Family Dinner: June 3rd – 9th

Open your Bibles to the book of Jude and read verse 3 together.

Jesus wasn’t contentious, but contending when He stood firm for truth. Jesus was confident and steadfast as He knew His identity was found in being known and loved by the Father. Likewise, we can confidently contend for the faith, and be steadfast when our identity is rooted in God’s love towards us. Jesus contended with power as He presented powerful witnesses – John the Baptist’s testimony, His miraculous works, the Father’s testimony and the Word of God. All of these point to Jesus truly being the Messiah, and Savior of the world, backing up His claim. The pharisees claimed to know God and the Word of God, but they lacked the love of God (Ephesians 3:19). They twisted the Word of God to maintain their own power and rejected Jesus, the Messiah. We must contend for the faith by sharing our testimony, by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). We must be cautious that we don’t twist the Word of God to fit our feelings or preferences. The goal is contending for the faith is not to win arguments, but to win people to Christ!

In kidLIFE

In Junior High LIFE, we’ve learned a lot of attributes of WHO our God is, specifically the Father. This weekend, we learned that “God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8), and everything He does is loving. We’re to represent Him well by imitating Him and following the example of Jesus (Ephesians 5:1-2). The more we spend time with God, the more we’ll see His love. We should want to show this love towards everyone around us. Although, the pharisees were attacking Jesus, claiming they knew God and knew the Word of God, but they were lacking the love of God. As we learned in 1 John 4, we can’t claim to know God and not love others, for God is love. We’ll be known as a disciple of Jesus when we love others (John 13:35)!

Discuss your thoughts together as a family. Use the questions below to help guide your conversation.

1. What is the difference between being contentious and contending for the faith? Why should we contend for the faith as believers?
2. What does the Bible say about who we are in Jesus? How does our identity in Christ affect the way we talk about our faith with others?
3. Jesus wanted to win people over, not push them away. How can we share truth from the Bible with others while still showing them love and respect?
4. Who is someone in your life that needs to hear about Jesus? What is one practical way you could lovingly and respectfully share your faith with that person this week?

Put it into Practice!

• Take a LIFE class to learn more about our faith!

Family Dinner: May 27th – June 2nd

Open your Bibles to Exodus 34, verse 6 and read it together!

Our God is gracious and merciful! Grace is God compassionately giving humans unmerited, undeserved favor and love. Jesus displayed the grace of God as He healed the man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:8-9). God gives grace to heal us or He gives us grace to make it through whatever it is we’re walking through. We take God’s grace for granted, but thank God for His mercy! Mercy is God compassionately withholding our deserved punishment combined with His active extension of forgiveness and kindness. Jesus healed on the Sabbath which made the pharisees upset, but our God’s heart is about helping and restoring His people, not burdening us with man-made rules. Our God is merciful and gracious toward us, and as His disciples, we’re to extend that same grace, mercy, forgiveness, and compassion to others (Ephesians 5:1)!

At Kid LIFE this weekend, we were in Acts 2, learning that sharing Jesus is exciting. Sharing Jesus is so exciting because we get to share about the greatest news of all time! This great news is that God loved us so much He gave His only Son, Jesus, to save us so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have life with God forever in heaven! (John 3:16). We have been given a great gift of grace and mercy from God because He loves us. Because God has been so gracious and merciful with us, we can be gracious and merciful to others. Let’s practice loving others the way God loves us by growing in showing grace and mercy! 

In Junior High LIFE, our selah memory verse for the month of May is Exodus 34:6. We’ve learned a lot about WHO God is! He’s omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, creator, compassionate, merciful and gracious. This past week, we’ve learned that he’s forgiving. God choosing to forgive us is because of His mercy and grace. We read the parable of the unforgiving debtor (Matthew 18:21-35) and we’re commanded to be forgiving as our God is forgiving. The more we learn about who our God is, the more we need to represent Him to those around us, we’re His ambassadors (Ephesians 4:31-32,5:1).

Discuss your thoughts together as a family. Use the questions below to help guide your conversation.

