Big Idea: We can leave our prayers in God's hands, and trust Him because He is powerful and always answers.

Parent Prep: This week we are looking at the 'doxology' of the Lord's Prayer – the 'ending' that was often said together at the end of prayers, from the original Greek word doxologia meaning 'praising or glorifying God'. Some translations of the Bible omit this verse, as it was added in later translations of the English Bible. It is a traditional ending – meaning that when believers would pray the Lord's Prayer, they would finish with this ending – entrusting all they had prayed for into the Lord's hands, who alone had power to answer them. It is a similar ending to the doxology we read in Ephesians 3, or in Jude- "Now unto Him…to the only God our saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forever more."; and similar to the words of David in 1 Chronicles 29:10-13, where he praises God in the presence of the whole assembly of Israel. These doxologies or declarations of praise tend to center around the same theme -that it is God alone who has the power and authority to answer prayer, and that He alone is worthy of praise. This week, as we finish our time studying the Lord's prayer together, we end by focusing on entrusting our desires to God, and praising Him for being strong enough to answer us.

Read: Matthew 6:5-13.

Talk

This week, read the entire prayer, and then as you finish, read or say aloud together "For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever, Amen." Explain to children that this phrase is called a 'doxology' [dox-ol-o-jee]. It was the part of the prayer that everyone said loudly together to give praise to God. When we say this phrase, we are agreeing that God is in charge because He's the King, that He is strong enough to answer all our prayers, and that He deserves all our praise and hoorays. 

Listen

Read together, Jeremiah 33:3. "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." God encourages us to pray. Our living God promises to answer our prayers just like He says to Jeremiah. He says "great and unsearchable" things. That means He has wonderful things for us that are so wonderful we couldn't even imagine them if we tried. Read together Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever, Amen!" This is Paul, hundreds of years later, saying the same thing! God can give us more than we can ever ask for or even imagine! 

Ask children If you could ask God for anything you could imagine for the good of the world and for people – and nothing is too big – what would you ask for? Allow children to dream up incredible things. For young children, consider drawing these elaborate things on some paper. Then hold it up.

Ask children Do you think these things are possible? Why or Why not? Did you know that all things are possible with God? Why don't we pray for these things? Let's pray for them right now. 

Do

Pray together for the amazing things that children have come up with, helping them see and believe that God can do incredible things- and even more than we could ever imagine. He is in charge, He is strong, and He is deserving of all our praise and hoorays.

Who's the strongest?

Collect everyday items of various weight from around your home. DVDs, books, spoons, blankets etc. Have children try and hold one item, and then slowly pile on more and more heavy items until it weighs too much for them. Take turns doing this as a family and identify who is the strongest. Then remind children that God is infinitely more strong than even the strongest person in your family, and nothing is ever too much for Him to carry. He can carry all our hurts and wishes and hopes and fears and everything, and it's never ever too much for Him. It's why we place all these things in His hands in prayer, and leave them there. It's why we can give HIm all our praise and hoorays, because He is the only one who is strong enough to help us.

Big Idea: Our habits and choices each day determine our closeness with Jesus.

Parent Prep: This week we will be talking about the practical side of our prayer habits and rhythms. As Ps Mark taught on Sunday, a 'habitus' is not quite the same as a daily habit, like making coffee. A habitus  is an 'acquired virtue or behaviour – one that is so linked to our identity and purpose that we ‘carry it out without thinking’'.  It’s not just something that we do, it’s something that indicates who we are. We desire for our children that prayer would not just be a daily chore for them, but that prayer would be a habitus. That they would know Jesus so closely that prayer would be a solace for them, where they can bring their heart's desires to their Saviour & Friend. However, we know that for children, as they are learning, repetitive habits and routine create safety and familiarity. They crave repitition by nature, and by it learn to trust. So while we hope that prayer becomes more than a religious habit for our kids, and that they 'carry it out without thinking', we can use daily routines and weekly rhythms to help them learn to trust the consistency of God's nature; that He is always there, and the importance of turning to Him in all things.

