You will need: Lemon juice, Baking Soda, Tissue, Teaspoon measure, a clean, 16-oz bottle, Water, a Cork or something to plug the top of the bottle, Paper Towels, Tape, and a Bible marked at 1 Corinthians 15:55-57.

NOTE: For this experiment, safety goggles are recommended for whoever shakes up the bottle. During the reaction make sure the bottle is not pointed at anyone.

NOTE: If you don’t have these items, you can do a different activity that is explained in the Other Option section below:

STEP 1 -Go outside. Pour half an inch of lemon juice into a clean, empty 16-oz bottle. Then fill the bottle with water until it is almost half full.

STEP 2 – Put a teaspoon of Baking Soda into a square of tissue and fold it like a packet.

STEP 3 -Cut two strips of a paper towel and tape them to the top of a cork.

STEP 4 -Drop the packet of Baking Soda into the bottle. Put the cork in the top and tape the paper towel strips to both sides of the bottle.

STEP 5 -(Parent) Shake the bottle and stand back.

KEY—The lemon juice and the baking soda react with one another to create a power that shoots the cork into the air. In the same way that the bottle couldn’t contain this power, the grave couldn’t contain Jesus. His power was greater than sin and death. He conquered them both and made a way for us to follow Him and go to heaven forever.

Read 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

PRAY—Thank Jesus for loving you so much that He died on the cross and then defeated death and the grave to make a way for you both to go to heaven and to share in His life.

OTHER OPTION

Do this activity if you don’t have the items you need for the one above.

You will need: Several sheets of Paper

Make a paper airplane and take turns throwing it as far as you can. Also, make some paper wads and see if you can throw them further than the airplanes. There is a limit to how far both of these can go, but there is no limit to God’s power. He is all-powerful, so powerful that he defeated even death.

Read 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

PRAY—Thank Jesus for loving you so much that He died on the cross and then defeated death and the grave to make a way for you both to go to heaven and to share in His life.

 
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YOU WILL NEED: a coffee filter, lemon juice, a highlighter and your Bible.

 (NOTE: If you don’t have these items, you can do the following to make the same point: Use food items or shaving cream to make a beard and mustache on your child—it’ll make a mess on them, just like sin makes a mess out of our lives. Then see how fast they can clean up their faces. Read 1 John 1:9 and continue with the discussion below.

STEP 1

Use a highlighter to write different sins on a coffee filter.

STEP 2

Put a few drops of lemon juice on the filter and watch your sins disappear.

Read 1 John 1:9

SAY: Sin always makes a mess in our lives but if we confess our sins and tell God we’re sorry for the wrong things we’ve done, He’ll forgive us. We can’t clean ourselves up; We can’t forgive our own sins—we need a Savior. This doesn’t mean that we won’t have to deal with the consequences of the wrong things we’ve done, but when God forgives a sin, it’s gone for good.

SAY:That’s great news…and news like this ought to be shared with others. Jesus doesn’t want us to keep this a secret but to share it with the whole world.

ASK: This week who can you tell about how Jesus can forgive sins?

PRAY—List family prayer requests and pray.

BREAKFAST BITES

What do you think the world would be like if there was no sin? (We would be perfect. No one would lie or steal or cheat. You could trust everyone, etc.)

In what ways do you think sin hurts people?

Read Galatians 6:7-8

(The point of this verse is simply: what you plant in your life is what will grow in your life. If you plant the things of God, you will grow things that last forever. If you give in to sin, however, the hurt of that sin will destroy the life that God intends for you to have.)

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.

Find more family resources at 330resources.org/family.

If these resources bless you, consider supporting this ministry:

YOU WILL NEED: A non-diet can of soda, a diet can of soda, and a Bible.

NOTE: If you don’t have these items, you can do a different activity that is explained in the Other Option section below:

STEP 1: Fill up the bathtub so that the cans have enough room to sink.

STEP 2: Consider these questions…

-What do you think will happen when you put the cans

into the bathtub?

-Will they both sink?

-Will they both float?

