Table Of Contents - Focus On The Family

on-the-go devotions Body of ChristThe Church as Branches on the Vineof Jesus ChristThe Church as Sheep ofthe Good ShepherdThe Church Rescuedby ChristPlay: Have each person write or draw as many different types of fruitas he can in one minute. When done, cross off any fruit that is common (more than one person has it). See who came up with the mostfruit that no one else mentioned. Then do the same for the parts oftrees and finally for types of vines.Play: Have one child face awayfrom everyone else. Then haveeveryone else shout, “Baa! Baa!”while a parent quietly instructsthe child to do something or tomove to a particular spot. (Withonly one child, have loud musicreplace the baaing.)Play: Ask each family memberto choose a made-up superheroname and explain what superhero powers he has. Have otherssuggest a crisis and let eachsuperhero demonstrate how hissuperhero powers can solve thecrisis.Talk: In order to follow theinstructions, the child had to listen for the parent’s voice andblock out the other sounds. Wehave to do the same thing withJesus. In the Gospel of John,Jesus tells us that His followersare like His sheep. Jesus’ followers know Him, and they hearHis voice ( John 10:14,27), evenwhen there are a lot of noisesaround trying to get their attention. When we hear His voice,we are better able to follow Him.How do you listen for Jesus’voice so you can follow Him?Talk: For thousands of years,all of humankind was in crisis, and we needed a superhero.We were trapped by our ownsins. Even when we wanted todo good, we often chose to sininstead. We became slaves tosin. That’s why Jesus came downfrom heaven and rescued Hischurch. He set us free from oursins ( John 8:35-36). Those Hehas saved, His church, are freeto love and serve God and others.What makes Jesus the superheroover all superheroes?Talk: God made every part of a tree for a purpose. The trunk bringsfood from the roots to the rest of the tree and supports the branchesand fruit. Without the trunk, branches have no food and they die.Grape vines are similar to trunks. In John 15:5, Jesus says that He isthe Vine and we who believe in Him are the branches. We can’t do anything without Him. Just like branches on trees, when we stay attachedto Jesus, we have what we need to live, grow and bear fruit. Thisdoesn’t mean we’ll grow peaches on our arms. It means when we follow Jesus, our lives develop good attitudes and actions. What kind offruit have you shown with your words and actions this week?Pray: Ask God to help you stay attached to Jesus, the Vine, and bearfruit that will last.—Christine St. JacquesPray: Ask God to help you andyour family hear His voice daily.—Lindsey BellPray: Thank Jesus for givinghimself up for you. Ask Him tocleanse you from sin and set youfree to love and serve Him.—Kristen Joy WilksThe Church as theLight of the WorldPlay: Have children shout,“Light” or “Dark,” to tell youwhich things are usually foundin the light or in the darkness.Use this list of ideas: colors,shadows, shapes that look different from what they are, socks,homework, fireworks, icecream sundaes and imaginarymonsters.Talk: Things sometimes lookdifferent at night than they doduring the day. Once our eyesget used to the dark, we cansee the fuzzy outlines of things,but not full colors or the sameshapes of things we can seeduring the day. We need light tosee things accurately. Believersin Jesus are the light of the world(Matthew 5:14-16). The lightdoesn’t belong to us; but we canbecome the light of the world soothers can see God’s truth moreaccurately. Otherwise, all theysee is a dim shadow of the truth.How can you shine God’s lightbefore others?Pray: Ask God to help you shineHis light today so that others cansee His truth clearly.—Christine St. JacquesFocus on the Family6

