Sunday morning we were in week three of our six week series called HABITS, part of our annual teaching focus on spiritual habits that are a vital part of the Christian life.  So far we’ve covered the H (Hang time with God – quiet time) and the A (accountability).  This year we’re using the series ‘Building Wise Habits’ from the Live Curriculum, a great four year resource we’ve been using this year in our small groups and some Sunday mornings.  This week George F taught the senior high kids while Samantha C taught the middle school group.  Samantha is actually one of our 12th grade students and member of our student leadership team, the Joshua Team.  It was really exciting to see her teaching the younger kids, and exciting to see the middle school kids learning from her example as a leader, servant, and fellow student!

This week we talked about Bible memorization (the B in HABITS). Psalm 119:11 tells us, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Bible memorization helps us become more familiar with who God is and how God wants us to live. Jesus relied on Bible memorization as his primary defense for fighting off Satan’s temptation.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 talks about the important role parents play in helping young people learn and love Scripture. This week, I’d like to challenge you and your teenager to learn a verse together. They worked on memorizing Psalm 119:11 at small group, but you might want to choose a different verse. Also, possibly use these questions to generate some good discussion:

• Why should Christians memorize Bible verses? What are some ways it might help your spiritual life?
• What is the best way for you to memorize Scripture?
• If you decided you wanted to value the Bible more, how would you make this happen? What changes or decisions would you make to make the Bible a greater treasure to you?

I hope you have an amazing day!