The Gospel Project for the Week of 12/30-1/3

Volume 6 Adult/Kids Connections
Unit 17, Session 2: Josiahʼs Reforms

2 Chronicles 34–35

Christ Connection: Josiah had great respect for God's law. He allowed God's Word to control what he did as a king. Josiah wanted God's people to love God and obey the law too. When Jesus came to earth, He fulfilled the law by obeying it perfectly.

Adult Connection Point: As Josiah began his reforms, he had to take a stand for what was right in Godʼs eyes.

The traditional definition of tolerance accepts the existence of other viewpoints and recognizes that other people have the right to hold different beliefs or practices. The newer understanding of tolerance means one accepts the other viewpoints as true or valid. D. A. Carson writes: “To accept that a different or opposing position exists and deserves the right to exist is one thing; to accept the position itself means that one is no longer opposing it.” 1 

People in our society often confuse religious tolerance with relativism. Rightly understood, tolerance is accepting that people should be able to coexist with different religious beliefs. Wrongly understood, tolerance means all religious beliefs are equal—“Whatʼs true for you may be true for you but not for me.”  Jesus shatters this notion. Standing against the idea that all religions lead to God are the words of Jesus Christ. In John 14:6, Jesus made a claim to be the exclusive path to God, saying, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

1 D.A. Carson, The Intolerance of Tolerance (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012), 3.

Family Devotion: 

Materials: family Bible

Hide the family Bible, and then give your kids time to find it. If you have a competitive bunch, hide a Bible for each child. Once kids retrieve the Bible, recall the story about King Josiah.

Ask: “What were some of the reforms or changes Josiah made during his reign  as king?” The Bible says Josiah “did what was right in the Lordʼs sight” (2 Chron. 34:2). Even at a young age, in the midst of many foreign gods, Josiah took a stand for God. He did not worry about what other people thought, but he 
sought and obeyed God. Josiah tore down carved and cast images, repaired the temple, and—in the process—discovered the book of the law written by Moses.

Remind your family that as good of a king as Josiah was, even he could not keep all the commandments and neither can we. Only Jesus kept the law perfectly. Because Jesus never sinned, He is the only way to have a 
relationship with God the Father.

Ask: “Do you know friends who follow a different religion?” Talk about how following Jesus is different than following a religion. Remind your family that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).

Pray, thanking God that your family knows Jesus never sinned, and He died on the cross so you could have a relationship when you put your faith and trust in Him.