Easter 2018 Family Devotions
EASTER at MILLBROOK.CC/EASTER Egg Hunt (Birth - 5th Grade) Friday, March 30 5:30 PM Gym *Join us for a FREE family dinner after the Egg Hunt! Register for dinner - MILLBROOK.CC/EASTER GOOD FRIDAY - Friday, March 30 7:00 PM Worship Center RESURRECTION SUNDAY Sunday, April 1 7:30 AM Sunrise Worship 9:00 AM Connect Groups 10:30 AM One Worship Gathering
Parents, At Millbrook Kids (a ministry of Millbrook Baptist Church), we want your children to be safe, have fun, and follow after Jesus every single time that they enter our doors. However, we also want to help equip and empower your family to walk with Jesus together at home. For this reason, we have developed two devotions designed with your entire family in mind. Our desire is to help you help your children relate to the content of Pastor Philip s Good Friday message (Friday, March 30 at 7:00 PM) while also providing you with good discussion starters for talking to your children about sin, Jesus, and the gospel. In each session, we have provided (1) the main idea, (2) the primary biblical text, (3) a background section to give parents a little additional context, and finally (4) a family devotion formatted so that you can easily read the text to your children or you can paraphrase it as you see fit. We encourage you to find two opportunities during Easter week (March 25-30) to gather your whole family to grow a little closer together as followers of Jesus. Know that the leadership of Millbrook Kids will have you fervently in our prayers. Let us know of any ways that we can be of further assistance to you or your family. Grace and Peace from our Lord Jesus Christ, Ben Northcutt, PhD Children s Pastor Millbrook Baptist Church (601) 218-8204 ben@millbrook.cc
SESSION ONE I. MAIN IDEA: Jesus is fully human. II. BIBLICAL TEXT: Hebrews 4:15-16 III. BACKGROUND FOR PARENTS The book of Hebrews was written, in part, to encourage a group of ethnically Jewish Christians in their pursuit of Jesus during the second half of the first century. Though Judaism was a recognized religion within the Roman Empire, Christianity was not. As a result, Christians were suffering terrible persecution including, but not limited to, imprisonment, torture, and death. For this reason, some Jews who had become Christians were wrestling with the question of whether or not to go back to just being Jews. It is within this context that the author of Hebrews writes such instructions as So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it, (Hebrews 2:1, NLT) and... Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still today, so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. (Hebrews 3:12, NLT) In any season in which Christians are suffering and struggling to live the life of a follower of Jesus amidst temptation, pain, loss, or persecution, the book of Hebrews stands as a shining reminder that Jesus trumps everything else in life. In chapter four of Hebrews, the author has just finished giving several examples of how God s people in the Old Testament, the Israelites, failed to live up to His expectations over and over by falling to temptation and sin. In response to this, God gave us the perfect high priest in Jesus His flawless son to connect us permanently and intimately to our Father-God. However, the author also explains that God did not give us a high priest who is unable to understand the difficulties and the temptations of sin that we deal with daily. On the contrary, Jesus understands our weaknesses, because He faced all of the same sinful temptations during his time on earth but without giving in to those difficulties. 4
And so, from this text in chapter four of Hebrews we see, (1) Jesus did what none before Him could do. He repaired our connection to God by serving as God s perfect high priest, while also serving as God s perfect sacrifice. Additionally, (2) Jesus can relate to all of our earthly weaknesses, temptations, struggles, etc. because He faced the same during His time on earth. IV. FAMILY READING Do you ever feel alone in your struggles? When those in authority over you parents, teachers, etc. get on to you for doing something wrong, do you ever think, You don t understand how hard it is for me!? (Discuss a time when you felt you were disciplined by someone in authority because they didn t understand the situation.) It is natural to think that those who we are accountable to can t possibly understand our struggles: There is no way that my teachers understand the pressure to do well in school. If they did, they wouldn t be so upset about cheating on one little test, right? OR How could our parents understand just how angry our brother or sister makes us. If they did, they would completely understand why we might ball up our fist and punch them in the arm, right? One of the great things about Jesus is that not only is He our ultimate judge (no one has more authority over us than Jesus), He can also relate to every single struggle and temptation that we encounter. In fact, the Bible says that because Jesus understands all of our weaknesses, we can go to Him both for forgiveness when we disobey Him and also for help to obey Him in the future. Hebrews 4:15-16 (NLT) says, [Jesus] understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. 5
Discuss a time when you went to God looking for forgiveness and found His grace.) OR (Discuss a time that Jesus gave you the strength to walk through a difficult situation.) Ask: What is a struggle that you need Jesus to help you with today or this week? (Pray together as a family thanking God for His unconditional love and grace. Ask God to help each of you through your own struggles and difficulties. If you need a prayer guide, use the one provided below.) God, thank you for being gracious with us no matter how many times we mess up. Help us to live in the way that You have created us to live. Remind us how much You love us and continue to forgive us when we fail You. Protect us from the temptation to give in to sin. And lead us to put our trust in Jesus each and every day. In Your name we pray Amen. 6
