God Keeps His Promises

This week we continued talking about Noah and the flood. As I thought about the flood and the events that followed I was reminded how trustworthy God is, and how fortunate we are to have so many accounts in scripture that we can teach our children, which highlight this reality. God could have given us His Word through a long list of rules, but instead he chose to use narrative, law, wisdom, poetry, prophecy, gospels, epistles, and apocalyptic literature that we can draw much more from than we ever could from a list of rules. As you share accounts from scripture with your children it is important to remind them how fortunate we are to have scripture the way we do, we know how God planned to work out our salvation, something the Israelites didn’t have, and we have so many accounts that reinforce the truth of His power, love, mercy, justice, and immutable (unchangeable) nature!

Lesson:

 Last week we talked about how man became so sinful that God was sorry that He created them, and how He told Noah that He was going to destroy the earth by sending a great flood to kill all living creatures except for Noah, his family, and two of every kind of animal. God gave Noah instructions on how to build a great ark, Noah trusted God and obeyed!

 After Noah finished the ark, Noah, his family, and all the animals got on the Ark, and God send the rain. The Bible says that the fountains of the deep burst open (water came from the ground) and the floodgates of the sky were opened, the rain fell for forty days and forty nights.

 After 150 days the water started go down, but it took a long time for all the water to go away. After a while Noah sent out a dove to see if the water had dried up, but the dove found no place to rest so it returned. Seven days later Noah sent the dove out again and it returned with a freshly picked olive leaf. Seven days later Noah sent the dove out again, and it didn’t return, which told Noah that the water was nearly gone.

 When Noah and his family came out of the ark, Noah made a burnt offering to God. The Lord accepted the offering, and made a covenant, a covenant is a promise that can never be broken, that he would never again destroy the earth by water again. Then He placed rainbow in the sky as a sign of his covenant, and a reminder to us of His promise.

 Remember we’ve been talking about how important it was to trust in God, we cannot have a relationship with Him if we do not trust in Him. Accounts like this one help remind us that when we trust in God we are placing our trust rightly. There is nothing else as sure as the promises God makes to His people; He is the only one worthy of our trust!

 Lesson Recap:

• How long did it rain? (For 40 days and 40 nights)
• Where did the water come from? (From the ground and from the sky)
• How long did the water remain on the earth before it started to go away? (150 days)
• What did Noah send out to see if the water was gone? (A dove)
• How many times did he send the dove out? (3)
• What did Noah do when they got off the Ark? (Make an offering to the Lord)
• What did God do in response to Noah’s offering? (He made a covenant, promise, to never destroy the earth with water again)
• What was the sign of His promise? (A rainbow)
• Is there anything more sure than the promises of God? (No!!)

For mom and dad:

If you’ve read many of my posts you’ve probable a notices the stress on trusting God, and the impact it can have on our actions. I think that there is a reason that this is such a prevalent theme in scripture; sin has left us feeling as though we are autonomously sovereign, essentially the effect of sin on the world is practical atheism. We acknowledge God’s sovereignty, but practically we plan our lives as we see fit. In the book of Judges we find the words that accurately depict life in our culture, “everyone did what was right in his own eye.” Growing in our relationship with God means doing what seems illogical by our fleshly estimation, and trusting in God, His word, and His ways as the guide to our lives.

Anytime I fall into sinful anger, it is because I have forgotten who is in control of life; my anger is typically the result of feeling as though my rights have been violated or my rule as queen of the Hickey kingdom has been subverted by one of my not so loyal subjects, AKA my children or husband. When I bring my mind back to the reality that any disruption in my plan was the plan of God, my sin becomes evident and  I am left with the choice to continue in sinful rebellion or to TRUST in my loving heavenly Father who only has good things for me.

I feel so blessed by the ministry God has called me to in our church, as I study to prepare our lessons and make them kid friendly I find my own understanding deepened. In teaching kids to trust in God, I am challenged to ask God to help me trust him more. There are some prayers I think we are afraid to pray, this may be one of them, because trusting God is only difficult when I face difficulty. When life is smooth sailing trusting God is oh so easy, but when the storm of life hits trusting in the things that are unseen is a real struggle. If I ask God to help me trust Him more I am inevitable going to face some difficulty, which means that to ask God to help me trust Him more I must first trust in His love and care.

I can tell you that God has certainly shown himself to be merciful and good to his word, Matthew 7:7,11 say “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you…if you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” So, I have asked God to help me to trust Him more. I have some very dear family members who have been taken captive by false teaching, I have talked with them before about the error in what they believe, but they continue to assure me, despite my assertion of the danger they are in, that they are fine. They continue to talk with me as though we believe the same things, almost as though they can convince me that orthodoxy is really not that big of a deal. I have been reluctant to continue this important conversation with them, because I want a relationship with them, I want their love, and I fear that instead of them coming to Christ I will end up losing them for good. The truth is that my fear is a legitimate fear, but it reveals just how much I TRUST in me and not God. Recently I decided that it was time to once again to broach this topic with my loved ones, I was scared, in fact instead of going to them in person I decided to email them, but then I got scared and couldn’t send the email. However, God in His faithfulness provided an opportunity to have these discussions in person, while they did not go as well as I would like, I can say with certainty that God strengthened me and has been a great comfort since. It’s the gospel that saves, not my ability to communicate it perfectly. I have to trust in God to work through our conversations, and be willing to face difficulty if I hope to see those I love brought to a saving faith. It hurt to have people you love angry with you, but it hurts more to know they were in danger and you did nothing to warn them!

