Keys for Kids

Read: 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 A delicious aroma drifted through the door as Audrey walked into the house. She inhaled deeply, wondering for a minute what it was. I know—apple pie! Maybe Mom will let me have a piece before supper. Her stomach growled as she went into the kitchen. No Mom. No apple pies either. Audrey found her mother in the living room. “I was just reading an email from your teacher,” Mom said, grinning. “I think you’ll be pleased to hear what she has to say.” Mom turned to her computer and read the email out loud. “It’s such a delight to have Audrey as one of my students. She often gives up her free time to help her classmates and has befriended the new girl from Indonesia. She is like a breath of fresh air in our class. By the way, she invited me to visit your church sometime, and I’d like to do that.” The email was from Mrs. Hollis, Audrey’s teacher at school. Mom beamed and gave Audrey a big hug. “I’m so proud of you, honey!” Audrey looked pleased. “Hey, where’s the apple pie?” she asked. “I know you made one—I can smell it. Can I have a piece?” Mom furrowed her brows. “Apple pie? I didn’t make any…oh, it’s the candle.” She pointed to the candle burning on the mantle. “It’s an apple pie spice candle.” “Oh.” Audrey was disappointed. “It made me hungry for apple pie.” Mom smiled. “You know what? I think your life is like that candle. It made you hungry for apple pie because it smells so good, and I believe your actions and attitude at school have made your teacher hungry for what you have—I think that’s why she wants to come to church.” “I made her hungry for church?” Audrey asked, confused. “Not church, exactly—Jesus,” said Mom. “Your teacher doesn’t realize she’s really hungry for a relationship with Jesus, but she sees something in your life that appeals to her. I think that seeing you display Jesus’s love in the way you treat others is making her want the real thing—Him.” Mom grabbed her keys. “Come on. That candle is making me hungry for apple pie too, so let’s run to the store and pick one up!” –Barbara J. Westberg How about you? Do your actions and attitude make people want to be around you? Does seeing how you treat others make them want to know more about Jesus? As you show others love, kindness, patience, and helpfulness, they get a taste of who Jesus is and what knowing Him is like. As people interact with you, they may become hungry for what you have—hungry to know Jesus. Today’s key verse: We are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:15 (NIV) Today’s key thought: Make others hungry for Jesus

Read: Psalm 34:1-3; Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Hey, Joel!” shouted Micah from the other side of the parking lot at school. “What’s up?” Joel asked as the two of them began to walk toward the school building together. “I was wondering if you’d like to come to my house after school,” Micah said. “I got a new bike for my birthday, so maybe you could bring yours.” “Sure, I’ll come over,” said Joel. “My dad bought me a girl’s bike, and we had to paint over the flowers! We worked really hard on it.” After school they went to Joel’s house and got his bike. Then they went to Micah’s house. “I present to you, the fastest bike the world has ever known!” Micah said with a flourish. He looked at Joel’s bike and giggled. “Umm…I can still see the flowers you painted over,” he said. “My bike is new, and I bet it’s faster than yours.” Joel looked down at the ground as he put his helmet on, looking hurt. Just then Micah’s mom came out of the house. “Micah,” she said, “I’d like to speak with you for a minute. Please come inside.” “Wait a minute, Joel!” Micah said as he quickly ran inside. He sat down on the couch beside his mom. “What’s wrong?” he asked. “How do you think you were treating Joel out there?” Mom asked. Micah didn’t answer. “You were boasting about your bike, weren’t you?” “I’m sorry, Mom,” Micah answered. “I’ll tell Joel I’m sorry too, but…I thought you said we could boast about…” Micah’s voice trailed off. Mom laughed. “You mean we can boast about God. That’s much different than what you were doing. God tells us not to boast about ourselves because everything we have comes from Him, and putting down Joel’s bike and bragging about your own hurt him. But boasting about God and the wonderful things He’s done for us helps us share His love with others. What are some things God has done that we can boast about?” “Well,” said Micah, “we can boast about God because He is so good and faithful, and because He sent His Son to die for us.” “Very good,” said Mom. “How about you go apologize to Joel and compliment his bike?” “Sure,” said Micah. “And no more bad boasting!” –Emmaline Craymer How about you? Have you ever boasted about something you own or something you can do? You probably have, maybe even without knowing it. If others have bragged about themselves in front of you, you know how much it hurts. When you put yourself above somebody else, it hurts them. But when you boast about God and the wonderful things He’s done for all of us, you praise Him and reflect His love and kindness to others. Today’s key verse: My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Psalm 34:2 (NKJV) Today’s key thought: Boast about God

