Page1 The Lord s Prayer Matthew 6:5-15 But God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer. --Psalms 66:19 Jesus is our teacher. Ask your child if he/she knows what perfection means. Did he ever know anyone who seemed to be perfect in every way, for whatever reason? Explain to your child that no matter what, the only person who ever walked this earth without sin was the Lord Jesus. He never judged anyone, and never committed even one sin. Think back to the past week. Ask your child what some of his sins were. Maybe you could share some of your sins (to show that you are not perfect either). Talk about them together, and what your child might be able to do better as he goes through the next week. Encourage your child to pray and ask God for His forgiveness for whatever he/she may have done. Discuss the importance of reflecting on our sins each day and seeking His forgiveness. Share with your child that we can also ask for strength to fight our human nature so that we may not commit the same sins again. We want to come to God with a humble and repentant heart and show Him that we are truly sorry for what we have done. God will give us the strength that we need and help us to have the courage to go forward with a fresh start again. Talk about it.
Page2 Jesus Teaches Prayer Matthew 26:36-45 and Luke 22:39-46 When a good man prays, great things happen. --James 5:16 Jesus is our teacher. Discuss with your child how the Lord Jesus prayed in Gethsemane. He prayed so hard that he was sweating as if he was bleeding. He was so concerned over the events that were about to take place revolving around His death. When we pray to God, we also want our emotion to come through. Share with your child a time when you fervently prayed for something and what the outcome was. Encourage your child to share a prayer they have in their heart. Pray together and ask the Lord to especially hear the prayers of your child. (It is important for you to continue to model prayer to your pre-teen. They are still listening and can learn a great deal by your example, rather than your words directly to them.) Go over the memory verse with your child: When a good man prays, great things happen. (James 5:16). Look for and share those great things that happen when we pray to God with our whole heart. Continue to pray together as much as possible. If family prayer has been difficult to coordinate with your schedules, talk together with your child/family and find some time to pray together during the week. Write it on your calendar and continue to share those special moments with your child. They will bring you closer together, and God will bless your family and hear your prayers. Talk about it.
Page3 The Beatitudes Matthew 5:1-12 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. --Matthew 5:8 Jesus is our teacher. The Beatitudes describe attitudes we want to have in life (being compassionate, being a peacemaker, etc.). Look up the beatitudes together and share your favorite one with your child. Notice that each one starts with the word blessed, because God wants to bless us when we have these attitudes. These attitudes are not always easy, and sometimes doing the right thing is a tough choice. Talk to your child about struggles they may face at school with these attitudes (being kind to all classmates, being peaceful instead of arguing, showing mercy when they are the ones being wronged, etc.). Talk with your child about blessing. If possible, share some examples of times when your family was blessed by God. Explain to your child that we can also be a blessing to others by following the beatitudes. Encourage your child to look for opportunities to be a blessing to others (including siblings) as they go through the week. Pray together and ask God to help each of you look for ways to be a blessing to someone each day. Talk about it.
Page4 Jesus and Nicodemus John 3:1-5 I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. --John 14:6 Jesus is the way to God. Jesus tells us in our memory verse that He is the way to God. In the lesson, we learn that we must be born of water (Holy Baptism) and spirit (Holy Sealing) and have faith to enter God s kingdom. But this isn t always so easy. Talk with your child about challenges they might be facing as they try to stay on this path. It may be peer pressure at school (drugs, alcohol, etc.), temptations to sin, fear of being rejected, doubts about what is right, etc. These things all distract us from THE path. But we can pray each day to God to have the faith and strength to remain with Him. You can also pray together that God is gracious and can give special strength to your child as he/she faces life s challenges each day. Listen to your child s challenges. Encourage him to share them with God and stay on the path of faith the reward of being with God is worth it! Talk about it.