1. What is the difference between mercy and grace? Can you think of a time when someone showed you mercy or grace?
2. How does God show mercy by not giving us the punishment we deserve? How is this different from how people usually respond?
3. As God is gracious and merciful, He’s also forgiving. How do grace and mercy help us forgive others?
4. We’re to grow in grace and mercy as we purpose to imitate Jesus. What is a practical step each of us could take to grow in grace and mercy this week?

Put it into practice!

• Grow in grace and mercy!

Family Dinner: May 20th – 26th

Open your Bibles to Romans 6 and read verse 23 together.

Sin is an offensive term. However, it is not offensive to us, but to God. We have offended God with going against what He says and shows for us to do and be. So, it would seem fair for God to just cast us off, right? Were the ones who messed up, were the ones who even deserve it. However, that is NOT who our God is. He is merciful, gracious, loving and justly deals with sin (Exodus 34:5-7). In His justice, God paid for our price of sin, and in His grace and love, He did it through sending His only Son to die on a cross and rise again so that we may be given the gift of eternal life (John 3:16). By grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone we are saved! The friends of the paralyzed man knew that Jesus could save him. With all their might they carried him, they let him down through the roof, and they brought him into the arms of the Savior. Not only do we need Jesus, but so do those around us. Let us ask God for the help we need from Him to bring all into the arms of the Savior just like these faithful friends. Let our life be a beacon of His light and love, pointing people not to ourselves, but to Jesus Christ alone. Let’s Go Love ‘Em!

At Kid LIFE we studied the parable of the farmer, the seed and the soils from Matthew 13. We learned that Sharing Jesus is Worth It! Just like the farmer spread the seed over all the types of soil, is just like how we can spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ with all types of people because God wants all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4). Even if someone doesnt want to hear about Jesus the first time we tell them, as believers, we dont give up on them because God doesnt give up on them! God has saved us from the price of our sins and given us the gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23). Lets be the faithful friends that pray for our friends, share with them about the great gift of God and bring them right to Jesus!

This weekend in Jr. High, we learned that God is patient and slow to anger. When the Israelites were worshiping the golden calf, God displayed His patience and did not destroy the entire nation. Just like Jonah and the great fish, God was patient with Jonah after he ran away from his command and still gave him another chance to preach to the city of Ninevah. Even the disciple Peter, after Jesus knowing he would deny Him three times, He still restored Peter and continued to use him. From a nation, to a prophet and a disciple, God shows us that He is patient and slow to anger, always allowing us to turn to Him. As believers, we ought to do the same with others by being patient, slow to anger, and reflecting the same character as God when people fail us. “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness”. Psalm 86:15; NIV

Discuss your thoughts together as a family. Use the questions below to help guide your conversation.

1. Jesus went and touched a man who had the sickness of leprosy to heal him. Jesus came to earth to heal the world from the sickness of sin. Why and how can we be forgiven of our sins and begin a relationship with God?
2. Read Exodus 34:5-7. How does God describe Himself to Moses and why is this important for us today?
3. Because God is merciful, loving and just, we can put our full trust and faith in Jesus and be saved! Just like the friends of the paralyzed man who brought their friend to Jesus to heal and save him, how can we bring those near to us to Jesus so that they may be saved and healed of their sin?

Put it into Practice!

• Be a faithful friend and bring your friends to Jesus

Family Dinner: May 13th – 19th

Open your Bibles to Matthew 4 and read verse 19 together.

We need to be a team as disciples at Calvary LIFE, and around the world. Our purpose and vision statement is that we believe in Glorifying God Together. How we do that is our mission, we do this through L.I.F.E. (Learning the Word, Investing into Relationship, Following the Way of Christ, Engaging our World). Jesus’ purpose was to preach the Kingdom of God to as many people as He could (Luke 4:43). The mission, and the way we accomplish the purpose is just as important. Jesus wants us to move from being a believer, to becoming a disciple. He wants us to make us into a disciple, with His message and purpose as apart of our every day lives. We’re to hear His Word and then apply it to our lives (Romans 10:17). We’re given a challenge to change because this is what Jesus did! If we’re on Team Jesus, we must be willing to do what our Master commands us to do. He will challenge us to do something difficult and uncomfortable as a great coach, but He will also be with us through it because He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). On Team Jesus, Jesus is the boss, He’s our Lord and Master. We must do whatever He tells us to do, making Him the Lord of our life. Though we may struggle, be afraid or anxious, we must still choose to obey Him. We’re human, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to do whatever He asks us to do.

