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LESSON 1: THE BIBLE

The Universal Question: Is there a purpose…for the world and for me?

The HOPE video begins with these words…

“Throughout time people have considered the world in which we live; the complexity and beauty of nature, the mystery of life and death, the depth of human joy and pain …and they have wondered, ‘How did it all come to be? Is this world the result of chance…or design? Is there something, or someone, behind it all? And if there is such a being, then what is He like? Does He have a purpose for this world? Does He have a purpose for me in this world? Does He have a purpose for me beyond this world?” – The HOPE video, Introduction

Jeremiah 29:13 reads: “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

This is the heart of Quest. Some of our kids may be asking questions about the existence of God, others may just be wanting to know Him more. In both cases He promises to be found when we search wholeheartedly for Him.

It begins with you and me. As we dive in to this study, be prepared to let God show you who He is, and to discover new things about God and yourself. Determine that you will “search for Him with
your whole heart,” and then lead the children to do the same.

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ABOUT FAMILY QUEST: At Reston Bible Church, we firmly believe that parents are a child’s first and most important spiritual leader.  In order to support you that mission, we have created a parent devotional and some discussion starters to go along with each lesson your grade school age children are learning at Quest on Sundays. Our hope and prayer is that this material will help you to engage with your children around the topics they are learning on Sunday mornings, answer their questions, go deeper with them, and find real, day-to-day applications. We are honored to be able to partner with you in the critical task of sharing Christ with the next generation.

CONCLUSION: THE GREAT PROMISE

“And never forget, I even I, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, the Son of the Most High, endowed with all glory, power, and authority, yes I, Jesus am always present with you to bless, to empower, to guide, to comfort, and to enable. You will never have to face a day without me.” Isn’t this what Jesus was telling the group of disciples He had just commissioned to change the world? This was no afterthought. Our Savior knew the impossibility of the task He was giving and He was assuring us that He is leading the charge into battle and the victory is His.

Jesus follows the Great Claim (Matthew 28:18) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) with the Great Promise (Matthew 28:20). Take a few minutes today to meditate on the Great Promise of God throughout scripture. This promise extends to you and me and is the reason we can take up, with confidence, the cause handed down to us by the Apostles.

LESSON 3: ARE YOU A REPRODUCING DISCIPLE?

Jesus had the twelve disciples. Paul had Timothy and Silas and Luke. Barnabas had Mark. The master had grasshopper, and Yoda had Luke Skywalker. Seriously though. Who are you pouring your life into? Are you passing along all that He commanded you?

When Jesus said, “teach them,” He did not, I think, have in mind a classroom setting, or a man standing in a pulpit. That was not His primary method after all. Jesus made disciples by walking with them, where they lived, teaching them lessons about the Kingdom based on their earthly life experiences. He set an example for them, ate with them, healed them, comforted them, laughed with them, mourned with them, prayed with them and for them, cried in front of them, gave them sound doctrine about this life and the next, called them friend, challenged them, and then laid down His life for them. A close examination of Paul’s disciple making and church planting ministry looked much the same. Barnabas as well.

LESSON 2: IT TAKES ONE, TO MAKE ONE

Before Jesus called us to make disciples He called us to become His disciples. He says in Matthew 11:28-29, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” If I think back on my best teachers I find a few commonalities. For one, they didn’t live in the theoretical world. They either had or were living what they taught. Practical, real world experience is critical. Otherwise we wouldn’t have the expression, “well at least that’s how it works in theory.”

The other thing that set apart these exceptional teachers was their passion for the subject they taught. It was a passion born of their own commitment to pursuing knowledge and understanding of their area of expertise. And it didn’t end. For them it was a life-long quest.

LESSON 1: THE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW – APPRAISAL IS THE KEY

Have you ever watched the “Antiques Roadshow?” I’ll admit I have paused, on a few occasions, to see what the fuss is all about. Personally I don’t get it. Paying lots of money for other peoples old stuff? What foolishness. Or is it? I look at these items and I see them and make a judgment…junk. However, someone skilled in appraising antiques looks at the same items and makes a very different judgment. I think there is a lesson for us here. Scripture tells us that the things of God, God’s Word, are foolishness to the “natural man” or the unbeliever. Does this mean that they can’t understand the words?

Does it look like Greek to them? I’ve heard complete heathens articulate the gospel message very clearly, so that cannot be what God meant. So what is it?

SECTION 2: WHY BAPTIZE?

In beginning to discuss this very important topic, I should first recognize that there are several different views, held by good and godly Christians, regarding baptism, infant baptism, covenant baptism, etc. I will be teaching from the position practiced by Reston Bible Church, that is, that baptism is a symbolic sacrament to be participated in once by a professing believer in Christ. We commonly refer to this as believers baptism.

Thankfully there are many aspects of baptism on which most bible believing Christians can agree. For one, we all agree that believing Christians should be baptized. There is also general agreement about what baptism portrays. Let’s focus there.

LESSON 3: MAY YOUR “LIFE SONG” RING TRUE

A couple of weeks ago we looked at what makes a good witness. One of those attributes was consistency. In a court of law the jury and judge will look at the witness and ask, “is this person credible?”, “does the life of this witness match their testimony, lend credibility, or not?”

To make matters worse, it is common for the opposing lawyer to pick apart the witness and undermine their testimony by trying to show that they are in fact unreliable and inconsistent. The opposing lawyer in our case is Satan himself. The accuser. Praise God that ultimately we stand on His promises and on His righteousness. Not our own. However, the accuser will seek to limit our effectiveness as witnesses to the gospel by magnifying the inconsistencies between our words and the lives we lead. The message is simple – “walk the talk!” Or as James 1:22 puts it, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

LESSON 2: CHRISTIAN WITNESSING – SHARE SIMPLY, AS A CHILD

This week we will be helping the kids understand what it means to witness in word. We’ll talk about the simple gospel message and we’ll talk about testifying to Christ in our lives. This is the kind of spiritual maturity we should all be praying for in our Quest kids.

Christian witnessing is merely sharing our heartfelt faith in Christ – what He’s personally done to change our individual lives! We’re not called to argue or debate anyone into heaven. We’re merely called to share! As in the courtroom, we’re called to be a witness for the Gospel, not the lawyer, judge or jury… Leave that up to God! – Author unknown

LESSON 1: CAN I GET A WITNESS?

What makes for an effective witness in a court of law? Honesty, consistency, clarity, genuineness and the power to convince. Before you testify to what the Lord has done for all who would believe and for you personally, ask yourself the following questions:

Am I honest about what my condition was before Christ and the struggles with sin and trials that I still experience? Is there a consistency between my words and the testimony of my life? Do I speak the truth of Christ clearly, not with fancy words but as one who has first hand knowledge of the gospel? Do I speak the truth like a real person would or am I stilted and canned like I’m reading from a tract? If you answered yes to these questions you may think you’ve got everything it takes to be an effective witness. Think again!