Because of the nature of sin, I know that I am not alone in my struggle to trust in God. My encouragement to you is this, as you study scripture either for your own growth or to teach it to your children take time to stand back and look at the big picture. Observe the faithful nature of our God who promised to save Noah and delivered, who promised a Messiah and delivered, and who promised to return in glory and bring us home and will deliver! Ask God to show you the areas of life where you are holding back because you struggle to trust in Him to deliver, and seek His help to trust Him more. It is a difficult request, but it will lead you to a closer relationship with Him! Remember we can trust in God because He always keeps His promises!

As always I pray that this has been encouraging as you seek to lead your children to the cross!

I would love to hear your thought, so please leave me a comment!

Noah Trusted God

This week we started talking about Noah and the flood. As I prepared the lesson I focused on the different themes, and how they connect together. The past two weeks we saw how sin can deceive us and make a bad decision seem good, and how trust in God is foundational to a relationship with him. As we move into the story of the flood, we see that sinful desires have become the rule force of man, “every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually”. Noah alone is singles out as a righteous man, who followed God, and was blameless in his time. Noah trusted God; he loved God, and when God told him to build the ark he obeyed. The story of Noah is amazing, it is important to teach it for what it is historical narrative, not a fairytale. There is so much that can be drawn out and applied to our lives and our children’s lives!

Lesson:

Last week we talked about how sin is very deceptive, it lies to us. Cain was angry with his brother and killed him because he thought it would solve his problem. Remember how God warned Cain that if he didn’t turn from his sin quickly that he would then struggle to overcome it, instead of overcoming his sin he was overcome by sin and killed Abel as a result. Sin is that way, it always gets worse, and it will not go away on its own.

 As time passed the sin of man grew; until God looked on man and saw how their thought were continually evil, except for one man, Noah, who found favor with God. The bible says Noah followed God, he was a righteous man, he walked with God, and was blameless in his time.

 God told Noah that he was going to destroy the earth by sending a great flood to kill all living creatures except for Noah, his family, and two of every kind of animal. God gave Noah instructions on how to build a great ark, and Noah obeyed God!

Do you remember how we talked about God wanting a relationship with us, well for us to have a relationship with Him we must trust Him. Do you think that Noah would have obeyed and built the ark if he didn’t trust God? Of cores he wouldn’t, if he didn’t trust God he would have laughed at the idea of building a huge boat on dry land at a time when no one knew what rain was.

God wants us to trust in Him and His ways, He knows better than we do, and he never asks us to do something that is bad for us. People were probably mean to Noah, they probably thought he was crazy, but it didn’t stop Him from obeying God and saving His family from being destroyed in the flood.

    Lesson Recap

• What does it mean to say that sin is deceptive? (Sin lies to us, it promises us something good, but in the end we get terrible)
• Why did Cain kill Abel? (He thought it would solve his problem)
• Did killing Able make thing better or worse for Cain? (Worse)
• As time passed did people get more sinful or less sinful? (More sinful)
• Why did God want to destroy the earth? (Because he saw how evil the thoughts of man were)
• Was there anyone who had favor with God? (Yes, Noah)
• What did God ask Noah to do? (Build an great ark to save his family and two of every kind of animal)
• Did Noah Obey? (Yes)
• Why did Noah obey? (Because Noah trusted God)

For Mom and Dad:

Teaching the story of Noah to your kids can be a challenge, especially as they get older. The story of Noah and the flood from the bible are critical to our defence of a young earth, if you are unfimilar with this area of science I highly recommend visiting the Answers in Genesis and The Institute for Creation Research (ICR) websites they have lots of recources that can help you grow in your undestanding of young earth science and the role of the flood. The story of the flood is so much more than a narative that informs us about the character of God, it also helps us understand the history of our planet.

There are so many lessons that can be gleaned from the account of Noah in the Bible, for kids I think that highlighting Noah’s trust in God and God’s holy standard are among the most important.  Noah trusted God, that was the basis for His obedience, and God’s holy standard, makes such a destructive flood reasonable.

It’s in our fallen nature to minimize God’s holiness, however in considering the flood we must face the reality our flesh longs to deny, that God’s standard is perfection.  It’s a perfection unmarked by even the smallest deviation. It is painful to face just how fallen we truly are, and how our hearts hide such pervasive sin. Left to ourselves our sin spreads like a plague, poising everything so subtly that we don’t even notice the darkness that slowly envelops us. However, God in His goodness rescues us from our sin, just as he rescues Noah and His family, but like Noah we must be willing to trust in Him when he tells us of our need for a Savior. Noah could have said, “A flood, no. That’s crazy. What is rain anyway?” He could have ignored God. However, when God told Noah that He was going to send a flood to destroy all living thing, and that if Noah didn’t build the ark he would be lost, Noah believed him. By faith Noah built the ark, he believed God, submitted to God, and was saved. Until we face God’s perfect standard, the depth of our sin, and our utter inability to save ourselves we are lost. The account of the flood highlights God’s holy standard, His righteous justice, and His mercy in saving those who trust in Him. It’s an excellent narrative to help our children understand the high and holy standard of God, in hopes that they will see their own need for a savior. Only when the need is real is the cross truly a beautiful sight.

