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.
Today’s Reading:
Read Genesis 17–18:15
Abram and Sarai are following God’s call in their life and still waiting for His promise to be fulfilled. God
continued to remind them that He had a special plan for them and that He would not break His
covenant with Abram. As a way to confirm His promise, God gave Abram and Sarai new names. Abram
became “Abraham” which means “father of nations” and Sarai became “Sarah” which means princess.
The change in their names showed their commitment to God’s plan for them – even though they had
not seen it happen yet.
Abraham and Sarah were getting older and having a baby seemed to be impossible. Actually, when God
reminded Abraham of his covenant, Abraham fell on his face and laughed because it seemed silly that he
would become a father at such an old age. God sent three messengers to confirm the covenant he had
with Abraham. Sarah heard them say that she would have a son, and she laughed as well!
Hebrews 11:8 says, ‘By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed...” Abraham and Sarah both became
known to others because of their faith. They believed God’s promise even though they could not see it
nor did they know how it was going to come to place.
APPLICATION/PRAYER:
Abraham was a real person– just like us– with feelings and emotions just like us. How do you think
Abraham and Sarah felt as they waited for God’s promise to be fulfilled? Abraham and Sarah had a lot
of patience. Ask God to give you patience to wait for Him to answer your prayers.
Other Resources:
january memory verse coloring sheet