Sparks Highlights 9.14.16

****Sparks Highlights****  Last week we marveled about God’s creation – the world.  He created it in six literal, remarkable days. Everything God made was perfect – because everything about Him is perfect.  In fact, after each thing he created he noted and saw that it was good.  God created man in His own image, and Adam and Eve lived in the perfect Garden of Eden and had communion with God.  They did not know sin until Satan himself in the form of a serpent came into the garden and deceived Eve. Satan is called “the great deceiver” and still deceives us today.  Adam and Eve had been given a command to move freely about the Garden of Eden and that they could eat from every tree – except that of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  Satan deceived them so that, with their own free will, they took of the fruit and ate.  This was the first sin and their communion with God was broken forever.  God’s penalty of sin - as we are told in the Bible – is death and it was at that point they began to die. That sin has been passed down through all the many generations of humans.  But, God in His mercy, provided a promise to Adam and Eve that their sin could be forgiven and the relationship with Him restored with a substitute for their death penalty.  They needed to be saved from that death.  The penalty of sin for a perfect, holy God still needed to be paid, but He provided salvation from that by substituting someone else.  That substitute was and is Jesus Christ and we are going to spend the rest of the Sparkie year learning more about that promise.  You can read of this in Genesis chapters 2 & 3.

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks.   You can also check out the AWANA program at www.fbc.littletonil.org. 

Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mrs. Barb Stein.

Sparks Highlights 3.30.16

****Sparks Highlights****    We have seen the amazing attributes of our Savior Jesus – He is Holy, He is Powerful, He is our Provider, He is our Teacher, He is our Healer,  He is also our Shepherd, and tonight, we learned how He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.   God the Father proclaimed Him publically at the time of Jesus’s baptism as His Son of whom He was well pleased – so God told us who Jesus was – and Jesus proclaims the bold statement that He is the only way, truth and the life.  He is the only means of salvation, He is the only means to Heaven, He is the only means to God.  Jesus in John 14 tells us that He is the only means or way to the father – He is the Way.  Throughout the New Testament, teachings dealt with sin and its penalty, and the Bible describes Jesus as the very word of God in the flesh – He is the truth.  Our key Sparkie verse John 3:16 tells us that God gave His only begotten son that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life – He is the Life.  There are a lot of false teachings out in the world that people can make it to heaven – get to God - by good works, by spirituality, by living by rules, by religion, by self-proclaimed prophets such as Mohammed, Buddha, Joseph Smith.  These are all false beliefs.  Jesus is the ONLY truth and ONLY way to God, and therefore the ONLY life.   We can trust Him as our Savior because of whom He says He is.  He is the only person to have claimed He would rise from the dead – and He did just as He said!  We celebrated that on Resurrection Sunday – Easter Sunday.  And, He can make those claims of who He is because He showed Himself to be holy and without sin, powerful as our creator and in control of all, provides us our very substance, teaches the truth, heals our every infirmity – particularly our sinful heart, shepherds us and at the same time was the sacrificial lamb for our sin penalty. But most significant of all, He can be our Savior because God says He is and that He is the only way, only truth, and only life.  You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks!    You can also check out the AWANA program at  www.fbc.littletonil.org.    

Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mrs. Barb Stein.

Sparks Highlights 3.24.16

****Sparks Highlights****    We have seen the amazing attributes of our Savior Jesus – He is Holy, He is Powerful, He is our Provider, He is our Teacher, He is our Healer, AND He is also our Shepherd.    The Bible tells us that we are alike sheep who have gone astray and Luke Chapter 15 tells us that Jesus, our Good Shepherd cares enough for each and every one us that He will come to find His sheep that have gone astray – one of the many.   What a comforting thought that Jesus cares for each of us to consider us that much loved that He would come to find one of the many!  Psalm 23 tells us, too, that the Lord is our Shepherd and we shall not be in want as He supplies our very most needs – even before we know it.   If you know anything about sheep, it is that they are helpless animals that need to be led to food and shelter and need to be protected from other animals that hunt them.  So just like sheep, we need a leader for our lives and a protector from the evil one Satan – who the Bible says hunts for whomever he can devour.   Jesus is that leader for our lives, but in order for Him to lead, we have to surrender our will to His.  And not only is He the Shepherd, but He is also proclaimed to be the spotless Lamb of God as He was the sacrificial lamb for our sins.   Easter is a celebration of His sacrifice for us.  His death provided the payment of the penalty of our sins – what a Shepherd to do that for His flock!  Jesus took the penalty, but when on to conquer death as He rose again.  No one else is able to take our penalty and no one else has been able to conquer death.  What precious truth to consider this Easter Season – as that is what Easter is all about – His resurrection.   The mercy and grace of God provides us Jesus as the payment for our death sentence of sin, and that we can have eternal life if we have faith and accept Jesus as our Shepherd – our Savior. 