I hope this has been helpful as you seek to lead your children to the cross!

I would love to hear from you if you liked the post or of you just have feed back in general please leave me a comment!

Lessons from Cain and Abel for Kids and a Little Something for Mom and Dad

This week we continued to work through Genesis and learn more about the deceptive nature of sin, how it can make a really bad idea seem like a good solution to a problem. In Genesis 4 we are introduced to Adam and Eve’s sons, Cain and Abel, we are told about how Abel gave a good sacrifice to the Lord but Cain did not. Cain responds in anger to the rejection of his offering, and even after God warns him that his sin is leading him in the wrong direction he continues in his sin and killed Abel. Cain could have repented of his sin, given a proper offering, and been accepted by God; however, his sin blinded him to God’s care and warning. Instead of seeing his anger as the real problem, he saw his brother as the problem, and ultimately he killed him. As we shepherd our children we must teach them about how deceptive sin is, it always promises good things but ultimately it will leave us in bondage. Helping them to understand that God’s way may not be appealing; God calls us to do hard things, but it always the best way!

Lesson: 

Adam and Eve had two sons, the oldest Cain worked in the fields farming the land for food, and the younger Abel was a shepherd, he cared for the sheep. Both Cain and Able came to make an offering to the Lord; Cain gave fruit of the ground and Able gave the best of his sheep. God was happy with Abel’s sacrifice, but he was not with Cain’s.

 Cain became angry, God saw what was happening and told Cain that if he did what was right he be accepted, but that if he continued in his sinful anger, his sin grow and he would have to fight to rule over it. Cain would not turn from his sin; he should have given a proper sacrifice like Abel, and God would have been pleased. However, instead of turning from His sin he continued on, and in his anger he killed Abel.

 Last week we talked about how sin will deceive us or lie to us, we think if we sin and do the wrong thing we can get what we want. That is what happened to Cain, he wanted the approval God gave to Abel; yet he was unwilling to do what was necessary to get God’s approval. In His sin He thought that if Abel was out of the way God would approve of him, but the truth is that Cain only made his position before God worse. God punished Able by withholding from him the ability to produce good crops, and forced him to wander the earth separated from his home and his family.

 God wants a relationship with us, he is always looking out for our best interest, but we have to trust in Him and obey. As we obey and see him work in our lives we will grow in our trust in him and grow holiness. Remember when we sin and seek God’s forgiveness, He is gracious and welcomes us!

 Lesson Review:

• What were the names of Adam and Eve’s sons? (Cain and Able)
• What was Cain’s job? (He was a farmer)
• What was Abel’s job? (Shepherd)
• What was Cain’s offering? (Fruit)
• What was Abel’s offering? (the best of his sheep)
• What was Cain angry? (He was angry because God was pleased with Abel’s offering and not his)
• What did God tell Cain? (That if he did well he would be accepted, but if he continued to sin that he would have to fight to overcome it.)
• What did Cain do in His sin? (He killed his brother)
• How did God’s punish Cain? (He withheld his the ability to produce good crops, and forced him to wander the earth separated from his home and his family.)
• What could Cain have done to change things? (He could have turned from his sinful anger before he killed his brother, and made a proper offering to God)

For Mom and Dad:

As I worked on lessons for our children’s church program over the past year I have noticed a connection between trust and our relationship with God in every account I have studied. Trust was either the reason that people did things, the Apostles continues to preach the gospel even when their lives were in danger, or the reason that people didn’t do things, Peter denied Jesus because he was afraid what would happen to him if he didn’t (he didn’t trust God to take care of him). I have noticed this in my own home, in particular with my oldest son. There are times he disobeys because he doesn’t trust that we have his best interest in mind, because he doesn’t understand why we ask  him to do certain things. I see the same dynamic in myself, when I hold back from being bold sometimes it’s because I’m afraid of the consequences. I am afraid that God will not work through my words and instead I will just experience the pain of broken relationship with people I love.

I have considered how dramatically trust changes our relationship with people, lack of trust in a marriage is crippling. Lack of trust between a parent and child leaves a child in great danger, they think we are just keeping them from fun when we warn them that something is dangerous, out of their distrust they proceed and presto, they get hurt. Lack of trust between people prevents deep relationships from forming, for fear that one will turn on the other. Cain didn’t trust God, he didn’t listen to His counsel, he thought his anger was just, but ultimately it left far more heart ache in its path of destruction.

I am often like Cain with my own children, in my anger I can be quite nasty. A harsh word, a mean look, or an ugly tone, there are times in my anger I can feel the urgings of the Holy Spirit, “the anger of man doesn’t achieve the righteousness of God.” I have a choice to fight my flesh, trust in God to work in my kids hearts, and not rely on my sinful anger to get things done or I can continue in my sin and leave more pain the the wake of my murderous anger.

The story if Cain and Abel should stir our hearts, we are like Cain, and so our our children. We hear God’s counsel through His word, yet we think we have to do things our way to get the job done. While I have a tendency to skip right to repentance at this point, I think it is important to realize that a trust in God proceeds repentance. As a born again believer in Jesus Christ I have to return to the reality that God is in control, He is working everything together for the good of His children (Rom 8:28-29), He has saved me from the punishment I deserve by sending Jesus, and He is the one who accomplishes His plan, not me. I have to step back from my self-appointed post as ruler of my domain, and trust in Him to rule His world as He sees fit. Then I can walk in peaceful obedience, relieved of the burden to control the world, full of the knowledge that hardship and difficulty are often the gifts God uses to conform me to the image of His Son!

