August 10, 2025

Dear Family,

The Junior High Sabbath School will launch a new two-week series called “Time Out!”  In this first lesson, we'll talk about the importance of spending time with God — moments we'll
call “timeouts with God.”  Even Jesus needed time along with God the Father, and we have the opportunity to step away from the noise of our lives and pray and read
the Bible in places and times of silence and solitude.

Using Mark 1:35-39 (https://www.bible.com/bible/111/MRK.1.NIV) we'll examine Jesus’ habit of spending time alone in prayer with God the Father.  Jesus — who was God in human
form — needed to spend time alone in solitude and silence.  Seeing how we are NOT God in human form, we certainly need similar times in our lives!

In these verses, we will see that Jesus made His time with God a priority.  His disciples and the crowds were waiting for Him, but He realized that His effectiveness in ministry
flowed from His relationship with God the Father.  In our own lives, our spiritual, personal, emotional, and physical health grow stronger when we spend time with God.

Here are some questions from this week’s lesson that you might want to use as you talk with your teenager:

• Why do you think Jesus — who was God in human form — went off by Himself to pray and spend time with God the Father? 
• What do you think we can learn from Jesus’ example?
• How easy or difficult would it be for you to go an entire day without any technology distractions — no TV, no video games, no music, or anything like that?
• How might a daylong “timeout” help you and your friendship with God?

I pray that this is a blessed week for you and your family!