D-Life For Families

Parent’ s Ca ing

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Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

—Deuteronomy 6:4–9 KJV

Parent’ s Ca ing

D-Life is a simple plan for discipleship.

It’s not a program; it’s a lifestyle.

It’s modeled after the life of Christ.

It’s our main purpose in life (Matthew 28:18–20).

1 FELLOWSHIP

Plan to get together as a family at least once a week. This may be at the dinner table, outside, the living room, anywhere, at any time.

2 TEACHING

Depending on the maturity level of your children, encourage them to read the assignment (one chapter a day, five days a week) or a portion of it each day. The weekly Bible study will come from one of the five chapters.

3 PRAYER

Pray as a family and practice the discipline of prayer in your daily lives. Each week, encourage your family to share prayer requests, pray for one another, and always pray for spiritual awakening in our land.

4 MINISTRY

Lead your family to do a ministry and evangelism project every two months.

5 MULTIPLICATION

You are discipling your children so that they will eventually make disciples. It is not the goal of D-Groups to remain together. It is through multiplication that D-Groups fulfill the purpose of making disciples who make other disciples.

6 ACCOUNTABILITY

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Your family holds one another accountable to these six practices of discipleship. Loving spiritual accountability is vital in relationships committed to spiritual growth and personal holiness. Practice humility in the home. Not only are you teaching your children but you are learning from God’s Word every day as well.

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Family Time

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Pray as a family and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart as you open God’s Word.

Read the Bible story aloud as a family. Help your children find the story in the Bible, follow along, and/or read the passage.

Ask your children to retell the story in their own words.

Help them find one of the following application points in the story:

■ Sin to confess

■ Promise to claim

■ Attitude to change

■ Command to obey

■ Example to follow

Lead your family in discussion questions. The portions that are italicized and enclosed in parentheses are intended for the adults, not the children.

Close in prayer.

Matthew 6:5–14

1. Can someone give a testimony of a time God answered your prayer? Why is it important for us to pray?

2. When and where do you find yourself praying the most? Do you ever pray to God on your own, without mom and dad? Is there a time and place you might want to begin praying on your own to God?

3. In Jesus’s model prayer, there is praise and thanksgiving, confession, prayer for others, and prayer for oneself. This is an example to follow. When we pray, why is it important to spend some time doing each of these things?

4. What did you learn from our text today that can help you pray to God more often?

Pray: Ask God to put a longing desire in your children’s heart to communicate with Him.

Matthew 6:5–14

1. Can someone give a testimony of a time God answered your prayer? Why is it important for us to pray?

2. When and where do you find yourself praying the most? Do you ever pray to God on your own, without mom and dad? Is there a time and place you might want to begin praying on your own to God?

3. In Jesus’s model prayer, there is praise and thanksgiving, confession, prayer for others, and prayer for oneself. This is an example to follow. When we pray, why is it important to spend some time doing each of these things?

4. What did you learn from our text today that can help you pray to God more often?

Pray: Ask God to put a longing desire in your children’s heart to communicate with Him.

The Sower

Matthew 13:3–9, 18–23

1. Have you ever tried to grow anything or help your parents grow something? What makes someone a good gardener?

2. In our story, Jesus told a story about gardening and explained its meaning. Who did “the sower” represent and what is “the seed” that he was sowing? What did the di erent types of soil represent?

Y3. What is the one thing that reveals a true commitment to Christ? What is spiritual fruit (Galatians 5:22–23)? Which soil in the story do you most identify with and why? Pray: Plead that your children receive the gospel message in their hearts. Ask God to use them to spread the gospel so that others may respond in faith and be saved.

Unforgiving Servant

Matthew 18:21–35

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1. In our story, a merciful king forgives a man who owed him a lot of money. Who do you think the king represents? Who do you think the servant represents?

2. Did the man that was forgiven work to pay back what he owed the king? (No!) How did he get forgiveness and freedom?

3. How did the man who was forgiven act toward others who needed forgiveness? How did the king respond to his actions? What do you think we can learn from this story?

YPray: Ask God to reveal to your children their need for forgiveness and for God to give them a kind and merciful heart toward others.

Talents

Matthew 25:14–30

1. Just for fun, if you could have any special talent in the world, what would it be? How would you use this talent if you had it?

2. Who do you think the man going on a journey represents? Who do the servants represent? What do the talents represent?

3. What did the servants do with their talents? How did the master respond to each servant after seeing what they did with their talents? What can we learn from the master’s response?

4. What God-given talents or gifts do you have? How might you use your gifts for God?

Pray: Ask the Holy Spirit to help your children see the gifts that He has given them and use them for God’s glory.

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Matthew 28:16–20

1. What did Jesus tell His disciples to do before He went up into heaven? What do you think it means to make disciples?

2. What two things did Jesus command us to do while making disciples? Have you ever been baptized?

3. How does it make you feel to know that God has called you to make disciples? What are some things you can do that might help you make disciples?

4. What comfort does Jesus give His disciples after giving them this Great Commission? How often does it say that Jesus is with us? How does it make you feel to hear that Jesus is with us always?

Pray: Ask the Holy Spirit to help your children grow as Christ followers and make disciples.