Family Devotionals

What you need: Small craft sticks (If you don't have craft sticks use 2 spoons, 2 pencils etc.)

What you do: Show the kids / family two craft sticks.

• Promise the kids / family that you will place the sticks two feet apart and jump over both sticks with just one jump.
• Ask the group if they think you can keep your promise.
• Jump over the sticks to demonstrate that you kept your promise.
• Move the sticks farther apart, and make the same promise. (Make sure you can jump the distance you moved the sticks so you can keep your promise.)
• Again, ask the kids / family if they think you can keep your promise.
• Jump over the sticks successfully.
• Next, move the sticks so far apart that it's obvious you can't jump over them in one jump.
• This time, don't promise to jump over the sticks.
• Ask the kids / family how they'd feel if you promised to jump over the sticks with one jump.
• Attempt to jump over the sticks.
• Give each kid / family members two sticks.
• Instruct them to figure out how far apart they can place their sticks to fulfill a promise to jump over them with one jump.
• Ask the kids / family to demonstrate their jumps.

What you say:

"Good job figuring out how far you could jump to keep your promise. When my sticks were close together, was it easy for you to trust that I would keep my promise? How would you have felt if I had promised to jump over the sticks when they were very far apart? Even if I had made a promise that I could jump over the sticks that were far apart, would you have trusted me to keep my promise? It really makes sense to only promise things that you know you can do. And yet, there are times when you and other people you know, might not keep their promises. The good news is that when God makes a promise, He always keeps it. God always does what He says He will do. God promised His people over and over that He would send a Savior to rescue them. At Christmas, God sent Jesus. He kept His promise like He always does.

"When you remember that God kept His promise to send Jesus at Christmas, it can help you have hope in any situation. Since God always keeps His promises, that means that He will always keep His promises to you. What has He promised you? He has promised that He will always be with you. He has promised that He is always working for good, even when things are hard. Because God always keeps His promises, you can have hope that God will keep those promises, too. Maybe your family was impacted by COVID-19. That might mean that your Christmas will look different this year. You might not get all the gifts you want, or you might not be able to celebrate Christmas with your family and friends like you have in the past. No matter what happens, it's important to remember that we can have hope because God keeps His promises." [Make it Personal - Share s a time when you saw God keep His promise to you when times were hard. What did He do, and were you surprised at how He did it? How did it bring you hope for the future?)

What you need: "Bookmark" Activity Page (DOWNLOAD HERE), Bibles, pencils, markers, hole punch, yarn / ribbon, decorating supplies

What you do: Look up this month's memory verse (Luke 2:11).

• Find the verse and read it out loud as a group.
• Pass out the bookmarks and pencils, one bookmark and one pencil for each kid.
• Explain to the kids that this month's memory verse is supposed to be written on their bookmarks, but there are words missing.
• Tell them that the missing words are written under each blank line, but the letters are scrambled.
• Instruct the kids to unscramble the letters to figure out the missing words.
• Punch a hole at the top of the bookmarks.
• Pass out a piece of yarn / ribbon to each kid and demonstrate how to loop it through the hole and tie a knot.
• Encourage kids to decorate their bookmark with markers and any decorating supplies you have at home.

What you say: "This verse is a great reminder that God promised to send the Messiah which means 'Savior.' Many years before Jesus was born, God promised that the Savior He would send would be a relative of King David. This verse is what the angel said when He told the shepherds that Jesus had been born. The angel was telling the shepherds that God had sent a Savior who was a relative of King David. God kept His promise because God always keeps His promises. Place your bookmark in a special place-in your Bible or a special book that you're reading-anywhere to remind you that God is a promise keeper and He is always working behind the scenes to keep His promises. Remember, no matter what happens, we can have hope because God keeps His promises."