Hello! Today we are going to dive into JOY! There is something about this word that puts a smile on my face, gives me courage to face each day - The Joy of the Lord is my STRENGTH! Think about the power of each person living in that JOY of the Lord every day! How might our every day interactions be different?
Over-arching Fruit of the Spirit memory verse:
Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
________________________________________________________________________
GET TO KNOW THE FRUITS!
Use this to engage your young children in the content. It tends to be a younger crowd favorite, so you may want to begin each "Fruit of the Spirit" session with this song.
______________________________________________________________________
Optional memory verse:
John 15:11 - “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
__________________________________________________________________
JOY: Opening songs:
For the younger children:
For the family:
As you watch/sing-along, consider the words. Consider today's topic - JOY! How is that Fruit shown in this song? How can you see yourself bearing this fruit in your everyday life?
____________________________________________________________________
Modern illustration/introduction
For the Youngers -
For the whole family -
For the full story - go to https://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/seize-your-joy/
This is the story of a family who's 2nd child is born with a rare brain condition where she has 400 seizures a day. They come to a place where they realize they can wallow in the heartache, or choose to find joy, in the midst of the pain and trials each day. Regardless of the seizures they take a family vacation to Hawaii when their daughter is 4 years old. They were committed to making the best of their situation and living in the joy of each moment. Their daughter ended up passing away, but the legacy of joy lives on. They are finding ways to spread joy to those around them and around their community.
___________________________________________________________________
Biblical Example - Joy
Read - Genesis 21:1-7
This passage is the unfolding of God's promise to Abraham in Genisis 17, that he would be the father of many nations, that God would greatly increase his numbers. Imagine being 99 years old and God telling you that your wife (who up until this point, was unable to bear children) would have a baby. At this point in your life you might feel like that was a dream that would never be discovered. You might even feel like that promise was laughable. You probably would have felt discouraged that so much time has passed and you still have no heir. Can you imagine that discouragement they must have felt?
Yet Sarah and Abraham trusted God and He kept his promise. Again imagine the pure joy that Sarah and Abraham must have felt to hold their baby. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born. Sarah said, "God brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me."..."Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age." She was laughing with joy and thanking God for the miracle of her son. God brings joy through unexpected blessing.
I'm sure that Abraham and Sarah did not expect to go a lifetime with no children. Sometimes life doesn't go how we plan. But we have a choice, like Sarah and Abraham had, we can see how difficult things are and focus on those hard things, or we can choose joy during the struggle, looking for the blessing. God sent Abraham and Sarah the desire of their hearts when they least expected it. God honored their faithfulness.
___________________________________________________________________
Application Questions
1. How is the story of the family and the one about Sarah and Abraham alike?
2. Describe how Sarah and Abraham must have felt all those years not being able to have a baby. How might you have felt?
3. Describe a time when you had a hard time being joyful during a difficult time. How about a time you were joyful even when it didn't make sense?
4. Do you think having joy is about how you feel, or is there something more to it?
______________________________________________________________________
Family Prayer Time
Before you go into your prayer time, make a list of the blessings God has given you. What do you have to thankful/grateful for?
As you share in a family prayer time, ask God to help you have joy even when things are difficult. Thank him for his blessings that he has given you.
____________________________________________________________________
Thank you for taking the time to use this resource. If this has been a blessing to your family, I would love to hear about it! Feel free to pass this resource along to others!
Thank you,
Rachel
コメント