MONTHLY ARCHIVES: October 2014

Conversation Starters: God’s Wisdom

Posted by Karah

DSC_2021THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE: We live in an age of information. It is estimated that we will generate more unique information this year than was generated in the last five thousand years. And most of that knowledge is at our fingertips. Over four billion online searches are made every day. But are we any wiser? Do we know how to wisely use that knowledge? Technology cannot deliver to us what God can. God is the source of wisdom, and the Bible shows us that by trusting Him, we become wise.

Concept: God’s Wisdom 

Preschool

Daniel 1:1-20

LIFE POINT: Daniel and his friends had been taken to be trained as king’s helpers. They
loved, worshiped, and obeyed God. The king ordered all of the boys to eat from his table. Daniel knew that it would not please God. So he asked a helper if he and his friends could eat vegetables and drink water instead. The helper was worried that he would be in trouble. “Let us eat vegetables and drink water for 10 days. See if we are healthy then,” Daniel said. The helper agreed. After 10 days, Daniel and his friends were healthier
than the other boys. At the training’s end, the king saw they were the best of all the young men.

LIVE IT OUT: Explain the word wisdom to your child and say that God is wise. Comment that God uses His wisdom to help us know how to live. Together make a list of things he knows God wants him to do.

Kids

Daniel 1:1-20

THE POINT: Daniel and his friends had been taken to be trained as king’s helpers. They
loved, worshiped, and obeyed God. The king ordered all of the boys to eat from his table. Daniel knew that it would not please God. So he asked a helper if he and his friends could eat vegetables and drink water instead. The helper was worried that he would be in trouble. “Let us eat vegetables and drink water for 10 days. See if we are healthy then,” Daniel said. The helper agreed. After 10 days, Daniel and his friends were healthier
than the other boys. At the training’s end, the king saw they were the best of
all the young men.

Students

Proverbs 2:1-6; 3:5-7

THE POINT: God will give me wisdom when I humbly seek it. Who is the wisest person you know? How do you typically seek wisdom? Have a conversation around this quote:

“Wisdom, among other things, is the ability to devise perfect ends and to achieve those ends by the most perfect means.”1 —A.W. Tozer

LIVE IT OUT: Your student has been encouraged to do one or both Live It Out
activities.

If your student chooses to do Seek Wisdom:
• Help your student identify key Bible verses for wisdom in different areas of life.
• Encourage your student to reflect on the verses he or she chooses.

If your student chooses to do Scripture Strategy:
• Determine to use the same plan as your student to read through the Bible this year.
• Pray for your student to develop a passion for the Word of God.

1. A.W. Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy, (Figbooks, 2012), 66.


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Conversation Starters: God’s Love

Posted by Karah

IMG_9812-001THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE: For many people, love means whatever they want it to mean. They can express a deep and profound love for someone or something, but later that love has disappeared. Too often our examples of love disappoint or fail us. We see in God a whole different example of love. He is the very embodiment of love. The Bible shows us that we can know and experience that love through Jesus Christ.

Concept: God’s Love

Preschool

2 Kings 5:1-17

LIFE POINT: Naaman was a military commander. He had a skin disease. A servant girl of
Naaman’s wife said, “The prophet Elisha can help Naaman.” Naaman traveled to Elisha. Elisha sent a messenger who said to wash in the river seven times. Naaman was angry. “Why didn’t the prophet come out and help me? Don’t we have better rivers in our country?” Naaman’s helpers said, “If Elisha told you to do something hard, you would do it. Why won’t you wash yourself in the river?” Naaman went to the river. On the seventh wash, he was healed. Naaman returned to Elisha. “Thank you. Now I know that God is the
only God.”

LIVE IT OUT: Tell your child that God loves everyone. Help your preschooler think of some friends he likes. Make small treat bags to give to his friends. Pray with him for these friends.

Kids

2 Kings 5:1-17

LIFE POINT: Naaman was a soldier. He had a terrible skin disease. A servant girl of Naaman’s wife said, “The prophet Elisha can help Naaman.” Naaman went to Elisha, but
Elisha sent a servant with a message, “Wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River.” Naaman was angry. “Why didn’t the prophet come out and help me? Don’t we have better rivers in our country?” Naaman’s servants said, “If Elisha told you to do something hard, you would do it. Why won’t you go to the Jordan River?” Naaman washed in the water seven times. On the seventh wash, the skin disease was gone! Naaman returned to
Elisha. “There is no God except the God of Israel,” Naaman exclaimed to Elisha.

