MONTHLY ARCHIVES: April 2014

Conversation Starters: Be Thankful

Posted by Karah

Use these discussion starters to help foster a spiritual conversation with your family.

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE: For most of us, giving thanks is something we tend to think about only around the holidays. When we are spending time with family and taking a break from the busyness of life, we remember all the good gifts God has given us. As believers, this idea of thankfulness should consume our lives throughout the year. Every good thing we have comes from Jesus. Our very breath and life are a gift from God. As a result, gratitude should be our natural response to Jesus.

Concept: Be Thankful

PRESCHOOL

John 6:1-13

LIFE POINT: Be thankful for everything God gives you.

Who shared his food with the people?

What was the first thing Jesus did before breaking apart the food and giving it to the people?

LIVE IT OUT: Provide paper and crayons. Encourage your child to draw pictures of things he is thankful for. Insert the pictures into ziplock bags, and seal them. Staple the bags together along one side to make a book. Read the book together this week.

KIDS

John 6:1-13

LIFE POINT: Be thankful for everything God gives you.

What was Jesus’ first action before He distributed the food?

What are some things you are thankful for?

Say the Life Verse: Psalm 100:4.

LIVE IT OUT: Help your child think about all the blessings God has given him. Write an “I am thankful for … “ list together. Pray each day with your child, thanking God for all He has given you and your family.

STUDENTS

Psalm 100:1-5

THE POINT: Thankfulness should be our natural response to Jesus.

Why is it often easier to complain than to be thankful?

Have a conversation around this quote:

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.1 —John F. Kennedy

LIVE IT OUT: Share about the things you are thankful for.

Let your student know that you are thankful for him or her.

1. President, “Proclamation 3560 Thanksgiving Day, 1963,” Code of Federal Regulation, title 3, (1959–1963).


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Conversation Starters: Why Do Bad Things Happen?

Posted by Karah

Use these discussion starters to help foster a spiritual conversation with your family.

Skeptics have dismissed the biblical view of God by saying, “If God loves us, He must not be all-powerful or else He would stop all suffering” and “If God is all-powerful and could stop suffering but doesn’t, He must not be loving.” This moves from a philosophical discussion to a real issue when we are the ones suffering. The Bible is honest with the issue of suffering, and assures us of God’s sovereignty and presence in the midst of whatever we are facing.

Concept: Why do bad things happen?

Preschool

Genesis 3

THE POINT: God wants us to obey Him.

What wrong choice did Adam and Eve make?

What did God do when they disobeyed Him?

LIVE IT OUT: Remind your child that God made him and he is able to make choices. Help your child think about and name right choices and wrong choices. Point out that God wants us to make right choices.

Kids

Genesis 3

THE POINT: All people sin.

What was Adam and Eve’s sin?

How did God punish Adam and Eve?

How can you keep from sinning?

LIVE IT OUT: Dialogue with your child about the first people who sinned. Attempt to pick out one sin that both you and your child struggle with. Pray together, asking God for help in resisting that sin. Be practical.

Students

Job 30:26-31; 42:1-6

THE POINT: God is with us in our suffering.

Why do painful experiences cause us to doubt God?

How has God walked with you through a painful experience?

Have a conversation around this quote:

God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.1 —C.S. Lewis

LIVE IT OUT: Choose a verse you would like to share about pain and suffering and discuss it with your student.

Help your student identify someone who is going through a tough time and how she might help him or her.

Pray that your student will be an encouragement to others.

1. Walter Hooper, ed., C.S. Lewis: Readings for Meditation and Reflection (New York: HarperCollins, 1992), 71.


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