Monday: Understanding
Pray: Begin by making the sign of the cross and calling upon God's name.
From God to us, from death to life, from me to you …in the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O God, turn our hearts to you. Give us understanding, so that we may know how you would have us live. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Listen: Listen carefully as the Bible story for the week is read aloud.
Acts 19:23-31
At that time there was serious trouble because of the Lord’s Way. A silversmith named Demetrius had a business that made silver models of the temple of the goddess Artemis. Those who worked for him earned a lot of money. Demetrius brought together everyone who was in the same business and said:
“Friends, you know that we make a good living at this. But you have surely seen and heard how this man Paul is upsetting a lot of people, not only in Ephesus, but almost everywhere in Asia. He claims that the gods we humans make are not really gods at all. Everyone will start saying terrible things about our business. They will stop respecting the temple of the goddess Artemis, who is worshiped in Asia and all over the world. Our great goddess will be forgotten!”
When the workers heard this, they got angry and started shouting, “Great is Artemis, the goddess of the Ephesians!” Soon the whole city was in a riot, and some men grabbed Gaius and Aristarchus, who had come from Macedonia with Paul. Then everyone in the crowd rushed to the place where the town meetings were held. Paul wanted to go out and speak to the people, but the Lord’s followers would not let him. A few of the local officials were friendly to Paul, and they sent someone to warn him not to go. (CEV)
Engage: Talk about the Bible by having parents respond to children’s questions.
Child: Why were the people in today’s story angry at Paul? What were they afraid they might lose?
Child: Have you ever worried about money? When? How did God take care of you?
Affirm: Pray for God to put his Word into action in your daily life.
Lord God, sometimes we get so focused on the things we want that we put those things first in our lives. Help us to stop doing that, and remind us that our relationship with you is our greatest gift. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Have each person in the family bless one another with these words:
May you put God first, above all else. Amen.