ELEMENTARY KIDS & FAMILIES date
4.10
THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD TRULY HAS KNIT MY HEART TO [MY DAUGHTER’S]. Inspire (for parents) My daughter is, in her own words, a “crazy girl.” She’s fun, she’s full of energy, and she’s precocious. Parenting her can take a lot of energy. Turning my back for a second can result in paint on the carpet, an escape out the front door, or someone deciding she can “cook” her own lunch on the stove. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. I adore her.
When I take a step back and examine this unwavering heart of love and acceptance toward my daughter, I have no explanation other than the Lord. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love never fails. My flesh is the exact opposite of all of these things. But my heart toward my daughter inexplicably embodies these things. The Spirit of the Lord truly has knit my heart to hers. Through no doing of my own, I have a love for my child that can never be changed or broken. The Spirit of God holds us together in love!
Truth be told, there are moments where it takes every ounce of patience the Lord can give me to remain calm. There are moments when I want to yell and scream and ask her what in the world she was thinking when she made a seemingly outrageous decision. Yet by Laura Weber somehow, no matter how frustrated I get, my love for my daughter does not change. She is mine no matter what. It’s something thians 12–13 I never truly understood until Scripture: 1 Corin inthians) motherhood. Without even (Letter to the Cor having to try, I just love my Love Is Perfect Main Point: God’s ve your family to ha daughter. designed to allow is ce ur nd so te re at is n Th childre ord before your e The deep love I have goes time in God’s W r parents to be th fo is an pl d’s Go e us we ca , Be ith far beyond logic. My heart . church r children’s fa nurturers of thei ll grow for her remains the same primary spiritual your children wi y, all u grow spiritu whether she’s obedient and know that as yo ll. spiritually as we loving or defiant and difficult.
Getting Started
Equip (for parents) Equip is additional background information that will help you introduce this Scripture passage to your children this week. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church he poured out his heart in love. The church was surrounded by a wild, sensuous, sophisticated culture. The members needed admonishment for their divisions, and their immorality could only be cured by the supernatural love that comes from the Holy Spirit.
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Corinth was a wealthy and beautiful city situated between the Ionian and Aegean seas. It was a city famous for its great thinkers, including Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. Corinth was also known for its debauchery.
love for others) is through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Life for a church within this city was difficult. Members of the Corinthian church struggled to disengage themselves from the wild lifestyles of their culture. The congregation also broke into factions that fought for the superiority of their own ideas over the unity of the church body. In his letter, Paul confronted the believers about their immoral lifestyles and their cliques. He called them to recognize their bodies as temples of the Holy Spirit. And he reminded them they were each members of the body of Christ—so connected with one another that if one member suffered, they all suffered.
Support (for parents & kids)
Paul dealt with the Corinthians’ problems by writing a beautiful treatise on love. He knew only God’s perfect love would cure their impatience with one another and make them long-suffering; love would diffuse their envy and give them compassion for one another; and love would deflate their pride and give them the desire for others to succeed. In all, Paul’s letter to the Corinthians summed up the fact that God’s love is perfect. The only way we can love like He does (and model that
This week, JUST FOR FUN, read this part of The Big God Story right after dinner. Grab a ball of yarn or twine and gather your family in a circle. Then read 1 Corinthians 13. Instruct your family members to think about ways they see this kind of love in each other. Next, take the ball of yarn or twine, and as you hold on to one end, toss it to another family member. As you toss, share with that person how you see him showing God’s perfect love. Maybe you’ve seen a family member forgive easily and not keep a record of wrongs. Or you’ve noticed someone going out of her way to be kind. Continue tossing and sharing from person to person as you create a web in the middle of your circle. Share with your kids that the web in the center of your family represents how the Holy Spirit holds us together in love. Remind your children that what they just heard is part of The Big God Story, and they will learn more in church this week about how God’s Spirit holds us together in love.
© 2012 David C. Cook. TruResources are developed in partnership with ROCKHARBOR Church and a national network of family and children’s ministry leaders. All rights reserved.