Spiritual Growth Aims

Transcription

1 Spiritual Growth Aims

2 Spiritual Growth Aims Dear Parents, These Spiritual Growth Aims are a guide. They show various desired behavior, attitudes, and abilities for each age level. Use these Aims to help you focus on the desired spiritual growth of your children. Children love to pattern their lives after their heroes (which are their parents), so never underestimate your influence in living a godly life. 2-4-year-olds Young children (2 and 3 year olds) are capable of exhibiting these desirable behavior patterns. 1. Obeying realistic requests and directions of parents and teachers. 2. Learning to share toys and materials 3. Being helpful to parents and teachers 4. Thanking God for food before eating 5. Saying please, thank you, and you re welcome 6. Refraining from hurting other children 7. Learning to be a happy giver. Attitudes 1. Loving God and Jesus 2. Having a good self-image based on the knowledge that God made them and loves them. (needs positive input from parents) 3. Feel that Jesus is their friend. 4. Have the sense that the church is a group of God s people who love them and will help them. 5. Wants to pray 6. Shows interest in the Bible 7. Likes to hear Bible stories 8. Enjoys singing happy songs to and about God and Jesus 9. Feels kindly toward other people 10. Is beginning to develop a sense of acceptable and unacceptable behavior.

3 4-5-year-olds Young children (4 and 5 year olds) are capable of exhibiting these desirable behavior patterns. 1. Talks to God expressing thanks and praise, as well as asking for help or for objects. 2. Thanks God for sending Jesus. 3. Asks questions about and sing songs about God, Jesus, and the Bible. 4. Invites others to come to Sunday school. 5. Shares Sunday school stories and songs with parents and others. 6. Is kind and helpful to family and others. 7. Can say please and thank you at the proper times. Attitudes 1. Loves God and begins to understand all God gives him. 2. Wants to know more about God and the world He has created. 3. They desire to do simple tasks to show love for God, for Jesus, for others. 4. Wants to come to Sunday school regularly. 5. Wants to help others learn about Jesus. 6. Wants to hear Bible stores. 7. Wants to do right and have the approval of God. 8. Should occasionally rise above self-interest to give something he values to someone he loves. 9. Shows a simple sense of fair play expressed in such things as a willingness to take turns and sharing equally. 10. Shows a well-defined sense of obedience/disobedience coupled with a desire to obey Jesus and parents. Young children can know the following things: God exists and created everything. God and Jesus love me. God wants to take care of me. God gave us the Bible. God s Son, Jesus, died for my sins so I can be with God. Prayer is talking to God in Jesus name. I need to talk to God regularly. I need to regularly listen to stories about God and Jesus from the Bible. God wants me to be good, kind, and loving, just like Him and Jesus. God wants me to see and think good things. God wants me to go to church.

4 God wants me to obey my parents. God wants me to learn to share my things with others. Ask yourself the following questions about your preschool child: Does he like going to church? Does she respond to conversations about a Bible verse or story? How does he participate in prayer? Does she spontaneously introduce Jesus into conversation? What evidence does he give of awareness that God created the world? Is she learning to obey you so she can obey God? Does he think of others? Is she learning to accept herself? Can he retell the Christmas story? 5 6-year-olds Kindergartners can know the following things: God is my loving Father. He wants to guide, teach, love, protect, and provide for me. In some ways, I am like God. He has feelings and thoughts. He understands me. Jesus showed us who God is and what He s like. In other ways, I am very different from God. He is everywhere, He can do anything, and He knows everything. Jesus has always been with God and is God. God tells us about Himself, His Son, Jesus, and His plan for us in the Bible. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for me. God has prepared a place for me in heaven. Jesus is coming back for me. I can have a relationship with God by accepting what Jesus did for me. God wants to have a relationship with me. I can talk to God through prayer. I can thank God and Jesus for all They ve done and still do for me. I can ask God for wisdom and guidance. I can read about God and Jesus in the Bible. God has a plan for me. The Bible tells me what kind of person God wants me to be. God s way works best. I can be all God wants me to be by following Jesus. God wants me to put only good things in my heart. When I sin, I should ask God to forgive me, and He will. God wants me to spend time with other Christians, both at church and in the community.

