Slow Cooking

Bible Reading: John 9:1-7 Jana looked out the window as a tear slid down her cheek. She watched silently as the other kids laughed and played in the snow. Her brother Caleb saw her and threw a snowball. She giggled in spite of herself as it softly hit the window. Sighing, she turned away and…

Behind Castle Walls

Bible Reading: Psalm 31:1-5 “Hurry! Pull up the drawbridge, Seth!” Mitchell hurried into the cardboard castle in their basement. “The enemy is coming!” Seth pulled up the bridge, and both boys peered through narrow slits in the walls. “Now they won’t be able to cross the moat,” said Seth. “And even if they do, our…

Scary Storms

Bible Reading: Psalm 23:1-6 Alexa’s dog nuzzled up against her hand, whining anxiously. Alexa closed her history textbook and looked down. “What’s wrong, Buddy?” she asked, even though she knew Buddy couldn’t answer. Then she heard thunder booming in the distance. Buddy perked up his ears, then whined again. Alexa looked out the window at…

Why Don’t Birds Have Knees?

Bible Reading: Psalm 139:13-16; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 Anita smiled as she looked at the trees and small woodland creatures around her. She loved being in God’s creation and was glad she had the strength to take this walk. Just then, she tripped on a root and was quickly reminded that woody paths can be a…

A Special Event

Bible Reading: Romans 12:1 “My class is going on a field trip to see Mount Vernon, George Washington’s home,” Ashlynn told her parents. “We’ve been learning about him, and I need to get books from the library and write a report on his life.” “That’s great,” said Mom. “I’m sure learning about him before the…

Homeless and Hungry

Bible Reading: Matthew 10:29-31; 25:31-40 The cold winter wind bit at Gwen’s nose and ears as she and her mother were shopping downtown. “Can we stop at the pet store and get some birdseed?” asked Gwen. Mom agreed, and they headed for the store. As they crossed an alley, they saw a man sleeping there,…

The Master’s Call

Bible Reading: John 6:37-40; Romans 6:23 “Mom, Sheba won’t come when I call her!” said Adam. “Sometimes she comes toward me, but if I try to touch her, she runs away again. Watch!” Adam called to Sheba, his new puppy. Sure enough, Sheba looked at Adam, and when he kept calling, she ran in a…

Four Meals a Day

Bible Reading: Colossians 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 2:13 “I’ve tried to get into the habit of reading my Bible every day,” said Alanna as she reached for a piece of pizza, “but I never seem to be able to.” Several others in the room nodded knowingly. They were having a pizza party for their Bible study…

First Things First

Bible Reading: 1 John 5:1-5 Mr. Wagner walked to the whiteboard in his Sunday school classroom. “Tell me, boys—what should be the really important things in your lives?” The boys began to call out answers—church, Jesus, family, friends, Bible study, prayer—and Mr. Wagner wrote the words on the board. “All right,” he said. “That’s a…

Amendments and Salvation

Bible Reading: John 10:27-30 Tyler walked into the kitchen where his mom was preparing supper. They were going to a special program at church that night, so they would be eating earlier than usual. Mom looked up and smiled. “Hi, Tyler. What have you been doing?” Tyler pulled out a kitchen chair and sat down….