on-the-go devotionsCHRist isLORDChrist Is LordPlay: Take turns pretending todrive a car. The person “driving” tells a fantastic story aboutwhere he’s driving (through arain forest, to the moon, acrossthe desert). Who can tell themost creative story?Talk: Whoever is driving the carhas control over its speed andwhere it goes. Jesus wants tobe the driver in our lives, so Hewaits for us to scoot into the passenger’s seat and let Him takecontrol. We need to ask Himto “drive.” Philippians 2:10-11says, “At the name of Jesus everyknee should bow . . . and everytongue confess that Jesus Christis Lord.” The word Lord simplymeans “ruler” or “boss”—someone who’s in control. And thegreat news is that we can trustHim to know the right directionfor us to go and how long it willtake to get there. What are someways we can let Jesus be in control of our lives?Pray: Ask for God’s help to allowJesus to be in control of your life.—Debbie McDanielChrist Is Lord ofMy ActionsChrist Is Lord ofMy ResourcesChrist Is Lord ofMy ThoughtsPlay: Name some things thatyou can control with a remote (atoy, TV, garage door). Take turnspretending that one of you is theremote controller and the others are being controlled by theremote.Play: Name several resourcesneeded to live (food, clothing, shelter). Ask your childrento point out various businessesthat supply these resources (grocery stores, retail stores, homeimprovement stores).Play: Take turns playing a gameof “20 questions.” One playerthinks of an object. The otherplayers can ask up to 20 yesor-no questions to try to guesswhat it is. Let everyone have aturn thinking of an object.Talk: If He wanted to, Godcould control our every action,just like someone using a remote.But He doesn’t. He loves usso much that He allows us tochoose to love and obey Him.Colossians 3:17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word ordeed, do it all in the name of theLord Jesus, giving thanks to Godthe Father through him.” Whatis one thing you can choose todo today to show that Jesus isLord over your actions?Talk: Many resources help ussurvive, but God tells us not toworry about them (Philippians4:19). He is Lord over ourresources. This means He is incharge and we can trust Him totake care of us. God even looksafter small creatures. We oftensee birds, squirrels and insectscollecting food. They each havea place of shelter, which protects them from the cold andrain. God provides exactly whatthey need.Pray: Ask God to help you makegood choices as you follow Him.Sometimes, God blesses us withresources beyond our basicneeds, and He expects us touse those resources wisely. Weshould use all the things thatGod has trusted us with to honorHim. How can we honor Godwith our resources?Talk: God doesn’t have to ask usquestions to understand whatwe’re thinking. He knows usinside and out, from our favoritecolors to our greatest fears. Thatmeans Jesus knows our goodthoughts and our sinful thoughts,too. If we allow Him to, Jesuscan help us have good attitudesand think kind thoughts aboutothers. Psalm 139:23-24 says,“Search me, O God, and knowmy heart! Try me and know mythoughts! And see if there be anygrievous way in me, and lead mein the way everlasting!” Is theresomething on your mind that youneed to turn over to Jesus?—Debbie McDanielPray: Ask that Jesus would leadyou to think good thoughts.—Courtney BlackPray: Thank God that we don’thave to worry about anythingbecause He supplies all our needs.—Naomi CassataFocus on the Family7

on-the-go devotions Christ is LordChrist Is Lord ofMy WordsChrist is Lord ofMy RelationshipsPlay: Have a tongue twister contest. See who can say “She sellsseashells by the seashore” fastest without making a mistake. Ifthat’s too easy, try “The sixth sicksheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.”Play: Take turns creating an outrageous scenario about choices,using “What if” questions: Whatif elephants chose to live in theocean? What if all dogs decided tostart walking backward? Have funanswering what might happenin each situation. To finish thegame, ask your kids, “What ifall your friends started wearinggreen shirts with purple stripes?Do you think you’d want to wearshirts like that, too?”Talk: Sometimes, we really needto think about what we’re saying.That’s particularly true of tonguetwisters—but also in situationswhen we’re angry or annoyedwith someone. Ephesians 4:29says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of yourmouths, but only what is helpfulfor building others up.”Unwholesome talk can beunkind, greedy or proud words,and it can hurt those around us,but kind and gentle words canencourage others. Jesus wantsto help us build others up, so Heoffers to be Lord of all we say. Hedoesn’t take over and speak forus as if we’re puppets, but Hewill give us wisdom so we knowthe right things to say. How canyou encourage someone withyour words today?Pray: Ask God to help you useyour words for the good of others.—Debbie McDanielFocus on the FamilyTalk: Most of us like to fit inwith our friends. When wespend time with people, theycan influence what we do or whowe become because we oftenstart to talk and behave likethem—whether we want to ornot. The Bible says, “Do not bemisled: ‘Bad company corruptsgood character’ ” (1 Corinthians15:33). We should choosefriends who will encourage usto become more like Jesus. Howcan we know whether someoneis a good or bad influence on us?Pray: Ask that God would giveyou the wisdom to know how tochoose good friends.on-the-go devotionsCoMFoRtGod Comforts Us byErasing SinGod Comforts Us byTaking Away GuiltPlay: Take turns making a meanface at another person. Thenhave the second person “erase”the other person’s meannesswith an imaginary eraser as themean face turns into a smile.Play: Take turns pretendingyou are a monkey trying to pulla banana from a jar. A parent’shands can form the “jar” aroundyour wrist. As long as you keepyour hand in a fist and hang onto the imaginary banana, youare captured. If you let go ofthe banana, your hand will slideright out.Talk: When we hurt a person welove, we often wish we hadn’tdone it. We mourn or feel awfulabout what we did. Then we saywe’re sorry and ask that person’sforgiveness. When the personforgives us, it is like he or sheis “erasing” our mean action.Just like we sometimes hurt thepeople we love, we also hurtGod when we sin. But when weconfess our sins to God, He forgives us through Jesus (1 John1:9). We mourn our sin andthen find comfort in Jesus as He“erases” the sin from His memory(Hebrews 8:12). Do you need toask God to forgive you for something today? He has a big eraser!Pray: Ask God to help youremember to seek His forgiveness whenever you sin.—Chris BrackTalk: Sometimes when we dosomething bad, we have a hardtime forgiving ourselves, and wecan’t let go of the horrible feeling about what we’ve done. Thatfeeling is called guilt. The Bibletells us that when we confess oursins to God, He takes away theguilt, too (Psalm 32:5). But justas the monkey has to let go of thebanana in the jar to go free, wehave to let go of our guilt to befree. We have to trust that Godhas truly forgiven us. Do youremember a time when God tookaway your feelings of guilt?Pray: Ask God to help you trustin His forgiveness when youmess up.—Chris Brack—Jill Waltz8

