Core 52 - Family

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Read the essay. Create something (a song, a story, a treat, an art project—however you like to create), and share it with your family.

Memorize Genesis 1:1

Read Genesis 1. Imagine that you’re watching God create the world. What does it look like? Sound like? Smell like? What are some ways humans praise God? How do you think animals and plants praise him? Why do you think God is compared to an architect, Jesus to a builder, and the Holy Spirit to an engineer?

Read Genesis 2:1–22. What did God provide that Adam and Eve needed? What has God provided for you? How did Adam and Eve add to creation? How can you add to creation? How do your parents provide for you like God provided for Adam and Eve?

“How does what you create bring praise to God?”, “How have you enjoyed someone else’s creation recently?”, “Are there things in creation that your friends might enjoy more than you do, such as sports, art, or music?”

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Reading the essay. Create something this week that would improve someone’s day (cookies, a dance, a picture, a story…).

Memorize Genesis 1:26

Read Ephesians 1:1-14. What’s one of your strengths—something you like about yourself? Do you think God shares this trait? How? What’s a strength that someone else has that you don’t have? What’s one of God’s characteristics that you need to strengthen in yourself?

Read Ephesians 1:15–23. Why do you think God loves the strength you identified yesterday? How can you use it to bring him glory? Why is it important for different people to have different strengths? What would happen if we all had the same personality traits? Since God blessed us all differently, why is it important to continue to strengthen our weaknesses?

“Do you know anyone else with the same gift? Do you use your gifts the same way?” “How do you think God will use your gifts when you’re an adult?” “How do you feel about the gifts God has given you?”

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Read the essay. If you have been upset with someone who is only trying to protect you, ask for that person’s forgiveness.

Memorize Genesis 3:6.

Read Genesis 3:1–10. Can you remember a time when your mom and dad were trying to keep you safe but you thought your way was better? After Adam and Eve ate the fruit, how did they become more like God? Who or what in your life is most likely to tempt you to go against God’s way?

Read Genesis 4:1-16. If Adam and Eve hadn’t sinned, do you think we would still be living in the Garden of Eden? How did Adam and Eve’s choice to eat the fruit in the garden affect more lives than their own? How do your choices affect other people’s lives?

“How do boundaries and rules bring freedom?” “How do boundaries and rules bring freedom?” "How do your actions reveal what’s inside your heart?”

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Read the essay. Write down your favorite promise from God. Put it somewhere you can see it, and read it every day

Memorize Genesis 15:6.

Read Genesis 21:1–7. With help, look up these passages. What does God promise you in each of them? Matthew 11:28–29 James 1:5 Isaiah 41:13 Philippians 4:6–9 John 3:16. What’s a promise God has made to you and kept? What does it mean to you to be blessed? How is it similar to or different from God’s promise to bless Abraham?

Read Genesis 12:1–18. Sometimes a covenant requires us to make sacrifices. What’s something in your life that would be hard to give up if God asked you to? How have you experienced God’s blessing? Is there a situation in your life where you don’t feel like you can see God keeping his promises?

“What are some consequences of breaking a promise?” “What promise of God brings you the most comfort?” “Do your friends see you as a promise keeper?”

Attend Wednesday Night Youth Group

Attend Wednesday Night Youth Group

Read the essay. Assign your child a task you know they will need your help with. Do this to model how God always gives us the help we need to do what he asks us to do.

Memorize Deuteronomy 18:18.

Read Exodus 2:11-15 and 3:1-12. Does God want to use you even after you’ve made a mistake? How? Does God want to use you even after you’ve made a mistake? How? Are you ever really qualified to do God’s work? What makes it possible?

Read Exodus 4:10-17. What excuse did Moses give God for why he didn’t think he’d be able to complete the task? What was God’s response? Have you ever felt disqualified from doing God’s work because of past mistakes? What are the reasons you think you can’t do what God asks of you?

“Does God still believe in us even when we disappoint him?” “Has God helped you do something even when you didn’t think you could?” “Have you ever not done what God wanted you to do? What happened?”

Attend Wednesday Night Youth Group

Read the essay, Identify one thing you usually do with the wrong attitude. This week, complete the task with a happy heart.

Memorize 1 Samuel 16:7.

Read 1 Samuel 15:20-23. Why did God reject Saul as king? What’s the difference between the character traits that are important to the world and what’s important to God? It’s possible to do the right action with the wrong attitude. What’s something you do that you need to change your attitude about?

Read 1 Samuel 16:6-7. Why does God care more about the heart than the outward appearance? What words would you want someone to use to describe your heart? What can you do to practice having the kind of heart that you want?

“How are your character traits pointing people to Jesus?” “Have you ever had to work on any character traits? How did you do it?” “Saul had blind spots in obeying the Lord. What are my blind spots that could keep me from being a leader?”

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Read the essay. Give up one thing that you really love this week. Every time you think about that thing, ask for God’s help in making him king of your heart.

Memorize 2 Samuel 7:12.

In Matthew 21:6-11. Who is the most important person you’ve ever met? How did you treat that person? Why did people expect Jesus to be different than he was? Jesus was, by earthly standards, an ordinary man entering Jerusalem like a king. If you had been in the crowd that day, what do you think you would have thought and felt?

Read Matthew 22:15-22. Jesus said to give God what belongs to him. How can we do that? What’s something that you’re holding on to that should belong to God? Why is it so hard to give God everything?

