have to be very careful to keep the promises that we make.
 
There is no Bible memory verse this week. We will start our new Bible Memory Verse Challenge next Sunday, September 17. Our challenge will run the same as last year. We will challenge the kids to memorize 30 Bible verses throughout this school year. Kids are welcome to memorize the verses that we select in Reign Forest, or they may memorize school verses. Attached is information about the program. Please see Anita if you have any questions.