This month with your grade school kids, we are studying the virtue of honesty. We defined honesty as "being truthful in whatever you say and do." We want the kids to make the connection that honesty is not just about speech and words, but about the things in our heart. Honesty does not allow us to hide things in there or to live differently from the truth.

Here is the outline of what we are studying so you can see where we are going:

Virtue: Honesty - being truthful in whatever you say and do.

Memory Verse: "5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he  KEEP READING

Hey parents! Here is a preview of what we will be studying with your grade school kids in February. Take a look so you can talk about it at home with your children. If you have any ideas that you as a family are doing at home to help further teach this, let us know.

02.07.10 │ Week One
Bible Story: David and his brothers (1 Samuel 16:1-13)
Bottom Line: Honor those who are overlooked

Saul was king, he was Israel's first king. Saul did not obey what the Lord asked him to do, so the Lord told him that he could no longer be king. God asked Samuel (a man who god used to teach them. God would tell Samuel things and Samuel's job was to tell the people) to go out and God He would show him who was to be king next.

Samuel automatically approaches Eliab, who must have been tall, perhaps good looking, maybe there was a maturity about him, perhaps he was the eldest son, we are not sure, but we know Samuel was drawn to him. But the Lord quickly says no and reminds Samuel, "Do not  KEEP READING

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  KEEP READING