Practice Hospitality

We often have friends into our home for dinner and the kids are used to seeing new and familiar faces on a weekly basis. It's been neat to teach both kids how to greet guests coming into our home and making them feel welcome. For our devotional this week, we thought it would be appropriate to do a short lesson on hospitality.

Scripture: Romans 12:13-14 

Easy scripture for our 4 year old to read and the memory scripture is "practice hospitality". 

Questions we asked:

1. What does hospitality mean? It means to have people into our home to encourage them.

2. How do we show hospitality? By making a meal, by playing games, asking them questions to learn more about them, watching a show together.

3. Who have we had into our home lately? Were they encouraged? Who can we invite to our home next time?

4. Why should we practice hospitality? To encourage others and because the Bible teaches us to do so.

Fun activity:  Both kids pretended to be the host and Mom and Dad played the role of being guests to their home. Using their kitchen toys and tea set, the older kid set up the table and pretended to make food while the younger kid pretended to pour out tea. Role play was a lot of fun but at the same time, we were able to talk about some good things to do and not do when guests are over. For example. when guests come to the door, our kids like to go hide. Now they know that it is more encouraging to come and greet people at the door and if appropriate, to give hugs. When food is served, it is not encouraging to show disrespectful unpleasant facial expressions if they are unhappy with the type of food that is served. There is a more appropriate way of dealing with that situation. It was also fun to watch the kids clean up the table before setting out their toy plates and utensils. We took note of that and told them that in the same way, we should also help clean up the home when we have guests so that it won't look messy and so people won't trip over toys, etc.

Sing 2 songs

Prayer: Thanking God for all the wonderful blessing that he has given to us and that we have so much that we are able to share with others. Help us to love others sincerely just as you have loved us, by practicing hospitality. We pray hat others will be encouraged when they visit our home.

Hide and Seek

Take about 15 minutes or so to play a game of hide and seek. Then sit down and read Psalm 139 together. If your child is learning to read, point to some of the familiar words (sit, heart, dark, bed, etc.) for them to read out while you are reading the passage. Just like Mom and Dady always find you when playing hide and seek, God knows where we are at all times.

Questions you could ask:

1. Does God know you? How does he know who you are?

2. Did you know that God even knows what you are going to say next? Guess what I'm going to say next.

3. Isn't it wonderful that God knows us so well? We never have to be afraid. 

4. When we make a mistake or do something wrong, do you ever hide it from your mom and dad? God already knows and he can find us, so don't hide it. Be honest about it.

Sing a handful of songs

Pray: We thank you that you made us so wonderfully and you know us inside out. Help us to always tell the truth and to never hide anything from mom and dad. Thank you for always knowing where we are at all times so we never have to feel lost and lonely in this world. 

Comment: If your child easily gets distracted, you don't have to read the entire Psalm. Maybe pick out some key verses that you can use to apply.

Wall of Jericho

Our kids love to sing so we often start out devotionals with songs. Our 4.5 year old is good at picking out songs, so we let her do that. 

Song Recommendation: I'm in the Lord's Army

Bible Story: Joshua 6 or read the story of Joshua marching around Jericho from any Children's Bible.

Activity: We acted out the story. We took large pillows from our living room and made a wall around Daddy. Then the kids and Mommy marched around Daddy and the pillows, pretending to have horns and trumpets in our hands. While we marched for six times, Daddy would make fun of us and say that God was not with us and it was silly to think that the wall will fall down. On the 7th round, we blew our pretend trumpets and shouted as loud as we could. Then Daddy made the pillows around him fall down and the kids caught him and wrestled on the floor. We acted this out several times.

Memory Scripture: 2 Chronicles 20:15 The battle is not yours, but God's.

Lesson: Is God faithful to his promises? Did the people obey God's command to march around the city of Jericho? What happened when they obeyed? God is with us and he is bigger than any problem that we have. 

End by taking prayer requests and remembering that God is faithful and the battle is his. We can be happy about that and not be afraid.