Fresh Ground Kids

28th April- 2nd May, 2014

GEM
God | Each | Morning

Invite Jesus into your day

Every day when you wake up, invite Jesus to your day. He promises to be with us whenever we ask him to be.

Ask Him to speak to you

God can speak to you in many ways. The most usual ways he does this are through prayer, through other people (your Mum, Dad or even your Pastor, for example) and through the Bible. If you ask him, God will speak to you as you read GEM each morning!

Monday
Later on Jesus appeared to his disciples again, this time by the Sea of Galilee! John 21:1

Live it out
Every day in GEM youll be challenged to live out what youve read. God promises to help us be the best people we can be- kind, loving, patient, wise and a whole other bunch of good stuff. We cant really live like this without Gods help. Remember, its not a test. God loves you just as you are, but he also wants the very best for you. God knows that His ways are the very best for us. Like a good parent, God wants the very best for you!!

Imagine someone you knew died and then came back to life. Imagine that they kept on appearing at di!erent times before you and your friends. How would you feel? Scared? Excited? Confused? Relieved? Like you'd lost your marbles? I'm guessing it would be a mixture of all these emotions and more besides. The disciples went through a whole range of similar feelings when Jesus, their friend and leader, came back to life "resurrected# after he'd been beaten and murdered on the cross. As well as the fear, excitement and confusion there was something else even more shocking. Jesus coming back to life meant that everything was true and real. It proved he was the Son of God, like he said. It meant everything else he'd said was true as well. That he'd come to share God's love with the whole world. That people should love their enemies, look after those in need, tell and show others God's love and stop judging people on how they looked and behaved. Question: How does truly believing in these things change the way you live? Think of three examples.
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GEM

Fresh Ground Kids

28th April- 2nd May, 2014

Tuesday
As soon as Peter realised it was Jesus he wrapped his clothes around himself, jumped in the water and headed for the beach! John 21:7 Are you impulsive? Someone who is impulsive makes decisions very, very quickly, likes to go with the ow and sometimes changes plans at a moments notice. Impulsive people quite often act or speak before thinking about the consequences "what will happen next#. It can be a really positive thing. Impulsive people will often be more open to trying new things, aren't afraid to speak up for what they believe is right and are usually very proactive. There can also be some things that aren't always great about being impulsive. Impulsive people sometimes make promises they aren't able to keep, say things that are unintentionally hurtful to others and take on too many things, too quickly. The Disciple Peter was impulsive. On the night Jesus was killed he was quick to promise that he'd never deny being friends with Jesus, but later on he says to three di!erent people that he has no idea who Jesus was. That wasn't so great. But on another occasion, without thinking it over too much, when he saw Jesus walking on water, Peter jumped out of the boat and walked on the water himself!! And in today's reading once again he's jumping out of a boat, rushing through the water to meet his friend, Jesus. We all have di!erent characteristics which can sometimes be great and sometimes be...well...not so great. However, if we give our whole character over to Jesus, He will make me and you the very best me and you we can be.

Wednesday
Three times Jesus asked, 'Simon "which was Peter's old name# son of John, do you love me?' Upset at this, three times Peter answered, 'yes, you know that I love you.' !Full conversation can be found in John 21:15!17 Ouch! Have you ever been asked the same question three times? Perhaps one of your parents asking, 'was it you?' You answer, but the answer isn't the one they're looking for. Usually by the third time you get a bit closer to what they're looking for...or own up and tell the truth. Or if you were telling the truth, it's not until the third time that they're convinced. There's something of that going on between Jesus and Peter in this conversation. Jesus is desperate to hear and believe that Peter does truly love him, so he asks him three times. Remember also that Peter had denied Jesus three times. Jesus is perhaps giving Peter the chance to make good and do a 'do over.' Each time Peter tells Jesus that he loves him Jesus responds by giving him an important job to do$ in a nutshell, to love others and teach them about God. %

To do: Pretend Jesus is asking you the same question, 'your name, do you love me?' ! God wants us to share His awesome, life changing love with others. To do this, it rst of a" means we have to love Jesus. When we do, His love then ows #om us to everyone around us.!

GEM

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Fresh Ground Kids

28th April- 2nd May, 2014

! Thursday ! !

After Jesus had spoken to Him, Peter looked at John and said, 'What about him?' ! John 21:19!20 'What about him?' 'What about her?' 'What about them?' 'It's not fair!' 'If I'm getting that, what are they getting?'% Have you ever got worked up about what someone else was getting? Have you ever felt like they were gonna be treated better than you? Have you ever been really jealous of someone else? Peter, who'd just been given an amazing responsibility by Jesus, instead of just thinking about it for a moment, is instead obsessed about what role Jesus is going to have for the Disciple John. % Jesus' response is basically, 'mind your own business, it's no concern of yours$ just be happy with what you've got.' You see, Jesus knew that Peter was asking about John, not out of love and concern for John, but out of love and concern for himself. Jesus knew that Peter would never appreciate what he had whilst he was more interested in what was coming to John. The truth is that God has di!erent roles for all of us$ at rst some seem better than others. However, this simply isn't true. All together, our di!erent roles, personalities, skills and even our mistakes make an absolutely beautiful picture. And guess what? God is the painter! %

Friday
Jesus did a whole load of amazing things that there just simply isn't room to tell you about. I could go on forever to be honest, but for now I'll just leave it there! ! John 21:25 That is how John's account of Jesus ends. Do you like it? I've got to be honest, it's not my favourite ending. I really want to know what other amazing things Jesus did! I suppose a good book should leave you wanting more though. And that's the thing about Jesus. There isn't an end to the story. With Jesus, there's always more to tell. In Matthew and Luke's account of Jesus, they tell us that He says that He will send the Disciples His Spirit to continue the story. After they waited a while it happened. Jesus' Spirit came and lived inside them. And because he was inside them, they were able to continue the story$ sharing God's love, healing sickness, serving those in need, teaching about how life works best, all of them together being children of God and inviting others to join the family. The fantastic thing is that even today the story continues. If we invite Him to, Jesus' Spirit can come and live in each and every one of us. So John was right. There really isn't enough room to write down the whole story, because it isn't over! %

GEM

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Fresh Ground Kids

28th April- 2nd May, 2014

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Use this page to make notes or draw a picture...or just to doodle.

GEM

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