Dear Families,

The sacrificial system of the Old Testament was the rhythm and practice of the people of God for many generations. It brought about reminders of the authority of God and the sin of the people. God used these sacrifices as temporary atonement for sin and a foreshadowing of the permanent sacrifice of Jesus that was to come.

Some Old Testament figures practiced these sacrifices with precision as prescribed by God. For others, the sacrifices were a good luck charm or “Get Out of Jail Free” card. In 1 Samuel 14–15, Saul built an altar and used sacrifice to try to earn back the favor of both God and Samuel.

Samuel’s response to these things cut Saul deeply. “Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? Look: to obey is better than sacrifice, to pay attention is better than the fat of rams” (1 Sam. 15:22).

The answer to Samuel’s rhetorical question is a resounding “No!” God does not desire sacrifice more than obedience; He desires obedient sacrifice. Though it was possible to sacrifice and disobey, it was never possible to obey and not sacrifice. God’s desire was for sacrifice to come from a broken and contrite heart that understood the weight of one’s sin and the need for forgiveness before a holy and righteous God. To practice sacrifice with any other motivation was to disobey. 

Though we don’t live under the ceremonial law of the Old Testament, we do live under the authority of God. And though we don’t use the blood and meat of animals to try to satisfy God, we are certainly guilty of trying to please Him with religious practices.

For some Christians, there is a quiet hope that checking the boxes of daily disciplines will satisfy God’s wrath toward our sin. For some Christians, the applause of men drives the public display of their faith. In either instance, Christians are seeking to earn the favor of both God and man through their “sacrifice,” when God’s desire is for our whole-hearted obedience out of love for Him.

Consider today what areas you may be tempted to try and impress God or earn back His love. Confess those things and be reminded that what God wants is your love for Him above all else and your confidence that His sacrifice of Christ is sufficient to make you right before Him.

Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities.

FAMILY TALKING POINTS

CHRIST CONNECTION
This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.

• Babies & Toddlers: King Jesus obeyed God in everything He did.
• Younger Preschool: God made Saul king, but King Saul did not obey God. God sent His Son, Jesus, to be king over everything. King Jesus obeyed God perfectly.
• Older Preschool: God made Saul king, but King Saul did not obey God. God sent His Son, Jesus, to be king over everything. King Jesus obeyed God perfectly and died so we can be forgiven.
• Kids: God gave the Israelites a king, but Saul did not obey God. God had a plan to send His Son, Jesus. King Jesus trusted and obeyed God perfectly and died so sinners could be forgiven and accepted.

BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER
This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Younger Preschool: Why does sin separate us from God? Because God is holy.
• Older Preschool: Why does sin separate us from God? Because God is holy.
• Kids: Why does sin separate us from God? Because God is holy, sin has broken our relationship with God.

KEY PASSAGE
This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Babies & Toddlers: My eyes have seen the Lord. Isaiah 6:5 
• Younger Preschool: My eyes have seen the Lord. Isaiah 6:5
• Older Preschool: I said: Woe is me … because I am a man of unclean lips … and … my eyes have seen the … LORD. Isaiah 6:5
• Kids: Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Armies. Isaiah 6:5

** Next week: God Is Good to Judge Sin (Genesis 18)

Dear Families,

Gilgal was a place the Israelites knew well. It was the first place their ancestors set foot in the promised land; the place where they built a memorial of 12 stones after crossing the Jordan with the ark of the covenant; a place that they looked back on and remembered the power, greatness, and provision of God. Gilgal wasn’t a place of convenience, but rather a place of significance.

Have you ever taken the time to revisit places of your past? Maybe you’ve driven past your childhood home and school, your first home, or the hospital where a family member was born. These nostalgic journeys can bring back all sorts of memories of heartbreak and victory, sadness and joy. Revisiting the past might flood your heart and mind with things you had long forgotten as well as things that can never be forgotten.

In the fast-paced world we live in today, we don’t go back often enough. For many, thinking about the past only slows down productivity. We rely on timeline photos as reminders but then quickly scroll to the news of the day and our plans for tomorrow. 

What if we regularly returned to the past? What if we frequented the memorials of God’s power, greatness, and provision? It may be that part of why we run so hard after the tyranny of the urgent is because we’ve lost sight of God’s faithfulness through the ages.

It may not be a nostalgic drive through your hometown or a trip to the mountaintop where you were first gripped by the greatness of God, but a stroll down memory lane recalling the work that God has done is so very good for the soul. 

The Israelites didn’t return to Gilgal because it was easy. They returned to Gilgal because amid their present circumstances, they needed to remember. And so do we. 