Read: 1 Peter 1:23-25 “I can’t believe Grandma gave me a Bible for my birthday!” Ethan said as he and his older brother Sam walked home from the library. “What am I gonna do with that?” “Well, you could read it,” Sam said. Ethan laughed. “How could an old book written thousands of years ago have anything to say to us today? Dad is always saying the Bible is old-fashioned and outdated. Maybe he’ll let me return it and get something else.” He pointed down the street. “Hey, let’s stop and see the house Uncle Andrew is building. It’s only a couple blocks away.” Sam agreed, so the brothers stopped at the new house. “Looks nice,” Sam said when he saw it. “Is that a solar panel on the roof?” Ethan nodded. “Most of the power for heating and cooling will come from the sun. Uncle Andrew says more and more people are using solar energy now. It’s cheaper and better for the environment.” Sam glanced up at the sky and shrugged. “I don’t see what the big deal is. The sun is just an old star. How could it be useful?” “What are you talking about?” asked Ethan. “The sun gives us the light and energy we need to survive. There wouldn’t be any life on earth without it!” Sam smirked. “Yeah, but it’s older than the Bible, so it can’t be any good to us today, right?” “Oh, I see what you’re doing,” Ethan said, rolling his eyes. “You know it’s not the same thing.” “Actually, it kind of is,” said Sam. “The sun gives us the light we need to live on earth, but the Bible shows us the light of a different Son—Jesus, the Son of God. It tells us how we can have eternal life by trusting in Him. And just like sunlight, the light the Bible shines on our lives is just as powerful today as it was thousands of years ago. It’s the light of God’s truth, and He never changes.” Ethan was quiet as they started heading home. “I guess I’ll give my new Bible a try,” he finally said. “I’ll give you some verses to start with if you want,” Sam said. “Then maybe we can talk about them.” Ethan smiled. “That would be great!” –Barbara J. Westberg How about you? Do you think the Bible is outdated because it’s been around for a long time? It may be old, but it shines the light of God’s truth on our lives, and His truth never changes. It tells us how God’s Son, Jesus, died for us and rose again so we could have eternal life. Even though it was written thousands of years ago, its light is still shining today. Read it and ask God to help you see and understand its truth. Today’s key verse: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Mark 13:31 (NIV) Today’s key thought: The Bible is for today

Read: Matthew 7:13-14, 21-23; 1 John 5:9-12 After enjoying a picnic lunch, Uncle Don pointed toward the paths around the picnic area. “Do you remember which path we took to get here?” “It was the one by the swings,” Kennedy said. Elliot disagreed. “It was the one by that flowering bush over there.” “Nuh-uh! I remember seeing the swings right away,” Kennedy insisted. “But I remember seeing a bird’s nest on the other side of that bush!” Elliot shot back. “Let’s try an experiment,” said Uncle Don. “You each sincerely believe you’re right, don’t you?” “Yes!” shouted both of the children. “All right. How about you each try your path and we’ll see who’s right. I’ll walk with Elliot, and Aunt Sue can walk with Kennedy. Whoever finds the car can text the other group. If no one finds the car, meet back here in fifteen minutes.” The kids agreed, and off they went. Fifteen minutes later, they were back at the picnic spot. “I can’t believe neither of us found the car!” Kennedy said. “Uncle Don, do you know where it is?” Uncle Don smiled. “Follow me.” They followed Uncle Don down a path near some wildflowers, and after a few minutes, they saw he was right. “There’s the car!” yelled Elliot. “How did you know, Uncle Don?” Kennedy asked. Uncle Don held up his phone. “I have an app that tells me where my car is parked. It showed me which path to take.” “That’s kind of like what we were talking about earlier—about how the Bible shows us the only path to heaven,” Elliot said. Uncle Don nodded. “You both were very sincere in believing that the path you chose would lead to the car, but your sincerity didn’t help you. You can also be very sincere about the path you choose to try to get to heaven, but unless you choose the right one, your sincerity won’t help you get there either. My phone showed me the truth about where the car was parked, and God’s Word shows us the truth about how to get to heaven. There’s no other way to have eternal life except through Jesus. He’s the one and only way to heaven.” –Harry C. Trover How about you? Do you know the way to heaven? Do you think the way to get there is by going to church, saying prayers, or doing good things? The Bible says nothing you do will ever get you to heaven. It says Jesus is the only way—only He can give you life that lasts forever. Choose the right path by trusting in Him. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?) Today’s key verse: There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV) Today’s key thought: Jesus is the way to heaven

