
At Trailhead, we believe that church is not just about growing in God’s Word but doing so in community. We have designed this study guide to help you follow along with Sunday’s message. Study the scriptures, take notes, and then reinforce what you learned by answering a few questions. Ask others to join you in discussion, whether it be with your family or your Trailhead study group. Let’s have church!
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Interactive Scriptures and Notes
This link is updated weekly, so we encourage you to select the “Email” button at the bottom to send your notes to yourself when you’re finished.
Proverbs 22:6 (NKJV)
Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work. —C.S. Lewis
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NLT)
6 And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. 7 Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
2 Timothy 3:15 (NLT)
You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.
The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration but its donation. —Corrie Ten Boom
3 John 1:4 (NLT)
I could have no greater joy than to hear that my children are following the truth.
Create an environment where God’s love is evident
1. Point them to the well
John 4:7-14 (NLT)
7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. 9 The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” 10 Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” 11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?” 13 Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. 14 But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
2. Bring them to the well
John 4:23-24 (NLT)
23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT)
So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
Romans 8:38-39 (NLT)
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Other Notes
Discussion Questions
1) When it comes to raising children, Pastor Josh compared the process of seed and soil instead of nature vs. nurture (meaning, you cannot change who your children are at the core, but you can provide the environment that will shape them).
With that in mind, what kind of environment do you want for your children? What are some practical steps you can take to ensure that the environment that shapes your children is a Godly one?
2) Pastor Josh used the the story of the woman at the well as an illustration for why we need to point our children to the well and also bring them to the well.
What does it mean to point them to the well? How do we direct our children to follow the right path? What are the consequences of not doing this?
What are some ways you can bring your children to the well?
3) If you do not have children yet, what can you do to prepare yourself for this task? If your kids are grown, what advice would you give to current or future parents?