Raising kids is hard, it can be so trying, but we must trust God with the souls of our children, and fight for them on His terms. We must share God word with them often, respond to their disobedience in loving discipline (an area I fail in often), and pray diligently that He would work in them!

I hope this has been helpful and encouraging as you seek to lead your children to the cross!

I would love to hear from you, if you liked the post or if you just have some feedback in general please leave me a comment!

The Fall of Man

This week we taught the kids about Adam and Eve’s disobedience and it’s consequences. Teaching our children about the fall of man is very important. Our children need to understand that when sin entered the world it had devastating consequences. The break in our relationship with God that resulted from this sin is immeasurable, not a small rift, which God could overlook. It left our hearts twisted and self-focused, but God in His mercy promised Adam and Eve that He would defeat sin and crush the serpent who lead them down the path of sin. Helping our children understand the fall of man and the depth of their sin will help them to see their position before God, and their need for a savior!

Lesson:

Last week we talked about how God made everything! God created Adam and Eve on day six; He placed them in a beautiful garden filled with wonderful food. God told Adam that he could eat from any tree in the garden except for one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. However, a serpent tricked Eve; he told Eve that God didn’t want them to eat the fruit from the tree, because it would open her eyes and that she and Adam would become like God. She was believed the serpent and ate from the tree; then she gave the fruit to Adam. Their eyes were opened to good and evil and they became afraid of God, hiding when He returned to the garden.

 When they came out God ask what they had done; Adam blamed his sin on God because God gave him Eve, and Eve blamed the serpent that tricked her. Their sin brought the cursed of sin into the world, but God promised Adam and Eve that He would make a way for things to be made right, He promised them a savior. One who would save the man from the curse of sin, and offer a way for man to be made right before God. Adam and Eve did not know God plan, but they trusted Him.

 You and I are very blessed because we know how God fulfilled His promise. He sent Jesus to live the life none of us can live, a life free from sin, and then He took the punishment due to us for our sins. If we will repent, turn from sin, and trust in the good works of Jesus God will forgive our sins and we will spend eternity with God in heaven!

Lesson Recap:

• Where did God let Adam and Eve live? (In a beautiful garden)
• What were Adam and Eve told they could eat? (Anything from the trees, except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil)
• What did the serpent tell Eve? (The Serpent told Eve that the fruit was good and it would make her have the same knowledge as God)
• What did Eve do? (She ate the fruit, and gave it to Adam)
• What happened when God returned to the garden? (Adam and Eve were scared and they hid)
• Who did Adam blame for His sin? (Adam blamed God for giving him Eve.)
• Who did Eve blame? (Eve blamed the serpent)
• What happened because Adam and Eve sinned? (The world was cursed by sin, bringing death to all)
• Even though the world is cursed because of sin, what did God promise to do? (to send a savior.)

I mentioned in the beginning of this post that sin caused a break in our relationship with God, Adam and Eve were created to be dependent on God, to trust Him and His wisdom as He revealed it to them. However, instead they trusted in the wisdom that the fruit from the forbidden tree would bring. This is the heart of ALL sin, it is a failure to trust in the God and His ability to provide for our best interest that results from a false sense of autonomy. Sin has blinded us to reality, that is we are dependent of God at every moment whether we believe in Him and trust in Him or not. Growing in a relationship with God starts with a firm understanding of His character that fosters trust, as we come to a clearer understanding of Him nature and character we will find our trust in Him deepens stimulating growth in holiness. When we understand that He NEVER asks us to do something to our ultimate detriment we will trust in Him and follow His commands,  “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren” (Romans 8:28-29).

As you work with your children make sure that you are helping them to have a complete picture of God, help them understand His holiness, His love, His mercy, and finally His justice. Having a complete picture of who God is will help point them to the cross for salvation. When they see that God is holy, righteous, and just they will understand that he has to punish law breakers. Further, understanding His character and nature can also help them see how great a gap sin has brought between them.  A complete understanding of God makes the cross so precious, a sober understanding of all these things can be the tools God uses to lead your children to a saving faith.

Growing up I never understood the depth of my own sin, I knew Jesus came to save sinners. While I knew that I had sinned, I felt like I was a pretty good person compared to others. I was never taught about God’s holiness or His righteous anger, I didn’t know that God demanded perfection. So, I went on sinning, feeling secure in my salvation, because I could check all the right boxes. God was gracious and brought people into my life who shared the truth, who were faithful to minister even when I clearly didn’t like what they had to say. I do not want any of our children to be like I was, I want to know that I presented God’s character as faithfully as I could!

I love what Alistair Begg says, “It is only because God’s wrath is real, that His mercy is relevant.” (You can’t hear it when you read it, but there are a lot of rolling r’s)

Remember sin is deceptive, it always promises something good, but ultimately it leads to somewhere terrible. The forbidden fruit promised wisdom, but instead produced a profound distrust for our creator and a desire to live for our own glory! I hope this has been helpful as you labor to lead your children to the cross!

I would love to hear from you, if you liked the post or if you just have some feedback in general please leave a comment!

