Weekly
Inspiration
Children can
withstand a lot of pressure and trial from the outside if the home inside is
held steady by parents whose character is steady.
~ Stuart Briscoe
Family
Closeness
Game:
Five
House
One family member makes a list of five things to be found in your house. For
example: something fluffy, something you can balance on your head, something
that makes a sound, something hard, something blue, something used for cleaning.
The rest of the family must then go and find five things that match the list. The
first person back whose collection matches the list according to the list maker
wins.
Sharing:
Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.
- What is something you like about your family?
- What is something all families need?
- What is something you would like to do as a family?
Story
With your family
read: Luke 13.6-9
Questions for Discussion:
- What do you think this parable is about?
- What could the tree that produces no fruit be?
- What does it mean to have a second chance?
- Do you think the tree will produce fruit?
- What would help the tree produce fruit?
Prayer
and Celebration
We are now in
the Season of Lent, the forty days preceding Easter Day. This is traditionally
a time of repentance (saying sorry and turning from sin). The resources for
prayer and celebration for the next six weeks will focus on ways your family
might “celebrate” well this season. Lent is a
good time to focus on God’s care and provision and on our dependence on him,
but also on saying sorry.
Why do we have
“seasons” of the church year? In a wonderful way they help us to tell more
fully the story of faith, the story of Jesus. During Advent we are alerted to
the coming of Christ, not only as a baby 2000 years ago, but also of his
return. In Epiphany we become aware of the presence of God in our world and the
mission of Christ to proclaim the redeeming kingdom of God. This season, Lent,
which begins on Ash Wednesday, forty days before Easter focuses on repentance,
turning from sin, turning from self worship, remembering that God is our
creator. Lent also focuses on the covenant or promises God has made with his
people through the ages and now.
Lenten Thanksgiving Bowl
This week place a bowl in the middle of your table. Place some blank
strips of paper and a pen next to it. Each night spend some time writing things
you would like to say thank you to God for. Place them in the bowl. Smaller
children might like to draw pictures.
Prayers to use in Lent
Dear God,
thank you that your love
is deeper than the ocean
and bigger than the sky.
No matter what we do,
you still love us
and welcome us home.
Amen.
Dear God
Help us when we hurt.
Help us to know what to do.
Help us forgive.
Amen.
Service
Anglican
Board of Mission – Australia
One mission organisation in Australia that does fantastic work is ABM-A.
Their vision is: ABM wants
to see people everywhere experience the wholeness of life God offers in Jesus
Christ, and to this end support our Partners as they participate in God's
mission.
Their website is worth checking out and
in particular under their resources menu is a section called “watch” that has
videos of some of the work they do. Some of these videos would be appropriate
to show family members around the table.
ABM-A has a
Lenten Appeal every year. This year they
are supporting mission work with indigenous Australians as well as in the Philippines
and Papua New Guinea.
Family
Time
The Cross Shaped Window
You may be familiar with the segment on Play School
where children are invited to travel through the square, circle, arched or
diamond window. On the other side are some children doing something
interesting. Using cardboard and some coloured cellophane make a cross shaped
window. Tell your children that when we look through the cross shaped window we
might see the kind of world God would like us to live in. Invite your children to draw some pictures to put behind the window. What
might God’s kind of world look like? What would people be doing? How might they
be treating one another? Find some pictures in magazines that show what the
kingdom of God might be like. (Maybe pictures of people caring for one another,
seeking peace, helping one another).
(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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