PACT for 2nd week of January

Who is God's Judgment For?   The five kings came to battle against Israel (God's people) and the Gibeonites.   The Israelites were fighting hard but it was getting late in the day, so what was the special favor Joshua asked God? (To let the sun keep shining so they could see to win the battle)   What did God do? (He did a miracle; he allowed them to have more sunlight so they could keep fighting and win the battle)   Israel won the battle, with God's help. God judged Israel's enemies. Only God is perfect and He sees peoples' hearts so He can judge them with fairness (Deuteronomy 32:4). God's judgment is for those who reject His way and His Son.   Ask:   If you could ask me for a favor, what would it be? (If it is something that you could do, do it.)   As a parent, I want to help you. I can't do a miracle, but I will try to do what I can. God wants to help you. You can ask Him anything. He may say yes, no, or wait, but He will help you.   Running Away...From Sin Do a simple experiment to show that living with integrity means doing what we can to run away from sin.   Items needed: bowl (cereal bowl is fine) with water covering the bottom, pepper, liquid dishwashing detergent, and a Toothpick Sprinkle some pepper over the water. Dip the toothpick into the detergent and place a drop of detergent in the middle of the water. Watch the pepper run away. Why does the pepper move away?   FYI: Water molecules are strongly attracted to each other and this creates surface tension. (This is what allowed the pepper to float on top of the water.) When you put the detergent in the water, it makes the surface tension weak. The water’s surface tension force is stronger than the detergent’s surface tension force, so the pepper pulls away from the soap and carries the water with it.   God is holy and wants us to be holy; we are to run away from sin.   Read Proverbs 6:16-19.   What are some sins God hates? (Proud look, lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers)   What are some ways you can avoid (stay away from) sin? (Make friends who also want to do what is right, pray and ask God to help you be strong, listen to your parents, love God more than any sin)   If someone asks you to do something you know is not right, what can you do? (Walk away, tell them you need to leave now, say "no, thanks")   No one can completely be free of sin, but God gives us His Holy Spirit to help us keep away from sin. What should we do when we sin? (Be sorry for our sin and ask God to forgive us; He is merciful and always ready to forgive us.)        God's Gift of Forgiveness   Review the Bible verse kids are learning—Romans 6:23.   Announce that you have a list of extra jobs to be done and that you are paying money. (Make a list of extra jobs and attach a money amount to each one—clean out the hall closet - $1; organize the bookshelf - $.50. The amounts will depend on the ages of your kids and the difficulty of the job.)   Post the list on the fridge and set a deadline for when the jobs need to be completed. At the designated time, call them together and hand out their their wages.   Read Romans 6:23 (or ask one of them to quote it).   What are wages? (Payment for doing work)   What are the wages for sin? (Death, separation from God)   We've all sinned and our payment for it is to be separated from God forever. God doesn't want us to be separated from Him so what does He give us? (The gift of eternal life in Heaven)   Give each of them an extra amount of money as a gift. Say something like this as you hold up each one's money: This is a gift for you. You don't have to earn it.   What did you need to do to get the gift of money? (Reach out and take it, receive it, etc.)   God wants to give each one the gift of forgiveness. It is up to us to receive it. Post the verse on the fridge and say it at least once a day.   On this journey with you, Pastor Beau