Fruit of The Spirit: Gentleness

This week we continued teaching the kids at our church about the Fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5:22-23, focusing on gentleness. This was a difficult lesson to write, because defining gentleness in a biblical way that kids can understand was a challenge. Gentleness is a response to circumstances motivated by our understanding of who we are and who God is, and is deeply rooted in our understanding of God’s goodness and His involvement in our lives. People who are gentle may appear weak; because they do not fight back when they are sinned against; however, gentleness is a demonstration of strength rather than weakness. Gentle people know that the sin committed against them was first committed against God; they are not concerned with their own honor, but the honor of God. They know that responding to sin in sin is never justified, and they will seek to bring reconciliation between their offender and God if possible. I encourage you to share  practical examples of gentleness with your kids it’s a great way to help them understand this challenging concept.

Lesson: Remember that we have been talking about the fruit of the spirit, which are words that describes people who have the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” So this week we are going to talk a little about gentleness.

 A person who displays the fruit of gentleness trusts in God, they know the limits of their understanding and the limitless wisdom of God. When things in life do not go the way they would like, they do not respond in anger, instead they remain clam and loving to those around to them, and they seek to honor God. Someone who is gentle does not think more of themselves then they should. Sometimes gentleness is translated meekness or humility.

 We serve a gentle God; He has given us His word so that we can know Him, and He has sent his Spirit to live in His people so that they have the ability to do what His word commands. You see He created all things, and has the right to demand that we do things His way; however, He is patient with us when we fail to obey. God sees every way that we have sinned against him, but instead of punishing us right now he offers us forgiveness and life if we will turn from sin to him. He could be mean and angry because that is what we deserve, but instead he is gentle and kind offering forgiveness to all who would turn to him!

 Review:

• What is the Fruit of the Spirit? (Things or words that describes people who have the Holy Spirit)
• What are other words for gentleness? (Humility or meekness)
• What does gentleness mean? (To understand your limitations and to understand the limitless wisdom of God.)
• When someone is gentle how do they respond to difficulty? (They remain calm, and loving to those around them, even when others are being mean, and seek to honor God.)
• Is our God harsh or gentle? (Gentle)
• What makes God gentle? (He could punish us immediately when we sin, but instead he is patient and continually offers us forgiveness if we will turn from our sin. We deserve His anger, but instead He is gentle and kind offering us forgiveness.)

There is so much application for both parents and kids. As a mom I think about how the I respond to my kids in those chaotic moments when all three boys are fighting or fussing. I am not gentle, in fact I can be down right mean, especially when they don’t respond the way I think they should. I think about how they respond to one another, when one refuses to share. Gentleness is just not natural to fallen humanity, because we are prideful we are quick to react when we feel our needs are not being met or our rights are being violated. However, this is contrary to the call to consider others as more important than ourselves (Phil 2:3).

We serve a gentle God, He does not yell or hurt us when we refuse to obey his commands instead he is patient in His compassion. When I think about how blind I was to my sin prior to salvation, I am shocked at how gentle God was in revealing it to me and that gentleness actually worked. I really thought I was a good person, after all I was a Christian (I wasn’t, I just thought I was), I thought I could earn God’s grace through good deeds, which in essences makes the cross unnecessary. However, God sent people into my life who shared truth with me, and slowly and gently he lead me to a place where I could see my situation for what it was, I was a sinner saved or rather needed saving by grace, grace I could never come close to earning. He then gave me a gentleness with my husband as He worked on my husbands heart and He came to a saving faith. As we teach our children about God we must remember that He will do the heavy lifting of changing their hearts, He calls us to love others by sharing the truth of His word. It doesn’t mean we aren’t firm on issues of doctrine, but that we respond to opposition knowing that only God can move the heart of man!

I hope that this has been helpful and encouraging as your labor to lead your children to the cross!

I would love to hear your comments and feed back!

Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness

There are certain things are just natural to our flesh; looking after ourselves is that way, no one has to teach us to do it we just do. However, goodness is different it is lived out by looking out for the welfare of others instead of ourselves; it is unnatural, it is the fruit of God working in our hearts. I feel like this is something that I am constantly working to teach my children; while I can make them understand what goodness is only God can help them to live out!     

Lesson: Remember that we have been talking about the fruit of the spirit, which are words that describes people who have the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” So this week we are going to talk a little about goodness.

 Goodness is working for the benefit of others instead of for our own benefit. The bible says that says in 1 Corinthians 10:23-24; 31 says, “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor… whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” In other words just because you are allowed to do something doesn’t mean that you should; before you do anything you should think about whether what you want to do will be helpful or harmful to others, and in everything we do we should seek to bring glory to God.

 Jesus is the ultimate example of this kind of goodness; everything he did was for the good of others in order to bring God glory. Jesus didn’t have to come as a man to live an ordinary life, but he did. Very few people loved him while he was on earth, though he sought the good of everyone, those he came to help had him put to death. He came to display God’s goodness, to show lost men the way of salvation, and to pay the penalty for the sins of all who would repent, turn from sin, and trust in his good works instead of their own! He did all that not for his own good, but for ours in order to bring God glory!  

