WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT:
Here is
an overview of what we’re talking about. Listed below the summary is a “parent
cue” to help you dialog with your child about the session. The question is
intended not just to be asked by you, but to be responded to by BOTH of you. Use this opportunity to
find out what God is teaching your child, and allow your child to see what God
is teaching you as well.
GROW UP:Series
Overview
Do your
students ever wish they could just grow up? Maybe they yearn for the day they
will get their driver’s licenses. Or graduate from high school. Or go away to
college. They don’t really want to be kids anymore. They want to be seen as adults.
They want to feel like they’ve moved on, grown up. We all know how that happens
physically, but what about spiritually? How do we know we’re growing in your
faith? How do we know that you’re moving forward in that area of our lives? The
good news is that God is just as passionate about growing our faith as we are.
And there are five ways He will use to do that—some involving things that we
probably already know, and other ways that we may have never thought about
before.
Session One: Big Faith (June 21st)
Your
faith in God matters to God. In fact, God is most honored through your living,
active, death-defying, out-of-the-box faith. That being the case, He’s
committed to growing it. Big. Imagine how differently you would respond to
difficulties, temptations, and even good things if you knew with certainty that
God was in all of it and was planning to leverage it for good. But in order for
all of that to happen, there’s one thing it all hinges on—your trust.
Session One Parent Cue: What area of
your life are you most reluctant to trust God? Why?
Session Two: Big Life (June 28th)
You
can know a lot. Maybe you know the stats of every football player in the NFL.
Maybe you know the cheat codes to hundreds of games. Maybe you know every
Scripture in the New Testament. But unless you do something with what you know,
then what you know isn’t enough. Especially when it comes to our faith. God’s
truth was meant to be put into action. It was meant to affect our lives, our
relationships. And when we begin to live out the truths we know, something
happens to us our faith. It begins to grow.
Session Two Parent Cue: What is one
truth that you know from the Bible that you can commit to live out this week?
Follow up with each other to see how that’s going.
Session Three: Big Team (July 5th)
Who has
had the most influence in your life? Your mom? Your dad? A coach? A camp
counselor? There are all kinds of people that play a part in our lives, in our
stories. And some of these people have played a part in how you see God. In
fact, God has used some of those relationships to grow your faith. We call
these relationships providential because they are about having the right people
in your life at just the right time.
Session Three Parent Cue: Who are the
people in your life who have had a direct impact on your relationship with God?
In what way did these people influence, guide or encourage you?
Session Four: Big Give (July 12th)
God
grows your faith through spiritual disciplines. That’s probably not news for
you. Praying and being generous are just things that Christian do. But there’s
more than just doing an action because it’s the right thing to do. In fact, in
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He tells us that not only is our heart tied to how
we pray and our generosity, but also the growth of our faith.
Session Four Parent Cue: How can you
leverage your time this week so that you spend more time with God? What is one
way you can be generous this week?
Session Five: Big Serve (July 19th)
Did
you know that your spiritual growth is linked to your service? That’s right.
You get something out of filling that volunteer position in the nursery or
children’s ministry. You’re not just doing a job, filling a slot—you’re
growing. God uses that service to teach you something about Him and others. And
even if you don’t feel like you’re the best person for the job, or if you
wonder, “Why am I doing this?” God says that if you want to grow, you have to
serve.
Session Five Parent Cue: Have you ever
had a great experience while serving another person? What was so great about
it? What are some characteristics you see in each other that would be assets in
serving?
Session Six: Big Moments (Aug. 2nd)
Have
you ever met someone who went through something really difficult, yet if they
had a chance to rewind and change what happened, they would be reluctant to do
it? And the reason is because there was something they learned from that
experience. It’s what we call a pivotal circumstance, a defining moment in
their lives. Each of us has had one. Some may seem bigger than others. But to
each one of us, they are huge. And you know what? Even thought it’s not
something we would necessarily choose or want to happen, God takes those
moments and uses them to grow our faith.
Session Six Parent Cue: Share about a
time in your life that was really hard, but something good came out of it.
Maybe you learned something new about God or yourself. Maybe you built some
great relationships with people who supported you. How did what you learned or
experienced somehow make the situation more bearable?