Family Time -- Religion and Relationships

Read the following short paragraphs. After you read them, there are a couple discussion questions.

THIS WEEK'S VERSE: Romans 2:29b -- . . . (it is) by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God.


READ: When Paul wrote his letter to the Romans, he was writing it to some people who were boastful because they followed the Old Testament law.

Today, people sometimes do the same thing. They think that if they go to church, that's all they need to do. Or that if they follow all the rules, that's all they need to do. Or that if they do good things, that's all they need to do. Or that if they at least aren't as bad as other people they know, that's all they need to do.

But salvation is not about following rules and doing rituals. Salvation comes from having Jesus in our lives. It means having a relationship with Jesus.

If we have a relationship with Jesus, we will want to do good things. We will want to be good people. We will want to do the things Jesus has asked us to do.

TALK:

1. Talk about salvation and what it means to be a Christian. How do you become a Christian? What does it mean when you are friends with Jesus?

2. Why do Christians need to do things like go to church and pray and help others and follow the rules?

~ Mr. Ben

Family Time -- Judgement Day

Read the following short paragraphs. After you read them, there are a couple discussion questions and a short activity to do as a family. This week, you parents just might learn something new about your kids . . . and you kids just might learn something new about your parents!

MATERIALS NEEDED: Paper and pen, pencil, crayons, pencil crayons, markers, or whatever you want to draw.

THIS WEEK'S VERSE: Romans 2:4b -- . . . God's kindness leads you toward repentance . . .


READ: Yesterday, both the adult service and KidVenture talked about judging others.

We also talked about some appropriate times to be a judge (like, for example, when you are a judge in a courtroom or when you are a parent or teacher who needs to take care of something wrong that someone has done). But the one perfect judge is God.

And I'm pretty glad for that.

Only God is a perfect judge because when we sin, it is HIS law we are breaking. But he also makes a perfect judge because he is a loving judge. As our verse says, "God's kindness leads to repentance." Well, Paul wrote those words to people who were forgetting that God's kindness leads to repentance. Instead, they were acting like judges themselves.

Instead of judging people who are doing wrong, we need to remember that God forgives our own sins . . . and we need to try showing that love to others. We can do this by being forgiving ourselves (showing by example) and by telling other people about God's forgiveness.

TALK:

1. Tell about a time when you were forgiven. What kind of feelings did you have? What kind of feelings do you think the person who forgave you had?

2. When you forgive someone, you are telling them about God's love without even mentioning his name! How are you showing or telling people about God's love when you forgive?

DO:

Draw a picture of something you were forgiven for. After everyone has drawn their picture,take turns showing it to the rest of the family. Then take turns TEARING IT UP AND THROWING IT AWAY!!! Because that's similar to the way God feels about the sin he has forgiven. 

~ Mr. Ben