All Hands on Deck July 3

Transcription

1 All Hands on Deck July 3 Today we begin a two-month study of the fruit of the Spirit as described by the apostle Paul in his letter to the church in Galatia. The fruit of the gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Just as apples are the proof of a healthy apple tree, fruit of the Spirit is proof that we follow Jesus. These characteristics, Paul says, are signs of the Spirit s presence within us. We begin by looking at love. 1 Corinthians 13 is sometimes referred to as the Love Chapter. This chapter is part of a letter Paul wrote to the Christians in Corinth when he received word that they were struggling and arguing among themselves. Paul wrote to his friends in the Corinthian church to encourage and advise them. In the midst of and integral to this advice are Paul s thoughts on love. Love, Paul says, should be at the center of the community s thoughts and actions. Love is an essential element of a Christian s life. Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 together in the Deep Blue Kids Bible, as well as God s Thoughts/My Thoughts on page Read Love : In a letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, If I don t have love, I have nothing. Love is patient and kind; it doesn t brag or isn t jealous or arrogant or rude. Love is happy with the truth, puts up with all things, and trusts all things, and hopes for all things, and endures all things. Love never fails. When I am a child I act like a child, when I am an adult, I put childish things away. Now faith, hope, and love remain and the greatest of these is love. This week make heart-shaped sugar cookies for a neighbor. You can use a recipe or refrigerated dough from the store. Roll out the dough, and using a heart-shaped cookie cutter, punch out cookies from the dough. Before placing the cookies in the dough, sprinkle red colored sugar on top of the cookies. Once the cookies have baked and cooled, take the cookies to your neighbor. Share joys and concerns, and then say this prayer: Dear God, thank you for loving us. Help us to love others. Amen. Love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13)

2 All Hands on Deck July 10 Sometimes we equate joy with happiness and it is true that the two emotions are similar. However, if God is deserving of our joyful praise, surely that is not true only when we are happy. Even in the midst of sadness or confusion, it is possible for joy to exist as the assurance that God is with us in the midst of whatever we are experiencing or feeling. God is our God and is faithful no matter what. Now there s a reason to be joyful. In Psalms we find a reflection of the entire range of human emotion. There are psalms expressing sadness, joy, anger, happiness, despair, hope, fear and trust. The structure of Psalm 100 is typical of a song of praise. It begins with an invitation to praise, followed by reasons for praise. In Psalm 100, most of the psalm is dedicated to the invitation to praise (verses 1-4). The reason for praise is succinctly stated in verse 5; God is good and God s love lasts forever. Just five verses long, Psalm 100 contains an important reminder. God is our God and deserves our praise. What a great reason to be joyful! Read Psalm 100:1-5 together in the Deep Blue Kids Bible. Read it here. Joy : Shout triumphantly to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with celebration! Come before him with shouts of joy! Know that the Lord is God he made us; we belong to him. We are his people, the sheep of his own pasture. Enter his gates with thanks; enter his courtyards with praise! Thank him! Bless his name! Because the Lord is good, his loyal love lasts forever; his faithfulness lasts generation after generation. This week take time to praise God joyfully! Together choose your family s favorite hymn or praise song. Search YouTube for the song. Play the song, and dance and sing along. Ask your children, How does it feel to move with the music while you sing to God? Joy (Psalm 100:1-5) Share joys and concerns, and then say this prayer: Dear God, thank you for joy. Help us share the joy we have with others. Amen.

