Baton Pass – “Work with your Hands”
Research shows that parents are the single most influential factor in a child's faith. 82% of kids whose parents talk about and practice faith at home go on to follow Jesus as adults, compared to 36% whose parents simply bring them to church. Alabaster Kids is one hour a week. You have the rest. We want to help you make the most of that.
Big Idea: In the beginning, there was work! God worked, delighted in it, and made us in his image to join him in caring for and building up his world. Work isn't a necessary evil. It's one of the ways we love God and our neighbors.
Paul's next instruction in 1 Thessalonians 4:11 is "work with your own hands," so our elementary kids went all the way back to Genesis 1–2 to see how God thinks about work. God worked for the joy of it and called it good. Then he gave people a job description: fill the earth, shape it, and care for it, with one day in seven set apart for rest. Our toddlers heard the story of the Tower of Babel, where people worked hard for the wrong reason: to make themselves great instead of God. Taken together, the lesson is that work is a good gift, and it's at its best when it honors God and helps people flourish.
Discuss: Try these discussion questions one night, spread across morning breakfasts, or return to them on the go in the car this week.
What work did God do in the beginning, and what did he think of it?
He made everything and called it good. God enjoys his work, and he made us to enjoy ours too.
What's one job you do, at home or at school, that helps someone else?
Setting the table, feeding the dog, and helping a friend with homework all count. Small jobs help the world thrive.
What was different about the work at Babel and the work God gave Adam and Eve?
The Babel builders worked to make themselves look great. God gave Adam and Eve work that cared for his world and the people in it.
Practice & Pray
Let your kids interview you about your work this week.
What do you do? What do you enjoy about it? How does it help people? What's hard about it?
Then pray this week's memory verse together: "Establish for us the work of our hands" (Psalm 90:17).