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YESTERDAY, TODAY & FOREVER

“Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.” – Joel 2:29

“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 22:49)

“And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent, rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4)

The coming of God’s Holy Spirit to dwell within everyone who believed in and trusted God the Father and His Messiah Jesus, signaled the beginning of the New Covenant age that the prophet Jeremiah had spoken about so many years earlier when he said,
“I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”  and “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

God’s promise to Abraham that, “through you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,” was beginning to be fulfilled as God’s Spirit began to draw people from every nation, tongue, and tribe into His family, his assembly (ekklesia) of the faithful remnant in Christ (Romans 11:11-31). Help the children this week to appreciate the family that they have been adopted into.

BIG IDEA: Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS WEEK’S VIDEO

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:

Joel 2:28-29
John 14,16:7-11
Acts 1:8
1 Corinthians 12:7

SECTION VERSES:

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’”   – John 14:6-7

LESSON VERSE:

“But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” – Luke 22:69

PRAYER:

Thank Jesus that He did not leave us alone, but sent the Holy Spirit to guide, comfort, teach, and give us power to live for God.

DISCUSSION STARTERS:

• Why did Jesus send the Holy Spirit?
• Review the functions of the Holy Spirit. (Answers below)
  • To empower the people to spread the Gospel and establish the Kingdom (Acts 1:8; John 14:12)
  • To teach (John 14:26)
  • To comfort (Acts 9:31)
  • To convict (John 16:8)
  • To give gifts (1 Corinthians 12)
  • To sanctify (produce change in us) (Galatians 5:22-23)

LIVE IT OUT!

• Celebrate the New Covenant this week as a family by sharing in communion together at home.  (Matthew 26:26-29)

– – –

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.

HE HAS RISEN! PART 2

“But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” – Luke 22:69

“Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” – Luke 24:44–49

Jesus was returning to his Father, but for 40 days he explained to his disciples the full significance of his life among them from the scriptures, and shared with them what their mission would now be.  After this he was taken up from them into heaven among the clouds.  We see this event in Acts 1:9 from the perspective of the disciples, but in the book of Daniel, many hundreds of years earlier, we were given the view from heaven of this same event.

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence.” Daniel 7:13

Jesus has ascended into heaven where he is seated at the right hand of God the Father.  He is our King, our mediator and High Priest (1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 10:12,14), making intercession for us (Romans 8:34), until all his enemies have been made a footstool (Matt 22:44).

BIG IDEA: Jesus rules from Heaven.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS WEEK’S VIDEO (Watch from 2:25 to the end)

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:

Daniel 7:13-14           Psalm 89:27
Psalm 110:1                Luke 24:50-53
Matthew 28:16-20     Acts 7:56
Acts 1:1-11                  Hebrews 1:3
Acts 2:34-35                1 Corinthians 15:25
Revelation 3:21           Revelation 19:16

SECTION VERSES:

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’”   – John 14:6-7

LESSON VERSE:

“But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.” – Luke 22:69

PRAYER:

Give thanks that Jesus the Messiah, the KING, completed God’s story of Hope and rules heaven and earth with the Father.

DISCUSSION STARTERS:

• How long did Jesus remain on the earth?
• What was he doing during that time?
• What kind of body did Jesus have when he rose?
• Where is Jesus now?

LIVE IT OUT!

• When we trust Jesus as KING we become part of His Kingdom and are given his Spirit to live a Kingdom life.  How can we do that today?

– – –

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.

HE HAS RISEN! PART 1

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die”  – John 11:25

“Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”
– Romans 6:4-7

“…having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”  – Colossians 2:12

“Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”   – 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death–that is, the devil” (Hebrews 2:14)

Jesus’ resurrection vindicated His divine claims and conquered once for all the power of the second death, separation from the Father, opening a way into the true Holy of Holies, the Throne of Grace for all who are found in Christ.   What joyful news!  He is risen! He is risen indeed!!

