Devotional Guide Winter 2015-16 Every Day with Jesus
Every Day with Jesus These daily devotionals are to be given to the parents each week as an encouragement to spend time in God s Word as a family. Many families these days are pressed for time. The enclosed devotionals are short and do not take much time. Still, each one is filled with the truths of God s Word and will help both the parents and the children to understand some scriptural principles. They can learn to apply the devotionals to their daily lives. When we apply God s Word through obedience in our lives, we desire to learn more. These devotionals direct the parents to Scriptures that reinforce the principles in the Beyond Basics lessons. This will give the parents a chance to understand what their children are being taught in our church. Some of the parents might be new members and feel inadequate to share the Word. The devotionals are written in an easy way for the children to understand and the parents can easily explain them. As new Christians, their walk with God must start somewhere. There is no better place than spending time with God together as a family. How To Use the Devotionals The pages in this book are prepared for easy removal. Remove the page of devotionals for the current week. Copy the page front-to-back, one copy for each family. Make extras for visitors. Fold the pages to make a tri-fold devotional guide that fits neatly in a Bible. With Monday s, Tuesday s and Wednesday s devotionals facing up, fold the right side so that the edge of the paper is between Monday s and Tuesday s devotionals. Fold the left side so that the left edge is even with the fold on the right side. Sunday s devotional should be on the front with Friday s and Saturday s devotionals on the back. Personally give these devotionals to the parents. Explain how to use the devotionals. Encourage the parents in their faithfulness in leading their families in daily devotionals. Included is a letter to the parents explaining how to use the devotionals. Give a copy of this letter to the parents when you give them their first copy of the devotionals. It will only be necessary to give the letter the first time. Use these devotionals yourself. Refer to them in your conversations with the children. This will reinforce the unity and continuity of home and church. You will see your children s ministry become your family ministry. Volume 14, No. 2, Winter Quarter, 2015-16 Writer: Karry Irizarry Editor in Chief: Kyle Elkins, kyle.elkins@bogardstore.org Business Manager: Wayne Sewell, wayne.sewell@bogardstore.org 2015, Bogard Press, 4605 N. State Line Ave. Texarkana, TX 75503-2928 www.bogardpress.org ; www.bogardstore.org; 1-800-264-2482
Dear Parents, Each week you will receive a weekly devotional guide to read daily to your children. There is one devotional to read each day of the week starting with Sunday. God has commanded us as parents to instruct our children in His Word. We are truly living in an age when little instruction of God s Word is taught. How important it is to give them a strong foundation of godly principles. The devotionals are short and will not take much time. They are written to keep in mind the Beyond Basics lesson for each week. The devotionals will build on the spiritual concepts that students were taught in class. This will also give you, as the parents, the opportunity to know what concepts are being taught to your children. Some of the devotionals have questions. Give your children the opportunity to answer them. Some devotionals have small activities for you to do with your children. Take the time to do these. It will help children understand the Scriptures better. You may have older or younger children in your family. Include them in the devotionals that are being read. To gether you can share and grow as a family. God intended for families to be strengthened together through His Word. These small devotionals are meant to encourage each one of you as you grow together in God s Word. As you grow in obedience to the Lord and as your children grow in obedience to you, both of you will experience the love of God in your hearts. If our children see that we take an active interest in serving the Lord through one of His churches and through His Word, they will grow to do the same. 3
Monday, December 7 The Way To Do Things Read 1 Corinthians 14:40. God wants us to do things the right way. He shows us through His Word how to live. God wants things to be done decently. We should be decent in our words and actions. This means to be kind and honest with others. If we have a job to do, we should do it right and not be messy with it. God also wants us to do things in order. This means to follow instructions on how to do things. We should not make up our own rules because we are feeling lazy. God has given us His Word to show us how to live decently and how to be orderly. Daddy and Mommy have rules that we want you to follow to teach you to be decent and also to do things in order. If we did not have rules, our home would be a place that showed we do not love and respect one another. If we love the Lord, we will follow His Word. If we love each other, we will follow the rules of our home. (Pray together, praying that you will remember to follow God s way.) Tuesday, December 8 Children s Responsibility Read Proverbs 20:11. God wants us to be responsible and take care of our church and also our homes. We gather each Sunday to worship the Lord together. If we behave ourselves and listen in services, this shows that we want to do what is right. If we are trying to be good to please God, this shows that our ways are pure and right. We should keep the church building clean because this will please God. We should not leave things lying around the church building. Each time we leave, we should take all of our belongings with us. Our homes are also our responsibility. We need to work together as a family to do things right and to keep things clean. When we try our best to keep the rules within our family, it shows that we want to do what is right. A child is known by what he does. Other people will know by your actions and words if you want to follow the Lord and do what is right. (Pray together, praying for wisdom in guiding your own family to do what is right in all your responsibilities.) 5 Wednesday, December 9 Bring Glory to God Read John 15:7, 8. Jesus is telling us that we should abide in Him. To abide in Jesus is to obey His commandments. Some of the things that we can do to abide in Jesus are to pray, go to church and learn about His Word. These things will bring glory to God. When we learn to be obedient to God and when we are doing the things that His Word tells us to do, that means we are abiding in Jesus. Jesus is with us and will help us do what God wants us to do. God is glorified by our willingness to obey Him. This means that just by our doing the things that please God, we give Him honor and praise. When we try our best to please Him, we bring forth fruit. When we are obedient to the Lord, we can ask Him certain things and, if it is according to His will, it will please Him to give it to us. Our obedience pleases the Lord and through the good things we do, we give Him glory. (Pray together, praying that your lives will be pleasing to the Lord that you may ask and receive those things that are according to His will.)