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks!    You can also check out the AWANA program at www.fbc.littletonil.org.    

Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mrs. Barb Stein.

Sparks Highlights 3.2.16

****Sparks Highlights****    We have learned Jesus is holy, so He can take our sins’ punishment, to be trusted as our Savior. Last week we learned that Jesus is powerful and our creator, so He can be trusted as our Savior.  This week, we are learning that Jesus is our provider so He can be trusted as our Savior.  How much food do you think it takes to feed 5000 men and their women and children?  With Jesus, our provider, it only takes 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish – and there were baskets left over.  Ask your Sparkie to tell you about this amazing account in John 6.   Jesus challenges us that we are to trust Him for our daily provision many times in the New Testament.  God provides for the sparrows, the lilies in the field and knows the very number of our hairs – so if He cares that much – should we be without ever?  No.  Just as a parent provides for his/her children, our Heavenly Father, God, provides everything for us – the air we breathe, the gravity to hold our feet on the ground, skills to earn a living for our family.  Everything is a gift from above from our Provider.  Philippians 4:19 says: And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.  What an amazing provision!

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks!    You can also check out the AWANA program at  www.fbc.littletonil.org.    

Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mrs. Barb Stein.

Sparks Highlights 12-16

 Wow!  It is great to be together again!  We hope you had a Merry Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior.  We hope, too, you are looking forward to the upcoming year and for the great blessings God has in store for us.  We have spent the last few weeks in Sparks learning about the promise of our Savior and His earthly birth.  All year, we have been discussing our need for His birth and life.  Before really focusing on Jesus the rest of the Sparks-year, we are going to learn about a few more Old Testament biblical stories that point to Jesus.  One such was Josiah – did you know that the nation of Israel had a king who was only 8 years old?   If Josiah were living here now, he would be a Sparkie!   Did you know that that 8 year old was very wise?  Josiah was wise because he led his people to obey God.   Obeying God is a wise principle to live by and a great New Year’s resolution – if you are still looking for one!    

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks!    You can also check out the AWANA program at www.fbc.littletonil.org.     

Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mrs. Barb Stein.

Sparks Highlights 11-4

 Wow!  It is great to be together again!  We hope you had a Merry Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior.  We hope, too, you are looking forward to the upcoming year and for the great blessings God has in store for us.  We have spent the last few weeks in Sparks learning about the promise of our Savior and His earthly birth.  All year, we have been discussing our need for His birth and life.  Before really focusing on Jesus the rest of the Sparks-year, we are going to learn about a few more Old Testament biblical stories that point to Jesus.  One such was Josiah – did you know that the nation of Israel had a king who was only 8 years old?   If Josiah were living here now, he would be a Sparkie!   Did you know that that 8 year old was very wise?  Josiah was wise because he led his people to obey God.   Obeying God is a wise principle to live by and a great New Year’s resolution – if you are still looking for one!    

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks!    You can also check out the AWANA program at www.fbc.littletonil.org.     

Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mrs. Barb Stein.

Sparks Highlights 3.18.15

We have learned Jesus is holy, so He can take our sins’ punishment, to be trusted as our Savior. Last week we learned that Jesus is powerful and our creator, so He can be trusted as our Savior.  This week, we are learning that Jesus is our provider so He can be trusted as our Savior.  How much food do you think it takes to feed 5000 men and their women and children?  With Jesus, our provider, it only takes 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish – and there were baskets left over.  Ask your Sparkie to tell you about this amazing account in John 6.   Jesus challenges us that we are to trust Him for our daily provision many times in the New Testament.  God provides for the sparrows, the lilies in the field and knows the very number of our hairs – so if He cares that much – should we be without ever?  No.  Just as a parent provides for his/her children, our Heavenly Father, God, provides everything for us – the air we breathe, the gravity to hold our feet on the ground, skills to earn a living for our family.  Everything is a gift from above from our Provider.  Philippians 4:19 says: And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 

What an amazing provision!

