My Best Friend

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s ’ d n e i r F Best ator the Cre of the

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www.redlandsfellowship.com.au Given with love from Redlands Fellowship Community Church 29 Beveridge Rd Thornlands Q 4164 Ph: 3207 9154 Email: [email protected]

Dear Parent / Carer It’s so great having your child at Reddy Kidz on Sundays. At Reddy Kidz, it is our goal to inspire kids to greatness. Jesus said it best himself: & Matthew 19:14

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

We provide a fun, safe environment for children to build great relationships with other children & leaders, as well as respond to the message that God loves each one of them, & wants to have a personal relationship with them. A relationship with Jesus is a journey, & we are excited about journeying with kids as they discover the awesome life God has planned for them. This weekend your child desired to start a relationship with Jesus. This is an exciting & significant decision for any child. As a parent there are things you can do to help your child understand the decision they have made. 1. Acknowledge and show excitement about this significant moment 2. Be willing for your child to ask questions. 3. Spend some time praying and reading the bible with your child each day 4. Show your excitement about spending time in God's house Depending on the child's age, they may not understand the full extent of their decision today, however as they continually respond to God's message of salvation, receive affirmation and are encouraged to ask questions, deeper levels of understanding are formed. If we can help you or if you want to ask any questions, please call Bruce at church on (07) 3207 9154 Yours in Christ Ps Bruce Nean Children’s Pastor

LESSON 1: Jesus wants to be your Best Friend! I have some awesome news for you today! The creator of the Universe wants to be your BEST FRIEND! Jesus loves you so much that He came to earth to die on the cross for you and me! Colouring in these symbols on the left will help you understand what Jesus can do in your life…

COLOUR THE HEART & MIND IN BLACK Black reminds us of the colour of sin. Without Jesus in our life we can feel dark on the inside. All the bad thoughts, feelings and actions that we do in life are called sin. Sometimes life can feel really dark and scary because of things that can happen to us, how people treat us and the bad things that we do. Don't worry there is light at the end of the tunnel!!! Keep reading…

COLOUR THE CROSS IN RED Red reminds us of the blood of Jesus Christ when He died to save me. Jesus' blood that was poured out when He died on the cross can wash us completely clean. & 1John 1:7 …the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

DON’T COLOUR IN THE DOVE (Because it's pure white!!!) White shows us how clean Jesus can make us. Jesus makes us as white as snow. He makes you feel clean again. He can take away all your sin so that you are set free to live an amazing life! Jesus set’s us free like a bird that's been trapped in a cage, we're set free from our sin & will one day go to heaven to live with Him forever!

INVITE JESUS TO BE YOUR BEST FRIEND All you have to do is pray this prayer! “Dear Lord Jesus, I love You... I ask You to come into my heart, forgive me of all the things I have ever done wrong and make me a brand new person. Thank You for loving me and dying on the cross for me. Help me to love You and live for You every single day of my life. Today I am a Christian. Amen.”

If you have prayed this prayer today, we would love to hear from you so we can celebrate this special day!

LESSON 2: Best Friends Make a Lifelong Promise Jesus loves you so much, and is very happy that you want Him to be in your life! Just like any friend, we can do some stuff to make the friendship better and this is what this little book is all about. The decision to have Jesus as your best friend is the MOST IMPORTANT decision that you will ever make. It is a decision that will change your life forever! How cool is it that we get to have Jesus the creator of the universe as our best friend?!

DON’T BREAK YOUR PROMISE!

A promise is f_r____

Have you ever seen people get married on TV before? The marriage ceremony is where two people make promises to each other to be the closest of friends forever. I've never seen people at a wedding make all these great promises and then shake hands and never see each other again! A marriage is a lifelong promise! Just in the same way the promise we make to Jesus is a lifelong promise and we don't walk away from the friendship that we've started with Him.