on-the-go devotions ComfortGod Comforts UsWhen We MournGod Helps UsComfort OthersPlay: Have your children writethings they need to remember (homework, chores, sayingthank you, etc.) on sticky notes,then stick the notes on eachother. Ask them each to writeone final reminder:—God caresabout you—and place it overtheir own heart.Play: Say an injury (cut finger, etc.) while tapping yourknees twice. The next personsays a way to make the injuredperson feel better (get a BandAid) while clapping hands twice.Then that person begins with adifferent injury. Keep it up untilsomeone breaks the rhythm.Talk: Matthew 5:4 tells us thatGod is with us and cares abouthow we feel. We mourn when aperson or pet we love dies. Wehurt inside because we wouldlike our loved one to be withus. In our grief, sometimes ourfriends and family can cheerus up a bit. But only God canfully help us when the sadnessrefuses to go away. Only Heknows our thoughts and sees oursecret tears. When you’re sad,how can you remind yourselfthat God cares about you?”Talk: Everybody gets hurt fromtime to time. When we scrape aknee or cut a finger, a bandageand a hug can help comfort us.But sometimes it’s our heart thathurts, not our body. Maybe afriend was unkind or the schoolday was rough. When that happens, we can talk to God aboutour troubles, and He will comfort us and help our heartsheal. Then when others havesad times, God helps us comfort them with the same comfortHe has given us (2 Corinthians1:3-4). How can you help yourfriends when their hearts arehurting?Pray: Thank God for alwaysbeing there to comfort you andgive you hope.—Alice H. Mayeron-the-go devotionscREaTiONGod CreatedDay and NightGod Created Fishand BirdsPlay: Ask your kids to close theireyes really tight, putting theirhands over their face. Countto 10, then point out how darkit is. Now, say, “Light” and askyour kids to open their eyes. Talkabout how bright the light isafter the darkness!Play: Challenge your children toname as many types of sea creatures as they can in 30 seconds.Then for round two, have themshout out every kind of bird theycan think of in 30 seconds.Talk: In the beginning, beforeGod made our world, it wasvery, very dark—just like whenyou closed your eyes and covered your face. In Genesis 1:3-5,we read that God spoke into thedarkness and said, “Let therebe light,” and there was light!God called the darkness “night”and the light “day.” God spoke,and light was created. What aresome activities that would be difficult to do without light?Pray: Thank God for making thelight and the day so we can playand learn; thank Him for thedark night so we can rest.Talk: God created the birds ofthe sky and the creatures of thesea (Genesis 1:20-23). God’screativity is unmistakable! Hehas filled the water and the skywith all kinds of animals, fromtiny goldfish to gigantic whales,from colorful toucans to soaringeagles. After creating this assortment of creatures, God saw thatthey were good and blessedthem. How can we show Godthat we are thankful for the birdsand fish He has created?Pray: Thank God for His creativity in forming all the differentcreatures that fill the earth’s skyand water.—Courtney Black—Danika CooleyPray: Ask God to help you comfort others when their hearts arehurting in the same way He hascomforted you.—Christine St. JacquesFocus on the Family9