Read: John 14:6; Acts 17:10-12 “It’s so pretty here!” Kennedy told her aunt and uncle as she gazed around the picnic area. She turned to her brother. “Don’t you wish we could live in the Rockies, Elliot?” “It sure is nice,” Elliot said. “Look—I guess everybody likes this spot. There are paths coming here from all directions. It’s just like the city of Rome.” “How is this like Rome?” Aunt Sue asked. “Last week our pastor said that in the days of the Roman Empire, you could follow any road and it would lead you to Rome,” Elliot explained. “He said that’s like going to heaven. No matter what religion we follow, it will lead us to heaven if we’re sincere and do our best.” Uncle Don frowned. “Perhaps all roads did lead to Rome, but all religions certainly don’t lead to heaven. The Bible has something to say about that.” “That’s right,” said Aunt Sue. “If we want to know what’s true and what’s not, we can’t accept the word of any person—unless what they say agrees with what we read in the Bible. And in the book of John, Jesus says He is the way to heaven. We can only be saved from sin and have eternal life by trusting in Him.” Kennedy looked doubtful. “I never heard our minister say that. Wouldn’t he know?” “Yeah,” said Elliot. “He’s had lots of training, and he’s a really cool guy!” “It doesn’t matter who he is or how nice he is,” Uncle Don said. “What matters is whether he teaches what God says in His Word. The book of Acts talks about the apostle Paul going to a city called Berea. When he preached to the people there, they checked the Scriptures to see if what he said was correct. That’s what we need to do too.” “I never thought about that,” Elliot said. “I always thought whatever our pastor said was true, but I guess he could be wrong.” Uncle Don nodded. “People can be wrong, but what God says in His Word is always right.” He pulled out his phone. “How about I show you some more Bible verses that talk about how Jesus is the only way to have eternal life?” Elliot and Kennedy nodded and scooched closer. –Harry C. Trover How about you? Do you go to church to learn about God? Do you read books, watch videos, or listen to programs that talk about God? That’s great, but make sure what you’re learning agrees with God’s Word. If you’re not sure whether something is true, ask a parent or teacher to help you find it in the Bible. Follow the example of early Christians and study the Bible so you know what it says. Today’s key verse: They received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. Acts 17:11 (NIV) Today’s key thought: Study the Bible

Read: 1 Corinthians 13 “Keira, let me help you with that.” Alexis reached for a pile of laundry needing to be folded. “It will earn me points for my youth group contest. I want to get the most points so I can win!” One of the ways kids in the youth group could earn points was by helping the members of their family. Keira frowned and batted her sister’s hands away. “I’m not signing any paper saying you helped me with anything. Just leave me and my things alone!” The other members of Alexis’s family were delighted with her behavior. They could hardly believe how helpful she had suddenly become—she did dishes, made beds, offered to help with her brother’s homework, babysat, and even carried out the trash! Keira was the only one who refused her help. Alexis did well in the contest, but she didn’t win. Yet to everyone’s surprise, her helpful ways continued. One day, Keira asked Alexis to help her fold the laundry. Alexis was puzzled. “Why do you let me do things for you now?” she asked. “When we were having the contest, you wouldn’t let me do anything for you.” “Well, now you really want to help me,” Keira replied. “Before, you just did it for points.” Alexis thought about that. “I guess that’s true. I wanted to win the prize for getting the most points.” “Why do you want to help now?” Keira asked. “Well, on the day the contest ended, Miss Wilson talked about a Bible passage that says no matter how much good we do, without love, our good deeds are worthless in God’s sight. She said that’s why she came up with the contest in the first place—to show how often we might think we’re earning points with God when we do good things, but if we don’t have the love of Jesus in our hearts, our good deeds mean nothing. She said we need to trust in Jesus and depend on Him to help us do things for others out of love, and I realized she was right.” Alexis grinned at her sister. “I’m glad you can tell the difference.” “I can.” Keira laughed. “But now I’m sorry I didn’t help you win the contest!” –Agnes Livezey How about you? Do you do nice things for other people? Why? Is it so you’ll win points with them and make them like you? Or do you think doing good deeds wins you points with God? He says that all the good things you do mean nothing if they’re not done out of genuine love—the kind of love Jesus has for you. Trust Him to fill your heart with His love so you can let it overflow to others. They can tell the difference! Today’s key verse: This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12 (NKJV) Today’s key thought: Love one another