Chapel News Greetings!   On April 12 we talked about sin. Because we have been discussing Easter, the children were pretty familiar with what sin is. I received answers such as, "the stuff you do wrong", "pinching","biting", "taking trucks from me", etc. I like those answers because it means the kiddos are familiar with the fact that they sin  But I remind them the Bible says God sent His Son, Jesus, to take away our sin and give us a new heart! We wrote some of the sins we had done, or thought about doing just that day on a hard-boiled egg. We talked about how messy the egg was, and the fact is was hard. Kind of like our hearts when they are full of sin, before we know Jesus! We talked about why we had just celebrated Easter and what Jesus had done for us when He died on the cross. As we talked about how we all have sinned and we need a savior, and Jesus was the ONLY one who's heart did not have any sin written on it, because he never sinned. I told the children Jesus came to break the walls of sin (breaking the outer shell of the egg). We talked about how Jesus died to take the sin away (as I peeled the egg). I mentioned each sin as I completely peeled the egg. We talked about how when Jesus takes our sin away, not only do our hearts get clean, they become soft, and He lives inside (as I break the egg in half, revealing the yellow yolk) and His light shines through us!  We talked about how his love is a free gift for each of us and how He wants to live in each one of our hearts! What a great reminder for all of us, no matter what we do each day, we all have a savior who was willing to die to take our sin away! Amazing isn't it?   On April 20 we talked about patience. I referenced Psalm 40:1 where David wrote, "I waited patiently for the lord, he turned to me and heard my cry." We know that David was appointed king when he was very young. He knew God had big plans for him. But he had to wait for them. Sometimes we get impatient and want things right now. Like a shovel in the sandbox, or a toy in our classroom, or our parents attention. It is hard to wait. But sometimes God's answer to prayer is WAIT! How hard is that for all of us, not just our children?! But God rewards us, Psalm 40:2-3 says, "He lifted me out of the slimy pit,  out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth,  a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him." and Psalm 40:5 says, "Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds,  they would be too many to declare." How comforting is it to know God has GREAT plans for us, just as He did David!? I hope today you will sing out your praises to our King! On April 26 we read about the miracle Jesus performed with the two fish and five loaves of bread. This story has significant meaning, especially to children in that we learn God takes small things and does big things with them. The children realized first of all that God always has time to meet their needs. Although the disciples wanted to send the multitude away, Jesus told them to feed them. When they thought this was impossible, a small child, a boy with merely two fish and five loaves of bread, his own dinner, all he had brought with him to make sure he was okay, stepped forward to share it. Can you imagine the disciples reaction? "Boy? Can't you see how many people are here?" Yet, God must have moved in Andrew's heart because he told Jesus about the boy and his food! As soon as the food was in Jesus hands, everyone ate! They didn't just have a nibble, the bible says they were satisfied...and there were 12 baskets of leftovers! We learn that even when we don't think we have much to offer, in Jesus hands, we have everything and more! On May 3 we will celebrate National Day of Prayer! The entire school will gather in the Worship Center at 10:30 a.m. to sing praises to God and talk about how we can pray for our country, our leaders, our school, our family and ourselves! The children have been talking about prayer in their classrooms and teachers have written their prayer and praise requests on a piece of paper which will be inserted into a balloon on Thursday. After we meet in the Worship Center, we will all trek out to the grassy area West of the school to pray and release the balloons to the heavens! If you have some time to join us, you are always welcome to participate in your child's day here at BLC! May 11 will be our final Chapel for the year. We will use the scriptures Psalm 136, which tells us over and over again God's love endures forever. We will talk about how in Acts 4 the church shared everything and in Acts 2 they ate together and were glad. I will use a ball and a rope to illustrate how God's love never ends. Like a ball, you can continue around and around and around in circles, never coming to the end, unlike the rope! The second thing I will point out with a ball, is that it is a lot more fun when there is someone else to share it with. It is fun by yourself, but when shared it brings me joy as well as the person I am sharing with. The children will all go home with a ball to remind them that like God's love, a ball has no end and is something to share!   I want to thank you all for allowing me to speak truth into your child's life! What a blessing it is. I hope to see lots of you around this summer while we learn about this incredible ecosystem God has created and how He is using each of us in it!   Have a great summer!   Love, Ms. Kathe