Old Testament Heroes:David, Week 3

This year in FamilyQuest we’ll be looking at some Old Testament heroes of the faith. We’ll see how God took flawed human beings and accomplished great things while showing many, including us, just who He is. These famous heroes faced many hard choices and had to trust God to do miraculous things. We pray that as you study these real, live heroes your families will be encouraged that you, too, can trust God to do the big things that seem impossible to us.

In this unit we'll be talking about David. Most of our lessons will be focused on the epic battle between David and Goliath, but the Bible is full of much more information about the life of Israel's greatest king. He wasn't perfect, but he was a man after God's own heart. We have much to learn from this hero who was human and imperfect, but sought God with his whole heart.


Here is a great guide you can use for teaching your kids the lessons we can learn from the story of David and Goliath:
5 Lessons to Learn from David and Goliath

Old Testament Heroes: David, Week 2

This year in FamilyQuest we’ll be looking at some Old Testament heroes of the faith. We’ll see how God took flawed human beings and accomplished great things while showing many, including us, just who He is. These famous heroes faced many hard choices and had to trust God to do miraculous things. We pray that as you study these real, live heroes your families will be encouraged that you, too, can trust God to do the big things that seem impossible to us.

In this unit we'll be talking about David. Most of our lessons will be focused on the epic battle between David and Goliath, but the Bible is full of much more information about the life of Israel's greatest king. He wasn't perfect, but he was a man after God's own heart. We have much to learn from this hero who was human and imperfect, but sought God with his whole heart.

Here are some ways to work on memorizing this unit's memory verse (2 Samuel 22:2-3a). They aren't all word for word, but they will be great ways to remember these truths!

The Lord is my Rock
Freedom Kids The Lord is my Rock

Old Testament Heroes: David, Week 1

This year in FamilyQuest we’ll be looking at some Old Testament heroes of the faith. We’ll see how God took flawed human beings and accomplished great things while showing many, including us, just who He is. These famous heroes faced many hard choices and had to trust God to do miraculous things. We pray that as you study these real, live heroes your families will be encouraged that you, too, can trust God to do the big things that seem impossible to us.

In this unit we'll be talking about David. Most of our lessons will be focused on the epic battle between David and Goliath, but the Bible is full of much more information about the life of Israel's greatest king. He wasn't perfect, but he was a man after God's own heart. We have much to learn from this hero who was human and imperfect, but sought God with his whole heart.

Here is a fun family devotion by our Worship Pastor, Joshua Tanner:

King David the Musician

When we think of King David, we think of the mighty king that conquered the giant as a small boy and whose army destroyed countless enemies.  King David was also a very skilled poet and musician.  1 Samuel 16:16 tells us that King Saul was troubled and called for someone that was a skillful player on the harp to come and play for him.  The person chosen was young David.  

One of the greatest things to come from the life of David are the Psalms.  Seventy four of the 150 Psalms in the Bible were written by David.  David prepared this collection of songs and hymns for worship in the Temple of Jerusalem.  The Psalms are a book focused on God as our Creator and Promise Keeper.   They are still a big part of worshipping God today and give us a way to express our hopes, dreams, and even times of suffering. Many churches uses the Psalms as a main part of their worship.  Many individuals use a Psalm each day in their personal worship to God.  Let’s take a closer look!

The Psalms fall into five main subjects:  Praise, The King David, Praise of God’s Greatness, Lament (sorrow or grief), and Wisdom.  

Praise:  

This is the largest section of Psalms.  The main subject of these Psalms is that God is to be praised for who He is. Psalm 9 and 29 are a couple of examples of a praise Psalm.

The King David

These are known as the Royal Psalms.  These dealt with King David’s rule and his relationship with God.  Many of these Psalms correspond with events in his life, Examples include Psalm 57 when David hid from Saul in a cave and Psalm 32 when David received forgiveness for his sin.

Praise of God’s Greatness

These psalms are simply telling God how great He is and thanking God for the great things He has done.  Examples of this type of Psalm are Psalm 2 and 18

Laments

These are psalms that cry out to God for difficulty in both the persons life and in the country where they lived.  Most of these psalms of crying out to God end with a section of praise to God.  Examples include Psalm 13 and 60

Wisdom

These psalms talk about knowing and doing the right thing based upon the will of God.  Examples of this type of Psalm are Psalm 1 and 49

As I stated earlier David was a skilled poet.  Many of the Psalms contain several features of Hebrew poetry.  The first is the order of the words.  Each line contains two to four words each of which is accented.  Many also contain a repetition of a thought.  An example of this is Psalm 136 that repeats the phrase, “His love endures forever”.   A third poetic element we see are the acrostic Psalms.  This means that each verse begins with each letter of the Hebrew alphabet.  Examples are Psalm 9, and 25.  

God’s Word is alive to us today.  The Psalms speak to our hearts and draw us closer to God.  They give us voice to praise and words to be honest and open to God.  Now it’s your turn……….to write a Psalm to God!  Pick one of the subjects above and -  if your brave - try to add in the poetry structure of some of the psalms.  If you are up to another challenge start each verse with each letter of the American alphabet.  When you are done, feel free to share your Psalms either in the comments here on the blog or on Facebook using the tag #cbcfamilyquestpsalms. We can't wait to see all the ways you praise your Creator!

*information gathered in part from the international fellows

Old Testament Heroes: Ruth, Week 5

This year in FamilyQuest we’ll be looking at some Old Testament heroes of the faith. We’ll see how God took flawed human beings and accomplished great things while showing many, including us, just who He is. These famous heroes faced many hard choices and had to trust God to do miraculous things. We pray that as you study these real, live heroes your families will be encouraged that you, too, can trust God to do the big things that seem impossible to us.

In this unit, we will be looking at Ruth. Ruth was from a land that did not believe in God but married into a family did. Before having any children, she was widowed and chose to return with her mother-in-law to the land of her husband. She is now a foreigner in a strange land, with no husband, no children, and no money. Ruth's story is one of God's sovereignty, protection, and love. It is a beautiful picture of God's redemption and love for His people.

This week, with Valentine's Day approaching, we wanted to give you some ideas for service projects. Not only was Ruth a widow, but she was a stranger in a foreign land. Also, if you remember, Naomi and her family fled to Moab because of a famine, so they were refugees in a completely foreign land. There are many people around the world that have been forced from their homes, some due to famine, war, natural disaster, or many other reasons. Did you know that your family can reach out to help them:

Samaritan's Purse International Relief
YWAM (Youth With a Mission) Refugee Cirlce


We can also love those around us who have maybe fallen on hard times (Ruth was struggling when she followed Naomi to Bethlehem, but Boaz reached out and helped her), who work to keep us protected (to protect Naomi, Ruth left her family and all she knew to travel with her to Bethlehem. She also went to work to provide food so Naomi didn't have to be a beggar), and those who love and serve us each day as they teach us all we need to know (scripture doesn't come right out and say it, but we can assume Naomi either taught Ruth about the One, True God or lived what she believed so well in front of Ruth that she was willing to leave the myriad of gods that her people worshiped to give her life over to Naomi's God and follow where He was leading):

Make a Blessing Bag that you can keep in the car and give to those you may see along the road who are in need. You can fill a gallon sized baggie with a bottled water, crackers, gloves, hand sanitizer, etc. Gather the supplies, write a note of encouragement (that can include scripture or a prayer), and pray over the bag as a family before you put it in the car.

Take cookies to the police department or fire department, City Hall, to the church office. Something yummy and a nice word can really brighten up someone's day!

Love on your teachers by taking a meal to the teacher's lounge or writing a note of thanks for all their hard work.