Reflect on the great things that God has done—the ways you’ve seen His power, greatness, and provision. And as you do, let it grow your gratitude and hopefulness. For, as James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

Check out The Gospel Project At Home for resources designed to help you lead a family worship experience as well as suggestions for morning and evening prayer times and family activities.

FAMILY TALKING POINTS

CHRIST CONNECTION

This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.

• Babies & Toddlers: God sent Jesus to be our King.
• Younger Preschool: God chose Saul to be the king in Israel. With God’s help, Saul brought the Israelites together to win the battle. God sent His Son, Jesus, to be our King forever. Jesus came to rescue people from sin and death.
• Older Preschool: God chose Saul to be the king in Israel. With God’s help, Saul brought the Israelites together to win the battle. God sent His Son, Jesus, to be our King forever. Jesus came to rescue people from sin and death.
• Kids: God chose Saul to be the Israelites’ king. With God’s help, Saul brought the Israelites together to defeat their enemy. God sent His Son, Jesus, to be our King forever. Jesus brings together everyone who trusts in Him and gives us victory over sin and death.

BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER

This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Younger Preschool: Why does sin separate us from God? Because God is holy.
• Older Preschool: Why does sin separate us from God? Because God is holy.
• Kids: Why does sin separate us from God? Because God is holy, sin has broken our relationship with God.

KEY PASSAGE

This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Babies & Toddlers: My eyes have seen the Lord. Isaiah 6:5 
• Younger Preschool: My eyes have seen the Lord. Isaiah 6:5
• Older Preschool: I said: Woe is me … because I am a man of unclean lips … and … my eyes have seen the … LORD. Isaiah 6:5
• Kids: Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Armies. Isaiah 6:5

** Next week: Saul Sinned and Was Rejected (1 Samuel 13–15)

The Gospel Project @Home resources below will help you as a family dive deeper into what your children are learning at church each week. Through Ministry Grid, each “course” has the following components: scripture to read, a guide to talk about the scripture, links to both the preschool and elementary Bible story videos, scripture to memorize, scripture to sing, family prayer, and family activities.

We hope these resources will help you create a time of family worship or if you homeschool, you may even consider using these as a supplement to your Bible curriculum! We are praying your family grows closer together and to the Lord.

You can access each course individually or if you would prefer, you can download the pdf of all the at home guides for Units 10-12.

August 14: The Gospel Project At Home 10.1: Israel Demanded a King

August 21: The Gospel Project At Home 10.2: God Made Saul King

August 28: The Gospel Project At Home 10.3: Saul Sinned and Was Rejected

September 4: The Gospel Project At Home 10.4: God Is Good to Judge Sin

September 11: The Gospel Project At Home 11.1: God Chose David to Be King

September 18: The Gospel Project At Home 11.1: God Chose David to Be King

September 25: The Gospel Project At Home 11.2: David Fought Goliath

October 2: The Gospel Project At Home 11.3: God Made a Covenant with David

October 9: The Gospel Project At Home 11.4: David Sinned and Was Forgiven

October 16: The Gospel Project At Home 11.5: God Is Good to Give Grace

October 23: The Gospel Project At Home 12.1: God Gave Solomon Wisdom

October 30: The Gospel Project At Home 12.2: Solomon Built the Temple

November 6: The Gospel Project At Home 12.3: Solomon’s Sin Divided the Kingdom

November 13: The Gospel Project At Home 12.4: God Is Good to Give Mercy

Dear Families,

It can happen to any of us: We look at our circumstances, forecast a coming trial or opportunity, and act accordingly—only to find out that the situation doesn’t play out quite like we expected.

This is precisely what happened in 1 Samuel 8–10. The people of Israel, while assessing their circumstances, discerned that Samuel’s days were numbered. They recognized that his sons, Joel and Abijah, had turned to dishonesty and against the ways of their father. So, they predicted that they would soon have no one to lead them and that something must be done.

The elders of Israel believed they knew what was best and demanded that Samuel appoint a new king who would lead them “the same as all the other nations” (1 Sam 8:5).

We can do the same. With the best of intentions, we can hastily seek what we believe is best without consideration of the Lord’s plans, desires, or wisdom. This may happen in search of a new job, in response to conflict, in making family decisions, or even in determining how to best minister to people in our church or community. 

How do we know that our decisions, desires, and actions align with what God wants? Be encouraged to do three things as you seek the Lord’s wisdom in these moments of decision: Pray, read God’s Word, and seek counsel.

