2018-2021 Cycle
“Jesus the Servant”: Preschool & Kids Leader Training for Unit 23, Session 1—The Sermon on the Mount
One of the more important questions we can help our kids answer is this one: What does a follower of Jesus—one of His disciples—look like? This question should naturally flow from our sharing of the gospel. We start with who God is and what He has done for us in Christ, but we cannot stop …
Continue Reading“Jesus the Servant”: Preschool & Kids Leader Training for Unit 22, Session 4—Jesus Healed a Man Who Was Blind
This week we study perhaps my favorite Bible story in all of Scripture. I have enjoyed this passage for quite a while, but came to love it deeply about thirteen years ago. This week, I thought you might appreciate hearing the story of why. What in the World Are We Doing? My wife and I …
Continue Reading“Jesus the Servant”: Preschool & Kids Leader Training for Unit 22, Session 3—Jesus Healed a Man Who Was Lame
I think I have shared some about my lawn mower struggles (yes, first-world problems). Welp, we have experienced a fresh batch of these struggles in the Dembowczyk home—actually, in the yard to be more precise. Last weekend, our riding lawnmower died (again). It wasn’t starting a few weeks ago, so I had just put a …
Continue Reading“Jesus the Servant”: Preschool & Kids Leader Training for Unit 22, Session 2—Jesus Healed a Woman and a Girl
I tend to be a driven and focused person. So much so that at times my wife will laugh at me for being oblivious to my surroundings when I am thinking on something. In those times, I don’t like distractions. I want to put all of my energy–all of my attention—on the task at hand. …
Continue Reading“Jesus the Servant”: Preschool & Kids Leader Training for Unit 22, Session 1—Jesus Healed Ten Men
As I write this post in mid-April, much, if not most, of the entire world is still locked down in a state of social distancing because of COVID-19. It is amazing how quickly and deeply this “new normal” has set in, so much so that these days when I see people gathered in a movie, …
Continue Reading“Jesus the Messiah”: Weekly Leader Training—Unit 21, Session 4: Jesus Teaches About Living Water
It has been said that everyone is wired to worship—the issue is that we often worship the wrong things. We see this desire in the woman’s question to Jesus. The Samaritans worshiped in Samaria rather than traveling to Jerusalem. This was, in part, why the Jews detested the Samaritans and saw them as compromised ethnically …
Continue Reading“Jesus the Messiah”: Preschool & Kids Leader Training for Unit 21, Session 4—Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
Sometimes social norms make sense, other times they don’t. Don’t chew with your mouth open makes total sense. Which side of the plate the fork and knife belong on, not so much. Holding a door open for someone makes sense. Everyone facing the same way on an elevator, not so much. You get the idea. …
Continue Reading“Jesus the Messiah”: Weekly Leader Training—Unit 21, Session 3: Jesus Teaches About New Birth
For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not …
Continue Reading“Jesus the Messiah”: Preschool & Kids Leader Training for Unit 21, Session 3—Jesus and Nicodemus
The encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3 can be challenging, at least the middle part of it. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, one of the few who seemed to be open-minded about who Jesus was. So early in Jesus’ ministry, Nicodemus went to Jesus at night, likely because he did not want to be …
Continue Reading“Jesus the Messiah”: Weekly Leader Training—Unit 21, Session 2: Jesus Reveals His Mission
It’s called “the mic drop.” The phrase refers to when a speaker makes such a strong and compelling statement that it requires a prolonged pause or stage exit for full effect. Dropping the mic, whether physically or figuratively, adds a dramatic ending to bold and shocking words. In the synagogue of His hometown, however, Jesus …
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