The children in Kid LIFE discovered this weekend that sharing Jesus is God’s plan! God always had the plan to offer forgiveness of sins to everyone who believes in His Son Jesus, and for those who believe in Jesus to share about Him with everyone. Even though sharing about Jesus with others may seem scary at first, we can choose to trust in God’s plan because He is always in control! Having this trust in God helps us leave the shallows of faith and enter into deeper relationship with Jesus. Deeper relationship looks like not just believing in Jesus, but truly following Him and His way. As we grow in following Jesus, He gives us all the help we need to share about Him with others through the power of the Holy Spirit!

In Junior High LIFE, we learned that God is compassionate. As God is compassionate, we’re His ambassadors, and we’re to represent Him well so we need to be compassionate too. When we’re compassionate, we’re recognizing the suffering need of sin in someone’s life, and providing them the truth of the gospel to be forgiven. We must have compassion on those who don’t yet have the Good Shepherd (Matthew 9:36-38). The way we do this is through compassion and kindness (Romans 2:4).

Discuss your thoughts together as a family. Use the questions below to help guide your conversation.

1. What is our purpose and mission here at CalvaryLIFE? How can you (personally and as a family) accomplish this at school, work and home?
2. What is the difference between a believer and a disciple? What is difficult about making Jesus the Lord of your life?
3. Read the Fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. Why is the mission, and the way we accomplish our purpose, also important? What areas do you need to work on as a disciple?

Put it into Practice!

• Leave the shallows and get deeper with Jesus!
• Even if you struggle, be willing to do what Jesus tells you to do!

Family Dinner: May 6th – 12th

Open your Bibles to Romans chapter 8 and read verse 18 together.

We are promised to face “storms” and difficult times in this life. But the good news is that Jesus reassures us that He’s bigger and better than the temporary storm (John 16:33). We’re to walk by faith, not by sight as we learned last week (2 Corinthians 5:7). When we face a storm, our faith gets tested as if we are a sports athlete being pushed to grow by a great coach (James 1:2-4). Our God is sovereign, He’s in control of all things as He’s the King on the throne. We can confidently know that He allows trials to help us grow as believers in specific areas. We must purpose to keep our eyes on Jesus, and not on the storm around us (Colossians 3:1-2; Matthew 14:30-31). We must see ourselves how God sees us as His beloved children, and not identifying ourselves with out storms of life. We cannot lose sight that He is God, we are not, and He has our best interest at heart (Psalm 46:10; Isaiah 55:8-9).

In KidLIFE, we learned that Sharing Jesus is Important because all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). The kids learned that a part of following Jesus is to share about Him and His great love with everyone around us! This is a powerful lesson because when someone we know is going through a storm (a hard situation in life) we can purpose to share Jesus with them. Jesus is the only One who can give us real peace on the inside no matter what may be happening to us on the outside (John 16:33). If you or someone you know are going through a storm, remember the importance of getting to Jesus, so that you may be still and know that He is God and there is nothing out of His control.

In Junior High LIFE, we learned that God is omniscient which means that He knows everything. We may not understand why we’re going through a difficult situation, but we’re to continue to go to Him for everything, trusting Him (Proverbs 3:5-6). When I see myself as God sees me, I know that I am valuable, precious, and loved by a GOOD God (Psalm 139:17-18). This gives us joy to endure any temporary trial that I walk through in life.

Discuss your thoughts together as a family. Use the questions below to help guide your conversation.

1. When you hear God give a command without giving you all the details, how do you usually respond – trusting, hesitating, afraid, etc? Why?
2. What are some “storms” that you and others in your life are facing (peer pressure, friendships, anxiety, health, etc)? What would it look like for you to run to Jesus in this storm?
3. Do you believe that storms are good for us? Why or why not? Can you think of a difficult situation that ended up changing you for the better?
4. God is omnscient, and knows all things. How does this comfort and encourage you, and change your perspective while you’re in a “storm”?

Put it into Practice!

• Psalm 16:8, “I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.”