Prayer

Have the children sit down quietly.

What did Abraham sacrifice instead of Isaac? A ram.

Read Hebrews 9:22:

In fact, according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.

Through Abraham, God was demonstrating that He was creating a new way of living. Jesus would become the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. God loved us so much that He was willing to sacrifice His only Son to pay the price for our sins.

When you think about God loving us that much, how does that make you feel?  

If God asked us to give up something that was very important to us, would we be willing to obey Him, since He loves us so much? Could we respond like Abraham with trust and obedience? 

We should be fully persuaded and convinced that God is worthy of our reverence and awe and love, far above anything we possess or value. Can we put God first in our life?  

Perhaps He isn’t asking us to give up a “thing”—but a friendship or relationship that is not healthy for us and is drawing us away from God. Or maybe He is asking us to give up a hobby or something we do that steals our time from God. Could we offer it up to God even though it would be hard? 

Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for being a powerful and loving God who is worthy of all our worship, love and obedience. We praise You for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. We ask Your Holy Spirit to show us anyone or anything that is too important in our lives. Pause and allow time for the children to silently think and pray. Reveal anything that may be stealing time that I should spend with You. Pause and allow time for the children to silently think and pray. We want to put You first each day of our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.