SERIES OVERVIEW
Just
as we were created for earthly relationships, we were also created for a
relationship with God. Building a healthy relationship requires healthy
communication. When we communicate well with our friends, our relationships are
strong. When we let communication slide, our relationships slide also. The same
concept is true in our relationship with God.
During
this two-week series, your child will explore the basics of communication in
relationship and apply those basics to their relationship with Jesus.
Communication requires both talking and listening, and we’ll discover how to
practice both of these in our relationship with Jesus. The “talking” part of
this process deals with our prayer life. The “listening” part of the process
can occur as we read the Bible with purpose. All of this requires us to STOP
and take time to talk and listen—we must be intentional about our friendship
with God.
Week
1: Stop and Take Time to Talk to Jesus (5-9-12)
Communication
is a skill that takes a lifetime to master—if we ever master it! Our series
focuses on the two major parts to communication: talking and listening. This
week we are discussing the talking side (Prayer).
Using
Matthew 6:5-15, we saw what Jesus taught people about prayer, and we found some
“helps” that can assist our teenagers in finding a proper attitude of prayer.
Prayer is a conversation with Jesus and does not need to contain certain catch
phrases, fancy words, or special body positions. At first, most middle school
students are uncomfortable praying out loud or making prayer a regular habit
outside of church or small group, but this is often due to a misunderstanding
of prayer or a lack of practice.
Here
are some questions you might want to ask your teenager about this week’s
lesson:
- Electronic communication is great for a lot of reasons, but how strong are friendships that don’t include some sort of face-to-face time? How does this relate to your friendship with Jesus?
- Are you pleased with how frequently you pray? Why or why not?
- What might be some creative ways of praying that you could try?
FOR KEEPS [MEMORY VERSE]
“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions
do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again
and again” (Matthew 6:7).
Week 2: Stop and Listen to Jesus Through the
Bible (5-16-12)
This week we are finishing
our series by discussing “listening” to God through reading the Bible.
The Bible is the story of God’s revelation and
interaction with humanity. Through its page, we discover his character, his
redemptive plan for humanity, and instructions for living a God-horning life.
Our students focused on 2 Timothy 3:14-17, verses
that tell us that all Scripture is useful and helpful. The Bible equips us for
every good work, preparing us for what we will encounter in life and building
our spiritual muscles so we can be who God wants us to be. Scripture is our
window into God’s heart, and we must intentionally develop the habit of
listening to God through its pages.
I’d encourage you to find
time to talk with your teenager about this week’s lesson. Here are some
questions you might want to ask during your conversation:
- How do you think God feels if we spend all our time talking to him in prayer without also listening to him?
- How often do you read the Bible besides when you’re at church or in small group? Are you satisfied with how often you read it? Why or why not?
- What are some differences between listening to God through the Bible and listening to your friends or family members?
FOR KEEPS [MEMORY VERSE]
All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is
true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we
are wrong and teaches us to do what is right (2 Timothy 3:16).