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We’re excited to announce that Jason Houser of Seeds Family Worship (backed by the Sojourn Music band) will be at the 930 Art Center on Wednesday, September 8th, at 6:30 PM for a FREE “back to school” family concert.  Sojourn’s kids know the Seeds songs “Go” and “New Creation” from Vacation Bible School and kids worship on Sundays.  I’m super thankful for the folks at Seeds and their passion–to equip parents to teach their children God’s Word.   I’m super pumped that they will be joining us for this FREE event.   Take a look at these great videos from Seeds, and join us at the 930 Art Center for the concert.

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Jumping to Conclusions

by Jared Kennedy on September 1, 2010

Our intuition is a marvelous thing.  It often tells us that there is something out of the ordinary–which warns us that there may be danger or peaks our compassion for someone who just doesn’t seem to be right.  But intuition can be dangerous.  That sense that we get–when combined with a lack of experience or a quickness to judge–can lead us to jump to conclusions.   And false assumptions lead to actions that can hurt rather than help, that harm rather than protect.  Here is a great article by Amy Fenton Lee about misconceptions that volunteers in children’s ministry can have about children who are having difficulty adjusting to a new environment.  The article compares the behaviors typical of children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder to the responses typical of children from a bad parenting environment.  It illustrates why jumping to conclusions is so dangerous.  I hope to utilize this article in our children’s ministry training in the future–to help orient our natural intuition away from judging and toward helping/caring for new families.  When a behavior dilemma occurs in our children’s ministry, conversations between our team and parents are warranted and wise, but, as Lee states, “the dialogue can start much differently (and with a greater chance of generating a positive outcome) when the church considers the possibility that an undisclosed or undiscovered disability may be driving problematic behavior.”

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What is the Church? available for purchase online.

by Jared Kennedy on August 31, 2010

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Sojourn’s second children’s book, What is the Church, written by Mandy Groce and Bill Bell is now available for purchase online. The book reinforces the same themes as our current sermon series on 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus.  What Is The Church? was written to teach preschool children that the church is not a building. It is a people that God has called together and made alive by faith.  Pick up a copy at the book table or online today.

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Trusting God with our Children

by Jared Kennedy August 31, 2010

“If this was happening to me, that would be one thing, but, because it is happening to my child, that puts it in a different category.” This is the first week of school for our daughter Lucy, and our daughter Rachael starts school in a week.  Every time our kids walk into their schools we’re [...]

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So, what is family worship?

by Jared Kennedy August 24, 2010

Here is a great little video on family worship from Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas Thanks to @seedsworship for drawing this to my attention. Family Worship at PCPC from PCPC Video on Vimeo.

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Last Sunday: Paul in Chains

by Jared Kennedy August 24, 2010

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been having a lot of fun with the kids in the children’s ministry.  We learned about “beautiful feet” and we wore crazy shoes.  We learned about how Abraham is the father of all believers, and Abraham visited our classrooms singing “Father Abraham had many sons.”  There have been weeks [...]

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Connecting Church & Home Conference 2010

by Jared Kennedy August 22, 2010

I was able to attend portions of the Connecting Church & Home conference at Southern Seminary the past weekend.  I am always encouraged by hearing David Michael, Jay Strother, Steve Wright, and Timothy Jones–four men that I count as models in ministry.  It was also good to hang for a few minutes at the seminary [...]

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4 Resources for Teaching Church History to Young Children

by Rob Plummer August 17, 2010

In the midst of attending a children’s dance camp this summer, Sarah Beth (age 7) returned home to pronounce, “That’s so good, it’s like you’re one of the saints.”  Nearly the same day, she asked, “Why do people draw Mary with things coming out of her head?”  These comments awakened me to my responsibility to [...]

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Dr. Eric Johnson on Parent Theology

by Jared Kennedy August 16, 2010

Back in March, Dr. Eric Johnson, spoke to a group of parents in LaGrange, KY on what he called, Parent Theology.  I’m really thankful for this message about resting in our perfection in Christ.  Parents (and all Christians) need to hear the Bible’s refrain, “There is no condemnation” and “God is pleased with you in [...]

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Last Sunday: Abraham, Father to All by Faith

by Jared Kennedy August 12, 2010

Last Sunday, our Sojourn Kids’ God’s Story lesson was focused on Abraham, father of all true believers.  At each service, one of our teachers dressed up like Abraham and told Abraham’s story from Genesis 17-18, 21.   We closed out the class by having each “Father Abraham” lead the kids in singing “Father Abraham Had [...]

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