Happy day after Easter!!! Hope everyone had a great day! It was so much fun to see so many of you drive through the church on your parade 🙂
I hope you were able to pick up your Psalms books, because today we start our readings. So, first things first, there are 150 Psalms so we’ll be doing this a little differently than Genesis. The good news is, the reading plan is simple: one Psalm per day, every day. So, no weekends off. But we know you can do it! The Psalms are beautiful and most of them are pretty short. (Just don’t look ahead to day/Psalm 119!).
Here’s a little background: The Psalms are part of the Old Testament, which is the part of the Bible that was written before Jesus was born. The Psalms are poems, prayers and songs that were written by different people and show lots of different feelings. People usually quote the Psalms about praise, hope and joy. But as we read you’ll see songs about sadness, fear and anger too.
We read the Psalms today because the thoughts and feelings that people felt long ago are pretty much the same thoughts and feelings that we feel today. And memorizing Psalms is a great idea, because they can help us learn how to talk to God in our own happy, scared or sad times.
The Psalms have several different authors. King David is the most famous, and also the one who wrote the most (at least 73 of the 150 Psalms). But there are several other authors as well.
So, let’s dive in!
Monday April 13th, 2020 – Psalm 1
Today’s Takeaways:
- A person who obeys God and doesn’t hang around with, or follow the advice of, bad people is going to be loved by God and live life well.
Today’s Talking Topic:
- It matters who your friends are. Do your parents sometimes tell you, “if your friends jump of off a bridge would you do it too”? Why do you think it matters who we hang out with? Do our friends influence us? Do we sometimes follow the crowd when we shouldn’t?
- The great news is, we can also choose to follow and be influenced by people who help us make good decisions and who teach us love God.
- Be brave! Share a true example with your child of when you followed the wrong advice. Tell them the truth about the negative consequences. It’s important for kids to know that even grown-ups make mistakes, but God still loves and forgives us.
Tuesday April 14th, 2020 Psalm 2
Today’s Takeaways:
- God is our shelter.
- It’s useless to make plans against God. He already has a plan.
- You can either choose to defy God and die or live your life in Him.
Today’s Talking Topic:
- What truths do you learn about God from this Psalm?
- The last verse says “blessed are those who take refuge in him” what does that mean? How do you take refuge in God?
Wednesday April 15th, Psalm 3
Today’s Takeaways:
- Note: You’ll see the word “Selah” a lot in the Psalms. It’s like an exclamation, and is probably a musical direction. But we don’t know 100% for sure.
- God is like a shield that protects his people.
- If we live another day, it’s because God granted us another day.
Today’s Talking Topic:
- David says in this Psalm that God is his protective shield. Can you think of ways how God has protected you recently or situations where you could see his presence and protection over you?
Thursday April 16th, Psalm 4
Today’s Takeaways:
- God alone keeps us safe.
- God has certain expectations of us – worship him alone, put our trust in Him alone, do not sin.
Today’s Talking Topic:
- What are some false gods we might worship (follow) these days? How can we make sure we keep God at the center of our lives?
- Some of the false gods could be friends, sports, good grades, etc. Remind the kids that none of these things will last forever or lead to salvation.
- This could be another chance to share some uncomfortable truths with your kids. Were there friends or concerns that you put at the forefront of your life in school? What came of that? Where are those friends? Do you still care about those things?
Friday April 17th, Psalm 5
Today’s Takeaways:
- God hears us and protects us.
Today’s Talking Topic:
- How do we talk to God? (through prayer) Discuss what prayer is and how does it work? Hint: prayer is not a magic trick or a wishing well.
- Can you think of examples from your own lives or from the Bible when people asked God for something and how He responded?
Saturday April 18th, Psalm 6
Today’s Takeaways:
- David understood he needed to be disciplined (whether that means trained or punished), but is asking God not to discipline him in anger. (Does this ring bell with any parents out there?)
- God wants to discipline us and wants us do better, but that is proof that He loves us.
- David knows God hears his prayers.
Today’s Talking Topic:
- Is there a time when you were punished, but really learned your lesson from it? Even though it’s super hard, do you see how it’s important to keep discipline?
Sunday April 19th, Psalm 7
Today’s Takeaways:
- We see God revealed as a righteous judge.
- God is also the Savior, only He can save us from His own wrath and judgment.
Today’s Talking Topic:
- If God judged you today, what would you be worried about? Did you know that with Jesus by your side, you don’t have to be worried about that? Repent (ask forgiveness) and be happy that God loves you enough to discipline you so you can do better.
- You did it! One whole week of Psalms! Can you see a pattern? Do you have a better idea of what to expect from reading a Psalm?
And as a special treat, have you seen our Palm Sunday video Ms Angela made for us?
Munger Kids 