Many Christian families want to have a time for family devotions, but not all Christian families do. Part of the reason is that Mom & Dad are simply unsure of where to start, what to say, or what topics to discuss. That's the reason I wanted to add this resource. Each week I'll add this discussion guide, which will be based on the sermon for that Sunday. If you miss the sermon, you can download the audio right here on our site. The reason I'm doing this is that I want to provide you with a tool that will help you have a daily time together as a family-talking about God's word, discussing what it means, and praying together. This guide is simply an outline for you to help 'jump start' your family devotions.

If you're just getting started with family devotions, let me give you a heads-up; sometimes your children will not respond very well and you'll be done in a few short minutes. When that happens, don't worry about it. Pray together and be done. On the other had, there might be times when you find yourself involved in a lengthy conversation with your child about God's word. Enjoy those precious times together, seize those opportunities to train your child in the way he should go!

More than anything else, I hope this tool encourages you to pray together DAILY as a family. It's so important that your kids realize that being a Christian isn't just something you do on Sundays, but something you do every day. If you have any questions, or need any help at all, don't hesitate to call me!

Randy

Family Bible Study Guide

"Walk Worthy of the Calling"

May 3-8

Monday:

1. Read Ephesians 6:10-11 together.

2. Explain that the Bible presents our Christian walk in military terms, i.e., that we are fighting a spiritual battle.

3. Make sure your child understands that the battle is spiritual, not physical; that we are fighting to be holy and to live the life God has called us to.

4. Help your child understand that God wants us to walk in victory, and that the verses we'll study this week show us how to do that.

5. Pray together, asking God to help us be good soldiers for Him, and asking Him to protect us as we fight our spiritual battles.

Tuesday:

1. Ask, "Have you ever felt like you didn't have the strength to do something that you needed to do?"

2. Help your child see that there are times we feel that way spiritually, too.

3. Read Ephesians 6:10 together. Help them understand that God doesn't want us to fight in our own strength, but to fight in His strength.

4. Help them see that we are "in Christ", and since we are, we have access to His strength. When we call on His name, and ask Him for help, He gives us the strength we need to fight.

5. Pray together, thanking God for the strength He provides, and ask Him to help us walk in His strength.

Wednesday:

1. Show your children some pictures of Medieval Knights, and the armor that they wore.

2. Help them see that God has provided armor for us to wear as we fight our spiritual battles.

3. Read Ephesians 6:11 together, noting the phrase "armor of the Lord."

4. Lead your child to understand that just as we fight in God's strength, we are protected by God's armor. His righteousness and His salvation protect us from our enemy.

5. Pray together, thanking God for His armor, and asking Him to help us to always wear it.

Thursday:

1. Remind your child that serving Christ is a spiritual battle. Help them see that if there's a battle, then there must be an enemy.

2. Read Ephesians 6:12 together.

3. Lead your child to understand that our enemy is the devil, not people. We shouldn't get mad at people, we should get mad at the devil.

4. Help your child understand that the devil is crafty/sneaky, that he tries to trick us. Remind them of the importance of knowing God's word so we won't be deceived by our enemy.

5. Pray together, asking God for wisdom and protection in facing the enemy, and ask Him to help you stand against the devil.

Friday:

1. Explain to your child that when there is a battle there are winners and there are losers.

2. Lead them to understand that Jesus has won the victory for us, and so we can walk in His victory.

3. Read Ephesians 6:13 together, noting that the Bible says that we can withstand the enemy (have victory over him).

4. Lead your child to understand that as followers of Christ we can walk in victory; this is accomplished by believing what God's word says about us, and taking hold of it in our lives.

5. Pray together, thanking God for the victory. Ask Him to help us walk in that victory and be obedient to Him.

Saturday:

1. Review the lessons from this week, answering any questions your child might have.

2. Remind your child that tomorrow is the Lord's Day, and that it's very important that we're in the Lord's House on the Lord's Day.

3. Pray together, asking God to bless our services tomorrow.

April 26-May 1

Monday:

1. Discuss the jobs/chores that each family member has in the home.

2. Explain that God has jobs for each of us to do, as well; and explain that nobody is too small to do their job.

3. Read Ephesians 6:1-3 together.

4. Ask, "What is the difference between obeying and honoring your parents?" Help them see that 'obedience' deals with our outward action while 'honoring' deals with our inward feelings.