 Lesson Recap:

• What is the Fruit of the Spirit? (Things or words that describes people who have the Holy Spirit)
• What is goodness? (Working for the benefit of others instead of for our own benefit)
• Just because we can do something, does it mean that we should? (No)
• What kinds of things should we not do? (Things that bring harm to others or make them sin)
• Fill in the blank: whatever you do, do all to the_________. (Glory of God)- 1 Cor. 10:31
• Who is the ultimate example to us of goodness? (Jesus)
• Why was Jesus such a good example to us? (Because everything he did was for the good of others in order to bring God glory)
• What is repentance? (The act of turning from sin)
• What does it mean to trust in Jesus? (To trust in His good works and not our own)

It is worth spending some time really explaining the passage from 1 Corinthians 10:23-24; 31. While I have touched on it in this weeks lesson there is so much more that could be said. Kids tend to think that just because they can do something that they should, this is just the work of the flesh. They need lots of practical examples to really grasp this concept, and to understand how to apply it to their lives. Apart from God working in the hearts of our children the idea of giving up something they can have just because someone else can’t have that something will seem very unfair. It’s alright if your child struggles to put-on goodness (Eph. 4:22-24), it points to their need for Jesus and offers more opportunity to share the gospel. It is very easy to let lessons on the fruit of the Spirit become moralistic lessons, but we must make it clear that good things done apart from Christ are not really good. It is only when we are motivated by God’s glory that our good works are really good. 

The following is a link to a message on the Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness by Mark Carter, one of the elders at Living Acts Church in Tyler, Texas. I hope it is a blessing and help as you labor to lead your child to the cross!

http://livingactschurch.com/sermons/?sermon_id=74

Fruit of the Spirit: Patience

As a mom I have found that patience is an area of my life I can always grow in; it seems that when I grow to the point I can patiently endure a situation the heat gets turned up requiring more patience to continue to honor God and avoid falling into sin. Teaching my children about patience has been very humbling, it makes me all the more mindful of my failings. As with every area of weakness I see in myself it is important that I acknowledge my short comings, especially if I want my children to take my instruction seriously! While it is very difficult I encourage you to be honest with your children, when you fall short of what God has called you to!

As with the other fruit described in Galatians 5:22 there is a progressive nature; as we grow in our ability to love, as we experience joy and peace, and as a result of knowing God’s love and experiencing his peace in our hearts we will be increasingly patience! Scripture is filled with narrative that can help in teaching what patience looks like in the life of a believer. As you work on teaching this concept the story of Joseph from Genesis 37,39-45 is a great narrative to use; Joseph was sin against by many but he exemplified the fruit of patience. He served God despite the sin committed against him, and he waited for years to be delivered. He trusted God to work in the situation giving him the peace necessary to suffer long in a God honoring way!

Lesson: Remember that we have been talking about the fruit of the spirit, which are words that describes people who have the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” So this week we are going to talk a little about patience.

What do you think of when you think the word patience? I always thinking of having to wait to get something I really want. Have you ever had to wait to get something you really wanted? Like what? Was it easy? No, waiting to get things that we really want is not easy. Have you ever felt really bad, and wanted to feel better? Was that easy? You see the word patience means more than just waiting for something you want without complaining, the word patience is also sometimes replaced with the word long-suffering. It means to suffer sometimes for a long time without complaint while continuing to honor God; people who have the Holy Spirit are willing to suffer through difficult situations without grumbling against God or the people who brought their suffering.

Do you guys remember how the apostle Paul was arrested and put in jail for many years, because of the Jews? During all the time Paul was in jail he waited on God to work the situation out. However, Paul didn’t complain about the jailers, the food, or his lack of freedom, instead he obeyed God and preached the good news of Jesus to anyone who would listen to him. Paul continued to honor God by ministered to his fellow believer through letters, even though he would have rather gone to see them face-to-face.

When Christians face difficult situations, like the apostle Paul, where they are kept from doing something that they want, and instead have to do something that they don’t want they can continue to honor God with obedience and a good attitude, because they have the Holy Spirit working in their hearts producing the fruit of patience.

As with all of the fruit of the spirit it is important to remind your children that these are things they cannot do on their own. They can cooperate in growth through a growing understanding of God through the study of his word and through the act of ongoing repentance of sin, but apart from His Spirit working each one of us we are simply not capable of growing in these areas! Fruit that is added to a dead tree cannot mature; only fruit grown from a healthy tree will mature properly. Apart from the Holy Spirit working in us we are dead; it is His Spirit that gives us life and the ability to produce fruit!

I hope this is encouraging to as you seek to lead your children to the cross!

Fruit of The Spirit: Peace

We continued to teach the kids at our church about the fruit of the Spirit this week, with a primary focus on peace. Last week I talked about how our joy is rooted in God’s profound love for his children, the same is true of peace. In fact I would go so far as to say that peace is the result of knowing God’s great love and experiencing the joy that springs from it, leading us to trust Him and His plan for our lives. To put it more simply we must know God’s love, which produces joy, leading to trust, which produces peace. It sounds neat and tidy, but it fleshes itself out in far less tidy circumstances, typically during the messiest most trying circumstances of life. The other primary component is an understanding of God’s sovereign power over His creation, if we don’t grasp both his love and his power we will see Him either as a powerless sap or we will see him as tyrannical terror- both miss the character of a loving and powerful God. Putting these two characteristics together confronts our pride, and our desire to rule our own world as a sovereign deity. If we are to teach our children well, we must have a biblical grasp of these issues. Romans 8:26-37 is one of my all time favorite passages, it connects God’s love and sovereign power so beautifully.