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks!    You can also check out the AWANA program at           www.fbc.littletonil.org.    

Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mrs. Barb Stein.

Sparks Highlights 3.11.15

****Sparks Highlights****    We learned why Jesus can be our Savior as He is holy, without sin.  He did not succumb to temptation to sin.  He knows what temptation is because Satan himself tempted Him, but He did not sin – therefore, because of His holiness, He can be our Savior.   He knows our weaknesses to sin.   Tonight, we learned about His power.   Our P in SPARKS stands for Power – it says in Psalm – “Great is our lord and mighty in power”.   Jesus Christ, who is God in the flesh on earth, created the earth and all the galaxies as the Bible tells us in Genesis 1:1.   Creation is evidence of God and it listens to the voice of its creator.  In Mark 4, we see how Jesus and His followers (disciples) were caught in a storm with the wind and the waves surrounding them.  All it took was Jesus to give the verbal order to the wind and the storm to “Peace Be Still” and immediately the storm ceased.  The disciples were amazed, as we should be too, but not surprised.  Jesus is powerful over His creation and all events.  He even is powerful to be in control of all our circumstances – all our storms.   And as we will learn about in the weeks to come, He is powerful over death.  He raised people from the dead. He raised Himself from the dead. And because of that, we can trust Him to save our soul from eternal death.  Do you trust His Holiness? Will you trust His Power and accept His salvation?

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks!    You can also check out the AWANA program at           www.fbc.littletonil.org.    

Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mrs. Barb Stein.

Sparks Highlights 1-14-15

Wow!  It is great to be together again!  We hope you had a Merry Christmas celebrating the birth of our Savior.  We hope, too, you are looking forward to the upcoming year and for the great blessings God has in store for us.  We have spent the last few weeks in Sparks learning about the promise of our Savior and His earthly birth.  All year, we have been discussing our need for His birth and life.  Before really focusing on Jesus the rest of the Sparks-year, we are going to learn about a few more Old Testament biblical stories that point to Jesus.  One such was Josiah – did you know that the nation of Israel had a king who was only 8 years old?   If Josiah were living here now, he would be a Sparkie!   Did you know that that 8 year old was very wise?  Josiah was wise because he led his people to obey God.   Obeying God is a wise principle to live by and a great New Year’s resolution – if you are still looking for one!    

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks!    You can also check out the AWANA program at www.fbc.littletonil.org.     

Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mrs. Carol Sheley, Mrs. Barb Stein.

Sparks Highlights 12-3-14

 God continues to show His might power through using the seemingly weak among us!  First, the walls of Jericho fell by shouting and loud instruments.  Then, Gideon’s small army of just a few hundred me conquered the enemy in the thousands.  And now, tonight, we learned of a small shepherd boy named David who defeated a giant man named Goliath with just a sling and a stone.  Read about this exciting account in 1 Samuel chapter 17.  There were many voices telling David that he was no match for the giant, but David knew that God was with him and that God had trained him as a shepherd to defend his flock from many bad things.  David was most empowered as he stated “ I have come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel”  and he went on to say “ for the battle is the Lord’s”   -  today the battle is still the Lord’s and with Him we will prevail.  If David would have not defeated the giant, the nation of Israel would have been under the Philistine’s control.  David saved them from that bondage.  David later because the king of Israel and wrote many of the psalms in the Bible.  But even more amazing, this little shepherd boy was in the lineage of Jesus Christ the Messiah – our Savior, our King and Greatest Defender.  Jesus Christ saves us from the bondage of our sin as we see David saved his people from the bondage of the enemy.  What a fitting time to learn about David as we are in the Christmas season – celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ!

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks!    You can also check out the AWANA program at www.fbc.littletonil.org.     

Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mrs. Carol Sheley, Mrs. Barb Stein.

Sparks Highlights 9.3.14

Welcome back old Sparkies and welcome new Sparkies!!  We are going to have a great year as we have many new shining faces for Jesus!  This year we are going to do as last year working our way through the Bible – The Old and New Testaments - from Creation to the time of Jesus on this earth.  We will learn how the Old Testament gives us glimpses of Jesus and then in the New Testament learning about Jesus – Who He is and how He can be our Savior.  Sure, many of these accounts in the Bible are referred to as stories – but they are more than that.  These accounts are true life biographies – each of these biographies sheds some light of why we need Jesus Christ as our Savior and who He really was and is today.  Besides our study time together, each child works independently in their books memorizing Bibles verses, so please work with your child to help him/her – and you can commit them in your memory too.  The Bible tells us that we are to hide God’s Word in our hearts that we might not sin against Him. 