5. Lead your child to understand that God isn't just concerned with what we do outwardly; it's important to Him how we feel inwardly.

6. Pray together, asking God to help us do our jobs as Christian family members, and ask Him to help us to feel the right way inwardly, and not just do the right things outwardly.

Tuesday:

1. Read Ephesians 6:1-3. Remind your child of their God-given responsibilities (honor & obey)

2. Ask, "Why should we honor and obey our parents?" Explain that scripture gives us 3 reasons to do so.

3. First, we should honor and obey because it's right. Discuss some things that are the 'right' thing to do. Help your child see that honoring and obeying mom and dad is just as 'right' as the things you discussed.

4. Second, we should honor and obey because it is scripture. Read 2 Tim. 3:16 together. Help your child see that all scripture is given to us by God, and so all scripture should be obeyed.

5. Third, we should honor and obey because it's in our best interests. Help your child see that you've 'been there' before, and you've learned some things that can help them.

6. Pray together, thanking God giving us these guidelines to live by, and ask Him to help us live up to them.

Wednesday:

1. Ask, "What is the job of your parents?" Read Eph. 6:4 together.

2. Help your child understand what mom and dad's job is; to shape a child's will through training, and to shape a child's mind through teaching.

3. Help your child see that your first priority as their parent is to be obedient to what God is asking of them.

4. Lead your child to understand that your rules are part of God's plan for their lives, part of 'shaping their wills.' Help them see that the reason you have family Bible study is because you are trying to shape their minds through scripture.

5. Pray together, asking God to help your family be obedient to what God wants you to be. Ask Him to help you grow closer together, and to become a family that glorifies and honors Him.

Thursday:

1. Read Ephesians 6:5-9

2. Ask, "What is God asking of employees?"

3. Help your child see that God expects Christian employees & employers to work in such a way that He is honored and glorified.

4. Lead them to understand that when we're obedient to what God is asking from us, people are able to learn truth about Him.

5. Encourage your child to pray for you as you work, that you'll glorify God.

6. Pray together, thanking God for supplying our needs, and ask Him to help us to demonstrate Him well to the world.

Friday:

1. Remind your child of the instructions we've talked about this week.

2. Talk about how difficult it is to obey these commands.

3. Help your child see that this should point us to the gospel; as we see the difficult commands God has for us, we're reminded that we are unable to perfectly keep God's commands, and that we need a Savior.

4. Remind your child that Jesus is our savior, and that our hope of salvation doesn't come from how well we live, it comes from trusting in the work of Christ alone.

5. Pray together, thanking God for the gospel; thank Him for His mercy and grace, and ask Him to help you as you try to walk worthy of the calling.

Saturday:

1. Review the studies from the week. Answer any questions your child might have.

2. Remind your child of the importance of being in the Lord's House on the Lord's Day.

3. Pray together, thanking Him for all He's done for us, and ask Him to bless our services tomorrow.

April 19-24

Note: This Sunday's sermon dealt specifically with the roles/responsibilities of wives and husbands. As this isn't a topic that is terribly applicable to children, the focus of the Family Bible Study Guide this week will center on understanding how God uses things to demonstrate truth about Himself.

Monday:

1. Read Psalm 19:1 together.

2. Ask, "How do the heavens declare the glory of God?"

3. Help your child see that all creation points us to God, teaches us things about Him.

4. Explain that God not only uses creation to teach us about Himself, but He's also chosen to use other things as well, called 'types.' Tell them that this week, we'll talk about some of the types in the Bible, and see what they teach us.

5. Pray together, thanking God for revealing truth about Himself to us, and ask Him to help us continue to see truth about Him in the world He created.

Tuesday:

1. Read Ephesians 4:1 together. Explain that 'walking worthy' doesn't mean we try and earn anything from God, it means that we live in gratitude for what He has given us.

2. Help your child see that one of the ways we walk worthy is by demonstrating truth about God, i.e., showing, by our lives, what God has done for us.

3. Explain that one of the ways we can demonstrate truth about God is in a marriage relationship. Read Eph. 5:22 & 5:25 together.

4. Lead your child to understand that in a marriage, the husband and wife both have specific jobs/roles that God has assigned them, and that these roles help teach us about God.

5. Help them see that the wife helps us see how good it is to follow Christ's leadership in our lives, and the husband helps us see the amazing love that Jesus has for us.