When we pray, we humble ourselves before the Almighty God and submit our desires to Him. When we read God’s Word, we discover His desires, plans, and will in the most clearly revealed way so that we might walk in them. And when we seek counsel, we open ourselves to the community of believers to be shaped, formed, sharpened, and corrected.

Proverbs 3:5-6 remind us, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.” 

Taking the time to pray, read the Bible, and seek the counsel of brothers and sisters in Christ is an act of refusal to rely on our own understanding, instead submitting ourselves to God’s authority and ensuring that we don’t get ahead of Him.

FAMILY TALKING POINTS

CHRIST CONNECTION
This is the big idea of how this week’s Bible story points to Jesus.

• Babies & Toddlers: God sent His Son, Jesus, to be king over the world.
• Younger Preschool: God gave the Israelites a king, but He had a plan to send His Son, Jesus, to be king over the whole world. Jesus would be the perfect King.
• Older Preschool: The Israelites did not trust God. They wanted a king. God gave the Israelites a king, but He had a plan to send His Son, Jesus, to be king over the whole world. Jesus would be the perfect King. Jesus would bring peace and save people from sin.
• Kids: God intended for a heavenly king to rule over Israel, but the Israelites did not trust God’s plan. They wanted a king like the nations around them. God had a better plan: to eventually send His Son, Jesus, to be the perfect King forever.

BIG PICTURE QUESTION & ANSWER
This is an important biblical truth that your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Younger Preschool: Why does sin separate us from God? Because God is holy.
• Older Preschool: Why does sin separate us from God? Because God is holy.
• Kids: Why does sin separate us from God? Because God is holy, sin has broken our relationship with God.

KEY PASSAGE
This is a Bible verse that relates to what your child will encounter each week of this unit.

• Babies & Toddlers: My eyes have seen the Lord. Isaiah 6:5 
• Younger Preschool: My eyes have seen the Lord. Isaiah 6:5
• Older Preschool: I said: Woe is me … because I am a man of unclean lips … and … my eyes have seen the … LORD. Isaiah 6:5
• Kids: Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Armies. Isaiah 6:5

** Next week: God Made Saul King (1 Samuel 11

The Discipleship Hour Returns this Sunday, August 14 at 4:00pm for Pre-k (4yrs), Elementary, and Students! We will also resume our studies through the scripture during 9am & 11am Preschool Worship (2yrs-4yrs).

Unit Description:
When God’s people wanted a king to be like the nations around them, God warned them but gave them what they wanted. King Saul seemed to be the ideal king, but he proved not to be the king the people needed. When Saul sinned against God, God judged him and promised to remove him as king.

Preschool Big Picture Question: Why does sin separate us from God? Because God is holy.
Elementary Big Picture Question: Why does sin separate us from God? Because God is holy, sin has broken our relationship with God.

Key Passage: Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Armies. Isaiah 6:5

SESSION 1 (Aug 14): Israel Demanded a King, 1 Samuel 8–10
SESSION 2 (Aug 21): God Made Saul King, 1 Samuel 11
SESSION 3 (Aug 28): Saul Sinned and Was Rejected, 1 Samuel 13–15
SESSION 4 (Sep 4): God Is Good to Judge Sin, Genesis 18

This summer in Sunday Morning Preschool Worship we are going back and reviewing some of our Bible stories we learned over the past year. You can find all the @Home worship guides for each session below. I encourage you to do one of the activities listed each week together as a family! The Discipleship Hour will begin again on August 14, at which time we will resume our chronological study through the Bible with “new” lessons during 9am & 11am Preschool Worship and 4pm Discipleship Classes.

Eli’s Sons Disobeyed God (1 Samuel 4-6)
The ark of God reminded the Israelites that God was with them. Many years later, God gave His people something even better to remind them that He was with them. God sent His Son, Jesus. One of Jesus’ names is Immanuel, which means “God with us.”

God Provided for Hannah
Samuel told people what God is like and what He would do. Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth as a human. He told people about God’s plan and showed the world what God is like.

This Saturday, June 4, is Bikes, Trikes & Scooters Day from 9:30-11:30am at Imago Dei Church. Bring the whole family along with your child’s favorite non-motorized method of transportation and join other kids 5th grade and younger for a time of cruising around the IDC parking lot. Parking will be available on the right side of the lot and the left side of the parking lot will be blocked off for riding.

Reminders: 

• Please remain on campus with your child and provide supervision at all times.
• All children must wear helmets while riding.
• Bring plenty of water. 

We are looking forward to a fun time of fellowship with all our IDC Kids and their families!