Parent’s Questions for s.A.M. 9 (January 22, 2012)

Dear parents,

From calming storms to healing a paralytic, we have covered some incredible miracles of Jesus in our s.A.M. 9  lesson series. We are wrapping it up this week by exploring how Jesus fed thousands of people in Mark 8—just a few pages after he fed another huge crowd! We’ll see how Jesus satisfied the people’s hunger through a miracle that was motivated by compassion.

This week, find some time to talk with your teenager about how God meets our needs. Here are some questions from our lesson that could help fuel the dialogue:

• Think back to last year. Are you more or less compassionate today than you were then? Why and how have you changed?
• What are some of the ways God has provided abundantly in your life?
• When have you recently struggled to trust God? Why was it so difficult?

If you’re looking for a family activity, consider fasting from all media for 24 hours. Commit to slowing down together. Plan a family game night. Spend time cooking a meal together. Talk about how our society can get so wrapped up in immediate satisfaction that we get in the habit of not trusting God when we don’t see an answer right away. Talk about what it means to trust God and wait on his timing.

Thanks again for having your teenager involved in our youth group ministry!