“What’s something I’m holding on to that I need to give to God?” “Will my unmet expectations make more sense the older I get?” “What do you do when you feel like God isn’t meeting your expectations?”

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Read the essay. Think about a rule your parents have that you don’t understand. Ask them how that rule is for your long-term happiness.

Memorize Psalm 1:1–2.

Read Job 1:6-22. What was Job’s reaction to the news of all he had lost? Have you ever had a big loss? How did you respond? What do our reactions to difficult situations reveal about our hearts?

Read Job 2:7-13. Who would encourage you in hard times? Why is it important to have people who are there for you? What’s the difference between long- and short-term happiness?

“Is it okay to be sad sometimes?” “Tell me about a time when you felt like you needed God.” “When do you see me focusing on short-term happiness over long-term happiness?”

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Read the essay. Every night this week, lay out your clothes for the next day as a reminder that God’s plan was in place before you were born.

Memorize Psalm 2:7.

Read Psalm 22:1-24. Match Acts 4:11 and Matthew 21:9 from the New Testament to the prophecies they fulfill in Psalm 118, verses 22 and 26. Match Acts 4:25–26; Matthew 3:17; and Revelation 12:5 from the New Testament to the prophecies they fulfill in Psalm 2, verses 1–2, 7, and 9.

Read Revelation 19:11-16. What is this prophecy talking about? Why is this prophecy important? What does God want Christians to do because of this prophecy?

“Why was it hard to fulfill these prophecies?” “Have you lived more intentionally at times?” “How does it make you proud when I live out God’s plan for me?”

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Read the essay. Make a list of what it takes to care for a dog, cat, hamster, bird, or fish. Then ask your mentor what they would add to the list.

Memorize Psalm 23:1–3. (Go for all six verses if you can!)

Rephrase Psalm 23 in your own words. Which of these verses makes you feel most protected by Jesus? Based on these verses, in what ways do you need to trust Jesus more? What can you do to improve your spiritual health?

Read John 10:1-18. What does Jesus do for you that a shepherd does for his sheep? How can you recognize Jesus’s voice even though you can’t hear it out loud? How does the thief try to break into your life?

“How is the way you protect me like how Jesus protects me? How is it different?” “What are my biggest distractions that could keep me from following the voice of Jesus?” “How have you learned to follow Jesus more closely?”

Attend Wednesday Night Youth Group

Read the essay. Ask three people to tell you the first character trait they think of when they think of you. Compare those traits with the heart of the Father.

Memorize Psalm 110:1.

Read John 5:19-29. How does someone get eternal life (verse 24)? What makes Jesus a savior? How can you show Jesus that you want him to be your savior?

Read John 6:41-59. What do you imagine eternal life will be like? What are the two kinds of bread Jesus was talking about (verses 48–51)? What things do you think stop people from making Jesus their savior?

“Do you have any questions about who Jesus is?” “What do you believe about Jesus?” “What does it mean to have the heart of the Father?”

Attend Wednesday Night Youth Group

Read the essay. Spend five to ten minutes reading your Bible and praying every day this week.

Memorize Psalm 118:22.

Read Acts 4:1-4. Why were the Jewish leaders upset with Peter and John? How would you respond if someone reacted badly because you talked about Jesus or invited them to church? Has this ever happened? What would you be willing to lose for sharing Jesus with others?

Read Acts 4:5-22. If you knew you would be insulted or hurt for talking about Jesus, how would you prepare? The Jewish leaders could tell that Peter and John had been with Jesus. How can people tell that you’ve spent time with Jesus? Why were some religious leaders so afraid of Jesus’s name being spread? Do you think people are still afraid of that today?

“What are some things you could do to make sure Jesus is the foundation of your life?” “Will making Jesus your foundation make your life easy? Explain.” “Do you have any fears about sharing Jesus with people?”

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List three things from this essay that could put you on the path to becoming wise.

Memorize Proverbs 1:7.

In 1 Kings, read chapters 3, 10, and 11. List three things from Solomon’s life that could put you on the path to becoming wise.

Identify one principle from each of these passages that could put you on the path to becoming wise: Deuteronomy 10:12, Ecclesiastes 12:13, and James 1:5.

Ask two people at least twenty years older than you one simple question: “What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom?”

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As you read the essay, ask yourself, “How good am I at becoming good?”

Memorize Isaiah 53:5.

The ten plagues really tell the story of our own stubborn hearts. As you read Exodus 7:14–11:10, ask yourself how you might be suffering because you refuse to do what God has asked.

What can you learn about sin and suffering from Leviticus 17:11, Romans 6:23, and 1 Peter 1:18–19?

Search for “Bible Project Atonement” on YouTube.2 Watch the six-minute video; then share it with a friend or on social media.

Attend Wednesday Night Youth Group

As you read the essay, underline any statements that reflect your own experience of coming to God.

Memorize Jeremiah 31:33–34.

Read Matthew 3 and Luke 4. They describe Jesus being baptized in the Jordan River and tempted in the wilderness. How do these events mirror Israel passing through the Red Sea and then being tempted in the desert?

What do Luke 22:20, 1 Corinthians 6:19–20, and Hebrews 9:14–15 teach about having a relationship with God?

We come to know God through the Holy Spirit he put in us. What is the Spirit telling you about God right now? Pay attention. He might speak to you through a song, a scripture, a relationship, or even nature.