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Find our weekly updates along with cool videos, songs and Bible verses on our new Facebook page (click here) MAY 22 Laoshi Morgan taught us that our words have power - the power to be used as a weapon, OR to inspire, motivate, build people up, and be sweet to the soul like a honeycomb. Just like what we learn in kung-fu can hurt others, so can our words. BUT, just like kung-fu is also powerfully good (i.e. for exercise, flexibility, learning respect, self-control, etc.), our words can also be powerfully good (i.e. good for making someone's day more positive, showing love to someone, etc.). Since our words are very powerful and they can be used as weapons, let’s choose to put our weapons away, and not say anything at all unless our words are like a honeycomb – sweet to the soul, and used for building others up, kind and caring and help us show respect and peace to others just like Jesus. This song by Toby Mac speaks about the importance of using our words to build others up (bring life).
This song by Hawk Nelson talks about how words can build us up or tear us down so encourages us to use our words for good things. This video uses dominoes to show how one word can have ripple effects and challenges us to consider the power of one word. MAY 15
We had a very special lesson from Laoshi Catherine who taught us about Philippians 4:8 and the importance of thinking about, listening to, and practicing things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. We learned that we can add darkness into our hearts, minds, and soul's when we watch violent movies, laugh at mean jokes, listen to gossip or listen to music that has bad words. We can dilute this darkness by listening and watching good things (i.e. movies, music, etc.) instead. When we strengthen our relationship with Christ by reading the Bible, praying and engaging in activities pleasing to God, we can really start to erase the dark stuff (remember the bleach??) but God allows us to remember our mistakes so we can learn from them and empathize with others who have made mistakes. We also gave out gift certificates to a very awesome store called Gospel Lighthouse and encouraged everyone to visit the store and pick something up that will fill your mind, heart and soul with something excellent and praiseworthy. An interesting video that mirrors Laoshi Catherine's lesson and challenges us to really think about what we are filling our hearts, minds and souls with. MAY 8
We helped Laoshi Morgan get better at her push-ups. We did this by practicing push-ups. It was hard, but we learned that if we want to get better at something then we need to practice that. The same thing is true with everything that we want to get better at, even things like patience, kindness, and self-control. God will give us opportunities in life to grow these skills, and sometimes they will be hard. But, we need to be willing to trust God, and look at the hard times in our lives as opportunities to grow.
A fun song from Francesca Battistelli that reminds us sometimes God uses difficult situations in life to help us grow and become the person that He intends for us to become. This is a clip from the movie "Evan Almighty" that can help us understand how God helps us grow. MAY 1
We talked about tournaments and winning trophies. Trophies might be nice however they can easily become treasures that can be destroyed or stolen. We were reminded that we need to set our eyes on heavenly treasures that neither moths nor rust can corrupt or thieves cannot break in and steal. These treasures could include things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If we keep God at the center of our lives, we will be sure to keep our eyes on the treasure that will last for eternity. This song by Manic Drive reminds us that a life with Jesus and eternal life are worth more than all the money (and treasure) in the world.