6. Pray together, thanking God for teaching us about Himself; thank Him for letting us serve Him, and thank Him for His love for us.

Wednesday:

1. Read the story of Abraham and Isaac together, Genesis 22:1-19.

2. Highlight the important parts of the story, especially Abraham's obedience and God's provision of a ram.

3. Ask, "What do you think this story can teach us about Jesus?" Help them see that the substitute that was provided (the ram) reminds us that Jesus is our substitute.

4. Lead your child to understand that Jesus died in our place, as our substitute. The ram is a picture of Jesus, and the sacrifice He became for us.

5. Pray together, thanking Jesus for being our substitute, and thanking God for reminding us of this in this story.

Thursday:

1. Read the story of the first Passover together, Exodus 12.

2. Make special note of vs13. Ask, "What does this story teach us about Jesus?"
3. Help your child to see that this story reminds us that when the blood of Jesus covers our lives, then God's wrath "passes over" us.

4. Lead your child to understand the importance of salvation, and that when we are washed in Jesus' blood, we are safe from God's judgment.

5. Pray together, thanking God for providing a sacrifice for our sins; thank Jesus for shedding His blood for us, and thank God for reminding us about this truth through this story.

Friday:

1. Discuss the Lord's Supper with your child. Answer any questions they might have about it and try to clear up any misconceptions they have.

2. Read I Cor. 11:23-26 together.

3. Help your child see that this special ceremony reminds us of the death of Jesus; it reminds us that He took our sins on His body, and that His blood washes away our sins.

4. Help your child see the parallels between the Passover in the OT and the Lord's Supper in the NT (the Passover pointed to the coming sacrifice of Jesus; the lamb that was slain in the OT reminds us of Jesus' death in the NT).

5. Pray together, thanking God for giving us ways to remember all the things He has done for us, and ask Him to help us see the importance of being obedient to His commands.

Saturday:

1. Review what you discussed this week, and answer any questions your child might have.

2. Remind your child of the importance of being in the Lord's House on the Lord's Day.

3. Pray together, thanking God for another week to serve Him, and ask His blessings on the services tomorrow.

April 12-17

Monday:

1. Discuss with your child the idea of "God's will." Try and understand their concept of it.

2. Explain that God wants us to know His will, that He hasn't hidden it from us. Read Ephesians 5:17 together.

3. Help them see that God has revealed specific parts of His will to us in scripture.

4. Lead them to understand that the first thing that God wants for us, the most important part of His will is that He wants us to be saved.

5. Read John 6:40. Discuss the importance of salvation, and the way to be saved (trust in Christ alone and turn from sins).

6. Pray together, thanking God for having a will for our lives, and for showing us that will.

Tuesday:

1. Ask, "How well would a car run if it didn't have an engine?"

2. Explain that God has given us an 'engine' to run our lives as we serve Him.

3. Read Ephesians 5:18 together. Help them see that it's God's will that we are filled with the Holy Spirit.

4. Lead your child to understand that to be filled with the Spirit means that we are walking in His power, surrendered to His leading.

5. Pray together, thanking God for sending the Holy Spirit to fill us and empower us to serve Him.

Wednesday:

1. Discuss with your child how kids grow into the image of their parents by taking the habits, mannerisms and attitudes they see in their parents.

2. Explain that God wants us to become more like Him.

3. Read I Thessalonians 4:3a together. Explain that "sanctification" is a big word that means we become more like Jesus.

4. Lead your child to understand that God wants us to become more like Him; that He wants us to grow in His image.

5. Pray together, thanking God for saving us, and for helping us to become more like Him.

Thursday:

1. Ask, "What is the right response to people in authority?"

2. Read I Peter 2:13-17 together.

3. Explain that God has put our leaders into place, and that He wants us to submit to their authority and leadership in our lives.

4. Help them see that it's God's will for us to obey Him by surrendering to the leaders He has placed in our lives.

5. Pray together, thanking God for our leaders, and asking Him to help us follow their leadership.

Friday:

1. Ask, "What are some of the good things God has given us?"

2. Explain that all things God gives us are good, even the things that we might not think of as being good.

3. Read Philippians 1:29 together, noting the phrase, "granted to you..."

4. Lead your child to understand that God's will for our lives is that sometimes we face hardships. Discuss some of the benefits of facing hard times.

