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LESSON 4: WHAT ARE YOU STORING UP?

Guard your heart for everything you do flows from it. A guard has two functions. The first is to keep out anyone or anything that will cause harm or does not have the owners permission to enter. The second is to allow in those persons or things that the owner has authorized. Why is a guard on the heart so critical? We’ve all used the expression, “garbage in, garbage out,” and are familiar with its implications in any type of analytical task. It can be equally applied to our heart (the biblical center of the will and emotions). How about this positive version of the expression, “Jesus in, Jesus out”? Both are biblical principles are they not? Regulating what goes in to the heart is directly connected to what will come out.

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. (Luke 6:45)

How does a person guard or protect their heart then? One would be correct to say, “Flee the evil desires of youth!” (2 Tim 2:22) However that is only half of the truth. We are taught by God’s word that lasting heart health can only be achieved when we flee FROM those things of lesser value and TO some One of infinitely greater value. The passage cited above continues, “and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace.” Flee and pursue. How? We flee by creating distance between ourself and temptation, by turning our backs on the twisted values of the world. We pursue by “looking on” Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith, by setting our hearts and minds on things above, by thinking about whatever is “true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable.” Finally, this call to flee and pursue is meant to be carried out in community. Let’s look again at our passage in full, “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” Let us encourage the children to guard their hearts with us.

BIG IDEA: Wisdom guards my heart.

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Proverbs 4:20-27
2 Timothy 2:22
Philippians 4:6-8
Psalm 101:3
Colossians 3:1-2

SECTION VERSE:
Then you will understand what is  right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. – Proverbs 2:9-10

LESSON VERSE:
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. – Luke 6:45

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Read Proverbs 4:20-27 out loud and discuss, verse by verse.
• How can we help keep our heart clean?
• Name some things that are not good to put in your heart. How about some good things?
• How can you apply what you learned in Quest this week?

– – –

ABOUT FAMILY QUEST: At Reston Bible Church, we firmly believe that parents are a child’s first and most important spiritual leader.  In order to support you that mission, we have created a parent devotional and some discussion starters to go along with each lesson your grade school age children are learning at Quest on Sundays. Our hope and prayer is that this material will help you to engage with your children around the topics they are learning on Sunday mornings, answer their questions, go deeper with them, and find real, day-to-day applications. We are honored to be able to partner with you in the critical task of sharing Christ with the next generation.

LESSON 3: GOD IS A TRUSTWORTHY GUIDE

Spiritual G.P.S. The God Positioning System. Just like our geographical GPS requires three parts to function correctly, a satellite system, a receiver, and a reliable digital map, so does our spiritual GPS. It begins by having a connection to our heavenly Father through his Son, Jesus. The next piece is the indwelling Holy Spirit to quicken our conscience and open our spiritual eyes. Finally we need a reliable map; God’s living and powerful Word. With these 3 pieces our guidance system is complete.

Any GPS system is only useful if we have it turned on and actually follow the instructions given. However, while global positioning systems have gotten very sophisticated and much more reliable, they can still fail. Not so with our God guidance system. It is completely dependable and rejecting its guidance is the height of foolishness. Why you say? Let’s go back and look at its parts. The character of our heavenly Father, his all-knowing, all-powerful, all-present, and all-loving nature make Him 100% reliable over and against our “own understanding” of our circumstances and the world around us. His thoughts and ways are infinitely higher than ours. Then there is the submissive obedience of the Spirit to the Father and Son. This reassures us that He will only provide the guidance that the Father has spoken. Because they are one in three persons there is no chance of a communication breakdown. Finally, the living and active Word of God, divinely inspired, infallible, and protected through the ages, is given to us as God’s primary means of transforming our hearts and renewing our minds into the image of the Son. We have a reliable road map.

This spiritual GPS is worthy of our complete trust. Don’t second guess it with your own “understanding.” Put it to the test and you will see that it is truly wise to place our faith (confide = with faith) in the guidance of our God. Better yet, encourage the children to do the same and you will have an impact on eternity!

BIG IDEA: Trust in God’s wisdom and He will guide you.

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Proverbs 3:1-12

SECTION VERSE:
Then you will understand what is  right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. – Proverbs 2:9-10

LESSON VERSE:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Read Proverbs 3:1-12 out loud and discuss, verse by verse.
• What are we told to do with God’s words?
• What does it mean to trust? Who is someone you trust? Why?
• How can you apply what you learned in Quest this week?

– – –

ABOUT FAMILY QUEST: At Reston Bible Church, we firmly believe that parents are a child’s first and most important spiritual leader.  In order to support you that mission, we have created a parent devotional and some discussion starters to go along with each lesson your grade school age children are learning at Quest on Sundays. Our hope and prayer is that this material will help you to engage with your children around the topics they are learning on Sunday mornings, answer their questions, go deeper with them, and find real, day-to-day applications. We are honored to be able to partner with you in the critical task of sharing Christ with the next generation.

LESSON 2: DON’T BE A FOOL, LISTEN TO THE WISE

What is one of the most often lamented or joked about attributes of youthful thinking? We all know the old adage, “The older I get, the wiser my father becomes.” The foolishness of youth leads us to believe that we know everything and that our way is better. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes.” Sadly, this foolishness, if not lovingly corrected in our children, often continues on into
adulthood and creates ever increasing heartache along the way as the consequences of our foolishness grow more serious. “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to
death” (Prov. 14:12).

