“Family Plan”
Please take 5-10 minutes each day to recite the verse with your child, discuss the topic for the day, and pray with them.
Family Plan for Pre-K, K-1st and 2nd-3rd Grades
The verse for the week is: Romans 10:17
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ
MONDAYWe’ve been learning about Hidden Peoples. Do you remember what Hidden Peoples are? Allow answers
Hidden Peoples are also called unreached people. We call them Hidden People because the Good News of Jesus, also called the Gospel, has not reached them or “found” them. They have never seen a Bible or heard preaching from it.
So far, we’ve the Bible has taught us…
[God] desires all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
1 Timothy 2:4
We also learned last week that Jesus told his followers:
Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.
Mark 16:15
This week we will begin to get a better understanding of how we can be a part of proclaiming the Gospel to the whole creation.
PRAYis rules should / TUESDAY
Do you remember what someone who goes tofar away lands and teaches people about Jesus is called? Let’s play a game.
I’ll say a word. If it the right word stand up. If it is wrong, stay sitting, okay?
Someone who goes and teaches about Jesus is called a…
Diplomat …Surgeon…Stationary
Missionary! Stand up!
What if you felt God was asking you to be a missionary? Would you be willing to go and tell people about Jesus? Why or why not? Allow answers
It would probably mean leaving the home and people you know, going someplace strange. You might not even understand the language!
Listen to this:Yesuayahibbak (male) and Yesuayahibookee (female).
That means “Jesus loves you” in Arabic, the language of Muslims! To be a missionary in a far away country might mean you have to learn a new language. You’d need to know it to share about Jesus, but also for everything else you do like…asking for direction, shopping for groceries, etc. How do you think it would feel to live in a place where you did not know the language very well?
PRAY
WEDNESDAY
Would you go to another country and learn another language to teach about Jesus? Could you do it?
If God put it on your heart to do it, He will give you the strength and ability to do it.
Who knows, maybe one day someone in your Sunday School classroom will be a missionary in a far away land! Maybe even you!
But what if God doesn’t call you to go far away? Can you still be a missionary?What do you think? Stand up if you think “yes” stay sitting if you think “no.”Well, let’s remember what we have learned.
God wants EVERYONE to know about Jesus, believe in him and be saved.
And Jesus has told his followers, including us today, to go into ALL the world and teach about the Gospel.
Could that mean you and I, even here in the towns we live in? Stand up for “yes”!I wonder what that might look like, how we could do that…allow ideas
PRAY / THURSDAY
The Bible helps us understand how and where we are missionaries. The book of Acts talks about how the church started. The book describes what happened shortly after Jesus rose from the dead.
In chapter 1, the risen Jesus is with his disciples. They ask him when the kingdom will be restored to Israel. Jesus tells them they are not to worry about when that is. They are not to know. They have work to do now!
So he tells them what they are to do. Let’s listen as I read Acts 1:8.
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
They are to be telling people about Jesus! Where? Well, let’s look at the verse again. Do you know where the disciples and Jesus were when Jesus said this?
They were on the Mt of Olives, at the edge of Jerusalem. Where did Jesus tell them they were to be his witnesses?Let’s look at the map. First, we’ll find Jerusalem, That’s where they were to start. Right where they were!
PRAY
FRIDAY
Let’s look at the map some more. We found Jerusalem yesterday. Now, let’s find Judea, that’s the next place Jesus mentioned. Then Samaria and finally the ends of the earth.
They were to start where they were, move to their neighbors, people like them. Then they were to go to Samaria and last of all the ends of the earth. Start where you are and then move outward.
What does that mean to us?It means we can be Jesus’ witnesses, right where we are! Right where God has placed us, in the towns we live in.
In fact, we are SUPPOSED to be. Do you think God put you where you live accidentally? NO! He has you where you on purpose to meet people and tell them who Jesus is and what he has done for you…to be his witness.
Some of us may be called to go to far away lands, but all of us get to be Missionaries in our very own towns, our very own “Jersualems”
PRAY. / SATURDAY
So, what have we learned these first few weeks about missionaries and how God uses people?
God wants all people to be saved. And He sends His people to teach and tell others that Jesus loves them and died on the Cross for them so they could be in heaven.
God has called us to love people who seem a bit different from us. He calls some tofar away places, but He also calls us to be missionaries in areas that may be near, but the people are a little different…in our “Samaria.” We can do this by going on short term mission trips. Each of you can be a missionary in our Samaria
As we help people in our “Samaria”, as we show them we care about them, we often have opportunities to share with them that Jesus loves them; that he died on the Cross for their sins and rose to life. Why? So all who put their faith in him will be a part of the family of God and live with him one day in heaven forever.
