Family Worship (Oct 04)

Have you ever gotten tired of waiting and decided to make something happen yourself? Maybe you were waiting for someone to help you reach something on a high shelf, but you decided to climb on a chair instead. Then the chair started wobbling! Sometimes waiting is hard because we think, “I need to do something right now!”

Abraham and Sarah knew that feeling. God had promised them a son, but they waited for years and nothing happened. Finally, they tried to make God's promise happen their own way. It created a big mess. But God did something amazing: he did not give up on them. He came after them with grace. God heard Hagar when she was hurting. He saw her when she felt alone. He reminded Abraham and Sarah of his promises. God does the same for us.

Even when our hearts wander, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who comes after his wandering sheep and brings us home.

Read Genesis 16:7–13

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think it can be hard to trust God when we have to wait?
2. What do the names “God hears” and “the God who sees me” teach us about God?
3. When your heart wanders away from trusting God, how does Jesus give you hope?

Activity
Play “Find the Sheep.” Choose a stuffed animal to be the sheep and have one person hide it somewhere in the house while everyone else closes their eyes. Then work together to find the wandering sheep. After you find it, read Luke 15:4-6 and talk about how Jesus describes himself as the one who goes after the lost.

Prayer
Pray that God would help your family trust him when life is hard.

Memory Work:

New City Catechism
40. What should we pray?
The whole Word of God directs and inspires us in what we should pray, including the prayer Jesus himself taught us.

Memory Verse
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.