It's a great second day at Game Day Central! Click here for today's photos. Were you interviewed by the reporters at Channel 5½? Click here for today's video highlights to find out!

Today's Lesson

Today we were front-row participants to the popular new daytime talk show, "Don!". Don interviews a guest and then the audience helps to decide if the celebrity is or isn't a hero. Today's guest was John the Baptist.

John was a wild looking man who lived most of his life in the desert. He dressed funny and ate weird things. He was a messenger for God. He was to tell everybody to do good and get ready for the Messiah who was soon to come. When Jesus did come, he said he was the Messiah and baptized John in the river.

When Don asked John questions, he kept saying that he was not the Messiah-he wasn't a star or a hero. He didn't worry about getting attention. He just wanted everyone to focus on Jesus, the Son of God.

We decided he was a strange kind of hero-no #1, but God used him in a powerful way to help people be ready for Jesus. We also decided that it was OK not be the star. What's important is to do what God wants and to keep our attention on Jesus.

Memory Verse

4's, 5's & K... "Please God in everything you do." Colosians 3:17

1st thru 6th... "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." Colossians 3:17

Meet My Class

Today's classes of the day are the 4th graders and the Kindergartners!

Liz Dale and Janice Langford's 4th grade class started the day worshiping in song with friends. We smiled pretty for our class pictures today and had tons of fun playing "knee" ball outside with Mike and Kyle. We met John the Baptist today in drama, and then went back to our class and looked in our Bible at the books of Luke and John where he testified about Jesus. We know that we need to be on God's team and follow His plan. We have a super class cheer-everybody knows when we're in the building! We are looking forward to a wonderful Wednesday!

Kelly Guerra and Loma Schafer's K's class-the "Proclaimers"-started the day singing songs and learning about John the Baptist. We discovered the importance of putting others first and obeying. Life is so much easier when we obey and focus our lives around God's word. We played volleyball in our home room, had our pictures taken, and learned from our missionary that God has a specific plan for each one of us. We finished our day with snacks and singing. Overall, we had a great day!

Recreation

Today was another outstanding day in recreation! The 1st thru 6th graders did "Advanced Squeeze and Run" and "Kneeball". Advanced Squeeze and Run is played by athletes taking a sponge from one bucket, running to another bucket across the field and squeezing the water out into it. Then they run back and the next person does the same thing. In Kneeball, athletes are divided into two teams and put on either side of the net. The teams then play volleyball on their knees. The 4's, 5's, and K's classes played "Hoola-Hoop Tag". Hoola-Hoop Tag is played with one tagger and hoola-hoops spread out on the field. The athletes are then given colors and when a coach calls a color, those athletes must run to a different hoop without getting tagged. If an athlete is tagged, then he/she also becomes a tagger.

Crafts

We all love to have pictures of our heroes, whether they're on baseball cards or posters we hang in our rooms. Today during craft time, we took individual and group pictures of the heroes that are coming to VBS this week! Each of us is a hero just by living out our faith and trusting God. The pennants we made yesterday have a special spot to hold our pictures. We can't wait to see how great all of our heroes look in the pictures!

Missionary

Shawn Keith was back for another great day. We shifted the focus from "Joining the Team" to "Playing Your Position". Shawn was able to share that not everyone is called to a full time ministry, but we all have a plan and purpose and can be a missionary in our own backyards. We all have a role to play and the Lord will reveal this if we seek Him and His guidance. This could be as simple as inviting a neighbor or friend to VBS, playing the role of a "missionary" by bringing friends to hear the good news of the Gospel.

We also watched a DVD about the Boston Red Sox that showed how different players on the same team can play different yet equally important roles. One player was mainly on the bench, yet he stayed physically, mentally, and spiritually prepared. He knew his role and he was ready to go when called upon. Another player was the star of the team, and it took a very bad game and then a crucial injury to show him that the Lord has a plan and purpose in his life, even within the game. This gave him the opportunity to give the Lord the praise and credit on national TV.

Totals!

We have had an exciting day at VBS! The athletes have been having fun and learning a lot. We have even heard cheers throughout the halls! We broke yesterday's attendance with 234 kids and 114 staff members! And we added $196.25 to yesterday's offering, with a grand total so far of $275.80!

The 3rd grade "Encouragers" won today for bringing the most friends. They had 3 in their class! The 5th grade "Overcomers" won for bringing the most bibles-10 bibles out of 14 athletes! The "Proclaimers", our Kindergarten class, won for having the most offering, with $39.68. And finally, the "Redeemers", one of our 4th grade classes, won the Spirit/Attitude award. You should hear their cheer-great job working as a team!

Remember to check out today's pictures and video highlights. Leave a note on the VBS Guestbook or send a photo postcard to invite a friend! Tomorrow's spirit day is Team Jersey Day. We'll see you then!