SESSION TWO I. MAIN IDEA: Jesus is fully God. II. BIBLICAL TEXT: Colossians 2:9, 12-13 III. BACKGROUND FOR PARENTS: The apostle Paul wrote his letter to the church at Colossae, largely, to address some doctrinal issues that were popping up in that city. We don t know the exact nature of the theological problems in Colossae, because we only know what Paul wrote to correct the problems, and not a summary of what inaccuracies were actually being taught. However, from the clues that we have, it seems as if a group called the gnostics were teaching that Jesus was not really human and also that He was less than fully God. In response to this, Paul writes what we call the book of Colossians, in which he describes the various ways in which Jesus is the best picture of Father-God that we have, and how only in Him can we experience life to the fullest. It is in Colossians that we find statements such as Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation (Colossians 1:15, NLT), and If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where, Christ is... (Colossians 3:1, ESV) In chapter 2 of his letter, Paul is attempting to accomplish two goals at the same time. First, he wants to re-emphasize that Jesus is fully God and that all of God s characteristics are also found in Jesus. However, at the same time, Paul wants to remind the Colossians that it is in Jesus that their sin is removed, that they are raised to new life, and that they are able to find personal completion and satisfaction. Using the illustration of circumcision (which will not be referenced in the family devotion), Paul notes how Jesus removes our sinful nature from us and fully restores our personal relationship with God. Because of this, Jesus frees us from constantly worrying about the intricate details of religious rites. Instead, we are freed to enjoy life through our relationship with God in Jesus. The passage for Session Two of our family devotion lies right in 7
the middle of this discourse and touches on the following two ideas: (1) Because Jesus is fully God, He forgives our sin and gives us new life in Him, and (2) in Jesus, we are able to have a close, personal relationship with God. IV. FAMILY READING: This family devotion makes use of a visual illustration. You will need (1) a clear glass container, (2) a large rock that will fit within the container, and (3) one packet of powder kool-aid mix. At the beginning of the devotional time, place the rock in the glass container and then fill the container halfway with water. Do you ever feel guilty after you make a bad decision? Do you feel like your bad decisions are following around behind you? Have you ever felt like someone you wronged couldn t possibly have really forgiven you, even though they said that they had? (Discuss a time when you felt particularly guilty for disobeying God, a parent, a teacher, etc.) Because we know how hard it can be to forgive someone who wrongs us, we naturally assume that others have the same difficulty forgiving us. Despite the fact that the Bible tells us of God s forgiveness, sometimes we even doubt that God has really forgiven us. Can you relate to the following statements: Even if God says that He forgives me, surely He doesn t love me as much as He used to, right? OR Even if God forgives me and still loves me, surely He doesn t like me as much as He did before, right? Even though it is understandable to have these thoughts, the truth of the Bible tells us that the only thing that separates us from a close, intimate, loving relationship with God is our sin. Ask: What is sin? Answer: Anything we do in which we disobey or rebel from God. The Bible tells us that because Jesus is fully and completely God, when He died on the cross, He paid the price for all of our past, present, and even future sins. This means that Jesus death makes it so that if we have faith in Jesus, we never have to be separated 8
from God again, even when we disobey Him. Colossians 2:9 & 12-13 (NLT) says,...in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body You were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with Him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. What the apostle Paul is saying in this passage is that our trust in Jesus allows Him to completely remove all of our sin. (Ask one of your children to reach into the glass container and pull out the rock.) Then we are joined with Jesus in a way that cannot be undone no matter how many poor decisions we make. (As you say this, take the packet of powder kool-aid mix and pour it into the water, then stir with your finger or a spoon. Then ask one of your children to reach in and pull out the kool-aid mix. Obviously, they won t be able to do so.) Just like you can pull the rock out of the water, Jesus takes away our sin. But just like you CAN T pull out the kool-aid, no mistake or act of disobedience can separate us from Jesus. Even though there may be consequences for our disobedience, we never have to worry whether or not God still loves us or whether he still likes us HE DOES and HE ALWAYS WILL! (Pray together as a family thanking God for Jesus sacrifice and for his forgiveness. Pray for His help in trusting Him and relying on Him as we seek to follow Jesus.) *This would be a great opportunity to talk with your children about their understanding of the gospel. Please use the resource on the next page: THE GOSPEL: GOD S PLAN FOR US Feel free to remove from the booklet to keep as a reference for future discussions! 9
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The gospel is the good news, the message about Christ, the kingdom of God, and salvation. Use these prompts to share the gospel with your kids. GOD RULES. Ask: Who is in charge at home? Explain that because God created everything, He is in charge of everything. Read Revelation 4:11. WE SINNED. Ask: Have you ever done something wrong? Tell kids that everyone sins, or disobeys God. Our sin separates us from God. Read Romans 3:23. GOD PROVIDED. Explain that God is holy and must punish sin. God sent His Son, Jesus, to take the punishment we deserve. Read John 3:16. JESUS GIVES. Ask: What is the best gift you ve ever received? Say that Jesus took our punishment for sin by giving His life, and He gives us His righteousness. God sees us as if we lived the perfect life Jesus lived. This is the best gift ever! Read 2 Corinthians 5:21. WE RESPOND. Explain that everyone has a choice to make. Ask: Will you trust Jesus as your Savior and Lord? You can turn from self and sin and turn to Jesus. Read Romans 10:9-10.
MILLBROOK BAPTIST CHURCH