PRAY
“Family Plan”
Please take 5-10 minutes each day to recite the verse with your child, discuss the topic for the day, and pray with them.
The verse for the week is: John 3:36
But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.
Family Plan for 4th-5th and 6th-8th Grades
MONDAYLast week we learned about context. Remember Commissioner Context! We have to know the context of a passage to understand it and solve its mystery.
Scriptural context includes the surrounding verses, the book it is written in and how it fits into the whole of the Bible. Let’s see if you can remember and give and example of these others…
Historical context, Geographical context, and Cultural context.
This week we are going to learn about key words, how to spot them and how they direct us to solving mysteries. Are you ready? What do we need to do first?
First, we need to pray…
PRAY
“Lord, help us to understand the Bible you have given us. We ask that the Holy Spirit help us show us, teach us what you want us to learn. Help us to do it as well. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
is rules should / TUESDAY
You may want your flip notebooks when you search for key words. It’s a good idea to jot down key words and ideas. You’ll even want to make some lists about them.
Key words are words that pop up more than once. If you see a word used repeatedly in Scripture you can bet God wants you to take notice of it!
Pay attention. Sometimes the author will use a synonym. This is a word that is different but means the same thing. What is an example of a synonym?
Allow answers
Also note; key words are important words that answer the 5W’s and an H.
Why are key words important? Because:
Key Words
Reveal Themes
They are keys that unlock meaning for us. They show us the subject of a passage, paragraph, chapter and even a book of the Bible. That’s a lot of work for words!We’ll see how this works this week by practicing from a passage. We’ll use a passage that is very famous, John 3:16. But, we are going to pay attention to Scriptural context and use the verses that are connected to it to better understand. We will look at verses 14-18.
PRAY
WEDNESDAY
First let’s pray. Then lets’ read John 3:14-18.
Now we’ll start looking for key words, words that are used over and over again. Mark each one in a unique way. For example, circle in red any name or pronoun that refers to Jesus. Find all the key words you can.
When you are done, list in your notebook all the key words you found.
Okay, let’s go over them. What key words did you find? Allow answers
God, Son, believe, condemned, eternal life, world….good! We’ll look at them more tomorrow.
Looking at the key words we can see what God views as important, what He wants us to know. And we can start linking them together to unravel the mystery.
PRAY. / THURSDAY
In our verse, “believes” comes up several times. We can ask, “What is the reader instructed to believe?”The answer to this question is; believe in the Son of God!
“Son” or “Son of God” is a key word also.
If we don’t know who that is we can search the Scripture to discover it is Jesus. That’s Scriptural context, how the words are used in Scripture.
What does our passage tell us is the result of believing in Jesus? Eternal life
For who? Is this opportunity limited? No it’s to the whole “world” (another key word).
“Condemned” is also another key word in our passage. What do we learn about who is condemned? Allow answersAll who do not believe in Jesus! We’ll keep working on the mystery tomorrow!
PRAY.
FRIDAY
Another key word tells us who is behind this whole plan…God. He sent, He gave His Son. And what do you think “lifted up” might refer to? Who will be “lifted up”?
The Son of Man, another name used for Jesus in Scripture. “Lifted up” is referring to what will happen on the Cross!
Great detective work! But let’s talk about some other words you will see in Scripture that are important. One that direct you and guide you. They are like road signs. Here are a few to look for:
BUT…it points to contrast. Look at 3:17
Here’s another example 2 Tim. 1:7
What is the truth taught in this passage?
Other words that can show contrast or comparison are “HOWEVER” or “NEVER THE LESS”. Clues of time can be words like: WHEN, THEN, IMMEDIATELY, AFTER THIS, UNTIL, etc.
Another group of clue words point to the purpose of a sentence or a result. They are words such as: For, for this reason, that, so that, because, and therefore.All these key words link a verse to other verses, usually right before it, to add information and help us understand what they author is trying to tell us. They help answer the WHY question. / SATURDAY
Yesterday we saw that some key words give us a summary or purpose. Or they may direct us what to do. Let’s look back at the verses from John 3:14-18. Verses 14 and 15 tell us the Son of Man must be lifted up…but WHY? For what purpose?
Verse 16 answers…For (because) God loved the world so much He sent His Son that whoever would believe in him would have eternal life!
Remember Key words are Key! They guide and direct us in discovering what a passage is teaching. Key words reveal themes. Here’s a closely related passage from the same book, even the same chapter. Remember, Scripture interprets Scripture
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains in him.
John 3:36
Can you begin to see a theme, a Big Idea, for John, chapter 3, based on context and key words?
PRAY