Topic: Love in Action, Part 2

Deuteronomy 5:7 "impress them (scriptures) on your children, talk about them...when you sit..., walk..., lie down, get up...." God definately wants us to influence our children with scripture

Hopefully by now you’ve all established the "routine" of having a regular, planned, Bible-based, fun, short family devotional time. The family devotional is certainly one way to put Deuteronomy 5:7 into practice: "impress them (scriptures) on your children, talk about them…when you sit.., walk…, lie down…, get up…" In the first Family Devotional we listed 10 things to keep in mind when planning your time together. It would be good to look at that list again if any of this is still fuzzy.

TOPIC: Love in Action, Part II

1. Song
Bible book stores have tapes and CDs with favorite children’s songs.

2. Prayer
Have a sentence (or 2) prayer, each family member thanking God for your family, and for all the loving things that have been going on in your home.

3. Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13

4. Discussion
1 Corinthians 13 describes what love is all about. Have each family member, (kids, mom/dad), talk about what they learned about love last week, as they were all working on being more loving. Talk about God’s definition of love here.

This week, we want to actively take love outside the home. Spend part of the family time helping each family member think how he or she is going to show love to the following people:

Tuesday: a neighbor

Wednesday: a friend of the family

Thursday: an "enemy"

Friday: an elderly person

Saturday: grandparents

Sunday: a Bible class teacher/helper

Make plans that can be carried out easily. Parents must be the catalyst in order for this to be a great experience for the kids. To truly give your children a great lesson in the rewards of loving, plan a trip on Monday night (or when ever your Family Night is) to a retirement/nursing home. Allow the children to visit with the residents. Preparation of what to say, to speak up, hold hands with the residents will help this be a wonderful experience and a great blessing for all.

As with all Family Devotionals, end with a prayer and super refreshments and a game or cards that involve the entire family, in a fun, interactive way.