Devotions

Jesus Heals a Blind Man - John 9:1-41

Jesus heals a man who was blind from birth. To heal him, Jesus makes mud with spit and dirt and rubs it on the man’s eyes. Some people are amazed, but the religious leaders get mad and ask questions about the healing. Everyone learns that Jesus has the power to heal.

Through the Week

• Think of someone you know who’s sick.

• Talk about some ways you could encourage that person, such as making a small gift.

• Say a prayer for that person at mealtimes or as you’re driving around town.

• If you have the person’s phone number, send him or her a few brief texts or fun pictures throughout the week.

Talk About This…

• Tell about someone who helps you feel better.

Watch and Discuss

Today we’re learning about a man who was blind. But with Jesus’ help, he could see! Jesus has the power to heal. Let’s look at this story from his perspective.

Watch “You’ll See.”

• What do you think it would be like to be blind?

• When the blind man could see, he saw Jesus! If you could see for the first time, what would you want to see first?

If you’ve been able to see your whole life, you might take it for granted. But when you see our Bible story from the blind man’s perspective—when he goes from total blackness to seeing light and shapes and finally to seeing clearly—you can see how amazing it is that Jesus has the power to heal.

Digging Into the Life of Jesus. Copyright © Group Publishing, Inc. Permission to reproduce granted for local church use. 

Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman - Luke 13:10-17

One Sabbath (God’s special day), Jesus heals a woman who can’t stand up straight. The religious leaders get mad at Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. Jesus says that helping others on the Sabbath is the right thing to do. Jesus does what’s right—no matter what.

Family Together Time

Have some fun as a family. Take a mystery trip to remember that Jesus knows the right thing to do, and he helps us know—and do—the right thing, too.

Go for a family walk or drive.

Give two people each a coin, and have them flip the coins just before arriving at each corner or intersection. 

If both coins are tails, go left. 

If both coins are heads, go right. 

If one coin is a tail and one is a head, go straight.

Talk about how the coins showed you the right way to go. Then talk about how Jesus shows us the right thing to do: Share God’s love.

Talk About This…

When (if ever) is it okay to break our family rules?

Watch and Discuss

In today’s Bible story, Jesus healed a woman even though some people thought he shouldn’t heal anyone that day. Jesus knew the right thing to do was to heal her, so he did! Jesus does what’s right—no matter what.

Tell about a time it was tempting to do the wrong thing. Share your own example first.

Sometimes, the wrong thing to do is so much easier! Jesus wouldn’t have had to deal with all that criticism if he hadn’t healed the woman! But he did the right thing even though it was a hard choice. Let’s watch a video where a boy has to make a choice.

Watch “Do Right.”

What options did the boy have in this video?

Why do you think he chose to return the wallet?

It was definitely tempting for the boy to take the wallet. He did at first! There was a lot of money in there, and most of us would love to have a lot of money. But it would’ve been wrong for him to keep money that didn’t belong to him. Instead, he did the right thing and returned the wallet. When we’re having a hard time doing the right thing, we can turn to Jesus. Jesus does the right thing—no matter what.

Digging Into the Life of Jesus. Copyright © Group Publishing, Inc. Permission to reproduce granted for local church use.

Jesus Forgives a Woman

John 8:1-11

Some men catch a woman doing something wrong and decide to punish her by killing her! Trying to trick Jesus, they ask Him what to do. Jesus tells them whoever hasn’t sinned can be the first one to hurt her. They all leave without hurting her, and Jesus forgives her.

Through the Week

•     During your kids’ bath time, use shaving cream to write or draw on the tub or shower wall. Then wash the shaving cream away, or

•     Write in the steam on the bathroom mirror and watch it disappear, or

•     Use a white board marker or chalk paint pen on a white board, glass or mirror.

•     Talk about how erasing what you write/draw reminds you that Jesus forgives.

Pray and thank Jesus that he forgives us

Talk About This…

•     Tell about a time you asked someone to forgive you. How did you feel afterward?

Discuss and Watch

In this Bible story, Jesus forgave a woman when everyone else wanted to punish her. Jesus forgives us, too!

•     Talk about a time it was really hard to forgive someone.

Forgiving can be hard! Let’s watch a story about a boy who had to decide whether to forgive his younger brother.

Watch “Philip and Timothy’s Story.”

•     Do you think Timothy deserved forgiveness? Explain.

Philip said, “Carrying a grudge is like carrying an anvil on you. Eventually, if you carry it for too long…you’re going to fall on your back and it’s going to crush you. It’s easier to just let it go, move on.”

•     Talk about a time holding on to a grudge made it feel like it was going to crush you.

Philip also said, “You want to forgive people because if you don’t forgive them, they can move away from you. You’ll have a very bad relationship with them, and that can end up hurting you.”

•     Explain whether you agree that not forgiving someone can hurt you.

Timothy said it felt really good to be forgiven. But it felt good for Philip, too! We can feel good knowing that Jesus forgives us. And we can feel good when we show Jesus’ love and forgive other people.

Digging Into the Life of Jesus. Copyright © Group Publishing, Inc. Permission to reproduce granted for local church use. 

Disciples Argue About Who Will Be the Greatest

Matthew 18:1-6; Mark 9:33-37; Luke 9:46-48

Jesus’ disciples argue about which of them is the greatest. Jesus tells them that the way to be first is to take last place and serve others. He points them to a child to show what great humility looks like. That’s how Jesus shows us what it means to be great.

Through the Week

Watch for opportunities to serve each other without anyone knowing.

Look for servant things to do like setting the table or feeding the dog, and try to do them secretly before someone else can.

At dinner, share ways someone served you that day. Talk about how to humbly say thank you when someone compliments you for doing good.

Talk About This…

Tell about your favorite way to serve others.

Watch and Discuss

We’re learning that Jesus shows us what it means to be great. Being great means serving others rather than trying to impress others. Let’s watch a video to see a father doing something pretty great.

Watch “A Father’s Love.”

What acts of greatness did the father in this video do?

Tell about a time someone did something to serve you. Share your own example first.

In our video, the father wasn’t worried about being the best or the greatest. He was focused on serving his son so that Patrick could show his talents. The way this father acted is a great example of what Jesus meant when he talked about being last in order to be the greatest. Jesus shows us what it means to be great.

Digging Into the Life of Jesus. Copyright © Group Publishing, Inc. Permission to reproduce granted for local church use.

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-15

A crowd of over 5,000 has gathered to hear Jesus speak. Jesus’ disciples think they should send everyone home to eat. Instead, Jesus does the unexpected. He takes five loaves of bread and two fish and turns it into enough food for everyone—plus leftovers!

Family Together Time

Have some fun as a family. Try this surprising experiment to remember that Jesus does the unexpected.

Put a new, unwrapped bar of Ivory brand soap on a large paper plate.

Cut the soap into four pieces.

Put the plate of soap in a microwave for one minute, and watch what happens. Wow!

Take the plate out of the microwave and let the soap cool for about 30 seconds before touching it.

Compare what you expected to happen and what actually happened, and discuss how that reminds us that Jesus does the unexpected!

Talk About This…

Unexpected things are also called “surprises.” Tell about a surprising thing that happened to you and whether or not you liked it.

Watch and Discuss

When Jesus made enough food for everyone out of just a little food, it was totally unexpected!

What would you expect to happen if there was a huge crowd of hungry people and just a little food?

We’re going to watch a video where unexpected things happen. Get ready…you won’t know what to expect!

Watch “That’s Backwards!”

Which part of this video was the most unexpected?

How would you react if you saw one of those things happen in real life?

The things in this video were unexpected…but they were all just camera tricks. Playing normal, everyday stuff backwards made it look really cool and unexpected. But what Jesus did was no trick. He really did the unexpected! He really made a ton of food out of just a little bit! Jesus did the unexpected.

Digging Into the Life of Jesus. Copyright © Group Publishing, Inc. Permission to reproduce granted for local church use.

Parable of the Good Samaritan

Luke 10:25-37

Jesus tells a story to show that Jesus-followers care for others. In Jesus’ story, a man is hurt on the side of the road, but two people just walk on by. A third man helps the injured man and gets him to an inn where he can receive care.

Through the Week     

Challenge everybody to do one of the following to build empathy for people in need. Choose something that’ll take you out of your comfort zone, such as

take a cold shower

sleep on the floor with no pillow

skip a meal

eat lunch alone

Pray for people who need care. Think about the activity you chose as you pray.

At the end of the week, tell each other how it went. Remind your family that Jesus-followers care for others—especially people in need.

Talk About This…

Tell about someone who’s cared for you.

Watch and Discuss

If you fell down and skinned your knee, who would you expect to be the first person to run right over and help you?

Now think about this. Who would be the last person you would expect to run over and help you if you skinned your knee?

We’re learning about a man in the Bible who helped someone in an unexpected way. Let’s watch a video that tells his story in a funny way.

Watch “The Good Samaritan.”

The Jewish man who was hurt in this story probably expected that the priest and the Levite would have stopped to help him. They were also Jews like him, and they were considered leaders. So it was surprising that they didn’t help the man. The Samaritan man who did stop to help was the last person the Jewish man would have expected to help him. As the donkey in the video explained, the Jews and the Samaritans didn’t get along. But the Samaritan helped the man anyway and made sure he had good care.

When you see someone who needs help, how do you decide if you’ll help that person or not? Does it matter if you know the person or not?

What’s an example today of a “good Samaritan”?

We’re learning that Jesus-followers care for others. Jesus didn’t show love only to people who were his friends or who were like him—he loves everyone! When we’re friends with Jesus, we have that same love for people, too, and show care for others as a way to let them know the love of Jesus.

Digging Into the Life of Jesus. Copyright © Group Publishing, Inc. Permission to reproduce granted for local church use.

Jesus Is Transfigured

Matthew 17:1-13; Mark 9:2-13; Luke 9:28-36

When Jesus takes three of his disciples up a mountain, his appearance changes. His face and his clothes shine bright. Moses and Elijah also show up. Then God speaks and declares that Jesus is his Son. For the first time, the disciples see that Jesus is God.

Family Together Time

Have some fun as a family. Play this guessing game to remember that Jesus is God.

Get some modeling dough or putty.

Have one person use the dough or putty to make an impression of something in the room—such as a toy or wall texture—while everyone else leaves the room.

Everybody can come back and look at the impression. Then they’ll look around the room and try to guess what the impression was made from.

Play again, letting each person have a turn making an impression in the dough.

Talk about what the dough showed about the things it was pressed against and what amazing things Jesus shows about God.

Talk About This…

The disciples learned something new about Jesus.

What’s something new you can tell your family members about you?

Watch and Discuss

Tell about a time you saw something that no one else around you saw—like you saw someone famous walk by and no one else did. Or you saw a shooting star and no one else did. What did you see?

As we think about what we see that others don’t, have you ever wondered what animals see that we might not see? Like, do they see things just like you see them? Well, our video today helps us get an idea of what animals see. Let’s check it out!

Watch “Revealing Images.”

Which surprised you more—the way birds see or the way dogs see—and why?

What do you think was surprising about the way the disciples could see that one day on the mountain?

The disciples had heard Jesus say that he was God, but this was the first time they could see it with their own eyes! It must have been amazing! And it might have been hard for them to describe what they saw to others who weren’t with them. Even though they had heard what Jesus said, now they could see with their own eyes that Jesus is God!

Digging Into the Life of Jesus. Copyright © Group Publishing, Inc. Permission to reproduce granted for local church use.

Jesus Walks on Water

Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21

While the disciples are out in their boat, they see someone walking on the water toward them. They think it’s a ghost, but it’s Jesus! Peter gets out on the water with Jesus but starts to feel scared and sinks. Jesus saves him, because Jesus calms our fears.

Through the Week

Cut pieces of duct tape to look like waves. Blue duct tape looks great, if you have

Have family members each tape the pieces to the bottoms of shoes they’ll wear a lot this

Walk on water! Wear your shoes and walk on the

Whenever you see the waves, pray and remember that Jesus will calm your fears.

Family Discussion

What fears would you like Jesus to calm this week?

Watch and Discuss

Sometimes when we try something new, it feels scary—like the first day at a new school, tryouts for a sports team, or visiting a new church. Share about a time you felt nervous or a little scared about trying something new.

Today we’re learning that Jesus calms our fears. Let’s watch a story about a girl named Amara and see how Jesus calmed her fears.

Watch “Amara’s Story.”

God provided Copper as a friend who could help calm Amara’s fears. When has God used a friend—whether a person or an animal—to help calm your fears?

It’s great to know that Jesus can use friends—and even animals—to help us when we’re feeling nervous or afraid. Jesus calms our fears in a lot of different ways!

Digging Into the Life of Jesus. Copyright © Group Publishing, Inc. Permission to reproduce granted for local church use.