SUNDAY PRAISE

 Good morning, friends!  Happy Sunday.  I am coming to you early this week so I don't know how many kids I will have in Sunday School.  I am hoping about four but we will see.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of having lunch with my former pastor, his wife and two of his daughters.  It was so fun to see them all again and have the delicious lunch that his daughter Karen prepared.  She has just moved into an apartment at Salem Harbor, a complex on the Delaware River not far from where I live.  The apartment was beautiful, but so much smaller than what I am used to.

While we were there Joe and I took a tour of the sample apartments.  As I said the one bedroom one was small.  But great for someone who doesn't need a lot of room.  The two bedroom one is something I could live with.  There was a large living room, very small dining room with a balcony, open kitchen with new appliances and a pantry, a large linen closet, a small bathroom with a washer and dryer, then you go down a hallway and there are two large bedrooms.  

There are no apartments available right now, but Joe and I put in our names on a waiting list and if something opens up they will call us.  This is something we have thought about for several years.  We love the house and neighborhood but we are getting older and it's harder to do the yard work and shovel the snow, etc.  I will let you know what happens!  We might be staying where we are for several more years or we might be moving by the end of the year.  You never know with us.

But let me tell you the lesson for today.  It is about King Josiah.

JOSIAH

Josiah was only eight years old when he was made king.  When King Josiah was sixteen, he began to worship God.  King Josiah loved God and obeyed his ways completely.

Josiah had noticed that many of his people had begun to worship idols.  Idols were objects that people would pray to like they were gods.  But Josiah wanted his whole kingdom to worship God only.  For six years, Josiah worked to get rid of the idols.  He had the altars used to worship idols torn down, and the idols ground into dust.

Because so many people were worshiping idols, God's temple, holy place -- like a church, was not cared for properly.  When King Solomon had built the temple, he had richly decorated the building to honor God.  The walls and floors had been lined with carved cedar wood and gold.  Even the doors and door posts had been beautifully carved.  But it had been 250 years since repairs were made to the special temple.

Josiah was only twenty-six years old, but he knew it was important to have a place to worship God.  He gave orders for the temple to be repaired.

Money was collected to buy the materials needed for the repairs.  The men chosen to work on the temple were honest and could be trusted to work hard.  They bought wood and stone to make repairs.  When the temple was repaired, Josiah brought back the singers and musicians to celebrate.

God was pleased with the young king.  He wants his house to be clean and in good repair.  Josiah led the people to making a new vow of love and loyalty to the true God of Israel.

(based on 2 Kings 22:1-6)

How old was King Josiah when he gave orders for the temple to be cleaned?  He was 26.  A young man with a heart for God.  Oh that we had young men in our churches with hearts for God.

The second question this week is who can keep God's house clean?  And the answer is everyone.  I think this is important since the kids tend to just throw things around the Sunday School room and I end up cleaning after the lesson.  We are going to have clean up time starting today.

I found a new to me website that will email me a Sunday School lesson each week.  Each lesson also has games, coloring pages, puzzles and other things attached to it.  I was looking for a puzzle page for Josiah and came across this.  I joined their page and am looking forward to having new lessons each week.  It may not match up with mine, but that's OK.  I can print them out and keep them in a folder or three-ring binder and use them as I need them.  So for today I have a game like Concentration -- cards that are turned upside down and they have to find the matches.  Then I have a maze "Help Josiah find the scroll" and also a coloring page.  I think the kids will have fun with it.  Having fun helps you to remember the lesson.

Now I have to get off of here and get something to eat, get Joe up and get ready to leave for church.  I hope you all have a wonderful and blessed Sunday.

Until later...

Kathy