MONTHLY ARCHIVES: February 2014

Conversation Starters: Sanctity of Life

Posted by Karah

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

Are some lives more important than others? Our culture talks about valuing life, but the way the unborn, disabled, and elderly are treated by society sends a different message. Our worth is in Christ and every life is sacred. Psalm 139 points us to an all-knowing, all-loving God who values each one of us.

Concept: Sanctity of life

Preschool

Mark 10:46-52

LIFE POINT: God sent Jesus to help people.

How did Jesus help Bartimaeus?

What can you do to help people who are sick?

LIVE IT OUT: Pray with your child for friends and others who are sick. Help him know that Jesus loves all people.

KIDS

Matthew 9:18-31

LIFE POINT: Jesus can heal people.

How did Jesus help the woman who was sick?

How did Jesus help the young girl?

What should you do to help people who are sick?

LIVE IT OUT: Share with your child that while God might not choose to heal all illnesses, He could. We can know that Jesus can heal people. Help your child create a list of people you know who are ill. Choose one or two to encourage with a visit, card, or phone call.

STUDENTS

Psalm 139:1-6,13-18

THE POINT: God values life and so should we.

How have you been impacted by sanctity of life issues?

Why are these issues so difficult to discuss sometimes?

Have a conversation around this quote:

“Men do not differ much about what things they will call evils; they differ enormously about what evils they will call excusable.”1 —G. K. Chesterton

LIVE IT OUT: Help your student identify an elderly person in your church or family with whom he or she can have a conversation.

Go with your student and spend time with the person they have selected.

Pray for your student as he or she learns about difficult issues like abortion and the sanctity of life.

1. Gilbert Keith Chesterson, The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1987), 413.


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Conversation Starters: Faith

Posted by Karah

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

Just as we cannot save ourselves, we cannot live the Christian life by ourselves. Left alone, we would face continual defeat. But we are not alone. Jesus Christ comes to live in us through the presence and power of His Holy Spirit. He is the One who empowers us to stand against sin, to walk righteously, and to live every aspect of life for His glory.

Concept: Faith

Preschool

1 and 2 Peter

LIFE POINT: What we do shows we love Jesus.

In his letter, what did Peter tell people they should do if they love Jesus?

How can you show you love Jesus?

LIVE IT OUT: Prepare your child by role-playing situations that might occur during the day. Help him know how to act and react in ways that would show he loves Jesus.

Kids

1 and 2 Peter

LIFE POINT: The Holy Spirit helps Christians know how to live.

What are some things Peter told people they should do?

Do you think Peter’s letters should apply to people today?

LIVE IT OUT: Help your child recall a time when she was helped by someone who remained anonymous. Encourage her to do something nice for someone without telling him who did it. Remind her that one may not be able to see the Holy Spirit but that she can know He is there to help her live as a follower of Jesus.

Students

Romans 8:8-17,26-27

THE POINT: The Holy Spirit lives in you and empowers you.

When was the last time you really needed someone’s help?

Why is it difficult to ask others for help?

Have a conversation around this quote:

“If we function according to our ability alone, we get the glory; if we function according to the power of the Spirit within us, God gets the glory.”1 —Henry Blackaby

LIVE IT OUT: Help your student schedule a time that he or she can be alone to seek and hear from God.

Share how time alone with God has impacted your life.

Discuss the Holy Spirit with your student. Be honest about misunderstandings and things you’ve learned.

Pray that your student will trust and rely on the work of the Holy Spirit in his or her life.

1. Henry Blackaby, Mel Blackaby, Experiencing the Spirit: The Power of Pentecost Every Day (New York: Random House Digital, 2009). 


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Conversation Starters: Renewal

Posted by Karah

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

THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE: Let’s be honest. We all struggle with sin. Regardless of how mature we are in Christ, our struggle with sin can frustrate and discourage us. But if Christ has set us free from the power of sin, why do we still struggle with it? For Christians, our sin nature may be powerless, but it doesn’t want to admit defeat. We do not face this struggle alone; Jesus Christ is with us to give us victory.

Concept: Renewal

Preschool

Acts 9:36-43

LIFE POINT: People who love Jesus help others.

How did Dorcas help the people in her town?

How did Peter help Dorcas?

Name a person you could help.

LIVE IT OUT: Talk with your child about people who minister in your church. Do something special for that person or persons such as making a card, baking cookies, or some other act of kindness.

Kids

Galatians 2:11-21

LIFE POINT: God offers a new life in Christ.

Why did Paul confront Peter?

What did Peter learn from Paul about how people become Christians?

LIVE IT OUT: Help your child make a list of things that are different about him now from when he was younger. Include physical, emotional, and mental differences. Explain that although he is still the same person, he is very different. Share that when a person becomes a Christian, he is the same person but very different because Jesus becomes his Lord and Savior. Discuss the differences between a Christian and a non-Christian.

Students

Romans 7:14-8:2

LIFE POINT: Jesus is with us in our battle against sin.

How do you deal with the ongoing struggle with sin?

How have you found victory over sin as Jesus has worked in your life?

Have a conversation around this quote:

“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.”1 —Margaret Thatcher

LIVE IT OUT: Ask your student if he or she feels comfortable talking to you about sins he or she may struggle with.

Pray for your students as he or she battles sin daily.

Develop your own plan to fight sin and discuss it with your student.

Encourage your student to develop a plan of his or her own.

1. “Margaret Thatcher Quotes,” Thinkexist.com. Available from the Internet: http://thinkexist.com.


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Conversation Starters: Change

Posted by Karah

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

Grace is a wonderful thing. We like it when others extend grace to us. We especially love the grace God has shown us. But the freedom we have by the grace of God doesn’t mean we have no responsibility. Any freedom carries with it responsibility, and we are to live out our faith in the freedom of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Concept: Change

Preschool

Acts 12:5-19

LIFE POINT: People who love Jesus pray for one another.

Why were the people praying for Peter?

Who is someone you can pray for?

LIVE IT OUT: Talk with your child about special people who tell others about Jesus (such as your pastor or missionaries). Make a list of names of people for whom you and your child can pray daily.

Kids

Acts 12:5-19

LIFE POINT: Prayer is necessary and powerful for believers.

Why did Peter need prayer?

How was the power of prayer successful for Peter?

Whom do you know who needs prayer?

LIVE IT OUT: Help your child identify people in ministry for whom your family can pray. Make the list personal by including people your family knows. Pray with your child daily for at least one of the identified people and for the person’s ministry.

Students

Romans 6:8-18

THE POINT: You don’t have to be a slave to sin.

How have you struggled to embrace your identity? Share this information with your student.

Have a conversation around this quote:

“Our identity is not in our joy, and our identity is not in our suffering. Our identity is in Christ, whether we have joy or are suffering.”1 —Mark Driscoll

LIVE IT OUT: Plan to read Ephesians this week with your student.

Discuss the different areas of life in which we try to find our identity.

Pray that your student will overcome areas he or she may be finding identity in other than Christ.

1. Matt Smethurst, “Driscoll, Who Do You Think I Am?” The Gospel Coalition. Available from the Internet: http://thegospelcoalition.org.


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