​The albatross is a special kind of bird that lives near the ocean.  Mommy and daddy albatross work very hard together to make sure baby chick stays warm and has food.  In fact, mommy and daddy albatross take turns sitting on the egg and covering the chick, while the other one goes in search of food.  They will even travel very very far to find food to bring back to the family.  

The Bible says in 1 Kings 8:61, "Let your heart therefore be loyal to the Lord our God, to walk in His statutes and keep Him Commandments."  God wants us to be loyal to Him, like mommy and daddy albatross are loyal to taking care of their family.  Our Bible story is about a woman named Ruth who sacrificed a better lifestyle, so she could take care of her mother-in-law.

Memory Mastery: God's Special Book
We are starting a new memory mastery project today called God's Special Book.  We will learn about God's special book the Bible - who wrote it, what it's about, and how it is organized.  You can listen right here to learn more about it.  Children who can answer key questions about God's special book will receive some real sheep's wool to add to their Bible artifact collection.

Mission Mail: Most Important Day
Dear Patterson Kids,
My name is Hadassah, and I am 12 years old.  On January 8 of this year, I was baptized.  It was the most important day in my life.
Do you know what baptism is?  It's when you tell everyone that you want to dedicate your whole life to Jesus.  You go under the water to remember that He died for your sins, and you come out of the water to live a new life with the power of the Holy Spirit.  I studied the Bible first to make sure I understood baptism well, first.  But even though I was young, I knew I could still make that decision to follow Jesus.  And I did.  
I hope you experience that most important day for yourself some day.
Sincerely,
Hadassah

Bible Story: Faithful Ruth
References: Book of Ruth

During the time of the Judges, Elimelech's family of the tribe of Judah decided to live in Moab for a time because there was food in Moab and not enough in Judah.  Elimelech left his hometown of Bethlehem along with his wife Naomi and two sons Mahlon and Chilion.  

​While in Moab, Elimelech died.  Mahlon and Chilion married moabite women, Orpah and Ruth.  Then Mahlon and Chilion died, too.  All the women in the family - Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth - were very sad.  Naomi decided she would return to the Bethlehem.  She told Orpah and Ruth to stay in Moab and start their lives over.  Orpah decided to stay in Moab, but Ruth refused.  Ruth decided to go to Israel with Naomi.  

​Back in Bethlehem, Naomi and Ruth were very poor.  Naomi was too old to work, so Ruth went to look for food.  God had a rule in the Bible that people who owned fields were not to harvest the corners or go back and look for crops they missed.  Instead, they were to allow the poor and strangers to gather whatever was leftover.  Ruth decided to glean wheat from the fields of a rich man named Boaz who was a distant relative of Naomi's dead husband.  Everyone around admired how hard Ruth worked to take care of her mother-in-law.  Even Boaz noticed and made sure Ruth found plenty of food to take back home.

​One day, Naomi told Ruth that Boaz would make a good husband for her.  Naomi sent Ruth to visit Boaz to talk about marriage.  Boaz was so excited, he met with the men in the town to buy back Naomi's land and earn the right to marry Ruth.    Soon, Boaz and Ruth were married, and God gave them a baby named Obed.  Obed was Jesse's father.  Jesse was King David's father.  God told David that Jesus would be born from his family!  Ruth was such a good family helper.  Do you like to help your family?  

​Our prayer verse is Ruth 1:16.  It says, "Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God."  Ruth gave up her people and their religion to belong to Naomi's family and follow the true God of heaven.  Let's pray.

Dear Father God, Help my whole family serve You as God.  Please help me be a good helper in my family, like Ruth.  In Jesus' Name, Amen

​Spiders catch bugs in their webs that they will eat.  In order to catch a bug, a spider builds a web made of sticky thread.  Webs have all kinds of interesting designs.  When a bug flies into the web, the spider quickly wraps it up in more thread till the bug cannot move.  It later eats it.  The Bible says in Proverbs 5:22, "The wicked man...is caught in the cords of his sin."  Did you know it is dangerous to play with sin?  It's like flying into a spider's web.  You may think you can later change, but it gets harder and harder the longer we continue in sin.  Next time, you are tempted to do something you know is wrong?  Ask God for help to obey and do what is right.  He will always help you right away.

Memory Mastery: Creation Week
Our little presentation for the church got postponed another week, so we all have one more week to practice our creation week story.  Children who know it can recite it to me individually, and I will give them a Bible gem or mineral to add to their Bible artifact collection.

Mission Mail: Happy and Sad
Dear Patterson Kids,
My name is Alice, and I am 14 years old.  I live in Romania.
Sometimes I like to go door to door to sell Bible story books.  Visiting people makes me happy, but when people show no interest, I get a little sad.  
Last year, I decided to study to get baptized.  I thought I wasn't ready, but God showed me that He will finish the good work He starts in me.  I just have to give my heart fully to Him.
I hope you decide to get baptized someday.
Sincerely,
Alice

Bible Story: Samson
References: Judges 13-16; PP 560-568
​
During the time of the Judges, the Israelites went back and forth between serving God and serving idols.  God allowed the Philistines to bother them for many years.    The Philistines worshiped idols.

Manoah and his wife were from the tribe of Dan.  The Angel of the Lord told Manoah's wife that she would have a special baby who would save the Israelites from their enemies the Philistines.  The Angel of the Lord also told her that she should never drink alcohol and to not cut his hair because he would be a Nazarite.  The baby's name was Samson.  

Samson grew up to be a strong, strong man.  But, he was also a weak man.  He liked to hang out with the Philistine women.  One woman Samson loved was named Delilah.  She wanted to trick Samson.  She begged him to reveal to her why he was so strong, so the Philistines could defeat Samson.  Samson loved Delilah more than he wanted to obey God.  He told her his life-long secret of strength.  "A razor has never touched my head because I have been dedicated to God since I was born.  My hair is the sign of my strength."  

That night, Delilah had a man cut off all of Samson's hair.  She said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!"  But, Samson was not strong anymore.  He could not fight the Philistines.  They made him their prisoner.  Slowly his hair grew back.

One day, the Philistines had a big celebration for their god.  They brought Samson out to make fun of him and to show how weak God is.  Samson prayed to God, "Please restore my strength just this once, so that I can avenge myself on the Philistines."  God accepted Samson's prayer and gave him the strength he needed to bring the whole temple down when he pushed on the two big temple pillars.  Many Philistines died with Samson that day.

Our prayer verse is "The wicked man...is caught in the cords of his sin." Proverbs 5:22.  Samson liked to hang out with the wicked Philistines, and suffered for it.  We must choose our close friends very carefully.

Dear Father God,
Help me obey my parents and choose good friends, so I don't get caught in the cords of sin, like Samson.  
​In Jesus' Name,
​Amen