Preschool (2yrs-PreK)

How do you love God?

LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART!

Your preschooler is learning this week about the Greatest Commandment: Love God.  Sounds easy enough, right?

In Matthew 22:34-40, a Pharisee is trying to trick Jesus.  He wanted Jesus to pick a commandment that is more important to obey than any other.  Jesus didn’t just give him one, he gave the Pharisee two that CAN NOT be separated.  Love God.  Love People.  This week, your preschooler is learning that loving God means loving people.  And that can be HARD sometimes!

Create A Rhythm by modeling this principle for your child.  There will be people all week long that you will encounter that might be hard to love.  Make the right choice with your words and actions.  Show your preschooler how to love God by loving people.  Talk about the times you made that choice and encourage them to do the same.  LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART!!!

Elementary (K-3^rd Grade)

I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

 This week we are continuing to learn that Honor is letting someone know you see how valuable they are.  People have value because we are all created in the image of God.  I’m sure we would all like to think we honor God.  But are you honoring Him by honoring the people He created?  We honor people with our words AND our actions.

 

 Jonathan knew how to honor.  In 1 Samuel 18:1-4 and 5-9, Jonathan values his relationship with David and honors him by giving to him.  And it wasn’t just leftovers that Jonathan was sharing!  They were symbols of who Jonathan was and his inheritance!  Jonathan was honoring David with his actions.  He honored David more than himself.

 Make It Personal this week by helping your student PRACTICE honoring others.  Yep, I said practice.  Putting other people first will always be something we have to make a choice to do.  It is not in our inherent nature.  But when we fellowship with Jesus and become more like Him, it gets easier to make the right choice.  Role play honoring people with your student so that when they have the chance, they will put others first!

 Club 45 (4-5^th grade)

Once Upon a Parable: Jesus and the Kingdom

That’s not fair.  How many times a day do you hear this as a parent?  This week your student is learning that not only is life not fair (as I am sure you have said at least once), but the Kingdom of God doesn’t seem fair either.

In Matthew 20:1-16, Jesus shares a parable about the landowner that pays the workers the same amount regardless of how long they worked.  The workers who worked all day were not happy that the ones who only worked a few hours were paid the same amount!  Jesus was showing us that His Kingdom doesn’t work like our world.  He said those who are last will be first.

So who is the Kingdom for?  It is for the people you would least expect, even you and me.  The challenge here is that we are supposed to rejoice for those who enter the kingdom at their final hour and receive the SAME reward as someone who has loved Jesus for years.  Imagine The End with your student by thinking about the eternal consequences of being focused on getting what we think we deserve and keeping someone else from receiving what they haven’t earned.  Really, have any of us earned the grace we have received?