on the go devotions CreationGod CreatedLand AnimalsPlay: Play a game of 20 questions. Ask your child to thinkof a land animal. Other family members then ask yes-or-noquestions in order to figure outwhat the animal is. (Does it livein Africa? Is it big?) The gameends with a correct guess or after20 questions have been asked.Repeat so each family membergets a turn to choose an animal.Talk: God created all the animals on earth. Genesis 1:24-25says God made livestock suchas cows and chickens, creaturesthat move along the ground likesnakes and lizards, and wildanimals like zebras and lions.When God was done making theland animals, He saw that Hiscreation was good. Of all the animals God created, which is yourfavorite?Pray: Thank God for all of theanimals He created.God Created Our WorldGod Created PlantsGod Created UsPlay: Describe a number of living things that God has created,and ask your child to tell youwhether they belong in the sky,water or land.Play: In the car or on a walk,have your kids count how manytrees you pass in one minute.Do it again, and see if you countmore or less this time.Talk: The sky, water and landare full of living things, but thiswas not always so. Before theearth was ready to support life,God had a lot of preparation todo. This included separating thesky, water and land and placingthem in exactly in the right spots(Genesis 1:6-10). God wants usto enjoy and respect the beautiful world He has created. Whatare some ways that we can carefor the earth?Talk: Plants make oxygen forus to breathe, provide food forus to eat and add beauty to theworld. Trees provide shade andlumber to build our homes. Godcreated trees and many otherkinds of plants in order to provide for our needs—and theneeds of other living creatures(Genesis 1:11-13; 29-30). Namesome of the ways you have usedplants today.Play: Using a bottle of bubblesolution, blow bubbles into theair. See who can “catch” a bubble without making it pop. Askwhat is inside the bubbles. Is itjust air? No, breath.Pray: Thank God for creatingthe sky, water and land.—Naomi CassataPray: Thank God for creating the many different kinds ofplants we use every day.—Donna BrennanTalk: Just as we can fill a bubblewith our breath, God filled manwith His breath when He created us and gave us life (Genesis2:7). Since it’s easy for a bubble to pop or burst, it must betreated with care. In the sameway, human life is fragile andmust be protected because it’sso valuable. Of all He created,God only shared His breathwith humans, which makes usHis most special creation. Whatother things make humans different from animals?Pray: Thank God for creatingyou in a special way.—D’Arcy Maher—Juliet K. KennedyFocus on the Family10

EVaNGElisMon-the-go devotionsShare Your FaithYou Can Bless OthersPlay: Think of your favorite animal, food and school subject.Then, give your children cluesso they can guess each favoritething, one at a time. Repeat untileach person’s favorites havebeen revealed.Play: Using the letters of eachperson’s name, give compliments that begin with each letter.For example: Sam could bes-weet, a-wesome, m-arvelous.Talk: If someone asked youwhy these things are your favorites, you’d probably be ableto give them several reasons.Maybe gym class is your favoritebecause you love to play games,or perhaps pizza is your favorite food because you love all thecheese and toppings. The Biblesays we should be ready to givereasons for our faith in God(1 Peter 3:15)—just as we canexplain why we love our favorite things. Why do you have hopein Jesus?Pray: Ask God to help you toshare your hope in Christ withothers.—Crystal BrothersTalk: Compliments are one wayto bless others. Ephesians 4:29says our words should buildup others. When we are madat someone, we sometimes sayunkind things, but the Bibleteaches us to bless people—eventhose who hurt us (Luke 6:28).Just as we thought of kind wordsto describe members of our family, we can find ways to buildothers up and bless them. Whowould you like to bless throughkind words?Pray: Ask God to help you useyour words to bless others byencouraging them.—Jeannie VogelGod Wants to UseYou NowPlay: Play a game of “I spy”focused on small items thatdo big or powerful things. Forexample, in a car someone may“spy” keys, the radio knob or apower window button.Talk: The things you spied aresmall, but they cause big thingsto happen. Small things canhave a big impact. Jesus wasonly 12 years old when He astonished the religious leaders withHis knowledge. David was ayoung man when he defendedGod’s people and defeatedGoliath. When we depend onGod, neither size nor age matters because He is at work in us(1 Timothy 4:12). What are somebig things you can do or havedone by God’s power?Pray: Thank God for using youto do great things because He ispowerful.—Naomi CassataGod’s Glory Can ShineThrough YouPlay: On a sunny day, handeach of your children a piece ofwhite paper, folded in half, witha loving message drawn or written on one half inside. Withoutunfolding the paper, have themhold it up to the window to allowthe sun to shine through it. Askthem to describe the messagethey see.Talk: Just like the sunlight illuminates the message, allowingit to be seen, God’s love lightsup our lives and allows oth

Play: See who can tie his or her shoes the fastest. Talk: Shoelaces help keep our shoes on our feet. We lace our shoes so that we can be ready at all times to go where we need to go and do what we need to do. In a similar way, God’s Word tells us to be ready to share the Gospel with others (Ephesians 6:15). How can we be ready to