Stand up for what's right no matter what

We are on a prophet binge in children's church . . .Elijah and Elisha, Isaiah, and this week Jeremiah. Jeremiah was called to follow God at a young age and he faced a lot of hard times, but he stuck with God and followed through on what God called him to do even when things got hard.

Our story this week was about how God gave Jeremiah a message which he wrote on a scroll to deliver to King Jehoiakim. But just like us sometimes, the king didn't want to hear what God had to say. He cut the scroll off with a knife and threw it in the fire, as if that would stop God's word from being right and true. We all know that God's word endures and God told Jeremiah to rewrite the scroll. Of course, God's words came true.

We know that God's way is the best way, it's up to us to choose to live his way even when it's not easy. Don't be wishy-washy. Like Mr. Miyagi said in Karate Kid, "walk left side, safe; walk right side, safe; walk middle, sooner or later, get squish just like grape." God wants us to choose, he doesn't want us to be middle of the road . . .that's just not safe! However, Psalm 33.18 says, "the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love."

Questions for discussion:

• Parents, tell of a time when you had to stand up for what was right. How did it turn out? How did you know that God was with you?
• What things can our family do to help us be strong when hard times come? How can we prepare for that?
• If you're feeling a little creative, create a scroll (maybe pencils, some scotch tape and a strip of paper?) and write Psalm 33.18 on it for the family to learn together. Post it where everyone can see it or have someone "unroll the scroll" and be the leader at mealtimes.

We will continue our Jeremiah discussion tonight in Kids' Bible study! Hope to see you there!