AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Teeny

Conversation Starters: Overcoming Prejudice

Posted by Teeny

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

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE: Our culture tends to value people based on ethnicity, gender, wealth, or ability. But God wants us to see people as He sees them—created in His image to glorify Him. We should treat others as Jesus did—with impartiality and fairness.

Concept: Overcoming Prejudice

PRESCOOL

JOHN 4:1-30

LIFE POINT: Jesus loves all people, and so should we.

  • How did Jesus show love for the woman?
  • What is a way you can show love to another person?

LIVE IT OUT: Look around your neighborhood or school. Is there a new person who needs a friend? Help your child think of some ways to make friends with this new person.

KIDS

JOHN 4:1-30

LIFE POINT: Show love and care to all people.

  • How did Jesus show love to the woman at the well?
  • Why were the disciples surprised to find Jesus talking to the woman?
  • How does the Life Verse apply to this story?

LIVE IT OUT: Challenge your child to think about the person who is most like him, maybe his best friend. Next he can think about someone he knows and interacts with who is very different from him. This week challenge him to treat both people the same.

STUDENTS

JAMES 2:1-13

THE POINT: God wants me to see people as He sees them.

  • What is a challenge you face regarding how you treat people?
  • Is there ever a reason to treat one person better than another?

Have a conversation around this quote: “By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.”1 —Dietrich Bonhoeffer

LIVE IT OUT:

Have a discussion about your student’s circle of friends.
Encourage your student to treat others fairly regardless of their social or financial background.

If you have had any experience with favoritism, racism, or prejudice in your life, share about it with your student.

1. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York, NY: SCM Press Ltd., 1959), 185.


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Conversation Starters: Temptation

Posted by Teeny

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

The Bible Meets Life: Temptation is a reality for all of us. Even Jesus was tempted. We can’t avoid it, but we don’t have to give in to it. The Book of James helps us understand that God does not tempt us, but He will provide a way to resist temptation. Because of the work Christ has done on our behalf, we can see temptation for what it is and through Him we can overcome any temptation.

Concept: Temptation

PRESCHOOL

MATTHEW 5:1-3; 6:25-34

LIFE POINT: God provides for us.

  • What are some ways God provides for you?
  • How can you thank God for providing you the things you need, such as the Bible?
  • How does the Bible help you make good choices?

LIVE IT OUT: Look around your house, and help your child name all the things that God provides for her, such as the Bible, food, clothes, and water to drink. Pray, thanking God for giving us the Bible to help us make good choices. Thank God for giving us Jesus, who died for us and who forgives us when we make bad choices.

KIDS

MATTHEW 4:1-11

LIFE POINT: Resist temptation by following Jesus’ example.

  • How did Jesus respond when the Devil tempted Him to sin?
  • What are some ways that you are tempted?
  • Can you think of a verse that will help you when you are tempted?

LIVE IT OUT: Help your child list several temptations she faces regularly. Talk about what her response will be when faced with those challenges this week. Remind her to use James 1:2-3 to remember that temptations can be turned around to produce good. Recognize that Jesus was tempted just as we are, yet He never sinned. Thank Him for His perfect life and for His death in our place.

STUDENTS

JAMES 1:13-18

THE POINT: God won’t tempt me, but He will provide a way to resist temptation.

  • What leads to temptation?
  • Do you have any questions for me about how I face temptation?
  • What can I do to help you with the things that tempt you?

Have a conversation around this quote: “Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is.”1 —C. S. Lewis

Ask your student to recite memorize a verse and recite it to you during the week.
Memorize the verse with your student.
Encourage your student to find an accountability partner.
If you have had a positive accountability partner experience, share it with your student.

1. C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1980), 142.


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Conversation Starter: Good Attitudes

Posted by Teeny

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

Life is filled with struggles. Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “When life gives you a lemon, just make lemonade,” but that’s a lot easier said than done. When you’re going through a trial in your life, the last thing you want to hear is a cheesy saying. You need real help and a real understanding of God’s purpose for your struggle. In the Book of James, we discover how, through Christ, we can overcome our trials and turn them into joy.

Concept: Good Attitudes

PRESCHOOL
Matthew 5:1-12

Life Point: We can trust God.

  • What are some ways that Jesus showed kindness to people?
  • Who is kind to you?
  • How can you show kindness to other people?

Live it out: Think of different reactions to scenarios your child has faced. Tell those reactions to your preschooler, and ask him to say whether each action shows a good attitude or a bad attitude. Help your child think about how Jesus was kind. Talk together about one person he can show kindness to. Help him think of a way to show kindness to someone and to carry it out.

KIDS
Matthew 5:1-12

Life Point: Keep a good attitude at all times.

  • Why did Jesus say you should be blessed when people persecute you?
  • Are you ever teased because of your Christian beliefs?

Live it out: Sit down with your child, and make a list of attitudes, both good and bad. Ask your child to draw a facial expression that a person with each of those attitudes might have. Remind your child this week that when he faces a problem to ask himself what he thinks Jesus’ attitude would be when dealing with that problem.

STUDENTS
James 1:1-4

The Point: Joyful trust in God will get you through any trial.

  • What’s a struggle we’ve faced together as a family?
  • Are you struggling with anything right now I can help you with?

