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: Mark 2:3-11. 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. Tell your kids that our Bible story is about Jesus healing a man who was paralyzed. The man’s friends lowered him into the house Jesus was in, teaching, from the roof. The houses at that time were easily climbed on top of. Jesus could have been mad at the interruption, but he welcomed the man and his friends.
3. Discussion Questions (as always, pick and choose which questions you’d like to discuss!):
Can you think of a time you were there for a friend when they needed you?
How are you the same and different from some of your friends and family members?
Do you remember the story about the weeds, and how we can enjoy dandelions? In what ways do our differences make us beautiful?
What do you think about interrupting Jesus to ask for help? How did Jesus respond?
4. Close in Prayer: Dear God, thank you for Jesus. Jesus who heals, and who welcomes interruptions that are driven by love. Thank you for faithful friends who love us. Help us to be one to those around us! In Jesus’s Name, Amen.
~ Erynne DeVore, director of Children’s Ministry