June 7 - God Has a Plan For Your Life

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1 June 7 - God Has a Plan For Your Life Scripture for the Week: Proverbs 4:25-27 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Take heed to the path of your feet, then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. Kid (and kid at heart) Game: Count the number of left turns and right turns from one place to another. Each person can choose to count left turns or right turns. Discussion: Did you turn left or right more often? If you gave someone directions and changed the numbers around, would they end up in the right place? God has a purpose and plan for your life. When you follow where God leads, you arrive where God wants you to go. The Bible tells us to stay on the right path, not veering to "the right or the left" (Proverbs 4:27). God's plan offers direction for our lives. So, what should we do if we lose our way or go down the wrong path? Adult Activity: After reading the scripture answer the following questions. If possible, write down your answers and discuss them with others. Think about a time when you were off the path of God s plan for your life. What were the activities, situations, people, place, etc., that led you off the path? How did you notice that you were off the path? What were the signposts telling you that you were on the path? What did you do to get back on the path? Now think about a time when you really felt on God s path What were the activities, situations, people, place, etc., that got you on the path? How could you tell you were on the path then? How do you tell now looking back? What were the signposts telling you that you were on the path? What did you do to stay on the path? Where are you now? What are the signposts saying? What turns do you need to make this week? Write the answer to the last question in short-sentence form on a post-it. Put it somewhere you will see it daily this week. Pray: Pray for God's guidance as you try to choose the right path.

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5 June 14 You Are Made Unique: Personality and Abilities Scripture for the Week: Psalm 139 For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed. Kid (and kid at heart) Game: Observe the color and type of your vehicle (blue SUV, red van, yellow car). When you see similar vehicles on the road, call out "eureka!" ("I found it!") Discussion: Talk about the differences (age, wear, dents) among vehicles. Each has characteristics that make it unique. Like vehicles, no two people are exactly alike. Psalm 139:14 says we are "fearfully and wonderfully made." Discuss some of the differences between people, emphasizing God's unique design. Identify two unique personality traits or abilities for each family member. Adult Activity: As adults, most of us are required to write a resume or CV at some point. We are taught to sell ourselves and show how we stand out. One of the goals is to show our unique and valuable experiences and characteristics. While often stressful because of the job search, it is a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge our uniqueness. Without the stress of a job search, let s get a piece of paper and do a resume to get the job of being you in God s Kingdom. (Here is the exciting part: you already got the job!!!) Come up with some bullet items for the following categories: Objective: Be the person God has created me to be and follow the plan for my life. Experience(s): Previous Jobs (done with God): Education (what lessons has God taught me): My Strengths: My Weaknesses: Affiliations: You get the idea. Have fun with it and add other headings as you want. In the end, notice that your gifts, abilities, and experiences are unique. That makes you valuable to God and to the Kingdom! Pray: Thank God for the ways He has made you and your family members unique.

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8 Psalm 139:14 R C O P D K C Y H O B C X W Q F M H B N C A A I K N Y O J H E M A D E N G S N X D N I K Q G G I M D L X G E X D B M Q L Y R O T E Q X M B E C Q M X H D X B D T E N D R F Z X A O C F E B D X B T F C U A H P L E S P R W V F U M E X M A A Q L M D B S E L I I L S L G I R K L Q Q V L C K E Y L I Y U Q F A A P Y H T W N I F B A D R O S H O O N R F W S G C Y R Q R P N Y L L U F R A E F M N P A Z J L Q H E Y R Q C O T Y W P Y U F C C M X B L E Z Q J L E AND FEARFULLY FOR GOD I MADE PRAISE PSALM WILL WONDERFULLY

9 June 21 Family Devotion: God's Glory Can Shine Through You Play: On a sunny day, hand each of your children a piece of white paper, folded in half, with a loving message drawn or written on one half inside. Without unfolding the paper, have them hold it up to the window to allow the sun to shine through it. Ask them to describe the message they see. Talk: Just like the sunlight illuminates the message, allowing it to be seen, God's love lights up our lives and allows others to read a message about His love. God wants others to see the good things we do and recognize His influence in our lives (Matthew 5:16). How can we let others see His love when we're at the park, at school, in our neighborhood? Pray: Ask God to let others see His message of love shining through your words and actions.

