River Ridge Kids
Dig In to the Bible
· Read: Psalm 23:2-3; Matthew 11:28-30
· In This Passage: In these peaceful verses from Psalm 23, David writes that our shepherd, God, lets us rest in green meadows and leads us beside peaceful streams, renewing our strength. Jesus makes a similar promise when he invites us to take our heavy burdens to him and find rest.
· Bible Point: God gives us rest.
· Summary Verse: “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need” (Psalm 23:1).
Dig Deeper
· You’ll Be Teaching: God gives us rest. To a kid, rest can sound boring. Help kids get past the idea of lying bored in a meadow and understand that the rest Jesus offers is a rest from the worries, stresses, and troubles that overwhelm us with anxiety.
· Think About: What do you need rest from? Take your troubles and cares to God.
Dig In to Prayer
· Talk to God about any specific challenges you know kids are facing, such as preparing to move across the country, the loss of a grandparent, or a parent with cancer. Ask God to give your kids rest from their troubles.
Bold
Lesson 7: Do Pets Go to Heaven?
(Psalm 46:10)
“I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth?”
(Ecclesiastes 3:18-21)
• Descriptions of animals in heaven.
Isaiah 11:6-9; Revelation 19:11-14
• God is intimately connected with his animal creations.
Job 38:39-41
• Humans are the only creatures made in God’s image.
Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:7
• We won’t cry in heaven.
Revelation 21:4
• God put humans in charge of caring for animals.
Psalm 8:4-8; Proverbs 12:10