For families with little ones (preschool age), this could be a 3-5 minute talk! It doesn’t have to be much. For older children, you can opt in for more of these options to extend your study time together. I recommend doing this with (especially little) children over a meal – whichever meal is the least chaotic in your home (for my family right now, that’s lunch), or saving the questions for while you’re on a walk or playing outside together. Have fun!
1. Read the scripture together: Acts 2:38-47. The important thing is that you’re reading scripture together! If you’re looking for different ways to engage your children while reading, here are some fun ways to read scripture as a family
Every Reader takes a verse
Ask each child to pick two words they don’t understand to talk about after you read it. (For longer scriptures and younger children, you may need to split up the reading in order to do this.)
Draw a picture of what you read
Act it out as a family (And please send documentation of this to children.sjumc@gmail.com because we could all use a laugh right now!)
Sing it!
Use Legos or dolls to tell the story
2. Discussion Questions (as always, pick and choose which questions you’d like to discuss!):
When is a time you felt “united” with other people? (Other words/phrases to use for younger children: connected, close to, unified, held together.)
What did you have in common with the people you were connected to?
Do you have to have a lot in common to be connected to someone else?
What or who do you think can unify a large group of people?
How do you think it would feel to feel peace and connection with all of your friends and neighbors, even if you had different ideas and beliefs?
3. Close in Prayer: Dear God, thank you for Your Holy Spirit. She connects us all, and we are so grateful for being unified through You. When things get hard, help us remember You are there, and Your Spirit is like a warm wind or cozy blanket, helping us feel better. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
~ Erynne DeVore, director of Children’s Ministry