Romans 8:26-37-

“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;  and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?  Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.  Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, northings present, nor things to come, nor powers,  nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

You see God loves us too much to allow us to continue in sin, because we are told earlier in Romans that sin brings death! However,  God is working all circumstances together to help us grow into the likeness of Christ. This is the good that comes from every trial a Christian faces! However, if we do not understand God’s love and experience Joy in our salvation that we will not have peace even if we understand that God is in control of everything. I realize that perhaps I have gotten a bit preachy, but I want you as a parent to be able to teach beyond the lesson written for the kids. Peace in our hearts is a deep thing, we need to understand it if we are going to share it!

Lesson: Remember that love and joy were what we called fruit of the spirit, which means that they are words that describes people who have the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” So this week we are going to talk a little about peace.

 What do you think of when you think the word peace? In the Bible the word peace means stillness, quietness, or be calm. What the bible is telling us is that people who follow Jesus and have the Holy Spirit living in them will have a quietness or stillness inside even when life is very difficult. In other words followers of Christ will be calm in their hearts even when they face bad situations, because they know God’s love and trust in His plan.

 Do you remember a few months we talked about the different situations the Apostles faces as they preached the gospel from town to town? In one of our lessons from Acts 12 we talked about king Herod having Peter arrested, and how he was going to have him put to death. However, Peter had peace; he knew that God was going to save him. Peter was so confident in God’s ability to rescue him from Herod’s evil plan to kill him that even all chained up he was able to sleep soundly. In the end God saved Peter by sending two angles to help him escape the jail.

 Have you ever been scared of the dark? Why were you scared? The dark can be scary because we can’t see what is around us. You may not be locked in jail facing death like Peter, but you may find that you face things that scare you, like being in alone in a dark room. For those who repent, turn from sin, and trust in the good works of Jesus not their own, instead of being scared they can have peace, because they trust in God to take care of them.

 For a follower of Christ peace is the result of our trust in God; as we grow in our relationship with Jesus we see Him work in our lives, and we learn to trust him more and more. As we learn to trust in him more we will have more peace in our hearts! 

Peace with God comes only through repentance and faith, a truth we must never forget and one we must remind our children of often, because without peace with God inner peace is not possible. Inner peace grows out of our trust in God; as we trust in Him and see His work in our lives we grow in ability to trust in Him, peace in our hearts in a byproduct of trusting His plan even in the face of great uncertainty. The flesh instinctively trusts in itself; it goes against our fallen nature trust to another, but as we grow in faith, and witness first hand God’s love and power we will grown in ability to trust and experience greater and greater peace in our hearts.

Remember: As we work through these characteristics it is important that we do not let our children think that these are things that we can do them on our own apart from God’s work in our heart through the Holy Spirit.

The following is a link to a message on the Fruit of the Spirit: Peace and Patience by Brandon Davis , the Pastor of Living Acts Church in Tyler Texas. I hope it is a blessing and help as you labor to lead your child to the cross!

<http://livingactschurch.com/sermons/?sermon_id=76&gt;

Fruit of the Spirit: Joy

This week we continued talking about the Fruit of the Spirit; this week we covered the second fruit of the Spirit joy. Preparing the material for this week was very convicting. I thought about my own attitude, life has been busy and kind of hectic lately, and joyful has not been a characteristic that I would use to describe me. It is easy for me to forget that I am not here to chase after worldly happiness, but to find joy in the reality of a God who would save a sinner like me! When I chase after worldly happiness joy will always allude me. I hope this will minister to you as you seek to minister to your children!

Lesson: Remember that love was what we called a fruit of the spirit, which means that it is something that describes people who have the Holy Spirit. But love is not the only fruit of the spirit Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” So, this week we are going to talk a little about joy.

 What do you think of when you think about the word joy?

 For a follower of Christ joy is more than momentary worldly happiness, because thing are going well. Do things always go well? No, sometimes in life things are hard; we have to do work that we don’t want to, people are not always nice to us, and sometimes we get sick, right? But the Bible says that if we have the Holy Spirit living in us that we can still have joy even if all those bad thing happened at the same time. Do you know why? We can have joy because we know that God loves us so much that he sent his Son to save us. All those things that we said about love are things that God does for us. Because of God’s great love for us we can have joy no matter what is going on in life. God saves us from our sin, because he is such a good and loving God. He did not do it because we deserve it, because we do not. That is an amazing reason to have joy! The bible says, “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!” Philippians 4:4- Joy is what we feel in our heart when we think about God’s love for us; Rejoicing is the outward action of joy.

 Recap:

• What do we mean when we talk about the Fruit of the Spirit? (The Fruit of the Spirit things that describe that people who follow Jesus and have the Holy Spirit in them.)
• What is the difference between joy and  worldly happiness? (Worldly happiness is momentary, it happens when things are going well for us, but joy is something that we can have no matter what is going on because we know how much God loves us and how he sent Jesus to save us.)
• Tell me in your own words why people who follow Jesus and who have the Holy Spirit should have joy?
• Begin to help them memorize Galatians 5:22-23, maybe just “the Fruit of the Spirit is love, joy”

As we work through these characteristics it is important that we do not let our children think that these are things that we can do on our own apart from God’s work in our heart through the Holy Spirit. Love and Joy are connected so closely; we love others because of God’s great love for us, and it is because of His great love that we have joy amidst any set of circumstances. Love is the foundation that joy rests on; we cannot expect our children to fully understand this, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t work on explaining it to them.