-Will one sink and one float, and if so, which will do

what?

STEP 3: Put both cans in the bathtub. What happened?

POINT: The difference between these two cans is about half a cup of sugar.

KEY: Just a little makes a big difference. In the same way it takes just a little sin to drag a Christian down. According to the Bible, there’s no room for sin in the Christian’s life. So, have you been doing anything you know is wrong? If so, then stop doing it (repent), ask God to forgive you, and turn to follow Jesus again.

Also, just like the can that rose, Jesus rose from the dead after three days and later He ascended into heaven. That’s great news, and here’s some more great news: Those who have given their lives to Jesus can know for sure that they’re going to heaven to spend eternity with Him forever.

Read John 14:1-3

PRAY—Thank God for preparing a place for His people in heaven.

Other Option

Do this activity if you don’t have the items you need for the one above.

Make some chocolate milk where just a little powder makes a big change; or taste test some strawberries then dip them in sugar. Again, just a little makes a big difference; Or eat something that needs salt, like corn to make this same point. Then begin with the discussion below.

DISCUSSION: Just a little makes a big difference. In the same way it takes just a little sin to drag a Christian down. According to the Bible, there’s no room for sin in the Christian’s life. So, have you been doing anything you know is wrong? If so, then stop doing it (repent), ask God to forgive you, and turn to follow Jesus again.

It’s good news that God can forgive you. This is the reason that Jesus died and rose from the dead, and here’s some more great news: Those who have given their lives to Jesus can know for sure that they’re going to heaven to spend eternity with Him forever.

Read John 14:1-3

PRAY—Thank God for preparing a place for His people in heaven.

BREAKFAST BITES

What are some things that you look forward to about going to heaven? (Seeing Jesus face to face, meeting people from the Bible, living forever in God’s presence, etc.)

What are some things that you look forward to leaving behind when you go to heaven? (Fear, heart-break, sin, rejection, temptation, etc.)

Read John 14:1-6

This family devotion is from:

72 Family Devotions for Spiritually Training Your Kids
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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.

Find more family resources at 330resources.org/family.

If these resources bless you, consider supporting this ministry:

YOU WILL NEED: Green and Yellow food coloring (Red and blue will work also.); 2 cups; Water; A Bible

NOTE: If you don’t have these items, you can do a different activity that is explained in the Other Option section below:

STEP 1

Pour two glasses of water. In one put a few drops of green (or blue) food coloring. With each drop say something bad that people do (i.e., tell a lie, take something that belongs to someone else, throw a fit, disobey mom or dad, etc.) This green (or blue) cup stands for all the bad things we do.

STEP 2

In the second cup of water, add a few drops of yellow (or red) food coloring. The yellow stands for the streets of gold in heaven. (If you use red, it stands for the blood Jesus shed when He died to make a way for us to go to heaven.) This cup stands for Jesus and how He died to make a way for us to go to heaven and to take away all the wrong things we’ve done.

STEP 3

Now pour the cup representing Jesus (yellow or red) into the cup that represents our sins (green or blue). There is a big change. When someone gives their life to Jesus, there is a big change that happens because: (1) that person is adopted into God’s family, (2) they are given God’s Holy Spirit to guide and direct them, (3) they are given an eternal life that nothing can ever take away, and (4) God gives them a brand new kind of life.

Read 2 Corinthians 5:17

PRAY—And thank God for the change He can bring to people’s lives.

Other Option

Do this activity if you don’t have the items you need for the one above.

Make some cookies or biscuits and point out the change that happens while cooking. You might even want to do a before and after taste-test. Or, pop some popcorn and compare a kernel with the end result—A taste-test here is recommended only for the final product! Or, get a little messy by adding water to a nicely folded pile of toilet paper. This is guaranteed to make a change. Then begin with the discussion below.

DISCUSSION: The change you just saw doesn’t even begin to compare with the change that Jesus makes when a person gives his or her life to Him.

