Today is the 11th installment of 30 days of resources for your family to use to grow together. Each of our daily activities will have the following pieces:
- PLAY TOGETHER: An opportunity to have fun and do something together instead of watching Netflix.
- TALK TOGETHER: Around the dinner table or just two of you sitting on the back porch, take turns asking these questions to learn more about the other.
- ORIENT TOGETHER: In time of need we have an opportunity to renew our vision for Jesus, and pray for His work in our life and world.
We hope these resources are helpful to you as a family. Feel free to share with others as well!
Watch/Read a series – My wife and I have slowly been watching through whole movie series like Harry Potter, or Star Wars. Watch them in order and ask questions. What is the main message in the movie/book? What is good? What is bad? How does the movie point to Jesus? You’d be surprised to discover the many ties between movies and scripture.
- If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be and why?
- If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
- If you could pick the culture you were born into, which one would it be and why?
Read Exodus 9:14-16
We find ourselves in the middle of the showdown between God and Pharaoh. God’s people have been slaves for 400 years in Egypt and He is about to deliver them by sending plagues upon the people of Egypt. But was the rescue of God’s people the only reason why these plagues were happening?
The answer is no! Of course God wanted to rescue His chosen people, but it’s clear that God also raised up Pharaoh and his sorcerers in order to show the entire world that there is none like Him in all the earth. A stroll through the Bible shows that God is ultimately out for His own renown and is committed to displaying His glory throughout the nations. Check out this article for a more detailed explanation.
One major thing to point out regarding this narrative: God uses difficult and uncomfortable circumstances to show His power among the nations. Could it be that He could even use COVID-19, ISIS, refugee crisis, etc. to draw people to Himself? As you read the redemptive narrative of the Bible you find various people who were not part of Israel choosing to follow Yahweh because of what He had done among the nations.
We can take comfort during uncertain times knowing that God is radically committed to saving His people and making His name known among the nations. We might not understand why God is doing all that He does in this life but we can trust Him. Why can we trust Him? Although God’s power is undeniably seen in the speaking of the world into existence, or the plagues that befell Egypt, or the splitting of the Red sea, it is most correctly seen in the incarnation. Jesus lived among His creation and died in our place. It is seen in the cross, in Jesus defeating sin and death! The grave is empty, death has NO claim on Jesus. And if it cannot claim Him, it cannot claim those who belong to Him. Oh how this frees us to embrace each and every difficult season knowing that “if God is for us, who can be against us?”
Pray
Father, the times we live in are so uncertain. It’s unsettling and scary to think about the future and to recognize that we are not in control of our life. But we see that You have always been in control from the beginning. So we confess our trust in You and pray that Your saving purposes would be done among the nations during these trying times. We pray that You would give us a heart for the nations and eyes to see past our current discomfort. May You get all the glory!
Today’s Family Resource for Growing Together is written by Adam Davenport, a speaker and business consultant in Raleigh, NC.
MODGNIK 