How is this foolish tendency remedied? What is God’s plan for His children? There are two main parts; the content and the delivery mechanism. The first part, the content, is the revealed word of God. If a Christian ever hopes to share the mind and attitudes of Christ then they must immerse themselves in knowing Him. “Blessed is the one…whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who
meditates on his law day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2). The writer of Hebrews tells us we must be “transformed by the renewing of your mind,” in order to understand and share the mind of Christ.
This occurs through exposure to His Word. But there is a second piece of the puzzle.

“Turbulence ahead.” Have you ever wondered how pilots know ahead of time to have you buckle up in preparation for turbulence? The answer is simple. Pilots talk to one another. Pilots further along a flight path will report turbulence back to those who are following behind. In a very real sense they’ve been where the other pilots are heading. God places us in families, both biological and
spiritual, for many reasons. Not least of these is for the purpose of imparting wisdom to those following behind us. Those of us who are more wise and experienced are able to lovingly point out
the coming turbulence and, more importantly, the solution to life’s turbulence in the living Word of God. It is vital that we echo and magnify the Bibles’ exhortation to the young to “pay attention and turn your ears to the sayings of the wise.” Do not be discouraged. Though it will often seem like you are talking to an impenetrable wall, God’s word is “sharper than any two-edged sword,” and can be trusted to penetrate the heart of our kids if we are faithful and do not give up in our task of graciously and lovingly pointing them to the way, the truth, and the life.

BIG IDEA: Listen to the wise and wisdom will protect you.

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
Proverbs 2:1-11
Proverbs 22:17-19
Proverbs 1:8-9
Psalm 1:1-3

SECTION VERSE:
Then you will understand what is  right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. – Proverbs 2:9-10

LESSON VERSE:
Pay attention and turn your ear to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach. – Proverbs 22:17

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• Read aloud Proverbs 2:1-11
• What does God want us to do with His wisdom?
• Where does wisdom come from? (verse 6)
• What good things will wisdom bring us?
• How can you apply what you learned in Quest this week?

– – –

ABOUT FAMILY QUEST: At Reston Bible Church, we firmly believe that parents are a child’s first and most important spiritual leader.  In order to support you that mission, we have created a parent devotional and some discussion starters to go along with each lesson your grade school age children are learning at Quest on Sundays. Our hope and prayer is that this material will help you to engage with your children around the topics they are learning on Sunday mornings, answer their questions, go deeper with them, and find real, day-to-day applications. We are honored to be able to partner with you in the critical task of sharing Christ with the next generation.

SOUL SHERPA, LESSON 4: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS OUR GUIDE

How many times have you heard something like this, “God first, others second, I’m third,” or, “God, country, family.” Maybe you’ve even said something similar or worn the t-shirt. I know I have. At first glance it seems like a godly enough thing to say and it sure feels good to think we have our priorities straight.

Unfortunately it is not at all what God’s Word teaches us. God’s place isn’t first in a list of other lower priorities. He is the center and essence of every priority. We need to make sure that our children are not subjected to this wrong thinking. Whenever love for God is mentioned in scripture it is with all encompassing phrases like, “with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” or “in all your ways acknowledge Him,” or “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all,” or “all things have been created through Him and for Him.” There is no sacred and secular for the Christian.

“If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11)

Now matter what we do, we are called to do it as a representation of Christ. What would Jesus be like as a schoolteacher, a lawyer, an IT professional, or a manager? What would Jesus be like as a parent, a son or daughter, a husband or wife, brother, or friend? In all our ways, in all our decisions, in all our activities, in all our roles and thoughts, acknowledge Him. This is not an acknowledging in the shallow English meaning either. The Hebrew word means to know intimately by experience. Search your heart this week. Are you knowing God intimately by experience in all your ways?

BIG IDEA: Make God the center of everything and He will guide you on the best path.

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
1 Peter 4:11
Mark 12:30
Ephesians 4:5-6
Colossians 1:16, 3:17
Psalm 34:8

SECTION VERSE:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not depend on your own understanding. In all your ways remember Him. Then He will make your paths smooth and straight. – Proverbs 3:5-6

LESSON VERSE:
There is one God and Father of all. He is over everything. He is through everything. He is in everything. – Ephesians 4:6

PRAYER:
Ask God to help you give Him control of every part of your life, and to trust His guidance.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• What does it mean to acknowledge God in all your ways?
• How do you make Jesus the center of your life?
• How can you learn to trust God? (knowledge + experience = trust)
• What things do you let take Jesus’ place on the throne?

LIVE IT OUT!

• Have a family sharing time to talk about when you should be seeking God’s guidance.
• Make a list of your gifts, talents, possessions, and hobbies. How can you dedicate each of these to the Lord?

– – –

ABOUT FAMILY QUEST: At Reston Bible Church, we firmly believe that parents are a child’s first and most important spiritual leader.  In order to support you that mission, we have created a parent devotional and some discussion starters to go along with each lesson your grade school age children are learning at Quest on Sundays. Our hope and prayer is that this material will help you to engage with your children around the topics they are learning on Sunday mornings, answer their questions, go deeper with them, and find real, day-to-day applications. We are honored to be able to partner with you in the critical task of sharing Christ with the next generation.