God’s Masterpiece

Bible Reading: Genesis 1:27; Romans 8:29 Tyrone scratched his head and looked at the painting. “What is it?” “It’s called Three Musicians. Try squinting your eyes and tilting your head.” “I think I see a clarinet and a guitar, but the musicians look a little weird.” “That’s the beauty of art. Everyone sees something different.”…

Playing with Fire

Bible Reading: Matthew 18:7-9 Jacob grabbed a hammer from his dad’s toolbox and slammed it shut. He carried it out to the driveway and pulled a curious-looking object out of his pocket. He’d seen something like this in a science video once, and if this explosion was anything like that one, it would be the…

Here, There, and Everywhere

Bible Reading: Psalm 33:13-15 Graham held very still when his mom came outside, hoping she wouldn’t see him. He loved to hide in the old apple tree. When he peeked through the leaves and branches, he could see Mom in the yard below. He could see Tabby, Mrs. Underwood’s cat, creeping through the grass next…

The Best Lesson

Bible Reading: Acts 9:26-31 Grandma walked into the living room and picked up the remote. “That’s enough TV for today, Neal. Don’t you have homework to do?” Neal shrugged. “It doesn’t matter, Grandma.” He reached down and scooped up Tiger, the stray cat Grandma had rescued. “Even if I do it, Mrs. Stevens still won’t…

Time Capsule

Bible Reading: Luke 12:13-21 On the one-hundredth birthday of the town of Brenner, Evie watched as the mayor unlocked a time capsule on the evening news that had been created and stored a hundred years before. He pulled several papers and mementos out of it and held them up to the camera. “Can I make…

Silly Goose

Bible Reading: Psalm 133 “You chose last time!” yelled Jill. “I did not!” said Susannah. “You did!” “I guess I remember better than you.” Jill stomped over to the back porch and sat down. She and Susannah were cousins, but they didn’t always get along very well. Jill’s brother Theo came out and sat down…

What You’re Worth

Bible Reading: Ephesians 1:3, 7; 1 Peter 1:18-19 “Sold!” proclaimed the fast-talking auctioneer, and Logan grinned at his mother. He found auctions fun and interesting, so he hadn’t minded when she wanted to stop and see what was happening at this antique auction. “Another broken piece of junk sold to the highest bidder,” Logan murmured….

The Scratched-Up Skateboard

Bible Reading: Psalm 51:1-19 “I didn’t mean to hurt your oh-so-special skateboard, Grady!” Jared told his brother. “You don’t have to get so mad!” “I told you to leave it alone!” shouted Grady. “Well, a skateboard is meant to jump and ride rails and stuff,” said Jared. “All you do is coast down the street…

A Walk in the Woods

Bible Reading: Colossians 1:15-20 “How about coming to church with me next week, Madeline?” Amber asked her friend as they walked up a wooded hill looking for wildflowers to identify for their science homework. Madeline shook her head. “My parents believe you can get close to God walking in the woods instead of sitting in…

No Fooling

Bible Reading: Matthew 7:17-23 Sara yawned as she came into the kitchen. Her brother Joe glanced at her mischievously, then looked out the window. “Hey, Sara, how’d your bike end up on the roof of the garage?” he asked. “What?” Sara ran to the window to see for herself. “Where?” “April fool!” Joe laughed in…