PAT Answers
Chamy unveils her latest invention. Introducing the Positronic Affirmation Transmitter! Will it solve Chamy’s latest problem? And how exactly does it mess up Liz’s batting practice?
Before You ListenLet's Get Started
Theme: True Encouragement: Speaking the truth in love.
1. Ephesians 4:15 says to speak “the truth in love.” Why is important to think about love when you are speaking the truth?
2. In Mark 10:17-27, Jesus meets a rich young ruler who asks him, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus tells him to follow God’s commandments. The young man responds that he has done all those things since he was a boy. Then the passage says, “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him.” Then Jesus tells the rich young ruler to sell everything he has, give it to the poor, and to follow him. This was a hard truth for the young man to hear But Jesus wasn’t being mean or hurtful. He told the truth because he cared about the young man and wanted the best for him.. Think about ways you can speak the truth in love as you listen to this episode.
After you listen
Memory Verse
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ”
Quiz
A: “Everything’s fine!”
Reflect
In this episode, Chamy discovers some bad news about her family. She and her mom try to hide it from the community and from each other by saying that “Everything is fine!” The robot PAT is a great encourager. He says all the things that Chamy and Liz want to hear. However, all the compliments are empty. The things PAT says to Liz don’t help him with his baseball game. PAT tells Chamy“I love you,”but the words are empty because they aren’t true.
It is important to speak about what is true. However, 1 Corinthians 13 talks about how if we don’t have love, we don’t have anything. We may be right when we say something, but if we don’t say it in a loving way, our words lose their meaning. Check out these words about the importance of showing love in things, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.
Challenge
Making a major family decision, like a decision about a family vacation or a day’s chore list takes a lot of thinking, organizing, and talking. How can you add good ideas to such a discussion while showing love to everyone who’s talking and listening?
Think about a family decision that needs to made today - maybe like where you want to eat out for dinner or what you want to do this evening and find ways to encourage each other to speak the truth in love by starting your sentences with:
I like…(This sentence tells everyone what sounds good to you.)
I wish…(This sentence tells everyone how you would like to shape or add to the idea.)
I wonder…(This sentence tells everyone about the questions that you have.)
Remember to try not to control or win the conversation. Show everyone in the room that you care more about them than the thing you are discussing. The most important thing is not that you get your way, but that love comes first.
