​     Hello to you and your family! This is February Week 2’s Learning Together lesson about the story “The Friend of Little Children,” which is located in The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones on pages 256-263.
    Children: It is time to listen once again to the story being orally read to you, or you may want to oral read yourself while others in your family listen. Remember that a book is available to you if you request one.
     If you recall, last week we talked about how much God loves all people, but how He especially loves little children. Because of His great love, He became our ultimate friend by dying on a cross for our sins.
     Now it is our turn to be a friend of Jesus. How can we do this? One way is by loving one another just like He loves us. That means that we can choose to be kind, to be polite, to be helpful to our family and to others throughout our day, whether at home, or at school, or in your neighborhood, or in your family car.
     Another way to be Jesus’ friend is to spend time with Him in prayer. He is happy to hear from us anytime or anywhere, whenever we need help or want to give thanks or just wish to say, “hello and how are you today?”
     A question I would like to have you think about is this: If you could have a playdate with Jesus like in our story, what would you choose to do together? What would you choose to say to Him? Sunday School next week on 2/26 will be a good place to discuss your thoughts or bring artwork that describes your feelings about that question.
     Adults: The Biblical references to this story are Matthew 18, 19; Mark 10; Luke 18.
     Followers of Jesus Christ are called many things in the Scriptures: disciples, Christians, children of God. Incredibly, Jesus himself simply calls us friends. “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business,” Jesus said. “Instead, I have called you friends” (John 15:15).
     Happily, we never have to wonder “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” We know His great sacrifice. We just look to the cross of Calvary and the matter is settled. “Greater love has no one than this,” Jesus said, “that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
     The true question to be considered is what kind of friend does Jesus have in each of us? If real friendship is a two-way relationship, so, then, is being a Christian. It begins with God initiating friendship with sinners, bringing us into relationship with him. Genuine trust in Christ is not a one-time intellectual transaction, but a dynamic, ongoing relationship that Jesus calls friendship.
     People can measure their friendship with Christ as we would any other healthy relationship - by asking questions.
*Am I a good friend to Jesus if I never talk to Him?
     Prayerlessness is a sure sign our friendship with Christ has grown cold. Christianity begins with prayer – a sincere cry to God for forgiveness of sin on the basis of Christ’s death on the cross. That first conversation with our divine friend begins a lifetime of communion with God. When Paul told the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), he urged them toward continuous fellowship with God as much as possible in the middle of daily living.
*Am I a good friend to Jesus if I never listen to him?
     The Bible is not a textbook, though it is often treated as such. Nor is it merely a religious document among myriad others. No, the Bible is God’s very word, expressed in language we can understand, spoken directly and personally to us. Most of us know what it is to have a friend or acquaintance who never really listens to us. Yet we do that to God a lot of the time by ignoring his Word, or hearing it but not heeding it. Jesus will not be our acquaintance only. He died to secure for us friendship with God; it’s our privilege to listen to him as our closest friend.
*Am I a good friend to Jesus if the whole relationship is based on my agenda?
     It is an arrogant presumption to think that Jesus Christ exists for us. Yes, we know that he set aside the glory of heaven and was born a man for us. Yes, we know he died on the cross for us. And yes, we know he is risen, alive, coming again for us. But it is we who exist for him. He saves us that we might follow him, imitate him, and lead others to him. Christian life is about Christ’s agenda, not ours. We do well to look continually to the cross to be reminded of the kind of friend we have in Jesus, but let’s also consider how he might examine us.
     What kind of friend are you?
~This week’s prayer: Jesus, I sincerely pray that I will be a good friend to you just as you are to me. Amen
     Hopefully you will be able to attend Sunday School at 11:00 a.m. this coming Sunday for story discussion and a related craft!
Sincerely,
Margo Greer

February Week 1, 2023 Learning Together
     Welcome again to Learning Together! This is February’s first lesson, and it is all about the story “The Friend of Little Children” found on pages 256-263 in The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. (If you would like to have your own copy of this book, please ask for one or order your own online.) You and your whole family are invited to listen and read and create and pray around this story.
     Children: First, please listen to the story read aloud to you.  You may wish to follow along in your own book, making sure to carefully look at the pictures. You could invite your family members to listen and look with you.
     The story begins with some of Jesus’ friends arguing with each other about which one of them was the most important helper to Jesus. While they argued, Jesus had some children visit Him along with their parents. The friends stopped arguing with themselves in order to shoo these people away, but Jesus spoke up and told His friends to NEVER send children away but to bring them to Him. He told them that He loves all people, but especially children, because children can love him back so freely, so trustingly. This makes you an important part of God’s kingdom!
     Adults: The Biblical references to this story are Matthew 18, 19; Mark 10; Luke 18.
     Back in Jesus’ day, children often were seen as a nuisance. They were tolerated, but not welcome. Jesus’ words concerning children were extremely important and contrasted with practices of pagans of the day.  It was common practice in both Greece and Rome to abandon unwanted children by the road to let them die.  Later, early Christians were known for taking in these orphans. Jesus flipped this way of thinking on its head. In the Bible, Jesus spoke out against those who pushed children to the sidelines while drawing them near to Himself.
     So when Jesus says ‘come to God like a little child’, that's exactly what we want to do! There is no virtue in being childish, but we should never outgrow our childlikeness. As His child, God wants us to recognize our need for His care and protection.
     Adults, in order to have a more childlike approach to life, need to consider these four lessons we can learn from children:

• Feel your feelings. Children leave their emotions on their sleeves. ...
• Be curious and excited. Being inquisitive is how children learn. ...
• Be fearless. Children jump, climb, fall and get right back up. ...
• Grow a little every day (even when it's hard).

~This week’s prayer: Dear God, thank you for loving me so much! I know I am an important part of your kingdom!
     Next week there will be one more lesson posted about this month’s story, then our Sunday School will meet on fourth Sunday February 26 at 11:00 after church services; there will be a story discussion and a fun craft. All are welcome!
Until next week,
Margo Greer