Posts made in February, 2016

February 28

God, tell me a story about…prayer

Psalm 86

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Phillipians 4:6

Questions

1 – What is prayer? Why do we pray? What should we pray about? What do you pray about?

2 – What is a psalm?

Read Psalm 86

3 – When you read through Psalm 86, what do you notice? Does it sound like a prayer? What does David, the writer of this psalm, ask for?

4 – In KidVenture we talked about how our prayers needed to be honest, continuous and humble. Look at psalm 86 and find three different verses that show us that David (the writer of the psalm) was praying humbly.

This week’s challenge

Dig into the Psalms. The psalms are quite varied, some express joy, others express fear or anger. Some of them praise God while others foretell Jesus’ coming. There are a few things they have in common, one thing is that they are all written to God, they all express/communicate thoughts, emotions, needs to God. In other words, they are all prayers.

This week, take some time to read a couple different psalms. Maybe your parents have a favourite psalm, ask them to share it with you. After you’ve done that, put pen to paper and write or draw something to God. Remember that prayer is communicating with God, it does not have to be spoken word.

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February 21

God, tell me a story about…prayer

Nehemiah

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Click here for a simple, easy to read, version of the story. 

Click here for a video of the story. 

Of course, older kids can read Nehemiah’s story in the Bible, he has his own book, called Nehemiah.

Questions

1 – Nehemiah learns that the wall surrounding Jerusalem is broken, which means that his family is no longer safe. This news makes Nehemiah sad, what does he do next? (Nehemiah 1:4-11)

2 – Nehemiah decides to ask the King for a favour, to be allowed to go home to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall. But, before he asks, what does he do? (Nehemiah 2:4b)

3 – When people were making fun of Nehemiah for his efforts, what did Nehemiah do? (Nehemiah 3:4-5)

4 – When Nehemiah’s enemies were trying to harm him and trick him, what did Nehemiah do? (Nehemiah 6:9)

5 – We see in this story that Nehemiah prays often, he listens to God and talks to God. How much time do you spend with God, listening to Him and talking to Him?

Nehemiah’s story helps us see that serving God isn’t always easy but we can trust in God and trust that God hears our prayers.

This week’s challenge

This week try to spend more time listening to and talking to God.

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February 7

God, tell me a story about…animals

Balaam and the Talking Donkey

Wealth and honour come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.

1 Chronicles 29:12

Read Numbers 22: 1-38

1 – Why was the King of Moab afraid of the Israelites? What was his plan to get rid of the Israelites? Was it a good plan? Why or why not?

2 – Balaam asked God a question, what was God’s answer? Did Balaam listen to God’s answer? Have you ever asked God a question? Did you listen to the answer? Why is it important to listen to God and follow His directions?

3 – Balaam did not want to obey God. Have you ever disobeyed? Why?

4 – God has the power to control everything and everyone. Think of some of our recent stories. How did God show His power to Noah? to Jonah? Why did God not just stop Balaam from leaving?

5 – Although God allows Balaam to leave home and head to Moab, He still shows Balaam that He is in control. What does He do? (verse 22-29)

6- Was Balaam expecting his donkey to talk? Why not? God’s message does not always come from expected places or people, so it’s best to keep our eyes and ears open at all times.

This week’s challenge

Sit down together as a family and play your favourite board game. Try playing with everyone following the rules and play again with everyone making up their own rules. Which way was better?

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January 31

God, tell me a story about…animals

The Lost Sheep

“And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.

Matthew 18:13

Read Matthew 18:10-14

Or click here for an animated version of the story.

Today we look at one of Jesus’ parables. This is our first parable of the year, so let’s review what a parable is. A parable is a teaching aid or a word picture that Jesus used to aid in His work here on earth. Jesus used things that were familiar to people at that time so that they could understand the lesson. An “earthly story with heavenly meaning”.   If He were to tell a parable today it would probably be linked to technology since that’s something WE’RE familiar with.

Questions

  1. Who do the sheep in this story represent?
  2. Who does the shepherd represent?
  3. How many sheep did the shepherd have in this story?
  4. Why did the shepherd look for his lost sheep?
  5. What did the shepherd do when he found the lost sheep?
  6. Why would God celebrate when he finds one of us who are lost?

Bonus Stuff

This video helps us see why Jesus chose to use sheep in his story, rather than chickens or pigs.

And this video is a song which was once commonly sung in children’s churches. It does remind us that we are like sheep and God is our shepherd.

 

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