Read 2 Corinthians 5:17

When people are saved, they become brand new. No matter how bad they’ve been, all their sins are gone. They also become a child of God and are given His Holy Spirit. They are saved from a life without Christ as well as an eternity separated from God to a life that lives for Christ and an eternity in heaven. Isn’t God great!

PRAY—Take Family Prayer Requests. Then pray and thank God for the change He can bring to people’s lives.

BREAKFAST BITES

What are three ways that you can show Jesus’ love to others today?

What is something you would change in the world if you could? (Starvation, war, hate, racisim, etc.)

What do you think the world would be like if everyone knew and followed Jesus?

Read 2 Corinthians 5:17-21

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.

Find more family resources at 330resources.org/family.

If these resources bless you, consider supporting this ministry:

YOU WILL NEED: An old comic book r newspaper; White Silly Putty or you can make your own with the following items: A container, White glue, Liquid starch, A spoon; A Bible.

(NOTE: If you don’t have these items, you can use a mirror to reflect light with the same italicized and underlined key point below. Take turns reflecting light at different targets. Who are some people who need to see the light of Jesus?)

STEP 1

Mix two parts glue with one part liquid starch. Stir well.

STEP 2

Keep adding starch one spoonful at a time, while working it with your fingers, until it becomes a putty-like mixture.

STEP 3

Put the putty onto an old comic book or newspaper. Press down and then peel it off. What changed?

KEY: The putty didn’t show anything until you pressed it against the comic book or newpaper. Now it shows whatever words or pictures you pressed it on. In the same way, once people meet Jesus (give their lives to Him), they become a reflection of who He is. Read the verses below and think about ways you show Jesus to others who don’t know Him.

Read Matthew 5:16

PRAY—List Family Prayer Requests. Then pray and thank God that He can use you as a light to show His life and love to others.

BREAKFAST BITES

What kind of difference do you think Jesus makes in your life?

How do you think people around you every day see the difference Jesus makes?

How can you tell others about the difference Jesus can make in their lives?

Read Matthew 5:13-16

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.

Find more family resources at 330resources.org/family.

If these resources bless you, consider supporting this ministry:

YOU WILL NEED: Something to use as a blindfold and a Bible.

GET STARTED

Take turns blindfolding each member of the family and giving them different tasks to do. Tasks could include tying their shoes, making their bed, writing their name, wiping off the table, turning on the TV, etc.

ASK: How do you think it would feel to be blind?

Read Luke 18:35-43

SAY: The blind man followed Jesus and praised Him after he was healed.

ASK: What are some things that we can praise God for today? What else can you be thankful for?

Consider this: The Bible says in Philippians 4:13, “I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.” You can praise God for always giving you the strength you need to live for Him. Isn’t God great! All things are possible with God.

PRAY—Have each family member pray and tell God one thing they praise Him for.

BREAKFAST BITES

When a person follows Jesus, what are some changes He brings to his life?  (A person wants to do good instead of things that are wrong; You’ll have joy and satisfaction in life; etc.)

What are some ways you can follow Jesus this week? (Read the Bible, pray, go to church, tell others about Jesus, do what’s right, obey your teachers, help a friend who is hurting, etc.)

Read Luke 9:23

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.

Find more family resources at 330resources.org/family.

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YOU WILL NEED: A deck of cards, dominoes or blocks, a Bible.

Read Matthew 14:22-33

Make a tower or house out of dominoes. Then make a tower or house of cards. Trying blowing them down. Which one fell easier? Why?

A house of cards falls easily. The smallest touch and down it comes. This is like a Christian who doesn’t keep his eyes on Jesus. He starts looking at the things of the world or tough situations or what other people say and before long, just like Peter, he starts to sink.

The tower of dominoes, though, didn’t fall so easy. This is like a believer who trusts God and keeps his heart fixed on Him. Someone who trusts Jesus and walks with Him regardless of what happens or what people say or how bad things may seem, will have a rock-solid faith that will help them do anything God wants them to do (like Peter walking on the water).

Read Matthew 7:24-27

ASK: Which one is more like the house of cards: The man who built his house on sand or on the rock?

ASK: Which one is more like the tower of dominoes: The man who built his house on sand or on the rock?