LIVE IT OUT: Talk to your child and help him think of a friend or relative who is ill.
Pray together for that person. Emphasize that, even though God is able to heal
everyone, sometimes He does not. Thank God for His love for all people.

Students

1 John 4:7-12

THE POINT: God’s love empowers me to love. Discuss the way your family shows
love and how, empowered by Christ, it might improve. Pray as a family to be more loving.
Have a conversation around this quote:

“Define yourself radically as one beloved by God. This is the true self. Every other
identity is illusion.”1 —Brennan Manning

LIVE IT OUT: Your student has been encouraged to do one or both Live It Out activities.

If your student chooses to do Show Love:
• Encourage your student as he or she determines to whom he or she might extend God’s love this week.
• Pray that your student will grow in love for God and others.

If your student chooses to do Love Grid:
• Ask your student if he or she would like help determining areas in which to be more loving.
• Encourage your student as he or she discovers ways to experience and show God’s love.

1. Brennan Manning, Abba’s Child: The Cry of the Heart for Intimate Belonging, (Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 2002).


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Conversation Starters: God’s Justice

Posted by Karah

DSC_0104THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE: When we are wronged by others, our typical response is to call for justice. However, when we are the ones who have committed the wrong, we want mercy. We demand fairness, but we define fairness based on what we want. God is fair, in that His justice holds everyone equally accountable for their actions. God is completely just, but He is also merciful, showing mercy to those who choose to turn to Him.

Concept:God’s Justice

Preschool

Daniel 3

LIFE POINT: King Nebuchadnezzar made a statue. The people were told to worship the statue whenever music played or they would be thrown into a fire. Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were helpers of the king. They only worshiped God. Other helpers told the king about them. The king threatened to throw them into the fire. They said, “God can save us; even if He doesn’t, we will not worship the statue.” They were thrown in the fire. The king looked in the fire and saw the three friends and someone else. When the three friends came out, they were not burned! The king knew God had saved them.

LIVE IT OUT: Explain that God is fair and just. Ask your child to split a treat with you. Remind her to divide the treat fairly.

Kids

Daniel 3

LIFE POINT: King Nebuchadnezzar made a statue. The people were told to bow down and worship the statue whenever music played or they would be thrown into a fire. Daniel’s friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were helpers of the king. They only worshiped God. Other helpers told the king about them. The king threatened to throw them into the fire. They said, “God can save us; even if He doesn’t, we will not worship the statue.” They were thrown in the fire. The king looked in the fire and saw the three friends and someone else. When they came out, they were not burned! The king knew God had saved them.

LIVE IT OUT: Discuss the word righteous. Can people be righteous? Comment that only God is righteous. Make an acrostic using the word righteous. As a family think of words that describe God.

Students

Ezekiel 18:21-24, 30-32

THE POINT: God is always just. How do you deal with guilt? Discuss with your student how people and God tend to view justice differently. Have a conversation around this quote:

“Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just: that his justice cannot sleep forever.”1 —Thomas Jefferson

LIVE IT OUT: Your student has been encouraged to do one or both Live It Out activities. If your student chooses to do Attack Guilt:

•Pray for your student to seek and accept God’s forgiveness and mercy.
•Remind your student that he or she is guiltless because of Christ’s sacrifice.

If your student chooses to do Struggle Together:
•Encourage your student to find a friend to help him or her face struggles.
•Let your student know you are also always available to help.

1. Thomas Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII: Manners, 1781.


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Conversation Starters: God’s Holiness

Posted by Karah

IMG_9818-001THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE: Every culture has some religious element, but each culture tries to make God in its own image. That god tends not to be too different from the people who worship it; there is nothing unique about their god. We desperately need a God who is beyond us…and beyond our ability to fully explain or understand Him. God is holy—completely separate from His creation—yet He calls us to know Him and walk with Him.

Concept: God’s Holiness

Preschool

Isaiah 6-7

LIFE POINT: Isaiah was a prophet who told people important news from God. One day when he was in the temple, he saw God seated on a throne surrounded by angels. The angels praised God, “Holy is God. His glory fills the earth.” Isaiah remembered his wrong choices. An angel told him God had forgiven him. Then God asked, “Who will go and speak for Me?” Isaiah said, “Here I am. Send me.” God said, “Tell the people they have not listened to Me. They do not worship Me. Tell them to make right choices and I will help them. If they continue making wrong choices, I will punish them.” Isaiah did what God told him.

