SSBC Next Gen Blog

Play a quick game of follow the leader with your children.  After the game, asked them what determined what they did during the game?  Affirm all answers, but ultimately you are looking for them to say they followed leader or they did what the leader did. One thing we can learn from that game is that whether in a game, school or life, who you follow will always determine what you do.  If you play on a team, you are following the coach, and the preferences of the coach will determine the way the team plays and what they do.  In school, if your teacher teaches you a certain way to do long division, then that is the way you will do it, and you will keep doing it that way until you get a new teacher and you begin to follow their way of doing it.  Who you follow determines what you do. It is important to make sure we are following the right people.  First, and foremost, we should be following Jesus and when we follow Jesus, we are going to become mor...

Get a bowl of cereal (kids cereals work best) and then after a minute tell your children that you love cereal milk.  If they ask what Cereal milk is tell them that it is when your cereal sits in the milk and all the sugar and food coloring from the cereal changes the milk into a sweet treat.   Believe it or not, we are a lot like the milk.  All the things we watch, do and hang out with eventually starts to rub off on us if we let it stay in our lives long enough.  If you hang out with people trying to do the right thing, reading the Bible, praying and that go to Church, then they are going to have a positive influence in your life and God will permeate everything you do.  If we hang out with people making poor decisions, listen to music that tells us to do the wrong thing, watch rated R movies and watch shows were people do not live according to God's will and word, then, like the Coco Pebbles, that is going to gradually seep into our lives and begin...

Study after study have shown that parents are the primary faith influencer in a child's life.  So, at this time of social distancing, we are putting a lot of content on our Youtube channel to help disciple your child, but we also realize that the most important things we can offer is resources and tools for you to do your own devotional with your children.  So, from time to time we will be putting up DIY Children's devotions that you can lead using everyday average household items.  Don't miss this opportunity to speak into your child's life, because with all our technology, games and antics, you will still have the most profound impact on your child's faith formation.   If you have these items, use the actual items, but if you do not have them, simply print pictures off the internet.  Don’t buy them, or it kind of defeats the entire point of the devotion. Put a bottle of water on the table next to your child’s favorite soft drink or sports drink....

We know that during this time of social distancing that one of the fights is to keep children from watching TV or being on electronics the entire day.  However, this weekend, instead of fighting it, transform your family movie night into a devotion.  Below you will find some questions and Bible verses that will help make the movie Frozen II, which is currently On Demand, Disney + and other streaming services into a devotional time for the whole family.  Please note that Frozen II is rated PG, so parental guidance is suggested. Before you watch the movie, read Bible verses below together - Hebrews 13:8 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.  No matter how things around us change, the one unchanging constant in our lives and our world is God in Christ Jesus.  We can cling to God when everything else around us is rapidly transforming, knowing that he will be the same.   Matthew 5:13-16 “You are the salt of the earth....

Matthew 4:1-11 -   Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted  by the devil.   2  After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.   3  The tempter came to him and said,  “ If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. ” 4  Jesus answered,  “ It is written:  ‘ Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. ’   Then  the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.   6  “ If you are the Son of God, ”  he said,  “ throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘ He will command his angels concerning you,      and they will lift you up in their hands,      so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. ’ ” 7  Jesus answered him,  “ It is also written:  ‘ Do not put the Lord your God to the test. ’ ...

Matthew 4:1-11 -   Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted  by the devil.   2  After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.   3  The tempter came to him and said,  “ If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread. ” 4  Jesus answered,  “ It is written:  ‘ Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. ’   Then  the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.   6  “ If you are the Son of God, ”  he said,  “ throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘ He will command his angels concerning you,      and they will lift you up in their hands,      so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. ’ ” 7  Jesus answered him,  “ It is also written:  ‘ Do not put the Lord your God to the test. ’ ...