Discuss the following quote: “You can’t always control circumstances. However, you can always control your attitude, approach, and response.”1 —Tony Dungy

Live it out:

Remind your student that God uses trials for our good.
Help your student think of the best way to respond to specific trials he or she may face.

Tell your student about how God has strengthened you through trials.

1. Tony Dungy, Whitaker, Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, & Priorities of a Winning Life (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 2007), 16.


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Conversation Starters: Resurrection Faith

Posted by Teeny

“And if Chris has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.  Therefore, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished.  If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.”  1 Corinthians 15:17-19

How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity, or even while you’re shopping together:

For Preschoolers
Why did Jesus die?

What do you want to say to Him because He chose to die for us?

For Children
What does Jesus’ death say about His commitment to obeying God?

What is one way you can do something that you don’t want to do but will show people who God is?

For Students
Why were the women serving Jesus after they thought He was dead?

Who do you know that honors Christ in ways that other people find foolish?  What does that say about his or her faith?


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Conversation Starters: Called to be Fishers of Men

Posted by Teeny

 

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”  Matthew 4:18-20

How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity, or even while you’re shopping together:

For Preschoolers
What makes you one-of-a-kind?

What makes me one-of-a-kind?

What makes our dog one-of-a-kind?

What makes Jesus one-of-a-kind?

For Children
How was Jesus different from other people?

How were Jesus’ followers one-of-a-kind?

How can you show people that Jesus wants you to be different in how you live?

For Students
In what areas should Christians be different from un-believers in what they don’t do? (speech immorality, etc.)

In what areas should Christians be different from unbelievers in what they do?  (love, honesty, etc.)


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Conversation Starters: Seeking Him

Posted by Teeny

“You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13

How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity, or even while you’re shopping together.

For Preschoolers
Have you ever seen Mom or Dad fix a broken toy you didn’t think could be fixed?  How did you feel?

For Children
What’s the worst thing about having to wait for something?

When you know what you are waiting for is going to be really, really good, does that make it easier or harder to wait?

For Students
Do you think it is easier to build something from scratch or to repair something after years of neglect?

Do you think it is easier for someone to begin following Jesus, or to start following Jesus again after falling away from Him?

How can you pray for friends who have fallen away from God?


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Conversation Starters: He Disciplines the One He Loves

Posted by Teeny

“Don’t be deceived:  God is not mocked.  For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirt.” Galatians 6:7-8

How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity or even while you’re shopping together:

For Preschoolers
What are some of the rules we have in our house?
Why do we have those rules?  Are they because we don’t want you to have any fun, or because we don’t want you to get hurt?

For Children
What do you think would happen if you were never punished when you did something wrong?
Do you think if we (your parents) loved you more, we wouldn’t discipline you as much?  Why or Why not?

For Students
Talk with your teenager about the worst trouble you ever got into.  What did you learn from it?  How did your own parents discipline you?


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Conversation Starters: Our Calling to His Purpose

Posted by Teeny

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity, or even while you’re shopping together:

For Preschoolers
What do you want to be when you grow up?

How can you show people you love God in that job?

For Children
In addition to the above questions, ask, How do you think you can tell if this is something God wants you to do with your life?

For Students
When you work on a group project, hod do you decide which idea to go with?

Is it sometimes hard to admit someone else might have a better idea than you?  What do you do about it?


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Crafts With Teeny: Earring Holder

Posted by Teeny

This one’s for the girls!

This month’s craft is a homemade earring and jewelry holder. It is very easy to make and a lot cheaper than most earring holders!

Supplies:
– Old frame ($3 Goodwill)
– Paint (optional)
– Burlap
– Glue
– Fabric Rosettes

1. Paint the frame whatever color and design you want. Make sure to let it dry completely (overnight is best).

2. Paint a design or letter on the burlap to add extra decorations! You can also use screen or chicken wire to hang the earrings. Let it dry completely. 

3. While everything is drying you can make your fabric rosettes by cutting extra fabric into strips (2” wide) and then rolling and twisting them into a rose or flower shape. You can add a little glue each time you go around to hold it in place. It’s easiest if you tie a knot at the end of the fabric strip and then start twisting from there. Make sure to keep some extra fabric at the end to fold it over the back and glue it. 

4. I used a glue gun to attach the burlap to the back of the picture frame. You’ll want to make it as tight as you can so that the burlap will hold the earrings. 

5. Finish off the earring holder by gluing your fabric rosettes to the frame and then hang your earrings! 

Enjoy making your new earring holder! Send us a picture if you make one with your campers!


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Conversation Starters: Our Caretaker

Posted by Teeny

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”  Deuteronomey 31:8

How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity, or even while you’re shopping together.

For Preschoolers:
Play a game of “Follow the Leader” or “Simon Says” with your preschooler.  Use the experience to talk about how you as a parent would never give your child something to do that was impossible or that would hurt them.  Talk about how God is the same way.

For Children:
Have you ever tried to put a model together without a plan or a picture to go by?  Was it frustrating?  Why?

For Students:
Do you think God is concerned about every detail of our lives or just the “big stuff”?  What makes you say so?  If it is just the “big stuff”, then what counts as “big stuff”?

If God is concerned about every detail, then do you trust Him with every detail?  Why or why not?


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