KEY: The person who obeys God and trusts Him will have a rock-solid faith that is the foundation on which God wants you to build your life.

PRAY—Take Family Prayer Requests. Then pray and thank God for giving you a faith that can’t be shaken by the things of this world and that with God all things are possible.

BREAKFAST BITES

What do you think a person feels like when they take their eyes off Jesus? (Empty. Lonely. In trouble, etc.)

Do you know anyone going through a hard time?

If you do, or when you do, what can you do to help them fix their eyes on Christ again?

Read Galatians 6:1

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.

Find more family resources at 330resources.org/family.

If these resources bless you, consider supporting this ministry:

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.

PRAY—Take 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.

Find more family resources at 330resources.org/family.

If these resources bless you, consider supporting this ministry:

YOU WILL NEED: No items needed. A Bible.

Tell some Knock, Knock jokes and let your children also try to make some up if they want too. Here are some examples:

KNOCK, KNOCK JOKES #1

Knock, Knock / Who’s There?

-Ima / Ima Who? / Ima a really hungry. Can we order a pizza?

-Shirley / Shirley Who? / Surely you can get up and open the door!

-Dishes / Dishes Who? / Dishes the police! Open up!

-Handsome / Handsome Who? Handsome of the pizza to me!

-General Lee / General Lee Who? / General Lee I ring the door bell!

-Boo / Boo Who? / Please stop crying. I didn’t mean to scare you.

-Tom Sawyer / Tom Sawyer who? / Tom Sawyer underwear!

SAY: As Jesus was teaching, listen to what He said about prayer. Especially listen for the word “knock.”

Read Matthew 7:7-8 from your Bible.

Big Question

ASK: What do you think Jesus meant by these verses?

SAY: When you have cares and concerns, God wants you to ASK Him, SEEK Him about them, and KNOCK on “His door”. He wants you to bring your requests and your whole life to Him.

ASK: Does this mean that you will always get what you pray for? (No, because God knows best and won’t give you things that wouldn’t be good for you. You have to trust that God will answer prayers in the best way possible.)

ASK: Does God always answer prayer?

SAY: Yes. God ALWAYS answers prayer: He answers in one of three ways.

Hold up ONE finger—Sometimes God answers “Yes”

Hold up TWO fingers—Sometimes God answers “No”

Hold up THREE fingers—Sometimes God answers “Later—not right now—wait a while”

KNOCK, KNOCK JOKES #2

Tell some more Knock, Knock jokes. Here are some more examples:

Knock, Knock / Who’s There?

-House / House Who? / House it going?

-Watson / Watson Who?/ Watson TV?

-Colleen / Colleen Who? / Colleen up your room, please.

-Gorilla / Gorilla Who? / Gorilla me a cheese sandwich, please.

-Huge / Huge Who? / Huge you expect.

Yaw / Yaw Who? / Just me. Why are you so excited?

-Leena / Leena Who? / Leena little closer and I’ll tell you.

Bible Story:  Read Luke 11:1-10

SAY: The point of this story is NOT that God is like the grumpy guy who doesn’t want to get up and give his friend some bread. God loves giving us good things. The point is that God wants us to be bold and persistent—To ask and keep asking, to seek and keep seeking, to knock and keep knocking. When we pray, God doesn’t want us to give up.

ASK: Do you remember the three ways that God answers prayer?

-Hold up ONE finger—Sometimes God answers “Yes”

-Hold up TWO fingers—Sometimes God answers “No”

-Hold up THREE fingers—Sometimes God answers “Later—not right now—wait a while”

SAY: God loves you and wants to give you good things. But sometimes God will say no because what you want isn’t what is best for you. And sometimes God will answer later because the time just isn’t right yet, so we need to keep praying, keep seeking, keep knocking and trust that God knows best.

PRAYER REQUESTS

ASK: What are some things that you would like to talk to God about tonight?

Take turns praying and laying your requests before God.

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.

Find more family resources at 330resources.org/family.

If these resources bless you, consider supporting this ministry: