HOPE--Believing that something good can come out of something bad

Click HERE to see the HOPE video




This Easter season as we make preparation at church to share with our kids the most important story ever told, we do so through the lenses of HOPE. HOPE, we will be defining for our kids as believing that something good can come out of something bad. We have a chance every day to respond with hope to show that we trust God and His plan for the world. And the people around us are watching to see where, and what, and whom we put our hope in. That’s why a great verse to get our kids to memorize is John 16:33b: “In this world you will have trouble. But be encouraged! I have won the battle over the world,” (NIrV)

Those are actually the words of Jesus. And if you want a demonstration of how God can use pain and suffering and do something powerful, just think about Jesus. More specifically, think about the message of the Gospel. The life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is enough to give us all the hope we will ever need, which becomes especially important this month as we celebrate and discover more about Easter. We’ll look at four different Bible stories this month focusing on Jesus and the events leading up to His resurrection.   

Our Part   March 6
Bible Story: Lazarus raised to life. We start our month on hope in John 11. Here we discover a moment when Jesus brought hope to two sisters who thought all hope was lost. When Lazarus died, his sisters were devastated. But Jesus used the opportunity to point people to God. Jesus was stronger than even death itself and raised Lazarus back to life four days after he was dead. Through this story, the one thing we want kids to remember is that whatever happens, then can remember that how powerful God is.
March 13Bible Story: Jesus encourages His disciples. We look at several passages throughout John 14-16. At the Last Supper, Jesus takes one last chance to encourage His disciples with the promise of heaven, the Holy Spirit, and that He will always be with them. Through this moment in Jesus’ life, we pray kids will realize that whatever happens, they can remember what Jesus promised. It’s such a comfort to know that God is always with us and wants to be with us forever.

March 20
Bible Story: Crucifixion. The weekend of Palm Sunday, we celebrate how Jesus was worshipped as He rode into Jerusalem. Yet, as we’ll see through passages in John 18-19, less than a week later, Jesus went to the cross for us. It was painful, but He endured all of it for us. We know that now, but when Jesus died, His disciples must have thought it was over—that everything they had hoped for would never come true. But, God wasn’t finished yet. Just like the disciples didn’t yet know the end of the story, sometimes our kids can’t see how there story will turn out. We pray that as they go through those times, they’ll remember God is always at work.

March 27: Easter
Bible Story: Resurrection. On Easter weekend, we celebrate that we can have hope because Jesus is alive! In John 20:1-18, we’ll find out that all the promises that Jesus made are true. Everything that Jesus said and did led to this moment. He paid the price for our sin on the cross and came back to life making it possible for us to be with God forever! This is something to celebrate! We want all the kids to leave believing that whatever happens, they can know that God loves them.Whether in the midst of darkness or before it occurs, we have an opportunity to lay a foundation for our OCCKids so that whatever happens in their life they can have hope.