Series Description
While choosing to follow Jesus is the most important decision a kid can make, it’s only the first step! Learning to live and love like Jesus is a lifelong journey that can feel big and abstract for kids. That’s why it’s so important to provide handholds for kids (and grownups!) to grow in four specific areas of spiritual formation. We call these Faith Skills: Hear from God, Pray to God, Talk about God, and Live for God.
This month, we’ll walk through all four skills as displayed in the life of Jesus. Kids will discover the value of talking with others about God through the story of young Jesus in the Temple. They’ll practice praying to God through The Lord’s Prayer and hearing from God in the parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders. We end the month with the story of Jesus choosing Levi, also known as Matthew, to follow Him—and how Matthew left everything he knew to begin living for God. Just like learning a new instrument or skill, it takes commitment and a game plan to follow Jesus. But as kids learn to spend time daily practicing Faith Skills, even for a short time, they will become more and more like Jesus.
Every kid has experienced what it’s like to learn a new skill, whether that’s tying shoelaces, learning to dribble a soccer ball, or practicing piano. Each of these things require a plan to practice a little each day—resulting in big changes over time. That’s why this month’s theme is “Game Plan: Growing stronger in faith every day”—so kids can discover how walking with Jesus isn’t a one-time choice, but something they can grow in over time.
Memory Verse
Training the body has some value. But being godly has value in every way. It promises help for the life you are now living and the life to come.
1 Timothy 4:8, NIrV
Application
Commitment: Making a plan and putting it into practice
Week 1 (January 4)
Jesus at the Temple
Jesus at the Temple | Luke 2:41–52
Bottom Line: Practice talking about God.
Conversation Starter: Who can you talk to about God?
We start off the month meeting Jesus as a 12-year-old. As usual, Jesus traveled with his family to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. But on the way home, NOT as usual, Mary and Joseph discovered that Jesus was missing! They raced back to Jerusalem and, at last, discovered Jesus in the Temple, talking with the teachers and asking questions. Everyone was amazed at His understanding. And here’s a little Easter egg for you: after Jesus went home with His parents, we read in Luke 2:52 that “Jesus became wiser and stronger. He also became more and more pleasing to God and to people.” That’s where “252 Kids” comes from!
Week 2 (January 11)
The Lords Prayer
The Lords Prayer | Matthew 6:9–13
Bottom Line: Practice praying to God.
Conversation Starter: What do you pray about?
In Week 2, we follow Jesus to a mountainside where he taught what’s known as The Sermon on the Mount. At the heart of the sermon, we find the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus shared this simple, but profound, way for His followers to talk to God—acknowledging who God is, asking for God’s Kingdom to come and requesting what we need, like forgiveness and provision and protection. It’s both a beautiful link to the church throughout the ages and a template that kids can use to talk to God in their own words.
Week 3 (January 18)
The Wise and Foolish Builders
The Wise and Foolish Builders | Matthew 7:24–27 (supporting: John 10:27–28)
Bottom Line: Practice hearing from God.
Conversation Starter: How can you hear from God?
We’re staying in The Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus wraps up his teaching with the story of the Wise and Foolish Builders. Anyone who hears Jesus’ words and actually DOES them is like a wise man who built his house on a solid foundation of rock. When a wild storm whipped up, that house stood strong. But people who hear Jesus’ words and don’t follow through are just like a foolish man who slaps together a home on the sand—one that collapses when the wind comes. Truly hearing from God means putting what you hear into action. Kids can be confident that God does speak to them because, as we read in John 10:27–28, Jesus is the good shepherd and we are His sheep. And a sheep KNOWS the shepherd’s voice.
Week 4 (January 25)
Jesus Chooses Levi
Jesus Chooses Levi | Luke 5:27–32
Bottom Line: Practice living for God.
Conversation Starter: What does it look like to live for God?
We wrap up the month with Jesus calling Levi, also known as Matthew, to follow Him. Levi was a tax collector, and no one liked tax collectors. They were seen as traitors to their people since they collected taxes for the Roman government… and skimmed plenty off the top for themselves. When Jesus showed up, Levi suddenly faced a huge decision: stay in his lane and live for comfort—or step out in faith and follow Jesus. As we know, Matthew made the leap. He even welcomed Jesus to his house for dinner and invited other tax collectors and outcasts to share this new freedom. From that point, Matthew spent his entire life following Jesus and sharing the story of Jesus.