DG4Kids Table Talk Questions (April '12)

8/2/2019 DG4Kids Table Talk Questions (April '12)

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TABLE TALK QUESTIONS:April2012Calendar

GODISJUST

Ifyou

have

difficulty

talking

with

your

kids

about

Gods

Justice

you

arent

alone!

Herearesomethoughtsthatmayhelpsetthestageforagreatmonthof

discussionsaboutGodsJustice!

It'seasyforourchildrentohaveawarpedviewofGod'sJustice.Theysee

judgmentalChristiansandmistakeitforthejusticeofGod.Theysee"tolerance"

worshippedoneverystreetcornerandconfuse"lovingtheirneighbor"with

acceptingandembracingtheirneighbor'ssin.

Godhas

no

tolerance

for

judgmental

Christians.

He

knows

the

damage

they

can

do. Godhasnotoleranceforsin;Heknowsthedamageitsalreadydone.

Actually,ourculturedoesnthaveanytoleranceforsineitherthatisifit'sa

sinwedon'tlike.

JoshMcDowellproducedatshirtthatillustratesthiswell.Itsays:

In t o lerance is a Beaut i fu l Thing. ..

Mother Theresa w as in to le rant o f Pover ty

Bono w as in to le rant o f A ids

Nelson Mandela w as in to le rant o f Apar the id

Mar t in Luther K ing w as in to le rant o f Rac ism

Jesus w as in to le rant o f B igot ry

Werehypocriticalaboutsin. Wejudgethosethatsininawaywefindoffensive,

(Contd. on following page)


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butignorethosesinswehaveapersonalaffectionfor. OurJustGod,however,is

nothypocriticalaboutsin. Hefindsitalloffensive,fromusingHisnameinvain

tomurder,fromstealingapackofgumtostealingachildsinnocence. His

justicerequiresapenaltybepaidforeachandeverysin. JesussatisfiedGods

justicewhenHepaidthepenaltyonthecross. ItisthehumblingrealityofGood

Fridayand

the

inexpressible

joy,

and

relief,

of

Easter

Sunday!

UnderstandingGod'sJusticewillencourageyourchildrentostandupforwhatis

right,empowerthemtofightfortheweakandabused,andgivethemamessage

ofhopeforthehopeless.

TeachingyourchildrenthatGodisJustwillpavethewayforahumble

heart...onethattrulylovesthesinnerbuthatesthesin.

April 3, 2012Whathappenedinthelastweekthatyouthinkisunfair?

Whatdidyoudo?

WhatdoyouthinkGodthinksaboutit?

Youcanprobablyguesswhatsomeoftheanswerswillbe! Wehearthingslike: thechores

arentdividedfairly,theteacherdidntgivemeafairgrade,ormyfriendswerentfaironthe

playground. Asksomefollowupquestionsthathelpdeterminewhetheritwastrulyunfairor

simplyamatterofnotgettingwhattheywanted.

Iftheirexampleisinregardtochoresetc.youmaywanttoexplainwhyyoudividethemthe

wayyoudo. Thedivisionmaynotbewhattheywant,buttobefairyoumustconsiderallthe

facts(i.e.differentagesandabilities,notjusttheirdesires).

TheinterestingtwistcomeswhenyouaskthemwhatGodthinksaboutit. DoesHethinkits

unfair? Why? Whynot? Weaskthisquestiontohelpkidsbegintothinkaboutthingsfrom

Godsperspective. Iftheythinksomethingisunfair,theyllprobablythinkthatGodagreeswith

theirassessment! Dontweallhavethattendency?! Thegoalisnottohaveatheological

discussion,butsimplytogivethemtheexperienceofbringingGodintotheirdailyexperiences

andfilteringtheirfeelingsaboutitthroughHisgridaswellastheirown.


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April 09, 2012Peoplecanbeaccidentallyunfair,butGodNEVERis.

HowdoesHedoit?

Hint:RefertoHisotherattributesallknowing,presenteverywhere,

totallytruthful,etc.

Beginthediscussionbytalkingabouthowpeoplecanbeunfairwithoutrealizingit. For

example: aJudgemaysentenceaninnocentpersontoprisonbecausehedoesnthaveallthe

facts. AskthemiftheycanthinkofanyofGodsotherattributesthatassureusthatGodis

alwaysJust. CheckoutFamilyAdventuresdevotionforJust,Day1,foragreatstory,EvidenceProvesInnocent,toendyourdiscussion! http://dg4kids.com/bibletime/dayonegodisjust/

April 17, 2012God

cant

ignore

our

sin

andbeJust.

HowdidHeshowloveandJustice?

Youmayneedtoprimethepumpabitonthisquestion:

IfamanisprovenguiltyofmurderandtheJudgedecidestolethimgofree,withoutany

punishment,istheJudgebeingagoodjudgeorabadjudge? Why?

Justicerequiresthatthepenaltyforacrimebepaid. GodwouldnotbejustifHeignoredour

sinandthepenaltythatmustbepaid.

NoneofGodsattributesshouldbeviewedinisolation. WhenwelookatGodsJusticeapart

fromHisLoveandMercy,weseeHimonlyasanenforcertobefeared.

HowdoesGodshowusHisLoveandHisJustice? AskyourchildrenwhywecelebrateEaster

(Jesusdeathandresurrection). HowdoesEastershowHisloveandJustice?

ThefactthatJesuswasnailedtothecrosswasntfairbutitwasjust. Hehadntdoneanything

wrong. HewaspunishedforoursinnotbecauseHedeservedit,butbecauseHelovesusand

wantsarelationshipwithus. Theonlywaythatcouldhappenwasbypayingthepenaltyforour

sin

and

for

Gods

Justice

to

be

served.

Jesus

paid

the

penalty

because

of

His

Love

and

His

Justice.


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April 25, 2012BecauseGodisJust,howarewetotreatothers?

Whataboutmeanandunfairpeople?

The

first

part

of

the

question

is

easy

to

discuss,

but

the

second

part

can

uncover

some

challenges.

Therescurrentlyalotofdiscussionaboutbullyingandweneedtohelpourkidsunderstandthe

differencebetweenturningtheothercheek,defendingtheinnocent,andstandingupfor

justice.

Turningtheothercheekdoesnotnecessarilymeanthatwearetoletbullieshavetheirway

ortoletmeanclassmatesgetawaywithhurtingtheirpeers. Itsimportanttotalkwithyour

kidsabouthowtohandleabullyormeanclassmates(whethertheyreavictimoran

observer).

JesuswastheperfectbalanceofMercyandJustice. WhodidHeprayforwhenHewasonthe

cross? Father,forgivethem,fortheydontknowwhattheyaredoing,Luke23:34(NLT).

EncourageyourkidstofollowJesusexampleandprayforthosewhoaremeanorwhotreat

themunjustly. Itdoesntmeanthattheoffendersgetoffthehook,butitwillkeepourkids

heartsfreefromthepoisonofbitternessandvengeance.

Documents

DG4Kids Table Talk Questions (April '12)