Read: Matthew 6:5-13

Talk 

Look up the word 'habit' in the dictionary together. Talk about some of the habits that you have as a family or as individuals everyday. They can be good or bad habits! Eg. Eating weetbix, chewing with your mouth open, going for a jog, putting a hat on, saying 'grace', etc.

Then talk about some of the habits your family has that have to do with your walk with Jesus. If it's helpful, use a weekly planner (like this one) as a visual to prompt things that might happen on different days. Eg. Going to church, lifegroup, praying, reading the Bible, talking about Jesus over the dinner table, singing worship songs in the car, devotions etc. For young children, you could draw these habits and stick them on.

Ask 

Ask children, Do you like doing these 'habits' or regular activities? Why or why not? Allow children to express feelings towards each of these habits. Read together, 1 Thessalonians 5:15-16. This verse, and others, tell us to be praying all the time! Do you feel like that is an easy or hard thing to do? Why?

Now read together Mark 12:33 "And you must love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength. And you must love others the same as you love yourself. These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.” Explain to children, God desires that we would come to Him as His children who need their Father, not just because we feel like we have to. More than God wants us just to do what He says, like when the people were told to bring animal sacrifices, God wants us to love Him with everything we've got! So when it comes to praying, God wants it to be like talking to someone we love. 

Ask children, does it feel like a chore to talk to me and tell me or your (other family member's name) every day? No, we talk to each other because we love each other. In the same way, God wants us to talk to him not because He says so, but because we love Him, and because He loves us. When we pray each day, at the table, or at bed time, or in the car, we are doing it because we remember God loves us and loves to hear from us.

Remind children that we choose to make habits of prayer each day so that we grow closer and deeper in our love for God, not just so that we are 'good' at prayer! Eventually we hope that we would 'pray without thinking about it' because we just love talking to God so much!

Do

Forming habits: Place a teaspoon at each place where your family regularly prays this week. For younger children, hide them so that they can find teaspoons around the house in these places every day and be reminded those places are for prayer. Use the teaspoon to help remind your children what to say when we pray. TSP: Thank you, Sorry, Please. Allow children to hold the spoons while they pray, as a visual prompt. 

For fun: with older children this week, play a game of 'spoons' with teaspoons. (find instructions for how to play here.) As you play, use the opportunity to talk about prayer, prompted by the discussion above.

Have a great week!

Big Idea: Jesus helps us follow Him when we fix our eyes on Him.

Parent Prep: Facing temptation can be isolating for children. The shame they feel may cause them to think that because they have feelings of temptation, that they 'bad' followers of Jesus. The truth is, we all face temptation. And we have to fight to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and follow His ways.There is much to discourage and distract us in this world. And we will all be distracted and fall sometimes. It's not be easy, but following Jesus is always worth it. Your own testimonial stories will be powerful ways to help children see that they are not alone, and that they can face temptation with confidence. Take some time to think of a story you can share with your kids for this lesson. We are promised the help of the Holy Spirit – so this week, when temptation comes for us, we can remember that we can trust Jesus to help us when we pray this prayer.

Read: Matthew 6:5-13, (focus on: verse 13.)

Talk

Say to children, when we trust in Jesus as our King and Rescuer, he calls us to follow Him every day. He says that to follow Him means to listen to His words and obey His commands to us. Read together John 10:11-13. Jesus calls Himself the Good Shepherd, and us the sheep. We are to follow after Jesus, like sheep follow a shepherd, because He takes good care of us. His commands to us are always to keep us safe with Him, and to help us see how much He loves us. 

Ask

Sometimes it's hard to follow Jesus and trust Him. Just like sheep, we are pretty silly most of the time. Sheep have a tendency to get distracted by something they see and wander off by themselves, away from the safety of the shepherd. There are lots of things that distract us, too, or that we think may seem like more fun, or better than following Jesus. 

What are some things that seem like more fun than following Jesus to you? What do you think distracts you from following the ways of Jesus? What do you see other people doing that you think you wish you could do instead of following Jesus? 

Remind children that it is okay to be tempted by these things: that every single human being is tempted to follow the world's ways. Even Jesus was tempted by the evil one.

• Read together this verse from the Easy-to-Read translation in Romans 8:5 "People who live following their sinful selves think only about what they want. But those who live following the Spirit are thinking about what the Spirit wants them to do."

Say: God gives us His Holy Spirit to help us follow Jesus and keep on track by not getting distracted. We can pray this verse from the Lord's Prayer, and know that He will answer it. The Holy Spirit helps us understand why following Jesus is better than all the things we get distracted by. He shows us how great it is to keep our eyes on Jesus and follow Him.That's His job!

Do

Follow the leader
Set up a basic pathway in your house from one point to another. Place objects in the way of the path, as obstacles. Make it as difficult as you like for your kids. Explain to children that the pathway is like our life as we follow Jesus.The objects are things that distract us from following Jesus, or tempt us away from His ways. Have child stand at the starting line and explain they must walk to the end of the path.
 

1) The first time you lead children through the pathway, place a blindfold on them, or have them cover their eyes so that they cannot see. Read the words of Jesus together from Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is on me. He has chosen me to tell good news to the poor. He sent me to tell prisoners that they are free and to tell the blind that they can see again. He sent me to free those who have been treated badly." Then, allow children to walk through the path with their eyes closed and try not to hit any obstacles. It will be difficult. Say to children, when we trust in Jesus, He helps us see the things that will distract us for what they really are: things that may harm us, or get in our way to a full and good life with Him.

2)  This time, turn the lights off so that children cannot see. (It might be best to try this down a hallway at night time.) Then, read this verse aloud. John 8:12 "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Have children try to walk the path in the dark. Again, it will be difficult. Remind children that life with Jesus is life in the light. We can see where the distractions and hurtful choices are because Jesus shows us in His word.

3) This time, as your child walks the pathway, stand at the other end of the pathway, and direct children to step either 'left' or 'right' in order to make it to the end. Have other children try and speak to distract them away from the path. Have them make lots of noise, talking over each other and banging loud objects if they can. Read to them John 10:27 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." Explain to children that there are lots of voices, people and opinions that they can listen to in life- but that the only way to true life is to listen to the words of Jesus and be closest to Him so we can hear Him above the other tempting voices in our lives.

4) This last time, explain that you will walk beside them, holding their hand, as God's Holy Spirit does for us. Lead children through the path holding their hand and directing them where to place their feet. If they slip or falter, hold on tight and pull them close, as God promises to do for us. Then, read Hebrews 12:1-2  "We have all these great people around us as examples. Their lives tell us what faith means. So we, too, should run the race that is before us and never quit. We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down and the sin that so often makes us fall. We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete." 

Together as a family, collect all the 'obstacles' and 'throw' them out of the way, and hold hands and walk together through the path. Remind children that Jesus calls us to follow 'after' him, but really, He is with us each step of the way. His Holy Spirit does the work of reminding us why following Jesus is best. It's okay if they find it tough. He is always with us, and will never leave us, and promises to always, always help us to fight temptation. He is strong. 

Pray at the pile of obstacles, and name the temptations your children listed earlier. Surrender these to Jesus and acknowledge that you are each powerless to fight their temptations alone, and ask for the Holy Spirit's help. "Jesus, help us to follow you only, and deliver us from the distractions and temptations of the evil one. We trust you Jesus, help us trust you more."

Have a great week encouraging each other as you fight temptation together, and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus!

Big Idea: Forgiveness is not fair, it's given freely to us, so we need God's help to give it to others.

Bible Passage: Matthew 6:5-13, (focus on: verse 11.)

Parent Prep: Forgiveness for those who have hurt them is hard for children. It's hard for everyone, really, but especially for children, as they are primarily focused on what is 'fair'. Fairness and equal treatment are paramount for children. Yet, by its nature, forgiveness is not 'fair'. It's God's grace to us. It is undeserved and freely given. So it is unnatural for children (and all our human natures) to want to extend grace and the 'unfairness' of mercy to others. This is why, as we teach about forgiveness, we need to acknowledge that in order to forgive those who have truly sinned against us and hurt us, we need God's help, because we can't do it in our own strength. When children acknowledge it is 'too hard' for them, or say that they 'don't want to' forgive others, remind them that really, none of us can truly forgive in our own human strength, because it doesn't feel fair. This is the grace of our God! That while we were still sinners, with our backs turned to Him, that He forgave us. This shifts our parenting focus from expecting a behavioural outcome, to helping them understand the depth of God's love and mercy for them. Then we wait on the Holy Spirit to bring about willing, heart-felt forgiveness in the hearts of our kids. Pray for them, that they would know and understand how much they have been forgiven, in order to help them learn to forgive others.

Read Matthew 6:5-13 together in your Bibles, or read it in a children's version here, or watch it together here.

Talk 

Explain to children that today we will be learning about forgiveness. 

Read the following three verses together:

• Romans 5:8 (ERV) 8 But Christ died for us while we were still sinners, and by this God showed how much he loves us.

• Ephesians 1:7 (ERV) 7 In Christ we are made free by his blood sacrifice. We have forgiveness of sins because of God’s rich grace.

• Psalm 103:12 (ERV) 12 And he has taken our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west.

​​​​​​Explain to children that God has looked at us, his children who have turned away from Him and chosen to be the boss of our own lives, and has chosen, by His grace, to make a way to forgive us so we can come back to Him. He is a loving Father. It is up to us to turn back to Him and ask for His forgiveness for our sins. He is faithful, and always says yes to that prayer. Talk with children about sins they think may be 'unforgiveable'. Reassure children that there is nothing they can do that will take God's forgiveness away from them if they trust Him and turn to Him. 

Read together: 1 John 1:9 (ERV) 9 But if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done.

He promises to forgive us when we come to Him. That is a promise, and God never breaks His promises.

Listen

Ask children, how does it feel when someone does something to hurt you? Ask children to share their feelings, their stories and examples. Ask children if it is hard or easy to forgive someone who hurts you. Make a point of noting that the deeper the hurt, the harder it is to forgive. 

Ask children what they think 'forgiveness' means. Explain to children that forgiveness is not forgetting about the hurt someone caused; it's letting go of anger and our want to 'get them back'. Ask children, "If I dropped something heavy on your finger and it hurt you, and I said sorry, would it make your finger stop hurting?" No, it wouldn't. Forgiveness means even though it still hurts, we let go of our anger and wanting to get someone back for what they did. We do this because it's what God has done for us. Our sin has hurt God, and even though His heart hurts when we turn from Him, He's not angry with us. He doesn't 'get us back' the way we deserve for our sin, instead, He opens His arms and says, "I love you, come to me." This is a very hard thing to do. Forgiveness isn't fair. It means even when we're hurting, we choose to be loving. Even when we're angry, we choose to let go of wanting to get people back. It's open hands instead of clenched fists. This is why we need God's help. He's the best at it, He always has His arms open to us. And He will show us how by reminding us of His great love.

Do

Read together: Colossians 1:13-14 (ERV)13 God made us free from the power of darkness. And he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son. 14 The Son paid the price to make us free. In him we have forgiveness of our sins.

Write up on a poster: "Forgiveness isn't Fair. It's Freely-given." Stick it somewhere on a wall where everyone in your family will see it. At night time, stand in the room where your poster is, and turn off all the lights. Then, shine a bright torch or light on the poster, and read out the words. Explain to children, when we choose to forgive others, we bring the light of Jesus to others living in darkness. This is a powerful way to show the great love of God to others.

As you pray together, start with clenched fists. Explain that the closed fists are like our angry hearts when we are hurt by others. Forgiveness is opening our fists and letting go of our anger and giving it to Jesus. Practice this with your children as you pray forgiveness for others. Open your clenched fists and then raise your open hands to Jesus as a sign of letting go of being angry and giving it to Jesus. Then ask that God's Holy Spirit would be close and remind us of God's great love and forgiveness for us. Ask for His help to show this great love and forgiveness to others, knowing we cannot do it on our own. 

Have a great week!

Big Idea: God gives us all we need so that we would know He is all we need.

Bible Passage: Matthew 6:5-13, (focus on: verse 11.)

Parent Prep: This week we explore the idea of coming to God for all that we need. Jesus teaches us to understand God as a good father, who knows what we need and asks us to come to Him. Just as you know, care for and provide for your children, so God knows, cares for and provides for us, His children. Matthew Henry says, "Children do not need to make long speeches when they want anything. It is enough to say, "my head, my head."' As you meet the needs of your children this week – the everyday, simple needs, as well as the large requests – even as you wisely say 'no' to some, reflect on God's character towards you and how He also knows what you need and desires that you come to Him for it.

Read Matthew 6:5-13 together in your Bibles, or read it in a children's version here, or watch it together here.

Talk 

Ask children, "Why do you think Jesus tells us to ask God for bread?" Read Exodus 16:11-12. Explain to children, that God gives us all the things we need each day, just as He gave the Israelites bread in the desert,  so that then we will know that He is the Lord our God. When the Israelites had no food or water, God gave them bread to eat every day so that they would know He is the Lord, their provider. What are some things that we need everyday that God gives us? (Air, water, food, family, a home, sunshine, warmth, peace, love, forgiveness). Tell children, God gives us these things so that we would know 'that He is the Lord our God.' Read Luke 12:32 & Matthew 7:9. Both of these verses tell us that God delights to give us good things so that we would know that He is a good Father. 

Listen

Ask children, what are some things that you need that we can ask God for? On a large piece of paper, have children list by writing or drawing the things they need and want to ask God for. They can be big or small requests – God wants them all.

Ask children, "How does it feel when we pray for these things, and God doesn't answer?" Allow children to answer honestly about their feelings or doubts, and remind them that those feelings and doubts are okay. Our feelings of disappointment when God doesn't answer our prayers the way we want Him to may tell us that God isn't real or listening to us. But our feelings aren't always what is true – God's word is what is always, always true. Say with children, "So when we don't know what to do, we go back to what we know is true." 

God's word says that we shouldn't rest our hopes for happiness on getting what we want from God, because the things we want in this life can be taken away from us. Jesus tells us in John 6:27 &35 that instead, we should rest all our hopes for happiness on Jesus, because He will never ever let us down, and His love can never ever be taken away from us. He says that not only will He give us everything we need but that He will be everything that we need. He gives us Himself so we can know Him, and that's even better that Him giving us everything we ask for! So when God says 'No' to even our best prayers, it's because like a good Father, He knows what's best. He says that we will never be left wanting more when we come to Him for our needs. He wants to give us the very best, and the very best for us is to know and be close to Jesus.

Do 

Say again with children "When you don't know what to do, go back to what you know is true." Memorising these scriptures will help children fight against the lies that tell them that God isn't listening to them when their prayers aren't answered the way they want.

Next to each of the needs they wrote or drew on your piece of paper, choose a promise from the list below, and write it next to their need. Then, stick your poster up on a wall, and pray daily for your needs. When a prayer is answered, celebrate and praise God together. When a prayer seems un-answered, take children to the scripture they have chosen and read it aloud to them. 

• He is always watching us to see what we need. 2 Chron 16:9
• He often gives even before we even ask. Isaiah 65:24
• He knows that we are weak humans and has compassion for us.  Ps 103:14
• He tells us to call to Him and that He will answer. Jeremiah 33:3
• When we call to Him He answers & says, “Here I am.” Isaiah 58:9
• His Holy Spirit is with us through everything we face. John 14:18, 26-27 

This week, as you meet the needs of your children, every time you have to say 'no' to them – use it as a prompt to remind them that you love them, care for them and want the best for them. Then remind them that God's love is like your love. He gives us His best answer, everytime. 

If you can find the time, bake some bread together this week, and as you bake, use the time to talk about times your prayers have felt unanswered. Your stories of faith are incredibly powerful for your children to hear. Remind children as you tell your story, that our feelings are not what are always true, but that God's Word is always true, and that we can trust that God is for us, and that He will never let us down.

Have a great week!