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Wednesday 26 January

Prayer Point Day 3: Revival Encounters An outpouring of God’s tangible presence and power over every single person, family, home and our church. We will see people healed, anxiety squashed, depression lifted, hope revived. We would have fresh encounters with God through the Holy Spirit. These encounter will birth fresh Destiny Chasers Acts 2:1-4, Acts 10:44-45 Worship Set List Believe For It | Cece Winans & Tauren Wells Wide As The Sky | Catch The Fire Music Shepard | Cece Winans Gratitude | Brandon Lake Remember to join us at 6am for prayer on Facebook Live, via our Facebook Page

Tuesday 25 January

Prayer Point Day 2: Rooted and Grounded We will be rooted and grounded in love and come to comprehend what is immeasurable power that works in our lives Eph 3:15-21 Worship Set List I Speak Jesus | Charity Gayle Hunger | Cece Winans Great Are You Lord | Mark Barlow Come And Tear Down The Walls / I Surrender | David & Nicol Binion Remember to join us at 6am for prayer on Facebook Live, via our Facebook Page

Monday 24 January

Prayer Point Day 1: People after God’s Own Heart We will be a people after God’s own heart, filled with the fullness of God. A people that function from God’s presence.  Eph 1:16-23 Worship Set List Psalms 145 | Worship Mob I Need You More | Mark Barlow, Revere My Soul Follow | Mark Barlow & DOE Worthy Of It All | Cece Winans Remember to join us at 6am for prayer on Facebook Live, via our Facebook Page

Decisions: what to do when you don’t know what to do

When faced with the grey areas of life, how do you make decisions? As followers of Christ, our motivation should be to make decisions that honour and glorify God. The question for most people is: How do I do that? How do I make a decision that honours God when it comes to what job I should take, who I should marry or should I move to another country? How do you make decision that set you up for success in your life? Success in our faith means walking in the fullness of what God has called us to be. When it comes to making decisions, less is more. The no.1 Roadblock to making Godly decisions is Analysis Paralysis  Analysis paralysis a process when overanalysing over overthinking a situation can cause forward motion or decision-making to become “paralysed”, meaning that no solution or course of action is decided upon. We need to be reminded that imperfect action is always better than no action at all  We get paralysed when making a decision because: We think there is a “Godliest” option – There are times in our faith when we think there is one decision that may please God. Ultimately, unless the decision you are making is sinful, then there is  no “Godliest option” We put too much pressure on ourselves – This happens when we place all our hopes on one decision. Basically, our hopes and dreams are based on this one decision.  We are waiting for a sign from God – Too often we are waiting for a sign from God to make a decision. Over-analyze every intuition, every conversation, and every gust of wind. Every upset stomach becomes, “Could that be God or just the bad burrito? ”Proverbs 3: 5-6 | “5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” 4 Steps to making Godly decisions. Note that: These 4 steps are a guideline to making Godly decisions. They aren’t set in stone. They are more like guiderails on a bowling alley. They wont; guarantee you hit a strike very time but they will prevent you from falling into the gutter. Step 1: Believe God’s Word Wisdom starts with a proper relationship and knowing of God. Proverbs 1:7 | “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” Fear of the Lord in this context refers to a relationship with God. When you have a relationship with Him you essentially have knowledge and wisdom. The first thing you need to consider when making a decision is whether what you are considering doing is a sin? If it is, then you automatically do NOT do it. That is why you need to be in relationship with God and be connected within a Church to establish what is sin. To believe in God’s Word for decision making, you go to: God’s Gospel: The things that are most true about you can never be taken away regardless of the decisions you make. Jesus obtains the benefits of God’s blessings, not us, 2 Corinthians 1:20 | “for it is He who is the “yes” to all God’s promises. This is why through Jesus Christ our “Amen” is said to the glory of God” God’s Sovereignty: Over all of our decisions, it is God who is working all things for our good. Romans 8:28 | “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” God’s Mission: When making a decision consider how it affects your ability make disciples of Jesus Matthew 28: 19-20 | 19 ”Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising the in the name if the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen Every opportunity in your life has to be filtered through the question of how you can make more disciples of Jesus through this opportunity. Step 2: Listen to Godly counsel 3 Spheres of influence for Godly decisions. Godly family and friends People in the Church at large and who have demonstrated wisdom in the area you’re struggling with Your Church Pastors and Church Leaders Be careful of taking advice from those whose view is not of the Kingdom of God. Ensure that you surround yourself with people who have a relationship with God. Also, ensure that you are connected with a small group. A crowd cannot support you, you need to be connected in a small group of believers. Not all decisions will require all 3 spheres, but the big life decisions definitely will. If you really want wisdom, you need to listen most carefully when the people in these spheres disagree with you. Proverbs 12:15 | “Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others.” Step 3: Do what you want/Be led by peace God wants to make our lives enjoyable. Following God is not about being stifled.  Honouring God with our decisions does not mean we are stifled, dejection and sorrowful.  Isaiah 55:12 | “For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace:” God is not a god of confusion. Decisions from God will never be filled with anxiety Once you have brought your decision under the authority of the Word and Godly Counsel, the only question that remains is: What Do You Want To Do? What excites you, what makes you tick? What is it that you actually want to do? Figure that out and then go do that Godly decisions do not have to be associated with sorrow and dejection Psalm 37:4 | “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” Be