LIVE IT OUT: Explain that God is special and no one is like Him. Help your preschooler learn some simple praise songs to praise God for His holiness.

Kids

Isaiah 6-7

LIFE POINT: One day when Isaiah was in the temple, God showed him a vision. In the vision God was seated on a throne, surrounded by angels. They praised God, “Holy is God. The earth is full of God’s glory!” Isaiah realized how holy God is and knew he did not deserve to stand before God. An angel flew to Isaiah and touched his mouth with coal from the altar. God said, “Who should I send? Who will go for Us?” Isaiah said, “Here I am. Send me.” God gave Isaiah messages to preach to the people and the king. Isaiah said, “Turn back to God or your nation will be destroyed.” God gave Isaiah another message. “God will give you a sign,” Isaiah said. “He will send a special child.”

LIVE IT OUT: Gather as a family and choose a favorite praise song. Sing the song together to praise God for being holy.

Students

Psalm 99:1-9, Isaiah 6-7

THE POINT: God’s holiness calls me to be holy. Have a discussion with your student about holiness. How can we help each other pursue holiness as a family? Have a conversation around this quote:

“A true love of God must begin with a delight in his holiness.”1—Jonathan Edwards

LIVE IT OUT: Your student has been encouraged to do one or both Live It Out activities.

If your student chooses to do Personal Worship:
•Encourage your student to find a time this week to set aside for personal worship.
•Choose to have a personal worship time this week and discuss it with your student.

If your student chooses to do Be Holy:
•Pray for your student to evaluate the different areas of his or her life regarding the pursuit of holiness.
•Ask your student if there is any way you can help him or her this week with this Live It Out.

1. Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 1. Avon: The Bath Press, 1834.


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Conversation Starters: God is With Us

Posted by Karah

DSC_1849THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE: Third graders everywhere dream of becoming veterinarians, doctors, presidents, and maybe even superheroes. At their age, the sky is the limit and it’s always OK to hope for a better tomorrow. We all need hope. That’s universal. But there is an even greater universal truth: hope is possible. Through Jesus, no matter who we are, what season of life we’re in, or how we feel, we are not beyond hope.

Concept: God is With Us

Preschool

2 Samuel 9:1-13

LIFE POINT: David was king of Israel. He remembered Saul, the king before him, and Saul’s son Jonathan. Because of Jonathan, David wanted to show kindness to any members of Saul’s family. Jonathan had been David’s good friend. David learned that Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth, was still living. Mephibosheth had two hurt feet. David sent for him. David said to Mephibosheth, “Do not be afraid. I will show you kindness because of your father, Jonathan. I will give you back your family fields. You will eat at my table every day.” David had servants work the fields for food. Mephibosheth ate with David every day. Mephibosheth had hope because David had shown him kindness.

LIVE IT OUT: Take your child with you to the grocery and allow him to choose items to be donated to a food pantry in your community. Together, choose a verse from the Bible and write it on labels to attach to each food item to be shared. Talk with your child about how God gives hope and how your family can help.

Kids

2 Samuel 9

LIFE POINT: David: Is anyone of Saul’s family left? I want to show kindness to that person. Ziba: There is Saul’s grandson. His name is Mephibosheth. Both his feet are injured. David: Bring him to me. Mephibosheth (bowing down): My king, I am your servant. David: Do not be afraid. I will show you kindness because of your father, Jonathan. I will give your grandfather’s land back to you. You shall always eat here at my table in the palace. Mephibosheth: I don’t know why you would help someone like me. David: Ziba, you will take care of Saul’s lands for Mephibosheth.

LIVE IT OUT: As a family, identify someone who has faced struggles over the past few weeks or months. Decide on a way your family can secretly encourage that person by performing a random act of kindness.

Students

2 Samuel 9:6-13

THE POINT: You are never beyond hope. Tell your student what you are most hopeful for in his or her life. Ask your student what he or she is most hopeful for in his or her future. Have a conversation around this quote:

“Oft hope is born when all is forlorn.”1 —J.R.R. Tolkien

LIVE IT OUT: Your student has been encouraged to do one or both Live It
Out activities. If your student chooses to do Visual Journal:
• Ask your student to journal times in their life when they felt without hope.
• Pray for your student to live in the new hope Christ provides each day.

If your student chooses to do Forgive Yourself :
• Share a regret you have had with your student and how you are trusting Christ to overcome it.
• Encourage your student with the truth that hope is always available
through a relationship with Jesus.

1. J.R.R. Tolkien. The Return of the King. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. http://books.google.com (19 July 2013).


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