Prudence: Knowing Right and Wrong

Scripture:

Matthew 2:1-12

Quick Summary:

The Magi followed a star to Judea to find the new king of the Jews. They stopped by the capital Jerusalem and asked King Herod where to find him. King Herod told them scripture said Bethlehem…and if they found a new king to let him know. After finding Jesus, the new king of God’s people, the Magi had a dream that told them King Herod only wanted to know where Jesus was so he could kill Jesus. Even though they disobeyed the king, they left the country without telling Herod where Jesus was. That saved Jesus’ life, THE RIGHT THING!

The Point:

The Magi showed prudence (knowing right from wrong) by not telling the king where Jesus was, even though they were told to. 

Questions for Family Time:

   1.      What does Prudence mean?

a.      Knowing right from wrong.

   2.      Why could it have been hard to know right from wrong for the Magi?

a.      Because usually it is right to obey the king, but this time disobeying the king was right.

   3.      Why was it “right” to disobey the king?

a.      Because the king was going to kill Jesus, and killing someone is wrong.

   4.      When was a time when it was hard to tell right from wrong?

a.      (maybe you had to break a promise, or go against what an adult has told you, or tell a secret)

Deeper:

               Usually, rules help us know what is right and what is wrong, but sometimes like in our story today, the rules actually require us to do something wrong. Think about some of the rules your kids know. Rule: You don’t tell other people secrets.  A good rule most of the time, but what if that secret is about your best friend being abused by one of their family members? Then, the right thing is to break the rule. Rule: Obey adults. What if an adult tells you to do something unsafe? Or go somewhere unsafe with them? Then doing the right thing means breaking the rule.

While most of the time, rules make it clear what is right and what is wrong, sometimes they don’t. I am sure, like me, that you want your kids to be able to make the right decision when the exceptions come along especially since adulthood is riddled with gray moments where right and wrong is hard to decipher. Do I give money, because that is a good thing to do, to a family member struggling with addictions when they will use it for drugs, which is not good for them? Do I volunteer, because it is good to serve others, despite already being stretched too thin to care for my family? Knowing what the difference between right and wrong gets harder the older we get, so now is the time for our kids to start working through the spots that don’t follow the general rules for life.

One of the gifts we have for figuring out what is right and what is wrong is prayer. God sent a dream to the Magi to help them discern right and wrong. When we find ourselves in gray moments, we can go to God and talk to people whose discernment we trust, to figure out the right thing to do. Those two acts take time. So the first step in knowing right and wrong, is giving yourself time. When that addicted family member come up to you, you don’t reach for your wallet. Instead, you say, “Let me pray about it first.” Time allows us the space we need to hear God tell us the way home, just as he did with the Magi.

Personal Reflection:

What do I do when it is hard to tell right from wrong? What tools do I use? What situation right now am I struggling to know what to do in?

Lesson 6: 10 Commandments

Scripture

Exodus: 20:1-17

Quick Summary

Moses went up Mt. Sinai and brought down 10 rules written on stone by the finger of God. Here are God’s rules for the Hebrews/Israelites to live by:

1. God is 1^st
2. No idols
3. Honor God’s Name
4. Remember to Rest (Sabbath)
5. Honor Mom and Dad
6. No Murdering
7. No cheating on people (Adultery)
8. No Stealing
9. No Lying (False Testimony against neighbor)
10. No being jealous of others’ stuff (coveting)

The Point

God’s gives us rules to live by.

Questions for Family Time

1.     Have your kid show you the 10 commandment motions.

2.     Which is the easiest Commandment to follow? Which is the hardest?

Deeper

            It started with just 10 commandments in the desert. Few enough for God to put everything on stone tablets that could easily be carried around. But as the Hebrews became the Israelite and settled in the Promised Land, the rules expanded. Then those rules expanded. By the time the Old Testament was done being written there were 613 rules to live by. By the time Jesus came along, the religious leaders had added to the written laws an entire verbal tradition known as the Tradition of the Elders.
            When I was growing up, we had cattle, and around their pasture was an electric fence. That fence was not to hurt them, but to protect them from the dangers that lay beyond the fence. It protected them from the busy roads and kept them from getting lost. That fence was a boundary for their own good. Much like that, God’s 10 commandments acted as a fence to protect his people from getting lost without God, and from endangering themselves and others. Out of respect for God’s laws, the religious leaders added more laws to make sure they didn’t break God’s laws. It was like adding a second fence to keep people from touching the first. However, many of these laws missed the whole point of God’s original commandments, which was to love God and love others. That is why so often in the New Testament we find Jesus breaking the Tradition of the Elders. Jesus saw how unrealistic these rules were for the average Jew to follow perfectly and that some missed the point completely.
            Maybe you have noticed some modern day churches that have fallen in the same trap. Rules that aren’t realistic or in the Bible for that matter become mandatory for those who want to be part of the community. It’s often because of these rules that Christians are labeled as judgmental. That description usually isn’t placed on us because we believe murder is a bad idea. If that has been your experience with church, I hope this helps explain how we get into that trap, and I ask that you would have grace with us as well. I also want to let you know, that at LUMC we do our best to follow the two rules that Jesus summed all the other rules up with: Love God and Love others. Those two are enough work for us to focus on, and we can’t be judgmental and do them well. So I encourage you to put those two rules as the ones you give priority to over all others.
           

Personal Reflection

1.     What are the traditional rules that you follow that keep you from Loving God and Loving others?

Lesson 5: Water and Manna

Scripture

Exodus 15:22-16:18

Quick Summary

            The Hebrews are free from Pharaoh’s rule but are now stuck in the desert without food or water. They complain because they have nothing to drink, and God gives them water. They complain because they have no food and God give them meat for supper and bread for breakfast. The bread which falls from heaven as dew in the morning is called Manna.

The Point

God will provide.

Questions for Family Time

1.     What did God provide for the Israelites/Hebrews in the desert?

a.      Water, quail (meat), manna (frosted flakes, bread)

2.     What has God provided for you?

Our Song for today:

I hunger and thirst for you, I hunger and thirst for you.

In the desert of my need, you’re the fountain that I seek.

You’re the living water I keep running to.

I hunger and thirst for you, I hunger and thirst for you.

I hunger and thirst for you, I hunger and thirst for you.

Heaven’s Manna, Bread of Life, fill the emptiness inside

Nothing else can satisfy me like your do.

 I hunger and thirst for you, I hunger and thirst for you.

Deeper

            My daughter was 4 months old when I got a call from the emergency room. My husband had been working in construction when a table saw on his work site fell off of its makeshift stand and deeply cut his fingers. With the rest of the week off to recuperate, we went to visit his parents over the weekend and came home to get the call Monday morning that he had been fired. That Thursday, we got another call that his mother had passed away. After two funerals and two weeks away from home, we came home to discover our electricity had been out and all of our perishable food had perished. Our credit cards were maxed out and we had no income. It was the desert of our need.

God fed us in that desert. A Methodist woman came by with groceries to fill our house. Our church provided baby clothes. Most miraculous of all, within a week we got a call about a church in need of a pastor. We had sent that resume long enough before that we had forgotten we sent it.

God met our every need, just as he met the need of the Hebrews in the desert. God doesn’t promise life will be smooth sailing when we trust in him. But when we trust him, he provides what we NEED to get through the desert.     

Personal Reflection

1.     What deserts has God fed you in?