Brite Monthly – October 2023

This month’s biblical theme is:

Promised Land, Judges, & Kings

After many hard-fought battles, God allowed His people to enter the Promised Land. However, they did not remain faithful to Him. The Israelites would turn away from God, and He would allow them to be overtaken by an enemy. They would cry out to Him, then He would raise up a judge to rescue them. This pattern continued for hundreds of years until the Israelites demanded a king. Throughout all of the hardship they created for themselves, God showed them repeatedly that He was the one true God, worthy of their worship.

The Sun Stood Still: When Joshua was fighting the enemy, he asked God to make the sun stand still to give them more time for victory. God answered Joshua’s prayer. The Israelites won and were able to enter the land God had promised long ago.

Deborah: Deborah was a judge in Israel. Israel had been taken over by the enemy. Deborah and Barak led an attack, and the commander of the enemy army was killed in an unsuspected way. The Lord was victorious.

Eli, Hannah, and Samuel: Hannah could not have a baby. She prayed to God and He answered her. She brought her son, Samuel, to live and serve in the temple with Eli. The Lord spoke to Samuel during the night and revealed terrible things Eli’s sons were doing. God cared for Hannah and for the people of Israel.

David and Jonathan: Saul was still the king of Israel, but God had chosen David to replace him. Saul’s son Jonathan and David became best friends. Saul grew very jealous of David and tried to kill him. Jonathan put God’s plan first and protected David.

Elijah on Mount Carmel: Elijah challenged the evil king, Ahab, to send the prophets of Baal to Mount Carmel to have a “god contest.” The prophets would try to call down fire on their sacrifice and Elijah would do the same. Only the Lord responded, because He is the one, true God.

This month’s Unit Title is: Sugar Rush

In this month’s intro videos, two cousins have begun their own candy business and livestream their progress. Decor for this unit can include bright colors and lots of candy, of course.

Check out our Pinterest board for more ideas! https://www.pinterest.com/britecurriculum/sugar-rush/

This month’s Leader Training Topic is:
Reducing Behaviors that Distract or Derail the Group

If you asked a handful of leaders what they find most challenging about leading a group of kids, the answer would likely be dealing with difficult behaviors. These behaviors can derail group conversations and activities as well as distract from the reason the group has gathered in the first place—to learn together about who God is and respond to His loving invitation to be in relationship with Him.

As a leader, you will no doubt be confronted with difficult behaviors along the way, and it is important to respond in ways that are helpful, consistent, and kind. As you do so, you model God’s heart for the kids. God is gracious and patient with each one of us, and God is faithfully at work to grow us and transform our hearts. We can trust God’s work in the lives of those that we lead, and we can partner with Him to both love kids where they are at, and encourage their growth. As a leader, the work that you do to this end does not take away from the content of each gathering, but rather can be recognized as an important element of your time together. This month, we’ll take a look at ways to proactively set behavior expectations for the good of the group, and to respond to unhelpful behaviors that will likely surface along the way.

Throughout the month, we’ll explore the following topics:
  • Week 1 – Communicate Clear Expectations
  • Week 2 – Seek to Understand
  • Week 3 – Invite Participation
  • Week 4 – Get Creative
  • Week 5 – Ask for Help
Teaching kids about the gospel:

The gospel is the good news. God wants everyone to know this good news and to not miss out on this invitation!

Here’s the gospel in four main words: God, Us, Jesus, Trust.

God

God is a loving God who is all-powerful and holy. He knows and sees everything, and rules over everything. God created all people in His image, and we are valuable to Him.

Us

But we have sinned, and our sin separates us from God. What is sin? Sin is anything we think, say, or do that disobeys God. The penalty for sin is death and separation from God forever.

Jesus

But because God loves us so much, He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty for our sin. Jesus died in our place. But He did not stay dead—He rose again three days later. Because of Jesus, we no longer have to be separated from God and we are offered the free gift of eternal life!

Trust

God gives salvation, rescuing us from our sin, to everyone who places their trust in Jesus as their Savior. What is trust? It means that we rely on what Jesus did. You cannot be saved from sin by doing good things, but only through what Jesus did for you.