Our current sermon series, Life after Death- what you can know for sure about life after death, concludes tomorrow as we look at heaven- is it a real place or just a state of mind? 
For those who would like to read further, I have listed below some books and reference materials that you might like to read. They are all available from our online bookstore.


The Heaven Answer Book
By: Billy Graham

One Minute After You Die By: Erwin W. Lutzer 
Available also as an e-book

One Minute After You Die, DVD: 8 Transforming Teachings on Eternity
By: Erwin W. Lutzer  (Lutzer is good- a worthwhile series.)
One Minute After You Die, Package of 25 Tracts
By: Erwin W. Lutzer

Life After Death: The Evidence
By: Dinesh D'Souza   (This is a very recent book by a careful writer.)

Heaven: Better By Far
By: J. Oswald Sanders   (Always worth reading.)

A Place Called Heaven
By: E.M. Bounds

CATCHING A GLIMPSE OF HEAVEN by E.M.Bounds 
Also published under the title: HEAVEN, A place, a city, a home. 
(Good non-technical coverage.)

The world's attention, this week, has been firmly focussed on London and the inspirational stories of Olympic victories;  the triumph, and sometimes the despair, of athletes as they strive to overcome personal hurdles and challenges. This international event opens up wonderful opportunities for discussion with your children and I've included some suggestions below. Remember that other helpful articles and ideas are regularly added to our TweedKids website (and Facebook page).

 Faithfulness: Watch the Olympic events together, and talk about athletes that are faithful to God. Share the stories of some of the Christian athletes. Look for more stories at: http://beyondtheultimate.org

Sanya Richards-Ross, a Christian athlete who may be the fastest female runner in the world, is representing the United States for a second time in the 2012 Olympics. Sanya became a Christian when she was 12 years old. She desires to be faithful to God and she recently committed to reading through the entire Bible. One verse she says frequently to herself is, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13).
     
She says that her faith encourages her to give her best. She says, "I know that my talent is God's gift to me, and how I use it is my gift to Him."
 Ask:  What do you think athletes need to do to compete in the Olympics? (Talent, work hard, and to stick with it even when they don't feel like it)
 Many Olympic athletes practice all day every day so they will be ready to compete. They give their best to win a medal.  Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.
 Why do athletes run or compete? (To get a prize that will eventually fade away)
 What qualities do athletes need to win? (Self-control, determination, willingness to practice and work hard, etc.)
 What do we need as we live for Jesus? (Self-control, determination to do what is right, faithfulness to follow Him, etc.)
 Paul says we should run the Christian life with the same determination and self-control an athlete has when he or she competes for a medal that fades away. We will receive a reward from God some day if we are faithful to do what He has asked us to do. 

from  SPLINK resources - HOME CONNECTION

The book, 'Heaven is for Real- a boy's astonishing story of his trip to heaven and back,' has become widely read. It's been described as 'a beautifully written glimpse into heaven that will encourage those who doubt and thrill those who believe.'
Yet how much harder to deal with the reality of 'hell'. Over the past few weeks, we have been confronting this issue in my current sermon series, 'Life after Death' and I have included here an article that you may find helpful.

Last Sunday, we held a special family service and took the opportunity to highlight the important role of our community emergency services and show them our heart-felt appreciation for their work and dedication. 

The service concluded with a BBQ and special activities for the kids. The highlight for them all seemed to be a trip in the ambulance, siren blaring. (We have posted photos of this special event on our Facebook page so take a few moments to check them out.)

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