Family Devotional Guide – March 21
Please take a moment before we dive in and share a story with whoever is with you. Share a time you received a surprise. Share a time you received a surprise that completely shocked you? Then share what made that gift so surprising or special?
Our text today (Ephesians 3:1-6) teaches us that the Church is an incredible surprise that God has given us the privilege of being a part of. Isn’t that interesting? You and I being allowed to be apart of God’s family (the Church) is an incredible surprise that we would have never expected or guessed! Take a moment and let that sink in! Being declared children of God is an excellent, surprising gift!
As incredible as that is, the problem is that we take this wonderful gift for granted many times. We aren’t as grateful for this gift as we should be. We don’t value it as valuable as it is.
Many times we do this same thing with other surprising gifts we receive. Do you have a valuable gift in your bedroom that you no longer treat like the priceless gift it once was? Sure you do, so do I. The sad reality is that many times we treat Christ’s gift the same way. We no longer see it as the valuable gift/surprise that it is. Instead, we view it as merely an inconvenience, a burden, or a chore. Something we deserve or something we should do. Do you ever feel this way?
My prayer for you and myself today is that we would stop viewing the Church as something we should do, but instead, as a beautiful gift that we’ve been given the privilege to be a part of. I pray that we would again see the Church as the costly, valuable surprise that Christ gave His life for! The Church indeed is an incredible gift!
Take a moment and thank God for the Church! Take a few minutes and write down ten things about the Church you love and are grateful for. I will start you off with number 1.
1. I am grateful for all the little children that fill our building on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights!
2.
Monday- 1 Corinthians 12:1-3
Tuesday- 1 Corinthians 12:4-11
Wednesday- 1 Corinthians 12:12-20
Thursday- 1 Corinthians 12:21-26
Friday- 1 Corinthians 12:27-31
Saturday- Make-Up Reading Day