We hope you enjoyed your lesson on the Released Time trailer this month! This is your take home lesson for the second lesson: Attentiveness, the story of Samuel listening to God’s voice. Read over this lesson to review the story and then answer the questions at the end.

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Remember, if you complete all 6 take home lessons from this year during Released Time, you will earn a $60 scholarship towards a week of summer camp at Camp Victory! We will also give out prizes on the Released Time trailer for those who complete the lessons each month. Make sure to fill out the answer form at the end of the lesson with your name and school information so we can get it recorded!

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If you forgot to turn in Lesson 1 on Patience, click here to do that lesson. 

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Attentiveness means showing respect by listening to what others say. Our memory verse is 1 Samuel 3:9 "Speak, Lord, for your servant hears." In the Bible lesson on young Samuel, he learned as a young boy to listen to what God said to him and then to obey it. When he first heard someone calling him, he thought it was the high priest Eli. But the third time he went to see Eli, the priest told him it was God speaking to him. The next time he heard the voice, he was to answer "Speak, for your servant hears." And that's what Samuel did. The Lord did speak to Samuel, and Samuel was attentive to what the Lord said. That's what we need to do as well. Many times in the Bible we are told the importance of listening to God and to others. Here are just a few of them:

• Luke 11:28 "But Jesus said, 'Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!"

• John 10:27 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me."

• John 8:47 "Whoever is of God hears the words of God."

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The best way to listen to God is by reading your Bible. It is God's Word to us. Then we need to obey it. Do you remember when Jesus told the story about the wise man who built his house on a rock? Jesus said, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."

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So, as you grow up, do you want to be wise or foolish? Jesus said the best way to be wise is to hear His words (listen) and then to obey them. If you do that, you will be ready when life gets tough and you don't want things to fall apart. You can start right now by reading God's Word everyday (or having someone else read it to you). Then think of ways you can obey what God has said to you. Start being attentive and listening to what God has to say to you, just like Samuel did. Another way you can be attentive is by listening to others that God has in your life. Try to attend church as much as possible. Let the leaders at church speak God's Word to you. There are others God puts in your life to help you along the way too. It is important to listen to them. For example, your parents, your teacher, and those in authority. Here's what the Bible says about listening to others:

• Proverbs 19:20 "Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future."

• James 1:19 "Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger."

• Ephesians 6:1-3 "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land."

 

According to the Bible, those who disobey are foolish, but if we are attentive in listening to God's Word, life will go so much smoother. God loves us and wants the best for us. That's why He gives us His Word and puts people in our lives to help us as we grow up.