NCCKids Daily Devotionals | September 21-25
September 21:
Don’t do anything only to get ahead. Don’t do it because you are proud. Instead, be humble. Value others more than yourselves. None of you should look out just for your own good. Each of you should also look out for the good of others. Philippians 2:3-4 (NIRV)
Discussion prompt for younger children:
Have you ever walked up to a buffet and seen lots of pieces of cake laid out in a big row? Did you look for the littlest piece or the biggest piece of cake? Which piece of cake do you think most people look for: the biggest or the littlest?
Our Scripture verse for today says that we shouldn’t just look for what will be best for us. We should also look out for those around us. Humility is a big word for knowing that other people have the same value and deserve just as much as you.
That doesn’t mean that you should never get the biggest piece of cake (I hope you get the biggest on your birthday!) but it does mean that you shouldn’t always think you deserve the biggest piece.
Today, find a way to give the best or the biggest to someone else. You could open the door for someone. Give your brother or sister the first turn. You could play a game you don’t really like but your mom enjoys.
Let’s pray and ask God to give us the strength to serve someone today.
Discussion prompt for older children and teens:
Today we have two drawings to look at before we discuss our scripture verse:
What is the difference between the first drawing and the second?
How do the drawings relate to our scripture passage for today? (You may need to read the passage again.)
When has there been a time in your life when you needed someone else to feed you with their spoon (when have you needed help from others)?
Let’s pray and ask God to help us to be humble and look out for the needs of others!
(Drawings are by Stuart McMillen)
September 22:
Nebuchadnezzar was very angry. He sent for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The king said to them, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, is what I heard about you true? Don’t you serve my gods? Don’t you worship the gold statue I set up? You will hear the horns, flutes, zithers, lyres, harps, pipes and other musical instruments. When you do, fall down and worship the statue I made. If you will, that’s very good. But if you won’t, you will be thrown at once into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to save you from my power?”
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him. They said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we don’t need to talk about this anymore. We might be thrown into the blazing furnace. But the God we serve is able to bring us out of it alive. He will save us from your power. But we want you to know this, Your Majesty. Even if we knew that our God wouldn’t save us, we still wouldn’t serve your gods. We wouldn’t worship the gold statue you set up.”
Then Nebuchadnezzar was very angry with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The look on his face changed. And he ordered that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. He also gave some of the strongest soldiers in his army a command. He ordered them to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Then he told his men to throw them into the blazing furnace. So they were tied up. Then they were thrown into the furnace. They were wearing their robes, pants, turbans and other clothes. The king’s command was carried out quickly… the three men were firmly tied up. And they fell into the blazing furnace.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet. He was so amazed he asked his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men? Didn’t we throw three men into the fire?”
They replied, “Yes, we did, Your Majesty.”
The king said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire. They aren’t tied up. And the fire hasn’t even harmed them. The fourth man looks like a son of the gods.”
Then the king approached the opening of the blazing furnace. He shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, come out! You who serve the Most High God, come here!”
So they came out of the fire. The royal rulers, high officials, governors and advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire hadn’t harmed their bodies. Not one hair on their heads was burned. Their robes weren’t burned either. And they didn’t even smell like smoke.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “May the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be praised! He has sent his angel and saved his servants. They trusted in him. They refused to obey my command. They were willing to give up their lives. They would rather die than serve or worship any god except their own God. No other god can save people this way. (Daniel 3:13-29 NIRV)
Discussion Prompt for all ages:
Do you think it was easy for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey God instead of King Nebuchadnezzar?
How do you think Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had the courage to obey God?
How did Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego’s obedience to God change Nebuchadnezzar?
Additional Prompt for older children and teens:
Can you think of a time when following God caused you to do things differently than the people around you?
Let’s pray and ask God to give us the courage to do what’s right in His eyes today.
September 23:
God is able to do far more than we could ever ask for or imagine. He does everything by his power that is working in us. Ephesians 3:20 (NIRV)
Discussion Prompt for all ages:
Close your eyes for a minute and try to imagine the things I’m about to read:
(Parents, take your time reading these.)
Imagine what it would have been like:
to see Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego come out of the furnace alive
to see Jesus walk on water
to be healed by Jesus
to spend the night with Daniel and the lions in the den
to see David defeat Goliath
to see God speak from a burning bush
What’s something you would like to imagine God doing?
Ephesians 3:20 says God is able to do more than what we can ever imagine! If you can think it, God is even more powerful than that!
Let’s pray and thank God for his incredible power!
September 24:
Samuel served the Lord under the direction of Eli. One night Eli was lying down in his usual place. His eyes were becoming so weak he couldn’t see very well. Samuel was lying down in the Lord’s house. That’s where the ark of God was kept. The lamp of God was still burning.
The Lord called out to Samuel.
Samuel answered, “Here I am.” He ran over to Eli and said, “Here I am. You called out to me.”
But Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.
Again the Lord called out, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli. He said, “Here I am. You called out to me.”
“My son,” Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back and lie down.”
The Lord called out for the third time. He said, “Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli. He said, “Here I am. You called out to me.”
Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down. If someone calls out to you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord. I’m listening.’ ”
So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The Lord came and stood there. He called out, just as he had done the other times. He said, “Samuel! Samuel!”
Then Samuel replied, “Speak. I’m listening.” 1 Samuel 3:1-10 (NIRV) (some sections omitted)
Discussion Prompt for all ages:
Samuel was a child when God chose to speak to him and deliver a special message. You are never too young for God to talk to you!
Sometimes God speaks to us out loud, like he did to Samuel. Can you think of other ways God speaks to people? (Some possible answers: through other people, through the Bible, through the still small voice in our hearts, etc.)
God spoke to Samuel in the middle of the night when he was still and quiet. While that’s not always the case, it’s a good idea for us to set aside time in each day to be quiet and listen for God. Silence and stillness is difficult for most people. What amount of time do you think you could spend being quiet, still, and listening for God? (Parents, you know your child’s age and propensity for stillness. Help them identify a realistic, achievable goal.)
Let’s all try to hit our ‘stillness’ goal for the day!
(End in prayer, asking God for the grace to be able to sit still in His presence.)
September 25:
(Parents, we’re going to change things up a bit today! To keep things fresh and your children from becoming bored with the status quo, we’re going to put them in charge today. If you’re a type A personality please don’t stress over this. Let it go where it goes. It’ll be fun and remember: “Lots are cast but everything they decide comes from the Lord.’ :)
KIDS CHOOSE DEVOTION!
Discussion Prompt:
It’s Friday, which is a great day for changing things up and celebrating a week of hard work! Today, the kids get to pick what the devotional is about!
You can pick your favorite Bible story for me to read, or a topic you want us to find in the Bible, like: love, wisdom, hope, God’s goodness, etc. (If there are multiple children you may want to keep your scripture selection short so that each can get a turn to choose.)
(Parents, you can go to https://www.biblegateway.com/ and type into the search bar anything your kiddo suggests. The website will bring up applicable Bible passages.)
Let’s pray and thank God that every word of His Bible is good and that we can learn from it all!
