RESPONDING TO HARD TIMES
2022 Theme: “Doing Life with Jesus”
Week 27: Responding to Hard Times
Weekly Bible Bite: Acts 4:23-31
Video lesson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJngx1XET1Q (Family Matters – How to be Brave)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5zJ3SPs_vk (Your Kingdom Kids – Responding to Tough Situations)
Being a follower of Jesus’ isn’t always easy. Not only can it be hard to always do the right thing, but sometimes other people try to stop us. How are we to respond? The story of Peter and John in Acts 3-4 tells us how they responded. They thought it was more important to obey God than try to make people happy.
However, that doesn’t mean it was going to be easy to obey God. Which is why they prayed to be brave. They could have prayed to be protected or never to have any resistance from others, but they didn’t. They believed Jesus could come back any day (that is what he had told them) and they knew how important it was to tell others about Jesus before that happened. But to keep telling people, when others were threatening them with harm if they did, was going to be hard. That’s why they prayed that the Holy Spirit would make them brave.
Jesus’ followers in the early Church thought Jesus would come back in their lifetime and it helped them to see his mission to spread the Good News about what God had done as all important. Do we still live as though Jesus could come back any day? He could and we’re 2,000 years closer to his return than the early Church was! We should also pray that God will make us brave so that we can tell others about Jesus before he comes back. Remember, he could come back any day, but only those who already know him will go to heaven. Telling people about Jesus is too important not to!
Family goal:
Is there someone you know that doesn’t know about Jesus? What could you do to help them know how much God loves them? ______________________________
[Be sure to pick a measurable goal involving a task so that children will know when they have completed it.]
Weekly verse:
Matthew 24:44, NLT – “You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.”
Family activities:
• Colour the poster to remind you to pray to be bold.
• We don’t want to be guilty of ‘preaching at’ people, but it can be good to talk about your relationship to God with others. Practice with your family sharing about your relationship with Jesus.
• Using sidewalk chalk, create an encouraging picture for your neighbours
Prayer:
Thank you, God that we know Jesus is coming back. Help us to be brave to share the great news about Jesus, but to do so in such a way that people know we love them as much as you do.
