Short. To the point. Powerful in its simplicity. First John 4:19 is all that and more. I call attention to this verse as I work with my kindergarten students and as I talk with my own children each year whenever we focus on Valentine’s Day. 

Looking around at the flowers, hearts, cupids and candy that overflow from store shelves this time of year, I know I can feel overcome by the commercialism of it all. That’s when it helps me to focus attention God’s love for us. And that’s the message I work to communicate to all the children in my care every day.

This year, Ash Wednesday comes just three days after Valentine’s Day. As Christians observe both, our Savior reminds us of his love for us, despite our sins. In the weeks of Lent ahead, as we prepare our hearts for Easter, we will think often about the mercy and compassion of our Lord Jesus who died on the cross because He loved us so much.

God himself is the source of all love. He is the essence and definition of the word love. In response to all he has done and all he will do for us, both now and throughout eternity, we actively look for ways to demonstrate his love by serving others.

Check out the CTA website for some great ideas about keeping children (and adults, too) connected to their Savior throughout the Lenten/Easter season. You will find many products and projects there that will make the all-important truth of God’s love a fun and easy one for your children to learn. Now that’s something to celebrate!

The kits were easy to assemble and the children loved the experience of “creating” their own nativity set, especially since they have read and learned so much about Jesus’ birth this month. 

Traditionally, the Christmas season in liturgical churches starts on Christmas Day and extends into January, culminating with Epiphany on January 6, so it is not too late to use the nativity kits.

Christmas Day will soon come and go, but we will have some winter vacation days at home with our children before they must go back to school.  This craft would be an excellent activity for one of winter’s cold and snowy days at home! 

Enjoy your families and may God grant you all a blessed and Merry Christmas!

 CTA has helped make this event easier and more meaningful. In fact, that’s what CTA does best!

For example, consider the Christ the Savior is Born downloadable video. The video provides a great foundation for a children’s Christmas program—on Christmas Eve or a Sunday leading up to Christmas.

At our preschool, we show the video and add in an Advent Cheer, the reading of Luke 2:1-20 by the preschool staff, and a song like Away in the Manger. We conclude with a blessing and an invitation for everyone to join us for the cookie reception!

As everyone leaves the service, consider giving  them a keepsake reminder. We’ve done that for several years.  This year you might consider giving each child (and siblings in the audience) a copy of the book on which the video is based. The book comes complete with notes for parents about ways to talk about Christmas in their family. Children will enjoy having parents read the story many times over in coming weeks and years. 

Surprise older children who attend with both a Christ the Savior Is Born book and a pencil from the Value Pack and give adults in attendance a Christ the Savior Is Born magnet  or ornament reminder. All at a price preschools can afford!

Before I mislead you too much, let me explain. Last Sunday, after attending church, I went to Busch Stadium where I work as an usher for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball games. That particular day, I worked The Giveaway. The first 25,000 fans received an Adam Wainwright (Cardinal pitcher) bobble head. A give-away at the stadium draws extra people. Fans come early to make sure they’re part of the first 25,000 (or whatever the number is that day). They’re excited about getting a free gift that reminds them of their team, a player, or the special memory of attending a major league baseball game. And yes, some collect them simply to sell for a profit.

The bottom line is that most people love giveaways – at the ballpark and at church. When I served as a pastor I loved to give worshipers take-home gifts. They were sometimes remembrances of the message or series and Jesus Christ, the focus of the message. The gift often provided ideas for prayer, outreach, Bible Study, or personal growth. Most times it served as a faith encourager.

Over the years I’ve gone into people’s homes to find some of those give-ways still there. Sometimes they’ve been there for years and years, serving as an encouragement or faith aid.

Most CTA – Christian Tools of Affirmation – products and gifts are used in churches, schools, and personal ministries as giveaways. Ushers might hand them out at the door as people come out of church. Teachers give CTA products to students. Leaders give them to . Children’s ministry and youth leaders give them out. Pastors and other leaders use them in children’s messages. People give CTA gifts to neighbors and even people they have never met. Leaders have giveaways for their staff and volunteers to encourage them in their faith and service. Retreat leaders use CTA products as remembrance giveaways. The list could go on and on.

People love giveaways. People love receiving a gift that encourages them in their faith. People love giveaways that point them to the love of their Savior, Jesus Christ. And ministry leaders and others love CTA gifts of faith, gifts of encouragement for God’s people.

Gifts you see in CTA’s catalog, online/website, or maybe in stores can impact lives and faith for days, years, or for eternity!

