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 it.
Sunday’s Big Idea
We don’t follow Jesus alone. We follow him as a family. Through Jesus, we belong to God’s household, and we get to build each other up and help each other follow him. (Toddlers through kindergarten heard the story of the first church in Acts 2, who shared their food, prayed, and cared for one another like a family.)
Memory Verse: “So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household.” (Ephesians 2:19)
Discuss
How did the first followers of Jesus act like a family? (They shared what they had, ate together, prayed, and learned about God together.)
How does our Alabaster church family do some of those same things? (Family dinners, Sunday gatherings, praying for each other.)
Who in our church family could we encourage or help this week?
Practice & Pray
In Deuteronomy 6, God told families to talk about him everywhere: at home, on the road, at bedtime, and first thing in the morning. This week, try talking about Jesus in an ordinary moment, like a car ride or a meal or try what Sarah Cowan Johnson calls a “God Hunt.”
“GOD HUNT” INSTRUCTIONS
Choose a time when all family members are present and distractions are limited. Dinnertime or bedtime work well.
Explain that we are going on a God Hunt—we are looking for where we saw God today. God can be found in so many places if we learn to look for him.
Have each family member share where they saw God that day. Maybe it was in a moment of joy, peace, love, beauty, or kindness. Maybe it was in a difficult moment that was made bearable by his comfort.
If anyone struggles to find God in their day, other family members can “hunt” with them. Rest assured, he was there.
Close the time by thanking God that he is always with us.