Suit Up – Week 4

Need to know: Go (punch up with one hand) With the good news boots (pretend to put on boots) Bible story: The Great Commission Matthew 28:16-20 Praise and worship: Let’s celebrate being superheroes who are SUITED UP with some praise and worship. Instruction: We’re going to put on our Good News Boots and practice sharing the good news of God’s love with everyone in the world. When we SUIT UP with our Good News Boots, we can Go (punch up with one hand) and share the good news of God’s love with everyone we see! Prayer Father God, we come to you in the precious name of Jesus Christ. We thank you God for the day you have made, thank you God that we can celebrate in the day and be glad in it. God where you are there is JOY, there is PEACE and there is LOVE. Father, we thank you that we can come together in your presence and be in unity with you. Thank you, God, for loving us so much that you’ve sent your only son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Thank you, God, that your perfect love on the cross has cleansed us, and thank you that it took away our fear. Father, we thank you that we can rejoice with you knowing that we are in right standing with you and that all our sins are forgiven because of your precious LOVE towards us. God may our lesson today sink into our hearts today so that we can take it with us wherever we go and that we can share your GOOD NEWS with your people. Father God may we be reminded of your LOVE, the LOVE that will never LIE, the LOVE that is always there when we feel weak, the LOVE that always comforts, the LOVE that forgives us when we make mistakes, the LOVE that will never leave us nor forsake us, the LOVE that showers us with JOY and PEACE and LAUGHTER and the LOVE that we can never be separated from. God thank you for your unfailing LOVE towards us, for the excitement attitude towards sharing you GOOD NEWS with your people. Thank you that our hearts are filled and that you’ve poured into us your LOVE, your JOY and, your PEACE to share. God, we thank you for all that you are and forever will be, in the mighty name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Ice breaker: Share any of your GOOD NEWS that you have received for the past week. Then ask your kid/s to share their GOOD NEWS for the past week as well. Take notice of how exciting the kids get when they share the GOOD NEWS with you. Introduction: Sharing your good news with someone else makes us very excited, and it makes us want to share it with everyone we encounter. Today we are going to SUIT UP with our GOOD NEWS boots and tell everyone about God’s Love. God’s Love towards us is so great that we can share it with everyone around us, not only is God’s love great, but it makes us excited and creates a great amount of happiness and joy within our hearts that we cannot help but share His love for us! EVERYBODY NEEDS TO EXPERIENCE GOD’S GREAT LOVE FOR US! Lesson: God wanted to show us how much he loves us. This is good news! Knowing that we are loved by God and nothing can ever separate us from His great love is the BEST NEWS! God sent His one and only son Jesus Christ to take up our sins on the cross. He forgave our sins and He washes us clean from all our sins when we go to Him and ask for forgiveness. Now that is GOOD NEWS. Why is God’s love so great? Jesus Christ has dies on the cross for our sins. We are able to have a relationship with God and speak to Him daily because of Jesus dying on the cross. God’s love is so great that nothing can ever separate us from His love. His love will never ever ever ever fail us. God’s love is always with us, it protects us, listens to us, and answers our prayers (Psalm 91:14-16) Why should we tell everyone about God’s love? Well, we can’t keep the good news from anybody, so we have to tell others about God’s love for us so that they can experience it for themselves! When we share the good news about God’s love with someone, they will experience it and be able to tell someone else. That way many people will know about God’s love and will want to live with his love in their hearts. Repeat memory verse: Put on (Pretend to put on helmet) All of God’s Armor (Reach from head to toes) Then you (Point to others) Can remain strong (Show muscles) Ephesians 6:11 (Show six fingers. Then show both index fingers) Activity (Snowball fight): Bible content: Isaiah 1:18 You will need: Newspaper Masking tape A timer Play: Form two groups. Divide the area (living room/room) into two equal-sized areas with a masking tape line. Give each group an equal size amount of newspaper. On your signal, let kids make “snowballs” and quickly throw them back and forth at the opposing team for two minutes. The object is to get more snow on the opponent’s side when the time’s up. ENJOY! Insert Colouring in paper. Closing Prayer: Thank you, Father God, for your GOOD NEWS. It’s an honour to be in your presence Lord. Your presence is an open door God, please come fill us. Thank you that the seed of your LOVE that has been sowed in our hearts will grow and we can share it with everyone around us. In Jesus Mighty Name we pray. Amen.