3 All Hands on Deck July 17 Today s Bible story is from a sermon Jesus preached that has come to be known as The Beatitudes. In Matthew, the Beatitudes are the beginning of a series of Jesus teachings known as the Sermon on the Mount. Although presented as one long sermon, it is more likely these teachings were gathered from many different times Jesus taught. The Beatitudes are also found in similar, though not identical, form in the gospel of Luke. In the Beatitudes, we find a description of how Jesus followers should live. We also find reassurance that when people treat us badly or when we grieve, God is with us to comfort and bless us. The way Jesus teaches us how to live is sometimes different than how the world tells us to live. This was true of Jesus followers who heard the Beatitudes originally and it is true for us today. God calls us to depend on and obey God, be humble, merciful, and pure of heart and to be peacemakers, even when the world tries to get us to do otherwise. Read Matthew 5:1-9 together in the Deep Blue Kids Bible, as well as Gods Thoughts/My Thoughts: Happiness Is a Choice on page Read Peace : Jesus taught the people: Happy are people who are hopeless because the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Happy are people who grieve, because they will be made glad. Happy are people who are humble, because they will inherit the earth. Happy are people who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, because they will be fed until they are full. Happy are people who show mercy, because they will receive mercy. Happy are people who have pure hearts, because they will see God. Happy are people who make peace, because they will be called God s children. Create Peace Rocks together. Take a walk together as a family. While you are out, look for rocks that are large enough to write or paint on. When you get back home, using paints, permanent markers, or paint pens, draw an image of peace on the rocks. Share joys and concerns, and then say this prayer: Dear God, help us be peacemakers. Amen. Peace (Matthew 5:1-9)

4 All Hands on Deck July 24 The Bible story we will use to discuss patience is one of the lesserknown parables Jesus told the parable of the unjust judge and the patient and persistent widow. Of the four gospels, only Luke tells this parable. Women whose husbands had died no longer had the support of a husband, and in the patriarchal society of the time, few women supported themselves. Judges were responsible for settling disputes between Israelites. Jesus depicts the judge in this parable as unfair and unjust. In the parable, a widow brings a grievance before the unjust judge, but he refuses to hear her case. The widow refuses to give up. Instead she is patiently persistent in approaching the judge time after time until he finally decides to hear her case. Do not give up, this parable encourages us, even when patience is required. Read Luke 18:1-8 together in the Deep Blue Kids Bible. Read Patience : Jesus taught the people through telling stories. One story he told was about a judge who did not fear God or respect people. A widow, a woman whose husband had died, kept coming to this judge asking for justice. The judge kept refusing. Finally, the judge said that even though he did not fear God or respect people, he would give the woman justice so she would stop bothering him. Jesus said to the people to listen to the unjust judge, If this judge would give the woman what she needed, won t God provide justice for his chosen people? Being patient is hard. One way to wait well is by spending time in prayer. Together this week, say the Lord s Prayer each day. You can use the version below, or the one your family knows best. Share joys and concerns, and then say this prayer: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. Patience (Luke 18:1-8)

5 All Hands on Deck July 31 In order to understand the significance of today s story, it is necessary to understand the practice of kingly succession during the time Saul and David lived. When a new king took control, it was common practice for him to kill the previous king as well as all of the previous kings sons and grandsons. The idea behind this practice was that it prevented one of the previous king s heirs from rising up and claiming a right to the kingship. Although it would have been cruel, it would not have been thought unusual for David, once he became king, to kill all of Saul s heirs. Saul and three of his sons died in battle. Another of Saul s sons was killed in the establishment of David s kingship. One of Saul s sons, Jonathan, had been a close friend of David. Jonathan helped David escape when Saul was trying to kill him. Jonathan and David made a covenant together. According to the covenant, David promised to show loyalty to Jonathan s descendants. David had promised never to be cruel to Jonathan s family. Read 2 Samuel 9:1-13 together in the Deep Blue Kids Bible, as well as the note Sailboat:Kindness on page 359. Read Kindness : David showed kindness to Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan. Jonathan was David s best friend and Saul s son. David had promised Jonathan that he would take care of Jonathan s family. David called for Mephibosheth to come to the palace. Mephibosheth did. David offered to return to Mephibosheth the fields which had been taken from Saul and told him that he would be welcome at David s table for all meals from now on as a member of David s family. Show kindness this week by being secret helpers! Challenge your family to secretly help each other this week. Maybe you secretly leave a nice note for your spouse. Maybe your child secretly unloads the dishwasher. Together see how many ways you can show kindness. Kindness (2 Samuel 9:1-13) Share joys and concerns, and then say this prayer: Dear God, Help us to always show kindness to everyone. Amen.