February 12, 2023
K-3rd Grade
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4th-5th Grade
Download the weekly 4th-5th Grade Parent Guide PDF:
Story Focus: Jesus brought His followers to a mountain to explain to them what it means to live as part of God’s kingdom. During that message, Jesus said something surprising about loving others and treating them with respect. In Matthew 5:43-47, Jesus said, “You’ve heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor. Hate your enemy.’ But here is what I tell you. Love your enemies. Pray for those who hurt you.” Jesus wanted His followers to understand that being kind, loving, and respectful matters even more than we think. Everyone deserves a chance to be shown respect.
Bottom Line: : Show respect even when you don’t get along. We tend to make judgement calls on who deserves to receive our respect. But that’s not the way God works. ALL people are created in God’s image. Regardless of how much we get along with others, we should work to be nice, show respect, and share God’s love with them. We’ll help kids understand how they can do this for the people in their lives.
Key Question: When is it hard to get along with someone? Respecting others won’t always be easy. Preteens are very aware that there are people they don’t get along with, or who don’t get along with them. We hope they start thinking about the moments when it’s more difficult to show respect. If they’re aware of when those sorts of moments might happen, they can pray and be prepared with a better response than the one that might be in their head. Hopefully, they’ll choose to show respect.