A short video on how to store up treasures in heaven APRIL 24
We had a special lesson from Laoshi Catherine about the importance of Easter Sunday - we celebrate that Jesus, who died and was buried for our sins did not stay dead and buried in the tomb. He came to life again! He did not stay dead in the tomb. Sin separates us from God who has never sinned and is perfect. The fact that Jesus died for our sin and came back to life allows us to be friends with God. Jesus acts like a bridge to God. We cannot get to God on our own! Jesus took our punishment for the things we have done wrong. We can say we are sorry for the things we have done wrong, believe that Jesus took our punishment by dying on the cross, and have a friendship with GOD through Jesus our Risen Lord. That is what we celebrate in the Christian church at Easter. Thank-you also to our teammate, George-Anna who taught us the Easter story using jelly beans and an awesome Easter poem in the kid's class which you can read by clicking here. Hear and see the Easter Sunday story told using sand This song by the Newsboys reminds us that "God's not dead" APRIL 17
We learned why Good Friday, the day that Jesus died, is called "good" With help from the Laoshis, especially Laoshi John who ended up doing pushups to pay the consequence of everyone else's mistakes, we learned that Jesus died on the cross for our mistakes. In the Book of Genesis, we learn that Adam and Eve had a perfect relationship with God and walked and talked with him. But, they made a mistake and sin entered the world. Because God is perfect and cannot be near sin, humans were separated from God. But, God wants us to have a relationship with Him and so He sent His son, Jesus, to reunite us with God and provide a way that we can have a relationship with Him again. Jesus did this by dying on the cross - on the cross, he took all of the mistakes ('sins") of all people on himself so that we are free to speak openly and have a relationship with God - if we choose to. Jesus didn't have to die... He didn't have to be arrested, be beaten or whipped, have a crown of thornes put on his head while he was made fun of or carry a cross up a mountain. He didn't have to be nailed to the cross or die on it. He chose to because he loves us and wanted to pay the consequence of our mistakes so that we can have a relationship with God, our Father in Heaven. He loves us that much! If you would like to have a relationship with Jesus but don't know where to start, ask any of the Laoshis for help. To hear the Good Friday story, here are two really cool sand videos This song by Abandon called "Hero' reminds us that with love, he died so that we could be free This is a beautiful song, sung here by Chris Tomlin, called "Amazing Grace" APRIL 10
We had a very special lesson offered by Junior Laoshi Kevin. He reminded us about the importance of respect. He asked us to think about whether we would behave respectfully in the presence of someone important like the Queen and challenged us to behave in a similar way in front of others - employers, co-workers, teachers and everyone - because they are important too. He reminded us that being respectful involves listening, being polite and doing what has been asked without complaint. He shared a Bible verse to remind us to do everything without grumbling or arguing. APRIL 3
We learned about who our past instructors are when we bow. We talked about two instructors in particular:
We talked about how Saul persecuted Christians but then, after he met Jesus, changed his ways (and his name to Paul) and became a Christian teaching hundreds and thousands of people about Jesus. When we read Paul's letters in the Bible, he is our instructor, even now, 2000 years later. MARCH 27
We had a very special lesson presented by Laoshi Deb on one of the fruits of the Spirit - self-control. We heard a story about Nehemiah (from the book of Nehemiah in the Bible) who needed to rebuild a wall in Jerusalem. He showed self-control when people were making fun of him and the wall he was building calling it weak. Instead of getting angry and seeking revenge, he turned to God to ask for help in controlling his temper, and he continued to build the wall until it was finished. Self-control is also important in kung-fu. In kung-fu, we need to have control with our techniques which means we need to practice self-control. MARCH 20
We had a very special lesson written by Laoshi Megan and presented by Laoshi John. They taught us a few tips for what to pray for when we are not sure where to start, using....our hand!
