Week 1: Birthday Milestones
Read 1 Samuel 1:1-20, 24-28
- There’s a reason God created you! Interview a parent or grandparent and ask them to tell you the story of your birth. Did they ask God for you to be their son or daughter (grandson or granddaughter), like Hannah did for Samuel?
Google your name and find out what it means.
See if everyone in your household can tell a story like Hannah’s, where God answered your prayers.
Read Matthew 3:13-17
- At baptism, the Holy Spirit gives us the gift of faith. What other presents has God given you? Make a list or color a picture of some of God’s presents to you and your family. (Hint: parents, pet, special abilities, etc.)
- Do you think it helped Jesus to know that his Father, God, loved him? God says the same thing about you: “This is my child whom I love.” Sing together “Jesus Loves Me” or “In Christ Alone” or another favorite song about God’s love for you.
- What date were you baptized? Get a special candle and work together with a sibling or parent to bake a cake to celebrate your baptism just like your birthday. Why? It’s the day you were born again and became part of God’s family!
Read Jeremiah 1:1-10
- Do you have special jobs or chores you do at home or at school? What are they? Who trusts you to do them?
- It doesn’t matter if you’re 2, 10, 20, or 82—God gives you jobs and responsibilities as well as the power to do them. Talk to friends and family and create a list of special jobs and abilities God has given you, like being caring or having creative abilities.
- God entrusts us with important things, but he wants us to trust him. Can you think of a story from the Bible where God was faithful by keeping his promise?
- Work together to memorize this wonderful Bible promise from Psalm 103:11-13:
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
- Talk about what these words mean.
Read Matthew 5: 1-12
- Talk together about who is (or was) your favorite teacher and why.
- Sometimes we catch glimpses of God in special events, like birthdays and baptisms. Sometimes we catch glimpses of God in the routine of school or church, where he teaches us about himself through creation or in the Bible. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our teacher (John 14:26). Since the Holy Spirit is invisible, how can you tell when he’s teaching you?
- Helen Keller was blind and deaf, but learned how to read when her teacher kept spelling W-A-T-E-R in her palm while water gushed over her hand. You can read about this at gardenofpraise.com/ibdkell.htm.
- God also traces his words in our hearts over and over again when we read the Bible!
Read Luke 24:13-32
- There are some special moments in your relationship with God. The Lord’s Supper is one of them. Whether you are participating or watching a parent or grandparent eat and drink the bread and juice, Jesus Christ is there with you, filling you with his love.
- Read some of the facts and quotes about bread on the Nature’s Own Bread website, or make some homemade bread to enjoy together.
- Is there anything about bread that reminds you of God? Wonder together about why Jesus would call himself “Living Bread” and use bread as a symbol of his body for communion.
Read 1 Kings 19:1-13
- Sometimes we discover God’s presence not at our high points in life, but in times when life is hard, sad, or frustrating. When did Elijah meet God?
- Talk together about a time in each of your lives when you couldn’t do something, like ride a bike or be in a school play, and you felt as angry and frustrated as Elijah.
- When you look back at that time, you might be surprised to find God supporting you through family or friends; God likes to show up when we don’t expect him to. How did God encourage you?
- Next time your brother or sister or friend has a hard time, be a friend to them and know that God is working through you!
Read Genesis 39:20b-40:1-15, 23
- None of us like to be left out or forgotten by others, but God never leaves us even when others fail us. Read Joseph’s story, and act out the scene in that deep, dark prison.
- Ask a parent or pastor or youth leader about a time they felt like they were unfairly treated, or left out by others. Where did they see God at work in that situation?
- Draw a picture of Joseph’s prison, and then draw God right there too! Even though he was invisible he was with Joseph the whole time.
- Try this: on Sunday, sit with one of the video or sound people working the soundboard at your church. Or, click here to read a slideshow about how Pixar makes their amazing animated films. What would happen if there was no soundboard at church? How many different things happen behind the scenes to make a movie like Toy Story 3?
- God works behind the scenes too! How did Joseph know that God was there? How do you know that he’s there, even though you can’t see him?
Week 8: Death is a Milestone Too
Read Luke 7:11-17
Read Luke 7:11-17
- What do you think it felt like when Jesus raised that boy from death to life?
- Have you ever had a special friend or pet or grandparent die? Even though it’s really hard and sad, talk about what you remember.
- Jesus didn’t like to see this mother so sad, and raised her son to life. Jesus promises to one day raise each of us who believe in him to new life, even if we have died. What do you think that will we be like? (Hint: What was Jesus like after his resurrection?)
- One of the ways God is near to us when death is close is through friends and family. Next time you know someone is sad because of a loved one’s death, give that person a hug or tell them how sorry you are. It helps.
- Pray every day this week that Jesus will come back again soon, so that death will be no more!
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