Page5 Jesus Performs Miracles John 2:1-11, Matthew 14:13-33 You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the peoples. --Psalms 77:14 With God all things are possible. Jesus performed many miracles while on earth. Let your child tell you about their favorite miracle or share your favorite miracle with them. Through these miracles, Jesus was showing that he was indeed the son of God. We can also experience miracles today. Perhaps a prayer is answered in a miraculous way, a job opportunity opens, or an illness is healed. These are all examples of the miracle of God s love. Share any experiences you may have had with your child. Encourage your child to look for evidence of God s miraculous love in their lives and remind them that they can pray to God and ask Him to reveal His presence in their lives each day. Talk about it.
Page6 God s Mercy The Prodigal Son Luke 15:11-32 Memory Work your Father in heaven does not want any of these little children to be lost. --Matthew 18:14 Jesus cares for the lost. Discuss together the story of the Prodigal Son. Jesus taught about God s mercy and His forgiveness for sinners. Explain that we all sin, but just as the prodigal son came back to the father, we too can receive forgiveness when we repent. Explain to your child that repentance could start with saying we are sorry, but we also need to truly understand that we have done wrong in order to be forgiven and try our best not to commit the same sin again. The father in the story loved both the prodigal son and the son who remained with him equally. In this way, God also loves all His children, despite their weaknesses. Remind your child of God s love for everyone. He wants to help all of us do better in our lives. We must remember to seek His blessing and ask Him each day for guidance and wisdom. Encourage your child to do this each day. Talk about it.
Page7 The Pharisee and the Publican Luke 18:9-14 Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God. I have heard you, declares the Lord. --2 Chronicles 34:27 Be humble and selfless in all things. Talk with your child about humbleness and pride. In our culture today, it is difficult to be humble because we are taught to feel empowered, to have a high self-esteem, and to do anything we want. In contrast, Jesus was the perfect example of humbleness throughout his life on the earth. Pride is thinking that you are better than everyone, almost as if you yourself are a little God. Pride is what got Satan kicked out of heaven at the beginning of time. Being full of pride is NOT Christ-like. Explain to your child that we must remember throughout our lives, that God is the ultimate authority. Our glory is not in this life (that would defeat the purpose of being humble). Read together James 4:10: Don t be too proud before the Lord, and he will make you great. The promise written in scripture for those who are humble is that, even if in this life we don t get our reward, eventually we will be rewarded by God. He will lift you up. Talk about it.
Page8 The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant Matthew 18:23-35 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. --Colossians 3:13 We must forgive others. Talk with your child about forgiveness. Forgiveness is not easy, but if we claim to follow Jesus and His Apostles, we must be filled with mercy for those who have done wrong to us. Perhaps you have someone from your past that you need to forgive. Maybe you need forgiveness from someone else. There are so many things that happen in our lives each day, and we are surrounded by sin. We cannot escape it, at school, at home, at work, with our friends, etc. Explain to your child that when we pray, we can ask God to work in our hearts and help our lack of forgiveness or, if we need it, ask God to help us with our need to repent and ask someone else to have mercy on us for what we have done to them. Encourage your child to spend some time praying and thinking about what side of forgiveness they fall on today. Do they need to forgive someone who has done them wrong? Have they hurt someone that they need to go back to and ask for mercy? Remind your child that in everything we do, we can always turn to God in prayer for strength, guidance, and help. Talk about it.
Page9 The Foolish Rich Man/The Rich Young Man Luke 12:13-21, Matthew 19:16-24 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. --Matthew 6:33 Strive first for the kingdom of God. Ask your child what things in their life are the most important to him/her. Maybe they value their new ipod or cell phone, or their CD/DVD collection. Talk about what happens when the next model of cell phone (etc.) comes out, then how do they feel about theirs? Discuss the value of their treasures, and which ones (if any) they would be able to take with them on the day of the Lord. There are many things in this world that will compete for our time and our hearts. We must be careful not to allow them to take the place of God. From time to time it is important to take a good hard look at ourselves and determine what it is we treasure the most. If we find that we are not treasuring God, we should ask God to forgive us and then ask Him to help us get back on the right track. He is a gracious God, and He can help us, if we just ask. Encourage your child to ask God for such help when they talk to Him. Talk about it.
