Family Faith and Fun Fridays:
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. -Hebrews 4:12
Welcome to Family Faith and Fun Fridays! As the week winds down and I anticipate more family time over the weekend, I often ask God for one good idea that will enable me to bring the Word to life and bring our family together. Usually, the activity overflows out of something the Lord has been teaching me through His Word during the week. I’d like to invite you to join me and my family in the adventure. Sometimes I’ll post things we’ve tried; other times I’ll post an idea in the works. If you’ve got thoughts to add or suggestions on how to adapt or improve the activity, please don’t hesitate to comment. Enjoy!
I just got home from a DELIGHTFUL night of speaking at a mother-daughter retreat and I’m wishing I’d packed my sleeping bag and stayed all night with that beautiful crew. During the course of our short time together, I had the honor of encouraging the girls- to become Princesses who wear PLUM. Because daughters of the King of Kings…
clothe themselves in Praise
develop eyes that Look for Jesus
celebrate their Uniqueness
and Make room for the Word of God.
While I spoke about our uniqueness, I gave the girls some play doh and invited them each to make something with it. Not surprisingly, every single girl created a different kind of masterpiece. As I watched them pinch and shape their creations, I was reminded of a family night lesson I wrote for a family curriculum at church years ago. We’ve used them both many times over and my kids still love teachable moments that involve play doh.
Perhaps you’d like to celebrate the unique masterpieces in your family this weekend, too. Here are some simple ideas…
The Lesson: The Potter’s Masterpiece
Option #1 (for younger or creative minded children)
Supplies: Play doh and a Bible
Getting started:
*Pass out the play dough and just have fun playing with it.
*Ask everyone to make something out of their “lump” of dough.
*When you give your child the lump of clay, ask what he/she plans to do with it.
*As you create things, explain that in the Bible God calls himself the Potter and He refers to us as the
clay (Read Isaiah 64:8).
* Remind your child that just as he/she has a plan for the lump of play doh, God has a plan for his/her life. When He looks at your child, He sees a masterpiece, even though He isn’t done shaping your child into all He has planned.
*Dream together about what God might do with your child’s life (Read Jeremiah 29:11)
Ask these questions as you play together:
*How is God like a potter?
*How are we like clay?
*Did that play dough get to decide what it wanted to be made into? (NO)
*Who decided what the dough was going to be? (You did). You are like a potter right now. You are shaping the clay!
*So if God is the Potter and we are the clay, who gets to decide how you are made? (God)
* Is that play dough arguing with you about what you are shaping it into? (no)
*Should we argue with God over the way He made us?
*What do you like about what you’ve made? Do you think God likes how He made you? (Read Eph. 2:10)
*What do you like best about how God made you?
Wrapping Up:
Parent, take some dough and begin to make something, then quit with a sigh. Say, “I’m just tired of creating. I’m not going to finish this masterpiece.”
See how your child responds. Then ask, “Do you think God starts a masterpiece but forgets to finish it?” (Share Phil 1:6and assure your child that he/she is a work in progress that will indeed be finished. God never gets tired Psalm 121:3-4) and He never quits what he’s started.
Conclude: Let’s pray and thank God for promising to finish what He’s started!
Option #2 (for older children or competitive personalities)
Supplies: Play Dough, index cards, Bible
Getting Ready: Before you begin, make index cards naming simple things that your children could shape with clay. (Such as: car, desk, ball, chair, child, book, flower, etc.)
Playing the Game: Invite your family to play a rousing round of Guess that Masterpiece!
Choose someone to be the “potter” and have that person draw a card naming what he/she should shape. Set a timer for one minute. The Potter shapes the named item while the rest of the family guesses. (Think Pictionary, but with 3 dimensions!)
Keep score as you wish- giving 2 points for the Potter who shapes something that is accurately guessed within the time limit and 1 point for the person who guesses correctly.
Once the game is over, explain to your children how in the Bible God calls himself the Potter, and He refers to us as the clay (Read Isaiah 64:8).
Discuss the following questions:
*In the context of our game, who knew all along what the “masterpiece” was going to be? (The Potter) Does God know what we are going to be when He is finished with us? (Yes! Read Jeremiah 29:11).
*Why did we make some wrong guesses? (We guessed what the masterpiece was before it was done, we didn’t see it with the same eyes as the Potter).
Have you ever judged someone wrongly about who they are?
God says we are ALL His workmanship and we have all been created in His image. We need to try to look at people through His eyes. (Read 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 and Ephesians 2:10)
When you were the Potter, did you ever want to quit before your time was up? Why?
Does God quit before He is finished with making us the people He wants us to be? (No, Share Phil 1:6 and assure your child that he/she is a work in progress that will indeed be finished. God never gets tired- check out Psalm 121:3-4) and He never quits what he’s started).
Let’s pray and thank God for promising to finish what He’s started!
I used to be part of the children’s ministry in our community. This is a great idea for a session! It was actually my favorite service! Patsy from
HeARTworks