May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him,
so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13
We all need joy - not the fleeting feeling of happiness when things are good - but that sense of gladness and gratitude despite what is going on around us. When we trust in God's goodness, His grace and His plans for us, we are able to find that kind of joy. We see that trust and assurance in Paul and Silas when they are arrested and unjustly thrown into jail (Acts 16: 16-35). Despite their unpleasant circumstance, they chose to praise and worship God! This week, we want to help kids know that true joy is found in Christ and grows through the work of the Holy Spirit in our heart.
1. In addition to discussion questions and prayer, the ResKids Gazette also has the recipe for our Tasty Tuesday Orange Jelly!
2. I shared this last week, but if you haven't shown your kids this video of The Fruit of the Spirit from Lifeway Kids, it's a great place to start this series.
3. The Prisoners, the Earthquake and the Midnight Song is a great storybook version of this week's Bible story.