BIG IDEA: Jesus defeated death.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS WEEK’S VIDEO (Watch from the begining through 2:25)

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:

Matthew 28:1-15
Luke 24:1-49
John 20-21
1 Corinthians 15:14

SECTION VERSES:

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’”   – John 14:6-7

LESSON VERSE:

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die”  – John 11:25

PRAYER:

Thank God that we don’t have to fear physical death because we have been made alive spiritually with Jesus forever!

DISCUSSION STARTERS:

• How would you feel if you were one of Jesus’ friends when He was buried?
• What about when He rose from the dead?
• Why did Jesus rise from the dead?
• Why is it so important that He rose?

LIVE IT OUT!

• Eternal life starts the moment you trust in Jesus. Make a list of the ways this new life has changed you and is changing you.

– – –

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.

GOD’S LOVE & JUSTICE INTERSECT, PART 2

“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood — to be received by faith.” – Romans 3:25a

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46).

At the cross Jesus suffered the humiliation, physical death, and most dramatically of all, the separation from the Father, spiritual death, that our sin has earned us.  That is the intersection of love and justice.

BIG IDEA: God is love. God is just.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS WEEK’S VIDEO (Begin at 5:36 at watch to the end. Parents: There are some scenes in this portion of The Hope that are not appropriate for younger viewers.  You may consider simply reading the account to your child from Luke 23 or skipping some sections of the video as we did in Quest.)

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:

Isaiah 53
John 3:16
Romans 6:23
2 Corinthians 5:21

SECTION VERSES:

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’”   – John 14:6-7

LESSON VERSE:

“God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood — to be received by faith.”  – Romans 3:25a

PRAYER:

Think about the fact that Jesus did nothing wrong, but was willing to suffer and die so we can live with God.  Give thanks for God’s love.

DISCUSSION STARTERS:

• What does it mean to be just?
• According to God’s justice, what does sin deserve? (Romans 6:23a)
• If Jesus was innocent, why did Jesus die? (2 Corinthians 5:21)
• Why is Jesus’ sacrifice important to us?

LIVE IT OUT!

• Talk about what Jesus did for you. How should we respond to what we’ve learned about Jesus and what He did on the cross?

– – –

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.

GOD’S LOVE & JUSTICE INTERSECT, PART 1

“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”   – John 10:18

“And so it came to pass, that Jesus, whom John called the Lamb of God, went up to Jerusalem, to observe Passover…Jesus gathered His disciples to celebrate Passover. Taking the Passover bread, Jesus broke it and said, “This is my body, which is given for you.” Then He took the wine, which represented the blood of the Passover lamb, which had been placed over the entrances of the Hebrew dwellings. And He said, “This is my blood which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.” – The HOPE, Chapter 10

Jesus walked resolutely into Jerusalem at the start of the Passover week knowing full well the mission he had come to accomplish. “From that time Jesus Christ began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You.” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.”  – Matthew 16:21–25

No one was forcing his hand.  “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.”
Throughout Hebrew history, God reiterated His promise to send a Deliverer who would one day free humankind from Satan, sin and death; who would one day secure the promised blessing for all nations. Jesus was now saying that the road to that blessing was charted through unthinkable suffering and loss.

BIG IDEA: Jesus chose to lay down His life.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS WEEK’S VIDEO (Start at the beginning and watch until 5:36.) Parents: There are some scenes in this portion of The Hope that are not appropriate for younger viewers.  You may consider simply reading the account to your child from Luke 23 or skipping some sections of the video as we did in Quest.)

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:

John 1:3   Isaiah 43:25    Colossians 1:16-17
Mark 14:61-62  John 8:58  Isaiah 43:10-11
John 5:17-18   Mark 2:5-7

SECTION VERSES:

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’”   – John 14:6-7

LESSON VERSE:

“No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”   – John 10:18

PRAYER:

Thank God for his great love for us. That while we were still sinners His Son would die in our place.

DISCUSSION STARTERS:

• Why did Jesus enter Jerusalem that day?
• Why did people celebrate Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem?
• What does Hosanna mean?
• How did Jesus control events?

LIVE IT OUT!

• Jesus chose to give His life for us.  What are some small ways we can give our lives (our time, our energy, our love) to others 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.

