Jesus Loves Families

Read the text and briefly discuss it together. Some discussion-starter questions are provided. Then read the closing text as a guide to your family prayer and finish by praying together and singing a hymn. We give because God gives. He wants us to be like Him (Eph 5:1). God always gives everything to everyone. If it weren’t for God’s willingness to share, none of us would have anything. It’s right to thank God for all His blessings, but He doesn’t do it because He needs our thanks. He does it because He loves. This is why, when we give, we should do it in a way no one else knows about. God knows what we do even when nobody else does. Giving secretly shows God we’re giving to make Him happy and not for selfish reasons. God loves it when we share what we have with others. What kind of giving makes God happy? He likes it when we give quietly and generously, not being stingy, and when we give without expecting anything back. How should we give? We should give with love, freely, and as much...

Read the text and briefly discuss it together. Some discussion-starter questions are provided. Then read the closing text as a guide to your family prayer and finish by praying together and singing a hymn. The church is a big group of family and friends who love to learn about Jesus and share His truth. We believe in telling the truth about everything, especially the Bible, and in doing everything we can to stick together in unity. It's like playing a game where you have to follow the rules (truth) and also play nicely with everyone (unity).  Being dedicated to truth and staying together in unity can be hard because we all disagree about something. Imagine if everyone had to agree on everything! That would be like saying everyone has to like the same color or food. That's never going to happen! But there are some big rules, like believing in Jesus as the only possible Savior from sins, that everyone should follow, and if someone doesn’t follow those big rules like it, they’re n...

Read the text and briefly discuss it together. Some discussion-starter questions are provided. Then read the closing text as a guide to your family prayer and finish by praying together and singing a hymn. Be careful how you judge if someone else is right or wrong! In Matthew 7:1–6, Jesus teaches us about how not to, and how to judge rightly. Read the passage together now. We all have to decide what's right or wrong all the time, even if it's hard. If you want to be a good person, you need to know what's good and what's bad so you can make the right choices. Jesus said, “Don't judge others, or you will be judged too.” But he also said more about what He meant: 1. God will judge you the same way you judge others, so be fair and merciful. 2. Don't speak judgment against someone if you do the same bad things. First, stop doing the bad, yourself, and then, it's okay to tell them they're doing something wrong. 3. Be careful who you try to help. Some peo...

Read the text and briefly discuss it together. Some discussion-starter questions are provided. Then read the closing text as a guide to your family prayer and finish by praying together and singing a hymn. There’s an old saying attributed to the minister, John Wesley (1703–1791), “ In matters of faith, unity. In matters of opinion, liberty. In all things, charity.” That may be a little hard for some of our littlest ones to understand, so let’s say it this way instead: “In things the Bible commands, we should all agree. In things, we just think on our own; everyone can have their own ideas. And in everything, we should always be loving." I've heard this a lot over the years in sermons and Bible classes and have come across it in my readings. Even though these words aren't in the Bible, word for word, anywhere, they are biblical ideals. The Bible says we should all agree about the Lord’s commandments. It also says we can have different opinions about things He hasn’t require...

Happiness is something everyone wants in marriage. Ask anyone, and they’ll tell you! We all know what we want for the most part, but that doesn’t mean very many of us know how to get it and keep it. The truth is that having a happy marriage, just like being happy in general, doesn’t come from trying to have a happy marriage. If your priority is your marriage, it will become an idol, and all idols will eventually disappoint. Only God can be your highest priority if you want life to yield the fulfillment and contentment and, yes, happiness you seek, and the only way to make God your highest priority is to trust Him. If you don’t trust God (that He loves you and will help you, not hurt you—that His will, as revealed in Scripture, is 100% true, good, right, and reliable, and that it will bless you, not curse you), then you won’t prioritize His will and obey it. Instead, you’ll prioritize and obey whatever you do trust in. The problem with that is that nothing you trust in other than God ca...