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the GROVE – lesson follow-up from Sunday, March, 20, 2011 – Be COURAGEOUS!

joshuamills • March 22, 2011

Hey Parents,

I hope the week has started out well for you so far – it’s been gorgeous outside and luckily our family has had a chance to spend some quality time together enjoying it! Here’s the first of many weekly follow-ups from our Sunday lesson in children’s church, a.k.a. The GROVE – which in case you’re still wondering why it’s called that, it’s centered around the theme of oranges, which is the strategy by which our curriculum falls ( YELLOW – light of Christ/the church; RED – heart of the family/love; ORANGE – what you get when you combine the two great influences)

This month’s virtue, or “word of the month” is Courage – and last week the students learned that they need to be courageous, even if it’s scary. The Bible story used was a great illustration of this – from Daniel chapter 3, the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and the Fiery Furnace. Imagine your own feelings if you had trusted God to see you through everything and then found out you were going to die because of it – YET, you trusted Him to see you through, no matter if it included death. Overseas, Christians die daily because they’re willing to stand up for Christ and be obedient even to death! What courage they show!

So, the students sat attentively as the Bible story played, depicting a news reporter telling the story as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were confronted by King Nebuchadnezzar for not bowing down to his tall statue. The King, as we all know, had the three thrown into the furnace, which had been turned hotter before their arrival. The guards that threw the three men into the fire actually burned up themselves due to the heat – then King Nebuchadnezzar experienced God’s mighty hand as He then placed an angel in the furnace as well with the three men to which the king replied “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire? Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

Nebuchadnezzar then called for the three to come out, then praised God himself and promoted the men in his kingdom. “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way.”

Three men had courage, even when it was scary to do so… talk with your families about this throughout the week and try to memorize this month’s verse together, as a family –

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.” – Psalm 56:3

God bless you all, and continue to pray for our student ministries at Fellowship Baptist Church!

FCA of Southeast Missouri

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