Sample Lesson from
"Growing with God"
Consider the
Spider
How many of you get tired of being asked to pray? To worship? To seek God’s face? How many feel that He does not answer your prayers, that He doesn’t really hear you?
Why do I need to read the Bible? You may say “it is so difficult to read, and when you get into the part where there is all of those "begats", it’s just plain boring. They used funny words when it was translated and I just do not understand what I am reading.” You see, we have all had the same excuses. Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 says, "There is no new thing under the sun." (KJV) The devil uses the same excuses repeatedly, because he is not smart enough to come up with anything new. Why do I need to pray? It seems like such work. It is so hard to concentrate, I could be playing my new computer game, or… You see, again, I know what you are talking about. We use the same excuses as grownups.
So, why is it so important?
What does the Bible say about reading the Word?
¨ It gives you power over sin.
(Psalms 119:11) "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." In addition, in v. 105 "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Also in v. 133 "Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me."
¨ It gives life to your spirit.
When Jesus was tempted to turn stone into bread, he quoted (Deuteronomy 8:3) "…man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live." (If you have a hard time understanding the words, ask your parents to let you use a different translation.)
What does it say about prayer?
¨ It gives us strength to conquer our enemy.
When the disciples could not cast a devil out of a child Jesus answered by saying in Matthew 17:14-21 " … this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (KJV)
¨ It develops our relationship with God.
Do you remember the story about Cornelius? God sent an angel to Cornelius telling him to go get Peter. You see, the apostles were not yet trying to reach the Gentiles. The prayers and the life of Cornelius, who did not have the Holy Ghost, made God want to pour His spirit out on him and his family. (Acts 10:31) "… Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God." (KJV)
Now, can you grow without one or the other? If you do, you will not have any strength.
Let us look at a
spider's web. Have you ever watched a spider spin its web? The spider
sta
rts
with what we call spokes and then goes around and around and around in
circles. Then finally, when it is done creating the web it simply sits
in the middle, waiting on dinner! Why do you think it does that? From
the center, it can feel every vibration caused by something caught in
its web. The spider is so quick, it can get to its dinner before it has
a chance to escape!
Now, let us imagine that the spokes represent the times we spend putting God's Word in our hearts (JBS, Kids Praise, Sunday School, Church services, Bible reading…) and the circles are our prayers, or our relationship, with God. Can you imagine the circles being able to support themselves? Just as the spider couldn’t catch much dinner with only the spokes of a web, do you see why we need both Bible reading and prayer? Should we not be in the center of God's will so that we can hear His voice and be able to quickly go support someone in need?
Prayer and Bible reading go together. You cannot separate one from the other.
Many times we feel as if God has left us, when we are the ones that have really left Him. We have not read His word, or called upon His name. We have not reached out to others and shared the truth of His spirit with them - His love, His offer of everlasting life. Living for Him seems to get hard…we lose our desire to pray - to worship Him in service. We begin to believe that it’s okay to not do these things; after all, we have the Holy Ghost. We’re saved, right? So He’ll understand if we don’t worship, we don’t pray, and we don’t read and study His word (right?). Wrong!
Living for Him is an everyday thing - kind of like brushing your teeth. The dentist says if you don’t brush your teeth at least twice a day, you’ll get cavities (yuck). Besides, they look, feel, and smell gross (EW)! Brushing keeps the cavities away! Our spiritual life can be pretty stinky, too, if we don’t maintain it - reading our Bible and praying keeps us close to Him - and those bad attitudes and actions AWAY!
Recommendations for "Growing with God"
Foreword from "Growing with God"
Preface from "Growing with God"
Lesson List from "Growing with God"
"Growing with God" Chapter One: Why is a Junior Bible Study so Important?
Who is using "Growing with God"? How can I use it?
Preview upcoming lesson list for "Growing with God 2"
Spread the word...email this link to a friend!