Hosanna Faith Formation News

We WILL have Faith Formation this week, even though it is a long weekend for many of you!

If you will be gone this weekend, I encourage you to explore the story of Moses as a family - see the suggestions further down in this newsletter!

You are invited to all Hosanna Youth Group activities! Please check the links above to stay in the loop!

We are studying Moses in Faith Formation this year. Moses is a really important person in the history of our faith - he shows us what it can look like to follow God, to disobey God, to be frustrated with God, and to be redeemed by God! In the story of Moses, we find the first Passover, which leads to our present day Communion practices.

The story of Moses is just not an old story - it's directly connected to Jesus and the forgiveness of our sins!

I highly recommend you watch The Prince of Egypt, a DreamWorks movie. It does a great job making the story of Moses come to life for your family! It is currently available on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

If your kids are fans of VeggieTales, you might want to check out the episodes Babysitter in De-Nile and Moe and the Big Exit.

Fourth-Sixth graders are reviewing the story of Moses, but are really focused on learning the Ten Commandments and their true meaning. If you need a refresher, I highly recommend you break out a copy of Luther's Small Catechism. If you haven't touched it since you were in confirmation (or maybe never touched it!), it will have new meaning for you as an adult.

Many Christians think the Old Testament is just old stories and old laws that nobody has to follow anymore. They think the New Testament cancels out the Old Testament, but it is actually foundational to the story of Jesus. Many misinterpretations of scripture happen when people do not understand the impact of the Old Testament on the New Testament.

God made 5 important covenants (or promises) with people in the Bible.

Noahic Covenant

We learned about Noah at VBS this summer because it is such an important story. God was so fed up with the terrible behavior of people, He decided to wipe everyone out and start over. Only Noah and his family were spared, and God promised not to do that again. The rainbow is our sign of God's promise of grace and forgiveness.

Abrahamic Covenant

God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations, but he and his wife Sarah were very old and had no children. But God did give them a baby, and that baby begins the family line of Israel.

Mosaic Covenant

The story of Moses is really important to our Christian faith. Through the story of Moses, we see how challenging it is for people to really listen and follow God. We see how God deals with us, and how He is faithful to care for us, whether we deserve it or not. The story of Moses brings us Passover which leads to the crucifixion of Jesus and Holy Communion. Moses also receive the Ten Commandments, which continue to instruct us today.

Davidic Covenant

King David was the boy who killed Goliah and then became a really important king! God promises David his kingdom will last forever - and it does through Jesus, who is a descendent of David.

We learn a lot about faith and failure through the life of David. If you have not watched the movie David from Angel Studios, I highly recommend it!

The New Covenant

And finally we have the new covenant with Jesus. Through Jesus, we all have the chance to to be forgiven for our sins and to live in eternity with God. This is the first covenant that applies to ALL people, not just the Hebrews.

So the new covenant that we find in the New Testament doesn’t erase those old covenants. It just extends a bigger promise to more people.

So when reading the Old Testament how are we supposed to sort out what is relevant to what is not relevant for our modern lives? This is a simple categorization that helps me understand what I'm reading.

Read the book of Leviticus with these categories in mind. This helps sort out the rules for worship, the rules for every day living, and rules for morality!

The Old Testament gives us so many Bible heroes who were unworthy of what God had in mind for them. They doubted, they sinned, they ran away, they even yelled at God! But God used them anyway, despite (or maybe because of) their imperfections. The Old Testament is full of beautiful reminders that God uses us, the broken people, who desire to follow Him.

The Old Testament also leads us directly to Jesus - in the Old Testament you will find prophecy and history that prepares us for the promise of salvation through Jesus.

So why do we spend so much time on the Old Testament? Because it really matters to our faith!

Take some time to read Exodus this week. It's a pretty wild story that is honestly better than anything you will find on TV!

Get your family some Hosanna gear! Orders will be processed as they come in and will remain open at least through the end of the school year. Drop your order form off at the church, or send me an email, hosannafaithformation@gmail.com

Please reach out anytime you have questions!

Jenn: hosannafaithformation@gmail.com or 605-881-9781 (text or call)

Join our Remind Group (directions below) to stay up-to-date.

Please watch this newsletter and your Remind feed for opportunities to fill in as a substitute teacher!

• Faith Formation: If you are interested in subbing to teach a class or lead opening, please talk to Jenn!
• Youth Group: We are also in need of volunteers for the Youth Group - particularly to add more opportunities for small group Bible studies for teens. We could really use more men to share their faith with our teen boys!
• Mentoring: KidsHope is a mentoring partnership between Hosanna and Lincoln Elementary. If you are interested in committing an hour a week to meet with one student during the school day, please let me know! We have a need for additional mentors.

Remind is our most important communication tool for Hosanna Youth Education!

It works best when you have the free Remind App. It might say your messages to me won't be received, but we haven't found that to be true (so far!).

The best way to keep up with all the happenings at Hosanna is the weekly ENewsletter!

If you do not receive the ENews, please send your current email address to Anna at watertownhosannalutheran@gmail.com

You can also find the ENews posted on Facebook.

Right Now Media is an online platform with thousands of Christian videos. You will find Bible Studies to follow and shows that teach your kids about Jesus. Hosanna has purchased access for all members - just text HLW to 49775

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