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» Repentance
Don't Say It if You Don't Mean It
Read or tell the following story to your kids:
Evan dreaded getting home because he knew he was in trouble. His teacher caught him cheating on his homework and gave him a zero, then told him that she was going to call his mom. He had forgotten to do his math homework, so he quickly copied his friend, Thad's paper right before class. This wasn't the first time he had cheated, but it was the first time he got caught. You see Evan had a bad habit of putting things off and he ofter "forgot" to do his homework. And he always talked someone into letting him copy their paper. "After all," he though, "it's just homework. It's not like I'm cheating on a test."
"Put your things away," his mom said. "We need to have a talk."
Evan could tell she had talked to the teacher and wasn't happy. "I'm sorry, Mom. I just forgot to do that math homework an dI knew I couldn't get a bad grade, so I copied Thad's paper," Evan explained.
"You know that's wrong. You're going to have to be punished - no TV or video games for two weeks. That way, you'll have plenty of time to do your homework. Now go to your room and get started on your homework," his mom ordered.
Evan turned to walk away and thought to himself, "I'll have to be more care next time."
Ask:
What is wrong with Evan's attitude? ( He's not really sorry, he's just sorry he got caught)
What is true repentance? (sorry that you have sinned against God and a willingness to stop that sin)
God wants true repentance!
God's Warnings for Us
As you are driving over railroad tracks, discuss the red blinking lights and the barrier bars that come down to prevent people from getting hurt.
Ask:
Why do the red lights blilnk and the barrier bars come down? (to signal that a train is coming)
Why do they put these here? (to warn us and to prevent us from getting hit by a train)
God gives warnings to stay away from sin (the wrong things we do) in the Bible. It is important to listen to and obey the warnings.
Try to name some warning from the Bible. ( Do not steal, Do not lie, Do not covet. Have no other gods, etc)
Stop! Drop! Obey?
Students (using the CLEAR curriculum) are hearing about the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. These books are full of warnings - warnings that apply to us and our kids. The problem is that they wouldn't always listen or obey. (Sound familiar!)
Make the smoke detector alarm go off when everyone is present in the house. (I'm not sure how to do that, but when I turn my oven to 450, unfortunately mine goes off. Maybe I need to clean my oven!)
When everyone has gathered, tell them that was a warning. The smoke detector warns that there is smoke or a fire in the house.
Ask:
What should you do when the alarm goes off? (get out of the house as quickly as possible)
Why is a warning a good thing? (it gives you a chance to escape danger)
Does God give any warnings? (The Bible is full of God's warnings - the Ten Commandments are a good place to start.)
Why does God give warnings? (to protect and help us to know the best way to live)
God does not want anyone to go the wrong way toward sin. That's why the Bible gives warnings, so you can turn from sin and go God's way. There should be a big sign in front of sin that says, "Danger!"
Stop! Drop! Obey?
Students (using the CLEAR curriculum) are hearing about the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. These books are full of warnings - warnings that apply to us and our kids. The problem is that they wouldn't always listen or obey. (Sound familiar!)
Make the smoke detector alarm go off when everyone is present in the house. (I'm not sure how to do that, but when I turn my oven to 450, unfortunately mine goes off. Maybe I need to clean my oven!)
When everyone has gathered, tell them that was a warning. The smoke detector warns that there is smoke or a fire in the house.
Ask:
What should you do when the alarm goes off? (get out of the house as quickly as possible)
Why is a warning a good thing? (it gives you a chance to escape danger)
Does God give any warnings? (The Bible is full of God's warnings - the Ten Commandments are a good place to start.)
Why does God give warnings? (to protect and help us to know the best way to live)
God does not want anyone to go the wrong way toward sin. That's why the Bible gives warnings, so you can turn from sin and go God's way. There should be a big sign in front of sin that says, "Danger!"
Do you think Ethan was really sorry for what he did?
What is repentance? (Repentance means to change one's mind about sin, to be sorry, and to go the other way.)
Erasing Sin