Suit Up – Week 3

Need to know: Suit up with Godliness With the sword of the Spirit Bible story: Gideon (Judges 6:1-32) Praise and worship: Let’s celebrate being superheroes who are SUITED UP with some praise and worship. Prayer Open with prayer. Focus on entering into God’s presence. This frame work for effective prayer will help you with that. Ice breaker: Choose your weapon! Choose your weapons…what are some weapons that we might see or hear about? Display several pictures of modern or ancient weapons, like swords, guns, tanks, or bows and arrows. Do these seem like big and powerful weapons? Next, hold up for students a water pitcher, a flashlight, and a party horn or instrument. Do these seem like good weapons? Maybe not so much…but with God, anything is possible! Introduction: Start out by discussing things that might be scary. What are students afraid of? Why are these things nerve-wracking? Describe how the story they will hear today has to do with some scary-sounding elements. The Bible story covers a bit of length, so it might be best to paraphrase parts of it, or for younger students most of it. At this time of the Bible, the people of Israel were ruled by judges. Explain that a judge was sort of like a governor or special leader that could help people. Set the stage by explaining that the people of God often made mistakes and did not obey Him. When this happened, sometimes enemies came and took over their land. Lesson: Wow, did you catch that? God does not point out that Gideon is scared and without courage. God encourages him and speaks life into his situation. The Sword of the Spirit works the same way in our lives. Holy Spirit does not humiliate us. He corrects us by speaking life into our situation. With the Sword of the Spirit we can fight off the accusations of the enemy that tries to frighten us into hiding. The sword of the spirit gives us the courage to come out of hiding and to do what God has called us to do. And we fight off the lies that make usfeel too small, too ashamed to do what God wants us to do. Repeat memory verse: Put on (Pretend to put on helmet) All of God’s Armor (Reach from head to toes) Then you (Point to others) Can remain strong (Show muscles) Ephesians 6:11 (Show six fingers. Then show both index fingers) Activity (spending time): Reflect again on how God fulfills His promises and does amazing things through His people. Gideon might have been afraid and doubtful, but he knew He could trust God. And so can we! We might not think we are special or strong, but we don’t have to be. We just need to be willing to let God work through us. And we know He will give us what He promises, because He sent the savior Jesus, just like He said He would! Name one time when God came through for you when you had no hope. Identify an area of your life where you need to use the Sword of The Spirit Prayer: Close with prayer and thank God for His power in our lives. Ask for help in trusting Him to do great things and for help not to fear. .

