Next Gen Blog 
KidStuff, Gradeschool
This month we are teaching the kids about the virtue of hope. We toss that little word around kind of carelessly, as if it merely meant "wish" or "want" or "dream." I hope you had a good day. I hope I get that for my birthday. I hope we get to do ____ next year. But it's actually a much bigger and consequential word than that. At least it should be for those of us who are believers. Let's face it, life can be hard. Life often does not make sense, and there are seasons when we it seems like darkness surrounds us. We do not see a way out and more than that - we are just tired. We have been disappointed, we have fought, we thought we were on the up and up, we long for the days when we were not so downcast. My prayer is that this month, we will be reminded that our hope is in God, the one who knows all things and loves us more than we could imagine.
No one ever said hope is easy. So, when we're puzzled by life, pained by it, frustrated by it, angry at it, or can't see how in the world our situation could possibly fit into God's big plan, we have a few choices of how to respond. We can be frustrated and irritated, we can try to fix things ourselves, we can complain, or we can rely on God. That doesn’t mean we don’t express sorrow or frustration (check out Psalm 42). It just means even in the midst of that we trust that God has the big picture in mind. We realize that we can't see the big picture, but that He can. He's in charge, and that should give us hope.
As your kids grow, they're going to face all sorts of challenges and heartaches. Whether it's as life-altering as the loss of a parent or something on a smaller scale, like not making the team, tragedy can take many forms in a child's life. When it seems like everything is going wrong, that's when it's critical to have hope - believing that something good can come out of something bad. That's when we need to understand that hope, in its most significant sense and when it's based on God, is really a synonym for firm belief, absolute trust, and in-my-gut knowing that God is ultimately in control. We pray that as we study hope this month that you and your children will be comforted as we take time to reflect on the reason we have hope. Pick up a virtue pack on hope in the resource center to dig deeper into this as a family.
Week One
Bible Story: Shipwrecked! (Paul sails for Rome) • Acts 27:1-44; 28:1-11
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember God has a plan.
Week Two
Bible Story: Raising Lazarus (Lazarus is raised from the dead) • John 11:1-45
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is.
Week Three (share salvation)
Bible Story: The Last Supper (Jesus’ Last Supper with the disciples) • Luke 22:7-23; John 13:33-38
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember what Jesus did for you.
Week Four
Bible Story: My Father’s House (Jesus promises heaven) • John 14:1-11a
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember what Jesus promised.
No one ever said hope is easy. So, when we're puzzled by life, pained by it, frustrated by it, angry at it, or can't see how in the world our situation could possibly fit into God's big plan, we have a few choices of how to respond. We can be frustrated and irritated, we can try to fix things ourselves, we can complain, or we can rely on God. That doesn’t mean we don’t express sorrow or frustration (check out Psalm 42). It just means even in the midst of that we trust that God has the big picture in mind. We realize that we can't see the big picture, but that He can. He's in charge, and that should give us hope.
As your kids grow, they're going to face all sorts of challenges and heartaches. Whether it's as life-altering as the loss of a parent or something on a smaller scale, like not making the team, tragedy can take many forms in a child's life. When it seems like everything is going wrong, that's when it's critical to have hope - believing that something good can come out of something bad. That's when we need to understand that hope, in its most significant sense and when it's based on God, is really a synonym for firm belief, absolute trust, and in-my-gut knowing that God is ultimately in control. We pray that as we study hope this month that you and your children will be comforted as we take time to reflect on the reason we have hope. Pick up a virtue pack on hope in the resource center to dig deeper into this as a family.
Week One
Bible Story: Shipwrecked! (Paul sails for Rome) • Acts 27:1-44; 28:1-11
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember God has a plan.
Week Two
Bible Story: Raising Lazarus (Lazarus is raised from the dead) • John 11:1-45
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember how powerful God is.
Week Three (share salvation)
Bible Story: The Last Supper (Jesus’ Last Supper with the disciples) • Luke 22:7-23; John 13:33-38
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember what Jesus did for you.
Week Four
Bible Story: My Father’s House (Jesus promises heaven) • John 14:1-11a
Bottom Line: Whatever happens, remember what Jesus promised.