Part 3: Sacrifice Series | Response to the Sacrifice | Teach Children to Worship God
Response to the Sacrifice
Revelations 3:20 paints a beautiful image of Christ “ See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” No force, no intrusive entry, no guilt, just the gentle knocking. You will know He is there, and if you choose to not only answer but to also open the door, then He will come in.
What I find equally interesting is the proceeding verse 19. “As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent.” Just before say he is asking to come in he tells you what to expect. When I come I will dine with you but there will be a cleaning up that has to happen because I love you.
First we are invited to respond to the sacrifice of God the Father and God the Son. Notice, Christ is the one coming to you, He is the one knocking. We are in the position of responding. I love Matthew 7:7. Although at first blush it may seem to be saying the opposite it actually shows that the way to Christ has already been laid for us. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you”. Again we are being invited to do something. Come and ask me, I have the answer already because I know your need. Come and open the door, I already have the situation in my control.
When we see the great love of the Father and the Son, and we grow in understanding just a little more of the sacrifice that was made by the God Head, only then are we best situated to respond to God with “yes Lord, I surrender all. I love you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength."
Oh what a blessing to have our children love God in such an intimate way. What a blessing if we as parents loved God in such a personal and complete way. Our response to God would infiltrate every aspect of our lives and those around us. Nevertheless responding with a resounding yes to God is not what we naturally desire to do. Thus as parents we are commissioned by God to train our children in the way that they should go. Train them to respond to God with loving submission and obedience.
Here are some tips in introducing such an important topic to the little ones no matter the age.
TIP 1: Teach your children Bible verses about love, surrender, and obedience. Remind them that God desires a relationship with us and our surrender to him will strengthen that bond.
TIP 2: Read Bible stories and do Bible activities about obedience. Talk about how we show our love for God though our obedience to him. Some stories about obedience might include: Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, Abraham and Daniel and The Lion's Den, to name a few. Check out our catalog of FREE kids Bible story activities.
TIP 3: Talk about all the loving attributes of God. Teach the children what each of the attributes of God means. You can even do a motion for each attribute to help the child remember. Download our FREE ABC Attributes of God with Scripture references and our ABC Attributes of God Poster.
Download our FREE Attributes of God Activities below!
ABC Attributes of God Scripture Cards
Attributes of God 8x10 Poster
Check out the other posts and FREE resources in the Sacrifice of God Bible Series:
Part 3: Response to the Sacrifice
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