Serving in His Steps Devotion book

Here’s a sample devotion from Serving in His Steps, CTA’s newest gift book designed to express appreciation to volunteers and staff  in your church. Pastors, children’s ministers, youth workers, deacons boards, elders, women’s/men’s ministry leaders–whoever you want to encourage or thank for stepping up to serve–will, I hope, find these devotions encouraging! Visit the CTA website for more on the Serving in His Steps devotion book.

[Jesus] got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet.

John 13:4-5

He had to kneel. There’s no other way to wash someone’s feet. Bending over won’t do at all. So Jesus knelt. It was a step down. A giant step down, when we consider the rainbow encircled throne from which he had descended three short decades earlier. God became man. The Creator took on skin and hair and blood vessels. Embryo to fetus to newborn lying in his peasant mother’s lap, snuggling against the cold.

A step down. It was that alright, and more-much more! A thousand years earlier, King David had written about the steps our Lord would take to love us: You stoop down to make me great. (Psalm 18:35)

Just think of that! Jesus stoops so we can stand, unashamed and filled with joy, in his presence forever. The gentle Jesus, crucified and risen in love for each one of us personally, has by his death made us great. We have incredible value in God’s eyes, not because of what we have done or can do, but because of what Christ did for us.

What an amazing difference it would make if we could begin to grasp even a small bit of that truth! We would no longer agonize in guilt over sins long since forgiven. We would no longer need to toot our own horn or defend our own record. We would no longer wonder if we’ve done enough or if our best service has been good enough.

Jesus stooped down, stepped down from heaven itself into our reality. Now, he takes our hand to lift us up. What grace! Truly amazing grace!

Want to read more or find out how to order copies for those servant-leaders in your church? Click here!

Most of them would do what they do, even if no one ever stopped to thank them. Still, when we recognize that each of our volunteers comes to us as a gift from God, when we see that our Lord chooses to work through people and to answer our prayers through people, how can we not want to honor him by honoring them?

CTA’s new appreciation theme, Serving in His Steps,  includes a variety of products you can afford to give those who serve–even in your organization’s largest programs! There’s something for everyone here from daily devotions to pocket planners/calendars to a pedometer! And all at affordable price points.

Besides all that, you can download a whole set of free materials and use them to create a unified theme on that day you set aside for recognition and thanksgiving. You’ll find a Ministry Message that can be used as a sermon or devotion, bulletin cover art, newsletter copy you can adapt to advertise your event, an invitation postcard, and a poster that could double as a placemat if you decide to offer snacks or even a brunch!

Christ-centered. Firmly rooted in Scripture. Beautiful art. Thoughtful helps for busy leaders. CTA has done much of the planning for you. All you need do is take the last few steps to create an event that will energize your volunteers for months to come!

Go to www.ctainc.com and type “Serving in His Steps” into the search engine to find everything you need to get started!

I know you’re not ready to think about Fall just yet or about welcoming new workers to the paid staff or volunteer army that you’ll rely on to get your ministry off to a great start in September.

So here’s just a quick note you can file away for August when you begin to focus  with gazelle intensity on staff appreciation!

CTA’s new line of Christian Worker recruitment/appreciation products for Fall–Serving in His Steps–is another in a long line of tools designed to save you lots of time in creating an integrated look and feel. In fact, you could easily turn it into a leadership-wide  or even church-wide theme for all of 2009-2010.

The art is spectacular and the content, Christ-centered and Bible-based. You’ll love the encouraging messages, all drawn from Scripture and the free, kick-off Ministry Message CTA plans to provide.

‘Nough said for now. Get out and enjoy the sunshine, cook-outs, and lazy days of summer! But tuck the theme, Serving in His Steps, into a corner of your mind and heart. You’ll want to explore it further in early August!

Even if you would not ordinarily observe these two events in your church, you may want to consider doing so in this centennial year, using this anniversary to help all your women (whether they are moms or not) and all your men (whether they are dads or not) see the significance of the roles they play as spiritual mentors, teachers, coaches, and role models.

When I Grow Up . . . Populate the board with note cards on which older elementary and high school students finish the sentence: When I grow up, I want to be like . . . Encourage them to name adults in the congregation—parents, teachers, pastors, troop leaders, or people without formal roles but who nonetheless have influenced them. Encourage them to add a sentence or three explaining why they picked that person.

Start collecting comments a few weeks before Mother’s Day and keep adding to the board for several weeks after Father’s Day. You may even want to capture the comments and add them to your congregation’s website or print them in the August newsletter. Make extra note cards available near the display and encourage adults to participate too—naming their “mothers” and “fathers” in the faith.

That’s just one idea. What ideas did this spark for you? Post them as a “Comment” to this blog and let’s see how many we can collect. And do be sure to let us know how they worked for you!

Link here to find Christ-centered, affordable gifts that will help you make Mother’s Day and Father’s Day memorable for your members.