5. Pray together, thanking God for being so good He can use even hard things to bring us close to Him.

Saturday:

1. Review the lessons of the week, answering any questions your child might have.

2. Remind your child of the importance of being in the Lord's House on His day.

3. Pray together, asking God to bless our services at Beech Street, and pray that He'll continue to work in our lives.

April 5-9

Monday:

1. Ask your child to name his/her favorite bedtime story or fairy tale. Talk about some of the details of the story.

2. Ask them, "What if it were true? What if wasn't just a story and it really happened?"

3. Help them to see that if it weren't just a story, it would be a really big event, a huge deal in their lives.

4. Discuss how some people treat the Easter story as a fairy tale. They talk about believing it, but down deep they don't really believe it to be true.

5. Read Matt. 28:1-8 together. Lead them to understand that the Easter story is true, and since it is, it's a huge deal for us.

6. Pray together, thanking God for the Easter story, and thanking Him for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins and to rise again from the dead.

Tuesday:
1. Ask, "What is the best news you've ever heard?"

2. Explain that the word "Gospel" literally means 'good news.'

3. Ask, "What makes the 'good news' so good? (it tells us how we can have peace with God)

4. Read Rom. 1:18 & Ps. 7:11 together. Help your child see that apart from Christ, we have no peace with God, and that's why Jesus came.

5. Pray together, thanking God for the good news of Jesus Christ!

Wednesday:

1. Read Rom. 3:23 together. Ask your child, "How do we know that we are sinners?"

2. To help your child grasp the reality of our fallen condition, look together at the 10 commandments (Exodus 20).

3. Lead your child to understand that we're all guilty of breaking God's law, and that we are truly sinners who have fallen short of His glory.

4. Help you child realize that we need a Savior; and that Jesus came to be that Savior.

5. Pray together, thanking God for sending Jesus to be our savior, to save us from our sins.

Thursday:

1. Remind your child what you've discussed the last 2 days (that we are sinners who need to have peace with God)

2. Ask, "How can we have peace with God?" Read Rom. 6:23 together.

3. Help your child see that peace with God is God's gift; and that this peace is accomplished not by our good works but by the work of Jesus on the cross.

4. Read 2 Cor. 5:21 together, helping them see that Jesus took our sin so that we can be clothed in His righteousness.

5. Pray together, thanking God for the gift of salvation and for the righteousness of Jesus that can cover our sins.

Friday:

1. Remind your child of the importance of Easter, and the reality that Jesus came and died and rose again. Remind them that since this is true, it has huge implications for our lives.

2. Read Joshua 24:15 together. Help them see that the people had a choice to make; since all God had told them was true, they had to decide what to do.

3. Help them see that we have that same choice. Since we know that Jesus rose again, we've got to decide to follow Him, to surrender our lives to Him, and to be saved.

4. Encourage your child to choose to bow to Jesus as Lord and Master. Encourage them to continue to walk in obedience to Him.

5. Pray together, thanking God for the salvation He offers to us.

Saturday:

1. Review the lessons for the week. Answer any questions your child might have.

2. Remind them that tomorrow is the Lord's Day, and that we should be in the Lord's House, with the Lord's People, on His day.

3. Pray together, thanking God for all He's done for us, and ask Him to bless our services on Sunday.

March 15-20

Monday:

1. Read I Peter 1:15-16 together. Ask your child, "What is holiness?"

2. Help your child understand that holiness means more than just perfection, it also means to be set apart for a special purpose.

3. Discuss how God is perfect, and how He is 'set apart' from us, i.e., greater than we are.

4. Lead your child to understand that God demands this holiness, this "set apart-ness" from us. He demands that we live holy lives for His honor and His glory.

5. Pray together, worshipping God for His holiness and asking Him to help you be holy together.

Tuesday:

1. Read Ephesians 4:17-19

2. Ask, "What does 'futility' mean?"

3. Help your child see that Paul's point is that a life lived without focusing on Jesus, and on the things that matter eternally, is a wasted life.

4. Lead your child to understand that God doesn't want us to waste our lives; He wants us to live them for His glory, and with a focus on His will.

5. Pray together, thanking God for giving our lives purpose and meaning, and ask Him to help you focus on Him.

Wednesday:

1. Ask your child, "If we paint your room blue (or pink or camo or whatever their favorite color is), what color will it be?" Help them understand that when you take something and make it something specific (a specific color, a specific shape, etc), then that's what it is.

