Clean Pennies, Clean Hearts

YOU WILL NEED: A few dirty pennies, some hot sauce, a Bible.

NOTE: If you don’t have these items, you can do the following to make the same point: Make a mess and clean it up. There are number of fun ways to do this—Play in the mud outside, have a shaving cream fight, have a paper-wad fight, fix a meal together or cookies (it always makes a mess in my kitchen!) or just jump in when someone accidentally spills their milk. Then begin at the DISCUSSION section below.

STEP 1:

Set out several dirty pennies on a plate.

STEP 2

Pour hot sauce on the tops of all but one of them.

STEP 3

Wait about four minutes and then wipe and wash them off.

STEP 4

Compare the pennies to the one you didn’t put hot sauce on. Do you see the difference?

DISCUSSION

A person who has given his or her life to Jesus has been cleaned from their sins. Their sins are gone just like the dirtiness that we just cleaned up. But this doesn’t mean that they will be perfect. When a Christian does something wrong, even though he is already saved, he still needs to ask for forgiveness. Why? Not to go to heaven. Someone who is saved is going to heaven and nothing can change that, but to have a good relationship with God.

Think of it this way: Let’s say one day you punch your brother (or sister) in the nose.

ASK: Are you still part of the same family? Of course. When you give your life to Jesus, you become a part of God’s family and nothing can change that.

ASK: So if you do something wrong, are you still a part of God’s family? Of course—just like you would still be brother and sister and part of the same family, even though you did something wrong.

ASK: But if you punched your brother (or sister) in the nose, would you be right with them? No You punched him in the nose!

ASK: So what would you have to do to get right with each other? Say you’re sorry. When you do wrong things in life, even though you’re still going to heaven, you still need to ask for forgiveness (say you’re sorry) to clean up your relationship with God.

Read 1 John 1:9

This verse will tell you what to do when you do something wrong.

PRAYTake Family Prayer Requests. Then pray and thank God for providing a way to take your sins away—to be forgiven.

Breakfast Bites

Is everyone a child of God?  (No. Everyone is a creation of God, but the Bible says that only those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord are God’s children.)

How do you think a person becomes a child of God?  (By giving their lives to Jesus.)

Read John 1:12

This family devotion is from:

72 Family Devotions for Spiritually Training Your Kids
ON SALE for $5.99. Regular price: $9.99 USD. Nonfiction.
Featuring 72 action-packed, easy-to-lead family devotions. Set aside a night or two each week for a “special time” where you and your kids can have family fun together and learn valuable lessons from God’s Word. No advanced planning is needed. Anyone can do this. The ebook contains devotions concerning a variety of topics including salvation, fear, trust, sin, forgiveness and much more.

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