Big Idea: We press on by pressing into Jesus.

Parent Prep: Part of being a kid is growing resilience. Children try and fail hundreds of times before they master simple skills, such as walking, eating with cutlery, tying shoelaces, kicking a ball – the list goes on. As parents, part of our job is to encourage kids to 'just keep trying' even when they are struggling to learn something. It's the same with their walk of faith. Our job as parents is to encourage kids to 'just keep trying' even when they are struggling to be like Jesus – and each time they fail, we have the added privilege of modelling God's response to His children. To extend grace, to point to Jesus and remind them of His great love for them. 

Read Philippians 3:12-21  together in a children's Bible, or this easy-to-read version here.

Listen 

Ask children, "What are some goals you would like to acheive this year?" Or, "What are some things you would like to do but can't yet?" Their goals can be as simple or as complicated as they like. Being able to click, hop on one foot, sing/play a whole song by heart, tie their shoes etc. 

Ask, "What do you need to do to acheive these things/make these things happen?" 

Talk

To do something hard, it takes lots of hard work and practice – doing it over and over again, even when we fail. It is the same as following Jesus. Paul says "I don’t mean that I am exactly what God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal. But I continue trying to reach it and make it mine. That’s what Christ Jesus wants me to do." Jesus wants us to be like Him, but it takes lots and lots of trusting and trying to be like Jesus. 

Paul says, "Brothers and sisters, I know that I still have a long way to go. But there is one thing I do: I forget what is in the past and try as hard as I can to reach the goal before me." Paul says what helps him to be like Jesus most, is to forget about his past sins and failures, and to look at Jesus and focus on His goodness and love, and that helps him move forward towards His goal. 

We can do this too. What are some ways we can 'look ahead' or 'look to Jesus'? We can read the Bible together to see Jesus and what He was like, we can talk to Him in prayer and spend time worshipping Him by singing and talking about Him together. We can join in with others in our church family who are also 'running this race' so that we can be encouraged by them to keep going, too.

Do

As a family, set a relay race track up – it can have as many obstacles as you like. It can be inside (perhaps a walking race) or outside. Choose a baton to use (maybe a wooden spoon or rolling pin) and set a timer. Then, run the race as a family, timing yourself. When family members have finished their leg of the race, have them cheer the others on to encourage them. Make a finish-line ribbon together, and write the name of JESUS across the ribbon. You could use toilet paper so that it breaks when the final family member runs through it. Remind children that we don't run this race towards Jesus alone; that we have each other, and that the Holy Spirit is always with us to give us strength. 

Have a great week!