It’s time for another fun, flexible family devotional. Your kids need to have regular exposure to the Bible at home. Our devotionals are a great way to have fun with your kids, while teaching them a Bible story and some important godly principles. It’s flexible because you get to choose which Bible story and application principle your kids need the most.
So, let’s get started!
Supplies: Bible, building blocks (or materials that could be used to build a structure)
Procedure: Choose one of the following Bible stories and application principles to teach your kids with this activity.
- Tower of Babel. Genesis 10 & 11. After the flood, Noah’s family began to repopulate the earth. Everyone spoke the same language. Eventually the people believed they could be important if they could build a tower that was high enough. They did not want God to be first and to serve Him. God was unhappy with their pride and caused them to speak several languages. The confusion prevented them from finishing their tower and the people were spread around the Earth. God does not want us to become full of pride. He wants to always be the Lord of our lives.
- Nehemiah. Nehemiah. The Jewish people had begun returning to Jerusalem after many years in captivity. They returned to a city that was basically in ruins. The city wall used to protect them from enemies was rubble. Solomon’s Temple had also been destroyed. Nehemiah, the cup bearer to the King, was one of the Jews who had remained behind in the Persian Empire. When he heard of the difficulties those in Jerusalem were having, he convinced King Artaxerxes to let him travel to Jerusalem. The King also provided materials to help in the rebuilding. Even with the King’s help though, there were men who tried to distract the Jewish people from completing the restoration of Jerusalem. The people remained focused on what God wanted them to do – even though at times it was very difficult. God wants us to do what He asks us to do. Other people may try to convince us to stop doing what God wants us to do, but God wants us to ignore them.
- Wise and Foolish Builders. Matthew 7:24-27. Jesus told a story about two men building a house. One chose to build his house on a rock – a firm foundation. Because he had chosen a firm foundation, when storms came, his house stood. The other man built his house on a foundation of sand. Sand shifts and makes a weak foundation. So when the storms came, his house was destroyed. God wants us to build our lives on a firm foundation – Him. If we choose to build our lives on the sifting sands of the world’s wisdom, we will have all sorts of problems and our lives can fall apart.
Pull out your chosen building materials and encourage your kids to start building. Have them build the structure in the Bible story you have chosen. If you chose the wise and foolish builders, have them build one house on the floor and the other on something unstable like a pillow.
As you are building (or after you are finished if they are too distracted), tell or read them the Bible story you have chosen. Discuss what the building in the story tells us about the people who were building. Talk about the application principle that goes with the Bible story you told. Discuss what those principles would look like in the lives of your kids today.
End with a time of prayer about building strong foundations in our lives on God and His Words. If you have more time, you might want to experiment with building structures with different types of foundations. Ask your kids to think of the things God might want in our strong spiritual foundations.