Conversation Starters: Transformed in My Plans

Posted by Karah

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE: Worry is never healthy, yet so many of us engage in it. Worry affects our appetites, relationships, sleep, and our ability to work. Regardless of the level worry plays in our lives, a pat response like “Don’t worry; be happy” just doesn’t cut it. Jesus gives us the solution to worry, and it’s a call to trust fully God’s care and provision.

Concept: Transformed in My Plans

Preschool

2 Kings 4:8-37

LIFE POINT: Elisha was one of God’s special helpers. He walked from town to town telling people about God. Elisha often went to a town called Shunem. There he met a woman. She knew that Elisha told people about God. She invited Elisha to eat with her and her husband. Every time Elisha went to Shunem, he ate at the woman’s house. One day the woman said to her husband, “Let’s build a room for Elisha. He can stay here when he comes to town.” The woman and her husband built the room on the roof of their house. Inside the room they placed a bed, table, lamp, and chair. When Elisha returned to Shunem, the woman and her husband showed Elisha the new room they had built for him. Now Elisha
had a special place to rest when he came to town. Elisha knew the woman and her husband were his friends.

LIVE IT OUT: Encourage your child to help around the house. Assign duties that correspond to his age.
Thank him often for helping. Say: “When you help, you are doing what the Bible says.”

Kids

2 Kings 4:8-37

LIFE POINT: A woman said to her husband, “I know Elisha is a man of God. Let’s make him a room. We can put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp in it. When he comes to town, he can stay in the room.” The couple built the room on the roof of their house. One day when Elisha came to stay he asked the woman, “What can I do for you? You have done so much for me!” The woman did not ask for anything. Elisha’s servant reminded Elisha that she had no son. So Elisha promised the woman a son. The woman had a baby boy. He grew and went into the fields with his father. One day, the boy felt sick. The father sent him
home. When the boy got home, he grew worse and died. The woman brought Elisha to her home. Elisha prayed over the boy. Suddenly, the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes! “Here is your son!” Elisha told the woman.

LIVE IT OUT: Choose a person in your church or neighborhood who needs help. Lead your child in
planning a way to help this person, whether it is by taking them a meal, doing yard work, or other loving
action. Remind your child that another way to worship God is by helping others.

Students

Matthew 6:25-34

THE POINT: Faith in God to provide all I need opposes worry. What are your biggest worries? How do we know when we’ve crossed the line from reasonable concern to harmful worry? How do you feel when you think about how well God knows you? Discuss the following quote:

“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”1 —Corrie ten Boom

LIVE IT OUT: Encourage your student to do one or both Live It Out activities. Here are some suggested ways to help your student:

If he or she plans to complete Stress Reliever:
• Help your student this week to go beyond reading scripture, and instead engage with God’s Word and
wisdom for us.

If he or she plans to complete the Daily Reading:
• Take time to discuss your student’s scripture readings from this week.

1. Corrie ten Boom, Clippings from My Notebook (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982).

 


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