Family Time with God E-Book

David Shibley

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Seitenzahl: 79

Beschreibung

Encourage your child's walk with the Lord. With school, soccer practice, piano lessons, and grocery shopping, many families struggle to find time outside of church to teach their children how to experience a vibrant, loving relationship with Jesus. Family Time with God offers 60 short devotions for Christian parents and grandparents to read with children and help foster their love for Christ. Each devotion contains - a verse to memorize, - a simple message, - a thought-provoking question, and - a closing prayer. The practice of family devotions is a small investment that yields valuable, eternal dividends. Use this book to bring blessings to you and your family for years to come.

Leseprobe

BroadStreet Publishing® Group, LLC

Savage, Minnesota, USA

BroadStreetPublishing.com

Family Time with God: 60 Bible-Based Devotions for Parents and Kids

Copyright © 1981, 2008, 2021 David and Naomi Shibley

978-1-4245-6314-2 (faux leather)

978-1-4245-6315-9 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Stock or custom editions of BroadStreet Publishing titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, ministry, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email [email protected].

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To Tomorrow’s Christ-Followers

CONTENTS

A Word to Parents and Grandparents

WHAT GOD IS LIKE

God Made the World

God Made You

Our Great God

God Is Love

God Is Holy

God Is Our Father

God’s Son Is Jesus

In Our World

GOD’S RULES FOR A GOOD LIFE

No Other Gods

No Idols

The Name of the Lord

Keep the Sabbath Holy

Honor Your Parents

Respect Life

Adultery

You Shall Not Steal

Tell the Truth

You Shall Not Covet

WHY JESUS CAME TO EARTH

Sin and God’s Love

Baby Jesus

Jesus as a Child

Jesus Did Wonderful Things

Jesus Died for You

Jesus Is Alive!

Jesus Is Coming Back

The Only Way to God

Jesus Is Lord and Savior

Jesus Prays for You

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

GOD’S SPIRIT

Love

Joy

Peace

Longsuffering

Kindness

Goodness

Faithfulness

Gentleness

Self-Control

HOW TO MAKE GOD HAPPY

Faith in God

God Has a Family

Talk to God

God’s Letter to You

Tell Others

HOW TO LIVE

The Poor in Spirit

Those Who Mourn

The Gentle

Those Who Hunger for Righteousness

The Merciful

The Pure in Heart

The Peacemakers

Those Who Are Persecuted

IMPORTANT WORDS

Repentance

Salvation

Reverence

Obedience

Forgiveness

Love

Disciple

Christianity

Victory

Acknowledgments

Appendix 1: What Christians Believe

Appendix 2: Favorite Bible Stories

About the Authors

A WORD TO PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS

This book is the result of our own needs as new parents. When our sons were young, several excellent family devotional materials were available; however, we searched high and low for a book that combined Scripture memorization, brief stories, simple catechisms, conversation starters, and short prayers, all while reinforcing the basic truth of the gospel. We also needed a devotional resource that featured a workable, flexible system. In your hands is the book for which we had searched. And through our frustrations, failures, and victories, we arrived at five basic principles that we’re convinced are valid:

Brevity is key. When it comes to communicating faith to young children, several brief doses are usually best. Our adult attention spans are sometimes short but imagine how much shorter they are in children! For this reason, we’ve kept each session no longer than five minutes. The strength of family devotions lies not in length but consistency.

Repetition is vital. The parents of Israel were commanded by God to reinforce his truth to their children at four natural points during the day: “These words which I command you today shall be in your heart; you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:6–7). The repetition of a specific truth at spaced intervals produces solid results, so we’ve strategically divided the book into seven sections composed of several smaller sessions. Each session presents one major truth that is designed to be read and reinforced for one week.

Families today are incredibly busy, and we don’t “walk by the way” anymore. Most of us drive—to school, soccer practice, or other activities, which is another reason we kept these devotions brief. The verses and key truths can be repeated and reinforced in the daily routines of dining together, traveling together, getting ready for the day, and ending the day.

Teach the essentials. We live in a culture that has cut loose from its Judeo-Christian moorings and is consequently drowning in a sea of subjectivism. However, we know that right living stems from right thinking, which is why the content of these devotions is strong in basic Christian doctrine, such as the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the Apostles’ Creed. The Ten Commandments provide our children the stability and direction that they need and deserve. Likewise, the Beatitudes form a basis for a life-affirming system of ethics and behavior, and the Apostles’ Creed is a clear summary of Christian belief and one of the most universal of all the church’s statements.

Perhaps no one can be more successful in relating foundational concepts to children than those who love them most, so parents and grandparents are encouraged to interject personal insight and applicable experiences while journeying through this book. For example, in the session “God Made You,” you may wish to share with your children how you prepared for them even before birth. Share how you prayed for them and how God lovingly answered your prayers. These are opportunities for you to impart your Christian faith to your children or grandchildren.

We are strong advocates of child evangelism since both of us came to faith in Christ early in life. We firmly believe it is never too early to share the gospel with children. Sadly, many children today are more familiar with Thor than they are with Jesus. Our children suffer not from overexposure to Jesus but underexposure to him. That’s why this book is unapologetically evangelistic in tone. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God” (Mark 10:14).

Memorize Scripture. King David affirmed, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). We’re grateful for the many translations of the Bible that are available today, and we encourage you to use the translation of your preference when memorizing verses. We grew up with the King James Version of the Bible, and that translation provided continuity and familiarity for us when relaying Scripture from our generation to that of our sons. But more important than the translation you choose is the imperative of planting God’s Word into the hearts and minds of children.

Impart life! Books provide information, but that’s not enough. Only Jesus Christ can give spiritual life. Our children and grandchildren will see him, or fail to see him, as they witness our lives. We must be ever mindful that the goal of all our instruction is for those children whom we love to experience a vibrant, living relationship with Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

We’ve known firsthand the mixture of duty and despair that so many Christian parents feel concerning family devotions, but this practice is a small investment that yields valuable, eternal dividends. And when we first began using the contents of this book in our family time, the results were so encouraging that we simply had to share them.

Our two sons were little boys when this book was first published. Now they are grown, married, and servants of Jesus Christ. We’ve also welcomed two beautiful Christian daughters-in-law and five grandchildren, and we continue to learn how to improve the efficacy of our family devotions.

We’re grateful for the overwhelming response this book has received throughout the years. Now we pray it will bring blessing to you and your family for years to come.

David and Naomi Shibley

What God Is Like

God Made the World

LET’S REMEMBER

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

GENESIS 1:1

LET’S LISTEN

Look up! God made the sun, moon, stars, and sky. Look around! God made the trees, plants, and animals. He made pretty flowers. He made food in our gardens. He made the oceans and rivers and fish in the sea. God made people too. He created the entire world. He made everything out of nothing.

Everything God made is for his glory. That means that everything everywhere was made to please God.

LET’S ANSWER

Question: Who made everything?

Answer: God made everything.

LET’S TALK ABOUT IT

Name some things God made.

LET’S PRAY TOGETHER

Thank you, God, for making everything beautiful. Help me take good care of your world. Amen.*

* Use these prayers as guides. We also suggest parents and grandparents to encourage their children in spontaneous expressions of prayer and praise.

God Made You

LET’S REMEMBER

I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

PSALM 139:14

LET’S LISTEN

After God made the world, he made a man named Adam and a woman named Eve. All the people of the world came from them, including you.

God made people so that they could love him. We call this “being made in God’s image.” This makes people more important than anything else God made.

Although we are all made in God’s image, no one else in the world is like you. God made you special, and he has something important for you to do.

LET’S ANSWER

Question: