Early Elementary Today your student learned how Jesus healed ten lepers. Only one of the ten came back to thank Jesus. When our prayers are answered, we should show God our thankfulness. Our attitude and thankfulness show God how much we love Him. Encourage your child to share with others what God does for him or her. Upper Elementary Today your student learned how Jesus healed ten lepers. Only one of the ten came back to thank Jesus. When our prayers are answered, we should show God our thankfulness. Our attitude and thankfulness show God how much we love Him. Encourage your student to share with you what God does for him or her. Make a list of blessings God has given your family. Listen to God: Read Luke 17:11-19 Thankfulness is always a proper response to God’s grace and mercy, yet true thankfulness for God’s blessings is pretty rare. Luke 17 contains a classic illustration of both a lack of thankfulness and true gratitude. Lead your family in a discussion about the best ways to express thankfulness and why it’s important to do so. Talk to God We have much to be thankful for and God continues to bless us daily. Too often we fail to be thankful for God’s blessings because our focus is on self. Spend some time together in prayer being sure to thank God for specific blessings He has given your family—spiritual and physical blessings alike. Walk With God Option 1: Make a thankfulness journal together. Designate a special notebook or a section of one for things your family is thankful for. Encourage family members to add to the list often. Make it a habit (maybe the first of every month) to look over the list and recall the many things listed. It’s a great way for kids to have a visual reminder of things God has done even when circumstances may be less than positive at the time. Consider designating every Thursday as a thankful day. Encourage family members to intentionally express thankfulness to each other and to God in special ways that day (leave notes in lunchboxes, write on the mirror with a dry erase marker, share publicly at meal times, offer to do someone’s chore for them in honor of your appreciation, etc.) Option 2: Identify verses and songs that correlate with the theme of thankfulness. Gather your family together for a special time of thanksgiving to God. For fun, you could even fix a traditional recipe associated with the holiday. Spend time reading the verses together and singing the songs. Include all family members who are able to read. If you are feeling really creative, write a Thankfulness song together to a popular tune. Have fun with the activity as you reinforce this important lesson. Week 13 May 27, 2012 D6 Family Theme: thankfulness The Point: Giving thanks is the proper response to receiving God’s mercy.

Home Connection

Listen to God: Read John 11:1-45
John 11 contains a detailed account of one of Christ’s greatest miracles—raising Lazarus
from the dead. This passage is a powerful illustration of how God uses our difficult
situations for His ultimate glory. It is also a poignant reminder that whatever our
circumstance, God is at work in and through us. Lead your family in a discussion about
how God gets glory from our circumstances and the ways we navigate them.
Talk to God
The passage of Scripture today reveals the story of Lazarus—a man who
died, was dead for four days, but didn’t stay that way. Understandably,
he became an instant celebrity. His testimony, however, was not about
his survival but how Christ gave him new life. It should be our goal to
point people to Christ. We should intentionally give God glory whenever
we can in life. Lead your family in a prayer of praise to God for being so
amazing and so worthy of all praise.
Walk With God
Option 1: Human beings are naturally selfish in varying degrees. We often think of ourselves
before considering anyone else. Play this game with your family to help illustrate the need
to deflect attention sometimes. Encourage each family member to spend one minute telling
something that happened in the last few days. Without announcing you are doing so, make
note of how many times each person uses a personal pronoun (I, me, my, mine) while telling
the account. After each person has had a chance to go, announce the “scores.” Many times, the
events of our lives should be about the glory of God instead of our personal experiences. Obviously, it’s not
wrong to use personal pronouns when we talk, but it’s always good to be reminded that it’s not about us. We
should point others to the glory of God.
Option 2: Beforehand, or as a family activity, cut facial expressions from magazine pages. The focus should be on
the emotion being expressed in the picture. Nothing else matters for this activity. Put them all in a container and
encourage family members to take turns picking one and describing the emotion they feel is being expressed.
It might be fun to allow them to add a funny anecdote as to why the feelings are as they are. After they have all
been discussed, remind your family that emotions cannot be the basis of our spiritual life. Our emotions can be
misleading because they come from a human perspective. We must base our spiritual life on facts related to the
Lord and His Word.
Week 12
May 20, 2012
D6 Family Theme: glory of god
The Point: Our understanding is limited; our God is not.
The one page for every age

Early Elementary Your student learned that Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus healed a blind man and he received his sight. Jesus heals us from spiritual darkness as well. The man had lived in darkness with his sin, but now he believed and worshipped Jesus as the Son of God. Talk with your child about accepting God’s forgiveness. Upper Elementary Your student learned that Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus healed a blind man and he was able to see. Jesus heals us from spiritual darkness as well. The man had lived in darkness, but now he believed and worshiped Jesus as the Son of God. Talk with your student about accepting God’s forgiveness.

