The Parent Weekly for April 16th, God is Love
What we learned today
Big Idea: God is Love
Nicodemus's Question. John 2v23–25; 3v1–21
A Pharisee named Nicodemus came to speak to Jesus at night.
Where we're headed next time
Big Idea: God is compassionate
Feeding of the 5,000. Matthew 14v13–21; John 6v1–15. Jesus saw the needs of the people around him and fed them fish and loaves.
Did you know?
Share these facts to get the conversation started:
Jesus’ miracle of feeding more than 5,000 men, women, and children was a sign to the Jewish people that the Messiah had come.
Those who acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah also thought He would be a political figure. Because of this, they instantly wanted to make Jesus their king.
Though they seemed to understand who Jesus was—the Messiah—the people did not fully understand what that meant. So Jesus had no choice but to retreat from them while they sought to “make him king by force” (John 6v15).
Jesus continued to teach about Himself, God’s kingdom, and His purpose on earth. He continued to have compassion on these people who were “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6v34).
Connect as a family
At a meal this week, ask your kids to imagine if all the food on the table was multiplied by two, then by ten, then by one hundred! Read the account of Jesus feeding more than five thousand people in John 6v1–15. Explain that Jesus had compassion on the hungry crowd. Ask your children if anyone has ever shown compassion to them. Have them share who it was and the story of what happened. Then pray together and ask God’s Holy Spirit to lead your family to show compassion to one another and to others—just like Jesus does.
After reading the Scripture passage, discuss these questions together:
How would you have felt if you had been in the crowd that day?
What does this miracle tell you about Jesus?
How can you show compassion on other people?
These questions can easily extend into the rest of the week. Look for opportunities to bring conversations about how God Is Compassionate into your everyday life as a family.
Blessing
Blessings are often used in the Bible. A blessing can be a prayer of commission, a portion of Scripture, or words to encourage and guide.
A blessing to pray over your child: (Child’s name), may you trust God to provide for you each day and find ways to share God’s compassion with others this week.