2. Read Ephesians 4:20-21 together. Help them see that Paul is demonstrating that, in contrast to the lives lived by those who don't know Jesus, God has created us to be holy.

3. Lead them to understand that God has done more than forgive us; He has remade us into His perfect, holy image. And since we're in that image, God wants us to live according to that image.

4. Pray together, thanking God for loving us enough to save us and remake us in His image. Pray that we'll be able to obey Him and walk in holiness.

Thursday:

1. Read 2 Corinthians 5:17 together.

2. Ask, "What does this verse mean?" (if someone is saved, they are remade, made into something completely different)

3. Help them see that when God saves us, He changes us. If we aren't changed, we aren't saved.

4. Lead your child to understand the need for repentance, for turning from our sins and turning to Jesus for salvation. Emphasize the change that God demands. He remakes us, but we're called to turn from our sins.

5. Pray together, asking God to help us turn from our sins everyday.

Friday:

1. Ask, 'How can we walk in purity?"

2. Read Ephesians 4:25-32.

3. Help them see that while God recreates us, it's our job to walk in purity, to make every effort to be holy.

4. Lead your child to understand that we have to take specific, concrete steps towards holiness. We must make the effort to be pure.

5. Pray together, asking God to help you be holy. Ask Him to help you be aware of areas in your lives where you might stumble, and to help you overcome them.

Saturday:

1. Review what you've discussed this week.

2. Remind them that tomorrow is the Lord's Day, and the importance of being in the Lord's House with the Lord's people.

3. Pray together, asking God to bless our services tomorrow, and ask Him to bless the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering.

March 8-13

Monday:

1. Read John 6:5-13 together. (if you have small children, it might be fun to have your own meal of fish and bread; use Goldfish snacks for the 2 fish, and small pieces of white bread, or even crackers, for the 5 loaves)

2. Ask your child, "What was the need that the multitude had?" (food)

3. Help your child understand that the world we live in also has a need; they need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.

4. Read John 4:35 together, highlighting Jesus' emphasis on the fields that were white unto harvest.

5. Lead your child to understand that the world the needs the good news of Jesus Christ.

6. Pray together, asking God to raise up missionaries and preachers who will share the good news with the world. Pray that Beech Street would be used by God to bring souls to Jesus.

Tuesday:

1. Review the story of the crowd being fed by Jesus. Read John 6:5 together.

2. Ask, "Why do you think Jesus pointed out the crowd's need to Philip?"

3. Lead your child to understand that Jesus has called us to feed the multitude, given us the responsiblity of feeding them with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

4. Read Acts 1:8 together.

5. Emphasize Jesus' insistence on our being His witnesses, and sharing the good news with the whole world.

6. Pray together, asking God to help you 'feed the multitude' with the gospel.

Wednesday:

1. Review the story again, paying special attention to how Jesus fed the multitude.

2. Ask, "Why did Jesus use to feed all the hungry people?" (the lunch that was brought to Him)

3. Help your child understand that Jesus will use what we bring Him-our talents, our abilities, our money, etc.-to spread the gospel all over the world.

4. Talk about the Annie Armstrong offering, and remind your child how the money is used (to fund NAMB missionaries all over North America; for online information, go to www.anniearmstrong.com)

5. Help your child see that God will take what we bring Him, even if it's a small amount, and use it to spread the gospel.

6. Pray together, asking God to help you give all that you have to Him, so that He can feed the world with the gospel.

Thursday:

1. Read John 6:12-13.

2. Ask, "Was there just enough for everyone, or was there more than enough?"

3. Lead your child to see that God is the God of abundance, not of lack.

4. Read Eph. 3:20 together.

5. Emphasize how God will multiply our efforts, and use His mighty power, to bring the gospel to the whole world.

6. Pray together, asking God to help you trust in His mighty power, and in His ability to bless you.

Friday:

1. Read John 6:13 together.

2. Ask, "How many disciples did Jesus have, and how many baskets were gathered up?"

3. Lead your child to understand that as we obey God, our needs our met.

4. Help them see that our job is to out others first. And as we do that, God will bless our obedience.

5. Pray together, asking God to help you put others first, especially when it comes to missions.

Saturday:

1. Review the lessons from this week, answering any questions your child might have

2. Remind them that tomorrow is the Lord's day, and discuss the importance of being in the Lord's house with the Lord's people.

3. Pray for our services tomorrow, especially our Annie Armstrong Easter Offering goal of $3500.