“Jesus answered, ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” – John 14:9

“He began asking His disciples, saying, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Simon Peter answered and said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” – Matthew 16:13–17

In the past two lessons we talked about how Jesus, as God’s anointed One, was a great teacher and a powerful prophet.  These statements are true, but Jesus did not leave room for us, or the people of 1st century Israel, to leave it at that.  In his famous interaction with the Jewish leaders during the Feast of Dedication (John 10:22-39) Jesus says, “I and the Father are one.” Those who heard him understood exactly what that meant, “The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.”   His statement was so unambiguous that they sought to kill him right then and there for claiming to be God.  All that the Law and the Prophets pointed to in the coming Messiah; Great High Priest to restore the priesthood, King of kings to restore David’s rule, and a prophet “like Moses,” could only be fulfilled by God in sinless human flesh.  All other’s had fallen short even as their lives foreshadowed the perfect which was coming, Jesus.  Jesus is our All in All.

BIG IDEA: Jesus is God.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS WEEK’S VIDEO

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:

John 1:3   Isaiah 43:25    Colossians 1:16-17
Mark 14:61-62  John 8:58  Isaiah 43:10-11
John 5:17-18   Mark 2:5-7

SECTION VERSES:

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’”   – John 14:6-7

LESSON VERSE:

“Jesus answered, ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” – John 14:9

PRAYER:

Thank God that Jesus left no room for debate about who he said he was; God himself.

DISCUSSION STARTERS:

• What did the religious leaders not like about Jesus?
• How did Jesus say that he is God?

LIVE IT OUT!

• How can we show God the Father to others?  Brainstorm some ideas and post them on your fridge or bathroom mirror.

– – –

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.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him…” – John 3:17

“Jesus expressed His compassion and proved His authority with miracles. He was reported to have calmed storms and walked on the sea. On two occasions, He took just a few loaves of bread and a handful of fish and multiplied them to feed thousands of people. Jesus gave sight to the blind, caused the lame to walk, and healed people of horrible diseases. He cast demons out of people, and He even raised people from the dead. For thirty years, Jesus had lived in obscurity. But now, He was demonstrating His power over the physical and the spiritual world, over life and death.” – The HOPE, Chapter 9
In the Bible, there are four words (two Hebrew and two Greek) that are translated as the word “miracle.” In each case, these words describe an intervention by God in which the ordinary course of nature is overruled, suspended, or modified.

The Bible records 35 miracles performed by Jesus during His three years of public ministry. These miracles range from walking on water to raising people from the dead.  A primary purpose (if not the primary purpose) of the miracles recorded in the Bible was as a sign that confirmed the presence or revelation of God. This is true of the miracles of God in the Old Testament as well as the miracles of Jesus. The miracles of Exodus 7–11 confirmed that Moses was speaking for God. In the New Testament, Jesus said that His miracles proved who He was and that God the Father sent Him (John 5:36). Jesus performed miracles so that people might believe He was who He said He was.
In his miracles Jesus demonstrated his power over all of creation (spiritual and physical) as well as his fulfillment of the Isaiah 61 prophecy which he read in the synagogue (61:1-2 and Luke 4:16-20).  He was indeed a powerful prophet of God, the Ultimate Prophet that God foretold in Deuteronomy 18:15,

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.”

BIG IDEA: Jesus is a powerful prophet.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THIS WEEK’S VIDEO

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:

Deuteronomy 18:15
Isaiah 61
Psalm 78:24
Luke 4:17-19

SECTION VERSES:

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’”   – John 14:6-7

LESSON VERSE:

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him,”      – John 3:17

PRAYER:

Thank God for sending Jesus as the greatest Prophet, powerful over all creation, who proved He is God himself.

DISCUSSION STARTERS:

• Read Isaiah 61:1-2 and Luke 4:16-20. Why do you think Jesus stopped reading the passage in Isaiah where he did?
• How did Jesus demonstrate his power?
• Why did Jesus demonstrate his power?

LIVE IT OUT!

• Think of some ways that your actions can show that God’s love is truly in you. Now do them!

– – –

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.