Peaceful Valley Church is a Bible believing church and those of us who belong see ourselves as family.  We are a light on the hill and it’s our goal to expose people to God’s great love for us and God’s Word the Bible.

The Bible is a manual filled with life instruction from a heavenly Father who created us and loves us and knows what is best for us.

Why do we have AWANA at Peaceful Valley Church?  We run the program because it helps us to accomplish our purpose of showing children God’s love and teaching them God’s truth.

We live in a world where our children are exposed to a lot of unhealthy influences, ideas, values  and beliefs.  AWANA is a program built on biblical principles with a biblical world-view that helps our children to discern the difference between what is true and what is a lie.

The truth is that God created us to have a relationship with him.  But that relationship with Him was severed by sin.  And the consequence of sin is separation from God.  The problem is that while we were created by God to be with God we rebelled and sinned which built a wall between us that could only be torn down by a perfect sacrifice.  God provided a solution to this problem by sending His Son Jesus.

Jesus came to earth to die as that perfect sacrifice.  The Bible says, For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. 1 Peter 3:18 (NIV)

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. 1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)

The following five verses will help to clarify our condition before Christ, the solution to the problem of separation from God and how you can respond if you want to start a relationship with God:

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23 (NIV)

1.  we are all sinners- none of us is perfect.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (NIV)

2.  We deserve death- eternal separation from God- but…

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 (NIV)

3.  Even though we rebelled against God he sent his Son to die as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  The sin of mankind has been paid for but we each must accept God’s free gift of salvation.

That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)

4.  As it says in the verse above- if you want to begin a relationship with God believe the claims of the Bible and ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.

God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them including you and me.  He loves you and me and has made a relationship with him possible by the death of His Son, Jesus Christ.  The Bible says that everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus is saved and that’s where life begins.

AWANA is important because our kids are important.  God has given parents the privilege of children and the responsibility of raising them to know about God and how God expects us to live.  We are a light on the hill exposing people to God’s love and His truth- AWANA is a tool that we use to do just that.

The theme verse for AWANA is 2 Timothy 2:15 which says…

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

AWANA is a great children’s ministry teaching biblical principles that when applied help our kids to live the kind of lives that God intends.

Thank you for allowing us to spend time with the kids and thank God for the many leaders that make this ministry possible here at Peaceful Valley Church.

Sunday was a great day!  Our Sunday services were full of wonderful people.  Pam and I had an open house and many came to celebrate all that God has provided and done.  The house will always be a testimony of the love and generosity of God’s people.  He has blessed us greatly through many of you and we are truly grateful.  Sunday was a great day, but that’s not all.

At about 8 PM I received a phone call.  From the caller ID it appeared to be Jeff, a dear friend and brother in the Lord.  I answered, “Hello, this is Jim.”  But the voice on the other end wasn’t Jeff’s.  The voice was much younger and replied, “Hello Pastor Jim, this is Mathew.”  Mathew is seven years old.  “Hello Mathew,” I said, “How are you?”  He said that he called because he had some news.  He explained that he had prayed to ask Jesus to be his Lord and Savior and that he wanted to be baptized.  Sunday was a great day and the good news of Mathew’s salvation made it one of the best ever!  There is no better news than that someone has come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Praise God!

There are many lessons we can glean from this short phone call:  How God uses loving families to lead children to Christ; the importance of affirming our children’s salvation by sharing the good news; The joy that accompanies the testimony of a new believer; one of the greatest blessings realized in the life of a pastor; the start of something big for the Kingdom of God and the list goes on.

I am thankful for the many blessings God has bestowed on me- but phone calls and testimonies like these rank among the highest.  We are building the Kingdom of God together- to Him be all glory forever and ever, amen.

Pray for young Mathew- and praise God for his salvation,

Love in Christ,

Pastor Jim