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"Harmonize With The Home" for April 11, 2010 - Deep Listening

HARMONIZE WITH THE HOME

For Sunday, April 11th- Saturday April 17th

We’re starting a new series called "Now We're Talkin'" The Cornerstone children will be learning about Deep Listening! The story we are using is from 1 Samuel 2:12-26 about Eli, his sons, and Samuel.

We are going to share with the children that God wants us to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. In this Harmonize With The Home, we’d like to provide a small devotional you can do with your children.

Parents, take a few minutes to read over the Harmonize With The Home sheet before starting it with your child.

First, READ: Take a few minutes to read the the story of Eli, his sons, and Samuel. Pay close attention to what it says in 1 Sam 2:25 because it directly says that the sons of Eli did not pay attention or listen to Eli.

[Warning! Depending on the age of your child you might want to watch out for the last half of 1 Sam 2:22 because it talks about Eli's sons engaging in sexual sin. It's part of how they weren't listening to God but it may not be age appropriate for your child. In Cornerstone we just read the first part of the verse].

Second, THINK: The sons of Eli were so different than Samuel. Eli's sons wouldn't listen to anything Eli said or God for that matter!

In the Old Testament, God met with people who loved him at a Tabernacle. They sacrificed animals at this Tabernacle to get forgiveness of sins and have a friendship with God. We don't need to do that today because Jesus died for our sins. But when they were going to the temple Eli's sons were doing wrong things. They were taking things by force and doing lots of other evil things. But Samuel was different. He is just a young boy in this story and he was so different from Eli's sons because he listened to God. He followed God so closely that it really pleased God!

[Going Deeper: It might be a good idea to go online and find a picture of the tabernacle or even go to a dictionary to find out more.)

Third, PRAY: Ask God to help you find ways to listen deeply just like Samuel.

Fourth, LIVE: Go out for a short walk in your neighbourhood and each person can try to remember all the sounds you hear as you walk. When you get home, share with each other the sounds you heard. Did you find it easy or difficult to hear? Was it hard to remember? Deep listening isn't always easy. Talk about ways you can all be really fast at listening to each other. Write "I'm deeply listening for God" at the top of a blank sheet of paper and have you child draw a picture of what they did and bring it in on any Sunday for extra 5-G Challenge points! We’ll also post their picture somewhere in the Cornerstone Room.