Commitment

Making a plan and putting it into practice

WEEK 1

We start the month with Psalm 119:105, where David wrote, “Your word is like a lamp that shows me the way. It is like a light that guides me.” When we read what the authors of the Bible wrote, we can find out how God wants us to live. It’s like we’re listening to God. God offers us wisdom throughout the pages of the Bible that can guide us to not only discover more about ourselves, but also how to love God, trust Jesus, and treat others well.

Bottom Line: Practice hearing from God. Part of growing in our faith includes learning about what God has planned for our lives. In order to do that, we need to take time to listen to what God is telling us through the Bible, and through those who’ve read the Bible who can help us understand what it means for our life. While kids might not be able to read and understand everything they encounter in the Bible, we still pray that, through this lesson, they’ll get the foundation they need to navigate and personalize the Bible. On top of that, we hope they will eventually make reading the Bible a regular part of their faith journey as they grow in their relationship with Jesus.

WEEK 2

In Matthew 6:9-13 we find Jesus talking about prayer during His Sermon on the Mount. Jesus shared a model for prayer that helps us understand more about how we can talk to God. We can pray with gratitude and honesty, pray for our needs, and ask for forgiveness. It’s comforting to know that we can pray while remembering that God knows us and wants to hear from us.

Bottom Line: Practice praying to God. Even if kids have grown up in a home where practicing faith is a priority, they might still think prayer is something they do before they eat dinner or get tucked into bed for the night. Of course, prayer is so much more than that. And, as kids learn about Jesus’ model prayer, we want them to understand that they can pray anytime, anywhere, and about anything—because God is always listening and wants to hear from us. We hope kids will understand more about prayer and find that talking to God can be an important part of growing in their faith.

WEEK 3

For week 3, we head to Matthew 16:13-20, where Jesus asked his disciples: “Who do you say I am?” After everything they’d seen Jesus do and heard Jesus say, what did they really think about Jesus? This gave Peter the perfect moment to declare what he believed: that Jesus truly is the Son of God.

Bottom Line: Practice talking about God. God is continually working in our lives. When we talk about those moments with others, we can actually end up growing in our relationship with God. As kids process their growing faith, they will have questions and doubts. We want them to know that no question is off-limits when it comes to their faith. We hope that as they practice talking about God, they’ll discover that sharing about their faith isn’t so daunting. We pray that kids will find trusted adults who believe in Jesus who will help them talk through their questions about God.

WEEK 4

We finish the month in Mark 12:41-44. Jesus noticed how wealthy people were giving lots of money at the temple. Then a poor widow walked up to the offering box and gave just two small coins. While this seemed like a small gift, Jesus told His disciples that this woman actually gave more than the rich people did—because she gave everything she had.

Bottom Line: Practice living for God. We know that many kids love to sing and worship God. But worship isn’t just something we do when we sing at church. Worship is really how we honor God with our whole lives—how we love others and serve them, how we give our time and talents, how we follow and praise God, and even how we rest. We want kids to practice living for God and understand what it means to worship God with every part of their life.