Faithful Families Resources August 3 2014

All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the prosperity of your children. Isaiah 54.13

Family Closeness

Game:

Alphabet Scavenger Hunt

A race to see who can find an object inside  or outside the house beginning with every letter of the alphabet.

Sharing:

Would you rather…

(this one can be used to explore a variety of different options…would you rather…)

• eat a cockroach or a mouse,
• would you rather have the same meal everyday that you choose or have someone else pick
• your meals for you.
• would you rather be really really tall or shorter than average.
• If you could change your name what would you change it to…use your imagination it could be anything.

 Story

With your family read Mathew 14.22-33

Questions for Discussion:

• What was Jesus doing up on the mountainside? When do you take time to listen and pray to God?
• When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water what did they think?
• Why do you think Peter thought he could walk on water? What made him start sinking?
• What did the disciples call Jesus when he hopped back in the boat?
• What does this story tell us about Jesus? What does it tell us about Peter?

Prayer and Celebration

Weaving Prayer into Daily Life

Last week the practice of building prayer into the routines of life was discussed. Here is another idea along the same line but from a slightly different angle. As children grow there are many habits we want them to learn, that we hope might become automatic in their life, such as washing hands before meal or brushing teeth. Years and years of doing these activities hopefully ingrain the habit for life. In the teaching of these habits is an opportunity to remember God and to prayer. When washing a toddler or young childs hand before a meal take the time to say a prayer out loud. This could be a memorised prayer or it could be a line of scripture like – Psalm 51.10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Service Projects 

 Service Project for Families with Teenagers and Young Adults 

• Coach a sports team for young children
• Speak out about social issues in your community
• Use more indepth skills to create items for people in need

 Bonus Family Activity

Camp Out Night

If you own a tent, pitch it in the backyard one night and take the family out there to sleep. Do some fun things like story telling and board games. Do all the things you would do camping out.

  

(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.) Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning.