Matthew 28:5-6
Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen.
It will be really easy this weekend to become discouraged in the face of what we see as broken tradition or time spent apart from family, be it extended family or our church family. What we need to realize is that there is a healthy balance to our feelings and expectations during this time, and if we are experiencing those feelings, our children are experiencing them as well, many of them with no idea how to express them. This weekend as we celebrate our Risen Savior, create space in your family to share and to speak. We are in a new time as families, and the ability to create space as a family to communicate is so important. It can be discouraging when our kids don’t respond in the way we expect, but remember that you are walking through those thoughts and feelings too, you have just learned to process or filter them. As your child is grieving the loss of time with friends, family, and even his or her regular idea of fun and tradition this weekend, be there to listen and to care. Be there to share the true reason we have life in this hard season, the reason we celebrate even if it looks different, and the reason we can still “go and tell” even if we struggle with disappointment and struggle to understand.
Family Worship
We are continuing our Family Worship Time this week to include a more interactive atmosphere for your kids at home! Take time to click through this week’s Family Worship Guide that will help lead your kids in music, a lesson, and a craft. Each part of the lesson is reflective of what your child is used to on a Sunday morning at Vintage, all the way down to the volunteers they will see in the videos. We have heard great stories of how your family used parts or all of the resources provided to make your family worship time at home the best for your family. Some of you allowed your kids to go through the videos and craft while you watched the sermon. Some of you had a separate time as a family to go through parts provided with your kids at a later time in the day. Some of you even returned to parts of the lesson guide later in the week for a reminder as a family. This is about finding a rhythm that works for your family – it is not a one size fits all! Click here for this week’s Family Worship Guide that provides ways to lead your family through Matthew 28:1-10.
Family Response & Activities
Looking for fun activities to do with your family this week? Click here for this week’s Family Activity Guide.
This is a great time to visit the serve site as a family and see how you can get plugged in, loving and serving as Jesus did during this difficult time for many! Are you already serving? Remind your kids of the reason you serve. It isn’t because of your own good, but because of who Jesus is. Jesus said he came to serve, not to be served. We serve because Jesus served first!