In our desire to equip parents as they “train their children up in the way they should go,” we have created a blog series to communicate the lessons our kids will be learning each Sunday, family discussion questions, resources for discipling children, and opportunities to engage in serving and loving the world with your kids.
Renew Kids
Our curriculum comes from The Gospel Project for Kids and systematically teaches the stories of the Bible starting in Genesis and finishing in Revelation. We are currently studying Jesus’ life in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).

HeadHead » Learning the Story

This month in Renew Kids we are learning about many of the parables that Jesus taught. Parables are stories that Jesus used to teach people about the kingdom of God. The story we are looking at this week is the parable of the Faithful Servant and we are asking, “What should we be ready for?” We should be ready for Jesus to come back.

This parable is one where Jesus tells about a master who puts his servant in charge of a household. When the master returns, the servant who did as his master commanded is considered blessed and the servant who did not obey his master was punished. Read the full story here: Matthew 24:45-51; Luke 12:42-48.

Review Questions:

  • Who did the master put in charge of his household? (the servant who worked hard)
  • Did the faithful servant work hard, even when the master wasn’t watching? (yes)
  • What did the bad servant do? (He was mean to the other servants. He didn’t work hard.)
  • What happened to the bad servant when his master came back? (The master punished him.)
  • What should we always be ready for? We should be ready for Jesus to come back.

HeartHeart » Family Discussion

Reading and discussing parables is a great opportunity to ponder God’s Word in our hearts. Take some time to think through this story and what Jesus may have been trying to convey to his listeners.

  1. What was Jesus teaching His listeners in this parable?
  2. What do you feel after reading/hearing this parable?
  3. Based on this story, what do you think God desires of us? What in this story makes you think so?
  4. If someone asked you what was the most important part of today’s parable, what would you tell them?

HandsHands » The Word at Work

The Bible says that God’s Word does not return to Him void without accomplishing what He wills (Isaiah 55:11). Spend some time as a family and ask God how He wants you to live out what He is teaching you through scripture. Then make a plan to do it!

Ideas:

  • Be Faithful. Spend time with your family and together identify areas of life where you struggle to be faithful or to obey God. Make a commitment as a family to submit these things to the Lord & pray and support each other as you increasingly bring all of life under the lordship of Jesus. Consider writing these things down, making a chart, asking how you can support each person in their decision, and/or praying for each other nightly. Do what will help you and your family be faithful to obey God in everything.

Additional family resources:

Each week we will include a family resource for parents as they seek to disciple their children to love and follow Jesus.

This book is a topical reference guide for training your children in righteousness using scripture. It has hundreds of verses that are organized into different training categories.

“Each chapter includes the following listings: What the Bible says will, or should, happen to a person who sins in this way. Ideas for discipline that parallel these Biblical consequences. What the Bible likens a person to when he indulges in this sin, and ideas for practical object lessons using these examples. How God blesses the person who resists temptations to this sort of sin. Parallel ideas for ‘rewards’ and encouragement for children who show progress towards overcoming this sin. Stories and people in the Bible that illustrate obedience and disobedience in this area.”

Family Verse

We must obey God rather than men.” —Acts 5:29

Acts 5:29

Artwork by Jonathan Lindsey; accompanying Scripture song at the Verses Project here.