Tonight we have studied one of the most amazing feats of time – God creating the world in 6 literal, remarkable days.  Everything God created was perfect – even the first man and woman.  But something very bad happened – sin- with that first man and woman that caused the perfectness to die.  These two needed something to save them from death, which was the penalty of their sin.   – We, a few thousand years later, have inherited that sin and that need for salvation from the penalty of our sin.  We are going to spend the rest of year discussing that sin and that need for salvation – from our Savior Jesus.

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks. You can also check out the AWANA program at www.fbc.littletonil.org.  The Sparks do have homework by working through their books.  Your child will earn “sparks jewels” and other adornments for their Sparks uniform as they work through their books and also with attendance.  To earn an attendance award, a child can only miss one unexcused absence per quarter.   (Excused absences include: sickness, deaths, inclement weather, attendance at another church’s AWANA.) 

Sparks Highlights 4.23.14

  So is Easter just about bunnies, eggs and chocolates?   Just like is Christmas about Santa, lights and presents?  No.   At Christmas, we celebrate Jesus coming to earth in human flesh – God Incarnate – born as a baby.  He grew up to become a man just like we do, but He was no ordinary man as we have been studying the last few weeks.  He is God Himself and is our Savior.   He can be trusted as our Savior because of all the amazing attributes that He and He alone has that allows Him the claim to be our Savior.    At Easter, He was sacrificed on the cross – sacrificed as the Lamb to accept the penalty of death for our sins.  However, just as He claimed though, He conquered that death because He is God Almighty and rose Himself the third day – our Resurrection Sunday.  This time of year known as Easter – or better yet to be known as Resurrection time, or instead of Easter Sunday be celebrated as Resurrection Sunday - is our remembrance of that time.  God wants us to remember things – He wants us to have remembrance times because it helps us be thankful for the past and for the future.   We who trust in that death of Jesus as the penalty of our sin and place our faith in the Resurrected Jesus who conquered death and sin, we can be thankful for our past and its forgiveness by God and the future of a new, eternal life to be spent with Him.  We just have to have true faith in Him and surrender our old ways and old life for new life, reborn life for us through Him.  We have learned the past few weeks that Jesus can be trusted as that Savior from the death of our sins.  Ask your Sparkie why and how He is, then ask your Sparkie about the specific events that led to the Resurrection that we celebrated on Easter Sunday – Resurrection Sunday.

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks!    You can also check out the AWANA program at           www.fbc.littletonil.org.    

Mrs. Jennifer Schroeder, Mrs. Carol Sheley, Mrs. Barb Stein.

Sparks Highlights 4.16.14

   We have been learning over the last few weeks why Jesus can be trusted as our Savior.  Now, when we put our faith in Him as our Savior – what comes next?    We are told in John 3:16 that if we believe in Jesus as our Savior we will have everlasting life.  But Jesus also claims that unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.  The belief is more than just accepting that Jesus is who He says He is – it is about surrendering your life to Him.  When we truly put our faith in Him and understand to truly take to heart why Jesus gave His life for us on the cross, that belief is confessing our sin, turning our life to Him to let Him lead us and change us.  That is the being Born Again that Jesus is talking about in John 3 where we were studying tonight.  Your Sparkie’s butterfly is just an example of that change.  Caterpillars are a living being that changes itself into a butterfly – it metamorphoses in the cocoon to become a butterfly.  It is still the same living creature – it just looks different and acts different as a butterfly – it is born again in a sense as new appearance.  That is just like us when we let Jesus change us – we are still the same living creature, but when we are born again by our surrender and His changing us – we are the same living creature, but we act different – and look different to others when they see that change.  What a great time to make a change in your life, if you haven’t already – be spiritually born again this spring season – when the physical world around us is sprouting new life, so can you in Christ Jesus.    What an amazing thought as we head into Easter - Resurrection Sunday this coming week!   

We have breakfast at the church at 8:30 AM – come celebrate Christ’s Resurrection with us!

You are welcome to join us anytime at Sparks!   

 You can also check out the AWANA program at           www.fbc.littletonil.org.