Suit Up – Week 2

Need to know: Go (punch up with one hand) With the belt of truth (pretend to put on a belt) Bible story: The Fall(Genesis3) Praise and worship: Let’s celebrate being superheroes who are SUITED UP with some praise and worship. Prayer Father God, we come to you in the precious name of Jesus Christ. We thank you God for the day you have made, thank you God that we can celebrate in the day and be glad in it. God where you are there is JOY, there is PEACE and there is LOVE. Father, we thank you that we can come together in your presence and be in unity with you. Thank you, God, for loving us so much that you’ve sent your only son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Thank you, God, that your perfect love on the cross has cleansed us, and thank you that it took away our fear. Father, we thank you that we can rejoice with you knowing that we are in right standing with you and that all our sins are forgiven because of your precious LOVE towards us. Thank you, God, that as we seek you more and more you reveal yourself to us, God you show us the truth where we forget your TRUTH. You remind us of your True words because God you are not a man that you should LIE. Thank you, God, for keeping your promises. God, as we learn about your TRUTH today, may we be reminded of your LOVE, the LOVE that will never LIE, the LOVE that is always there when we feel weak, the LOVE that always comforts, the LOVE that forgives us when we make mistakes, the LOVE that will never leave us nor forsake us, the LOVE that showers us with JOY and PEACE and LAUGHTER and the LOVE that we can never be separated from. God, we thank you for all that you are and forever will be, in the mighty name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Ice breaker: God’s truth Read/Share your favourite story from the Bible. Tell us why it is your favourite story. Then share God’s TRUTH/TRUE WORDS in that story. E.g. Story When God created the earth He spoke everything into existence. Genesis 1:3 Then God said “Let there be light” TRUTH and there was light. Introduction: Today we are going to learn how to be Heroes and save the day by wearing a special piece of God’s Armor! It’s called the belt of TRUTH. In your favourite Bible story, God spoke His TRUE words and you remembered the TRUE things God said in the story! Lesson: In the Garden of Eden there were many trees bearing yummy fruit, but there was one tree God had told Adam and Eve not to eat from. The snake had tricked Eve and told her a lie so that she would forget what God had told her and do the wrong thing. Eve forgot that what God says is always TRUE, she decided to believe the LIE of the sneaky snake so she ate the fruit. Because they did not remember and obey the TRUE words of God, Adam and Eve had to leave God’s special garden. Adam and Eve did not have on their BELT OF TRUTH, if they would have been wearing this piece of God’s Armor, they would’ve known that the sneaky snake was not telling the TRUTH! Why should we wear the belt of Truth? The BELT OF TRUTH helps us remember the TRUE things God says in the Bible. When you suit up with the BELT OF TRUTH you have the power (show your muscles) to defeat any lies the enemy tries to tell you! Repeat memory verse: Put on (Pretend to put on helmet) All of God’s Armor (Reach from head to toes) Then you (Point to others) Can remain strong (Show muscles) Ephesians 6:11 (Show six fingers. Then show both index fingers) Activity (spending time): Ask the following questions and engage in a fun discussion (You can add questions) Do you think that it will be more fun to be able to fly high or run super-fast? If you had a superpower (relive a moment superpower) which day would you relive? Colour in Prayer: Thank you, God, that we could learn that whatever you speak is TRUE, thank you, Father God, that we have the belt of TRUTH to defeat any lie. Thank you, God, for giving us the Armor of God so that we can remain strong and suited up in our daily lives. In Jesus’ name we pray.

