Today’s Reading:
Read Jeremiah 1; 2:1-19, 28, 37; 3:11-18; 4:1-2
Let’s have some fun with crafts today! Grab a paper plate and draw a happy face on one side and a sad face on the reverse side. Parents, give your kids some scenarios where they have to determine if what they are hearing is happy news or sad news. (Challenge for parents: Make every scenario a SAD situation!) Have you ever heard news from someone that made you so sad you cried? Sad news is never fun to hear, is it? Unfortunately, the news that Jeremiah had for the Israelites was sad news.
Jeremiah was a prophet in the last days of the kingdom of Judah. God had chosen him to share a message with the Israelites of God’s justice and His grace. A lot of what Jeremiah had to tell the Israelites was bad news. Jeremiah was known as the “weeping prophet.” Jeremiah recognized that God had chosen him. Even when the message was hard to deliver, he was faithful to do what God had called him to do.
Jeremiah was called by God. God promised to speak through Jeremiah. Jeremiah reminded the Israelites of the covenant God had made with them. He pointed out that as they worshiped false gods, they were forgetting the promises their ancestors had made to God. God used Jeremiah to tell the Israelites that even though their disobedience had brought a lot of bad news, they had a chance to repent! God would forgive them, but the consequence of their disobedience was still going to be a big deal.
Application/Prayer:
Read Jeremiah 1:5. God had a plan for Jeremiah, and we can trust that God has a plan for us, as well. Thank God today that, just like Jeremiah, you were chosen and set apart to be who God has called you to be. Ask God to help you be obedient in that calling like Jeremiah was.
August Memory Verse:
“Listen, Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
Using the daily reading prompts from George H. Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life, here’s how to use this devotional:
- Bring your Bible! Your kids need to see that everything you are reading to them or learning about comes from an actual Bible!
- Each day starts with a reading prompt. Read the selection as a family. If your kids are readers, encourage them to read along with you.
- After you’ve read the passage, read the short devotional thought that goes along with each passage.
- Prayer and application are important any time we read God’s word! After each devotional, there is a challenge to help apply what your family has read that day.
- There is a reading for six days of the week. The last reading of the week is a Gospel Conversation Prompt to help you connect the reading from the week with God’s plan for salvation.
Other Resources:
August memory verse coloring sheet
August Fill-in the blank activity