Day 2: Set Apart to Make Disciples on Our Campuses

CONNECT

Think of some traditions that your family has been practicing. They may be something you do every weekend, or on special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, New Year, or any other occasion. You may even have traditions for non-occasions, such as summer or during other days. Share these as a family. If you can remember, share their origins as well. Were they handed down to you from your parents? Or did you and your spouse jointly decide to start new traditions? If so, share with your kids why you came up with the new traditions.

Traditions are beliefs or practices passed down from one generation to the next. They serve to strengthen bonds between one another and across generations. Some traditions have survived generations, while other traditions have changed or are no longer being done. The secret to keeping traditions alive is to pass them on. Once it is not passed on, it dies.

READ THE WORD

When the Israelites were in the desert, God instructed them to tell their children about Him and His wonderful deeds.

Make sure your children learn them. Talk about them when you are at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Speak about them when you go to bed. And speak about them when you get up. Write them down and tie them on your hands as a reminder. Also tie them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses. Also write them on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:7–9

This command from God is serious and with purpose. When the Israelites failed to do this, a whole generation grew up not knowing God.

All the people of Joshua’s time joined the members of their families who had already died. Then those who were born after them grew up. They didn’t know the LORD and what he had done for Israel. Judges 2:10

Being set apart for God is not an end. It is active, and the hope is to see the generations that come after to likewise live for God. It takes active involvement and participation. Teaching our children and the next generation takes a commitment. It will not happen by chance. When parents and the older generation intentionally make the effort to pass on all they know and how they have experienced Jesus, generations will arise that will make a stand for Jesus.

HUDDLE

Parents to Kids

2–6 years old

• Do you enjoy listening to stories from the Bible? Which one do you like the best? Why?

7–12 years old

• Think of how God has been faithful to you personally. How can you share this to the generation coming after you?

Kids to Parents

• How has God been faithful to you? Share stories with your kids.
• How can we as a family take part in making disciples on the campuses?

Whether you have one or more, we all have stories of God’s faithfulness in our lives. Actively share them with younger people—whether they are younger siblings, your children, your grandchildren, or your neighbor’s children. Be intentional in ministering to them and showing them the love of Jesus. God loves them, too, and doesn’t want them to live in sin and to perish.

PRAY

Dear God, thank You for the lives of the young people. You love them so much. Use us to reach them, to show them Your love, to minister to them in ways they need. Give us wisdom on how to reach them, to speak their language, and to love them the way You love them. May they grow up knowing You and loving You, and may their lives be devoted to You. In Jesus’ name, amen!

DISCOVER

Some examples of young people in the Bible who grew up loving the Lord because someone took time to tell them about God:

• Samuel grew up under the guidance of Eli, the high priest during his time.
• Daniel’s parents taught him so well that when he was in exile in Babylon, he always sought God.
• Joseph learned much from his father Jacob, so that even when he was a slave in Egypt, he trusted God.
• Timothy was faithfully raised by his grandmother Lois and his mother, Eunice, to know and follow God. Timothy later became a constant companion of Paul in his missionary journeys.

Let this be an encouragement to us to make disciples of the young people around us.