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12 June 28 Other Gifts From God for Your Life Play: Take turns leading the game "Who Am I?" Give clues about a family member while others guess who you're describing. Talk: Just like we know that people in our family have certain characteristics, people who might not know us so well recognize us by our unique qualities. God wants us to be recognized as Christ followers. Through the Holy Spirit, God produces nine characteristics in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). By them, people can recognize us as part of His family. What are some ways that you show the fruit of the Spirit in your daily life? Pray: Ask God to help you display the fruit of the Spirit with excellence. Each day write down how you live each of the fruits of the Spirit on this chart. Share it with the family each night.

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15 July 5 Family Devotion: God Wants to Use You Now Play: Play a game of "I spy" focused on small items that do big or powerful things. For example, in a car someone may "spy" keys, the radio knob or a power window button. Talk: The things you spied are small, but they cause big things to happen. Small things can have a big impact. Jesus was only 12 years old when He astonished the religious leaders with His knowledge. David was a young man when he defended God s people and defeated Goliath. When we depend on God, neither size nor age matters because He is at work in us (1 Timothy 4:12). What are some big things you can do or have done by God's power? Pray: Thank God for using you to do great things because He is powerful.

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18 July 12 You Are Made Unique: Spiritual Gifts Romans 12:6-8 Common English Bible (CEB) 6 We have different gifts that are consistent with God s grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. 7 If your gift is service, devote yourself to serving. If your gift is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. 8 If your gift is encouragement, devote yourself to encouraging. The one giving should do it with no strings attached. The leader should lead with passion. The one showing mercy should be cheerful. Play: Giving only one-word clues, take turns describing your best-ever birthday gifts. "Soft," "furry" and "animal" might be clues for a favorite teddy bear. As each clue is given, guess the gift. Or Take turns deciding what each of you is best at doing? Who is the best jumper, speller, spinner, runner, colorer, cooker, etc. Talk: Birthday presents can remind us of special gifts we receive from God. Our friends and family give us birthday presents because they love us. God also loves us and gives us spiritual gifts. Those gifts might include a variety of talents and passions, such as hospitality, teaching, leadership or service. Spiritual gifts aren't necessarily something we're born with; they are special abilities that God gives us. We each have different gifts (Romans 12:6), and God wants us to use them to help others. Which spiritual gifts has God given you? Talk about possible ways of using your gifts to help other people. Pray: Thank God for giving us each special gifts. July 19 Family Devotion: You Can Bless Others Play: Using the letters of each person's name, give compliments that begin with each letter. For example: Sam could be S-weet, a-wesome, m-arvelous. Talk: Compliments are one way to bless others. Ephesians 4:29 says our words should build up others. When we are mad at someone, we sometimes say unkind things, but the Bible teaches us to bless people even those who hurt us (Luke 6:28). Just as we thought of kind words to describe members of our family, we can find ways to build others up and bless them. Who would you like to bless through kind words? Pray: Ask God to help you use your words to bless others by encouraging them.

19 July 26 Family Devotion: You Can Work as a Family to Serve Others Play: In one minute, name as many parts of a car, and what they do, as you can (headlights give light so we can see where we're going, wheels hold up the car and help it move forward, etc.). Talk: The Bible says that the body of Christ the people who serve God is made of many parts (1 Corinthians 12). Each part is designed by God with a particular purpose. Just like different parts of our car work together to help it run, we can combine our unique talents and abilities to serve others as a family. In 1 Peter 4:10, the Bible says, "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others." How can our family work together to serve others in our church and community? Pray: Ask God to help you see the needs around you and respond as a family who serves others well.

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