(A path with goodies to lead astray teaches us along with Abram and Lot to keep our eyes on God’s path.)
The Lord gave us the blueprint of His Word to architect our family on Jesus Christ.
Going through the Bible with your family…
Weekly Scripture:
Genesis 12-14
Story:
"Abram called, Abram and Lot"
Application:
Don’t be led astray, keep on God’s path.
Summary:
Abram was called by God to leave his country and go to the land God showed him. God promised Abram that He would make a great nation from him. He promised to protect and bless Abraham if he would obey. In Canaan there was a great famine, so Abram and his family moved to Egypt for food. Abram feared Pharaoh, so he told Sarai, his wife, to say she was his sister. God protected Sarai from Pharaoh. Abram and Lot traveled together with their families, servants, and livestock. Eventually their numbers became too great for one place, so Abram let Lot choose which area he wanted to live in. Lot took what he believed was the best of the land because it appealed to his eyes. Later Abram has to rescue Lot.
Focus:
We must be careful that we are not drawn away from God by things that look good, like Lot was. If we are, we must quickly repent.
Finding Christ:
The most obvious is Melchizedek who was the King of Righteousness from Salem (Peace). Christ is our King of Righteousness and He is our peace.
Live the Lesson:
You can plan this object lesson either in or outside of your home. You will need to purchase of prepare some tempting things that are not normally accessible to the child such as cotton candy (can always find this at Chuck E Cheese), helium filled balloons, etc. You will plan out a path through your home with a destination in mind. At the destination put a GREAT reward…like all the other tempting stuff together or tickets to a theme park you family plans to visit this summer, etc. Take a piece of yarn and run it from one end of the path to the other and secure it in both places.
Now at family time explain to your children that they need to follow that yarn and not be distracted by anything they might see on their way to the end of the path. You can decide whether to send one child at a time or all of them together. If any of them leaves the path to acquire the temptations, be sure to have a paper hidden under each temptation that explains the penalty they will now pay for leaving the path to acquire the cotton candy, something that is not normally their chore that will be a bit of a burden fitting for the age. Then urge them to get back on the path and leave the temptation behind (they must still take the penalty/burden with them). At the end of the path explain to them how this is like real life, we see things that appeal to our eyes and that we must place our eyes back on the goal, Jesus.
For more free resources: www.familyblueprint.org
Memory Verse:
"Cease to do evil, learn to do good." Isaiah 1:16-17
Prayer:
Dear Lord, please help us to focus on You so that we are not led astray. If we do stray, please give us a repentant heart that turns back to You.
Living the Life:
This week talk to the children about the ways we can be led astray. Explain how sweet temptation can look, but how much more wonderful is our goal.