Son of Laughter    

The focus of this family time is to use five easy steps to teach our children that God promised to give Abraham a very big family and promised that he would rescue his people through Abraham’s family.

Learn the Memory Verse together and say it throughout the week to help your family remember and apply what they have learned.

MEMORY VERSE: 

Introduce the verse: “Remember the reason that God sent the flood was because the world was full of evil; it was full of sin. So we are going to practice the verse from last week.

Abraham believed (Point to forehead with both hands)

the Lord. (Point to the sky with both hands)  

Genesis 15:6

STEP 1. GATHER!

1. Say: “We are going to play a counting game. Look around and count all of the things in the room that have legs. Stand up and raise your hand when you have a number.” 

2. ask them for their answers, commenting appropriately. 

3. Say: “Good, sit down. Look around and count all of the things in the room that are blue. Stand up and raise your hand when you have a number.” 

4. them for their answers, commenting appropriately. Then ask everyone to sit down. 

5. Repeat with other examples, such as: things that are round, things that make noise, things that you can sit on, etc. 

6. Play this quickly so that the children are standing up and sitting down quickly and so expending energy. 

7. Toward the end of the allocated time, say: “There are some things that are too many to count, like sand or stars. Imagine if someone told you that you had to count all the stars in the sky. In our story today that is exactly what Abraham tried to do.”

STEP 2. WORSHIP!

Elementary:

Preschool:

• Sing and have fun while worshiping then pray. Take a moment here to thank God for your family and your time together!! 

STEP 3. BIBLE!

Son of Laughter

Read aloud pages 55-61  from The Jesus Storybook Bible or Watch:

STEP 4. DISCUSSION! 

Use these questions and points to have a conversation with your children about the Bible story. 

• Say: “An important word in today’s story is ‘promise.’ What is a promise? That’s right; a promise is when you say something that you are going to do for someone and you commit to doing it.” 
• What did God tell Abraham to count? That’s right the stars!
• What do you think Abraham was thinking when he tried to count them? “Too many!” “This is impossible!” “I can’t do this!” etc. Share your own answer. 
• Say: “Even though it is impossible, God had a reason for asking Abraham to count the stars. God promised that counting Abraham’s family will be as hard as counting stars. God promised Abraham a very big family. God also promised Abraham that God would rescue his people through Abraham’s family. What do you think Abraham was thinking when God made these promises? “This is impossible!” “I am too old to have a family!” “How can this be true?” etc. Share your own answer. 
• Say: “It really was an incredible promise. God promises to give Abraham a very big family even though he is old with no children, and God promises to rescue his people through Abraham’s family. 
• Did Abraham believe God or not believe God?” 
• Ask: “But did God keep his promise to Abraham and Sarah? Raise your hands in the air if you think God kept his promise. Thank you, hands down. Yes, God kept his promise and Abraham and Sarah had a baby. What does Sarah do when she sees that God has kept his promise? “My dream has come true!” “I am so happy!” etc. Share your own answer. 
• Say: “God told Abraham to count the stars. Do you remember from one of the first stories, who created the stars? Yes, God did. Do you think the God who created the stars is able to keep his promises? Raise your hand if you think the God who created the stars is able to keep his promises. Thank you, hands down.” 
• 18. Say: “God is able to create the stars out of nothing. That is how powerful he is. When God makes a promise, God is always able to keep it. God’s words will always come true. When God makes promises, God keeps his promises. ”

Jesus in the Story

STEP 5. Pray!

• Pray aloud, thanking God that he is the God who makes promises and keeps his promises. Thank God for the great promises he made to Abraham and that Jesus is the result of those promises.