Page10 The Story of Zacchaeus Luke 19:1-10 For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost. --Luke 19:10 (NLT) Encounters with Jesus can change our hearts. Talk with your child about how quickly the people complained about Jesus going to Zacchaeus house. They even referred to him as a sinner. The people were judging Zacchaeus because they didn t like him. Ask your child if he/she has ever had this happen in their life? Did they ever jump to conclusions quickly about a person and find themselves judging them? Maybe someone was quick to judge your child. How did that make him/her feel? Discuss this together. Jesus wants us to love our enemies. That takes a very powerful kind of love and compassion. Talk about who our enemies might be. It can be anyone who thinks differently from us, looks down on us, or even treats us badly. It could be a neighbor, a school mate, a relative, or even a friend. If we are kind and loving to them, we just may draw them into God s house. If Jesus can love people who put Him to death, then surely, we can love those who look down on us. Talk about it.
Page11 Jesus, the Good Shepherd Matthew 18:12-14 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them and they follow me. --John 10:27 God cares for His own. Ask your child if they ever lost something that was important to them. How did they feel when they realized it was lost? Did they ever find the item? (Maybe you have a story/experience to share with your child). Talk with your child about what it means to be lost from God. When we sin, we become separated from God, and in a sense, lost. We may become lost, but God loves and cares for us so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, for us. He doesn't want any of us to be lost. Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He cares for us unconditionally, no matter what we may have done that was not right. A shepherd is kind and loving and gentle. Ask your child if he/she knows someone who is hard to get along with. Maybe they re annoying, too loud, too self-conscious, etc. Explain to your child that just because someone is hard to get along with, that does not give us an excuse NOT to be kind and caring toward someone. In other words, just because someone is difficult to get along with (even your brother or sister) does not mean they are not worthy of your kindness. Ask your child if he/she has ever been mean or rude to someone just because they didn t like them, because they were difficult to get along with or they did something that wasn t so nice. One example would be commonly referred to as road rage. Share with your child what road rage is, and any experiences you may have had with it. Just because someone cuts us off or is rude with their driving does not mean we should become aggressive and do the same to them, seeking revenge. It may escalate the situation and cause danger or even an accident on the road, bringing injury to others. Maybe the person was just having a bad day. It does not mean they are not worthy of your kindness and compassion. Encourage your child to pray and ask God to help change their heart so that it would not be so difficult each day to be kind and caring towards others, no matter what the circumstances. Then we can truly have a heart like Jesus. Talk about it.
Page12 The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard Matthew 20:1-16 Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. --Matthew 9:37 The Lord will reward ALL His faithful workers. Ask your child if they know what T.E.A.M. stands for (Together Everyone Achieves More). Talk to them about playing on a TEAM in school, where one person hoards the ball (a ball hog, i.e. the child who always has the ball and never passes it to his teammates). Most of the time, the team with the ball hog loses the game, because every player on the other team is after him/her (12 against 1, for example). Talk about how the other players that are not included in the action of the game might feel. God needs all of us working together as a TEAM. Could you imagine a football game (for example) with a full team of players versus just one player on the opposing team? Sounds ridiculous, right? How could one player hike the ball, throw the ball, catch the ball, make it through the 10 people on the opposing team AND score a touchdown? That would be impossible. There are so many things that need to be done in God s work. Someone needs to direct the choir, play the organ, do the flowers, make the visits, host a fellowship, greet the members, clean up the church, etc. Talk with your child about where they might fit in to the TEAM in your congregation. How can he/she help? God needs ALL of us. One person cannot possibly do everything. But Together, Everyone Achieves More. Talk about it.