5 God wants me to help others and be nice to them. God wants me to obey Him and follow Jesus in everything. God wants me to share and take good care of everything He gives me. God wants me to understand and memorize Scripture. Ask yourself the following questions about your Kindergartner: How does he view materialism? When given the opportunity, does she have some Christian friends? Does he speak of Jesus words to his friends? What is her response when someone doesn t share? Is he memorizing Bible verses? Does she include more than one friend in playtime? Is he able to tell the Easter story? Is she learning to apply the Golden Rule to her relationships? Is he excited to go church? Has she asked Jesus into her heart? Does he ask God to forgive him when he does wrong and receive forgiveness? Early Elementary Children Early elementary children can know the following things: I can be sure that God is real. There is only one God. God exists in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, called the Trinity. God is eternal. Jesus is both God and Man. Nothing exists apart from God. God s character is true, honest, loving, compassionate, generous, selfless, forgiving, merciful, trustworthy, faithful, just, impartial, and holy. God wants me to learn and study the Bible to learn about who God is, what He has done, and what He is doing. The Bible is true. It is God s Word and you can trust it. The world is full of sin. There is an enemy in the world and not everyone obeys God. Heaven and hell are real places. Jesus died to save me from the penalty of sin. Jesus defeated sin and Satan.

6 Jesus is the only way to God. I can pray on my own or with others. Prayer benefits me in many ways. Keep praying: persistence, tests, and trials. I can trust God and turn my life over to Him. I should learn to seek God. Jesus gives me peace. God wants me to learn and grow and become like Jesus. Growth is a learning process. God wants me to develop my talents, the Fruits of the Spirit, and my character to match His. God wants me to mature and develop my personality. Church is God s idea. Jesus is the head of the Church. At church, we learn about God and encourage each other to follow Jesus. God wants me to understand what a blessing people and good relationships are. God has taught me right from wrong. He did this to keep me safe and to give me a good life. The Ten Commandments are a good guide for life. God wants me to share my faith. Ask yourself the following questions about your early elementary age child: Does he understand the meaning of faith and trust? Is she making Christian friends? Does he reach out to others? Is she learning to establish her own moral standard and how does it line up with God s Word? How does he handle responsibility? Is she learning not to gossip or criticize others? Does he read his Bible at home on his own? Has he received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior? Does she initiate conversation or show interest in being baptized? Does he ask questions about the Bible, God, and how to apply His Word in his life? Can your child explain, in her own words, fundamental doctrines and truths, such as explaining communion or baptism?

7 Older Elementary Children Older elementary children can know the following things: Truth is not relative. Not everyone believes the truth about God, but there are ways you can respond to their objections. I need to know how to study the Bible. God wants me to know His One Big Story of the Bible and see how He put the Bible together in a fascinating way. God lets His people serve Him and express their worship of Him in different ways. God gave us an accurate record of His Son, Jesus. God wants me to tell others about what Jesus has done. Jesus will return as Judge; there will be a new heaven and a new earth. I can pray, read the Bible, and worship God on my own and in a group. God wants me to choose to grow, learn, and seek His wisdom. God s grace: I don t have to do it on my own. God is working in me by His Holy Spirit. God wants me to find and follow His will for my life. God wants me to choose to commit my entire life and everything I have to Him. I want to choose God s way because I love Him and want to be like Jesus. God wants me to learn to seek and follow His Spirit s leading. I need to learn how to resist Satan and temptation. I need to get involved in church and find my place in the body of Christ. Ask yourself the following questions about your pre-teen: Do her attitudes reverence the things of God? Do his actions show that he believed that the Bible is truth? Is she making godly choices? Does she have personal peace in her life, in general? Does he talk about the Lord, including Him in his plans? Can she tell how Jesus birth, death and resurrection relate to her life? Does he invite his friends to church? Is she quick to forgive and ask for forgiveness? Does he have concrete convictions and a worldview to be able to make Godhonoring choices with music, games, television, friends, etc.?