JESUS LOVES YOU SO MUCH!!!

z Friend

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& John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Jesus has a great life for you to live with Him! & John 10:10 The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, & destroy. I have come in order that you might have life---life in all its fullness. & Jesus said “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). & John 15:13 No one has greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Write something about what you learnt from this lesson: _______________________________________________________________________________

LESSON 3: Best Friends Hang Out Together! Wat’s up Jesus!?

It is important to do things that will make your brand new friendship with God grow. For our friendship with Jesus to grow we need to spend regular time with Him. There are two main ways that we can do this… through talking to God and listening to Him through reading the Bible.

How do we hear God talk to us? READ THE BIBLE! God talks to us through the Bible! The Bible is also called the 'Word of God' because it is God speaking to us through the Bible; it is miraculously written by God Himself. It is like a big love letter from God to us. The Bible has the answers to every problem you'll ever face. It helps us, guides us, teaches us, encourages us and keeps us on the right track. & Read Psalm 119:9-11. Get in the habit of reading the Bible everyday because it is your 'spiritual food' and it is important for your growth as a new Christian. J TIP: When you're just starting to read the Bible it's good to start by reading from the “New Testament” starting with the book of John. Ask your parent or a leader if your having trouble.

How do we talk to God? PRAY! To talk to God we do something called praying. Praying to God is just like talking to your best friend. You can pray anytime & anywhere! It's hard to get to know someone without actually talking to them. In the same way it's hard to get to know God without praying! Sometimes God will even speak to you in a small voice in your heart, & tell you something really special.

tra X Reading James 5:16 Matthew 6:9-13

There are no rules! Tell Him how much you love Him & how special He is to you. Tell him your problems, your fears, your desires, your disappointments, & anything that's on your mind. J TIP: Make a Chillin' time with Jesus everyday! Make a special time with God each day when you hangout together, pray & read the Bible. It can be anytime, when you wake up in the morning before you go to school or just before you go to bed at night!

LESSON 4: Best Friends spend time in God's House (that’s Church!) The awesome thing about starting a friendship with God is that you get to share Him with a whole lot of other people who are Christians too. Church is like a great big family that hangs out and every Sunday. It is like a big party at God's house, where everyone celebrates having Jesus in their life! Church is the best part of the week!

It’s rty pa e! tim

It's important to make it to church every week because it's a place where you learn more about the Bible, you get encouragement to live an awesome life as a Christian, you pray & get advice and support from other Christians, and it is a place to serve and worship God!

Complete this sentence: Church is like a big f _ m i _ y and every Sunday is like a big p _ rty where we all love J_ _ _ _ together and l _ a _ n more about the B _ b _ _ and care for each other!

Write something about what you learnt from this lesson: _______________________________________________________________________________ Write a question you may like to ask your leader or parent: _______________________________________________________________________________

Xtra Reading

1 Corinthians 14:26, Hebrews 10:24-25, Matthew 18:20.

LESSON 5: Good Friends share their friendship with others TELL OTHERS ABOUT JESUS! When you get a new Nintendo game you want to show it off to all your friends! Jesus is better than NINTENDO!

us s Je ves lo u! yo

Se yo e ch at u ur ch !

When you've found such a wonderful thing, you can't help but tell someone about it & Jesus wants us to tell the whole world about Him! We can't keep Jesus to ourselves; He is a friend we need to share with everyone! This is good news! & Jesus said in Mark 16:15 “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” It is our job to spread the word about Jesus. This means you should tell everyone you know: your friends, your family, your schoolmates, and anybody else you meet! Go out of your way to do nice things for people, be generous, be friendly, lend a helping hand, listen to their problems and offer to pray for them. Do things for people that will make people ask, “what's different about you?” then tell them it's Jesus! This is your purpose in life to tell people about the good news about Jesus! Write down some ways that you can share Jesus with your friends this week: _______________________________________________________________________________ Write a question you may have for your leader or parent: _______________________________________________________________________________

My Mission in Life: Is to

t _ ll my friends, f _ _ _ ly and every _ _ _

and what He can do in their lives in what I say and in what I do!

I meet about

J _ _ us