DAILY READING Exodus 1:8-11 REFLECTION Culture Clash By Pam Mann One Sunday morning in our Kids’ Church small group, we were reading in Exodus 1 about how the Israelites lived in Egypt over 400 years and the new king was not at all friendly toward the Israelites. One incredulous third grader said, “What? After 400 years, they wouldn’t be Israelites anymore. They’d be Egyptians!” Huh. I don’t think I’d ever had that thought about this passage. Living in the U.S., it makes sense to think that...

DAILY READING Psalm 130 REFLECTION Are We There Yet? By Pam Mann "Are we there yet?" I asked this question a lot as a child on family car trips. Those long car trips seemed to take forever. My parents would say that we’re going to drive X number of hours on this trip. I would try to calculate how many “I Love Lucy” shows it would take to equal that amount of time. Of course, now, kids can actually watch shows as their family SUV zips down the interstate highway. I’m not great at waiting. I...

DAILY READING Revelation 5:11-14 REFLECTION Worthy is the Lamb! By Pam Mann As a child, I was taught that every Sunday worship service is practice for what every creature will do at the end of time. Our life is richer now, Mrs. K, the children’s choir director would explain, because we can taste-test the wonder of heavenly praise when we worship God in church. As an adult, I lived some years in west Africa. One Sunday morning, as I was leaving the church building with the dismissal of the...