{Elementary} September- Grow Up! (Video added)

 Knowledge

Have you ever noticed that when you ask a kid a question in church, their default answer, if they don’t really know the answer, will be “God?” Or coming in a close second—hand frantically waving in the air—“Jesus!”

And really, most questions can be answered in some way with God or Jesus. That’s because God is the ultimate source of knowledge—and that’s the characteristic of God we’re learning about this month as we kick off a new school year. It’s in the story of God that we find the character of God, so we’re headed to the Gospel of Luke to learn from His Son, Jesus, as He grew up.

Did you know that the Bible only gives us one story and one comment on the life of Jesus from the time He was a preteen until He’s a thirty-something starting His ministry? It’s our memory verse for the month (Luke 2:52) and it tells us that Jesus spent time studying God’s Word, and that He grew in His relationship with God, in His ability to make wise choices and in His ability to love others.

So, we’ll start the first week learning with the 12-year-old Jesus as He listens and asks questions in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52). I love how one translation says that Jesus had to be about His father’s business. Bottom Line: Since God knows everything, I should discover what God says.

Next, we’ll see how Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist (Luke 3:21-23). Did you know that Matthew actually says Jesus had to remind a protesting John that this was part of God’s plan and it was the right thing to do? Bottom Line: When I discover what God says, it helps me trust Him more.

Then comes a low point in the story—Jesus being tempted in the Desert by the devil (Luke 4:1-13). He was able to use what He knew, and He was filled with God’s power to choose what was best, not easiest or quickest. Bottom Line: When I discover what God says, I can make wiser choices.

Finally, we’ll come full circle with Jesus as an adult teaching in the Synagogue of His hometown (Luke 4:14-30). What a surprising twist for the people who knew Him when He reads from Scripture and says He’s the one they’ve been waiting for, then leaves to start His ministry of healing and hope. Bottom Line: When I discover what God says, I know how I should treat others.

This month, as we talk about knowledge, we aren’t just talking about learning more. It’s not how much you know, it’s what you know (and who you know) that really matters! When we look at the life of Jesus, we see three main things we need to know. And these things are the foundation of everything we do at 252 Basics. Each week we will focus on just one of these three big ideas: I can trust God no matter what. I need to make the wise choice. And I should treat others the way I want to be treated. Can you guess which one goes which week?

By Cara Martens. © 2011 Orange. All rights reserved. www.WhatIsOrange.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission.

September Preview:

If there was one or two things you want your child(ren) to believe and know by the time they entered Junior High or High school, what would it be?