Has anyone ever made you a promise and then they forgot about it? Maybe a teacher promised a future field trip on a whim, and then never came through. Or maybe the weatherman predicted a snow day, only to leave you with a dreary rainy day with no snow! It’s hard to believe people when they make promises, and it’s especially hard to believe someone if they’ve failed on a promise before. Sometimes it ends up easier to trust our own judgment and doubt someone’s promise, since it might not come true. But what if someone had a perfect promise-keeping track record? What then?
TRUSTWORTHY: Being dependable without a doubt!
MEMORY VERSE: “Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise!” Hebrews 10:23 (NLT)
This Week’s Finish Line: God is trustworthy and always keeps His promises!
This week we looked at the Israelites as they were in the middle of the desert. Put yourself in their shoes for a minute: you’ve been delivered from hundreds of years of slavery in a foreign land, God does a lot of crazy miracles before your eyes, He promises again that you are His chosen people, and He is taking you to your own special almost too-good-to-be-true land of your very own! He promises you’re going to win every battle in His Name, and that He will take care of you. He promised to deliver you from Egypt, and He already did that. In fact, everything so far He has ever said has come true. Everything! Then you get to the land He promised, and there’s just one tiny problem: It’s full of giants. And scary intense armies way bigger and stronger than anyone you’ve ever met. This is what we read about this week in Numbers 13-14!
Family Questions:
- Look at Numbers 13-14 together. What does God promise Israel (again) in Numbers 13:2?
- Who does Israel send to look into the land for them? How many?
- What did the spies find out about the land? (13:27-32) How would you feel if you found what they found?
- Who gave a different report of the land? (14:5-9) What did they say, and what do you think they believed about God?
Bring it Home Conversations & Activities:
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TEACHER: God’s Promises Come True
At dinner this week, take some time to brainstorm together different examples in the Bible or in your lives when God’s promises came true. List off as many as you can think of, and look up the Scriptures to read stories of when God’s promises came true.
FRIEND: Wandering and Lost
While driving in the car this week, pick one familiar route that the whole family knows (heading to school, home, church, etc.), and intentionally make a couple of wrong turns. See how long it takes for someone in the car to notice the wrong turns, or see if they will even notice! Make it to your destination, then ask how it felt to get turned around! How do you think the Israelites felt when they were turned around in the desert for 40 years?
COUNSELOR: Trusting God
During bedtime this week, talk with your child(ren) about why it’s sometimes hard to trust God, even though we know he has a perfect promise-keeping track record. Read Psalm 18:30 out loud, and pray together for God to help you trust God more. Let your child(ren) know that this is hard for you too, and model how you pray when it’s hard to trust God.
COACH: Learn the Memory Verse
In the mornings this week, practice the new memory verse together (Hebrews 10:23). Make up hand motions to go with every word, and make it silly and dramatic to help you remember! Practice it often. Who in the family can memorize it first?
Prayer
Thank God for always keeping His promises to you. Ask Him to help you keep trusting His ways when they are different than what you expect. Thank Him for how He has already shown you His trustworthiness in your life.
Looking Ahead
Next week we will continue our study of how we can be trustworthy, looking at the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30.