Parent Connection – fpKIDS

Preschool (2yrs to PreK)

God loves us more than a shepherd loves His sheep.

This week we teach your preschooler from a great story in the Luke 15:1-7 called The Parable of the Lost Sheep. 

A great story about a Shepard that goes to great lengths to find and restore one lost sheep.  In teaching your preschooler about God’s relentless love for us, this is a wonderful account of what God is willing to do in order to have a relationship with us. 

As a parent, we so desperately want our kids to know how much we love them.  But as a Christ-follower, it’s too easy to lose sight of our Heavenly Father’s love for us, as well.  We’re tempted to believe that because we’ve strayed so far, we cannot possibly return.   But according to scripture, that isn’t true.  In the story we don’t know how far or how long the Shepherd searched for the sheep, we just know that he did.  It’s a great analogy of how our Heavenly Father will go to great lengths to seek and save us.  

This week, Create a Rhythm, by praying with your preschooler each night as you tuck them into bed.  Say thank you to God for His love for your child and you.  

Elementary (K-3rd Grade)

Respect is showing others they are important by what you say and do. 

This weekend is an important principle dealing with Who’s the Boss? (Romans 13:1-5) Whether we agree or even like “the Boss”, God puts authorities in our life to protect us and to help us grow and learn. So our Bottom Line is about realizing we can respect God by respecting the people He’s put in charge.

We’ll spend most of this month looking at how we respond to those who have authority over us. When we choose to disrespect, it’s usually because we want to be our own authority. We think we know better or that our way is best. But our Memory Verse from 1 Peter reminds us that we should “show proper respect to everyone.” 1 Peter 2:17a, NIV 

This week, Make It Personal, by examining your own heart in the area of respect.  When you refer to your boss, your child’s school principal/teacher, or even your state/regional authorities… do you do it in a respectful manner?  Or disrespectful?  Our kids will emulate the level of respect we show for the authorities God placed in our lives.  Let’s fight to Respect the authorities our Heavenly Father has lovingly placed in our lives to help us grow and learn.

Club 45 (4th & 5th Grade)

When you face peer pressure, take a stand for what you know is right. 

Pulling from Daniel 3, we focus your 4th/5th graders on a topic familiar to all of us.  Peer Pressure.

In Daniel 3 we gain insight from a group of guys that chose to stand for what they knew was right.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were required by law (along with everyone around them) to bow down to an idol.  Yet these guys made a choice to stand against the pressure. While their peers were bowing down to the golden image, they chose to be faithful and obedient to God. Even when it cost them, they stood firm and did what was right.

In your child’s school, they are tempted by peer pressure. It may be a temptation to wear certain clothes in order to fit in with the “popular” crowd. It may be pressure to bully or make fun of others. It may be a temptation just to fade into the background and never let anyone know about their faith in God. When negative peer pressure comes, they will have to make a choice. A choice to go with the flow or to take a stand for what is right. 

This week, Make It Personal, by examining your own life.  As an adult, do you find that you bow to peer pressure?  Do you find yourself dressing a certain way, driving a certain type of car or living in a certain type of home in order to fit in with a certain crowd?  Do you find yourself fading into the background never letting anyone know about your faith in God?  These are tough questions to reconcile.  Tough but real.  

Passing down a real and relevant faith to our kids means living it out in a way that they can see.  When your kids see you stand against the pressure of culture and align yourself with scripture then they learn what that can look like in their own lives.