Suit Up – Week 1

Need to KnowSuit Up with God’s Armor Bible Story David and Goliath: 1 Samuel 17 Praise & Worship PrayerFather, we come to you in the name of Jesus. We thank you for your Grace and mercy in our lives.We thank you for the price that Jesus paid for us on the cross. We thank you that at the cross our fear was swapped for Your peace, our sickness for healing, our weakness for Your strength. We thank you that we are forgiven by You. We thank you that we can come to you and say that we are sorry for all the times that we forget about You and that we don’t listen to what you are telling us to do. We thank you that we can know that our sins have been thrown into the sea of forgetfulness. We thank you that as we will now explore your Word, that it will wash us clean and help us to understand where we need You to help us to submit to You and Your Word. We thank you that we are not just hearers of the Word but also doers of the Word. We praise you! Your lovingkindness is better than life. You are the author and finisher of our faith. You are our shield and our strength and we can hide in the secret place of the most high during our time of need. Lord open our ears and soften our hearts while today’s lesson is sown into our hearts. Transform us and change us. Let the fruit of Your Spirit be seen in us, as we are transformed by Your Word. In Jesus mighty name Amen. Ice BreakerWhen the do does not fitPUsing oversizes shoes give the kids one oversized shoe Per child. Let them have a race, If the shoe falls off you need to start over. See who gets to the other side the quickest. IntroductionWhy was it hard to run in those shoes? (Wait for kids to answer) Yes, because they did not fit. Did you know that David also had a problem with shoes that did not fit him? Let’s watch the story. LessonDavid could fight Goliath because he wore the full armour of God. But what should we do when sometimes it feels like armour does not fit As well? What can we learn from David about those times when we feel like we have Nothing to protect us from the things that can make us scared. Learn Humility: David’s victory is really God’s victory! Goliath fought with strength and dominated his enemies with his enormous size. David relied on what he had learned while he was a shepherd. He learned total dependence on God! David was alone out on the hillside. He learned humility. Shepherds were not respected! His brother’s mocked him. He learned to be skillful with his slingshot! Sheep are dumb animals and they needed protection. He learned to have a relationship with God! He played his harp and wrote songs (Psalms) David tried on Saul’s armor and it did not fit. Armor back in Bible times was made to fit the warrior exactly. Saul was a tall adult man while David was a young boy who hadn’t grown to full stature. Even though David’s older brothers mocked him and were too fearful to fight Goliath themselves, he was willing. I can see a funny picture of David with a huge helmet, heavy mail armor, and an oversized sword. David couldn’t even walk in the armor! The first thing when the armor doesn’t fit, is to be insignificant. To be humble. David had learned these lessons from God when he was alone and totally relying on God’s protection on the hills as a shepherd. He didn’t need the armor to provide him with protection when God had protected him without heavy armor! Your Own Strength Is TOO Heavy- Take it Off! Saul’s armor was extremely heavy and made it impossible for David to walk. Too often we try to walk in our own strength instead of walking with Jesus in faith. Our own strength is too heavy just like Saul’s armor. David tried to walk but couldn’t. He told Saul that he couldn’t wear it because he had not tried or ‘proved’ it. Saul had been living in his own strength and that was what made his reign as king so disastrous. David had tried walking by faith in the wilderness and it had proved to work. He wasn’t going to put on something that wasn’t going to work! Get Comfortable In Your Own SkinSaul’s armor was made to fit him not David. You must wear your own armor and not armor made for someone else! You have your own personality and God has created you to serve Him in a unique way. You weren’t designed by God to be me or another sister in Christ. You are you and God created you for a special purpose that only you can carry out. David did put on armor but it wasn’t physical armor like Saul’s cumbersome armor. He wore the invisible armor that God prepared just for him like in Ephesians 6:1-20 Activity – Colour In