Home Connection

Listen to God: Read John 9:1-17
John 9 introduces us to a man society had written off as hopeless. His tragic physical
disability had made him unproductive and unimportant in the eyes of his peers. God,
however, had a different plan for his life—one that would dramatically change him and
forever write his story into the fabric of history. Discuss with your family what it might
have been like to be there that day when this man was healed. What are some things
people might have said or done to spread the news.
Talk to God
It’s easy to see from this passage that the light of Christ can shine
through anyone’s life, even those whom society has written off as
hopeless. In fact, it can even shine through each member of your family.
Pray together and ask the Lord to help your family shine for Him in many
ways—individually and as a family unit.
Walk With God
Option 1: Gather your family in a dark room where only one candle is lit or one flashlight or a
small lamp is on. Ask your family this question: How much light does it take to change the
atmosphere of a dark room? (If fear is not an issue, consider leaving the room dark until you
ask the question and get some answers.) It’s amazing how much one small light can change
the atmosphere of the entire dark room. A small amount of some things can make a big
difference. Let’s name some things of which a small amount will go a long way. (Answers might
include dish soap, salt, poison, medicines, etc.) We don’t need to worry that our contribution for
the Lord won’t be enough or make a difference. It’s amazing what He can do with just a little bit. Let your light
shine!
Option 2: Gather various colors of tissue paper, black construction paper, a pencil, and tape to make a stained
glass window together. Allow family members to draw a shape (a cross, candle, or some other object) on to the
black paper and cut it out. Encourage family members to tear the tissue paper into pieces and tape them over
the back of the cut out section. Write John 9:5 around the border of the picture. When finished, hang the picture
in front of a window and use it as a reminder to share God’s story with others this week. Consider making one
together or allow each family member to make his or her own.

Listen to God: Read Matthew 14:22-36 Trust is a very difficult thing for many people, yet it is essential for us to trust God in all aspects of our lives. In spite of what we might assume, people didn’t always find it easy to trust Jesus during His earthly ministry. In fact, this passage shows that even the disciples struggled to trust Jesus at times. Lead your family in a discussion about why that might have been the case and if things might be different for them today. Talk to God This passage helps us learn some important truths about trusting God. He has a proven track record and is completely trustworthy. Since He will not fail us, we do not need to worry. Lead your family in a time of prayer, thanking God for being trustworthy and asking Him to help you not to worry, but to trust Him in all things. Walk With God Option 1: Provide the following object lesson for your family. (Materials needed: a bottle of vegetable oil, a clear cup or jar half full of water.) Let’s pretend that this water represents our trust in God and the oil represents our worrying about the struggles of life. Let’s see what will happen when we add worry to our life of faith. (Pour some of the oil into the water and make sure each family member is able to see that they are not mixing. For added effect you could try to stir them together and watch them separate.) These two things will not mix no matter how hard we try. Ask: Can we trust God and worry about the circumstances of life at the same time? Why or Why not? (Worry and trust do not mix.) Option 2: Ask family members the following questions: • Would you trust a complete stranger with something valuable? Why or Why not? • What does a person have to do to gain your trust? (Demonstrate that he or she can be trusted, depended upon, or proved capable of doing certain things.) Let’s think about the Lord and all we have learned about Him. Is He someone we can trust? (Allow family members to answer and encourage them to give reasons.) Of course we can trust Him. We just need to make sure we do it. Let’s make a family pledge to trust God more and look for ways to give Him glory in our lives. Week 10 May 6, 2012 D6 Family Theme: trust The Point: Our struggles have a greater purpose The one page for every age HOME C o n n e c t i o n curriculum FTE 10-4 Infant/Toddler Your child was introduced to the Heartprint: I Can Help Others. The Parent Page should have come home with your child. It gives you general guidelines to help you recognize and understand developmental milestones your child should reach. Preschool Today your child was introduced to this month’s Heartprint: I Can Trust Jesus. He or she learned how Jesus calmed a storm on the sea. His disciples were scared but Jesus took care of them. Remind your child how he or she can trust Jesus when frightened. Early Elementary Today your student learned Jesus is trustworthy. Jesus walked on the water. Peter walked with Jesus but he fell when he became frightened and lost his trust. As Christians, we do not need to fear; Jesus is with us. Use the activities found on the other side of this Home Connection as a tool to help your student apply the lessons learned at church to his or her life. Upper Elementary Your student learned that Jesus is trustworthy. Jesus walked on the water. Peter walked with Jesus but he sank when he took his eyes off Jesus. Explain to your student why God is trustworthy, and encourage your child to trust Him in everyday circumstances.