Thursday, December 10 God s Greatest Glory Read Luke 2:12-14. An angel appeared to shepherds who were watching their sheep in a field. The angel came to them to make the announcement that unto them that day a Savior was born. Christ had finally come. God had sent His Son from Heaven to be the Savior of the world. After the angel made the announcement, there appeared a multitude of heavenly hosts. Angels were praising God for what He had done. Glory to God in the highest, praise God and honor Him for the great gift of His Son Jesus Christ. (Pray together, giving praise to the God of Heaven for sending His Son Jesus as a gift to us so that our sins can be forgiven.) Friday, December 11 The Glory Given to Us Read Romans 8:17, 18. When we become a child of God, we have become an heir to what God has for us. An heir is someone who will receive something that belongs to someone else. God owns everything in earth and in Heaven. God gives us some things to enjoy on earth. God wants us to become His child so that He can also share Heaven with us. Sometimes we do suffer. This means that things happen that are not right, or we may get hurt somehow. Jesus suffered by dying on the cross. Because Jesus chose to do that, He reigns in Heaven with God. If we follow Jesus and don t give up in the hard times, He will give us great rewards when we get to Heaven. (Pray together, praying that through suffering you will lean on God.) Saturday, December 12 Rewind Read Exodus 40:35. We have read Scriptures this week about God s glory and how we should give God glory. (Discuss ways in which you can bring God glory through obedience of His Word. Close in prayer.) 6 Week 1 Sunday, December 6 God s Presence Read Exodus 40:35. The glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. When the people of Israel finished putting up the Tabernacle, a cloud came and covered it. The Lord filled the Tabernacle with His presence. The Tabernacle was a special place where the Lord dwelt. The Lord was with His people because His presence was in the Tabernacle. When people trust Jesus as their Savior, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells within their hearts. The presence of the Lord is with us all the time. He loves us and wants us to love Him, also. The people of Israel showed their love to God by giving gifts to build the Tabernacle. How can we show our love to God? Going to church and reading the Bible are some ways we show our love for Him. What kinds of gifts can we give to God? To show kindness to others and to say nice things to them are gifts we can give to God. We show our love for God in the good things we do for others. (Pray together, praying that by the presence of the Holy Spirit, He will show you how to give good gifts to God.)
Monday, December 14 Thanksgiving and Praise Read Psalm 100:4. The gates about which this verse is talking are the gates to the Tabernacle. The door to our church is like that gate. This verse says to enter His gates with thanksgiving. We have so much for which to be thankful. (Let the children name things for which they are thankful.) We should enter through the door ready to give thanks to the Lord. The courts would be like our sanctuary. This is the place where we gather to learn about God s Word. The children of the Old Testament wanted a special place to go in which they could offer their worship to God. Solomon built a beautiful Temple and dedicated it to the Lord. Our church building is also dedicated to the Lord. It is the place where we can come together as God s people and give Him thanks and praise. (Pray together, praying that you will be thankful to be able to come into the house of the Lord to worship Him.) Tuesday, December 15 Declare God s Works Read Psalm 107:21, 22. We are admonished, or reminded, in this verse to praise the Lord for His goodness. Tell the Lord how good He is and thank Him for being so good to us. Can you name some things that we have that tell us that the Lord has been good to us? The Lord is full of good works. Each day He allows the sun to shine, and He allows the rain to water our flowers and gardens. He is good to us each day because He gives us life. Each new day is a chance to serve and please Him by obeying His commandments. We are to offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving. Sacrifice means to give up something. To sacrifice thanksgiving to the Lord would mean to give up our selfishness. Instead of thinking of ourselves, we need to think about the Lord and His goodness. Sometimes it is hard to be thankful and to give God the praise for things. If we learn to do these things, we will be pleasing the Lord. Being thankful and giving praise will become easier with practice. (Pray together, praying for a grateful heart for God s many blessings.) 7 Wednesday, December 16 Do Not Forget Read Hebrews 10:25. This verse tells us not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Forsake means to leave entirely. We know that God has said that He would never leave us nor forsake us. God will always be there for us when we pray to Him. Our responsibility is to show up for every church service. God wants His people to meet together to worship Him. We have a set time in which we meet to worship the Lord. This is important for God s people to do. When God s people get together, they can encourage one another to continue to follow the Lord. Sometimes being a follower of Jesus is like being a child. Because you are young, Daddy and Mommy sometimes need to remind you several times to do something or to behave yourself. Followers of Jesus need to be reminded by the Word of God and encouraged by others to continue serving the Lord. One of the ways we do this is by meeting with our church. This is also a command of God. When we continue to follow the Lord, even if we don t feel like it at the time, He will bless us. (Pray together, praying for faithfulness to continue meeting with our church.)