Mystery Manor – Week 8

Mystery question: Is Heaven Real? Need to Know: Heaven is a real place for people who believe in Jesus! Bible Story: Heaven; Revelation 21-22 Memory verse: But without faith (cover eyes) no one (shake head) can please God. (Point up) We must believe (hand over heart) that God is real (nod head) and that He rewards everyone (hands out in front) who searches for Him. (Point up) Hebrews 11:6 Preparation: (Pictionary) Please have the following ready for after the lesson: Paper or Board Pencil or Marker Bowl Lesson: Welcome back to our MYSTERY MANNER series everybody, I hope you are having fun in our series… YAY! Get ready for the exciting Mystery today. I know this is sad, but today is our last day at Mystery Manor. So get set! Ready? Let’s catch up with Stevie and Parker. HERE WE GO! Story time: Stevie entered the study followed by Parker. He looked around confused “wait a second! What are we doing back in the study? Isn’t this where we started this whole search for clues in the first place?” Parker was very paranoid and started looking behind him as if something was there. “Stevie, I still don’t trust that hidden staircase. Someone could have followed us in here! I felt like the eyes of the people on the paintings were watching me! Plus I KEPT HEARING FOOTSTEPS!” “Don’t be ridiculous Parker, those are your own footsteps! Remember? You wanted to walk as loudly as you could so you could scare away rats?” The staircase led the cousins up to the study where they has started their whole search for clues. Stevie was kind of upset because he couldn’t understand why the last clue that they’ve found led them back to the study, he says that they’ve found all the clues the in the study. Could it be that they were out of clues? “Well Stevie, we’re not out of clues yet, okay, so here’s the whole clue- you will see after looking among the rocks not all the rooms have doorknobs and locks. What once you could not see, now look again. To find the reward most sought after by all men- Then it has a list of numbers. I’m not sure what those are about”. Both Stevie and Parker looked around the room to see what they could’ve possibly missed. “Stevie that’s it! The telescope. At first we couldn’t see what it was pointing to, but now we can! We should look through it again!” Parker rushed over to the telescope to look through it that made Stevie who was standing on the other side of the study, very excited to have his turn to look through the telescope. Uninterested, Parker moved away from the telescope. “Just some stars, it’s not a clue or anything”. The telescope was pointed toward the Orion Hemisphere of the sky, which meant that starts 40 through 200 are over in that direction. Parker looked through the journal which he had underneath his cap and paged to page number 2. The numbers on that clue were all between 40 and 200. “Parker that’s amazing! The next clue IS in the stars! Great Grandpa Pis-Paf left us a clue using those numbers. I bet if we can chart those stars, they will lead us to the next clue”. Parker was very confused and wondered how they were going to chart starts. Stevie then took out his star chart and pen and suggested that they use that to chart the starts. “Here’s what we’ll do. You see how the numbers are in little groups? You can read each group, and then I’ll tell you what to record on the star chart, by using this star projector, it will help us project the star numbers so that I can see them better. Now are you ready Parker? Read me the first set of the numbers please”. The first set of numbers Parker read was 41, 47, 62, 44, 58 and that back to 41. “If we connect all those numbers on the star chart it gives us the letter B, the next set of numbers 81, 57, 60,76,60,63 and 87 gives us the letter E”. The next set of numbers Parker had read were pretty short, 81, 87, 111 which had led them to the letter L.  After getting the letters B, E and L, they only had four more sets of numbers to go. “The next one is another short one Stevie. It’s 105 and 111”. Those two short numbers gave them the letter I. Excitingly Parker read the nest set of numbers, “137,113,116, 132, 116, 119 and 143, that’s the letter E again”. Parker had to read the last set of numbers before putting the letters together. So far they have the following letters B, E, L, I, E. “Let’s find out! We’re on the next to last set of numbers which is 137, 159, 169”. That set of numbers gave the letter V. “We’re very close Stevie, let’s do the last one! 193, 169, 172, 188, 172, 175 AND 199” “ALLLLL riiiiighhhhhtttt Parker… we just gotta get all of those connected!” Very excited about seeing the clue Parker reads “the next letter is an E, the word Stevie!” “That’s an interesting clue for Great Grandpa Pif-Paf to leave us. If he left us a clue that spelled out BELIEVE in the sky, I wonder what he believed” Stevie “Woooaah. You know Parker, I think there was more to that clue than we first thought. It said something about looking at what we cannot see and that’s where we’ll find reward” Parker “Right. So we looked through the telescope” Stevie “Yeah, but I think that Great Grandpa Pif-Paf was wanting us to see that when we believe that Jesus paid the price for our sins and that God raised Jesus back to life, then we get the reward of Heaven, which is greater than any other reward on earth!” Parker “Oh yeah! I get

