Hello Chapel Hill Families!

On Sunday we heard the story of “Jesus in the Synagogue”.  We discussed how Jesus faithfully followed where God was leading him in this story. The people of Nazareth chased him out of town when he proclaimed that he was planning on spending time with people from all places, statuses, and religions, outside of Nazareth. We talked about how sometimes it is hard to follow God and do the right thing when people around you are asking you to do something else. We learned that a synagogue is a place of worship for Jewish people like we worship in a church. Our younger kids decorated “Gingerbread Churches” and the older kids got to decode and make their own scrolls. I hope you will join  us Friday night for Sled-In movie night AND this Sunday for “Jesus Heals” at 9:30AM in the children’s wing.

COVID UPDATE: Masking is required for children in Sunday school and unvaccinated adults. However, we are highly encouraging all people to wear masks at church right now as an added precaution due to the rising COVID numbers in our area. Thank you for helping us keep our church family healthy and in-person!

We sponsor cousins, Neema & Kikwete, who live in the Angel House Orphanage in Tanzania, Africa. We have pledged to give $90/month in order to provide food, clothing and schooling to these children at Angel House. Each Sunday, kids have the opportunity to bring money to put into our offering for Neema and Kikwete. Would you help us meet our goal by sending your child with $1.00 each week? Our former Director of Children’s Ministries, Raegan Brane, has visited Angel House in the past. You can find out more information about the Grassroots Organization and Angel House by clicking HERE.

REMINDER:

If you have a 3rd, 4th or 5th grader that has a Deep Blue Bible, please help them remember to bring it with them to Sunday school each week! We don’t have many extras of that particular version at the church and they will be looking up and reading scripture every time they come to church from now on.

Mark your calendars for our annual “Sled-In Movie Night” on Friday, January, 28th from 5:30-7:30pm. At-will donations will be accepted at the door. All proceeds will go towards this year’s VBS. Sunday school, preschool and KDIC kids have been voting on which movie to watch over the last couple of weeks, and the numbers are in… We will be watching ‘How to Train Your Dragon” for this year’s event. I hope you will join us!

We will be doing “Knights of North Castle” LIVE for VBS 2022 at Chapel Hill. We did this VBS virtually during 2020, but are excited to deck out the church with snow, Christmas trees, and castle décor this Summer. Child attendance will be capped at 250 kids. We will open child registration on Palm Sunday, April 10th and registration will close by Sunday, June 5th (unless we hit our 250 mark sooner). If you would like to help plan and prep for VBS this year, please contact me. If you would like to volunteer during the week, click here!

Don’t forget to check our Chapel Hill Kids Facebook Group regularly for the most up to date information. If you haven’t checked your child’s information on the birthday post, please make sure you do so as soon as possible. I have marked it as an announcement so you can easily find it. If you have moved in the last year, please contact the office so that we have your correct address on file so they can receive some birthday mail. The office number is (316) 684-1117.

Blessings to you and your children,

Allison

Celebrate Wonder is a Sunday school curriculum that engages children’s natural sense of curiosity to help them understand God’s love. It creates a safe environment for kids to ask big questions — helping them explore the Bible in ways that feed their imagination and encourages creativity. Through carefully-selected Bible stories, songs, videos, and hands-on activities, Celebrate Wonder gives children the tools to explore their faith while incorporating it into their daily lives.

Each month, our weekly stories will align with a Faith Word. The Faith Word for the month of January is, “JOURNEY”.

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all recount the story of Jesus healing Peter’s mother-in-law. In Luke, Peter is referred to as Simon and had not yet become one of Jesus’ disciples. We don’t often think about the disciples’ families. Simon Peter was obviously married, since he had a mother-in-law. She appears to have lived in Peter’s house with Peter and his wife, which was common practice at the time. As no father-in-law is mentioned, it is likely Peter’s mother-in-law was a widow.

When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, he finds Peter’s mother-in-law sick with a fever. In the Gospel of Luke, the story says Jesus ordered the fever to go away. The very next verse tells of the woman serving Jesus a meal. This is not an attempt to illustrate Jesus and others in the house as demanding, but rather to demonstrate the immediacy and completeness of the woman’s recovery. Peter’s mother-in-law felt so much better that she was ready to get up and serve Jesus out of her gratitude.

After Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law, people with all kinds of sicknesses were brought to Jesus. Luke tells us Jesus put his hands on each one of them and healed them. The Gospels contain many stories of Jesus healing people. Jesus cared about people. He cared not only for their spiritual well-being, but also for their physical well-being. Healing was a way for Jesus to show his compassion for people, as well as serving as a sign of the power that was given him by God.

When we follow Jesus’ example of how to live, we will show compassion for those around us. Opportunities to care for others present themselves every day.

Along life’s journey we are given opportunities to follow Jesus’ example and extend care to those around us. How might you extend care to someone in your life or community this week? Pray to God for opportunities to help someone this week.