How to use this parent guide
- Read the focus verse each week so you are prepared to discuss with your student.
- Let them know you are using the parent guide so they don’t think you are spying on them or can read their mind!
- Discuss the big question for the week. Don’t try to have all the answers. These questions are not easy. In fact, they were so difficult that Jesus used parables (fictional stories that help teach lessons) to try and help adults understand them. It’s ok to say, “I don’t know, but I’d love to explore the question together.”
So, what is God's design for us?
Week 4, February 26th: God's Design For our desires (6th Grade)
6th Grade:
Big Idea: God places desires in our hearts, but we may struggle with expressing those desires to the people around us.
Verses: Genesis 37:1-11
Summary: As we grow we get glimpses of who we will one day become. These ideas stem from deep within our hearts, and God put them there long before we were ever born. Although we have begun to feel these big things moving in us, it becomes difficult to express them to others. We see this idea play out early in Joseph’s life. In this story Joseph expresses his dreams to his brothers. Joseph has a clear idea of who he is going to one day be, but his brothers scold him for dreaming too big. They do everything in their power to force Joseph into who they think he should be without considering the potential validity of Joseph’s dreams. Most of us can identify with this situation; the feeling associated with being misunderstood. Joseph wasn’t trying to stir everyone up with something radical, rather he was simply expressing what he felt to those closest to him. So often we find ourselves we should wait on all of the hopes and dreams stuff. We are too young to know anything about our future, or the men and women we want to become one day. The problem with this is if God really is as deeply involved in our individual stories as we believe he is, then there is no minimum age requirement when we can begin to engage in that story with him. So while it all can be confusing, especially when everyone around us thinks we are crazy, it is clear that God wants us to consider these thoughts. While it wasn’t easy for Joseph to express himself, God used that vision to motivate Joseph and it gave Joseph a way to connect to the God who had created him for a unique purpose.
Parent & Student Discussion:
Take some time to discuss some of your student’s dreams and aspirations?
Discuss your own dreams and the steps you took to make them happen.
Don’t be afraid to mention the dreams that didn’t work out. How did those moments shape you?
Week 4, March 5th: God's design for sex. (7th & 8th Grade)
7th and 8th Grade | Sexual Purity & Restoration Part 1:
Big Idea: God’s Design for Sex
Verses: 2 Samuel 11:1-27
Summary: Sex is a part of God’s design for marriage. It was meant to be a reflection of God’s love for us, but it is clear throughout the Bible that it is one of the most common things we tend to mess up. There are many reasons this is the case, but it would not be helpful if we didn’t learn from those mistakes to understand the good intentions God had when he thought up sex. Sex, at its worst, has the potential to destroy the relationships we have with God, others, and even ourselves. However, at its best it has the potential to bring us closer than we thought possible to those nearest to us, and it reveals the deep love God has for each of us. It is also important to note that even though people like David got sex wrong, God never abandoned them, and was always there to guide them back to him, and toward restoration. Sex also isn’t the total focus of this passage, but it was the expressive culmination of a progression of poor decisions that led David awry. Sex is not the root of David’s sin, but sin is the root of David’s decisions concerning sex.
Parent & Student Discussion:
Read the story of David and Bathsheba together.
Take some time to discuss together some actions David could have taken to avoid the choices he made.