Are You Afraid?
Share the following scenarios with your children:
- Spider on your pillow
- Climbing the steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower
- Eating a cicada
- Singing in front of the whole school
- Holding a snake
Tell your children to give you two thumbs up if they would be afraid and two thumbs down if they would not be afraid.
After discussing each scenario, talk to your children about choosing faith over fear. Remind them that there are plenty of things for us to be afraid of, but we must always remember God is bigger than all our fears. Emphasize to your children that God is always with us, and He can be trusted in every situation. When the spies came back from the land of Canaan, ten out of the twelve were choosing fear over faith. But Joshua and Caleb trusted God to help them take control of the land. We need to be more like Joshua and Caleb—choosing faith over fear!
Making Choices
Share the following with your children and allow them to share their preferences out loud.
Blue or green
Pepperoni or cheese
Red sauce or white sauce
Skateboard or BMX
Cinderella or Snow White
Books or Movies
After several choices are shared and discussed, remind your children that we make lots of choices every day. Some are little choices, but others might be life changing. Encourage them to make good choices in order to obey God’s Word and live like Jesus.
Remind them that life can be scary at times, and we might feel very anxious in some situations. But we must always remember God is with us, and He can be trusted in every situation. He can help us choose faith (believing in God and His help) over fear.
Where Is Your Patience?
God’s Word tells us that God is slow to get angry. It can be really hard not to get angry right away. Having patience and self-control takes lots of work and practice, but it is worth the effort. Having self-control is one way we can live like Jesus.
Share the following scenarios with your children:
Your younger sibling breaks your favorite toy.
Your friend talks bad about you behind your back.
You are the only one who isn’t invited to a classmate’s party.
Your mom wakes you up 30 minutes early.
Your dog gets into the trash can and you have to clean it up.
Instruct your children to growl like Hulk if they would be quick to anger and make a heart with their hands if they would be slow to anger.