The cross is the source of our joy; it represents our freedom from the bondage from sin, and it reveals God’s great love for utterly depraved sinners living in rebellion to Him. It is not until we truly realize who we were prior to salvation, and who we are in Christ that we can fully experience joy, which is a supernatural fruit of the spirit. Our kid’s lack of joy points them to their need for Christ, and offers us an opportunity to share the gospel with them.

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.” Romans 4:7-8

There is no message our children need to hear more than the message of forgiveness of sin through repentance and faith. The reality that a holy God could not only pardon us for our crimes against Him, but credit us with the good works of Jesus; instead of the punishment we deserve we receive the reward that He deserves. This is a profound truth which we continually grow in our ability to understand; joy is the outgrowth of this understanding!

I hope this is helpful and encouraging as you labor to lead your children to the cross!

Fruit of the Spirit: Love

This week we started working on the Fruits of the Spirit, it will take us nine weeks to go through each of the characteristics described in Galatians 5:22-23.

Lesson: Galatians 5:22-23, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

 Over the next few weeks we’re going to be learning about the Fruit of the Spirit, these are traits of people who have the Holy Spirit. A trait is something that describes the way a person acts or thinks. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” This week we are going to talk about what the Bible says about love.

 The world tells us that love is a feeling, but that is not all love is, according to the bible love has more to do with actions that with feelings. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 say “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails”

 Love is…

• Patient- suffers for others calmly and without complaint
• Kind- helpful to others
• Not Jealous- does not want to take something good away from someone else
• It does not brag- or talk about how good you are at something
• It is not arrogant or proud- to think that you are better than others
• It does not act unbecomingly- it is not rude or hateful to others
• It does not seek its own- try to get its own way
• It is not provoked- does not get angry easily
• Does not take into account a wrong suffered- It forgets the past
• Does not rejoice in unrighteousness- It is sad over sin
• Rejoices in truth- It loves the truth/God’s word
• Believes all things- It believes the words of others
• Hopes all things- It hopes for the best
• It endures- continues in all these actions even when being treated poorly
• Love never fails

 That is a long list, isn’t it? Do you think that anyone can do this perfectly? The only one who did this perfectly was Jesus, but as we grow in our relationship with Him we will grow in our ability to do these things!

 It is easy to look at the list  found in 1 Cor 13:4-8 and think about how beautiful it or to be comforted by the immense love that God shows to us, and while the importance of what it reveals about God cannot be over look if it all we see or teach we are really missing something big! This is the love that we have been called to have for others, it is a fruit of our salvation. While it is true that fruit is produced based on the genetic material provided, an apple tree can only produce apples not oranges. So too with spiritual fruit, only those who are saved have the spiritual DNA necessary to produce God honoring good works such as love. We cannot sit back and think for a moment that we are passive with nothing to contribute to the process, quite the opposite is true. We may not be able to will ourselves to produce more fruit, just as the apple tree cannot will itself to make more apples, we can participate in the painful pruning process which facilitates the production of more fruit. Our part in this is to repent of selfishness, ask God to give us the grace to love others in a way that is glorifying to him we must ask him to help us die to ourselves.

Just as I am humbled by this list of attributes of love, I hope that my children will be also. Being raised in a Christian home it is easy to put on the attire of a Christian without ever experiencing true heart change. Passages like 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, should be used to explain that apart from God working in them they are helpless to obey the demands of love.  It is not that we do not hold them to this standard, but as we hold them to it we must openly repent of our own shortcomings and we constantly point to the cross for forgiveness of sin and the strength to obey are found. Love is very costly, it means suffering with others which is hard no matter how old or mature you are.

Practical Application: Love is action oriented, it requires effort. I tell my boys this frequently, especially when they are fighting with one another. Something that I have found helpful in teaching my kids about the active nature of love is to have them think of ways they can show love to one another. After they have had an altercation, and they have served their time out; I have them tell me three things that they can do to show love to one another. Sometimes they  need my help, Matthew is only 3 so he needs more help than Jacob, and sometimes Jacob wants to tell Matthew how to show love (“Matt you can show me love by staying out of my room”). Spending time talking practically about what love looks like will help your kids not only understand the concept, but point out their need for a savior because of their inability.

This is by far the area that I fall into sin most often; I fail to love others, my kids in particular, and instead I love myself (looking out to make sure my wants and needs are served). I have gotten to the point that I am very transparent with my kids when I sin against them; this is not easy! After I sin against them, say I respond in an angry way to this disobedience, I am very clear how I have violated God’s call to love them. It might sound something like this, “Jacob I am very sorry that I responded to you that way (raised my voice, yelled, used hard words), no matter what you have done it is no excuse for me to sin against you in that way. I was being impatient and unkind (irritable, selfish…), I was not showing you love the way God has called me to and I need you to forgive me.” I have yet to see my son say, no mommy I will not forgive you. Typically he offers forgiveness immediately, and hugs on me. This helps me now talk with him about his sin, because he is not dwelling on mine. It models what repentance and humility look like in real life.

The call to love others very hard, and one that should leave us continually more dependent on God for the strength to heed the call. I hope this encourages you and you labor to love your children in a way that is honoring to God. This lesson was a huge reminder to me that as we disciple our children they are not the only ones who should be changed!