Kids overcome peer pressure: Honor God with your choices for toddlers, kindergartners, primary

Welcome back to Graceville, where God's love is everywhere. It's me! Pastor Anastasia and I'm so super duper excited that you've joined me today as we learn more about our best friend Jesus. Today's special feature comes to us all the way from Kenya where my friend Alexine has prepared a beautiful song just for us. Let's listen in! Thanks Alexine, that was amazing! Boys and girls, remember if you want to share your gifts and talents with Jesus please ask your parents or guardians to inbox me There you are, just in time to meet my friend Butter the beautiful butterfly and she's so excited. This is her favorite time at Graceville. Yes, I know, she says she loves learning about God's creation with our friend Ryan from Canada. Yes, you're right. And she says it's a special treat because you never know who or what we're going to meet. So, come along with us. Hey Butter, wait up! Hello boys and girls and welcome back to Nature Time at Graceville. Today we're going to be talking about rainbow lorikeets. Let's tune in. Rainbow lorikeets are part of the parrot species. They can be found in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Eastern Indonesia, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia. Rainbow lorikeets are known for their vibrant colors. They are also known for being friendly and loud. The tip of their tongues are like delicate little brushes. They help them to drink nectar and eat pollen from colorful flowers. Nectar gives them energy and pollen helps keep their feathers healthy and strong. They may also eat fruit and small insects. Lorikeets are very social birds. They are usually seen in big flocks and are hardly ever seen alone. Their average lifespan is 7 to 9 years but they can live up to 20 years. When they find a mate, they stay together for life. In Australia, lorikeets have been spotted eating minced meat and other foods. This is because people leave human food in public places to feed birds. This food can damage their delicate tongue and experts are also worried that it could hurt their organs. In the same way, we ought to be careful about the things that we put into our minds, what we watch, what we listen to, and even where we go. Washington 3-2 says, set your mind on things above and not on earthy things. Bye boys and girls. Thanks for tuning in. See you next time. Bye Butter, see you next time. Well, we're right on schedule to check in on Melissa. I wonder how her week went. Let's check in. Hey Pastor Nastasia, I'm glad you're here. I'm under a lot of pressure. Pressure? That doesn't sound good. I know it's messed up, but I want to join the cool girls group at school. But apparently, I can't join unless I pick on someone less popular in school. Hmm, I didn't know better. It sounds like they want you to become a bully. And that's exactly what I don't want to do. If forgetting who you are as a Christian is what's required to fit in, I say no way. It's better for you to stand up and stand out for Jesus. God loves it when we honor Him in our choices. Wait a minute. That reminds me of our theme for this week, which simply says, always honor God. Let me hear my friend, Zay, say it. Hey, it's me, Zay. Always honor God. And our memory verse is found in 1 Corinthians 10 verse 31. And it simply says, Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. Let me hear my friend, Andre, say it. Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10 verse 31. Great job, everyone! The truth is, I know it's wrong, but being with the cool kids has so many benefits. What good are benefits if they don't come with a blessing? When we choose to honor God by doing what's right, He blesses us beyond anything we could ever imagine. That's exactly what happened to the two Hebrew midwives when they chose not to harm Hebrew babies even though Pharaoh was pressuring them to. Can you guess what today's story is about? Hmm, well, that's a hard one, Pastor Anastasia. Wait, what was it again? Two midwives? Hebrew babies? Hmm, let me check my Bible. Oh, it's about Shiphrah and Purah. That's right, my friends. Today's story is about Shiphrah and Purah. After the death of Joseph, a cruel Pharaoh rose. He hated the way the Israelites had grown in numbers and became a great people. So, he devised an evil plan to get rid of them. He commanded the Hebrew midwives not to allow any baby boys born to live. Understanding that disobeying Pharaoh could mean being put to death, Shiphrah and Purah determined to be faithful to God. Thanks to their willingness to stand up for what's right, many Hebrew babies were saved. And because of their faithfulness, God blessed them in many ways, including with children of their own. Wowzers! That story made me realize that I don't need to be in with the schoolgirls. I don't think God wants me to hurt others to get ahead. Now you're tracking. So, no matter what pressure you may be under, remember to honor God with your choices.