ANCHORED | UNDERSTANDING GOODNESS
Lesson 1: No Good Apart From God

Dear Parents,
Hello! I wanted to remind you about the study we’re doing that focuses on helping students remain steady in the face of adversity and encourage them to grow deeper in their relationship with God. This Bible study is called Anchored: Sure and Steadfast, and this week is the first of a three-lesson unit called Understanding Goodness. The lesson was entitled “No Good Apart From God,” and its goal was to help students see God has His own definition of good, which is different from ours. For God, good is found in Him and what He provides. And His provision is far beyond anything we can ever need or desire!

Lesson Overview: In this lesson, we will be discussing the two definitions of the word good. There is Webster’s Dictionary’s version, which says good means “of a favorable character or tendency.” And then, there is the biblical definition, which says there is no good apart from God. For the world, goodness comes in many forms and often comes down to what we view as beneficial to us or the world at large. But true goodness can not always be perceived with the naked eye. True goodness comes from God, who is the only source of goodness.

What We Want Your Student To Learn: That the world defines good as something we can obtain on our own, but true goodness is something that comes from God alone.

What We Want Your Student To Do With What They’ve Learned: Be able to define goodness by God’s terms and grow in their discernment about what the world says is good vs. what God says is good.

Scripture Passages We Studied: Luke 18:18-22, Psalm 25:8, 34:8, 51:1-6, 1 John 4:7-10, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3, Matthew 4:1-4.

Please Take A Few Minutes This Week To Read These Passages.

Next Steps. . .
During the next week, as you engage in conversations with your student, remember that one way that will help them to understand and apply what they have learned is to explain it to someone else. Use the following questions to guide your conversation:

• What was your Anchor Statement for this week? (Answer: True goodness comes from God alone.)
• How is God’s definition of good different from the world’s definition of good?
• Why can’t we be ‘good’ on our own? (Why do we need God’s help?)

Thank you for all you do. As a parent, you are the primary spiritual influence in the life of your teenager, and they desperately need you. I’m praying for you! If you have any questions or if I can help with anything, please don’t hesitate to let me know.