Spilling Out
Make water balloon piñatas.
Items Needed:
- Balloons
- String
- Water
- Plastic bat
- Blindfold (optional)
Fill the balloons about half full with water. Tie the neck in a knot and attach a long piece of string to each balloon. Hang them from a high spot (tree limb, monkey bars, etc.). Blindfold one of the children and let him or her try to hit the balloons with a plastic bat.
Talk about it:
What came spilling out of the balloon when you hit it? Why?
The balloons were filled with water and so water spilled out when we broke it open. If we are filled with the Holy Spirit, good things should come from us.
Read Galatians 5:22-23 to find out what should be inside us when we have the Holy Spirit living inside.
Which Way Do We Go?
Item Needed: GPS (GPS on a phone will work.)
Demonstrate how GPS works. Put in an address and follow the voice’s instructions. While you are driving, don’t listen to the “voice” and go a different way so your children will see what it says in that situation.
How did the GPS guide us? (It mapped out the best way to go; It told us when to turn and where to go; etc.)
What happened when we went the wrong way? (It told us to turn around; It found a new way for us to go; etc.)
What might have happened if we ignored the voice on the GPS? (We might get lost; We wouldn’t get to where we needed to be; etc.)
If someone is trying to guide you, what should you do? (Listen; Pay attention; Follow; etc.)
God gave us a wonderful gift when He gave us the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit lives inside us and will guide us. He knows what is best for us and we need to stay as close as we can to Him so we can know the right way to go.
How does the Holy Spirit guide us? The Holy Spirit doesn’t speak in a voice out loud (as the GPS does), but He speaks to us through a quiet, inner voice (John 16:13) and even through our own minds (Romans 9:1). He certainly speaks to us through the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16). As we read, think about, and memorize the Bible, the Spirit will speak to us. He will also bring specific verses to our mind when we need them most (John 14:26). The Holy Spirit will never lead us to do anything that is against the Bible.
Listen Closely
Items Needed:
- Adventure Guide, Discovery Guide, or Explorer’s Guide (or another devotional magazine)
- Bible
Model how to have a quiet time for your children.
Choose a quiet place.
Read a section in the devotional magazine or a passage in the Bible (or both).
Ask yourself, “What does that tell me about God?” or “Is there an instruction I can obey?”
Thank God and ask for His help to do what is right.
God gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us. Our part is to listen and obey Him.