Posts by Stephen Baxley

A Son Requests Wisdom

Use the following thoughts and questions to have a spiritual conversation as a family. Don’t emphasize having the right answer, but focus on spending time discussing the Word as a family. Scripture 1 Kings 3:5-15,23-28 Session Summary King Solomon, David’s son, could have requested anything from God. But Solomon knew he was young and inexperienced and running a kingdom would be a…

A Sinner Receives Forgiveness

Use the following thoughts and questions to have a spiritual conversation as a family. Don’t emphasize having the right answer, but focus on spending time discussing the Word as a family. Scripture 2 Samuel 11:1-5,8-9,13-17; Psalm 51:4-10 Session Summary Even though he was called a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), David still got caught in sin. Back then, Kings led…

A King Shows Kindness

Use the following thoughts and questions to have a spiritual conversation as a family. Don’t emphasize having the right answer, but focus on spending time discussing the Word as a family. Scripture 2 Samuel 9:1-13 Session Summary Saul and all of his sons, including David’s best friend, Jonathan, were killed in a battle against the Philistines. Although Saul had pursued David throughout…

A Servant Receives God’s Promise

Use the following thoughts and questions to have a spiritual conversation as a family. Don’t emphasize having the right answer, but focus on spending time discussing the Word as a family. SCRIPTURE 2 Samuel 7:8-16 Session Summary David wanted to honor God by building a home for the ark of the covenant, which represented God’s presence among the Israelites. What David wanted…

HABITS OF JESUS: Why Jesus Withdrew

Dear parents, This week we wrapped up our series on the habits of Jesus. It has been an incredible time diving into the life of Jesus and discovering how his regular habits connect to our own lives. But instead of just looking at the habits themselves, we’ve explored why Jesus practiced each habit. In this final lesson, we looked at Luke 5:16,…

HABITS OF JESUS: Why Jesus Loved and Gave

Dear parents, This week, we’re continuing our series on the habits of Jesus. Each week, students are looking to Jesus, at one of his habits, and exploring how this habit relates to their own lives. In this week’s lesson, we looked at John 15:9-17, and we discussed how Jesus’ love caused him to give everything for us. We saw that Jesus had…

HABITS OF JESUS: The Bible as Foundation

Dear parents, We are in our second week or our series “Habits of Jesus,” and we are discussing how Jesus is the perfect example of how to live. Even Jesus had habits—things he did regularly. In this second lesson, we talked about Jesus’ foundation of God’s word even from a young age. Later in this series, students will also explore Jesus’ habits…

HABITS OF JESUS: Why Jesus Prayed

Dear parents, We started a new series called “Habits of Jesus,” and we began discussing how Jesus is the perfect example of how to live. Even Jesus had habits—things he did regularly. In this first lesson, we talked about Jesus’ habit of praying. Later in this series, students will also explore Jesus’ habits of giving, serving, and withdrawing. During this time most…

Love, Sex, and Integrity Lesson 2: Dating and Relationships

Dear parents, We’re continuing our “Love Life” series. In our first week we studied Jesus’ definition of love and saw how it contrasts with our common cultural understanding of that word. We also discovered that the Bible presents love as a sacrificial act, seen most clearly through Jesus’ death on the cross. This week we plunged into the topic of dating and…

Love, Sex, and Integrity: Lesson 1 Defining Love

Dear parents, We’ve launched a three-lesson series dealing with sex and dating. Each week students will explore different Scripture passages to help them understand God’s definition of love. In the first lesson, we defined love by gaining a biblical understanding of it. To do this, we read 1 John 3:16–4:21, an extended reflection on the love God offers us and calls us…