Mystery Manor – Week 7

Mystery question: Where is Jesus Now? Need to Know: Jesus is Alive Right Now! Bible Story: The Resurrection John 20; Luke 24:13-35; Matthew 28:20 Memory verse: But without faith (cover eyes) no one (shake head) can please God. (Point up) We must believe (hand over heart) that God is real (nod head) and that He rewards everyone (hands out in front) who searches for Him. (Point up) Hebrews 11:6 Preparation: (Shadow Games) Choose some of these awesome Shadow games to play with the kids: Fun Shadow Activities Lesson: Oh my hat. We only have two more Sundays with Stevie and Parker. And this mystery is really getting very exciting. As we catch up with Stevie and Parker today, they have a few money notes and it seems like something has been written on the notes. They are both very sure that these notes are their next clue. Something else also happening on the inside of both Stevie and Parker. Paret is growing in his trust in God and in his faith. Stevie, who has been very skeptical has warmed up to the idea of God speaking to them with every clue that they solve. Let’s hear what they are chatting about: Parker: So you’re saying that you’re TOTALLY on board with this now? You aren’t going to give me a hard time about following these clues or tease me about believing that there were monsters in the basement when I was little? Stevie: Yes, no, and yes. Yes I’m on board. No I won’t give you a hard time about believing what Great Grandpa Pif-Paf taught you. And yes –I will probably still tease you about believing there were monsters in the basement, but that’s just because that’s what older cousins do. The mushy moment got bit much for Parker and he directed Stevie’s attention back to the clue. He asked Stevie what was written on the notes: Stevie: See? There are letters and numbers written on the back of these! There’s “WS,” “HE,” “11:6” and “BRE.” If I’m correct, and I always am, then we need to arrange these so they give us the next clue. Parker started jumping up and down.. he knew what the clue meant. ” HEWSBRE 11:6! ” he shouted. But Stevie was less convinced. Parker was not letting Stevie convince him otherwise. He took the Bible laying nearby and looked up Hebrews 11:6. And here is what it says: “But without faith, no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that He rewards everyone who searches for Him.” Stevie could not believe his ears. ” Wait a second! No one mentioned that there was a REWARD!!! If I had known that, I would’ve been solving this mystery a LOT faster!” Parker could not stop laughing. ” Welllll…I don’t know if that means like a money reward. It mightbe a different kind of reward.” Stevie was confused. He did not know there was any other kind of reward. Parker tried to explain: “Well, it talks about having faith to please God. And faith is when we are confident in things we can’t see. So it might be a reward that we can’t see yet.” Stevie: “An invisible reward? Really, Parker? That is NOT the case. Now, let’s finish solving this mystery and find that reward! What’s our next clue?” But that was just the thing. They had not found another clue that Parker could see. Stevie looked at the Bible again. The page where Hebrews 11:6 was written, was marked by a folded piece of paper. Stevie was delighted to find that this piece of paper contained yet another Bible story. Stevie could not believe his ears. “So wait, not only did Jesus pay the price for all the wrong things I’ve done, but He’s actually alive right now?” Parker could answer this with all his confidence: ” Yep! God brought Jesus back to life after He had only been dead for three days.” Stevie was amazed: “Wow! No one in all of history has ever died and come back to life like that! That’s so cool that Jesus is alive right now!” Parker also started getting excited. “Yeah! And you know what else is cool? I think our next clue is right here on this page from Great Grandpa Pif-Paf’s journal!” “You will see after looking among the rocks. Not all doors have doorknobs and locks…” Stevie got super excited. “That must mean that there is a secret door somewhere here in the basement.” “Who would have thought that this old house was this cool?” Stevie and Parker searched high and low until they were just about to give up. Stevie decided to take one last look at the stones by the fireplace. And then he found it. A ke hole! Parker took the same key they used to open Grand Pa’s safe and placed in the keyhole… and what do you know. when they turned the key, a secret door opened. On the other side of the door was the longest, darkest, creepiest staircase they had ever seen. We leave Stevie and Parker as they stand at the top of the staircase, working on their courage to go down into the darkness… Prayer: Father God, thank you that Jesus paid the full price for me. And thank you that You are the rewarder of those who diligently seek You. In Jesus name. Amen Have some fun with your shadow