Weekly Inspiration
They do not love that do not show their love. William Shakespeare
Family Closeness
Game:
Unlimited Object
Take an ordinary every day object, like a spoon or a hat or a pot. Take turns at imagining what else that object could be and acting it out with your family. For example a spoon might become a hat on your head, or a bicycle that you ride around the living room or a pen that you write with. You are only limited by the unlimitedness of your imagination.
Sharing:
My Perfect Room
If you could create a perfect room for yourself, what kind of room would it be? (Bedroom, Dining Room, Bathroom, Study, Play room) What would it look like inside? What things would you have inside it? Describe what you would like to do in this room? Encourage your family to use their imagination to describe it in as much detail as possible.(Icebreakers and Heartwarmers. Steve Sheely)
Story
With your family read Mathew 13.1-9
Questions for Discussion:
- What were the four places the sower scattered seed?
- What happened to the seed that landed on each of the four places?
- Why do you think the sower seems to be so careless where he spreads the seed?
- Who do you think the sower might be?
Continue reading: Matthew 13.8-23
Jesus says the seed is the message about God’s kingdom. It grows in peoples lives and bears good fruit. The fruit is the good things that come about from responding to God’s message.
- What kind of fruit (good things) might grow in people’s lives when they follow God and live His way?
Prayer and Celebration
Imagination Prayers
There are manys ways that engage the imagination of your family while praying for the needs of the world. Use this simple pattern below to begin. You might like to create new sentence starters to help your family pray for different things. Silence is a gift of God that is often pushed out in the busy and clutter of the modern world. Encourage your family to stop, be still and listen.
- I wonder who God might want me to be a friend to or to care for?
- Silence
- I wonder what God might want me to do this week?
- Silence
- I wonder whether there is any limit to God’s love?
- Silence
- I wonder what kind of person God wants me to grow to be?
- Silence
- Thank you God for seeing the prayers we offer in our hearts and minds.
Service
Service Project for Families with Primary School Aged Children
- Offer a dog wash in your church parking lot on a summer weekend afternoon
- Have families offer home care services for members going on vacation or on a business trip.
- Invite families to volunteer during a preschool Sunday school class.
Bonus Family Activity
Family History
Share some of your family history or interesting stories. Where did your family come from? Who were or are its members? What did they do? Do you know where your family name came from? How far back do you have information? If you have photos you could look at these as well.
Being a faithful family is not rocket science, it is about being consistent in the little things that will help to nurture and grow the faith of your children. When we plant a seed in the ground, we can't make it grow. But we can be faithful in doing the things that will help it, like watering and feeding. We can't make our children's faith grow, but we can do things that help it, like engaging in scripture reading, prayer, service and by being a close and loving family. Faith is a gift of God but God calls us to be faithful as parents.
May God bless you and your family this week as you seek to be faithful.
Stephen Harrison
(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison & Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.) Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning
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