God, tell me a story about…a child

David and Goliath

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6

Read 1 Samuel 17 

1 – How does the bible describe Goliath?

2 – David was Jesse’s youngest son. How many sons did Jesse have? What was David’s job?

3 – David heard Goliath call out to the Israelite army for a warrior to fight him and David saw that the Israelites were scared of Goliath and therefore would not fight him. So, David decides that he will fight Goliath. Why were the Israelites scared of Goliath? Why wasn’t David scared of Goliath? (verses 34-37)

4 – David knew God. God had been with David before. David knew that God would be on his side, he knew that this was God’s battle. This is why David was brave. And so, David accepts Goliath’s challenge with confidence. Although Goliath was big, God is bigger. What is something that you find difficult or challenging?

5 – Perhaps getting the milk off the top shelf of the fridge is difficult for you. Is it difficult for your dad? Why not? When you are faced with a problem or a difficult task remember that God is always with you (read the verse at the top of this page: Deuteronomy 31:6). And then, remember how big God is and try to see the problem or the task from God’s eyes. Hopefully this helps you see that no problem or task is too big because God is the biggest.

6 – David approached Goliath as himself, with the tools and skills he had already been given. This is important to remember. When we are faced with a problem or a challenge, God wants us to face that challenge as ourselves, with the gifts he has already given us and then to trust that He will use those gifts to do amazing things. So, how has God created you? Who are you? What are your gifts? What can you do? What can you give?

Read Psalm 139. (This was written by David) Remember that God knows you, God created you. Remember that you are able to do the things He wants you to do because He created you to do to do the things He asks you to do. And, He will be with you always.

 

God, tell me a story about…prayer

Garden of Gethsemane

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:9

Read Matthew 26:36-46 

1 – Where does Jesus go to pray? Who does He go with?

2 – How is Jesus feeling? (verses 37 and 38) What are other words we could use instead of “troubled” and “sorrow”? (check a Thesaurus)

3 – Have you ever felt troubled? (concerned, distressed, pained, scared, confused) What did you do or what do you do when you feel that way?

4 – In verse 39, what does Jesus ask for? But then, how does He end His prayer? What does that mean, “Yet not as I will, but as you will”? Have you ever ended a prayer that way? How about your parents?

5 – Why does Jesus want the disciples to pray? (verse 41) Here, the disciples have forgotten or dismissed how much they need God to strengthen them. Have you ever forgotten about this? When or why?

Read Luke 23: 32-46

6 – In His final hours, Jesus continues to talk to God, what does He say? (verses 34, 46) Does Jesus have any sins to confess? Why or why not? Is there anything that you need to confess?

7 – In KidVenture we talked about how prayer should be honest, humble and continual. What words would you use to describe how Jesus prayed?

8 – Why did Jesus die on the cross? What can you do to remember the sacrifice Jesus made? What can you do to thank Jesus for the sacrifice He made?

This week’s challenge

The snow is melting, let’s go outside. Grab a backpack and fill it up with books and go for a walk. After a few minutes, give the backpack to someone else to carry. Continue to pass the backpack until everyone’s had a turn. When you get back, talk about how when we hide our sins (or don’t confess our sins) it weighs us down, it makes us tired or makes us feel weak, just like carrying the heavy back pack. But, when we confess our sins to God, he forgives us, he takes our sins away, this gives us energy and makes us stronger (like how we felt once we gave the backpack away). Finish off by reading Psalm 32 together.

 

And, just because, here’s a video telling the story of Easter.

 

God, tell me a story about…prayer

From the Gospels

“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,”

Hebrew 12: 28

Today’s story is from The Gospels

1 – When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, what did Jesus answer? (Read Matthew 6:5-13)

Try to think back to the different things we talked about in KidVenture over the last couple weeks. We talked about how prayer is communicating (or talking) with God. We talked about how our prayers should be honest and humble. We should talk to God like we talk to our best friend or parents. Just as David did in the Psalms. Honest and humble communication brings us closer to God.

2 – In Matthew 6:5, Jesus refers to hypocrites and pagans. Were their prayers honest and humble? Why or why not?

3 – Over the last couple weeks we also saw that our prayers should include: praising God, thanking God, asking help for ourselves, asking help for others and confessing our sins. Do you recognize any of these in the Lord’s Prayer? Where?

4 – The gospels allow us to see how Jesus lived while he was on earth. There are several verses which refer to prayer. Let’s review a few of them to see what we can learn about how Jesus prayed.

– Luke 9:28

– Luke 6:12

– Luke 5:16

– Mark 8:6

When we read through the gospels we see that Jesus prayed often, he prayed alone, he prayed with others, he said short prayers and long prayers, he prayed to say thank you, he prayed for wisdom, he prayed for strength. He prayed to connect with his father. His prayers were honest and humble.

5 – What do your prayers like look?

This week’s challenge

Let’s use our bibles. Look up the verse and then draw a line to the corresponding item.

• psalm 34:1                           – Listen
• James 5:14                           – Confession
• Romans 10:17                     – Praise
• Philippians 4:6                    – Thanksgiving
• Psalm 107:1                         – Request for others
• Psalm 115:1                         – Request for ourselves
• Luke 11:28                           – Praise
• 1John 1:9                              – Confession
• Numbers 21:7                      – Request for others
• Psalm 5:3                              – Request for ourselves
• Psalm 32:5                            – Listen

God, tell me a story about…prayer

Elijah

“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Jeremiah 33:3

Today’s story is from 1 Kings 17 and 18

Click here for a short video which focuses on Elijah and the altar

Or, older kids can click here to read Elijah’s full story 

1 – What is a prophet?

2 – Our story begins with God telling Elijah to tell the king that there will be a drought. What’s a drought? Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Was the king happy to hear this news from Elijah?

3 – God then tells Elijah to leave and hide (1 Kings 17:2) and that He will take care of him. How will God care for Elijah? (1 Kings 17:4) Does Elijah hear God? Does Elijah do as God says?

4 – Elijah stayed away for three years. After three years why did Elijah return? (1 Kings 18:1) Two altars were built. One to God. Who was the other altar for?

5 – When the people prayed to Baal, what happened? When Elijah prayed to God what happened?

6 – What did the people learn that day? What have you learned from reading this story?

BONUS QUESTIONS (if you read the whole story)

7 – After awhile there is no more water where Elijah is hiding and so God tells Elijah to go to Zarephath. How does God take care of Elijah there? (1 Kings 17:9-16)

8 – Elijah stays with a woman and her boy, but the boy dies. What does Elijah do? How does God respond? (1 Kings 17:21-22)

This week’s challenge

Ask your parents to help you make it rain fire. (Click ahead to trick #5)

 

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.

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.

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?