A short video on the 5 finger prayer MARCH 13
We reviewed some of our past lessons on:
And, we reviewed the meaning of some of our techniques:
And, we reviewed some of the terms we use in kung-fu:
More videos and songs about our past lessons, click here MARCH 6
We learned that we need to be patient in kung-fu or else we might miss out on learning some new techniques. We also learned that we need to be patient in our lives and in our faith, or we might miss out on some great blessings that God has planned for us. King Saul had a great kingdom, but it did not endure because he was impatient and did not wait for Samuel to bless his army. This is a great song that remind us to be patient and wait for God - it is Him who gives us strength FEBRUARY 27
We learned that we are in a war, and that God has given us a full set of armor to protect ourselves in this war. - The Breastplate of righteousness - The Belt of truth - The Shoes of the gospel of peace - The Shield of faith - The Helmet of salvation - and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God If we choose to put on our armor, we need to put it on every day, and we do this by putting our trust in God. The Lord make us strong, and we can depend on His mighty Power. Ephesians 6:10-18 in video form FEBRUARY 13
We learned that our uniforms give us power! We are now ambassadors for the club so our actions reflect on our classmates and the club BUT Just like Spider-Man says, "with great power comes great responsibility" (thanks Spider-Man)..... So, if our actions reflect on our classmates and the club, we need to represent the club well and show everyone love and kindness (even if we don't think we need to or should have to) The Bible also tells us that Christians are ambassadors for Christ This means that we need to represent Christ well in our daily lives and show love and kindness to everyone For some great videos, click here and scroll to November 14
FEBRUARY 6
We learned that each of us have things that cause us to "stumble" and do things we shouldn't Sometimes, it is best to get rid of the things that cause us to stumble
JANUARY 30
We learned the secret to becoming a black belt.....failing over and over again (just like Michael Jordan) But we also talked about what to do when we fail. We learned that we need to:
Even people in the Bible failed and we learned that through the story of Peter. Even though Peter denied he knew Jesus (3 times!), he asked for forgiveness, learned from his mistakes and never denied knowing Jesus again. This story shows us that even though we make mistakes, Jesus loves us anyway! "Don't you let go when it gets harder, we get back up and do it again" - a very catchy dance song about overcoming failure by Christian artist Shonlock A short video on how to handle failure and how to use failures as a "catalyst for growth" JANUARY 23 We learned about thankfulness. There are many people that we need to be thankful for who have allowed us to be able to train.
We say thank-you when we bow. We can also thank God for our other blessings that He has given us like:
We learned about thankfulness through the story of Jesus who heals the 10 men with leprosy.... A short but inspirational video on different things to be thankful for and why JANUARY 16
We learned that we should love our neighbours. Our neighbour can be anyone:
We can show love to them by helping them. We can:
We also gave everyone a challenge to put what we learned into practice and to help someone this week. Bring in your slips so we can show others how we can help people!! A great song asking us to think about how helping others connects us to them An interesting article on what is involved in loving your neighbour as yourself JANUARY 9
Last week, we welcomed all of our new teammates to the club! And, with the help of Christian, Rachel and Kevin, we reviewed some of our first lessons........(read more) DECEMBER 19 We learned that there are some pieces of the Christmas story that are the opposite of what we might have expected but this is what makes them perfect........(read more) DECEMBER 12 We learned the reason for gifts is to show someone that we care about them and to make them happy. BUT We learned that gifts don't always have to cost anything -- it is the small things we do for others throughout the whole year, not just at Christmas, that can make them happy..........(read more) DECEMBER 5 Laoshi Catherine offered us a very special lesson on generosity. She told us the story of when Zacchaeus met Jesus and of the generosity of both of them......(read more) NOVEMBER 28
Last week, we learned that even though we normally think of kung-fu as an individual sport, it should also be thought about as a team sport...when we come together during classes and train together, we are actually one giant team.......... (read more) NOVEMBER 21
Laoshi Deb offered a very special presentation! Laoshi Deb told us the story of Abigail, David, and Nabal which shows how a "gentle word can turn away anger" (see Proverbs 15:1) In this story: .......(read more) NOVEMBER 14
We learned that our uniforms give us power! We are now ambassadors for the club so our actions reflect on our classmates and the club BUT This is a huge responsibility.........(read more) NOVEMBER 7
We learned that even though things don't always go as we plan, we can find joy in all circumstances......(read more) OCTOBER 31
We had a fun class where we
OCTOBER 17
We learned about the importance of a firm foundation in kung-fu and in life.......(read more) OCTOBER 10
We learned about the most important quality that Sifus used to look for in a student before deciding to train them: respect.....(read more) OCTOBER 3 We learned about:
SEPTEMBER 26
We learned about:
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Listen to Sifu Alan's favourite radio station
Here is a great song recommended by one of our students!!!
Thank-you!! Let us know if you have other songs, stories or videos to share! |
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