Vertical Kids

08/09/2025

03/02/2025

Jesus did a lot of His teaching in parables. A parable is a short story that gives us a picture of who God is and how He wants us to live our lives. He once told a parable about two men who each decided to build a home. One built on a rock while the other built on sand. When a storm ripped through, the house built on sand crumbled because the foundation was weak. But the house built on the rock stood. Jesus’ point is that what we build our life on matters. If we build it on the firm foundation of who God is and what He has done, we’ll have His strength to endure the hard times. But if we build it on anything but Him, our foundation will be weak and we won’t be able to endure.

Here is a snapshot of the lesson details from this past weekend!

Bible Story: Parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders
Big Idea: God’s Word provides a solid foundation for us to build our lives on.
Memory Verse: “So then, everyone who hears by words and puts them into practice is like a wise man. He builds his house on the rock.” Matthew 7:24 (NIrV)

02/23/2025

Our elementary friends learned that the Pharisees were the religious leaders of Jesus’ day. They were zealous about obedience to God—which was good! But they had a problem. Their behavior didn’t match their hearts. That is, they weren’t obedient for the right reasons, and Jesus called them out on it. God wanted their good deeds to flow out of grateful hearts. He wants the same for us.

Here is a snapshot of the lesson details:

Bible Story: Jesus and the Pharisees
Big Idea: Jesus wants us to be pure in heart, not just pretenders.
Memory Verse: “God, create a pure heart in me. Give me a new spirit that is faithful to you.” Psalm 51:10 (NIrV)

I’m praying that this week, God will create in me a pure heart and give me a faithful spirit so that what I do aligns with who I am. I’m praying the same for you!!

02/16/2025

Jesus had a lot to say about those who are quick to criticize others without looking at their own faults first. He said doing so is like trying to remove a speck of sawdust from your friend’s eye when you’ve got a plank of wood sticking out of your own. That would be crazy, right? That’s exactly Jesus’ point. It is crazy! This week in elementary we learned to deal with our sin before addressing it in others.

Here is a snapshot of the lesson details:

Bible Story: Do Not Judge Others
Big Idea: Jesus wants us to think about our own mistakes before pointing out others.
Memory Verse: “First, take the piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you will be able to see clearly to take the bit of sawdust out of your friend’s eye.” Matthew 7:5 (NIrV)

02/10/2025

When are 2 coins more than 1,000 coins? When Jesus is counting! This weekend, our preschoolers heard the story of the poor widow and her two coins. They discovered that Jesus wants us to give.

02/10/2025

Jesus had so many amazing encounters with ordinary men and women. Take the woman at the well, for example. She was decidedly ordinary, but Jesus met her right where she was. He spoke the truth about her past and offered her grace in the present. He does the same for us. He doesn’t pretend we haven’t sinned. He doesn’t overlook our faults. Instead, He offers to graciously take them upon Himself and graciously gives us a life with Him now and into eternity.

Here is a snapshot of what we talked about this past weekend in elementary!

Bible Story: The Woman at the Well
Big Idea: God’s love is greater than our sin, so we can go to Him for forgiveness.
Memory Verse: “But here is how God showed His love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 (NIrV)

02/02/2025

Hey, Preschool parents, guess what.
A new preschool unit began this weekend.

During the “Guess What” series, the storyteller will act out some simple scenes from the Bible, and then the preschool kids will guess what’s happening. As the guessing goes on, the Bible story will come to life. All the while, kids will learn about the gift of giving and the forever love of Jesus.

Our lesson this weekend was Lunch for a Bunch.
Table for 5,000, please! This week, preschoolers heard the story of Jesus feeding 5,000 people.

02/02/2025

Hi, elementary parents!

In the Ancient Near East, fishermen were low on the socioeconomic totem pole. They weren’t particularly educated, and they didn’t make a lot of money. Yet the first disciples Jesus called were fishermen. That was kind of a pattern for Jesus. He chose really ordinary people to be His disciples – and through them, He changed the entire course of human history.

Here is a snapshot of the lesson details for this week:

Bible Story: Jesus Calls His Disciples
Big Idea: Jesus calls ordinary people like us to follow Him.
Memory Verse: “‘Come and follow me,’ Jesus said. ‘I will send you out to fish for people.’”
Mark 1:7 (NIrV)

08/25/2024

W E E K 4
We wrap up the month in Romans 12:2. Paul was writing
a letter to the Romans in which he encouraged them to
“let [their] way of thinking be completely changed.” Paul
wanted to remind the believers that God could continually
change the way they thought, which would allow them to
focus on God’s plan. When we spend time talking to God,
learning from Scripture, and listening to others who follow
God, we’ll be able to figure out what God wants to do in
our lives.

Bottom Line: Never stop growing in wisdom. Wisdom
isn’t something that we find one time and then we’re
done. It’s a continuous learning process that we’ll
encounter for the rest of our lives. As we gain knowledge,
we should want to gain God’s wisdom too. It’s not enough
just to know something. We have to do something with
what we know in order for it to make a difference.

08/18/2024

W E E K 3
For week 3, we head to 2 Chronicles 10. King Solomon’s
son, Rehoboam, was now king, and the people came
to ask him to lighten their workload. However, when
presented with the opportunity to gain the people’s trust,
King Rehoboam sought out wise counsel . . . and unwise
counsel. Unfortunately, Rehoboam chose to listen to his
unwise friends, which led to catastrophic consequences
for him and for God’s people.

Bottom Line: Hang out with wise people. There’s a
famous saying: “Show me your friends and I’ll show you
your future.” The people we allow into our lives have the
power to influence us, both positively and negatively. That
doesn’t mean we should cast people off and ignore them,
but it does mean that we need to be aware of who we let
speak into our lives and our situation. If we spend time
with wise people, then we know it’ll be worth it in the end.