The Parent Weekly for July 14th, God’s Spirit Renews
The Parent Weekly is designed for you to use during the week with your son or daughter. You’ll find out what they learned today at church and can help them prepare for next week by exploring the theme (or Big Idea) and spending time together in God’s Word.
What we learned today
Big Idea: God’s Spirit Renews
Fruit of the Spirit and Galatia. Galatians 5—6
Where we’re headed next time
Big Idea: God Is Contentment.
Letter to the Philippians. Philippians 3—4
Did you know?
Share these facts to get the conversation started:
Paul’s letter to the Philippians over flows with joy, love, and peace.
We gather from 2 Corinthians 8v2 that by the time Paul would have written this letter, the churches in the region of Philippi would have been suffering from poverty and persecution. Unlike other early churches, this church wasn’t overcome by serious problems of doctrine, heresy, or sin.
Paul most likely wrote the letter to the Philippians from Rome, during his imprisonment detailed in Acts 28. From prison Paul instructed the Philippians on how to have peace through trials. While chained to two guards, Paul told his readers how to do all things without grumbling and to rejoice in the Lord always.
Connect as a family
Before you read this week’s passage, ask your children what makes them feel content. Do they think having more things would make them content? What are those things? Would they feel more content if certain situations in their lives were different? If so, what are those situations? Then read Philippians 4v4–9. Explain to your children that true contentment doesn’t depend on what we possess or our circumstances. Instead, contentment comes from God.
After reading the Scripture passage, discuss these questions together:
What does it mean to think about things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable?
What are some examples of these things?
What should we do when we’re anxious?
Where in your life do you need God to help you be more content?
These questions can easily extend into the rest of the week. Look for opportunities to bring conversations about how God gives us contentment into your everyday life as a family.
Blessing
Blessings are often used in the Bible. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide.
A blessing to pray over your child: may God give you contentment in both the easy times and the hard times. In every situation, may you trust that God is working everything together for good.
